'FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



447 



Lacey law broke up this business, and it is 

 pleasing to note that there are once more 

 plenty of birds on our beach. Old resi- 

 dents claim this is due to the heavy rain- 

 fall of July, and to the prevailing high 

 tides, but I am of the opinion it is the re- 

 sult of the protection of the Lacey law. 

 When there is no money in shooting, peo- 

 ple kill only enough to eat, and I have no 

 doubt that were the sale of game prohib- 

 ited entirely birds would increase so 

 there would soon be enough for all. As it 

 is, anyone who could shoot a little 

 could this season kill all the beach birds he 

 wanted, though but few took advantage of 

 it owing to the great swarms of mosquitoes. 



Northern sportsmen contemplating a 

 Southern trip would do well to pass over 

 Currituck county ; try Dare county, and 

 take in Ocracoke island. The laws are 

 much more liberal South of Currituck 

 county, as non-residents are not allowed to 

 shoot here afloat. About 400 men shoot 

 for a living in this county, and there are 

 but few market shooters South of here. 

 Game is correspondingly plentiful to the 

 South. 



The feather hunters who cleaned up our 

 beach never got farther South than Bo- 

 die's island, and all the country between 

 there and Morehead is practically virgin 

 hunting ground. Ocracoke island has al- 

 ways been noted as a hunting ground, but 

 it has hitherto been practically inacces- 

 sible. Now I understand the N. & S. Co. 

 is building a new pier there, and that it 

 is to run a boat there regularly. Dare 

 county is the best place on the Atlantic 

 seaboard to shoot curlew and other large 

 shore birds. Residents claim that in the 

 season the duck and brant are unrivalled. 

 The vicinity of Beaufort and Morehead 

 is said to be headquarters for English 

 snipe and woodcock ; while duck shooting 

 may be had in Bogue sound. 



A. S. Doane, Waterlily, N. C. 



CITIES CAN ENFORCE DOG TAX. 

 Will you kindly inform me, as the rep- 

 resentative of the Middletown Gun Club, 

 what the dog law of this State is? The 

 sportsmen here and members of the Gun 

 Club have for several years past paid the 

 municipal license, $1.10, and have also kept 

 their dogs off the streets. The authorities 

 seem to have fixed about $500 as a proper 

 yield from this source, and after having 

 collected about that sum they do not care 

 if 10,000 dogs run at large. This year, so 

 far. only about 14 owners have taken city 

 licenses. What we want to know is 

 whether the authorities can compel us to 

 pay a license fee if we keep our dogs on 

 our own premises, and whether in case 

 dogs are found on the streets, officers have 

 the right to kill them. We do not object 



to paying fees, but insist that if one dog 

 owner pays all ought to pay. Please give 

 us any information you can on the sub- 

 ject. James H. Gale, Middletown, N. Y. 



I submitted the foregoing letter to Hon. 

 John S. Wise, counsel for the League of 

 American Sportsmen, and append his re- 

 ply: 



Under the laws of New York, municipal 

 corporations have a right to impose a tax 

 on dogs. The municipal ordinances of each 

 town determine the amount. If only 14 

 owners have taken out city licenses, that is 

 neglect of the officers and not a defect of 

 the law. Undoubtedly the city authorities 

 can claim the tax, even if men keep itheir 

 dogs on their own premises. That is a 

 municipal police regulation. Because a 

 man pays a license tax on a dog, it is no 

 reason why he should allow the dog to run 

 about the streets. Several decisions of this 

 State hold that an owner who allows his 

 dogs to run at large is responsible for the 

 injury the dog does, and I unhesitatingly 

 say that the power of city authorities to 

 kill vagrant dogs is within the police pow- 

 ers of the municipality. Mr. Gale is cer- 

 tainly right in contending that if one owner 

 pays all ought to pay; but the fact that 

 some do not pay does not relieve others 

 from the obligation. The remedy is to in- 

 form on those who have evaded the law 

 or failed to pay the tax ; and if any offi- 

 cer entrusted with levying the tax, or col- 

 lecting it, or catching stray dogs shows 

 neglect or favoritism, he ought to be pun- 

 ished by proper proceedings against him. 



TWO IOWA JUDGES ON THE RACK. 



Judge N. M. Hubbard, Sr., of Cedar Rapids, 

 and Judge Trimble, of Burlington, were arrested 

 at Ledward, Kossuth county, for violating the 

 game law. Judge Hubbard is a noted Iowa pol- 

 itician and solicitor for the Northwestern road, 

 while Judge Trimble is counselor for the C, 

 B. & Q. 



When arrested the 2 aged sportsmen [?] were 

 in a restaurant and were waiting for the prairie 

 chickens they had shot to be cooked. Deputy 

 Game Warden Riley swooped down on them, 

 seized 5 half picked prairie chickens and took the 

 judges into custody. 



The men were taken to Algona and charged 

 with violating the game law. Judge Trimble , ad- 

 mitted the chickens were his. Tud&e Hubbard 

 acted as his attorney, and argued long and ably 

 to convince Justice Clark that a day was ended 

 as soon as it was begun, and that inasmuch as 

 they had shot the chickens August 31 they were 

 violating no statute. 



Justice Clark took the case under advisement 

 and the judges were released on their own recog- 

 nizance. They went North to shoot more chick- 

 ens September 1, having served notice of appeal 

 from any adverse decision that might be ren- 

 dered. — Ames, la., paper. 



I have heard of all kinds of pleas being 

 faked up by lawyers on behalf of crimi- 

 nals, but I reckon this one of Judge Hub- 

 bard is a little the rottenest excuse ever 

 invented. On the same hypothesis Mon- 

 day begins at one minute after 13 o'clock 



