May 26, 1900.1 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
407 
under the law as it reads not at any time can you kill -any 
duck upon any wacCrs whatever in the Commonwealth 
of Ohio. You might catch a dry land duck, but then 
you first would have to get the written permission of the 
farmer to hunt on his land, and at that you would find the 
ducks there nesting, and you dare not disturb them on 
their nests. The mother duck can drive her ducklings to 
water day by day in Ohio in peace, and the wicked hunter 
dare not molest or make her afraid. 
« 
Why Fish and Game Should Be 
Protected. 
Toronto, May 15. — Editor Forest and Stream: It must 
be admitted that the fish contained in our magnificent 
lakes and rivers, and the game of forest and field, is a 
most valuable heritage left us by nature, for the pur- 
pose of being used wisely for the benefit of all. Nature 
makes few mistakes, and intended her laws to be ob- 
served, and exacts heavy penalties for the violation of 
them. It is well known that large portions of the United 
States and Canada are not adapted for agriculture or even 
grazing purposes. The rocks may be rich in mineral 
deposits that may in due season be discovered, these 
valuables extracted, the mines deserted, and afterward 
unproductive for all time. But on the surface of these 
rocks, and in the lakes and rivers intervening, there exists 
a perpetual and natural reproductive source of wealth. 
We are told that good government consists in doing 
the greatest good to the largest numbers. This being the 
case, it is evidently the duty of the respective Govern- 
ments to introduce measures to perpetuate a valuable 
heritage in the interests of the majority, and wisely pre- 
vent its total destruction in a few years, to satisfy the 
greed and rapacity of a few. 
The question naturally arises, how can this desirable 
consummation be accomplished? Those intrusted with 
the important work of fish and game protection are fully 
conversant with the difficulties contended with. The 
protection of game should be self-sustaining. That can 
only be obtained by the license system. 
The game and fish on public lands and in public waters 
are assets equally with timber and minerals, and those 
who indulge in the pleasure of shooting and fishing should 
supply the cost of protecting the game and fish for them. 
The leases of timber limits should be liable to cancellation, 
on proof of the owners or their agents supplying their 
respective camps with game during the close season for 
same. The licenses of the large fish companies who 
violate the fishing laws, or aid and abet others in evading 
fishery regulations, should be canceled. It is no secret 
that af ^er the authorities have destroyed numbers of costly 
trap-nets, apparently the property of men in poor cir- 
cumstances, they are at once furnished with others, pre- 
sumably by big corporations, whose tools they are. 
It is a farce fining wealthy companies $25 for using 
moose meat or venison in their camps. They could pay a 
great many $25 fines in one season, and then be gainers 
to a large extent by the illegal practice. The only 
effective way to stop the illegal killing of large game by 
these companies for the purpose of feeding their em- 
ployees is to make the practice too expensive. The only 
way to reach them, is through their pockets. 
The fine should be $50 for each and every skin or 
portion of moose or venison found in their camps during 
the close season. Then they would soon discover that it 
would be cheaper to feed their men on beef than venison. 
Fines of the above figures would also enable the authorities 
to emplov ro_ore effective espionage. 
The most effective factor in game and fish protection 
is the prohibiting the sale of game, and also speckled 
trout and black bass, neither of these fish being a factor m 
commerce, but of the greatest attraction to the tourist 
sportsman. 
" My sympathies are with the Indians and bona fide 
settlers who kill game for the immediate necessities of their 
families, but should not be allowed to kill during close 
season for sale. I would punish as far as possible the 
class of poachers who kill game during close seasons to 
supply lumber camps, etc. The penalties in these cases 
should be of such a nature that few examples would be 
required. 
It is impossible to place a money value on the game 
and fish of the country, for the reason that they are a 
feature or part of nature's plan to attract men from the 
crowded cities and towns to the woods and streams, for 
the purpose of enabling them to recover to some extent 
the health and energy lost in the scramble for wealth. 
Game and fish, outside their value as food, have a na- 
tional value beyond computation. Anything that is con- 
d'ucive to the good health of the mhabitants of any 
country is of untold value. It should be plain to all 
those who have given these matters intelligent considera- 
tion, that game and fish are two of the principal attrac- 
tions to our woods, rivers and lakes, to the thousands oi 
health and recreation seeking tourists who are_ wise 
enough to spend their vacations in localities enjoying 
nature in its majestic grandeur. This being the case, it 
naturally follows that it is the bounden duty of our 
legislators to preserve and perpetuate for the benefit of 
the general public these valuable resources, and enact 
measures of the strongest nature to prevent the exter- 
mination of what nature has so bountifully provided for 
us Nature never intended the game and fisn to be 
exterminated for the purpose of enriching a few power- 
ful and dominating companies. 
