Feb, 22, 1 902.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
fcttfu §ng mid §mt. 
"Proprietors of shooting resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them in Fohest and Stream, 
Noti-Resident Licenses. 1 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
It is very evident after reading the article by Lexden in 
your issue of Feb. IS, that he belongs to that class of 
sportsmen who have money to burn, as the phrase is.. If 
all sportsmen were in that class there would be very little 
kicking on account of any non-resident license law. As 
it is, there are a good many of us who cannot afford to 
have another piper added to those that already stand wait- 
ing to relieve us of our money when we step over the line 
of another State to do our hunting. 
With from two to six others, I have made some eight 
trips to Maine for the purpose of enjoying the grand 
advantages of lake and forest, and for the chance of 
killing what game we legally could. 
In that time we have expended at a low estimate, some 
$1,200, divided among the railroads, as little as possible to 
hotels and restaurants, some to guides for canoe hire, 
groceries and incidentals, nearly all of which was a direct 
benefit to the residents of the State where the hunting 
was done. Per contra, the State was the poorer by a 
few deer and grouse, the bait, we might call them, that 
tempted us to expend our dollars. 
Now, if Maine is foolish enough to demand of us, say 
$20, or even $10, apiece, we shall be obliged to discon- 
tinue our trips and seek our pleasure elsewhere. It would 
appear to be a very short-sighted policy for any State to 
pass a law, the character of which will keep out at least 
one-quarter of the hunting visitors. Of course the license 
law will give more room to those able . to pay it, the 
higher the license the more room. 
Will the people derive as much benefit from the smaller 
number of visitors as from the whole number? And why 
raise this extra money to protect the game where no 
scarcity exists, and the outlying farmer is complaining of 
crops damaged by deer? It might become necessary to 
expend the money to buy wire fences to protect these 
gardens, or perhaps some of the wardens might be sta- 
tioned there to keep out the deer. Seriously, there is a 
plenty and a great plenty, too, of deer. Why, coming out 
on the train this fall, there at the edge of the woods bor- 
dering the track, stood a deer watching the train as it 
whizzed by; this is no uncommon sight, either. 
Maine is. large, her forest grand and some of it hard to 
get at; her laws as they stand are good enough, both for 
the protection of game and the visiting sportsman, and 
in the name of everything sacred do not compel some of 
us to stay at home and forego our hunting trips, just be- 
cause some people are not satisfied to let well enough 
alone. B. 
Plymouth, Mass. 
Springfield, Mass., Feb. 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am a frequent visitor to Maine, and am interested in 
the proposed taxation of non-resident hunters. I do not 
believe in it at all. My own honest belief is that the seri- 
ous depletion of Maine's fish and game reserves comes 
not from the sportsmen outside the State, who make an 
annual or less frequent visit to the woods, but from the 
residents of the State itself, particularly in those regions 
which are remote from the large cities,, and where there 
are few, if any, game wardens, or, as is often the case, 
inefficient wardens, I firmly believe that many residents 
of the State get their entire meat supply at the simple 
expense of hunting down the game or catching the fish, in 
season or out, as opportunity offers. 
In common with a number "of other Springfield men, I 
have frequently visited John F. Haynes' Alligator Lake 
Camp, in Hancock county, Me., during the past twelve 
years, and one of my Springfield friends has often been 
there during the past seventeen years. Our joint belief 
is that the average city visitor to Maine is willing to 
observe any reasonable game or fish law, and that the 
large game killed will average considerably less than one 
animal to each outside visiting sportsman.. I have seen 
that usually after a vacationist has killed his first deer he 
is not at all particular whether future trips result in se- 
curing more venison, although, of course, he is desirous 
that the camp should have at least one carcass for use 
in providing the table. We have carefully read your 
news report and editorial on the "Maine Non-Resident 
Tax" in your issue of the 18th, and cordially indorse 
Hon. Charles E. Oak's speech before, the meeting of the 
Maine Sportsmen's Fish and Game Association. 
Why should not the railroads, which reap a heavy finan- 
cial harvest from the traveling sportsmen, be induced to 
contribute materially toward the extension and improve- 
ment of the. game warden service? All right-thinking 
sportsmen want to have the fish and game of Maine prop- 
erly guarded, but most of us can hardly afford to addd 
such a tax, as is proposed, to the expense of our vaca- 
tions. ' •■ 
The people of Maine need to watch a very large ele- 
ment of their own fixed population, at all times, even more 
closely than they do. the sportsmen from out of the State, 
if they want to preserve their game and fish. 
