April SO, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



339 



"Oanie Laws in Brief," United States and Canada, 

 ilVastrafed, 25 cents. "Booh of the Game Laws" {full 

 ■text), 50 cents. 



THE TAG SYSTEM. 



As Found in Maryland. 



Baltimore, April 12.— Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 ha,ve but recently looked through your valuable work, 

 Book of ths Game Laics, likewise securing what additional 

 data I could on game and fish protection in the United 

 States, with a view of submitting for adoption that which 

 is particularly applicable for the better protection of our 

 Maryland game birds and fishes, we being about to form 

 a State league for such purpose. 



I was particularly struck with the absurdity of our 

 many county non-resident laws, some of them exacting as 

 tax an amovmt sufficient to make shooting prohibitory. 

 This "tag system," as you term it, is a most pernicious 

 one and should by all means be abolished. In forming 

 our league we had expected to have recourse to our Legis- 

 lature for assistance ki securing such enactments as would 

 strengthen us in the x)rotection of our game. And while 

 engaged in this good work we should, and probably will, 

 enter a protest against the State and county non-resident 

 laws, there being no eartlily good accomplished by them. 

 I have met but few men .in favor of them, and the only 

 plea they ca-n make for their retention is, they act as a 

 means of warding ol3f market-gunners, and in the counties 

 adjacent to our city prevent hordes of would-be nimrods 

 from tramping through their fields and truck patches, pil- 

 fering and mutilating their property. 



To the first plea I can only answer that market-gunners 

 and pot-hunters are no respecters of laws. The damage 

 wrought by would-be sportsman is slight if any. The 

 only time he turns out in force is upon Thanksgiving Day, 

 then indeed is he in his glory shooting black game and in 

 fact anything feathered that may chance his way, not 

 even ignoring a stray barn-yard fowl. I much opine to 

 the suggestion of yom" correspondent "Sinkboat," who 

 tells us that one county makes a non-resident shooting 

 law, because its neighboring ohe has done so. No matter 

 how they originated, we must see that they are repealed. 



In some counties I know the law is a. dead letter, but in 

 others a set of loafers and little-minded mercenary sharks 

 are always on the watch for sportsmen, many of whom 

 go wholly ignorant that such laws exist, only to be 

 pounced upon by the aforesaid shark, who is after his in- 

 formant money,' and cares not a whit about protection of 

 frame. Common sense should teach our country cousins 

 that the gentleman in qiiest of game is a source of revenue 

 to them, paying most liberally for all he gets, never kill- 

 ing birds oj- fisli through mere wantoness, always ready 

 to help them in the enforcement of just and sensible 

 game laws. They should welcome a sportsman on every 

 and all occasions, and be able to recognize him, even with 

 half an eye. Those of them whose hearts are shriveled 

 and contracted could resort to the trespass law and post 

 their land, being assured a sportsman would shun it as 

 though infested with plague. I myself am the owner of a 

 farm, and one of the conditions junder which I lease it is 

 no sportsman to be refused access to its acres. 



I trust soon to be able to inform you that the embargo 

 has been lifted, the "Chinese Walls" are down, and that 

 Maryland extends a hospitable welcome to all lovers of 

 legitimate sport with rod and gun. Moitnt Eoyall. 



" Marrying Into the Tribe." 



The Wheatlanbs, Maryland, April 12. — Editor Forest 

 and Stream: I cannot refrain from thanking you in the 

 name of your many readers for your veiy humorous and 

 witty editorial entitled -'Marrying into the Tribe." Poor 

 Sani Lovel, what an escape he made. But do you know 

 that he was a fortunate man, in that he was a partridge 

 shooter. If he had been fond of shooting wildfowl, not 

 aU the beauty of the fair dames of Dorchester county 

 could have saved him, unless indeed he had won the af- 

 fections of one of the belles of Hooper's Island, a part 

 only of the Straits "deestrect," had he been unfortunate 

 enough to pull trigger at any stray swan, goose or duck 

 in the briny waters of Tar Bay, for there is another re- 

 markable law in this county of Dorchester which may be 

 called a local law within a local law. This delpctable act 

 says: "The bona fide residents of Hooper's Island shaU 

 have the privilege of shooting wildfowl for family use in 

 the waters of Tar Bay," etc. As I know of one partj' who 

 killed forty-four geese in one day, don't yovi think that he 

 must have been an exemplary citizen, living up to oiu- 

 State motto, which may be rendered by a free transla- 

 tion, "Increase and Multiply." But I rather pity' a man 

 who has to have forty-four geese for dinner ' 'for family 

 use." 



