FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



473 



know where they go? The small cony rab- 

 bit is increasing alarmingly. Deer are mul- 

 tiplying rapidly under the rigidly enforced 

 protection and are quite tame, being often 

 seen at close range in the farming country. 

 W. R. Nelson, Mill Village, N. H. 



Just returned from a month's hunt on 

 Missouri river. We killed some white tail 

 deer and some mule deer; 8 in all, for 3 

 of us. Ben Rose, one of the party, used 

 a .30-40, single shot. I used an old .40-65 

 Winchester; a good gun, but behind the 

 times. I think the .30's are best for any 

 game found in this part of Montana. The 

 Missouri river country contains a_ great 

 deal of game: deer, bear, grouse, sage 

 hens, cottontails, wolves, coyotes and 

 mountain lions. If the Indians were kept 

 out of that country game would increase. 

 A. H. Broodbrooks, Saco, Mont. 



I sent in my subscription to Recrea- 

 tion a short time ago. A friend gave me 

 a copy, and I shall thank him all my life 

 for introducing me to so fine a sports- 

 man's magazine. Your pictures can't be 

 beaten. I have hunted 20 years, and in the 

 last 3 months have killed 30 lynx, 4 cou- 

 gars, and 8 bears. I hunt bear, cougars, 

 and wildcats with trained dogs, and have 

 as fine a pack as ever made a track in the 

 woods. 



Frank Mossman, Kamileh, Wash. 



The cold weather last winter destroyed a 

 great many quails, but there are enough 

 left to make good shooting next fall. My 

 neighbor, Mr. A. Rose, carried out grain 

 to several coveys all through the extreme 

 cold weather; a commendable act. He is 

 a farmer and a sportsman of the highest 

 order. While cutting timber on the last 

 day of February, I found 5 young fox 

 squirrels which were probably several 

 days old. Can any other reader of Recre- 

 ation remember seeing young squirrels so 

 early? J. T. Maris, Marion, Ohio. 



Our game is increasing, and if our laws 

 are enforced we shall soon have plenty 

 of it; but we have some game hogs who 

 can not wait until the season opens. They 

 go out and shoot everything they can find 

 regardless of law. They should be made 

 to pay dearly for shooting game out of 

 season. 



You deserve the support of all good men 

 in your war on the game hog. Recrea- 

 tion is getting better every issue, and I 

 hope it may reach every true sportsman 

 of this country. 



Wm. Snyder, Middleburg, Pa. 



The Martinsville Republican says many ducks are being 

 killed on the river near that place and that a lew days ago 

 a local sportsman killed a duck and a nine-inch bass at one 

 shot. " The duck." says the Republican, "had already 

 made a meal off the fish and it was not found until the 

 duck was cleaned. The fish had evidently just been 

 swallowed." No doubt a hungry duck might swallow a 

 nine-inch bass, but how did he catch it 1 — l.idianapolis, 

 Ind. Paper. 



I think the sportsman (?) would be more 

 respected if be would pose as a second 

 class liar, instead of as a spring duck 

 shooter. How about it? 



Jas. E. Lackey, Indianapolis, Ind. 



I second the motion. — Editor. 



This end of the island is a poor game 

 country. Farther down there are deer and 

 other game, including snakes of almost any 

 old length, and parrots by the million. 

 Last season at Mariel, Cuba, I saw large 

 flocks of roseate spoonbills which reminded 

 me of old days in Florida, when the pink- 

 curlew and plume birds were a beautiful 

 reality. There are no blue jays here, nor 

 many birds of any kind for that matter, 

 which seems strange, considering the prox- 

 imity to Florida. 



C. O. Moseley, 

 Columbia Barracks, Cuba. 



In February Recreation a writer con- 

 demns the use of decoys. I have hunted 

 ducks for the last 18 years and have never 

 yet seen any sport in using decoys. For 

 most men there is too strong a temptation 

 to let the ducks light among the decoys 

 and then pot them, or else take a bunch 

 shot as they are in the act of alighting. I 

 am not a crack shot; still I take more 

 pleasure in one duck which I may get by 

 still hunting, or by pass shooting, than I 

 would in a dozen murdered over decoys. 

 Bob White, Omaha, Neb. 



I believe that if the shipment of game 

 were prohibited by all the States and the 

 was were enforced, there would be plenty of 

 game for the sportsman. Still, even that 

 would not make game plentiful enough to 

 allow of shooting quails on the ground, as 

 some so called sportsmen do here. Last 

 fall at least ioo dozen quails were shipped 

 from this place to Washington by negroes, 

 who are the market and pot hunters of 

 the South. 



H. P. Wilder, So. Boston, Va. 



Ducks, quails, and rabbits were moder- 

 ately plentiful last season. Open season 

 for quail began October i, and poor Bob 

 White had a sorry time of it. The season 

 should open later, as many birds were not 

 half grown when shooting began. Chas. 



