Sept. 12, igosJ 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
203 
seven, enjoyed an outing yesterday among friends in the 
vicinity of Waterloo and Elkhorn, and they made fur, 
fin and feather fly. In the evening Otto Spethmann wined 
and dined the party, while Gilbert Hopper and Dan 
McLain provided quarters for the night. President Hoye 
says that Spethmann's spread, with its dove and upland 
plover pot-pie, vegetables, fruit, dessert and Yellowstone, 
could not have been beaten. The Yellowstone Club's fall 
hunting camp on the Platte will be opened September 15. 
Charlie Metz returned last night from Pat Sheehan's, 
on Lake Shautaska, th.e Indian name for Lake Washing- 
ton, and he reports the very best kind of bass, pickerel, 
pike and croppie fishing. He made a catch of thirty-two 
yesterday forenoon, the largest weighing a fraction over 
six pounds. In the lot were six or eight four-pounders. 
Alex. B. Rutherford and a party of Union Pacific at- 
taches, also came down from the Red Squirrel's Nest and 
they report the same kind of luck. 
Wilber Fawcett writes me from Webb Lake, northern 
Minnesota, that the bass fishing up there is very poor this 
season. He says the lake has been seined so sys- 
ternatically that it is a rare thing to get over six or eight 
strikes a day. Just last June a year ago Judge Ogden, 
Mr. Fawcett and m3^self put in a week at thi.s"lake, and 
then, I doubt, if there was another body of water in the 
know-n world that could equal it for its black bass. On 
a wager I boated nine in less than ten minutes, and 
not one of them weighed less than four pounds. But that 
is another story to be told at another time. But what a 
shame it is that such a lake could be depleted in so short 
a time. 
The close season on prairie chicken ended in both 
South Dakota and Iowa on September i, and a number of 
Omaha gunners, not content to await the opening of the 
season in their own State, have already departed for these 
foreign grounds. The law in Kansas opened on August 
15, but the birds are not so plentiful down there this 
year as they usually are. In Nebraska the shooting has 
been wasely deferred until October i. That there are 
more chicken in this State than there has been for twenty 
years, that is, in certain localities, cannot be disputed. 
The shooting, therefore, is going to be grand. 
Omaha, Nebraska Sandy GrISWOLD. 
The Preserves and the Game. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your numerous able contributors who have written 
arguments and dissertations on the subject of Game 
Rerseves of late, appear to be aligned on two sides of 
an issue, to wit, shall rich men be allowed to buy up 
large tracts of wild land, and convert them into game 
preserves for their own exclusiA^e use, or shall they not 
be so allowed? 
There have been able afguers on both sides of the 
issue, the preponderance in numbers being on the 
contra side. 
_ The first question that presents itself for considera- 
tion in contemplating this subject, is, assuming that 
the consensus of public sentiment is decidedly on the 
contra side of the argument, how is the object to be 
effected? What is the practical aspect of the case? 
Shall a law be enacted forbidding any individual' from 
purchasing more than a prescribed number of acres of 
land? Or, if there is no restriction on the extent of 
the purchase, shall he be excluded from the exercise 
of the fundamental right of property, to forbid strangers 
from invading his premises without his consent? Can 
a restrictiA^e law be made to apply to the rich man 
and not to the poor man, or the man of moderate 
means? If so, where shall the line be drawn? Shall 
a man be restricted to the ownership of 100 acres, of 
1,000 acres, of 100,000 acres? Or may he exercise the 
full rights of ownership upon a limited part of his land 
and only partial rights over the remainder? 
The legal aspect of this problem seems to be. fraught 
with grave practical difficulties. 
But the opponents of large game preserves for pri - 
vate use have given no clear iiidication as to what 
agency is to be employed by way of a correction. One 
writer hints at the "ballot" — that means law, if any- 
thing, and involves the difficulties above suggested. 
The. more frequent recourse alluded to, however, is the 
torch, which Avould logically lead to murder, and must 
embody the principle of anarchy, which is something 
not pleasant to contemplate as a remcd3'^ for social 
evils. 
The controversy is simply one phase of the ancient 
warfare that has been going on since human history 
began, of the poor versus the rich. 
