48 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 21, igcx>. 
Sportsmen's f ina$. 
Some of the Queer Discoveries Made by Those Who Are 
Looking for Game or Fish. 
i, — A Cave of Robbers. 
An Altoona, Pa., dispatch to the New York Herald 
the other day told this storj^: James Gray and James 
Short, of New York, who have been fishing for bass in 
the mountains west of this city, were told that Bear 
Cave, a few miles distant, had never been explored because 
of the supposed presence of bears. 
Gray and Short concluded to explore the cave. 
Attaching one end of a ball of twine to a tree at the 
mouth of the cave they entered with lanterns, unwinding 
the twine as the}^ proceeded. They soon heard a deep 
growl. Both fired in the direction of the sound. The 
shots were answered almost as soon as delivered^ and the 
' growls turned into jeers from human lips. Gray had 
fallen and he whispered to Short that he was shot through 
the stomach. Short carried his companion outside the 
cave and gave an alarm. 
The wounded 3'^oung man is thought to be dying. The 
men of Hillside armed themselves last night and started 
for the cave, determined to raid it. For years the region 
•has been infested by robbers. The supposed growling of 
bears was mimicry by the thieves. 
2 —A Coffca Pot of ICoin. 
Abner Wilson, a farmer Avho resides near Jatan. was 
seining for minnows in a little creek which runs through 
his place, when his net caught on some obstruction in the 
bottom of the creek. He reached down to remove the 
obstacle, when his hand came in contact with an old coffee 
pot. He threw it up on the bank, when it bursV ooen, and 
a pile of gold scattered itself over the ground. Wilson's 
eyes bulged out, and for a few moments he imagined he 
had been dreaming, but when he went out on the bank 
there was the bright metal, cold and shining. The gold 
was all in $5, $10 and $20 pieces, and all bore the date of 
1857 or prior to that time. 
A count showed that there w^s $670 in the pot. -So 
far there is no clue as to who is the rightful owner, li: is 
supposed that the gold was sunk in the creek orior to the 
war, and dates on the coins lend color to the theory. Mr. 
Wilson says he is willing to give up the nroperty to any 
one who can show a title to it. — St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 
Pennsylvania Game Interests. 
Office of the Board of Game Commissiokers. — Har- 
risburg, July 11. — Editor Forest and Siream: A regular 
meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission was held 
last week. Mr. Kennedy, of Pittsburg; Mr. Westfall. of 
Williamsport; Mr. Sober, of Lewisburg. and Mr. Wor- 
den, of Harrisburg, being present. Reports on the work 
of the Commission were received from many parts of 
the State, showing that while the work of the board was 
far from perfect, yet much good was being accomplished : 
that since our last meeting in January, one or more pros- 
ecutions had been brought in almost every countj^, and 
that certain parties from out of the State had been 
brought back hy requisition and compelled to pay the 
penalties, thus establishing a precedent that the Commis- 
sion feel will result in much good to the cause of pro- 
tection of game as well as other birds in this and other 
States. Reports show that aside from the prosecution 
brought by the Commission, many others had been 
brought throughout the Commonwealth by associations 
and individuals who were not onl\' interested in game 
and bird protection, but who see in the provisions of the 
game law of 1897 a way of protecting themselves, their ' 
property and thi sanctity of the Sabbath that was never 
realized before. Several reports of the killing of deer 
out of season, also the running of deer by dogs, were 
received. Complaints Avere read from several sections 
reporting the_ robbing of the nests of wild turkey and 
other game birds. Some of these offenses have already 
been punished, and it was resolved to spare no effort to 
punish each and every violation of the law reported to 
the Commission. To this end the personal letter of the 
president of the Board, Mr. Kennedy, to his friends in 
the western part of the State was adopted as a general 
appeal of the Game Commission for help to aid them 
in enforcing the game laws of the Commonwealth. Mr. 
Kennedy's letter is as follows: 
"Dear Sir: If you are interested in the protection of 
our song, insectivorous and game birds. I would like to 
present a few facts to you. The Board of Game Com- 
missioners of PennsAdvania succeeded in having a good 
law passed for the protection of birds, but the State did 
not allow us one dollar to enforce the law. For the past 
three years the Board of Game Commissioners have paid 
all their own expenses and expenses connected with 
many suits for violation of the game laws out of their 
own pocket. We have now a great many suits on hand 
and our board feel that we should receive- some assist- 
ance from the public. If you feel like making a donation 
to this work it will be greatly appreciated. Any money 
collected in this way will form a special fitnd for the 
enforcing of the laws for the better protection of our 
song and insectivorous birds and game birds and game 
mammals. Money will be received by the writer at the 
Pennsylvania Title and Trust Co.'s office, 410 Smithfield 
street. Pittsburg, Pa. — ^Wm. M. Kenkedy, President 
Board of Game Commissioners." 
