3 68 



RECREATION. 



Deer, elk, bear, coyotes, ducks and rab- 

 bits were plentiful the past season. Grouse 

 were scarce on account of the heavy snows 

 and frosts of last winter. Rabbits and 

 coyotes are the only legitimate game we 

 have to hunt in winter. As there are now 

 about 20 inches of snow bunny will have a 

 hard time rustling his daily bread and 

 keeping out of the coyotes' clutches. I 

 noticed more song birds last summer than 

 ever before. Doves were fairly plentiful. 

 Fishing was good. The supply of trout is 

 holding out well, considering the immense 

 numbers caught. 



J. J. McNamara, Cimarron, Col. 



Mr. H. B. Carr, a cattleman of this place, 

 shot and killed 2 silver tip bears a few 

 miles from here. One weighed about 800; 

 the Cher was not so large. They were 

 killed with a .38-55 Winchester carbine, 

 using a copper jacketed bullet. The larger 

 one was knocked down by first shot, but 

 was shot 3 or 4 times after for safety. The 

 smaller one was wounded, and followed up 

 the next morning and killed. They had 

 killed a large, strong and active horse. Mr. 

 Carr laic, for them and did the shooting 

 about dusk. He does not understand how 

 they succeeded in killing the horse. 



J. M. G. Beard, M. D., Fruita, Col. 



Coyotes are numerous in Montana. Al- 

 though we trap and poison them, they still 

 seem to hold their own. From March, 

 '95, until recently the State paid a coyote 

 bounty of $3. Now it has been reduced to 

 $2, and few people care to hunt the brutes 

 for that reward. I have trapped in the 

 West 20 years and have caught most kinds 

 of animals. The hardest of all to fool is 

 the coyote. If the sheep and cattlemen 

 had their way the bounty would be $5. 

 That would give a few men a chance to 

 make wages, and others a chance to try 

 their skill. 



Chas. Marble, Aldridge, Mont. 



Last fall a party of us visited South 

 ponds in the Adirondacks. On our way in 

 we stopped at a lumber camp. The men 

 there told us deer were plentiful. We spent 

 2 weeks in the vicinity of South ponds and 

 Griggs lake, and not a deer did we see. 

 On our way home we stopped again at the 

 lumber camp. That time we found a rea- 

 son why deer were scarce in that locality. 

 Nailed to the side of a building we found 

 66 deer tails! That was one year's score for 

 the men in that camp. Earlier in the sea- 

 son a party of 5 Watertown men succeeded 

 in killing 5 deer in that region. 



T. W. Vallet, Jr., Watertown, N. Y. 



The amount of good which your persis- 

 tent warfare against evil doers in our fields 

 and forests has already accomplished, is 

 beyond computation. That the game laws 

 of Nevada are yet often grossly violated 

 can not be denied, but there is a growing 

 public sentiment favoring their observa- 

 tion. The unreasoning destruction of our 

 forests also still continues, but it is en- 

 couraging that many of our citizens are 

 working to preserve our timber tracts. 

 Ferdinand Beck, Virginia City, Nev. 



Game of every variety is becoming ex- 

 tremely scarce here, and our sportsmen 

 have concluded something must be done to 

 protect it if we are to have any shooting 

 in future years. Many of us have agreed 

 not to shoot any game for 2 or 3 years, to 

 protect it as much as we can, and to feed 

 quail in winter. We should like to or- 

 ganize a local branch of the L. A. S. and 

 have a local warden here. 



L. A. S., West Park, O. 



Sail in. Send me 25 applications and we 

 will take steps to organize you into a chap- 

 ter at once. — Editor. 



James Pritchard, a sportsman who lives 

 near Lake Koshkonong, saw a bunch of 5 

 passenger pigeons as he was coming to 

 town this morning. He was close enough 

 so there was no possibility of his making 

 any mistake. They flew cross the road just 

 a short distance ahead of him, so he had 

 a distinct view. 



H. P. Pettitt, Fort Atkinson, Wis. 



We have no large game here, but quails 

 and squirrels are abundant. Wild turkeys, 

 grouse, pheasants and prairie chickens are 

 nearly exterminated. In 1896 a law was 

 passed in Iowa prohibiting the hunting of 

 wild turkeys, pheasants or grouse prior to 

 1900. 



C. E. Baird, Albia, la. 



I am a reader of Recreation and like 

 the way you go for the game hogs. I be- 

 lieve in the protection of game, and wish 

 you every success. We have here all kinds 

 of birds, and deer are plentiful; also game 

 hogs. Still, the deer hold their own so far. 

 F. B., Smith River, Cal. 



Game laws count for little here. Last 

 winter tons of grouse, ducks, chickens and 

 quails were sold. One dealer sold moose 

 and deer meat. Trout can be bought at 

 any time. If respectable people refused to 

 buy game such traffic would stop. 



L. H. Whiteman, Butte, Mont. 



The outlook is good here for an abun- 



