FROM THE GAME FIELDS 



The man who quits when he gets enough, with plenty of game still in sight, is a real sportsman. 



KELLEY KICKS. 



In November Recreation there appeared 

 an article on moose snaring in Nova Sco- 

 tia. The story is based on the report of 

 the Nova Scotia Game Society, and on my 

 personal observations. It is truthful, tem- 

 perate, and was written with the intention 

 of awakening the people of the Province 

 to the inhumanity of the practice, its gen- 

 eral prevalence and the need of greater en- 

 ergy in suppressing it. 



That the intent of the article was under- 

 stood and approved by Nova Scotians in 

 general is proven by its having been re- 

 printed in full in several Nova Scotia news- 

 papers, by its commendation in the Game 

 Society's report for 1902 and by the receipt 

 of an endorsement of the article signed by 

 a group of the Society's agents. 



The Weekly Courier, of Digby, Nova 

 Scotia, published in full my moose snaring 

 article in Recreation and showed by the 

 frank avowal of its truth and justice a 

 commendable editorial spirit. This paper 

 is published in the heart of the snar- 

 ing region and such an editorial can not 

 fail to have a good effect just where it is 

 most needed. After publication of the ar- 

 ticle mentioned I received from the Nova 

 Scotia game wardens a complimentary 

 round robin, and letters from several indi- 

 viduals, showing conclusively the value of 

 Recreation's wide circulation in furthering 

 reform methods. 



The report of the Society for 1902, al- 

 though it shows a growing energy in the 

 matter, gives a list of only 5 convictions 

 for snaring. This proves the soundness of 

 my position. 



There is, however, one man in the Prov- 

 ince who did not relish the frankness dis- 

 played in the treatment given the subject. 

 This man is a member of the Society's 

 Council and a game agent. His name is 

 C. R. Kelley, "Yarmouth Kelley," they call 

 him at home, and they smile when they 

 say it. 



Kelley has always displayed a genuine 

 zeal in the sale of game licenses. Fortu- 

 nately for himself he is situated where he 

 can meet the incoming hunter at the Yar- 

 mouth wharf and induce him to take out 

 his license before going farther. Inciden- 

 tally there^ goes into Kelley pockets a 

 snug commission on the fees thus collected. 

 Thus he feels a lively interest in the repu- 

 tation of the Province as a game country. 

 He has not figured prominently in the brief 

 list of prosecutions for illegal hunting. In 

 fact, his name does not appear at all, in this 



connection, in the reports for 1900-1901. 

 In the sale of licenses he looms up well, 

 having disposed of 13 out of a total of 30 

 in 1900 and of 27 out of 67 in 1901. In 

 1902 he sold 18 out of a total of 59. It 

 may seem rather hard to deprive the other 

 20-odd wardens of their fair share of these 

 commissions, but Kelley knows his business 

 and charity begins at home. 



In 1902, Kelley, or rather men employed 

 by him, actually secured evidence to con- 

 vict 2 moose snarers, his first real success 

 in this line, and no doubt this turned his 

 head. Then he read the article in Recrea- 

 tion and got mad. He saw danger menace 

 his commission business ; saw possible visi- 

 tors shun the Province ; saw his principal 

 source of income fade away like smoke ; 

 and he took his pen in hand. He wrote a 

 reply to me, sent it to an editor, and it was 

 published. It is an incoherent, rambling 

 mixture of cheap insinuation against me, a 

 denunciation of certain alleged license- 

 evading Yankees and a big advertisement 

 of Kelley's own work ! 



He does not deny the essential points of 

 the article in Recreation, for that is 

 straight goods, and Kelley knows it. 



Not to detract by any means from the 

 magnificent work of such men as Daley 

 and Jenner, of Digby; Pritchard, of New 

 Glasgow ; Hunt, of Milton, and one or 2 

 others, who are hampered in working 

 against odds by insufficient funds and a 

 lack of organized support, it remains a 

 patent fact, to anyone familiar with the 

 conditions, that the majority of the game 

 agents do not attempt in any determined or 

 systematic manner to stop the snaring and 

 other abuses carried on under their very 

 noses. In one locality where snaring was 

 found most prevalent the game agent re- 

 ported that none existed. The snaring and 

 driving of moose exist to-day in Kelley's 

 own district ; not spasmodically, nor prac- 

 ticed by one or 2 men, but by many who 

 could and should be put out of business. 

 Kelley would have us believe it requires 

 the ability of a Roberts of Candahar to 

 outwit and convict the rascally snarer. 



I 'lay no claim to any detective ability, 

 but from my own experience I know that 

 nerve, a little patience, the aid of a camera 

 and a knowledge of the scene of operations, 

 common to frequenters of the woods, are 

 all the equipment required. 



When the article in question was written 

 it was not deemed necessary to give the 

 precise localities where moose snaring is 

 being carried on, nor the names of those 



443 



