t Jan. 8, 1898. 
27 
shot, but it was the best I could do, and the game was 
dispatched as speedilj'^ and humanely as possible. 
I continued my journey westward as far as I intended 
going without seeing any fresh elk sign, although there 
had been quite a number in during the summer season. 
I traveled through the woods until 4 o'clock in the 
evening, when I sighted a deer running, but it had only 
heard me as I went through a thick patch of brush, and 
after running some distance it stopped and started walk- 
ing back along the side of the mountain, something over 
looyds. below me, trying to discover the cause of the 
disturbance. I could only get glimpses of its ears and 
head at times, and at last it stopped with only its ears 
visible. Making a quick calculation where its neck was, 
I shot, then listened and heard the familiar thump, 
thump! and at once counted that deer out of my list. 
Going down to the place as nearly as I could judge, 1 
looked about for tracks and saw, to my happy amaze- 
ment, a fine deer lying on the ground giving its last 
kick, with a bullet hole through its neck. There had 
been two deer instead of one. After dressing it 1 went 
to camp, where I found a deer hanging on a pole. The 
report of the others for the day was as follows: Will 
saw five deer and Icilled the one I found hanging at 
camp. Father saw four deer, two of which were large 
bucks with fine antlers. He succeeded in getting four 
shots, and displayed good hunting craft in getting a 
shot at one lying down, but never having shot at a 
deer before, and having a strange gun with Lyman sights, 
which he had never used before, his eyesight being 
dimmed with age, and a combination of circumstances 
against him, he failed to get his game, and unfortunately 
no more such good opportunities came his way. 
The next forenoon we packed the two deer into camp, 
and after dinner loaded them on the horse, and I took 
them down to the ranch. I found that the two strayed 
horses had not yet come home, and for several days after 
that I devoted most of my time to hunting horses. The 
heavy rains immediately after they got away made it 
difficult to find any trail of them. Finally I found a very 
dim trail of them about a mile from the road, and after 
following it part of two days came upon them in a 
windfall, where they could not find their way out. Dur- 
ing this time I was stopping part of the time at the 
ranch and sometimes at camp, whichever was nearest to 
me, having plenty of venison to eat at both places. 
I was much disappointed to find the elk fast disappear- 
ing from that locality. Only one was killed near there 
during my stay, where there were many wagonloads 
brought out each season only a few years ago. 
Will killed one more deer, besides trapping a number 
of marten and a fox, making it altogether a very en- 
joyable outing, and one which will be fresh in our mem- 
ory many years. 
The morning of Oct. 10 we took our last look at the 
grand old Rockies and turned our faces eastward, ar- 
riving at home Oct. 16. I cannot say enough in praise 
of that section of country as a place to have a general 
good outing. Boarding can be had at very low rates at 
the ranch houses, within easy reach of good deer hunt- 
ing, the finest of trout fishing, duck shooting and plenty 
of mountain grouse, with an occasional bear to keep up 
the interest, for we saw some ven,^ fresh signs. 
Emerson Carney. 
Maryland Game Law* 
BvVLTiMORE. Md., Dec. 29. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I beg to submit to your Maryland readers two bills which 
have been carefully prepared by the executive committee 
of the Maryland State Game and Fish Protective Asso- 
ciation. These bills will be presented at the next session 
of the Legislature at Annapolis. Our Association is 
very anxious to present these bills in a satisfactory shape, 
and I hope that any suggestions as to changes may be 
sent to our secretary. Dr. Geo. W. Massamore, No, 334 
N. Charles street, Baltimore, Md. 
Bill to Protect Game. 
It is the opinion of the State game warden, who acts 
through his deputy game wardens scattered all over the 
State, and of the members of our executive committee, 
that the game laws cannot be properly enforced unless 
there is absolute uniformity in the open season over the 
State. For this reason, with the exception of Garrett 
and Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico counties, a uni- 
form shooting season from Nov. i to Dec. 24 has been 
given for pheasants, partridges, woodcock and rabbits 
throughout the whole State. Garrett county, on account 
of the mountains, has been given an open season from 
Oct. I to Dec. I, and Somerset, Worcester and Wicom- 
ico counties, as they are affected by their proximity to 
the oceatJ., fire given an open season from Nov. 15 to 
Jan. 15. 
