For Bear Protection. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
As you scan this methinks I hear you say, "There are 
pranks and cranks, but this Troy fellow takes the bun." 
i^ear ot this does not, however, deter me from taking a 
shot at a matter wherein economic considerations at 
least, It not those of sportsmanship or humanity, should 
obtam and be permitted to govern. The matter to which 
i refer is the shabby treatment that Ursus amerkanus 
receives at the hands of the people of this free and en- 
lightened country. 
Somewhere along in the middle eighties the under- 
signed, through the medium of Forest and Stream, 
advocated the protection of the black bear at certain 
seasons, with a perpetual close season for juvenile bears, 
but received mighty little encouragement from any quar- 
ter— m fact, did receive a letter from the editor of that 
paper advising him that if he wished to do any missioii- 
,!f ^^^^ protection line there was an ex- 
cellent field for- such work in that portion of Maine 
where bears are suspected of making free with the farm- 
ers pumpkins and occasionally dining on mutton. The 
letter likewise hinted that the reception accorded the 
missionary would be warm and cheerful, more or less. 
Ihis advice to -Go East, young man," however excel- 
lent It may have been, was not followed, but I have since 
continued to study the bear question and have learned 
nothing to cause me to recede from the position taken 
hfteen years ago, and am still an advocate of the pro- 
tection of that finest of all game mammals, the black bear, 
and, moreover, am willing to wager a big red apple that 
i can show you a single county in this State where more 
•sheep are annually destroyed by dogs than are killed by 
bears m all New York and New England combined 
this however, is no reason why all dogs should be 
put out ot the way. 
I should not, in all probability, have broken loose on 
the bear subject at this time but for a picture entitled 
A iJen of Maine Cubs' that appeared in this week's 
issue of Forest and Stream, which picture tells its own 
story, and no words are needed to convey its pathos to the 
mind of the humane and intelligent reader. Could every 
baby bear picture of this sort be accompanied by a com- 
panion piece showing the man who provided the material 
tor the picture intensely interested in the pursuit of o-eo- 
logical knowledge witliin the inclosed premises of some 
well conducted penitentiary— one run on. strictly busi- 
ness lines— It would in a degree lessen the desire on the 
part of humane people to use "cuss" words 
In the same issue of Forest and Stream we are told 
that the mother of these innocents was killed— the laws 
ot ail ot our States sanction and in many instances en- 
courage this form of outrage— and that it took a whole 
week to get these youngsters into a quiescent state so 
that they could be photographed at leisure, leaving to 
the imagination of the reader the suffering of these poor 
little creatures during that period of slow starvation 
under the guise of trying to "raise 'em by hand." 
To me It is inconceivable that a creature that has such 
great economic value, both as to flesh and fur and at 
the same time one of the grandest game animals that 
this continent is possessed of, should be ruthlessly de- 
stroyed at all times, in any manner and at any stage of 
Its existence, lo my dull comprejiension it seems not 
only a wanton destruction of the "Amiest sort of game " 
but at the same time a willful wake of much valuable 
food and fur, for surely neither the mother of a litter of 
week-old bear cubs nor her helpless progeny could have 
any value as an item of food, even if the dam's pelt 
might bring a few dollars. 
If we were to name a half do^en of the most desirable 
game rnammals on this continent, we would find the 
name of Ursus amencanus occupying a high place on the 
list; or if to name a half dozen of the most valued fur- 
bearing animals in the order of their value, our friend the 
black bear would not be found at the foot of the class 
by any means. 
Next to the head of the lordly moose, what trophy of 
the Eastern game fields can be compared to a fifne 
g ossy bear rug, the acquiring of which in a sportsman- 
like manner requires more of true, keen sportsmanship 
and knowledge of woodcraft than the killing of a whole 
herd of deer or of almost any other game on the list of 
protecK"'* animals? 
New York State took a step in the right direction 
when it abolished the bounty on bears, and I trust that 
other States will do likewise, and that all States will <ro 
a step further and protect the bear at certain seasons of 
the year, at least as a valuable fur-bearing animal even 
If his game qualities are not recognized by our legislative 
bolons. 
The Province of Quebec has made a crude sort of at- 
tempt at bruin's protection, but not enough to insure 
his material increase in the near future. 
