368 



RECREATION. 



This report is greatly exaggerated, as are 

 most newspaper stories about wild animals. 

 There are probably ioo to 200 wood buf- 

 faloes in the Slave lake country, but they 

 are being relentlessly hunted by white men 

 and Indians, and no doubt will soon b ft 

 exterminated. — Editor. 



I enclose an article from the Chicago 

 Journal by a writer who seems to think the 

 farmers of the South are inclined to make 

 pets of the little gray squirrels. As a 

 matter of fact, they regard them as more of 

 a nuisance than anything else. I have 3 

 of the little rascals in the house now, and 

 find great amusement in watching their 

 antics as they scamper around in their cage. 

 J. G. Hall, Wagoner, I. Ter. 



I am glad to know you are one of the 

 men who do not believe in killing every 

 wild creature that can be found. There is 

 a growing sentiment among the better class 

 of sportsmen that squirrels should not be 

 killed at any time. The more closely people 

 cultivate the acquaintance of these innocent 

 little creatures the fewer shots will be fired 

 at them. I have read the clipping you en- 

 closed, and am sure it is a newspaper fake. 

 There are probably no such number of 

 squirrels anywhere as this reporter tells of. 

 Nearly all the stories of birds and wild 

 animals that appear in the daily newspapers 

 are much exaggerated. — Editor. 



Having read an article in Recreation 

 by Howard Eaton, of Medora, N, 

 Dak., I feel like asking a few questions. 

 Why did Howard allow the killers of 

 those 2 big rams he speaks about to go 

 unpunished? Does he not know the kill- 

 ing of buffalo, antelope, caribou, mountain 

 sheep, moose, and elk is prohibited in 

 North Dakota at all times? Is he a type 

 of all L. A. S. members in the Western 

 States? In this State the game laws are 

 of no practical value, for there is no one to 

 enforce them. It is true there is plenty 

 of deer hunting, but there are no deer to 

 speak of. There was one deer last year 

 where there were 10 the year before. It 

 is because the market hunter gets out in 

 early fall before the open season and 

 slaughters everything he sees.. In most 

 cases the meat spoils because of warm 

 weather. I have seen as many as 30 deer 

 in one heap, all in a state of more or 

 less decay. I wish we could get enough 

 good L. A. S. men in this State to stop 

 such wanton destruction. 



A Citizen of Stark Co., N. Dak. 



too mildly. There is no language strong 

 enough to properly condemn those who 

 shoot indiscriminately, at long range or 

 short, and cripple, wound or kill innocent, 

 helpless animals and birds and call it sport. 

 Surely they would not consider it sport if 

 they would stop to think of the pain they 

 inflict. They forget that every animal and 

 bird has a nervous system and that gun- 

 shot wounds are among the most painful 

 known to science. They forget also that 

 animals and birds thus wounded must 

 often endure great torment for want of 

 water, in addition to the pain of the 

 wounds, for no nurse can bring water, 

 dress the wounds, nor set the broken bones. 

 A true hunter shoots to kill, and kills only 

 for useful meat. The health-giving exer- 

 cise and exhilarating recreation are simply 

 legitimate incidents. No true hunter, nor 

 no true man, can kill for sport; conse- 

 quently, in the words of Mr. Steel, "I de- 

 test the name sportsmen." 



J. W,. Carson, Frostproof, Fla. 



Probably the supervisors of Westchester 

 county are as wise as their fellows in other 

 parts of the State. No fair minded person 

 expects first chop statesmanship from a su- 

 pervisor ; but I think if they would spend 

 more time learning the limitations of their 

 authority and less in creating deficits in 

 town treasuries, it would be to their credit. 

 The latest vagary of our Honorable Board 

 is appointing "town game wardens.'"' They 

 have as much right to appoint an ambassa- 

 dor to China,. If their appointees make an 

 arrest or a seizure they will get themselves 

 and the county in trouble. The fish, for- 

 est and game law, 1901, article IX, sec- 

 tion 176, says : "The commission may in 

 its discretion appoint a person recommend- 

 ed by a majority of the supervisors of any 

 county or by any game club incorporated 

 for the protection of fish or game, as special 

 game protector." In all the law there 

 is not another word at all bearing on the 

 subject, so the supervisors' right to make 

 wardens must be God-given, like their ob- 

 tuseness. 



G. A. Mack, Pleasantville, N. Y. 



John A. Steel's letter in June Recrea- 

 tion, page 460, voices my sentiments, only 



October 14, 1900, was cold and driz- 

 zly; as unfavorable a day for hunting as 

 could be imagined ; but my partner, Bill 

 Woodcock, and I were hungry for venison 

 and hoped to find some at Twin Sister 

 lake. When we neared the lake Bill told 

 me to follow the road to the shore while 

 he would cut across the beech flats and 

 perhaps drive a deer to me. I had barely 

 reached the bank when I heard the crack 

 of my companion's 44. I ran up the road 

 a little way to head off the deer in case 

 Bill had missed. In a few minutes I heard 



