35* 



RECREATION. 



would not act in the matter. It is to poor 

 game laws, and to poor enforcement of 

 good laws that we already owe the ex- 

 termination of some varieties of game. It 

 will not be long before the ruffed grouse 

 will disappear from New York State, un- 

 less immediate steps are taken to prevent it. 



A SPORTSMEN'S PARADISE. \ 



Vancouver, B. C. 



Editor Recreation: On a bright Tues- 

 day morning in September, my friend L. 

 and I left Vancouver, on the steamer Comet, 

 for Powell lake, about 80 miles to the 

 North. The little craft stopped first at 

 Sechelt Mission, and thereafter at every 

 ranch and logging camp en route. Near 

 Jervis Inlet, a 400 pound rancher, the heav- 

 iest man in British Columbia, came along- 

 side, puffing like a grampus. In trying to 

 meet this gentleman, in answer to energetic 

 signaling on his part, the steamer had to 

 do considerable backing and turning. As 

 soon as our visitor could constrict his 

 vocal orifice sufficiently to emit intelligible 

 sounds, he inquired, blandly, " Captain, will 

 you be kind enough to give me the city 

 time? " The Captain, though much annoyed 

 at the delay, could not help laughing, and 

 gave the information. 



At last we were put ashore at what 

 we were told was the mouth of Powell 

 river, our objective point. The boat 

 steamed rapidly away and we were left 

 standing on the beach, in the darkness. 

 Our first move was to build a roaring 

 fire. Then we looked, as best we could in 

 the dark, for the river, but failed to find it, 

 and gave up our search until morning. 

 There was nothing for it but to camp right 

 there. We erected our tent, spread our 

 blankets and turned in. Poking our heads 

 out of the tent at daybreak we discovered 

 we had been landed in a small cove with 

 no river within sight. Replenishing our 

 fire we separated to explore our surround- 

 ings. L. took a bucket and went along the 

 beach in search of fresh water. I found a 

 trail leading into the woods, and explored 

 in that direction. L. discovered the river 

 about ^2 mile from camp, where it entered 

 the straits of Georgia. On our return we 

 sought a more suitable camping ground 

 and found one in a pleasant position on the 

 bank of the river in the woods. The morn- 

 ing was spent packing in our outfit. T 

 tried my hand at cooking, while L. took his 

 rod to try for trout in the stream, in front 

 of the camp. By the time I had the fire 

 going and frying pan hot he had 6 trout 

 ready for the pan. 



After dinner we followed the river up to 

 the lake, about T / 2 mile from the camp. As 

 it was getting dusk, we decided to postpone 

 further investigation. Rising with the dawn 

 next morning and stowing some lunch in 

 our pockets, we struck the trail to the lake. 

 There we took possession of a dugout we 



found hidden in the bushes and put in the 

 day exploring the lake, and streams running 

 into it. Game tracks were plentiful. So far 

 we had not bothered the game; but as we 

 needed fresh meat we determined to get a 

 deer. Thereupon we took the guns, and 

 plowing our way through 200 yards of thick 

 underbrush, found oui selves on the edge of 

 a veritable deer park. The ground was car- 

 peted with soft moss, and we could see be- 

 tween the trees, for 500 yards or so. L. 

 took one direction and I another. After 

 traveling about 5 minutes I espied a buck, 

 standing about 150 yards from me. The 

 next instant my trusty Marlin spoke and 

 I had the satisfaction of seeing the deer 

 fall with a bullet through his heart. L., 

 hearing the shot, soon joined me and to- 

 gether we dressed the deer. 



During the remainder of our stay we had 

 no lack of sport. Game abounded, and had 

 we been fish and game hogs we could have 

 loaded the steamer with trout and deer. 

 The trout ran from one to 2^2 pounds and 

 were exceedingly gamey and eager for the 



fly. 



On the following Saturday our time for 

 departure came and we returned to Van- 

 couver after a most enjoyable trip. 



Bullets. 



AS TO COLLECTING AND SHIPPING GAME. 



Laurin, Mont. 



Editor Recreation: I note what Mr. 

 Wiley says of Mr. Litchfield and your re- 

 ply. Mr. L. may be the " public benefac- 

 tor " you claim, but what of those who 

 catch the game? There are men in this 

 Western country who make a business of 

 running the poor brutes on snow shoes, 

 through the deep snow until they are ex- 

 hausted and lie down. Then the men rope 

 and take them to their corrals where in 

 time, if they do not find a purchaser like 

 Mr. L., the game is slaughtered and put on 

 the market, whether in season or out of 

 season, under the pretext that the men own 

 the animals and have a right to kill them. 



This brings to mind another class of 

 hunters I have never seen classed as swine, 

 such as A. J. Stone, the Alaskan explorer. 

 Mr. Stone boasts of the game he kills, 

 merely for the heads and hides, seldom tak- 

 ing any meat to camp. For instance his 

 description of his " last day on the Chee- 

 on-nees." 



In this country we consider the head and 

 hide hunter the worst hog of them all. If 

 there is an excuse for these hunters we 

 should be pleased to hear from you. 



H. A. Amsden. 



ANSWER. 



As stated in the article to which you re- 

 fer, I approve of the catching and shipping 

 of live game, from the West, to a reason- 

 able extent and when proper use is to be 

 made of the animals. If this were prohib- 

 ited entirely how could Eastern Zoolog- 