You wiU note that by this law, not only the rest of the 

 county are prevented from shooting in the waters of Tar 

 Bay, but also the rest of the inhabitants of the Straits dis- 

 trict, under forfeiture of boats, guns, decoys, etc., besides 

 a fine or imprisonment. This Tar Bay by the bye is a 

 body of water lying above the open Chesapeake in part, 

 Barren Island only landlocking in part the other portion 

 of it. 



An act of the same kind was framed, but not pushed to 

 its passage some years ago, giving the inliabitants of one 

 of me districts of Queen Anne county the same pri\'ilege 

 in the waters of Eastern Bay, at the expense of the rest of 

 the county. WhUe the originators of these local laws 

 might have thought they had an excuse for them in the 

 fact that the portion of the peninsula was a good deal an- 

 noj'ed by market-shooters from the cities some yeai-s ago, 

 the excuse, and it was a poor one, no longer exists, as 

 there is no longer game enough in the peninsula to repay 

 the market-shooters for coming here. And note the fact 

 that the game has been killed oft", not by shooters from a 

 distance, but by residents. Is any other commentary 

 wanted on the supposed protective features of such laws, 

 especially as every county could liave the same ample pro- 

 tection to property owners that we have in Talbot county? 

 Om- trespass law reads: "Any one who shall trespass with 

 dog and gun upon any posted or advertised property, or 

 who shall return to any property after being notified to 

 leave, shall be subject to arrest and fined upon convic- 

 tion, with imprisonment until the fine is paid." etc. I 

 have forgotten the amount of the fine, but it is consider- 



able. Is not this enough law to keep objectionable par- 

 ties from trespassing without recourse to such unconsti- 

 tutional mGa.sures as our local game laws? Sinkboat. 



A Wisconsin View. 



Salt Lake City, April 11. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 In a late number of your paper I .saw several communica- 

 tions in regard to "tagging" or licensing non-resident 

 ahootei's and fishermen. I gathered from the articles that 

 you Iiad lately published an editorial against such a prac- 

 tice which I did not see. You pronounce it un-American. 

 So also is the crime that makes such a law at all proper. 



In England the more game that falls to a gun in a day 

 the greater the achievement, and such also seems to be 

 the ideal sport of some Americans, and I claim it is un- 

 American. I live in Wisconsin, once a paradise for a 

 sportsman. We have yet some deer and some of the best 

 lishing grounds in the United States. Years ago the game 

 Irogs, market-hunters, etc. , flocked into our duck marshes 

 and lakes both spring and fall from Chicago, St. Louis 

 and from as far east as New York and Boston, shot ducks 

 by the wagonload and shipped them to market, or in a few 

 instances to their friends at home. Wealthy men from 

 Chicago brought two guns each and a hel^jer to load and 

 handle the guns. Ducks are a mere memory now and so 

 are the duck butchers — a rankling memory." 



The deer slayer is still with us. He arrives on the 

 ground a week or so before the season opens and usually 

 has one or two deer to show at the end of the first day of 

 the season. The deer will soon be gone and the deer 

 butcher will join the duck butcher. 



By yeai-8 of intelligent labor and the expenditure of 

 thousands of doUars the State Fish Commission has 

 stocked hundreds of streams in the State with trout and 

 bass, and this, with the natural supply, makes our whole 

 State a fisherman's Mecca. In the spring comes the fish 

 hog from the East and the South. Such fishing many of 

 them never saw before, and they catch in many cases 

 himdreds more than they can use, and those who are not 

 bold enough to ship them out of the State, contrary to 

 law, let them rot on the banks of the streams and lakes. 

