FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



119 



AN ANTIQUE SPECIMEN. 



Mr. J. E. Pratt, Chief Warden of the 

 Michigan Division of the League, sent me 

 a letter he recently received, and which I 

 print verbatim: , 



Conneant Ohio 

 Oct 8thee 1901 

 J. Elmer. Pratt 



Dear Sir 



dear Sir I take this opertunety to right 

 asking you a few questions in regard to 

 the gaim laws of mishigan the first is what 

 is the law in regards to a foren hunter or 

 from a nother state now I see in the news 

 papers all kinds of laws now I see that 

 wee can pay our $25 and kill 3 deer but 

 not sell eny nor take eny out of the state 

 now what are wee to do with what wee 

 cant eat now I halve hunted on the north- 

 en pensley for the last 18 years and halve 

 paid the licens ever since it has bin leveid 

 on ous out of the state but halve sold any 

 extry venson all but twise I tride to fetch 

 ham of venson home in my trunk two falls 

 and had my trunk broken open and that 

 little taken out that I tride to fetch home 

 to my famley to halve a tast but failed 

 now I halve hunted for the last fifty five 

 years and still wants to halve a little hunt 

 yet but dont no what to do with my ven- 

 son when I git it as I see the law I will 

 halve to let it lay and rot now is there no 

 way of giting a per mit I want to hunt 

 and I want to live up to the law now I go 

 to Seney there I halve got my licens every 

 year hoping to hear from you soon 



Respectfuly 

 yours 



• F. B. Blood 



F. B. Blood 



conneaut 

 ohio 



Mr. Blood is a specimen of the old 

 time, backwoods, chin whiskered deer 

 hunter. I have seen hundreds of them go- 

 ing to and coming from the Michigan and 

 Wisconsin woods, and have encountered 

 some of them while hunting in that coun- 

 try. They usually go in gangs of 10 to 20. 

 Each man carries a roll of old quilts of 

 the vintage of about '47, and the party car- 

 ries several boxes of groceries, bacon, po- 

 tatoes and other truck, done up in job lots 

 and checked through as baggage. They 

 are armed mostly with old time, long bar- 

 rel, muzzle loading rifles, and carry with 

 them ample supplies of powder, bullets, 

 caps and even patches. When they land at 

 the station where they leave the train they 

 immediately look up some farmer or 

 woodsman to haul their truck to the camp 

 grounds and the men hoof it. They em- 

 ploy no guides and so do not leave one 

 dollar a head in the country where they 

 hunt, except for hunting licenses; and 



every officer who issues these licenses 

 knows that it breaks the heart of every 

 one of these old backwoodsmen to put up 

 $25 or any smaller sum for a hunting per- 

 mit. Such men find no more pleasure in 

 hunting than a cow does in grand opera. 

 They care nothing for the beauties of the 

 forest, the singing of the wind in the pine 

 trees, the song of the birds or the capers 

 of the red squirrel, than a hog does for 

 art. All these men want is to kill, and if 

 perchance any one gf them fails on a single 

 trip to kill to the limit he feels he is dis- 

 graced forever. On the contrary, the 

 man who first reaches the limit is 

 king of the band. It is gall and 

 wormwood to all such hunters that 

 they can not be allowed to sell 

 their game in order to pay their railroad 

 fare to and from the hunting grounds. 

 Mr. Blood is well named, and if he could 

 only be induced to shed himself instead of 

 the blood of the 3 deer per annum now al- 

 lowed by the Michigan laws, it would be a 

 good thing for the game interests in that 

 State. — Editor. 



DESERVES TO BE GOVERNOR. 



Messrs. I. E. O. Pace, an attorney; T. Curran 

 and J. S. Hammond, employes of the Jefferson 

 Valley Trading Company; and Fred Warren, an 

 employe of James Williams, of Whitehall, killed 

 ducks on the 25th of August, which was befc;e 

 the open season had begun, on the presumption 

 that the law did not mention them; but the ver- 

 sion of the attorney-general has been that the 

 old law held as to ducks, and it was thereafter 

 illegal to kill them before September ist. The 

 game warden learned of the infraction and had 

 a complaint lodged against the men. A hear- 

 ing was had before Justice Cooley, of Whitehall, 

 and he discharged the defendants. The game 

 warden and county officers were then at work 

 on the case, and the parties had a hearing before 

 Justice Sweet, in _ Boulder. They pleaded the 

 constitutional provision that they could not be 

 twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense, so 

 when their attorney moved for a dismissal, Coun- 

 ty Attorney Murphy acquiesced and it was done. 

 The attorney-general didn't like the way things 

 were manoeuvred, so he had a new information 

 filed, on the theory that defendants had been on 

 trial and acquitted for killing one duck, and 

 there were 14 ducks yet to answer for. The 

 parties were again arraigned before Justice 

 Sweet, Attorney Balliett, of Helena, for De- 

 fendant Pace; Attorney Herron, of Butte, for 

 the others. The prosecution was looked after by 

 Mr. Mettler, assistant attorney-general; County 

 Attorney Murphy and Game Warden Scott. 

 After a conference Mr. Pace pleaded guilty and 

 was fined $100 and costs. For the others the 

 first effort was to establish that they could not 

 again be placed on trial for the same offense, but 

 the justice held that this was another duck, and 

 the case proceeded. The principal witness for 

 the State was Sully French, of Whitehall, and 

 the killing of ducks out of season was estab- 

 lished. The justice found the defendants guilty 

 and fined them $25 each and costs. This will 

 no doubt have a good effect on the law breakers, 

 as heretofore little attention, if any. has been paid 

 to infractions of the game law in this county. 



Here is an attorney-general who deserves 

 the hearty admiration and commendation 

 of every friend of game protection in the 



