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RECREATION. 



A ranchman named Cunningham, who 

 lives in Jackson's Hole, Wyo., has sent a 

 bill to the State Auditor for $50 worth of 

 hay which he alleges was destroyed last 

 winter by elk, which the law did not per- 

 mit him to kill at that time. 



There is an important principle involved 

 in this novel claim. Similar ones have 

 been presented to the State of Wyoming 

 before, and have been disallowed. During 

 the winter, elk go into Jackson's Hole in 

 great herds, break down fences by sheer 

 force of numbers and weight, and destroy 

 many stacks of hay. It is next to impossi- 

 ble to drive the elk away, and it would seem 

 the State should provide some protection 

 for the ranchmen. Who can suggest a 

 remedy ? 



Bears were unusually abundant in this 

 section last fall. About 20 were killed. 

 One, weighing 402 pounds, was killed by 

 some boys with No. 6 shot. "Uncle 

 Hugh," a man 85 years of age, found, as 

 he supposed, one bear under an upturned 

 root, and ran a mile for a gun. Returning, 

 he began shooting. When he got through 

 he found he had 3 bear, an old one and 2 

 cubs. Grouse were slaughtered in great 

 numbers last season by 3 or 4 market 

 hunters. They shipped the birds to your 

 city secretly. A few deer were killed here 

 by being run to death with dogs. Our 

 game laws have never been enforced, or 

 we would have hundreds of deer where we 

 now have one. 



A. R. Williams, First Fork, Pa. 



I send you a clipping from an Illinois 

 paper: 



A woman who wears a stuffed bird on her hat 

 is liable to a fine of from $25 to $50 by a law 

 recently passed by the Legislature of Arkansas. 



This did me good when I read it. I 

 wish all the States were as far advanced 

 as Arkansas is. If they were, many thou- 

 sands of innocent birds would be saved 

 from destruction . Your valuable maga- 

 zine must be read by some one in -the 

 Arkansas Legislature. 



Chas. W. Goss, Paoli, Ind. 



I heartily echo the wishes of Mr. Goss. 

 The Lacey bird bill, however, has already 

 checked the slaughter of birds for millinery 

 purposes. — Editor. 



In February Recreation the writer of 

 an article entitled "An Obedient Pet" asks 

 if others have been successful in taming a 

 full grown fox. I once had a fox which 

 was more than half grown when caught. 

 He became exceedingly tame, and would 

 run after and play with me just as a dog 

 would. One of his tricks was to put his 

 head in my pockets in search of peanuts 

 and other things he fancied. His coat 



was gray on the surface, but when parted 

 the hair was reddish yellow. I owned a 

 young dog at the time, .and fox and dog 

 would play together by the hour, never 

 quarreling. 



Kenneth Hanger, Little Rock, Ark. 



The following slip, taken from the Erie 

 (Pa.) Evening Herald of July 26th, may 

 interest you and perhaps your readers: 



William Bolte, living near Harborcreek, was arrested 

 by Game Warden Arthur Dunn yesterday and brought 

 before Alderman Swalley, charged with the unlawful 

 shooting of meadow larks. Bolte pleaded guilty and was 

 assessed $25 and costs, which he paid. It is stated that 

 the man had been warned several times previously to 

 desist from shooting song birds, a warning which he did 

 not heed. 



Harborcreek is a small village, 8 miles 

 East of here. M., Erie, Pa. 



Bolte will not fail to heed his warning 

 this time. Some men can never take a hint 

 unless it is emphasized with a club. Bolte 

 seems to be one of that kind. — Editor. 



The Indians are largely responsible, 

 under the agents, for the destruction of big 

 game in the West. I know of one agent 

 who permits his Indians to kill more than 

 1,000 deer every fall. I have seen some of 

 this work done. Deer are abundant thus 

 far, but at the present rate of destruction 

 they will not long be so, and since the 

 Government feeds the Indians, there is no 

 excuse for the slaughter. I have also 

 known army officers to catch 100 to 200 

 trout and allow them to spoil. Because 

 fishing was good they did not know when 

 to quit. An army officer is no less a hog 

 because of his rank. 



Sportsman, Great Falls, Mont. 



On our trip in the Rocky mountains we 

 were not fortunate enough to get into a 

 bear fight, but got some large elk heads, 

 which was our principal object in making 

 the trip. Governor Richards and Judge 

 Van Devanter each secured a fine head. 

 They also had the satisfaction of trying the 

 Savage and the .30-40 Winchester on bull 

 elk. Each man thinks his gun the best, 

 so there is no room for argument. We 

 did not kill a female animal of any kind, 

 nor did we wound an animal and let it get 

 away. We saw plenty of cow elk and doe 

 deer. 



Geo. B. McClellan, Red Bank, Wyo. 



An express agent named Dix Stevens was 

 arrested at Guthrie, Oklahoma, for ship- 

 ping quails out of the State in violation of 

 the game law. He admitted that he had 

 had the quails in his possession and the 

 judge fined him $50 and costs. In making 

 up the verdict the judge said: "If I thought 



