n8 



RECREATION. 



for that sticking fork. When a man has 

 no gun he is sure to meet with something 

 gunable. That is what happened to 

 our friend. He came face to face with a 

 large deer; one looked silly and the other 

 simple. It wasn't the deer that looked 

 silly. 



THEN AND. NOW. 

 Nearly 25 years ago I made my first trip 

 across the Continental Divide, near Ten- 

 nessee pass, which is now in Eagle county, 

 Colorado. Descending the Eagie river I 

 was amazed at the quantity of game of 

 various kinds. In those days it was noth- 

 ing unusual to see 500 to 1,000 deer in a 

 few hours' travel, and they were as tame 

 as sheep in a clover field. 



Mountain sheep and elk were also abun- 

 dant and many a fine specimen fell to my 

 rifle There were also many cinnamon, 

 dlack and silvertip bears, and mountain 

 lions, lynx and bobcats, galore. 1 he 

 mountains were covered with grouse; in 

 early days we seldom killed one, as large 

 aame was so abundant. In this country the 

 Srouse always go up near timber line to 

 winter, coming down in early spring to 

 nest They start up about November 1st 

 and' generally follow the high ridges I 

 have seen them, in hot dry weather picking 

 drops of dew from the leaves and blades 

 of grass ; I have also noticed them drinking 

 from springs and brooks. A grouse can 

 go a long time without water. He will 

 spend the entire winter, which here lasts 

 4 or 5 months, near timber line, where there 

 is no water, nor is there vegetation of any 

 kind, except large pine trees; the ground 

 being covered by 15 to 40 feet of snow 1 

 suppose the birds must eat snow in place 

 of water and find something on the pines 

 for food. They are as fat and plump in 

 winter and early spring as in summer. 



The game in this country was a great 

 blessing to the early settlers; salt meat was 

 a luxury. I have been almost famished tor 

 bacon or ham ; no one can really appreciate 

 salt meat, until he has lived 6 or 8 months 

 on straight venison. In those days we 

 packed everything in here either on our 

 own backs or the backs of pack jacks, or, 

 perhaps, horses. 



We began to raise vegetables about 10 

 years ago; now we have some fine farms, 

 well stocked, well watered and with every- 

 thing modern. We have a railroad now, 

 and on the tract of land where I have 

 seen game so abundant, and where I olant- 

 ed a pre-ernntion stake, 25 years ago, now 

 stands the thriving little town of Minturn, 

 which I later on staked out as a town site. 

 The game has gone, the locomotive has 

 come and with it came a class of people 

 who would shoot at a deer as long as they 



could see it and then set the dogs after 

 it and chase it clear out of the country. 



Hounds could be heard in every direction 

 until the game was practically gone. There 

 still remain a few deer, 'bear, some grouse 

 and occasionally an elk or a mountain 

 sheep in this vicinity, but if an unlucky 

 beast pokes his head over the ridge in 

 sight of town the residents are up and after 

 him in hot pursuit. 



The game law seems a dead letter, but 

 I predict the time is drawing near when 

 the slaughter of game will no 'longer be 

 tolerated by law abiding people. The L. 

 A. S., of which I am a member, was only 

 recently organized here and through its in- 

 fluence, I trust, the game may find rest and 

 protection. 



George G. Booco, Minturn, Colo. 



THE OTHER SIDE. 



J. C. WATSON. 



Perhaps you do not realize the great bene- 

 fit we, the so called lower animals, have 

 received from that wonderful discovery, 

 "The Transference of Thought." At the 

 beginning of the century we had a secret 

 conclave where each had a voice and our 

 rights and wrongs were discussed. By 

 unanimous vote it was resolved to present 

 our cause before the League of American 

 Sportsmen for a hearing. The under- 

 signed were requested to present it. 



Great credit was given the L. A. S. for 

 the passage of the Lacey bill. There have 

 been other laws passed that were good as far 

 as they went ; for instance, the one forbidding 

 the jacking or hounding of deer for 5 

 years. But, Mr. Editor, what would you 

 think of a law to protect you and your 

 family for 5 years and then give you over 

 to the tender mercy of thugs and robbers, 

 with no redress whatever? Another law 

 is that no person shall kill more than 2 

 deer in any one season. How many do 

 you think of the 67 guides listed in 

 Recreation pretend to obey that law? Do 

 not 75 per cent, of them kill 4 or more? 



The State claims to own all game with- 

 in its boundary lines. If that be true, each 

 citizen owns an equal share of all kinds of 

 game, and his rights should be respected, 

 whether he be a poor man or a million- 

 aire. A man in Florida writes that 2 mil- 

 lionaires (we assume they call themselves 

 sportsmen) have bought immense tracts of 

 marsh land and have posted notices of no 

 trespassing thereon in order that they may 

 themselves be able to shoot ducks by the 

 thousand. Whose game are they kiHing? 

 Does all game on those tracts belong to 2 

 game hogs? If all game on a tract of land 

 belongs to the man who owns the land, 

 why is a law made to prevent him from 

 killing but 2 deer each season? If these 

 ducks are not owned by these millionaires 