If one may judge from what I saw and heard when the 
bill for the repeal of the bear bounty clause in the game 
law was before the Committee of Forestry. Fisheries and 
(jame a few years ago, there need be no fear entertained 
on the part of the people of this and other States that 
the cause of progress, of education, or of the Sunday 
school will suffer by reason of its being wiped off the 
Statute books. The sort of people who were whining for 
the retention of the bounty was one of the best arguments 
for Its abrogation, and the members of the committee 
were convinced that parties who slaughtered infant bear-, 
lor the sake of a paltry bounty were not the proper per- 
sons to intrust with the framing of our game laws Not 
one recognized Adirondack guide asked for its reten- 
tion; all were apparently in favor of wiping it off the 
statute books. 
One rather facetious individual, formerly a o-uide who 
appeared in favor of Senator Malby's bill for'abolishing 
the bount3^ remarked that it could not be truly said that 
the State was the loser in the bounty transaction as the 
bounty money when received was usually converted into 
.n\m, the rum into "drunks." and that most of the monev 
■came back in the way of fines and could be used aeain 
m oayment of other bounties. 
Since the Malby bill was enacted into law there has 
been no particular incentive to the class named to slaugh- 
ter infantile bears, but these and their dams as well at 
certain oeriods should receive protection from the raoac 
ity of that other class of "smart Alecks" who persist in 
killing everything in sight "just for the fun of the thing." 
i.et us have a reasonable, practical close season for 
bruin and for all other valuable fur bearers, with absolute 
protection for the young of each species; also eliminate 
s© tar as possible the use of that horrid ' engine of tor- 
ture and destruction, the steel trap. -- — — 
Forest and Stream is doing excellent work in trying 
to save from extermination that useful and ornamental 
bird the gull. Let us hope some day it will give bruin 
%t°"N. y. ^ ' SCHKNCK. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Two Colonels. 
We have tvyo colonels out here in Chicago who are hard 
to duplicate m all the lands of the earth-Col John S 
Cooper and Col C E. Felton. The former is a farllous 
fisherman and the latter a famous shooter, and both are 
characters worth meeting. It is with regret that one must 
announce that both these gentlemen are this week 
home sick in bed, with what seems much the same trouble 
this grip which is so annoying and so dangerous. It is 
to be hoped that the two colonels will soon get back to 
Dusmess. Col. Cooper was on the eve of starting to Wash- 
ington on business connected with the National Park 
when he was taken ill. 
How Maoy Buffalo Arc Left? 
^' Je^'ow, of this city, writes asking information 
regaiding the number of buffalo alive, his question com- 
mg in rhe following form : 
•Tn order to settle a bet, would you be kind enough to 
in,r^^"°'^,: ^'J^^' Forest and Stream oi direct 
JnJ l>«ffalo_there are in the United States tiXy 
and how many there were five years ago (tga^) ? 
favi^mf r ^°"i7u ^^"^^ the figures, arid if you Would 
tayor me it would be esteemed. ' 
sucl^fi^5n"r^^/l' the above, and no one has any 
rP»:L^<.V ? absolute degree of accuracy, for 
* ^'V^^y ohfvmx^. In 1895, when Billy Hofer 
and myself made the trip through the Yellowstone Park 
Jn the winter with the purpose of counting the buffalo it 
was supposed that there were 500 buffalo left in the Ye 
owstone Park. , We could not feel in the leLt s ire Uiat 
t^VrT ^^h ¥^ ^o""ted all that- w^-coufd 
find or hear of and then we felt that it was quitely likely 
we had counted the same bunch more than mice. ^Prob- 
ably there were 100 to 125 head in the Park at that t me 
There were at that time in the Musselshell country of 
Montana about eight or ten head of buffalo. Which were 
la er killed by the Crees.. There were also then perhaps a 
few animals of a somewhat mythical herd in the Red 
Desert of Wyoming, never estfmated at over a dozen 
head, and whose existence for the past ten years has 
been more than doubtful. Also the same c^uld be said 
regarding the "Lost Park herd" of Colorado where fo? a 
time, a half-dozen or so buffalo were known to exfst 
There may have been a half-dozen of them in 1895, but t 
IS doubtful if any are alive now. 
