FROM THE GAME FIELDS, 



201 



and kidneys, and tearing him all to pieces. 

 He was a splendid specimen of his species 

 and a tough old fellow, the hide on his 

 shoulders being about 2^/2 inches thick, but 

 those 30-calibre bullets went through his 

 carcass as though it was made of paper, only 

 one out of the 10 he received remaining in 

 the body, and I saved that as a souvenir." 



No doubt Doctor Wurdeman could get a 

 good job on some yellow journal as a writer 

 of imaginary and impossible stories. — 

 Editor. 



ANOTHER SHOT AT WEBBER. 



Pittsfield, Mass. 



Editor Recreation: The answer to A. 

 L. Snyder's letter, in December Recrea- 

 tion, is, in my mind, reasonable, just and in 

 every respect the response of a true sports- 

 man. Language cannot express the disgust 

 a sportsman feels for such conduct as Mr. 

 Chapman's and it is impossible to believe 

 anyone would defend it. The wanton de- 

 struction of fish and game that is reported 

 in all parts of the country is enough to make 

 any man of ordinary sense see that without 

 the strict enforcement of good game laws 

 many species of game will be extinct. 



A short time ago buffalos roamed the 

 prairies in countless numbers. To-day it 

 is impossible to find one except in confine- 

 ment. What is the reason? The game hogs, 

 and the doctrine of " Kill all you can." 



I also wish to state in reply to Mr. Geo. 

 H. Webber's letter, in the same number, that 

 I have hunted large and small game in the 

 Rockies and agree with him that game was 

 created to kill, but not to be exterminated 

 •because it chances to be plentiful in certain 

 localities. Perhaps Mr. Webber is not in- 

 formed that there is other game in the East 

 than " chippy birds," and " meadow larks," 

 and there are even animals larger than 

 gophers and prairie dogs. When the 

 " Eastern dude " takes his " pea shooter " 

 and goes to the trap he usually makes a 

 record of which his friends are proud. If 

 Mr. Webber will give me an opportunity I 

 will convince him that the " Eastern dude " 

 can shoot on the wing. 



I am willing to admit that I was once a 

 game hog, and I fully realize the damage I 

 have done. I will also freely confess that 

 the first 2 or 3 lessons I received were bit- 

 ter pills to my vanity and pride in large 

 catches and bags of game; but, thanks to the 

 influence of others, and a small amount of 

 common sense, I now consider myself en- 

 titled to the rank of true sportsman and I 

 shall at once join the L. A. S. 



J. H. Burgess. 



OUR GREAT GAME BIRDS. 



^inn county is the home of the mongolian 

 pheasant. The first were liberated here 12 

 years ago, by Judge O. N. Denny, Consul 

 to Japan, from whence the birds were sent. 

 Our climate and soil seemed to agree with 



them and they thrived, until now the coarse 

 cackle of the cock can be heard in every 

 portion of the Willamette valley. The 

 rapidity with which they have increased is 

 shown by the fact that while less than 20 

 birds were brought here, yet on September 

 1 st last, when the season opened, it is es- 

 timated that 1,000 were killed in this county 

 alone. 



The bird is larger than our native grouse, 

 stands erect, has a tail 2 feet in length, and 

 its body is covered with feathers of every 

 hue of the rainbow. It evidently has ostrich 

 blood in its legs, for with only a wing 

 broken it takes a fast dog to overtake it in 

 a race. 



If an old cock thinks he is unnoticed he 

 will lay close for the dog, but otherwise he 

 will sneak away until well out of range. No 

 description will enable the reader to fully 

 understand the pleasure of hunting these 

 birds over a good dog. There are plenty of 

 birds and plenty of ground and all visitors 

 will be welcome, only don't all come at once. 

 C. W. Watts, Albany, Ore. 



FROM AN OLD TIMER. 



Florence, Col. 

 Editor Recreation: I am interested in 

 Recreation and want to join the L. A. S. 



1 haunt the news stand and watch for your 

 magazine to come. I punched cows in 

 Wyoming from '81 till '92 and hunted a 

 great deal. I have lived in every state West 

 of the Missouri river and have killed some 

 game in all of them. Have had lots of 

 good hunting in the Big Horn mountains 

 and in the basin but never before heard tell 

 of a man killing so much game and trying 

 to get away with it, as the one who signs 

 " .45-90, Big Piney, Wyo," and as you say 

 he deserves a place in the pig pen. If the 

 story were true he would deserve a place in 

 the state pen; but it is not. 



I would rather be a game warden in 

 Routt County, Col. than any where else I 

 know of and I would make it hot for a band 

 of Indians if they tried to get away with 

 half that much meat. I have freighted with 



2 horses and with 10, in Arizona and Cali- 

 fornia, and I don't believe I would start out 

 through the Wind river country with that 

 fellow's load. I used to know lots of folks 

 on Big Piney, but no such liars as he is. See 

 page 442 December Recreation, " Elk 

 Hunting in Wyoming." They killed 8 

 antelope, 3 deer, 9 elk and 24 grouse. Why, 

 they couldn't even pull the elk they claim. 

 in one wagon, unless they had a freight out- 

 fit. 



We have lots of game here but it won't 

 last long. J. Y. Bill. 



DEER HUNTING OBSERVATIONS. 



The first large shipment of deer came 

 down on the Atlantic Express of the Grand 

 Trunk, Saturday morning. There were 15 



carcasses in the express car. 



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