 Chicago is the great maw that swallows thousands of 

 trout illegally carried out of the State. One party of 

 Chicago fishermen, not being able to catch ti'out fast 

 enough, hired the farmer boys in the neighborhood to 

 fish for them, and in that way were able to carry home 

 with them several hundred trout. 



No\\% if "tagging" non-resident fishermen Avill stop this 

 kind of work I say put a "tag" on them, or, if necessary, 

 put a baU and chain on them. 



I should like to see a law in our State makings it an 

 oft'ense witli a severe penalty to kill or catch more than a 

 certain quantity of game and fish in a day and to compel 

 the non-resident shooters to were a "tag" (or a red plug 

 hat if necessary to make him known as a non-resident), 

 and allow any officer of the law or town or county officer 

 to search Iris luggaee at any time while en route out of 

 the State. Also put a heavy penalty on violations of the 

 law by express companies. 



This may sound pretty harsh, but I shoot considerable 

 game outside of my State and would be willing to suffer 

 the penalty in a foreign State if it would help save the 

 game. 



This does not apply to spoi'tsmen, and no one of that 

 class need feel offended. But if this happens to strike 

 through the thick hide of a game hog he may take it as a 

 prophecy of what he is going to bring upon sportsmen. 



If any non-resident comes to me with the credentials 

 of a sportsman I am at his disposal with my horse, dogs, 

 guns and boats. Gr. A. Btjckstaff. 



APRIL TALK ABOUT BEARS. 



Bethel, Maine, April 7. — Bears have mostly left their 

 dens now, and are tramping about promiscuously by the 

 side of brooks and swampy places seeking for any green 

 thing, and keeping one eye open for early frog, and will, 

 soon as the snow is gone, overhaul the rotten logs for ants 

 and worms. 



They are also sharp fishers, and will manage to secure a 

 tempting string of brook trout long before we bipeds think 

 of ti-ying our luck. 



I once came upon a large black bear quite suddenly, and 

 found him stretched out on the shell of a large pune log 

 which lay across a brook — several fish heads lay on the 

 log, and upon examination I found the way he did it. 

 There was a large knot hole through the shell of a log, 

 and brain thrust his foot through into the water— holding 

 his paw still and open, and as the fish nibbled at his foot 

 he would suddenly close on him and bring him up. 



Should you meet a bear in the woods about this time 

 of year, he would immediately rise on his haunches in 

 great majesty and gixe an enormous snort, then he would 

 whistle and champ his teeth, in such a manner as to make 

 it necessary for you to pxiU yom- hat down on your head 

 — but don't run— ^bears are apt to think'you are calling them 

 when they see you running from them, and have some- 

 thing good for them to eat, and they will follow you and 

 try to keep up. Stand your ground and keep your eye on 

 his eye — don't flinch, even if he should make a few lively 

 jumps toward you on his hind legs. Stand and eye him — 

 he is not coming clear to you — it i3 only to try your mettle 

 — ^he is sizing you up, and wiU himself sneak off before 

 long, although it is very tempting to make a rush yom- 

 self in the opposite direction. 



The female bear with cubs is an exception, and caution 

 and coolness are necessary in their ijresence. 



"He that is able to run away 

 Will live to hunt another day." 



A gentleman on his way from Anglei-s' Eetreat down 

 river, one fall, met a large cub bear; he had no weapon 

 about him; he stopped in the path in the woods, and 

 directly the mother bear and another cub came rushing 

 along. The man, who was from the city and had never 

 seen a loose bear, let out his voice the full bigness of his 

 lungB, and at the same time spread out his umbrella, which 

 he had with him, upon which the big mother bear stepped 

 back a few paces and the cubs ran away. The old bear, 

 however, gave a few extra jumps toward the man in a 

 moment, and was on the point of embracing him, when, 

 just in the nick of time, one of the guides came running 

 down the road, being attracted by the cry, and Mi's. Bear 

 gave a loud growl and suddenly left to see to her family. 

