FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



367 



party. No one of them is a good shot. It 

 is not unusual for one man to kill 100 

 doves. Four good shots could, on the oc- 

 casion referred to, easily have killed 400 

 doves. E,. A. Mote, Leesburg, Fla. 



The great majority of sportsmen do not 

 consider the dove a game bird. The few 

 who think differently limit their killing to 

 10 or 12. Mote and his friends do not 

 belong to either class; they are just butch- 

 ers. They killed 40 each, and would have 

 kined 400 or 4,000 had they been able. The 

 slaughter was limited by their lack of skill 

 only ; certainly not by the possession of 

 any sense of decency on the part of the kill- 

 ers. — Editor. 



IN THE JAM. 



One day last fall my partner and I start- 

 ed from camp early in the morning. After 

 going about 5 miles we struck a fresh deer 

 track and followed it to the edge of a 

 cedar swamp. Fire had run along the 

 edge of the swamp and there was a regu- 

 lar jam of down timber and dead brush. 



The thought struck me that no deer 

 would go far into that jam and I began a 

 close survey of the place. In a moment 

 I saw an old buck looking at me not over 

 3 rods away. He was behind a log with 

 just his head in sight. As I cocked my 

 30-30 Rob heard the click and wanted to 

 know what in thunder I was going to shoot. 

 At that instant the buck thought it time 

 to go, and he went as if he had been kicked. 

 My first shot struck a log, and Rob in his 

 surprise nearly fell off the pole he was 

 standing on. He gathered himself together 

 by the time I got another shell into my 

 gun, and just as the buck jumped a log 

 we both fired. I was lucky enough to 

 plant a bullet where I wanted it. The 

 buck ran out of the thicket and fell dead. 

 It took us 5 hours to get him to camp. 



I am in favor of prohibiting the sale of 

 game of any kind, and the use of dogs for 

 hunting birds. 



A. A. Hathaway, Alba, Mich.. 



WISHES A LOWER RESERVE. 

 The chief obstacle to your most praise- 

 worthy attempt to encourage the preserva- 

 tion of game is the difficulty of reaching 

 that inert body of shooters who regard the 

 game question only from a commercial 

 standpoint. During my life I have seen 

 wild animals disappear from so many wide 

 ranges that I fear no moral suasion can 

 prevent their ultimate extermination. 

 Nothing except government interference 

 and the establishment of safe breeding 

 grounds can retard the destruction of all 

 meat and fur producing creatures. The 



Yellowstone National park was a step in 

 the right direction, but the confines of the 

 preserve are too limited and its altitude 

 is too high. None of cur large game, save 

 sheep and goats, would remain on moun- 

 tain ranges or in mountain basins if per- 

 mitted to resort as formerly to lower levels. 

 The Missouri river breaks, in Montana, 

 afford one of the finest opportunities for 

 an extensive game reservation in this coun- 

 try. Grass, shelter, timber and watering 

 places are ideal. I hope to see such a 

 territory selected by Congress, where our 

 fauna may be protected and made to mul- 

 tiply. 



E. C. Hall, Jordan, Mont. 



A MINNESOTA MAN'S VIEWS. 



In a former note I advocated an earlier 

 season on chickens and upland migratory 

 birds for the Northern portion of Minne- 

 sota. On further investigation I think the 

 chicken season as at present, September 1 

 to November 1, is perfectly fair. The 

 birds are about full grown by September 1. 

 North Dakota, however, should fall into 

 line with us, both in its season on chick- 

 ens and its spring shooting law, or lack of 

 law. Snipe should be legal game by August 

 15, in this part of the State. Most of 

 them leave us by September 1, If snipe, 

 woodcock and plover were made legal 

 game in the Northern part of the State 

 from August 1 or 15 to October 15, 

 it would be about right. There are men 

 who would use such game for a cover in 

 their raids on chickens, but such men will 

 break any law. The only remedv is to fine 

 or imprison them when caught. In this 

 Northern country, where the seasons are 

 manifestly shorter than in the lower part 

 of the State, we should be given a chance 

 at the snipe, plover, etc. 

 Rev. Lewis P. Franklin, Hallock, Minn. 



GAME NOTES. 



I send you a dinning from the Anderson, 

 Ind., Democrat. If it is true that there 

 are still buffalo in the Slave lake country, I 

 hope means may be found to prevent their 

 extermination. 



The clipping reads as follows : 



"Quebec. — James M. Bell, just returned from 

 a tour of Central British America, reports large 

 herds of buffalo in the vicinity of Slave lake and 

 Slave river. Thousands of the buffaloes are 

 ruthlessly slaughtered by Indians and white hun- 

 ters. Mr. Bell will ask the Dominion Government 

 to take steps to prevent extinction of the herds." 



We have a few rabbits, quails and squir- 

 rels here; but they are so few that I have 

 stopped shooting and do all my hunting 

 with a camera. 



O. D. E., Frankton, Ind. 