That you and others Avho may read this article may 
fully understand the situation, I desire to say that through 
some misapprehension of the needs of the Game Com- 
mission we were given by the last Legislature an ap- 
propriation of but $800, and that was limited to the pay- 
ment of postage and express charges. We are not par- 
takers of the very liberal appropriation given the Fish 
Commission. The work of the Game Commission has 
been done at the personal expense of each Commis- 
sioner. Of the treatment to be accorded us bj-^ the com- 
ing Legislature we have no doubt. Our solicitude is for 
the time intervening between now and then; conse- 
quently we make this appeal. Our books are open to 
public inspection. Oitr report to the Governor will show 
every dollar received and how expended. Because of the 
many letters received by the Game Commission calling 
their attention to violations of the fish laws, I desire by 
direction of the Game Commission to say that as a Com- 
mission they have nothing whatever to do with the en- 
forcement of the fish laws. As individuals we are in- 
terested in fish protection, and will upon information re- 
ceived do in the future, as in the past, what we can to 
fm-ther the work in that direction. 
Reports show there are more quail in Pennsylvania to- 
day than for many years past. Pheasants are increasing 
rapidl)^ Deer are appearing in sections where none have 
been seen for a long time. Wild turkeys are becoming- 
numerous in sections Avhere two years ago no more than 
a half dozen could be found in a season's hunting. Song 
and insectivorous birds are coming back to their old 
haunts. Protection is beginning to tell. All we want is 
more of it. The Game Commission does not pretend to 
claim all the credit for the existing condition. Much 
credit is due the Pennsyh'ania State Sportsmen's x\sso- 
ciation, the Audubon Society and individuals who are 
spending their time and money for the good cause. 
Much credit is also due the Forestry Department for 
the way in which they are fighting and compelling the 
fighting of forest fires, which destroy not only the nests 
of the birds, but innumerable quantities of young ani- 
mals as well as birds. We do claim credit for part of the 
condition, and are proud of our wo-rk under the sur- 
rounding conditions, 
Joseph Kalbfus, 
Sec'y Game Commission. 
Quail in Town. 
SA\TiE, Pa. — While I was picking field daisies on July 
4 the cheery call of "Bob White" fell gently upon my ears 
from the charming river bottom lands and quite within 
the corporate limits of Athens. Four years had elapsed 
since the writer last Hstened to Bob's summer day ditty 
as it came soft and clear from the top of a rail fence hard 
by the beautiful Mt. Hope Cemetery at Lansing, Mich. 
A very dear friend was being tenderly laid away "under 
the sod and the dew," and the plaintive cry of the quail 
as it floated across the green slopes carried with it all the 
comforting assurances of a benediction. 
This remembrance made the flute-like tones of this 
happy Pennsylvania bird doubly rich in their import, and 
created a hope that the birds may be spared until they 
have increased sufficiently in numbers to withstand the 
hard shooting which the presence of even a puny supply 
invites. 
Some fine bevies are reported along the river flats in 
this section, and as conditions have been and still con- 
tinue favorable the sportsman has every reason to feel 
correspondingly elated. 
Ruffed grouse have experienced a favorable nesting 
period, and as there was a good supply of old birds re- 
maining in covers frofn last season, it is reasonable to 
prophesy at least a normal supply for tlie approaching 
season. 
The July Avoodcock shooting which this State oblig- 
ingly provides is both delusive and elusiA'e. It possesses 
too many of the tragic elements of the slaughter of the 
innocents story to be at all satisfactory to the sportsman 
who loves sport tricked out in robust form and weighted 
with at least some semblance of dignity. BetAveen the 
soft, floppy, immature Avoodcock of July and the boister- 
ous, alder-topping longbill of October there is a great 
and abounding difference, which the sportsman Avho 
loves shooting that tries his mettle and his gun cannot 
pass idly by. Speed the day when July Avoodcock shoot- 
ing shall have been passed into the limbo of an obsolete 
practice. There are some good covers reported as existing 
not far distant from Sayre. and later on the Avriter Avill 
take pleasure in designating Avhere they may be found. 
At present the birds are doing nicely, thank you. 
M. Chill. 
Getting Away from Business. 