There have been many Utopian schemes for the 
equalizing of the good things of this world among its 
inhabitants, all of which, in the nature of human rela- 
tions have necessarily proven to be chimerical. As long 
as some men are lazy, tliriftless and incapable, while 
others are industrious, provident and efficient, so long 
shall Ave have the poor and the rich, with all the grada- 
tions between the tAVO extremes, according to the dis- 
tribution of such human qualities as go to success or 
failure in the struggle of life. 
The only practical remedy for such inequality of 
possessions that has even been applied on a large scale, 
has been social revolution. When the poor have grown 
more than usually discontented, and the rich more than 
usually arrogant, and unmindful of the needs and de- 
sires of the less favored classes, occasionally, in the 
Avorld's history, social revolutions lia\'e resulted, that 
have for a brief time turned society upside down and 
down side up; but have in all cases proved abortive in 
the main object, of the equalization of Avorldly goods 
and the abolition of poverty. For among the revolu- 
tionists themselves there must be inequality of mental 
endowments, resulting in a spedy segregation of wealtli 
in the hands of those best equipped for acquiring and 
retaining it; the fnial effect being to substitute a new 
set of rich people for those who were overturned, the 
poor remaining .pretty much as they were before. 
The di'icontcnled poor have always looked with en- 
vious eyes upon the possessions of the rich. Whether 
■ these possessions be in the form of broad acres of 
woodland with the incidental game they contain, the 
envious feeling is not exceptional as compared with 
that pertaining to other forms of property. 
But with us, in America, at this juncture, there is a 
difference, and the envious feeling is not confined to 
the proverbial poor as antipodal to the rich, nor, per- 
haps, is it even shared by them to any great extent; 
but to a different class of citizens, with sportsman's 
proclivities or associations, who find themselves becom- 
ing more and more restricted in a freedom they form- 
erly enjoyed of roaming at will and pursuing game and 
fish over unappropriated wild lands, that have become 
private possession. This is no doubt a hardship that 
must of necessity engender resentments. 
But let us look at the compensatory side of the 
picture, 
It seems certain that, with the rapidly increasing num- 
ber of people among our population who have the 
means, the leisure, and the inclination to hunt and fish, 
with the constantly improving effectiveness of the 
agencies of destruction, added to the peculiarly Ameri- 
can trait of boggishness (I dislike this word, but can- 
not well^ escape it), in the destruction of everything in 
sight, with no thought for to-morrow, it seems certain 
I say, that the time is near at hand, Avhen, unless some 
of it is saved by special effort, practically all the game 
and fish shall be destroyed, and none be left, cither for 
the public or for private ownership. 
Another closely allied subject is that of forest de- 
struction, which is going hand in hand with game de- 
struction, and any agencies that tend to conserve the 
one, shall reflect beneficially on the other. At the 
present rate of progress the insatiable greed of the 
mammon of commerce shall soon utterly denude all 
our remaining forest lands, and leave barren and 
repulsive wastes in their stead, incidentally spoiling the 
streams and ponds by filling them with sawmill refuse, 
as well as converting them into dry beds in the sum- 
mer and fall, ^nd muddy torrents in the Avinter and 
spring months. 
NoAV, by whatever means this inarch of general de- 
struction can be stayed or restricted; by AvhatcA-er agen- 
cies even some of the brands can be snatched from 
the burning; by just so much shall the whole country 
be benefited. 
The ideal plan for such preservation should, of course, 
be by the appropriation and setting part of large tracts 
of land by the States or the general government, to 
be used as game "preserves," and a limited portion of 
each tract applied for use as game "reserves"; the pub- 
lic_ to be admitted under Avise regulations, to the pur- 
suit of game and fish within the "preserves" and with- 
out the "reserves." 
But if we are to sit doAvn and wait upon the halt- 
ing action of the State Legislatures or the United States 
Congress, for effective Avork along this line, the chances 
are that most of the horses shall escape before the 
stable is locked. 
So, by Avhatever motives they may be actuated, 
whether of pure selfishness or a broad philanthropy, if 
certain of the wealthy class are disposed to invest their 
money in large holdings of forest lands, for the breed- 
ing and preservation of game, and for the maintenance 
of the forests, by all means the good of the whole 
country demands that they shall be encouraged to do 
so, rather than villified; for if these things arc pre- 
serA^ed from destruction now, they can easily be con- 
verted into public domain at a later period "by expro- 
priation if necessary, when the need for such meas- 
ures shall have become more obvious and imperative; 
Avhereas, if they are destroyed in the meantime, even 
this recourse shall be lost. 
