288 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
I April. i8gg. 
Concerning an Epithet/' 
Edilor Forest and Stream: 
As you know, I am no spoitsman, but I ;uu an old 
liand at newspaper wars, and think J have known as 
many as the next man, and have watched the results of 
such rows, and I am quite sure that the man who indulges 
in vituperation o£ dissenters from him, seldom persuades 
anybody. The viliified are only made angry and the 
man with no convictions on the matter remembers the 
old adage for lawyers, "When you have no case, abuse the 
other side and his attorney," and judges of the inetits £>i 
the case by the style of argument used. 
AVhat is the aim of this epithet campaign? Convcr- 
.sion of "hogs" or conviction in the public mind as to tHe 
rights or wrongs of killing too nmch game' The hog 
cr}'' is not apt to convert, and with folks like myself that 
don't care a fig for sport and would not give one cent, 
to save all the .strictly game creatures in the country from 
extinction, that style of game preservation is not allur- 
ing. I know it would be preferable to have no "game" 
than to have it set ttp that if my friend X Y Z shoots 
more birds than an undefined authority declares war- 
ranted, he is a "hog"; I know he isn't anything of the 
sort, and how am I to know whether Tom, Dick and 
Harry know what a "sportsmanlike" limit is? 
Who was the hero of fiction who laid his success in 
war and poetry to his following his si.ster's advice, "Mod- 
erate j'our transports?" 
Let me add, that while I claim_ the individual right to 
care nothing for sport and to think that I am none the 
worse for this indifference. I am not "hog" enough to 
respect a man less because he is devoted to it. That 
is his right, and I have no right to condemn him. But I 
do not admit that a "sportsman" is one bit the !>ctter, or 
worse, man from being so. W. Wabe. 
OakMont, Pa., April 7. 
Philadelphia Pa. — Editor Forest and Stream: The 
discussion in the columns of Forest and Stream con- 
cerning the propriety of an individual arrogating to him- 
self the right to denounce other individuals who differ 
from him as to the amount of game they may kill in 
one day, I perceive has aroused a great deal of interest. 
There has been quite enough opinion, adverse to the 
stand taken by Mr. Schenck, lo show that his opinions 
do not truly represent the opinions of spoi'tsmen. 
In Forest and Stream of April 8 I read a vigorous 
letter from him in support of his contention. There is 
no doubt of his sincerity. The fact that he, on his own 
confession, was once a game hog and reformed, encour- 
ages me to write this comnmnication to you; lor if by 
argument he can be shown to be now wrong. I am sure 
he" has moral firmness sufficient to enable him to agam 
readjust his ethics on better lines. 
Before beginning the argument proper, T beg pernvr- 
sion to quote from Mr. Schenck's writings as loUow^: 
"Tt strikes me that no unselfish, reasonable sportsman 
can feel otherwise than 'hot' after seeing, as we do 
week after week, and month, the pages of nearly every 
one of the papers devoted to field sports be.smearc.1 
with the bloody records of intemperate, inhuman, wan- 
ton slaughters;' records that make one's trigger-finger 
itch with murderous intent, or cause him to hanker f'lv 
the enactment of a law that would land some of these 
evil-doers into the penitentiary." 
I wish to ask Mr. Schenck, concerning this poplt, 
whether, if he were clothed with full authority to do so. 
he would kill a man who killed more than his .share of 
game in a day? Would he send a man to the penityn- 
tiary for life for the same offense? Suppose, at the peru-d 
when he was a game hog, some game fanatic with a 
nervous trigger-finger had drawn a bead on him and 
filled his person with buckshot. In the dark ages, when 
emotion governed the action of some men more than 
did reason, other men were burned at the stake, or im- 
prisoned for life, or were executed in various barbarous 
ways for matters of opinion; but at the present day the 
great pride of the civilized world is in its tolerance of all 
opinion, and in its laws free from all taint of ven- 
geance. 
In respect to the duck-shooters' club, whose mtinbers 
are permitted to kill fifty birds in a day, if my memory 
serves me right this club owns ot leases its grounds and 
protects them as a preserve, so that the members have 
certain property rights in the preserved game, differing 
entirely from the ordinary common law rights of tha 
public. They pav out money for their property rights 
and guard them much as Mr. Schenck does his own per- 
sonal property rights. 
As to any record of sport witli a shotgun or riile. if 
anything at all is killed, the record is sure to be more 
or less bloody; this in reference to the excerpt quoted 
above. I do" not think that Mr. S. can point out the 
"pages besmeared with the bloody records." etc. The 
sportsmen of to-day are far in advance of those of years 
ago in the matter of the proper quantity to be killed in 
one day, and in the ethics of sport. I am sure that 
this change was not brought about by angry snarls arUl 
the showing of pointed teeth. 