E. M. Wilkins. 
Augusta, • Me., Feb. 6. — Editor Forest and Stream; 
T am very 'much obliged . to you for printing toy com- 
munication. I read your, editorial in relation to it with 
some surprise. 
I inclose you an editorial from to-day's issue of the 
Bangor Daily News, the leading daily morning news- 
paper in Maine east of Augusta. 
Now you said in substance a, few weeks since that if 
there is as much poaching in Maine as I allege, '"that the 
demand is not for a non-resident license tax, but for a 
reorganization of the Commission." 
Now, in Maine we are, as this editorial in the News 
<tar.es. in substance, confronted "with a condition, not a 
rheory." We cannot get a larger appropriation for fish 
and game, strange as it may appear to you and others. 
What, then, in your opinion, had we best do? Do the 
best^we can with what, we .have, as we have been doing, 
ands'ee our big'game more 'or less rapidly disappear, as it 
surely will under present conditions, or impese a moder- 
ate license fee to hunt it, sufficient to afford it reason?* 
able protection? 
Now ; I for one, will be grateful to you, if you,, as a 
practical sportsma \ will answer + his > squarely. It is not 
argument to abuse me — that vs b^_.Jng the question. 
T ask you for your opinion what we had best do, grantea 
vnat I state the conditions correctlv in relation to our 
being unable to procure any large, appropriation fprn 
the State. ' 
I notice that your correspondent, Special, says the 
Maine papers "\re generally leaning against a license, ex- 
cept such as would create an exclusive hunting aristocracy. 
The Bangor Daily News in trie editorial above referred 
to Jistinctly states the contrary, as I read it. 
L. T. Carleton, 
[It has by no means been demonstrated that the Maine 
Commissioners have done "the best we can with what we 
have," and that therefore the vwwision. of more funds 
is'the sine qua non of better game protection in the Maine 
wood?. On the contrary, there is reasonable ground for 
entertaining the belief that a Commission which should 
avoid the mistakes of the present one and administer its 
affairs with more gumption and ability might achieve a 
vast improvement eve^ without being given, more money. 
There is no necessity then of accepting simply on Mr. 
Carleton's bald statement, the conclusion that there are 
but two alternatives, to see the game disappear or to raise 
more money for the Comn..ssion.] 
Editor Forest and StrCam: 
I have just read what an advocate of a non-resident 
hunting tax had to say in your recent issue. Possibly I 
am not a sportsman, in the generally accepted meaning 
of the word. Moreover, I am an Indiana boy, who thinks 
a license tax is unnecessary and inconsistent. The transr 
portation companies pay enough money into the State 
treasuries to compensate the State for any expense it is 
put to on account of game protection. Instead of appre- 
ciating this fact and drafting laws to limit the kill, they 
choose by direct license tax to take earnings from trans- 
portation companies by curtailing travel; or, if the. travel 
continues, cover game warden expense off non-residents. 
But the travel is curtailed in a marked degree by a non- 
resident license fee. Ask representatives of any of the 
lines running into the hunting grounds of Michigan, 
Wisconsin or Minnesota.. 
To limit travel is the real object of a $25 non-resident 
license. It means "stay out of our State ; we don't want 
you." If the man with easy money feels complimented 
by the knowledge that he can take' his outing if he wants 
to. and that he is specially invited by this class legisla- 
tion, he simply overlooks the intents and purposes of 
the law. 1 
Of course, there are people who won't take no for an 
answer ; and there are many others to whom the sport at- 
tending an outing during the hunting season means so 
much to their health and happiness, that they will meet 
any sacrifice within their means rather than remain 
at home. This is the class deserving of sympathy. The 
sportsman of this type can't afford to spend a month 
or two each summer at the seashore. He is the man of 
moderate means. He may be a doctor, lawyer, merchant, 
bookkeeper, clerk, farmer or what not. He wants an our- 
ing. He prefers to camp in the woods, with a few con- 
genial companions, where he can ramble for a couple of 
weeks. A gun is considered a natural adjunct to a 
ramble in the hunting season. Four out of five of these 
people don't expect to kill anything larger than a rabbit. 
It is a hardship for them to pay $25 for the privileges they 
ask. and, as I said before, it is inconsistent. 