It is certainly incomprehensible that so manv men 
rlaiming to be sportsmen can be (to put it mildly) so 
inconsistent as to shoot birds in the spring en route to 
Tlieir ne'sting grounds. To do so appears to nie to be in 
direct onoo^sition to the laws of nature and common 
sense. Men who kill birds or game animals when in the 
act of propagating their specie:, or when preparing to do 
mu^t necessarily be unthinking men, or otherwise 01 
a verv low order, and too far down in the intellectual 
scale to have the remo-est claim to be classed a^ snorts- 
,wn or in anv way re^non^ible for their actions, farmers 
killing off their noultry in the snring and expecting to 
have a <=nriniv for the market in the fall of the year._ woulcl 
' be considered vm^er ?nbieH-« for Government mstitu- 
rlons undf^r medical 'supervision. , 
T^'o^e States and Provinces in which spring shooting 
■ s allowed are. to a large extent, responsible tor the 
difiSculties other Provinces (where better laws prevail) 
have in enforcing them. 
Intense selfishness is the man factor actuating spring 
shooters. They know they are doing wrong, and console 
themselves with the reflection that others do it. 
I affirm in the most positive manner that those who 
indulge in spring shooting of game, and those who ad- 
vocate it, have not in their composition the smallest 
attribute of genuine sportsmen. Conventions of sports- 
men may be held, and meetings of game protective asso- 
ciations. These meetings will have no beneficial efl^ect in 
increasing or perpetuating the supply of game, if the 
hunting or killing of game animals or birds is allowed at 
the time alloted by nature for their propagation. 
When we consider that migratory game on its way to 
the nesting places is shot at each and every stage of the 
journey from Florida to Hudson Bay, it is surprising 
that any are spared to return south to their winter 
quarters. I am convinced there are a sufficient number of 
sportsmen in every State of the Union, and in every 
Province of the Dominion, to bring influence to bear on 
the powers that be to have the disgraceful and unnatural 
practice of spring shooting abolished. Men worthy to 
be classed as sportsmen, put your shoulders to the wheel, 
make a united effort before it is too late, and prevent the 
necessity of the next generation having to visit museums 
to learn what the fauna of this great continent was. 
The lesson taught by the practical extinction of the 
buffalo and wild pigeon should have the efifect of causing 
thinking men to take the question of game protection 
to a higher plain than political exigency, and make it like 
reforestry, one of national importance. These are ques- 
tions that should have the attention and consideration of 
statesman and scientist, as having a powerful influence 
for the future welfare and prosperity of their respective 
countries. 
Forest and Stream is doing its full share of the good 
work, and it is to be hoped the powers that be will take 
the question uo as one affecting the general public, and 
not as only affecting a few sportsmen. 
Ranger. 
Our First Maskalonge. 
TwENT\'-Fivz years ago the ambition to take a St. Law- 
rence River maskalonge drew us to Alexandria Bay, where 
we engaged Bill , a broad-shouldered giant of a 
guide (.provided with one leg of flesh and bone and one of 
well seasoned spruce), to take us to Long Island, near the 
outlet of Lake Ontario. We were to reach a farm house 
on the island at sundown and begin fishing next morning. 
Bill had been there once, and professed to know all about 
everything connected with the trip and the capture of 
big game fish. 
VV e, the enthusiast Bill and his canoe went by steamboat 
to Gananoque, Canada, where we added to our supplies. 
We launched our boat from the steamer and slid down a 
rope into it, followed by our guide, who skillfully avoided 
putting his wooden leg through the bottom. At dusk we 
reached the extremity of a long island, but not the Long 
Island ;Of our desire. That we could see miles to the 
south— but such a space of water between ! As darkness 
came down. Bill pulled with diminished vigor, and our 
wet goods having run out and his spruce leg getting tired, 
he stopped frequently to drink the water of the river, and 
to look for his bearings. We were not lost, but wanted 
badly to open up that farm house light on Long Island. 
By 10 o'clock, to our joy, we were at the farm— but not 
welcomed. A party in a steam launch had arrived ahead 
of us and pre-empted all of the beds, and most of the 
food. How we spent the night cannot be told here. 