Suppose that one man, who has had but cue great oo- 
portunity to kill a large bag of game— let us say too 
ducks— offends from the standpoint of Mr. _S. He has 
traveled a long distance, has liberally spent his money m 
the section wherein he shoots, and, in the enthusiasm 
of the sport and the bountiful supply he killed loo birds 
in one day. Yes, let us assume that he killed 300 ducks 
in three days. Now let us sttppose that another sports- 
man, proud of his own shooting abstemiousness, killed 
but 'ten ducks in one day, yet goes out every day for 
thirty days, killing thus a total of 300 ducks. Will Mr. b. 
be so good as to explain how one got more than his 
.share while the other got less, and wherein lies the dif- 
ference in the total result? If one shot too much game 
in short time, the other shot an equal amount in a longer 
time, so that as a matter of mathematics or an equality 
of shares, thev both took precisely the same quantity. 
Eheu! ■ , , . , . 
Game is the property of the people, and as such is not 
valued and preserved with a view to the delectation of 
some man or men who own guns. It has a food signifi- 
cance of greater public value than a sport significance. 
The lone shooter, who rants that his sport may be pre- 
served for him, should reconsider-and recognize th^t the 
public at large nn\y appreciate only material values of 
pvibUc importance. 
Concerning the law on the matter Mr. Sclieiick pro- 
claims as follows: 
One of your correspondent^^, Mr. L. A. C, takes exception to 
iny argument, because it sccnis to remotely connect tlie crime a( 
larceny with immoderate game killing, and holds that, while there 
are statutory provision.s governing the one, there is no law to 
govern opinions as to what should constitute a reasonahle bag 
for a day's shooting; in fact, lie in effect hold.s thnt in this matter 
every man is a church unto liimself, t bej^ leavt to differ with 
the gentleman; the Rrcat unwritten law of "common honest)'" 
governs in these premises as perfectly R.s does any law on Ihc 
statute books relaiivc to larceny, although it does not perhaps 
affix quite so severe penalties, tf the unwritten law naiiied is 
not snfiicicnt to cover the Rfoimd. the "jiioUtert rule'' iiidircctly 
applies, as do niatly other ortht; teachings fielfitive to moderation 
and temperance, of the Great Teacher, whom your correspondent 
quotes. Forbearance in tlealing with the itnmoderatc game killer 
has ceased lo be a virtue, antl the day of retribution is at hand. 
The unwritten law of "common honesty" is not wv;ll 
taken. There is no stich law. Honest}^ is the source 
of all law, and not the law itself. In any case, it has no 
application whatever to the point in question. The game 
of a State belongs to the people of that State. The title 
is very vague and remote. While the people owii the 
game, no one person has any title to it whatever till he 
has the game reduced to his possession. .A.fter that it is 
the person's own property, with some or no tiualifica- 
tions in dift'erent States, according to the different laws 
which govern therein. There is no dishonesty whatever 
in killing tlie game when the statute and common laws 
are observed in the killing. There is no share belong- 
ing to anyone. The game is in a state of fenc natur<e 
before it is killed; afterward it is the property of him 
who takes it. If we consider that the people has shares, 
then the mail who does not own a gun has just as much 
right to his share as has the man who does. If Rhode 
Island has a population of 420,000, with an area of 1,306 
square miles, then there probably is less than one bird to 
each person within that State. Any man who takes 
more than one bird takes, therefore, more than his share. 
Mr. Schenck's position may be brought to the redlictio ad 
absurdum in many other ways, L. A, Cuti dress. 
New Brunswick Notes. 
Some of the game officials have been displaying a com- 
ntendable degree of alacrity of late in looking after per- 
.soiis suspected of killing moose in the deep snow. The 
most flagrant case reported was that of Mr. A. E. Han- 
son, a Deputy Crown Land Surveyor, who, by virtue of 
his office, is also a game warden. Mr. Hansoit was com- 
missioned to run some lines on the headwaters of the 
Tobique and Nepisiguit. He shot a bull niuose some 
weeks ago, and upon reaching Bathurst last Saturday was 
arraigned before Stipendiary Magistrate McLaughlin on 
complaint of Warden Bishop. Mr. Hanson pleaded guilty 
to the charge and the minimum fine of $50 was imposed. 
His plea was that he was short of provisions and that his 
party needed the moo.se hide to sleep upon at nights when 
camping in the snow. This plea is rather weakened by 
the fact, not brought out at Bathurst, that before leaving 
Fredericton upon the survey referred to, Hanson bor- 
rowed a rilie and stated to a number of persons that he 
proposed to shoot a moose if he required it. 