The only license fee within the bounds of reason would 
be the local market value of the game named in the 
license. And this game the licensee should be permitted to 
carry out of the State. T am not in favor of class legisla- 
tion, nor a license to hunt on wild lands. I think Amer- 
ican citizenship should not sink to the level ' of peasant 
life. Dollars and cents will not weigh in the scale witlT 
true manhood; and if a man to be a sportsman must be 
able and willing to spend money lavishly, then the time is 
at hand to classify under another title the army of sober, 
industrious men who, like the Boers of the TransvaaL 
know how to shoot, and love to tread the hills annoyed 
by the hand of oppression. 
Those who are responsible for non-resident license 
laws make the mistake of legislating in the interest of a 
class, instead of the game or of the people in general. It 
is not their intention to do so. Legislators frequently 
vote on a proposition without knowing what it consists 
of, and our discussion of the subject will avail nothing. 
The proper way to protect game is to limit the kill, but 
give rich and poor an equal chance at it while it lasts. 
G. W. Cunningham. 
Small Bores vs. Big Bores*' 
I wish to publicly acknowledge my gratitude to Geo. 
F. Dominick, Jr., and also to Frederic Irland, for the 
graphic, descriptions of moose hunting which appeared 
over their names in Forest and Stream for Feb. 1. 
Both of these descriptions are classic word pictures "of 
the sport, for which every reader of Forest and Stream 
should feel grateful. Mr. Irland's article is also a valu- 
able contribution to the literature relating to small-bore 
rifles, and I think will do much to dissipate the mental fog 
in which many are groping as a result of conflicting re- 
ports in regard to the work these rifles are capable of. 
When I was outfitting for my first moose hunt the 
praises " of the .30-30 and the .30-40 were persistently 
sung for my benefit by my friends, but I looked at that 
little ,30-caliber 160-grain bullet and closed my ears to 
the song of the siren, finally buying one of the much- 
maligned .45-90 repeaters. I will say here for this rifle, it 
has killed three big bull moose, one bull caribou, and about 
twenty-five deer, and no animal was ever struck by one 
of its bullets that, did not go into camp with me. I do 
not argue from this that the .45-00 is an ideal moose gun, 
for in my opinion the ideal black-powder moose gun 
should have a bigger caliber and a cartridge holding more 
powder and leatl — in fact, something very close to the 
•577 gun which Mr. Irland mentioned. The .375 high 
power gun which he described comes still nearer to my 
ideal, and I have waited a long time for our manu- 
facturers to put such a rifle on the market, and have 
wondered at their failure to do so. There is certainly 
sufficient demand for such a rifle to make its manufacture 
profitable. Most opinions in regard to rtfles are based 
Upon insufficient data. 
The first moose a man kills may come out into an open- 
ing and stand like a pet lamb to be killed by one shot 
from a .30-30, or even a .44-40. and then the lucky humer 
thinks his rifle is ne plus ultra, the best gun for moose, and 
sfcrr/rhtway tells all of his friends of his wonderful 
achievement, and consequently a good many form errone- 
ous opinions respecting the gun, all of which are based 
upon a single lucky shot. I have heard of a moose being 
m~<\ by one shot from a 22-caliber rifle. I 
have also heard of a bear being killed by one 
Wow from the butt ead of a common carriage 
whip but who would assume from such an occur- 
ence that carriage whips are the best weapons with 
$?§h to kill bear Yet this would only be carrying the 
fallacies of the small-bore craze to an^extreme. borne 
3 our instructors in the noble art of nfle shooting , who 
Wrv the use of big bores and powerful charges, tell US 
hat most any HttK bullet will kill the biggest and most 
ferocio£ animal if placed in a vital place, therefore bul- 
ets sho«W "iwavs be placed in vital places, as this ; would 
not onlv make the use of I ? bores and powerful charges 
unnecessary, but would be evidence of greater skill and a 
mVher tvpe of sportsmanship, . , 
Thi^ is a very beautiful theory and would be ; mat the 
thin-* to nut into practice if it were possible to do it But 
t Sin po^ible. and some of the most lamentable failures 
I luiow of were -made by some of these same instructors 
wiT attempting to put their own theory rtito.oractice. 