It is the experience of all persons who are endeavormg 
to enforce the game laws that if the shooting season 
opens on different dates in adjoining counties, partridges, 
etc., are always killed in the closed counties near the 
county lines, and if the offenders are detected and ar- 
rested the story is always told that the birds were killed 
in the adjoining open county, "just over the line," and it 
is nearly impossible to get a justice to impose a proper 
fine on this evidence. 
Again different dates in adjoining counties very often 
cause tb:e birds in the county which has the earliest sea- 
son to be nearly exterminated by excessive shooting. For 
example, if shooting should commence in Baltimore 
county on Oct. iS, sportsmen from all the surrounding 
counties and from Baltimore City, all eager to begin 
shooting, would crowd in, and many more of the imma- 
ture birds would be killed within the first two weeks of the 
season than would be the case if the season opened uni- 
formly with other counties. The fact that adjoining coun- 
ties have different dates also causes constant changes at 
each session of the Legislature, and this greatly adds to 
the difficulty of properly enforcing the laws. 
The executive committee after a great deal of investi- 
gation determined to. abolish [summer] woodcock shoot- 
ing if possible, for the following reasons: 
Fii"st— Because all the best naturalists of the country^ • 
are of the unanimous opinion that in Maryland Avoodcock 
rear a second brood in June and July, and it would be 
therefore folly to shoot breeding birds. 
Second — Because it is the opinion of the game warden 
and all sportsmen who have investigated the stibject that 
great numbers of young partridges are killed in Septem- 
ber and October by men, generally shooting for the mar- 
ket, who pretend that they are hunting woodcock. Wood- 
cock always remain in Maryland until the middle of 
November, and afford the best sport in the autumn. For 
the same reason pheasant and rabbit shooting has also 
'been forbidden until partridge shooting is permitted. 
Recognizing that boys should have an opportunity of 
learning to shoot, the committee determined to permit in 
its bill the shooting of robins, doves, larks and flickers 
from Aug. 15 to Dec. 24. This action is open to the 
criticism, however, thftt it may be used to cover up the 
alleged killing of game birds. The shooting of wild 
ducks, etc, is prohibited from April 10 to Nov. i. Squir- 
rels can be killed from Sept. 1 to Dec. i, and reed birds, 
rail birds and blackbirds from Sept. i to Nov. 1. The 
provision now found in many of the county game laws 
prohibiting the killing of inoffensive birds has been made 
general over the State. The bill, however, authorizes 
the destruction of hawks, crows, crow blackbirds and 
English sparrows at any time. 
Bill to Protect Fish. 
Black bass, brook trout and rainbow trout can law- 
fully only be taken with a rod, line and hook, b.aited 
with bait or tied with the artificial fly. 
Black bass cannot be lawfully caught anywhere in the 
State (excepting in the Potomac, which is under a spe- 
cial law) between April i and July i. Brook' and rain- 
bow trout can only be caught in Garrett, Alleghany and 
Washington counties between April i and Aug. 15, and 
in the otber counties between March i aitd July i. After 
weighing a great many fish and consulting many fish- 
ermen, both amateur and professional, including whole- 
sale and retail fish dealers, the committee decided upon 
the following lengths below which it is made unlawful 
to take the respective kinds of fish: 
Black bass, pickerel, wall-eyed pike, or California 
salmon or pike-perch, I2in.; brook trout, 6in.; rainbow 
trout, 8in.; white perch, 7j4in. ; j^ellow perch, gin.; pike, 
iSin.; rock or striped bass and taylor, iiin. All fish 
must be measured from the end of the nose or snout 
to the end of the caudal fin or tail. 
The bill makes it unlawful to catch diamond-back ter- 
rapin measuring' less than sin. on the under shell. A 
careful investigation made by a subcommittee of eastern 
shoremen showed conclusively that large numbers of 
small terrapin are annually destroyed by being confined 
in pounds during the summer. The diamond-back ter- 
rapin is rapidly disappearing, and it is evident that unless 
they are given a closed season, as with bass, they will 
soon disappear. All efforts to raise them in confinement 
have been utter failures, and the present system of fen- 
cing them in pounds merely results in large numbers of 
small, undersized terrapin being caught in the summer 
and held in unhealthy confinement, where a large per- 
centage die. 
The bill therefore makes it. unlawful to catch terrapin 
of any size or to confine them in pounds between April i 
and Nov. i. 