 Only for the fortunate appearance of the guide at tliis 

 j imcture there might have been a first-class funeral. 



Some say a bear cannot climb a tree sm.all enough to 



reach his arms around, but this is a mistake, for I once 

 caught a good-sized bear in a heavy trap, and he climbed 

 a fir tree thirty or forty feet tall and stiamg the trap over 

 the top of it, which slipped down several feet and brought 

 up on the limbs, although the tree was not more than ten 

 inches through at the butt. The tree had to be cut down 

 to get the bear. 



I once caught a bear in a ti'ap near the shore of a lake, 

 and he climbed a tree that was separated in three parts 

 and spread out, the crotch being some ten feet from the 

 ground. On his trying to come down, the trap brought 

 up in the crotch and let him down so his feet just touched 

 a log underneath. I formd him in this position. When 

 his hindfeet touched the log he would give a jump and up 

 he would go his length, and then down again. Thus he 

 kept jumping and dancing, and every time he jumped he 

 would scream loud enough to scare the owls out of the 

 woods. 



I was camping at the head of MoUychunkemonk Lake 

 with my wife and two children one night during my fall 

 hunt, and during the night we heai*d a laear bellowing at 

 a tremendous rate every fifteen minutes during the latter 

 part of the night. I waa sure the old fellow was in one of 

 my traps I had set up north some five or six miles, as the 

 sound was Uke a bear in a tra-p, so as soon as daylight I 

 started off to tend my ti-aps. After an horn- or two I 

 reached my first trap, and sure enough it was gone, and 

 such plowing up moss and tearing the trees was frightful 

 to behold. I followed the signs as far as I could, feeling 

 sure I had some large game worth looking after and that 

 there was just enough danger in it to make it exciting, 

 for, mind you, there is frequently another bear come to 

 see what the row is about, and if you have caught a cub 

 bear the old mother may be there and not a very desir- 

 able situation for one hunter alone. 



I followed on, and the diggings and tearing-s led me to 

 a fallen pine tree lying up some feet from the ground, and 

 being perhaps 100ft. long. On to this tree the creature 

 went, and on to it I went, my excited brain tuned to the 

 highest pitch; I followed to the end, and could see no place 

 where the animal had jumped off. I retraced my steps, 

 keeping a sharp lookout on either side of the ti"ee for a 

 sign. When about mid- way of the tree I heard a sci'eam 

 near my head — such an unearthly scream, different from 

 anything I ever heard before in my life— it raised my ha 

 which fell to the ground. I jumped nearly or quite 10ft., 

 turning partly around in the air, facing the music when 

 I struck the ground, and looking up, behold! a large- 

 sized bear hung in a tree by his hindfeet, his head nearly 

 reaching my head as I passed under him. I got such "a 

 thorough scare that lasted me for two days. 



The tree grew near a log and the bear reached one of 

 the lower limbs and swung himself into it. He had not 

 been in the trap long, and was very savage. 



J. G. Rich. 



TACOMA'S RESOURCES. 



In our issue of Feb. 23 Dr. J. A. Beebe, of Tacoma, re- 

 lated the hunting and fishing resources of the vicinity of 

 his home. A Northwestern critic of Dr. Beebe, in our 

 issue of March 30, deposed that there was not such a plen- 

 titude of game and fish near Tacoma as had been stated, 

 and he suggested that oirr correspondent there had viewed 

 things through rosy glasses. Now Dr. Beebe sends us. as 

 he says for our own satisfaction, a tabtdated list, which is 

 so interesting in its bearing on the points in dispute that 

 we print it here: 



Tacoma, Wash., Aptril 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 I hate controversy and never knowingly incite it; and 

 nothing could be further from my intentions than to 

 try to cumber the pages of the brightest sporting journal 

 in the States with a useless contention. I send you 

 these little items of memoranda collected to-day after 

 reading "El Comanche's" diatribe. I never before once 

 thought of "keeping tab" on big game catches, and 

 these figures were picked up in an hour among a few of 

 my friends to whom I showed the Seattle gentleman's 

 criticism. I do not ask you to give anything of mine 

 space in this connection, as it is no earthly advantage to 

 anybody to argue the matter. I send you tliis data as a 

 personul defense to your ear alone, feeling safe in the fair- 

 ness of your judgment. Eveiy one in this country knows 

 that nothing good every comes out of Nazareth (Tacoma), 

 and that the name is a red flag to a Seattleite. Maybe 

 this explains the matter. 