When a mAe hunter has snent perhaps years m a vain 
ouest f : • the naiestic head which he fondly hopes tc . some 
rkv sec adorning his hall or dming room, and at last dis- 
co L 4« it when it is being borne away from him at railway 
speed by Tgreat bundle of muscular energy, now - e ancmg 
between tree trunks, now plunging over windfalls, and 
nSTXost hidden bv thick brush, do you think he will 
"^ain his impulse to shoot, and await the fortuitous 
ime when tl eiUe shall be held motionless before him 
a easv range with nothing in the line of =ight between 
Sim and the great pulsing heart but one thickness of skm 
SS a few inches of flesh which the little 160-gram bullet 
Ca No P T£ a the instinct of the hunter to shoot, and shoot 
he will even to the last cartridge in his gun. and the 
?esu7t is generally n huge animal with a few sore 
ne^r the surface of ts anatomy at one end of the trail, 
ana a hunTer sick with disappointment and saying un- 
speakable things, at the other. - ' , 
A moose's skin, to say nothing of the to ign, thick 
mnscl" and massive bones which it covers is ^ ™at 
of mail. I once saw a wound on a big bull made by a 
45-Taliber bullet weighing 400 grains, and driven bv oo 
grains measure of Dunont No. I smokeless nowder This 
bullet first cut squarelv through one thickness of skm. 
Xen throueh about 6 inches of muscles, then sauarely 
f^oufh another thickness of. skin and lastly, lengthwise 
through about 4 inches of skin, and then stopr-d. That 
was an eve-opener for me. Another bullet, from a 30-40 
Winchester, struck the same bull scuarelv in the center 
of the neck, went through one thickness of skm and 5 or 6 
niches of 'muscle, and then stopped aeaim* the neck bone 
without shattering it in the lea<t. As Wand would put 
it the old bull kent right on thinking the * rid was 
good place to live in. until about three hours later. whe>. 
two more bullets from the Winchester got in where he 
lived and mixed things up a little. It matters little what 
the velocity and shock of a bullet is so long as it fa s 
to dehVr its shock at the seat of life. To do this regu- 
larly, ir must have weight in proportion to the resistance 
it has to meet. . . . . , 
I agree with Irland that the .30-30 is all right for moose 
birds° but when I am dealing with moose, I want bigger 
caliber, more powder, and lead enough to cut its way 
through the tremendous resistance it sometimes meets 
from tough hide, thick muscles, and massive bones, and 
still have vim enousrh to smash the interior arrangements. 
I shall aivait with what patience I can summon, the 
second installment of Mr. Irland's delightful story, which 
is promised us. 
I am curious to know whether any more of the small- 
bore aftermath was gathered in up there on the Little 
Sou'west. Jos. W. Shurtek. 
Ganse%'oort, Feb. 8. 
A Quaint Old Arm, 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
A description of an old flintlock gun, or musket, in the 
possession of the writer, may prove of interest to the 
readers of the Forest and Stream, and incidentally call 
forth a clue to the origin or history of this relic of an- 
tiquity. Knowing the family from which it came, we are 
confident that it did duty against the British in- the 
Revolution,, and it is also quite possible it saw the heights 
of Quebec in the French and Indian war. It came from 
Ridgefield. Conn., a section rich in Revolutionary lore, 
and the scene of a minor engagement with the British. 
After reposing quietly in an attic, with other antiques, 
it was only brought-forth from darkness to light— not for 
love of country, but love of gain, and in this worldly man- 
ner became the property of the writer. Length ("over 
all"), 62 inches; length of stock, I2j^ inches; the stock is 
of the club variety, and it and all the woodwork appear to 
be of beech; length of barrel, 47 inches; gauge, three- 
quarters of an inch at muzzle. The fore end— or what- 
ever they called it— extends to within three inches of the 
muzzle, and is the receptacle for an iron ramrod of 
unique manufacture. 
The lock is in fair serviceable condition, and the flint 
looks as though it might still do duty — should necessity 
require it. The drop of stock we did not measure, and 
the pull is not of the hair-trigger variety. By the liberal 
use of emery and oil. aided by an abundance of "elbow- 
grease," the name (or part of it) was deciphered on 
the lock plate to be "Jacque Valet" on first line, and "A 
Liege" under or on second, the letters "J. A. C.," also 
the word "Valet," also the "A" and the letters "Lie" 
on second line we are positive of, but that it all spells 
"Liege" is a supposition on our part. The butt plate and 
trimmings are brass. E. H. Fox. 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Porest and Stream Publishing Co,, and 
not to any individual connected with the paper. 