The provisions of this bill which arc of the most gen- 
eral interest and value to the great majority of fishermen 
of this State are the sections which are framed to 
prevent the outrageous destruction of small perch, 
rock, etc., by seine haulers, principally in the waters 
of Baltimore and Harford counties. Investigation 
shows that tons of these fish are annually left to 
rot on the shores or are hauled away for manure after 
the marketable fish have been culled out. The practice 
at present is to haul the seine on dry land and permit 
all the small fish to die while the large ojies are col- 
lected. In this way for one marketable fish which is 
used for food a dozen small perch or rock are wasted. 
It is perfectly practicable for the fish which are caught 
by the seine to be culled over in water not less than 
i2in. deep, and by the exercise of little care the fishermen 
can prevent the death of the small fish. The bill there- 
fore makes it unlawful to land a se.ine in less than i2in. 
of water, and it is further made Imlawftil to so fish a 
seine that the small unmarketable fish perish. This will 
prevent the use of these delicious food fish for manuring 
purposes. The present excellent Fish Commissioners 
have already recognized the fact that the supply of perch 
has begun to fail, and last season the Commissioners be- 
gan to place perch in the bay. It will be an absurd illus- 
tration of the old saying "saving at the spigot and wast- 
ing at the bung hole" if the Commissioners spent large 
sums of money in placing perch free in the bay, and the 
public permits these same young fish to be caught and 
used for manure before they arrive at a marketable size. 
Geo. Dobbin Penniman, Presideni. 
The Megfantic Outlaw Taken In. 
Henry Ladouceur, the alleged game poacher of Me- 
gantic county, arrested by Detective .Gladu, of the Na- 
tional Detective Agency, near Spaulding, on Wednes- 
day last, is in gaol at St. Joseph de la Beauce, awaiting 
trial there before Judge Angers on the 30th inst. He has 
already confessed having killed a number of deer in 
excess of the statutory limit. In a remote and almost 
inaccessible region, the prisoner had been credited by 
some of the country folk with the possession of all the 
virtues, dash and bravado of a Robin Hood. A supposed 
haughty contempt for the lawmakers and the police and 
a capacity to shoot unerringly helped magnify a prom- 
ising romance, terminated abruptly by the officers of the 
Montreal Fish and Game Club. 
Dr. Finnic, president of the club, instructed Mr.. Gladu 
to spare no efforts in running Ladouceur to earth. The 
detective engaged the services of Joseph Renaud, a well- 
known carter. They entered the wilderness on the 14th 
inst., as hunters, and ingratiated themselves into the con- 
fidences of the country folk. Gladu had a canteen in his 
outfit, and how well he succeeded with his liquid is evi- 
denced by his success. The runaway of a countryman's 
horse and the detective's search for it brought him to the 
dwelling of Joseph Boulet, perched high on the moun- 
tain side. The hour was midnight. A rap brought La- 
douceur to the door. The hunter soon enjoyed good 
cheer with Gladu, whom he took for an American hunter. 
Gladu then left, agreeing to return next day. He mean- 
while himted up Renaud, his assistant, and at dawn they 
proceeded to Boulet's house. Ladouceur gave them a 
warm reception, and after bargaining he agreed to sell 
two caribou carcasses lying in the barn, to Gladu for $10 
each, and agreed to supply seven more at the same price. 
He boastfully related, so Gladu states, that this season 
he had made twenty kills with twenty-one cartridges. 
When pretending to produce the cash Gladu and his 
assistant, at a preconcerted signal, jumped on Ladouceur, 
and, clapping the handcuffs on his hands, made him a 
prisoner. The hunter was too dumbfounded to offer re- 
sistance. A heavy dagger was found in his possession. 
Gladu says he is not exactlv the terror he is described to 
be. 
Six other caribou carcasses belonging to Ladouceur 
were discovered in a hut in the bush twenty miles from 
the scene of the arrest. — Montreal Star, Dec. 27. 
The Colorado Game Wardens and 
the Ute Indians. 
Report of the Commission. 
Denver, Col., Dec. 28. — Editor Forest and Stream: On 
Oct. 24, 1897, a posse of State game wardens came in 
conflict with a camp of White River Utes on Little Snake 
River, in the western part of Routt coimty, Col. The 
affair caused much controversy, and it was claimed bj-^ 
many that the wardens were guilty of murdering the In- 
dians, 
The Governor of Colorado appointed a commission 
consisting of D. C. Beaman, of Denver; Charles E. 
