FISH AND FISHING. 



295 



case has a fo6l for a client?" He winked the 

 other eye; which means yes. Then I called 

 his attention to a few of the mis-spelled 

 words in the letter, such as "artical", 

 "lible", "useing", etc. I asked him if he 

 thought a lawyer who did not know how 

 to spell the most common words in thje 

 English language should be regarded as 

 a dangerous antagonist; and Inkie winked 

 his right eye, which always means no. 



So I said, "I think I shall write this 

 Dampier fish hog and tell him to sail in. 

 Wouldn't you?" And Inkie put his thumb 

 to his nose and wiggled his fingers, which 

 means, you bet. 



And so, Dampier, it is up to you. — Edi- 

 tor. 



LOCAL CLUBS SHOULD JOIN THE L. A. S. 



I am with you in all your work for 

 game protection, but I fear it is closing 

 the stable door after the horse is stolen. 

 Country people go on the principle that 

 what is on their land belongs to them, and 

 they have the right to kill or take it at 

 any time it suits them in or out of sea- 

 son; though they are ready to jump on 

 any city man who puts his foot on their 

 soil without legal authority. The gun 

 trade is much injured by the strict laws 

 of the adjacent States. Few people are 

 able to pay the license, $25, for the privi- 

 lege of hunting. Besides, farmers will 

 not allow anyone to hunt on their land 

 unless they know him personally. 



Some years ago a Mr. Stith and I went, 

 in April, to a place called Woodfield, in 

 Maryland. We caught in i l / 2 days 62 

 trout. Would have stayed longer but 

 came home on account of a snow storm. 

 Last month I paved the way for Messrs. 

 Curtis, Roy and Stith to go up there. 

 They were royally entertained, but did not 

 catch a trout, for the reason that a great 

 deal of building was going on, and the 

 plank used in building was sawed by port- 

 able mills right where the timber was cut. 

 The sawmills were placed on the streams 

 in order to get water, and the sawdust ran 

 into the streams. I was told the streams 

 were even shy of the little mill roaches. 



Col. McDonald, formerly Fish Commis- 

 sioner, stocked one of these branches of 

 the Seneca with rainbow trout and had 

 they not been interfered with by this time 

 there would have been good sport. 



C. W. S v Washington, D. C. 



The facts you set forth are deplorable, 

 and tend to discourage good sportsmen ; 

 but the situation is not so bad as you im- 

 agine. It would be if we had to depend 

 only on the action of local clubs like yours 

 to correct these conditions, but when 



you go at them with a great gatipnal or* 



ganization like this League, it is entirely 

 different. This League has already cor- 

 rected many abuses, on complaints from 

 the different localities, and is working on 

 others. In time we shall make ourselves 

 felt everywhere, in politics as well as in 

 purely game legislation. 



If you could talk with Mr. Lacey about 

 the remarkable impression the League 

 work has made on the members of the 

 House, you would realize our strength 

 more than in any other way. If you will 

 read my Annual Report you will learn a 

 lot more about the strength of the League 

 than you know at present. 



The farmer in Maryland cares little 

 about what a local gun club in some other 

 State or city may say to him, but the 

 time will come when he will consider very 

 seriously any request made of him by the 

 League of American Sportsmen. Further- 

 more, the time will come when thousands 

 of the best farmers all over the country 

 will belong to this League, and its badge 

 will be a passport to their fields and their 

 houses, just as the square and compass 

 are to-day among masons. This is why all 

 sportsmen should join the League and do 

 everything possible to build up the mem- 

 bership everywhere. Please do your part 

 in this work and endeavor to get all your 

 friendo to do theirs. We shall then find a 

 different state of aftairs from what we find 

 to-day. — Editor. 



A GOOD CLUB. 



Camp Debsconeag, headquarters ol the 

 Debsconeag Fish and Game Club, is on 

 First Debsconeag lake, about 18 miles 

 from Norcross, on the Bangor & Aroos- 

 took Railroad. 



C. C. Garland, president and managing 

 director of the club, whose address is 

 Debsconeag, Piscataquis county. Me., has 

 kindly given me some interesting facts re- 

 garding this new and novel club. Leaving 

 Norcross on the steamer Gypsy, a sail of 

 14 miles takes one to the head of naviga- 

 tion. The route is through North Twin 

 lake, across Pamedumcook lake, and to 

 the head of Ambajejus lake. North Twin 

 is 7 miles long by 3 miles wide, Pamedum- 

 cook is 9 miles long by 4 miles wide, and 

 Ambajejus, 4 miles by 2V?.. During a large 

 portion of the trip Mt. Katahdin is in view 

 to the Northward. 



Disembarking from the steamer at the 

 head of the lake, a canoe voyage of 6 miles 

 and a canoe voyage of 2 miles lands the 

 tourist at the club house. 



Camp Debsconeag is in Township 2. 

 Range 10. about 6 miles from the base of 

 Mt. Katahdin. 



The club was organized under the laws 



of Maine; with an authorized capital of 



