FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



119 



native, that he had killed 45 deer in 17 days. 

 This was on the 15th of November and he 

 said he had not used the coupons from his 

 license in order to get them to Detroit, 

 either. He made this statement openly, in 

 the presence of 3 or 4 hunters, but it would 

 be impossible to convict him, in the Upper 

 Peninsula. I am satisfied that he and others 

 are making good wages hunting for the 

 market. 



Before we prohibited the sale of trout, it 

 was impossible to give them any decent pro- 

 tection. Since that has been done, some of 

 the remote streams in the North are so full of 

 trout that a man could fill a basket in half a 

 day. Prevent the sale of venison, and in less 

 than 5 years a man could kill 2 deer, in the 

 Northern Peninsula, in one day, without half 

 trying. He is mighty lucky if he can get one 

 in 10 days. 



I will be one of a party that will go into the 

 Northern Peninsula next fall, who will prac- 

 tice what they preach, and will bring down 

 not more than 2 deer each. I know other 

 parties of this kind that will be made up here 

 in Grand Rapids. 



A friend of mine in this city is in the Up- 

 per Peninsula now. He has been there since 

 a week before the season opened, and I am 

 informed, though it cannot be proven, that 

 he has already killed 7 deer, and that he is 

 looking for more. I am almost ashamed to 

 admit that he is one of my friends, but he 

 is, and a good fellow. Still he is unreason- 

 able in his desires for game. 



I heartily agree with you as to the neces- 

 sity of prohibiting the sale of game every- 

 where and at all times. This is one of the 

 important planks in the platform of the 

 League, which is printed on page 3 of the 

 Constitution and By-Laws. We are ready 

 to aid state divisions 111 any way possible in 

 securing the enactment of such laws. I 

 would suggest that you have some legal 

 friend draw up a bill embodying this prin- 

 ciple, for presentation to our Legislature 

 early in its next session. Then, if you can 

 have some friend in the Legislature intro- 

 duce and push the bill, so much the better. 

 If you can first induce such law maker to 

 join the League, that would be still better. 

 Then he can advocate the passage of such 

 bill on behalf of the Michigan State Divi- 

 sion of the L. A. S., as well as on behalf of 

 all friends of rigid game protection. 



I am personally opposed to the 5 deer 

 provision in your present law. No man 

 should ever kill more than 2 deer in a sea- 

 son and, as you say, no matter how modest 

 a man may naturally be in his tastes, when 

 allowed by law to kill 5 deer, he is mighty 

 apt to play the limit when he gets into the 

 woods. Read Percy Selous's article on page 

 464 of December Recreation. It will do 

 your soul good to find that you have one 

 man in your division who has determined to 



quit when he gets 2 deer, even at the ex- 

 pense of a quarrel with his friends. It would 

 be a good plan to have that letter printed in 

 a circular to distribute among the sportsmen 

 of your state. It would make a good cam- 

 paign document when you go before the 

 Legislature and the sportsmen, to ask for 

 such an amendment to your law. 



THOSE OHIO GAME LAWS. 



On page 63 of July Recreation appears 

 an article calculated to. create a false impres- 

 sion as to the enforcement of Ohio laws 

 for the protection of game birds. Last win- 

 ter our game dealers had exposed all 

 through the season grouse, or as called by 

 the dealer pheasants, quails, turkeys, ducks, 

 geese, prairie chickens, and squirrels at 

 times, and made no attempt to conceal or 

 hinder their sale to anyone during the open 

 season, although the law specifies they shall 

 not be sold. The dealer evades the intention 

 of the law by producing prepared bills from 

 other States, claiming the game was killed 

 in the State from which shipped, and thus 

 evades the law in this State. The fact is 

 well known that restaurant keepers here re- 

 fused quail at 50 cents a dozen at the be- 

 ginning of the open season, and many dozen 

 were " refrigerated " during the snooting 

 term, for hotel keepers and restaurants who 

 had them on bills of fare many days after 

 the season for them had ended. The game 

 warden had resigned his office before the 

 season commenced, and the pot-hunters and 

 sneak-shots took every advantage of it. 

 Ohio game laws are deficient in incentive to 

 those who would gladly inform on violators. 



Doves, rabbits, and meadow larks can be 

 killed at all times, and under such pretexts 

 every gun owner, without a conscience as 

 to others' rights and privileges, uses every 

 opportunity to destroy everything that 

 comes in his way. Spasmodic efforts are 

 occasionally made by the Game and Fish 

 Protection Society to get a game warden to 

 prosecute offenders, but it usually ends in a 

 big blow out at a grove somewhere in the 

 country. Willard Barringer, Dayton, O. 



A thanksgiving hunt. 



Thanksgiving day dawned bright, cold 

 and clear, an ideal hunting day. I was early 

 afoot, bound for the hills West of the sta- 

 tion where, I had been told, grouse were 

 plentiful. Reaching the first thicket I be- 

 gan to investigate the most likely places in 

 hope of flushing a grouse. I heard a covey 

 of quail calling, but they were scattered 

 through an almost impenetrable thicket, 

 which deterred me from following them. 



While kicking at a brush pile I disturbed 

 a large hare taking his usual daytime rest, in 

 fancied security. He went bounding forth 

 at a catch-me-if-you-can pace. Letting him 

 go until he was nearly out of range I quickly 

 sighted and sent a load of No. 6 shot from 

 my full choked barrel after him. He turned 



