2^6 



RECREATION. 



AN ACTIVE GAME WARDEN. 



Port Townsend, Wash. 



Inclosed find the sum of $i, my dues to 

 the League of American Sportsmen. I 

 have intended joining the League since I 

 first read of it in Recreation and can as- 

 sign no reason except neglect for not hav- 

 ing done so. 



No one is more deeply interested in the 

 game of this country than I am, and no per- 

 son is in any better position to see the ne- 

 cessity of just such an organization as the 

 L. A. S. Any man of ordinary intelligence 

 can see how the indiscriminate slaughter 

 of America's game has reduced it in the 

 past few years and strong measures must be 

 adopted to stop it. 



Here on Puget Sound where deer were 

 once to be found in great numbers they 

 have now been dogged into the mountains 

 to become the prey of panthers and wolves. 

 I have counted the carcasses of 21 fawns 

 in a 5 hours' trip up the Dungeness river 

 in the Olympic mountains. 



The officials of my county have always 

 been very negligent and game has been 

 killed in or out of season and openly offered 

 for sale at all times up to within a few years. 

 Last August I secured the position of war- 

 den at a salary of $5 a month. It has cost 

 me about $15 a month so far to attend to it. 

 Too much cannot be said in defense of our 

 game. It is something every man should 

 take an interest in and see that it is pro- 

 tected. Munro Wyckoff. 



A CHANCE FOR WISCONSIN GAME WARDENS. 



Arbor Vitae, Wis. 

 Editor Recreation: Your favor of De- 

 cember 2d, with proposal to join the L. A. 

 S. at hand, and while I wish to join it, 

 while I believe in its good work, and while 

 I appreciate all you have done, I don't 

 think it would be policy for me to join, 

 while I am keeping a resort. I am the only 

 man here in the Northern part of the state 

 who takes any interest in the preservation 

 of game and fish. If I should join the 

 League the other resort keepers, who, as 

 near as I can learn, are not noted for obey- 

 ing game and fish laws, would use it as a 

 means of getting my trade in the summer, 

 and thus hurting my business. There are 

 a good many resorts here now, and a strong 

 competition in the business, and as I am 

 not popular with the natives, because I have 

 expressed my opinion rather freely on the 

 subject of illegal killing, and because I had 

 old Weldon arrested and sent to the county 

 jail 30 days for spearing black bass during 

 spawning season, in this lake, I don't think 

 it would be policy for me to join. I have 

 the name of killing deer dogs also, and I 

 don't wish to stir up too much hatred 

 among the natives or Indians, whichever 

 you may call them. I am the only man here 

 who would join the League, and we could 

 not get another in the county to join, for 

 love or money. 



If you wish I will keep you informed as 

 to the illegal fishing and shooting done in 

 my neighborhood, and you may publish my 

 reports in Recreation with my name at- 

 tached. You may publish this letter if you 

 wish. It might start the state game war- 

 dens to work. H. B. Chapin. 



I regret you feel you cannot consistently 

 join the League. We need your dollar, and 

 we need a dollar from every friend of game 

 protection in the United States and Can- 

 ada. 



The state of affairs you outline in regard 

 to game law violation is truly deplorable, 

 and I trust the time will soon come when 

 we can check the work referred to. 



I should be glad to have direct reports of 

 all cases of law breaking you hear of, and 

 to have the names of the guilty persons. 

 Thus I can report the cases, and by sending 

 marked copies of the magazine to the men 

 themselves, and to the state wardens, we 

 may be able to check this work. 



I trust all members of the League who 

 may be planning fishing or hunting trips 

 to Northern Wisconsin will write Mr. 

 Chapin and engage quarters at his resort. 

 He certainly deserves the patronage of 

 sportsmen, as against the law breaking 

 hotel keepers he mentions. — Editor. 



HOW ONE TEACHER TEACHES. 



Kalkaska, Mich. 



Editor Recreation: Have just finished 

 reading January Recreation and it is the 

 best yet issued. I have a school of about 

 40 pupils. After a talk on bird protection 

 one morning, some time ago, I asked how 

 many would do their best to protect desir- 

 able birds at all times. Every one of my 

 pupils raised a hand and in a manner which 

 meant something for the coming genera- 

 tion. If such ideas had been brought into 

 the schools 50 years ago your readers and 

 others would not need the roarings they 

 are getting now. 



A few days ago I saw 3 deer about ro rods 

 from me. All looked at me a minute and 

 ran away; but one, not satisfied came back 

 and passed me, walking slowly and not 12 

 rods away. I had a gun on my arm but 

 was so interested in the deer's behavior, I 

 did not think of shooting. It seemed to 

 know the season had closed and was de- 

 termined to see what an L. A. S. man 

 looked like. Had this occurred 2 years ago, 

 before I saw Recreation, it would have 

 been an unlucky day for the deer. 



Everything is quiet here now. There are 

 no hunters out and all game is doing well. 



W. H. Dunham, Local Warden L. A. S. 





NOTES. 

 Strange to say, the court that tried James 

 L. Tooker on the charge of killing in self' 

 defense an Italian, whom he caught killing 

 song birds, found Tooker guilty and sen- 

 tenced him to prison for 20 years. The case 



