278 



RECREA TION. 



for the purpose of carrying on the work 

 which the name of our Association implies. 

 In our work we find many discouraging 

 things to contend with. Some officers of 

 the law are too willing to cater to the wishes 

 of the lawless instead of enforcing the law 

 as all officers are sworn to do. 



Since the organization of our Associa- 

 tion, 2 years ago last January, we have 

 spent about $1,000 in propagating Mon- 

 golian and English pheasants, which we 

 have liberated in this part of the State. 



• We have also interested our State and 

 the United States Fisheries Commissions 

 to the end they haVe furnished us thou- 

 sands of fish with which to stock our 

 streams. As you are well aware the game 

 wardens of our State receive no remunera- 

 tion for their services except a portion of 

 fines collected. Our Association has not 

 only materially aided our game warden by 

 its influence, but has assisted him finan- 

 cially, and to say we are with our war- 

 den heart and hand is only telling half the 

 story. 



From a recent report made by our war- 

 den, Robert Fellis, our Association learns 

 that on November 12, 1897, Wra, Conner, 

 of Marshfield, Missouri, was convicted of 

 shipping quails out of the county and was 

 fined $100 and costs. He paid the costs 

 and got an extension of 60 days on the fine. 

 This fkie has never been paid and the pros- 

 ecuting attorney refuses to issue an execu- 

 tion, or to proceed to collect it. 



Chas. Freeman, of Chadwick, Christian 

 county, Missouri, plead guilty to shipping 

 quails out of the county, was fined $100 and 

 costs, paid costs and was granted a stay of 

 90 days on fine. The prosecuting attorney 

 got up a petition, and you, L. V. Stephens, 

 on December 20, 1897, remitted his fine. 



As law abiding citizens we protest against 

 this kind of work. If the law is a bad one, 

 and if it will serve the interests of the people 

 of our State better to allow market hunters 

 and game dealers to exterminate all our 

 game and fish, as they have already done 

 our prairie chickens, wild pigeons, and 

 much of our other game, let us wipe the 

 law off from the pages of the statute book; 

 but if the law is a good one let us, as law 

 abiding citizens, uphold it. 



In conclusion we protest against any such 

 weak kneed manner of enforcing our game 

 laws, and state, further, that we are sur- 

 prised the highest officer of our great State 

 should bow to such a set of violators of the 

 law. 



I have the honor to remain^ 

 Yours truly, 



H. O. Bunker, Corresponding Secretary 

 Greene County, Mo., Game and Fish 

 Protective Club. 



It would be interesting to know what man- 

 ner of reply these State officers made to 

 these protests. — Editor. 



THE ILLINOIS CHAPS OBJECT. 



In July, 1898, Recreation I published 

 the following : 



SOME MORE ILLINOIS SHOATS. 



I hand you herewith a clipping from one of our 

 local newspapers: 



This morning the members of the Macon County 

 Hunting club arrived home from DeWitt, Ark., 

 after an absence of a month. In the party were 

 Captain Milton Knapp, of Greenwood, Ind. ; Harry 

 Midkiff, S. D. May, W. T. Hott, A. T. Summers 

 of Decatur; M. A. Harbert, Macon; J. P. Faris, 

 Arthur Pritchett and Bert Faris of Niantic. There 

 was a great abundance of all kinds of game, and 

 fishing was so good that in one day the anglers 

 had to bury 200 pounds of fish. The weather was 

 hot. Four deer were killed and lots of geese, 

 ducks and squirrels. It was the eighth annual 

 trip for the party. 



These men have not even the common excuse 

 that they gave their game away. They simply 

 buried it. They do not belong to the common 

 breed of hogs. They are your prize porkers. 



Give it to 'em good and hard. They deserve it. 

 R. C. S., Decatur, 111. 



Can you blame Missouri, or any other state for 

 enacting non-resident hunting laws, when such 

 swine as these are allowed to run at large? Cer- 

 tainly not, and I hope to live to see the time when 

 all states will have laws debarring game hogs. 

 It's the only way to curb their brutal instincts. 

 Rings in their noses will never stop them. 



Mr. Albert T. Summers, of Decatur, 111., 

 one of the aforesaid shoats, takes violent ex- 

 ception to my criticism of him and his 

 friends. He writes me under date of July 

 26th as follows : 



In the July number of your magazine you 

 publish an article entitled, " Some More 

 Illinois Shoats," in which you malign and 

 libel some respectable people, for the al- 

 leged offense of burying dead game. We 

 went hunting and fishing in Arkansas last 

 fall, and caught more fish than we could 

 use. Some of them died before we could 

 eat them, and we buried them. For this we 

 are called " hogs," " shoats," " swine," 

 etc. 



What kind of an editor is this, who will 



maliciously slander people in this manner — 



people who are in good standing in the 



community, where they are best known? 



What are you trying to gain by it? To 



what class of people are you pandering? 

 * * * 



You have taken an unfair advantage of 

 us. You have stabbed us in the back. You 

 have made a thrust that we had no oppor- 

 tunity to parry. We are business men who 

 scarce have time to properly attend to such 

 villainous onslaughts. 



We violated no law. We offended no 

 one. We paid out hundreds of dollars in 

 Arkansas for the small amount of game we 

 killed. The natives there were delighted to 

 see us, and treated us most hospitably. The 

 amount of game we killed did not materially 

 decrease the game population of Arkan- 

 sas. * * * 



I am sorry you should permit your excel- 

 lent magazine to become the medium for 

 such false, such uncalled-for, such unwar- 

 ranted vituperation and slime. 