In_ any Anew of it, however, the present is a mere 
passing phase of changes that are an inevitable ac- 
companiment of the progressive development of our' 
countrA^ Heretofore, there haA'e been large areas of 
unoccupied lands that were free t'o all, to roam upon 
at Avill, to utilize for hunting and trapping, or pas- 
turage. This outside domain has been undergoing 
rapid restriction for some years past, and the time- can- 
not be very distant Avhen it shall all come under private 
ownership, except such portions as may be specifically 
set apart as public domain. 
In the_ process of such restriction of ]n-ivilegcs that 
had been freely enjoyed, either for commercial or 
recreation purposes, the distasteful changes have given 
rise to exacerbations, resentments and passing conflicts 
between parties AAdiose interests collided; but Avhen the 
novelty of the situation Avore away, people have settled 
doAvn into an acquiescence in the changed conditions 
and society has Avagged along as before. 
COAHOM.'A. 
Mis'^i.ssirpi. 
In California. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
A copy of the April iS, 190.3. issue of Forest and 
Stream having just fallen into my hands, I read with 
much interest the article entitled, "Deer in Colorado 
Wilds," and particularly that portion thereof which 
speaks of the need in the Centennial State of more and 
better game wardens. I don't go much on the derogatory 
statements made by the teamsters to En Ami as to certain 
deputy game Avardens, for in many of the old isolated com- 
munities of Colorado the inhabitants hzy^ a habit of "back- 
capping" or "knocking" their neighbors, and many such 
statements must be taken with plenty grains of salt, but 
there is probably enough truth to them to warrant En 
Ami's conclusions that game is not as Avell protected in 
Colorado as it ought to be. The State has good enough 
laAvs, but they are not ahvays properly administered or 
interpreted, and the present game warden system offers 
very poor protection to animals or birds. On the other 
hand, the law is often used to carry out petty spite or 
annoyances, and I am strongly inclined to the belief that 
the experience of Mr. Ernest Seton Thompson in 
Colorado Avas that of persecution rather than pro.secu- 
tion. Too often the deputy game warden is a political 
tool, if not a "grafter" for the money he can make out 
of "game hogs" or "sooners." Others think that to be a 
deputy warden means license to kill without respect to 
the law, and at the same time be immune from arrest 
One fellow told me himself that he sought the position 
because he understood he could shoot when, what, and as 
much as he pleased^ an4 no one had the power to make 
him amenable to the law! I knew another that used to 
fill his basket at Lake San Christobal with trout below 
the limit of minimum length. He was a lawyer and 
ought to have known better. At TavIu Lakes a game war- 
den had his fingers blown off while dynamiting fish. I 
knew other wardens Avho, before they became such, had 
no visible means of support, but as soon as they became 
wardens Avere quite "flush," and continued to have 
"money to burn" while they were in office. They seemed 
to_ have very important financial transactions with cer- 
tain "high toned" restaurants and "first-class" hotels in 
the larger towns every once in a Avhile. 
There are conscientious wardens Avho will do their best 
to see that the laws are observed, but they cannot be 
everywhere, and they do not always get the co-operation, 
assistance, support or sympathy they should get from the 
citizens. And often pot-hunters, hide-hunters, and trophy- 
hunters are encouraged to infractions of the game laws by 
the very kind of citizens who should set a good example 
for others. A fcAV winters ago a band of eleven deer 
appeared on a hill overlooking the town of Ohio City; 
the whole camp got the loco, and inside of two hours 
llie entire band was slain, everybody able to get a gun 
taking a hand in the slaughter. It is that kind of people 
who make a "kick" only when others also kill at whole- 
sale. 
A mountain sheep with immense horns makes his home 
in the Suvvatch range. His head is wanted as a trophy, 
and a bonus of $300 to $500 has been offered by certain 
prominent people of Leadville for it, and every un- 
scrupulous hunter goes on a quest every once in a while 
for the sheep Avhose only crime is his beauty and magnifi- 
cence. As a rule, there are three classes of people in 
Colorado who hold the game laws in contempt. One 
class, and the least harmful, are such old timers who have 
been in the State so long that they believe they own it, 
and resent the enforcement of any. laws that interfere 
Avith their customs or comforts. When they want fresh 
meat they go and get it, law or no laAv, and for this class 
the^ game laAvs are a benefit, as it makes game more 
easily to get for them by preventing others from hunting 
for it. 
