470 



RECREATION. 



Game Commissioners have imported and 

 liberated a large number of ring neck 

 pheasants, on which there is a close sea- 

 son for 5 years. If Dinehart attempted to 

 kill one of these, or if he tried to kill a 

 ruffed grouse except in the legal season 

 for killing, he should be prosecuted. — 

 Editor. 



A party of 20, of which I was one, left 

 Ashley last October for Maine and camped 

 at the upper end of Moosehead lake. Were 

 there about 26 days, and the entire party 

 got about 33 deer. One man said 35. I 

 think 23 is correct. For 6 of us to kill 

 35 deer would be unreasonable and a vio- 

 lation of law. We are in favor of protect- 

 ing game instead of slaughtering it. One 

 of our party saw 15 deer and 3 cow moose 

 in one place, and I saw 5 deer. I stood 

 within 50 feet of them, watched them feed 

 several minutes, and none of us raised 

 a gun to shoot. Could have killed a great 

 many more if we had thought it right. 



J. W. Wright, Kendallville, Ind. 



I left Silverton one frosty morning, and 

 after going about 2 miles got a pot shot at 

 a flock of curlews, killing 7. I shot 9 jack 

 rabbits. They were the tamest I ever saw; 

 I hit every one sitting. My dog treed 33 

 quails, and I bagged all of them with my 

 Scott gun. This was a good day's hunt for 

 a true sportsman. I like Recreation be- 

 cause it condemns the game hogs. 



Janus Horner, Silverton, Ore. 



But you are not a true sportsman. If 

 you were you would not have shot into a 

 flock of plover on the ground. Neither 

 would you have killed 33 quails in a day. 

 Twenty is all any man should kill in one 

 day. You say your dog treed these, and 

 the inference is you shot them sitting. 

 This is worse still. It is time for you to 

 take a reef in your greed. — Editor. 



The Cheyenne Indians have been kill- 

 ing off our game the last 3 or 4 years. 

 They get a permit from their agent in the 

 fall to leave the reservation, and then they 

 slaughter the deer and antelope. As long 

 as the government feeds them, I don't 

 think it right to let them kill all the game. 

 A lot of them are now camped at For- 

 syth, waiting for the ice to get solid on 

 the Yellowstone river, so they can 

 cross to the North side to kill antelope. 

 They killed about 75 last winter. Three 

 years ago they killed 70 deer and 2 bears. 

 The fall before that they killed a lot of 

 deer and an elk. People here don't seem 

 to care how much game is killed. But 

 it will not last long if the Cheyennes can 

 go after it whenever they like. 



Frank Wyant, Forsyth, Mont. 



Mr. Fletcher, of Alpine, Tex., says 

 there are still elk in the Sacramento 

 mountains. This, I am sure, is a mistake. 

 The last one killed here was over 3 years 

 ago. The Indians, who are the original 

 game hogs, killed off the elk as they are 

 now killing the deer. Turkeys are plen- 

 tiful, because the Indians do not hunt 

 them except for sale. Superstition deters 

 them from eating any bird. They believe 

 them to be the abode of the spirits of dead 

 Indians. Bear are plentiful, and, with 

 gray wolves, are becoming a source of 

 loss to the stockman. This is quite a 

 game country, though not comparable to 

 the Sierra Madre. There are large flocks 

 of bandtail pigeons along the Sacra- 

 mentos. 



C. A. T„ Tularosa, N. M. 



Having heard that ducks were coming 

 in fast from the North, we left home Oc- 

 tober 24th for Lewistown reservoir, and a 

 week's hunting and fishing. Arriving at 

 our destination, we put things in order for 

 a general good time. We hired a small 

 furnished cottage, of which there are sev- 

 eral on the ground, for $3 a week. Then 

 we were ready for the fish and ducks. The 

 first day we had fair success, killing about 

 20 ducks. The next day, although the 

 afternoon was stormy, we killed as many 

 more. The fourth day we had for 2 hours 

 the best shooting of the week. The ducks 

 were flying thick and fast and we secured 

 about 25. Altogether, we got 80 birds and 

 had a most enjoyable week. 



B. E. Hocker, Dayton, O. 



This is the garden spot of Colorado and 

 is within 45 miles of Estes park, one of 

 the most beautiful summer resorts in the 

 Rocky mountains. Our small streams are 

 full of trout, and deer and mountain 

 sheep are abundant. In spring and fall we 

 have good duck shooting in the many 

 lakes of this region. Out here game hogs 

 call themselves "gentlemen sportsmen." 

 They lease a lake, build a club house, hire"" 

 a man to feed the ducks and geese 5 days 

 a week and then shoot on the other 2 days. 

 The law limits a man to 50 birds a day ; 

 but club men often kill 150 ducks in a day. 

 A. H. Hawkins, Berthound, Colo. 



It makes no difference what such men 

 call themselves. Every decent man knows 

 the brand as far as he can see it. I hope 

 your Legislature will put up a 10 bird limit 

 this winter, with a jail penalty behind it. 

 — Editor. 



As we keep an eye on the prairie chicken 

 from early spring to late fall, we find that 

 not only is the hunter the chickens' enemy, 

 but that quite a percentage of the chickens 