Noble, of Colorado Springs, and Joshua Walbridge, of 
Steamboat Springs, to investigate and report on the 
facts. 
The commission spent fifteen days in the investigatio}!, 
visiting the scene ot the conflict, taking the evidence of 
the wardens and settlers, and then proceeded to the In- 
dian Agency in Utah and took that of the Indians. Their 
leport has been submitted, and shows that prior to going 
into Colorado to hunt the Indians had been informed by 
the agent that they had no right to do so in violation of 
the law, and that they would be arrested by the wardens; 
that the Indians paid no attention to the warning, and 
nearly 200 of them went into Colorado, and on their ar- 
rival said to settlers that they were not afraid of the war- 
dens or the "Buckskin Police," as they called them, and 
that each cartridge was good for a "Buckskin." 
The wardens, ten in number, and two unarmed citizens 
came upon a camp consisting of twenty-seven bucks, 
squaws and pappooses, but only six or eight bucks and 
a few squaws were in camp at the time. 
The wardens found forty or fifty fresh deer Hides, sev- 
eral beef hides and two fresh deer carcasses in tlie 
camp, and after about three hours' parley with the In- 
dians, endeavoring to have the bucks peaceably submit 
to arrest or leave the State, which they refused to do, 
the wardens undertook to arrest them. The Indians re- 
sisted, one trying to shoot a warden, but the gun being 
knocked aside the bullet hit a squaw on top of the head, 
inflicting a scalp wound only; the Indian then clubbed 
his gun and knocked a warden down, while two more 
Indians made an attack with knives. The wardens- opened 
fire with their revolvers, their Winchesters being on their 
horses, and killed two of the Indians and wounded a 
squaw in the arm Avho was shooting a revolver at the 
wardens. 
The report finds that the Indians inaugurated the con- 
flict, and that from an attempt to arrest the Indians it 
was instantly resolved into a question of self defense by 
the wardens. 
The report states that while these White River Utes 
inherited the love of hunting, the same blood probably 
transmitted the instincts and disposition manifested in 
the Meeker and Thornburg massacres, and concludes that 
branch of the case as follows: 
"It is no doubt true that in many respects these Indians 
are simple and uneducated, and in argument are entitled 
to have the benefit of their simplicity and ignorance. 
This they were awarded to the full limit. But there is 
no rule entitling an Indian in a physical conflict to any 
advantage over a white man, or requiring the latter to 
take greater chances of injury or death simply because 
his assailant is an Indian. 
"While it is cause for regret that any blood was shed, 
we conclude that after the first hostile assatdt by the In- 
dians the wardens were not bound nOr required to await 
a further or successful attempt to kill or injure one of 
their number, and that in the conflict referred to the war- 
dens committed no offense against the law." 
It is said that the Indians disregard the game laws 
whenever they come into Colorado by killing deer at all 
seasons, and pay no attention to the limit or number pre- 
scribed by the lav/. 
The report also shows that in these annual incui^sions 
into Colorado the Indians terrorize and insult the women, 
and kin the settlers' cattle, and says that as the object in 
removing the Indians from the reservation originally was 
to open it to settlement and undistttrbed occupancy by 
the whites, the Indians should not be allowed to come 
into Colorado at all. 
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs also sent an agent 
to investigate the affair, and he has reported in substance 
the same as the Colorado commission, so that it may be 
regarded as settled that the Indians were responsible for 
the conflict. D. C. Beaman. 
Qttail in Louisiana. 
Opelousas, La., Dec. 21. — The cover has been so rank 
up to the present time that it has been a disagreeable 
thing to attempt to shoot. Birds are plentiful this year, 
and some good bags have been made. The breeding 
season last summer was excellent and there is now lots 
of feed for the birds. We have had very few snipe and- 
ducks; in fact, snipe and duck shooting in this country 
are practically a thing of the past. In the future all 
our shooting will have to be confined to quail. Shooters 
are increasing so rapidly, and modern guns, shells, 
powder, etc., are coming into use so much that it will 
not be many years before quail will be as scarce here 
as in many Eastern States. T. A. J. 