Long before Hanson emerged from the survey it was 
reported at Fredericton and elsewhere that he had killed 
a moose and local sentiment was very strong against him, 
not only because of the position which he held, but the 
boldness he had shown in defying the law. .At the in- 
stance of Game Commissioner Knight, information was 
lodged against him at Fredericton. and it can scarcely be 
doubted that if Hanson had faced the music here the 
magistrate would have imposed the maximum penalty of 
$200. Country justices are notoriously lax in their admin- 
istration of the game laws, and there is quite a general be- 
lief that, in the present case. Hanson knew that the 
atithorities were on his track, and deliberately promoted 
the proceedings at Bathurst in order that he might escape 
with a minimum penalty. However, the end is not yet. 
If it shall appear that there, was any collusion in reference 
to the Bathurst proceedings, Han,son will again be ar- 
raigned on the information laid at Fredericton. In any 
case, the leader of the Government, Premier Emmerson. 
announces his intention to suspend Hanson for a period 
from his office of Deputy Crown Land Surveyor. 
One of the strongest obstacles in the way of a vip-orous 
enforcement of the laws is that country magistrates are 
disposed to take a most lenient view of the offenses 
brought before them, in nearly all cases imposing the 
minimum penalty and frequently allowing this to stand. 
Cases arc even mentioned where they have ignored the 
plain provisions of the law entirely, and imposed a fine of 
$10 for killing moose out of season, whereas, the smallest 
amount thev could legally impose is $ro. For this reason 
the Chief "Game Commissioner is endeavoring to have 
oft'enders, as far as possible, arraigned before magistrates 
of intelligeitce and experience in St. John, Fredericton and 
other cities. At St. John on Satttrday last Albert Alward. 
of Queens county, appeared in answer to the charge of 
hunting a cow moose and of killing a moose out of season. 
He was fined .$100 on each of these counts, the latter being 
allowed to .stand. Alward was captured through the clever 
work of Detective Ring. A confederate escaped, but is 
being shadowed. 
A great deal depends upon the county game Avardens. 
Some of them are active, intelligent men who discharge 
their duties fearlessly; others are nonentities who like to 
whittle a good fat cedar shingle at the grocery store. 
Warden Henry Bishop, of Bathurst, is one of the most 
efficient officials to be found in the Province, being not 
only a friend in need to the visiting sportsman, but a 
terror to evildoers. On Saturday last he laid informa- 
tion against John Glasier, James Aube, Thomas Lavigne, 
Joseph Melanson, Thomas Glasier, Ambrose Doucet, 
Joseph Coutre, Jr., and Frank Hurst. Each of these 
parties were fiped $50 for hunting moose out of season, 
two months being allowed them in which to pay the same. 
It is to be feared that no efforts to enforce the laws 
will prove effectual until the Government recognizes the 
dire effects of this deep snow butcherv business and pro- 
vides sufficient funds to employ an efficient force of war- 
dens and detectives. It is certain that not one case out of 
fifty is ever brought to the notice of the authorities. _ My 
information is that in some sections of Maine the situar 
lion is not much Ijetter. A good mmy young men from 
New Brunswick work in the iNlaine woods in winter, re- 
turning home in the spring. Some of these youths give a 
very circumstantial account of the killing of many moose 
and deer by the loggers in the Aroostook region. 'Tis a 
weary world. Franiv H. RiSTKEiN\ 
B'rbpkricton, April 8, 
N. B.— Since foregoitlg was writteH, SufveyOf -General 
Dunn has suspended Hansott fot two tuotiths and fined 
him $i.So for shooting a moose out of seasoil; itl cAsC 
fine is not paid at the end of two moiithSj .stisperisioH to 
Continue until it is paid. F. H. R. 
The Hunting Rifle. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I wish to make a rifle inquiry which has long been 
at my finger ends. That is, why is the double rifle shaped 
l)recisely like a shotgun, attd about as heavy , sO littk. 
known in the United States? To my mind there wils 
never so really lovable ft weapon in the wotld. . Evetv 
time I read of a man ill trouble Witii his rltle, I like 
writing to him and asking him if he ever saw a dotibie 
hfimnierless express. Lbt hie nlcntion two or three con- 
stant causes of profanity to thfi. North American big game 
hunter. Perhaps the greatest is the snow and ice in the 
gitn locks, or the alternative sticking of the weapon in the 
gun coat at the supreme moment of the unexpected chance 
for a shot. Mr. Frederic Remington, in his recent article 
"The White Forest,"' in Harpers Magazine, tells it in a 
sentence: "We were led up hills, through dense hem- 
lock thickets, where the falling snow nearly clogged the 
action of my rifle, and filled the sights with ice." No man 
can travel through snow-laden branches and keep a naked 
rifle fit for instant use. Neither Cati a repeater, with its 
peculiar shape, be relied on to conle out of a cdver At 
the first pull. A stnooth-hipped hanlnierless will do so. 