Next morning we were off early for the fishing ground- 
on the big waters of the outlet. There was one big fish in 
those waters, and he was to be ours. Now Bill had pro- 
vided the usual tackle of that region — a line nearly as big 
as a cod line, with an outrigger, and a guy line for safety 
in case of a strike of importance. I had my striped has . 
rod and reel, with 600 feet of fine i8-strand linen line, an ! 
the ordinary Buell spoon. Bill had bought at Alexandra 
Bay a gorgeous spoon — certainly very attractive — the apf/ti 
of his eye. Of course, he condemned my rig as unsuit- 
able for a fish of any size, and trusted his precious spoon 
only to the stout line which my wife was to handle. 
After hours of rowing with no success, we were becom- 
ing skeptical as to the abundance of maskalonge in those 
waters, when a shock was experienced that made us all 
start. The strike was so terrific that the boat's speed was 
checked by it, the outrigger bent like a reed and the line, 
after holding out bravely for a moment, parted with a 
twang and the long snout was free again. Bill almost 
cried over the loss of his spoon, and complained that 
judgment had not been used after the fish struck, but 
before he had dried his eyes there was a strike on the 
other line, and then scientific methods were put into 
practice. After running a long distance toward Lake 
Ontario, the fish turned and with a rush came directly 
under our boat. Being coaxed up from the depths virith 
the whole power of the rod, he suddenly came into view 
in all of his beauty and ugliness, his eyes looking devilish 
and defiant. 
Bill had early made the announcement that the nsh could 
not be saved with any such line as I was using, and now 
bewailed continually the loss of his spoon, until I told him 
to keep quiet and attend to business. When it was evi- 
dent the fight was almost finished, Bill made his prepara- 
tions to gaff the prize. Although fearful of overturning 
the boat, he safely landed him, and then I had the satisfac- 
tion of presenting to Bill his spoon, taken from the fish's 
mouth. This was the same fish that had broken away 
from mv wife's line nearly an hour before. 
Bill had covered himself with glory— having really cap- 
tured a big fi«h. No other man could have done it. What 
I had considered an every day occurrence— taking big 
raa?ka]onge — was really an event of the season. Bill him- 
self confessed that he had never been in at the death of 
so large a fish. Our prize was 4 feet 10 inches long, and 
weighed not less than 40 pounds. With this addition to 
ourload, our guide feared we might be swamped, as the 
waters were rough, but we arrived safely at Qayton and 
took- the steamer. Bill,, resolutely refusing to leave the 
fish, was towed behind us all the way to Alessandria Bay 
with one oar in the air flying a handkerchief, as the sigfa 
of a catch. 
On arriving the town soon heard the news and flocked to 
our hotel to see the maskalonge. Bill had coveted the fish 
from the first, and knowing we were booked for Montreal 
the next morning, had said if we would give it to him he 
would send it to a brother, who would give him a rifle 
for it. We gave in and let him have it, but alas ! for poor 
weak humanity ! By what inducement I do not know. Bill 
parted with his fish that same night to a man from Utica, 
who at once shipped it home, where it was met by a pro- 
cession with a brass band— so we afterward heard — and 
we have no doubt the glory of that catch remains with the 
Utica personage. 
We imagine in and around Alexandria Bay a tradition 
still lingers of our eventful voyage — although the weight 
of the fish may have increased with the years. We believe 
in being truthful, however. 
A. H, Wellington. 
Maine's Great Fishing. 
Boston, May 18. — The early fishing at the Rangeleys 
has started off in fine shape. The ice was very late about 
departing, and the trout and salmon have seemed to be 
ready to bite almost ever since. They have been met by a 
crowd of anglers, however, and the supply must be great 
to hold out. E, E. Suffern, of New York, is high line 
at the LTpper Dam thus far. Tuesday he landed a salmon 
of 10 pounds, and has added another to his string of 7 
pounds. B. G. Ackerman, of New York, has taken a 
salmon of 5 pounds and several trout. Tuesday morn- 
ing J. B. Watkins, of Brooklyn, N. Y., caught fotir 
salmon of about 2^A pounds each. He also caught several 
trout. Freeland Howe, of Norway, Me., who has fished 
at the Upper Dam for many sucessive seasons, has just 
taken trout of 5, 4 and 3 pounds. At Bemis the trout have 
been biting remarkably well right off Capt. Barker's wharf, 
Mrs. Newton Earl, of Providence, R. I., has caught a 
trout of 4 pounds there, and several smaller ones. C. E. 