Distance 

 from 



1892 Tacoma. 



Miles. 



Sept. 20. .Alex. Foreman, J T. L. & Co., buck. . 2i4 



Sept. 10. ..Tohn Holgate, 2 days, SOOlbs. trout 28 



Sept. 23. .Prof. LeBoytean, 1 day, 651bs. trout. . 28 



Sept. 23. .John Leisure, 1 day, 381bs. trout 28 



Sept. 23. .Henry Latham, 1 day, 261bs. trout. ... 28 



Sept. 23. ,Dr. Beebe, i.i day, lalbs. trout, 28 



Oct. 20. .Arthur Bridgeman, deer 20 



Oct. 21.. Henry Spence, deer 20 



Oct. 21. .Henry Spence, bear 20 



Oct. 2,3. .Dodge and Eberly, buck 10 



Oct. 23. .Five whales remained in harbor 4 hrs. 



Oct. 30, .Dr. Beebe, buck 12 



Nov. 8-12. .Walt Willock, 4 deer (20 in season; . , 14 

 Nov. 10, ,Beebe& Bridgeman, 1 deer, 1.35 grouse 14 



Nov. 10-11 , .Dodge and Denham, 2 deer « 



Nov. 13. .Speuce & Vandegrift, 7 deer (2 days) , 20 

 Nov. 10-13. .Thurston Co. eamp party, 5 deer. . . 8 



Nov. 25.,Beebeand West, bear 12 



Nov. 29.. W. Sununers, cougar 10 



Dec. 20..EdFlannigan, bear 4^4 



1893. 



Jan. 21. .Henry Spence, cougar, 7ft 20 



Jan. 21.. Beebe, wildcat 20 



Feb. 17 . . Small boy Cl2yrs.), Tyee salmon i/^ 



April 1 . .Ed Pettingill, 2 Tyee salmon 4 



April 1. .C. E. S. ^lolmes, :i Tyee salmon J^i 



AprU 2..Fred Edwards, seal 



April 4. .Walter Fife, steel-head salmon 14 



April 5.. Walter Fife, trout 12 



Any item wiU be verified under oath by the partif s 

 named. 



Fred Edwards killed a 56-pound seal at railroad wharf 

 Sunday, 2d inst. 



Fifty-pound wolverine shot Thursday eight miles soutli 

 of the city. 



Yesterday C. E. S. Holmes caught, nine miles from 

 wharf, 6 salmon, aggregate llSlbs., and George Barber 

 caught 19 trout nine miles from Court House, Tacoma. 

 H. M. O'Brien 320 trout same day. • 



Messrs. Dodge and Denham, of the Rod and Gun Club, 

 say that I may safely affirm that over 50 deer have been 

 kiiled within twenty miles of Tacoma during the season. 



"El Comanche's" picture of the forest is fairly accurate, 

 but there are very nice sections where the conditions are 

 not by any means so favorable. .7. BmbTj, }l,D, 



Electric cai-, 

 Steamers. 

 N. P. R. R. 



E. C. 

 Steamer. 

 Steamer. 

 Steamei . 

 Steamer. 

 Steamer. 

 R. R. 

 R. R. 

 R. E. 

 E. C. 



E. C. 



' Steamer. 

 Steamer. 

 E. 0. 

 R. R. 

 E. C, 

 Steamer. 

 Motor. 

 E. C. 



R. R. 



R. R. 



R. R. wharf. 



Steamer. 



Boat. 



Wharf. 



Wharf. 



E. C. 