Bear witness the old Sharps. The only thing that ever 
caught in the cover was the sight, and the peculiar shape 
of the modern double hammerless prevents this from 
catching. 
But the greatest advantage about the double rifle is its 
instant second chance. Mr. Hough, in describing the 
virtues of the valiant John Munroe. in "Sheep and Snow- 
shoes," told how bravely that delightful mountain man 
stood his ground in the face of a charging grizzly, "when 
he knew he would have only one shot." The good Mr. 
^lunroe was armed on that occasion with a big repeating 
ritle. The bear was skulking through the bushesj aha 
when he came out like a raging jabberwock, a few feet 
away, there was ^ tto chance to work the lever. The 
situation was'precisely that which tiger hunters face near- 
ly always. And no sane man, I suppose, ever chose a re- 
peater for tiger shooting. Where a very quick shot is 
required, no repeater, worked with a lever by the trigger 
hand, is ever quite quick enough. With a double rifle, as 
with a double gun, one can place two accurately aimed 
shots more quickly than with any repeater, and four shots 
as quickly. And the man who is preparing for his second 
shot as he fires his first — a habit which "repeaters" near- 
ly all have — will not make so good a first shot as he will 
if he knoAvs the second awaits only one other niotioh — 
finger pull. 
The best atithority on thy practical effects of rifle 
bullets with wJiom I anl acquainted is that famous sur- 
veyor-guide, Mr. Henry Braithwaite, of New Brunswick. 
He has been present at the downfall of more moose during 
the last thirty years than any other man I know, and he 
has seen more moose depart for unknown localities, to the 
music of more kinds of rifles, in the hands of more kinds 
of men. He is as broad minded as the world, and can 
tell you more about the history of firearms than most gun 
makers can. He believes that the only weapon suited for 
big game shooting is a double rifle. 
The small-bore smokeless rifle is unc|Uestioliabty a great 
factor in the gun problem nowadays. This paradoxical 
arm has reversed the usual order 01 progress in firearms, 
Most, if not all, of the improvements heretofore have been 
made first in sporting arms, and then ha\-e slowly been 
adapted to the uses of the non-experts who make up the 
greater per cent, of armies. The small-bore smokeless is 
a distinctly military arm. Its greatest claim to the sports- 
man's respect is its long point blank. It practically 
eliminates the bullet's drop at sporting ranges. Its lack 
of driving, smashing force is the great objection to it. In 
the hands of very expert shots it often kills at once, be- 
cause they place the bullets just where they do the most 
harm. A year ago I sat in a refreshment room in Bos- 
ton with one of the surest rifle shots in this country, and 
he told me how he had knocked down a large moose a 
few weeks before with one shot from his pretty little .30 
repeater. He said then that he believed any mart who 
could shoot straight needed no better weapon. This fall 
Forest and Stream recorded the fact that this gentle- 
man, using the same weapon, hit his moose just where 
he wanted to, and the moose plunged away to an unknown 
deathbed, where its bones are now being picked by the 
gorbies and the minks. What we all want is a rifle with 
a long point-blank range, with paralyzing power at the 
end of that range. Discussing these things with Mr. 
Braithwaite, in front of a glorious winter fire, he said lo 
me: "If there could be a double rifle of about ,40 caliber 
with a heavj^ soft-nosed bullet, and burning about fift\- 
grains of smokeless powder, a rifle having about the 
smashing power of an ordinary .50 English express, it 
would be as good at 200yds. as the .50 is at 50yds., and 
would be the ideal hunting weapon." 
I wondered if all the world was bound down to knitting- 
needle calibers, and made up my mind that there rnust be 
some maker who had sense enough to see the utility of 
such an arm. Sure enough, it is being sold in London, 
and is a great favorite in Africa and India. Another illus- 
tration of the fact that one-half the Avorld does not know 
how the other half shoots. This .40 rifle burns fifty 
grains of cordite, fires a 400-grain bullet, and develops 
more striking shock than a .50, with as much penetratioji 
as a .45 government. A 24in. barrel is plenty long 
enough, and.it seems to me that this hammerless double 
rifle, with the beautiful sights which always come on 
these artistically made weapons, is the ideal which cotti- 
bines all we know of sporting gunnery. 
I have roughly calculated that the extra weights of the 
rifles I have carried, multiplied by the hours I have car- 
ried them, would lift tJie capitol of the greatest natiort on 