Guild, of Boston, has taken some good trout at the same 
place. D. E. Adams, of Boston, made the first good 
catch of the season. Fishing at Bemis, he landed four 
good trout, one of over 4 pounds, on Monday after the ice 
left Saturday night. Frank P. Lee, oi Maiden. Mass., 
has caught there five trout, from 4 to 6 pounds. At 
Haines' Landing some good catches of salmon have been 
made, the salmon seeming to come to the lure first, as 
has been the case all over the lakes. Later the regulation 
brook trout are being taken. At Billy Soule's excellent 
catches of both trout and salmon are being made. The 
ica lingered in Rangeley Lake till late in the week, and 
hence fishing has not progressed very rapidly there. At 
the Old Boston Club camps, just below the Upper Dam, 
the T. J. McDonald party is quartered for a stay of 
tliree weeks. The fishermen have already made some 
excellent catches of both trout and salmon. Their record 
will be a good one when published. 
Mr. Henry C. Litchfield, at the store of Dame, Stoddard 
& Co., was much pleased with a present to-day from his 
friend Park Dingley. of the Lewiston, Me., Journal. It 
was five brook trout, two of 4 pounds, one of 3 pounds, 
one of 354 pounds and one of 2 pounds, and a black bass 
of 3 pounds. This string was the result of one day's 
fishing by Mr. Dingley at Belgrade Mills, Me. The fish 
were displayed in the store window of the firm on Wash- 
ington street, and attracted a good deal of attention. The 
fishing at the Belgrade ponds is all the more remarkable 
when it is remembered *that it is the result of stocking 
with bass, since which the brook trout, indigenous to all 
the Maine waters, but driven out or destroyed by pickerel,; 
have come back. 
- Dr. and Mrs. House have sailed on the steamer Yar- 
nouth for a fishing trip to Greenfield, on the Port Med- 
way River, Queen's county, N. S. They will try the 
trort and salmon for a week or two. A recent letter to 
Mr. J. B. Baxter, at Dame, Stoddard & Co.'s, says that 
the Indians at Milton, on the Liverpool River, in the 
same county, have been catching a number of salmon, 
averaging 10 pounds. Mr. Baxter believes that there is 
iixcellent sport for Boston and New York sportsmen in 
Ibat section of Nova Scotia. 
May 21.— Railway ticket sellers and officials tell rae 
that they have never sold as many tickets to the Rangeleys 
in the same length of time as they have done since the 
ice departed. To Moosehead the tide of fishing travel is 
also remarkablv good. Everybody seems interested. At 
the Rangeleys' guides are at a premium. Remarkable 
catches begin to be reported, with landlocked salmon still 
in the lead, although trout are expected, to make a better 
showing a little later. T. J. McDonald, of Lowell, at 
the head of the McDonald party, now occupying the old 
Boston Club camps, just below the Upper Dam, writes 
me, under date of May 17: "The trout are more plenty 
and taking hold. Our catch is as follows : L. A. Derby, 
one salmon of 3 pounds, one trout of 3 pounds ; Mrs. L. A. 
Derby, one trout of 3 pounds, one salmon of 3 pounds; 
Dr. G. C Bates, thirteen salmon, from 3 to 4 pounds ; E. 
S. Hosmer, four trout of 2 to 4 pounds ; Mrs. E. S. Hqs- 
mer, five salmon, from 2 to 3^2 pounds; S. R. Pendexter, 
three trout of 4 pounds, one salmon of 3 pounds ; Dr. D. D. 
Snvder. one salmon of 4 pounds, one of 2 pounds; T. J. 
McDonald, three trout of from i}^ to 3 pounds; Mrs. T. 
J. McDonald, one salmon of 3J4 and one trout of 2 
pounds; Henry Bonyton. one trout of $ pounds." Here 
is at least I'S pounds of brook trout and salmon taken in 
about a week by a party of ten. Dr. Johnson, of Boston, 
has just returned from Grand Lake, with a catch of two 
salmon of 10 pounds each, caught in the Calai<? Pools. 
Fifteen fi.shermen went through Bangor on Monday for 
Moosehead. and the number has been about as great every 
day since. Mr. Lathrop. Mr. Gage, J. W. Shenard and 
W. F. Campbell, of Boston, and W. A. McDonald, of 
Portland. Me., took forty speckled trout at Moosehead in 
one day last week. Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Hill, of Boston, 
fi'^hing the came water?, have brought in fourteen Irnut 
from one dav's fi^hinr. This is Mrs. Hill's first fishing trp 
to Moncehead. Mr. Steinway and Mr. Rossmassle caueht 
Time fi-^h Wcdnesd.nv. the largest weighing 4 nonnds. 
-After all. Moosehead renorts say that the fishmjr has not 
been what it pught to have been, by reason of the cpl^ 
