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RECREATION. 



NEWFOUNDLAND LAW INCOMPLETE. 



Knowing your sense of fair play, and 

 having, for several years, watched with 

 approval your unremitting efforts to sup- 

 press game hogs, I regret noticing in your 

 August issue that you have put the shoe 

 on the wrong man's foot when writing 

 about the change in the game law of New- 

 foundland. 



The real, I might say almost the only, 

 criminals in the wanton slaughter of cari- 

 bou taking place annually in Newfound- 

 land, are the natives themselves. In the 

 winter months, when little fishing is done 

 and the caribou migrate to the Southern 

 end of the island, the natives, armed with 

 all sorts of weapons, from flintlocks to 

 huge sealing guns, make for the barrens 

 and there ruthlessly murder hundreds of 

 caribou, which are then shipped to St. 

 Johns and other ports to be sold at 2 or 

 3 cents a pound. Often the meat spoils 

 and is thrown, literally, to the hungry dogs. 

 This is not all, for oftentimes these butch- 

 ers are so surfeited with the meat, that they 

 will kill a caribou for one tidbit. I have 

 known of their killing 2 or 3 in order to 

 utilize the hides for making a raft to cross 

 Grand pond. 



For every caribou killed by visiting 

 sportsmen, 25, aye, 50, are killed by the 

 natives, who pay no license. Furthermore, 

 the officers of the British fleet patrolling 

 the French shore, who pay no license fee, 

 are great game hogs, being proud, I am 

 told, of bags of 15 or 20 stags in one sea- 

 son. 



A reasonable, conservative and well in- 

 formed Newfoundlander, speaking to me 

 last summer on the subject of game laws, 

 gave it as his opinion that 5,000 or more 

 caribou were annually slaughtered by- the 

 natives. If they did this to feed them- 

 selves no one could object, for the poor 

 wretches live on cod 10 months of the year ; 

 but they do it for the market, wherein lies 

 the sin. He also stated that no proper law 

 could be framed which would pass the 

 legislative house, the natives considering 

 it their inalienable right to kill all the 

 caribou they please; and any representative 

 daring to vote against their ideas, would 

 be sure to be dropped.. 



It is a safe statement to make that 99 

 out of 100 American sportsmen in New- 

 foundland keep to the spirit as well as 

 the letter of the law, and the few infrac- 

 tions so far known have but served as 

 pretexts for the passage of a most ridicu- 

 lous change in the game law. To charge 

 a sportsman $100 for a license to shoot, 

 while the natives and the British naval 

 officers pay nothing at all, and constantly 

 go beyond all limits of decency in the ruth- 

 less destruction of caribou, is but another 



instance of the folly, of granting the 

 franchise and a full fledged government to 

 the most ignorant and most backward peo- 

 ple in North America. 



J. G. Van Marter, M; D., 

 Savannah, Ga. 



The new game law of Newfoundland 

 provides that no resident of that country 

 shall kill more than 3 caribou in any one 

 year. It also prohibits the setting of 

 snares, traps or pits for caribou ; hunting 

 them with dogs or hatchet, tomahawk, 

 spear or with any weapon other than fire- 

 arms loaded with ball or bullet; or killing 

 them while swimming in any water,. 



If this new law could only be enforced, 

 it would naturally stop the terrific slaugh- 

 ter of which Dr. Van Marter so justly com- 

 plains; but unfortunately no money has 

 been appropriated for enforcing the new 

 law. There is no provision for tne ap- 

 pointment of game wardens or other 

 officers to enforce the law. It now simply 

 becomes the duty of every citizen of New- 

 foundland to obey the game laws, as a 

 matter of honor. Whenever anv resident 

 of that island violates the game law, it be- 

 comes the duty of his neighbors who may 

 know of the fact to prosecute him and have 

 him properly punished.. The new law will 

 have a wholesome effect and will greatly 

 reduce the killing of game, but it will not 

 entirely stop the slaughter. The Legisla- 

 lature, at its next session, should enact a 

 new clause prohibiting the sale of caribou 

 meat or skins, and should provide for the 

 appointment of several game wardens ; also 

 for the payment of their salaries and trav- 

 eling expenses. Nothing short of this will 

 completely protect the caribou of that coun- 

 try. — Editor. 



THE SITUATION IN MONTANA. 



My interest in anything pertaining to 

 legitimate sport . in field, bush or stream 

 will never slacken. I am somewhat like 

 yourself, having even given up my own 

 time and pleasure to the good cause of 

 protecting game and fish. I have not fired 

 a shot for 3 years at game, and I feel that 

 my hunting days are past. You may rest 

 assured I shall always do all I can to en- 

 list workers for the cause of game protec- 

 tion ; but Montana is barren ground. 



I have worked like a horse for the cause; 

 not for any salary. I gave the State 2 

 years of my life without compensation. The 

 State owes me several hundred dollars 

 for cash expenditure which I shall proba- 

 bly never get back. I wanted to resign my 

 position as State Warden as well as my 

 membership in the Fish and Game Com- 

 mission, because I was not willing to lend 

 my name to a farce, such as I found our 

 existing game and fish laws to be. I was 