The buffalo of the Yellowstone Park met their fate the 
f^^'fLl"'''''-':^^^ '^'^ that during a mild w S- 
ter they wandered out from the west side of the Park and 
were killed by men along the edge of the Park As they 
T^uTl^^X''? f"?'"' '^^y ^^^^ out into Idaho 
or the Market Lake precincts, it is unlikely that any are 
left ahve outside the Park. Inside that Park at last ac 
counts during the past year, there were only about twelve 
breeding" '"^^"'^'^ *° ^"'^ ^^'^ ^^^^ 
of'^the'''si'.k".?'p^^" likelihood, a single individual left 
ot the Staked Plains herd out of which Buffalo Tones 
region of the British Possessions there really is a herd of 
wood bison left, for so my friend Norris,'^^;ho was up 
^heV^,t^'^'' '"i!.!"^^' ^"u^ ^^y^ the'lndianrSow 
Tnd it IvZfu ""'"^''1 °^ these are not- known 
and It would be only guesswork to state them, as indeed 
On T 7 '''' PT^?'"^ *° '^^'^ figures as above 
h.o^ • / ?^ discoverable information on this 
head It is safe to say there are not a dozen live wild 
andlf Zrf' Yellowstone Park in the Uked^Stat^ 
and If there is a single one I do not know where -it is 
Inside the Park there may be twenty head or so. 
Ihe Peace River herd, not in the United States, and al- 
ways more or less a matter of fable, may number a 
hundred head, though it is by no means likely It is more 
apt to be the case that there may be only a score or sTof 
?nSL?oTlLTt?3atn r'egTon^'^^ ^'^^'^ ^""^^^ 
•L^r'^^PP^^'".^ ^"^^^^ question to be regarding 
wild buffalo and not those domesticated. In domesS! 
herds, of full bloods and mixed breeds there are peTap^ 
between 300 and 500, supposing the Allard herd of the 
Flathead reservation to have fairly well kept up its stock 
wi .f Pftt^yo years, and including the Austin Corbin 
herd at about its figures of the last year. The Goodnight 
and the Jf- /• Hill herds are included in t£ above 
estimate, all of which is, of course, but an approximation 
Moee News from the Far North. 
Mr. George L. Ainsworth, writing from Racine, Wis 
has some very interesting remarks in his following letter 
regarding the habitat of birds, etc., in the icy North coun- 
try, from which It seems he too has recently returned 
He writes as beloAv: icuumcu. 
"Referring to your item in 'Chicago arid the West' 
tor to-day on the northern limit of the jacksnipe, I killed 
jacksnipe during August and September, 1898. in the 
McKenzie delta, a thousand miles north of Lesser Slave 
Lake, and they were just as wild and could make iust as 
many twists to the second as they can here in Wisconsin 
^ Regarding nesting place of canvasbacks, I saw a little 
sn« ^ i'^^^' o°" ^^^^t Slave Lake in June 
1898 and late m May, 1899. we killed two Inne drakes 
on the headwaters of Bells River, a tributary of the Porcu- 
pine. 1 hese birds were no doubt nesting, but were all that 
I saw m a trip of over four thousand miles, and lastine 
two summers, on Peace, McKenzie, Porcupine and Yukon 
rivers. 
. 'IP^ ^".t birds must nest in the Barren Lands 
^'^^^ ^ake or cross into Siberia. 
Bluebills, golden-eye, widgeon, greenwing, teal, but- 
terballs, pintail and scoters, both velvet and^white' win 
asm Canada geese nest in great numbers through the M 
Kenzie delta and along the arctic coast beyond tim^ 
line, i he golden-eye nest in a hollow tree, if one can 
--?v"i ' 1"^ o.theLs on the .ground, and often ofi^-hli 
*^ <.«n 1° ^^^^ above the water, ■ 
What becomes of the. scoters ? We seldom see "oi 
here, but on the Peace and McKenzie we saw more'' 
them than any other duck, and they take more killing Iflis 
anything I ever saw. - , . :i 
_ ''Early in March, 1898, when crossing Lesser Sla^ 
Lake on about 6 feet of ice, we put up a big flock . 
Canada geese. Ihey were roosting on a sandbar in tl 
"iioole of the lake where the snow had blown off. 
The outlet of Lesser Slave Lake does not freeze fc 
several miles from the lake, and I suppose they fout3 
water and feed there. 
"Mr George H. Thomas, of Chicago, died in our cad 
on Rat River, N. W. T., last winter." 
Sprfag Tr*de. 
Mr Jas; L. Van Uxera, of this city, whose Randolp 
street store is well known in this city as a good place t 
get practical sporting gear, whether for rod or gun pu7 
poses, has just brought out his new catalogue for th 
spring trade, fifty-six double pages, and the best he ev6 
printed. Among the many useful things he lists, Va 
IS making a specialty of his "Alligator" l)alt-castillg lirtt 
which many experts say is the best and most practical lin 
for bait-castihg they have used. Things are busy at 10 
Randolph these days, and deservedly so, 
VoQ*t Shoot in Sprfog. 
