FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



53 



let in this state has its pot-hunter, while 

 many have several. They hunt from the 

 day the law is off till snow flies, without a 

 stop to rest. They are all fair shots and all 

 take advantage of the game, or rather take 

 it at a disadvantage, if possible, which no 

 true sportsman will do. I know of several 

 — no doubt the number reaches the hun- 

 dreds — who kill from ioo to 500 ruffed 

 grouse, quail and woodcock every fall. 

 They never eat a bird, but always shoot to 

 sell; most of them making fair wages for 

 the season. 



I have been through the shooting 

 grounds this fall and previous years, after 

 the active shooting was over, only to find 

 perhaps 2 or 3 stray birds in a whole lo- 

 cality, where there should be 100. Birds 

 are scarce and are growing more so each 

 year. It will be but a short time ere the 

 grouse will be a rarity in this locality. 



Can there be a law to regulate this 

 slaughter? Has any section such a law? 

 If so I hope some of the readers of Rec- 

 reation will tell about it. 



I see but two plans, viz., limit the number 

 of birds killed, as are deer in Maine and 

 New York; or prohibit game being 

 shipped from the town or county wherein 

 it is killed. 



I hope to hear from others on this sub- 

 ject. " It is now or never," and something 

 must be done. 



H. E. Barton. 



OUGHTjTO HAVE KILLED A GRIZZLY. 



N. Ontario, Cal. 



Editor Recreation: Last week a party 

 of 4, Mr. Scott, Rogers, " Ought " and I, 

 went up the San Antonia mountains, about 

 10 miles North of here, to hunt deer, and 

 give Ought a chance to kill a grizzly that 

 had been seen in that region. Over our 

 evening camp fires, we discussed the bear 

 question. Ought said he would like to see 

 a bear, and pepper him with a 40-65 Win- 

 chester. All he wanted was a chance. I 

 warned him to be cautious if he found one, 

 and be sure he had some advantage on his 

 side, before attacking. He insisted he was 

 not afraid of any bear in the mountains. 



On the third day out, Mr. Scott secured 

 a 3 point buck, the first deer he had ever 

 killed. Hearing the shot, I went to him, 

 and we dressed the game, and started with 

 it for camp. We had not gone far, when we 

 met Ought and Rogers hurrying for help — 

 Ought, had found his bear. 



He had been on a rocky point, for 15 

 minutes, watching for deer, when, looking 

 about, he saw, 30 feet below him, a grizzly 

 lying asleep. At this chance of a life-time, 

 Ought's heart failed him, and he crept cau- 

 tiously away, to enlist recruits for the war. 

 We returned with him, though we knew 

 the bear would be far away before we 

 reached the spot where he had lain. It was 



but a short distance back, and Ought led 

 us silently to the rock, and leaned over. 

 The look of disappointment on his face, as 

 he turned to us, was pitiable. The bear had 

 gone. 



On our return home, Ought was the first 

 to tell the story, and own that he had been 

 afraid of one bear, at least. 



A. G. Allen. 



ANOTHER BRUTAL SIDE HUNT. 



FROM THE LEBANON, N. H., "FREE PRESS." 



All the men in town who know a gun when they see it, 

 and all others who ever heard the gun question discussed, 

 as they smoked their T. D.'s about the livery stable office 

 stove, have been pressed into a game hunt this week. John 

 S. Freeman is the great (?) leader of one faction, while P. 

 A. Waterman heads the other. The hunt was set for Wed- 

 nesday and Thursday, but in truth it begun last Friday 

 night, and has been going on ever since. The following 

 schedule has been arranged : A red squirrel counts 50 

 points ; partridge, 200 ; rabbit, 200 ; fox, 500 ; duck, 200 ; 

 crow, 150 ; grey squirrel, 200 ; woodcock, 300 ; coon, 500 ; 

 quail, 300 ; hawk, 150 ; owl, 200 ; deer, 2,000, 



All game was to be brought in last night, by 12 o'clock, 

 save coons, the men being given until 8 o'clock this morn- 

 ing to get them in. For the wind up a game supper is 

 to be served at the town hall, this Friday evening, 6 to 8 

 o'clock. . . ." 



Accompanying the above clipping a 

 Lebanon subscriber sends me a yellow 

 hand-bill which announces this great 

 slaughtering match, in circus poster type, 

 and which contains the names of 140 game 

 butchers, divided into 2 teams, and each 

 under the leadership of a captain! I regret 

 that for lack of space I cannot print the 

 names of these game hogs in this issue, 

 but may do so later. 



The subscriber who sends in this account 

 says: 



" I enclose a bill of game slaughter, and hope you will 

 roast these hogs as they deserve. Red squirrels may not 

 be game, but they are harmless little creatures ; and that a 

 barrel full of them should have been shot and brought in, 

 and then thrown on the dump to rot, is an outrage. All 

 the true sportsmen, here, are indignant at this piece of 

 wholesale slaughter." 



It seems incredible that so large a num- 

 ber of game hogs could be found in any 

 one town in the East. Talk about Indians 

 as game destroyers! I never heard of .a 

 band of Indians, or savages of any nation, 

 committing as fiendish a piece of butchery 

 as this appears to have been. — Editor. 



INDIAN ART COLLECTION. 



Antonio Apache, the Indian scout and , 

 scientist, whose recent tour through the/ 

 Maine and New Brunswick wilderness re- 

 sulted in securing so many valuable feat- 

 ures for the New England Sportsmen's 

 show, is now in the far West collecting ma- 

 terials for that Show. 



He has secured an extensive collection 

 of antique and unique specimens of Ind- 

 ian art, of rare value, and has already 

 shipped 10 cases of Pueblo pottery, and a 

 number of bales of Navajo blankets, which, 

 with rugs, robes and curios, will play an 