"EvEKY business man of common sense knows, Avhether 
he chooses to acknowledge it or not, that the further away 
he gets in the evening from his commercial associations 
of the day, so that his business associates cannot get at 
him. the healthier he is, the Aviser life he leads ; in 
short, the better off he is in every respect and the abler 
for the duties of the morroAV." Avrites Edward Bok, of 
"The American Man and His Country." Now. Avhat 
does he get in the city in the evening, even if he lives a 
carefulljr regulated life? There is no mode of life he 
can possibly folloAv Avhich is in any Avay recuperatiA'c to 
his mental or physical being. He has never been out of 
hearing of the noises of the city or out of range of its 
li.ghts. "Chained to business" is his cry. EA'cry night he 
has slept in the polluted air of the city, and in the morn- 
ing has looked out on the same gray sidcAvalks Avhich 
he sees all day long. What does such a man know of 
the exhilarating, refreshing and blood-quickening ex- 
perience of opening the shutters of his chamber windoAV 
upon a landscape of space, the birds and insects all doing 
their best singing as the sun .shoots its.rays on the coming 
day? And worse, Avhat do his Avife ana children knoAV of 
such a blessing? Yet he deludes himself into the belief 
that .he must live in the city so as to be "in touch with 
things." If you ask him Avhat those "things" are, you 
iuA'ariably discover that they are of a business nature, 
either strictly business or some social convention Avhich 
he feels has a bearing on his business. But it is always 
business. Noav a man living under this pressure rarely 
does his best work, although he fulty Relieves that he is 
doing it. But he cannot be giving out the best, because 
he does not allow the best to get within him. 
F. M, B. 
Gettysburg, Pa. 
Importation of Birds and Animalsi 
The rules adopted by the Department of Agriculturi 
for the protection and importation of birds under thi 
. Lacey Act are published in Biological Survey Circulai 
No. 29, under date of July 13. We give the main paral 
graphs : 
The act of May 25, 1900, commonly known as the Lacey Act 
(1) places the preservation, distribution, introduction and restora 
tion of game and other birds under the Department of Agr-icul 
ture; (2) regulates the importation of foreign birds and animals 
prohibiting absolutely the introduction of certain injurious spe 
cies, and (3) prohibits interstate traffic in birds or game killed in 
violation of State laws. 
The object of placing this work in charge of an executive dei 
partment of the. Federal Government was merely to supplement 
and not to hamper or replace the work hitherto done by Stat, 
commissions and organizations; in other words, to co-ordinate a.m 
direct individual efforts and thus insure more uniform and mor- 
satisfactory results than could otherwise be obtained. Greater 
uniformity in State legislation and better enforcement of existinj 
laws can be secured only by the most complete co-operation b« 
tween the various forces now at work in the cause of bird protec 
tion. 
Propagation and Distribution of Game Birds. 
No Provision for Distribution of Birds. — ^The act authorizes, buj 
does not provide an appropriation for, the purchase and distribu 
tion of birds. The Department of Agriculture therefore has n^ 
quail, pheasants or other game birds for distribution. ; 
^ The Department issvi.es no permits for shipping birds from on^ 
State to another. In some States, as in California, the Board c 
Fish and Game Commissioners is authorized to issue permits fo. 
shipping birds for propagating purposes, and a few States, such a! 
Michigan and New Jersey, make exceptions in their game laws ir 
the case of birds captured for breeding purposes; but Avhen 
State forbids the exportation of birds without exception, intet 
state commerce in birds from that State is in violation of tli 
Lacey Act, whether the birds are captured during open season 
or whether they are intended for propagation or not. 
Importation of Foreign Animals and Birds. 
Persons contemplating the importation of live animals or biifd 
from abroad must obtain a special permit from the Secretary 
Agriculture, as reqtiired by section 2 of the act. The law is tnM 
datory and makes no exceptions besides those noted below. 1_ 
applies to single mam.mals, oirds or reptiles kept in cages as pet' 
as well as to large consignments intended for propagation in cap 
tivity or otherwise. ' 
But in order to avoid unnecessary hardship and atinoyance tli 
list of species which may be admitted without permit will be ex 
tended at an early date. 
Applications for Permits. — Importers are advised to make applr 
cation for permits in advance, in order to avoid annoyance an. 
delay when shipments reach the custom house. Application blank 
may be obtained from the Department. Requests fbr permit 
may be made in the following form ; 
To the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.'t 
Sir: 1 respectfully request that a permit be issued for the iltl 
portation of which will probably arrive at the pof 
of - from , on or about 190 
destmed for These animals or birds will be [stat 
^vhether the animals or birds are to be liberated or kept in Eaj) 
nvity and whether imported for propagStioilj exhibitioil oir othe 
purposes]. Very respectfully, w::.; i ; i 1 1 
Applications may also be made by telfegraphi iti which case thi 
message should contain (1) the number and species of birds am 
annuals for which a permit is desired, (2) the port of entry, (3) th 
country from which imlported and (4) the owner's name. 
Exceptions.— Permits are not required for domesticated bird 
such as chickens, ducks, geese, gtiinea fowl, peafowl, pigeons o 
canarie.e; for parrots (including cockatooes, lovebirds, macaAV. 
and parrakeets); or for natural history specimens for museums ii 
scientific collections. Permits must be obtained for all wild spc 
cies of pigeons and ducks, and when domesticated as well as wilt 
birds are included in the .same shipment all the species should b 
mentioned in the letter of application, in order to avoid any mis 
understanding as to the term "domesticated." 