^cSl tu^'i'l ,101. Randolph stfeet that Ab- 
Klemmali has bis shell-loadihg busitiess. t saw Ah,' 
bi™ Was not out duck shooting 
Me? said the old-timer. "Me shoot ducks in tht 
spring? You haven't heard of my killing a duck in th< 
sprmg for over ten years, have you? No, sir, I quit it ir, 
the year of 1889. ' ^ ' 
Abe Kleinman used to shoot for the market on the 
Calumet along with the rest of his family in the days gone' 
by, hut he won t shoot in the spring. He sets a pretty 
good example to a whole lot of fellows not a thousand 
miles from Chicago,., or froin New York. 
Spring Duck amotiag In the West. 
Chicago, 111,, March 24;=-As was ptedicted some tittle 
ago by the knowmg ones, the spring of 1900 in the West 
IS marked by very high water in many sections, and the 
corollary to this, a very heavy flight of ducks, is now in:' 
evidence From all accounts it would appear that the! 
wildfowl are more numerous this spring than for ten' 
years. How the flight Will hold out remains to be seen, 
and already we hear of several parties who Wettt out aild 
came back disappointed. Upon the other hand, some 
sllootefs are still out and are sending back for more shells 
so that It is supposable they struck the birds in numbers! 
AH accounts agree that everywhere there is more than an 
abundance of water. Swan Lake, Hennepin, .all the 
Kankakee points, all the upper Indiana lakes and streams 
are boiling full of water, so that no duck need lack for a 
chance to wet his feet this spring in Illinois. 
Mr. F. G. Barnard is just back from Swan Lake Club, 
where he spent a few days out in the timber after mal- 
lards. He says the water was 14 feet deep all through the 
timber and the current very strong. They got some few 
mallards, but not nearly so many as they thought they 
were entitled to haye in view of the. discomforts of their 
trip. • ■ 
The best of the shooting seems to be down in the Illinois 
valley, and the best news from that region comes from 
the Meredosia Flats. Dr. Hunt, of this city, went down 
there a littk over a week ago, and report has it that he 
took Avith him 3,000 shells, and that he has sent back 
for more since then. This should indicate either good 
shooting or a great liberality in giving away shells. 
Uown^at Bureau Junction, in the Illinois River region 
^ r ^i"^ A^'"1>^?^^'"^ '^^^^^b leases about 2,000 acres 
ot the Mud Lake marsh from the owner, Fred Taylor of 
this city. Reports come from that place this week that two 
shooters killed thirty-two ducks one afternoon there two 
or three days ago Mr. Taylor, when seen to-day, thought 
that there should be some shooting now at that point 
Several members of Hennepin Shooting Club, in the 
Illinois Valley, have gone down to the club for a try at the 
flight, among these Mr. A. Vanderkloot, of this city. This 
club should have very good sport indeed, as these grounds 
are among the best on the river. 
Mr. Joel Kinney, of this city, was down at Meredosia 
last week and returned this week for a rest. He says 
there were thousands of birds in over that country, and 
thinks the shooting should be good now. New Boston 
also sends up strong mallard tips,-and-^there-should be 
really excellent timber shooting on the overland flats 
across the Mississippi. 
_ Some of the Maksawba members are absent at the old 
haunts on the Kankakee, and it is said that the big waters 
give the look of old times there. Among those seeking" 
to stay IS Mr W. P. Mussey, of this city, who has been 
gone nearly all week, and who is supposed to have had 
some shooting. 
R- B^,ssell is back from his hunt at his cottage 
near Water Valley, on the Kankakee. He had little luek < 
except to get sick, and has been laid up ever since 
Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Gold are now at their hunting box 
on the Kankakee near Water Valley, and are supposed to 
be having some shooting to-day, as the weather has come 
off nice and warm, and the birds should be moving in if 
they are to do so at all. Mr. Gold has a little launch in 
which he runs up and down the river with ease and dis- 
patch and so equipped he should give good account of 
himself; 
Mr. N. D. Soper, of Chicago, left yesterday for Cedar 
Lake. Ind., not far below Chicago, and should he find 
nothing there will drop on doxvn to Shelby, on the Monon- 
road. He ought to strike in with the flight somewhere in 
there this week or early next week. 
Mr. W. L. Wells, head artist on the Chicago Tribune 
and a very widely experienced Western wildfowl shooter' 
started to-day with his friend, Mr. Edward Pope, for 
Fox Lake, 111., for a trip which will last till next Thursday 
They have word that some birds have been killed up there 
though on the other hand I hear to-day that the ice has 