Another class is the foreign population of the large 
mining camps, chiefly Austrians and Italians. Let these 
people once get a gun in their hands and they kill any- 
thing and everything in the fur and feather line that they 
can get within range of in or out of season. In northern 
Hinsdale county, once the home of deer and sheep, large 
game is seldom met with noAvadays because of the merci- 
less depredations of these conscienceless and game- 
hungry foreigners. They are exterminating the ptarmi- 
gan, erroneously called Rocky Mountain quail. These are 
hunted by gangs of Huns and Italians Avith trained dogs 
on the still, the birds being murdered with clubs when 
the dogs have pointed them and the birds are corralled 
by the gang. 
The other pernicious class of hunters are such as the 
men from Chicago that En Ami speaks of. They come 
also from St. Louis and other large eastern cities, and are 
well enough to do so that they can spend weeks or 
months at outing in the mountains, but kill just for the 
love of killing, and not for the noble sport of hunting. 
They merely slaughter and butcher in mere wantonness, 
and make great inroads into the stock of game when they 
do find it plentiful. They seem to get pleasure only out 
of the numbers they kill, and not from the fun, skill, ad- 
venture and woodcraft or mountaincraft involved, and 
appreciated by the real sportsman. 
I have in my day, as have othrrs, seen the bison so 
thick on the plains as to stop tK railroad trains, and 
later, in the early 8o's have seen numberless bands of 
antelope in the parks of Colorado. IVe seen antelope and 
bison shot doAvn AAdthout any attempt on the part of the 
shooter to get his game — the killing being done with no 
otl. ^r purpose than to give the shooter the opportunity . 
to '.ay that he had killed his buffalo or pronghorn, I 
also saw the passenger pigeons in flocks so dense that 
they obscured the sun Avhen the pigeons were on the way 
from the wild straAvberry patches in the prairies of 
southern Illinois to the pea and buckwheat fields of 
southern Michigan. We all know these are now practi- 
cally extinct. 
California is finding that the game hog, game butcher, • 
poacher, pot-hunter and all that ilk are making serious 
inroads into the game supply of all kinds in the Golden 
State. For years men Avere hired, at so much per diem 
and found, to kill off geese in the San Joaquin Valley 
to prevent them pulling up the young wheat. People are 
beginning to think it would have been better if the Com- 
monwealth had purchased the wheat fields and let the 
geese had ihem as breeding and recruiting grounds. At 
any rate the press of California is Avaking up, and is en- 
dcaA^oring to rouse public opinion or attention to the peril 
that not only all furred and feathered game stands in, but 
also that Avhich menaces even the fish. Charles F. Lum- 
mis, editor of Out West, has been throwing hot shot into 
the ranks of the conscienceless or thoughtless class of 
people who by their acts threaten our dumb friends with 
extinction. And another valiant and trenchant pen is be- 
ing wielded by Grant Wallace through the columns of 
the San P'rancisco Bulletin. I would ask you to reproduce 
his most recent article in full, as it is, aside from its 
moral Avorth, a timely and very entertaining dissertation, 
under the heading, "Veneered Human Nature." It is 
as folloAvs : 
"All healthy and normal souls love the society of trees 
and mountains. Solitude is the mother of thought — ■ 
solemn thought, divested of pettiness, dipping into the 
margins of the eternal ; for, as LoAvell has said, all thought 
is sad. 
"What a relief to be aAvay for a season from the 
croAvded pavements and the marts of sordid men, where 
familiarity begets contempt and weariness of spirit, Avhere 
all is artificial, and Avhere men do not live, but merely 
exist for purposes of mutual throat-cutting, to the wilder- 
ness of crags and pines, fresh and inspiring as when 
spilled from the hand of the Creator, where familiarity 
begets only respect and tenderness ! 
"Forever, the highest Avisdom springs from the ten- 
derest feelings. Every great thought is fathered by a deep 
emotion. Your laboratory scientist, your dissector of but- 
terflies, coldly intellectual, unemotional, may observe ex- 
ternal facts, and tabulate and compare, and reason about, 
the clothes his soul wears- iterating \vith so],^mn ai<^' 