Ruminants.— Tn the case of ruminants (including deer elk 
moose, antelopes and also camels and llamas), permits will b 
issued, as heretofore, in tlie form prescribed for importation c 
doiiiesticated animals. Such animals will be subject to inspectio5 
and quarantine, as required under Order No. 56 of the Bureai 
of Animal Industry, dated Dec. 28. 189,9, entitled "Regulation 
tor the inspection and quarantine of horses, neat cattle, sheep an- 
other riiinn-ants, and swine imported into the United States." 
Species Prohibited.— The introduction of the English or Euro 
pean house sparrow, the .starling, the fruit bat or flying fox am 
the mongoose, known alsc as the ichneumon or Pharaoh's rat, i 
.■ibsolutely prohibited and permits for their importation will no 
be issued under any circumstances. Importers are cautionei 
against placing any of these species in cages with other birds o 
animals. .Such action will render the shipment liable to detentioj 
at the custom house, as the species named imjst be exported o 
destroyed at the expense of the owner or agent. ' ' 
Permits.— Permits will be issued free of charge upon receip 
ot applications. . ' 
For the convenience of importers special inspectors will b/ 
designated at the ports of New York, Boston, Philadelphiai 
l.altimore._ VVaaliington, New Orleans and San Francisco, whc 
will examine shipments at the request of the owner or agent O' 
who may be consulted in case of mi.suuderstanding between owne 
and otticers of the customs. 
Transportation of Prohibited Species. 
-^ttentioa is called to the clause in section 3 which makes i 
unlawful for any person or persons to deliver to anv common car 
rier or for any common carrier to transport any foreign animal:' 
or birds the importation of which is prohibited by section 2. O' 
the species proliibited the mongoose and living fox have not ye 
gained a foothold in the United States. The European starlinfi 
{iiUmius vtiigans) has been introduced at several points and is nov 
present in the lower Hudson River Valley. N. Y.; at Pittsburg- 
Pa., and at Portland, Ore. The English sparrow (Passer domes 
liens) has spread to most of the States and Territories, but i' 
present at comparatively few points in Idaho, Montana NeV 
•Mexico. Oregon, Washington and Wvoming, and apparently ha'- 
not yet reached Arizona or Nevada. The deliberate shipment o 
starlings or English sparrows from one State to another is now ; 
N'lolation of law and renders the shipper and carrier liable to th( 
penalties provided m section 4. It may he possible, therefore t( 
prevent the spread of the English sparrow to States where 'tin 
bird is now absent, while those States in which it has gained onh 
a slight foothold have an opportunitv to rid themselves of thi 
pest by adopting vigorous measures for the destruction of the fev 
sparrows within their limits. 
Interstate Traffic in Animals or Birds Killed or Shipped 
in Violation of State Laws. 
an 
m, 
Yellowleg Snipe on Long; Island. 
QuBENswATER, L. I., JuIy 14.— A large flock of small 
yellowleg snipe vi^ere seen in the bay yesterday. This was 
the first flight of snipe since the season opened, July i. 
The weather has been extremely favorable for the incuba- 
tion of the eggs of bay birds, and there have been few 
severe storms to destroy the young. A good season's 
gunning is therefore anticipated. There will be plenty of 
meadow hens when the open season begins on'Aug. i6,- 
Ihe attention of sportsmen, commission merchants, shipperf 
nd express agents is especially called to sections .3. 4 and 5, whicl 
lake It unlawful to ship from one State to another animals 01 
birds which have been killed or captured in violation of local law- 
ana which require all packages containing animals or birds to bi 
plainly marked so that the name and address of the shipper am 
the nature of the contents may be ascertained by inspection o 
the outside of sucn packages. Common carriers are cautioned ti 
notify their agents to insist that all packages supposed to con 
tam game or other animals or birds must be marked with tlu. 
shipper's name and the contents. Shipment in any form thai' 
l.ends to conceal or obscure the nature of the contents or th<. 
shipper's name and address is plainly an evasion of the act anc 
the penalty applies to evasions as well as to violations of the law 
the act also prohibits interstate commerce in game though killeci 
in open seasons, if the law of the State in which such game i<- 
killed prohibits its export. 
In referring to these sections, the House Committee on Inter- 
state Commerce reported as follows: "The killing or carrying o 
game within the limits of a State is a matter w-holly wathin tht 
jurisdiction of the State; but when the fruits of the violation o; 
State law are carried beyond the State, the nation alone has powei 
j£ .*°r'?J,'^ transit and to punish those engaged in the traffic, 
I his bill will give the game wardens the very power that they now 
lack and which will be the most effective for the purpose of break 
ing vrp this commerce * -* * In some of the States the sale of 
certain game is forbidden at all seasons without regard to the place 
vi'here the same was killed. The purpose of these laws is to pre- 
