FOREST AND STREAM. 
487 
sideration were quite similar to ours, arid wllefe Jtl each 
case it was held that the mere possession of game dur- 
ing the closed season is not an offense when it was killed 
in the open season. Both of the above cases are quite 
i'fee.giii:; ^iid they Contain an exhaustive review of the de- 
cisions in this couiitr^ aiid in England on the possession 
of game during the closed sea^oli. 
"In the Massachusetts case of Commonwealth t§: Hall, 
which was a prosecution under a statute for the protec- 
tion of game, and where defendant had appealed from a 
conviction of having quail in his possession during the 
prohibited time, Chief Justice Gray, who delivered the 
bi^iniotl of the Gouft, in discussing the proper interpreta- 
tion to be pladgd Upoti it, ^ said : 'The tjuestiqii presented 
is whether in the absence of any explicit manifestation of 
the Legislature the Words "any such birds" ate to he 
eoiistrufed in the larger sense as. meaning any woodeock, 
partridge or quail wdiatevef, or in a resttictive sense, cts 
meaning any WoodCock, paftrldgfe of quail taken ot killed 
in this .Coirimoriwealth withiii th€ tim«s jlbotc 
mentioned.' 
"By the first alternative the mere possession in the first 
Inrt of eygfy yeaf, of birds that had been lawfully taken 
or killed in anothei" State, oi- eveii in. this Commonwealth, 
and that at a time when it was lawful to_ kill them here, 
would be made a punishable offense, as if, for inStslnCe, 
woodcock killed in the autumn should be preserved in 
ice after the first of January for subsequent consumption. 
To adopt such a conclusion when not imperatively re- 
quired by the language of the act would .be inconsistent 
with the ordinary rules of Construction of penal statute. 
"1 imagine it would be difficult to find a statute wilich 
Itiakesj ot- ulidertakes to make, the possession alone of 
property \vhich .haS a legitimate use in and of itself a 
crime. Ordinarily, when possession Is rilade criminal it 
is made so because the possession is wrongfully dhtalncd, 
or the property had in possession is intended for soine 
wrongful purpose. As an example of this, laws for the 
punishment of the receiver of stolen goods or keepers of 
intoxicating liquofs liitetlded for unlawful sale may be 
cited. ; 
"Believing as I do that the possession Of deer during 
the prohibited season can only be unlawful when the 
killing or taking was unlawful, the judgment herein 
rendered must be set aside and the defendant discharged, 
and it is so ordered.** 
New Hampshire Trapping. 
Boston, Dec. 12. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
When Commissioner Wentworth, of New Hampshire, 
undettakes anything he is very apt to "get there." If he 
does not, we all know it is riot hiS fault; Anlorig the 
Revised Game Laws of that State is one against tfapping 
by any person "on land of which he is not the owner of 
legal occupant" without the consent of the owner— penalty 
$10, or 60 days* imprisonment. This law has b^en- in 
force since 1897, and while some trappers have occasionally 
secured a few minkj niuskrat of skunks, it is only lately 
lhat fox hunters have started hi on a wholesale scale with 
improved methods and are stirring up a hornets- neist by 
so doing. ... 
The up-to-date ioX trap is a wicked looking affair with 
heavy steel jaws froiri 6 to Id inches long and about the 
same width when set. Most of these traps have double 
springs so stiff they can be forced down only by using a 
lever "in setting. Some of them have teeth, but even those 
without them make sad havoc of the limb of the animal, 
the jaws coming together with such force as sometimes to 
break the bone of the leg, and the frantic efforts of the 
animal to escape always lacerate the flesh in a cr.uel way. 
The favorite place for setting a trap for a fox is a 
warm spring. A place is cleared in it several days or 
weeks before and the trap is set under water, hidden by 
a piece of turf cut to fit within the jaws and so arranged 
that the jaws will easily close over it, while- the fringe of 
grass on the turf hides the iron. The turf is even with 
the surface of the water and the bait is a little way ou: 
in the pool bevond it. In trying to reach the bait without 
unnecessarily 'wetting his feet, the fox steps on the turf 
and becomes a prisoner. 
A scent also is used which is as attractive to a dog as 
it is to a fox. This is dropped upon the turf and many 
an unfortunate canine has been caught while sniffing about 
the turf-covered trap. Cattle and sheep and occasionally 
people haA^e been injured by the traps. The old-time fox 
hunters, seeing their favorite sport endangered by the 
extermination of the foxes, were eager to restrain the trap- 
pers. When the revision of the laws was made, therefore, 
ui 1901, there were powerful influences in favor of re- 
taining the old law, but while it was substantially con- 
tinued, the penalty which had been $25 was changed to 
its present form. The agitation of the subject kept trap- 
ping within rather narrow limits for a while, but of late 
the trappers have erown bolder and more active. Many 
complaints have been made of illegal trapping, in conse- 
quence of which the commissioners have put their deputies 
to work against offenders. The arrest of a couple of these 
men in Deerfield a few weeks ago by Commissioner Went- 
worth and Deputy Cardwell came as a genuine surprise 
to trappers Dodge and Stevens, who were fined a littk 
more than $^o apiece. The officers found these poachers 
had 100 steel traps set, and on visitmg them a number 
of dogs were found caught in them. A host of pelts told 
the story of previous killings. During the last ten days 
of November nine other culprits have been arrested_-and 
fined $10 each. The commissioners have also fined John 
Chester, of Northwood, and Elmer Daley, of Windham, 
for shipping partridges out of the State. . ; 
The result in these cases is highly gratifying, not only 
to the officers, but to the sportsmen of th^' State. . 
In another important case the result was different, the 
commissioners running up against an unexpected. dccision, 
made by Judge Young, of Laconia, which, if it .stands, 
likely to handicap the commissioners in securing the en- 
forcement of the deer law in "close". districts that border 
on "open"" ferrilbty. The story, briefly told, is this: A 
• .deer was driven by a hound into Lake Winnepesaukee at 
•'■ Gilford in Belknap County, where deer .killing- is prohibited. 
' Mr Merrill, a farmer of Gilford., and a section hand pur- 
sued it as 'it swam toward Tufton borough in Carroll 
rnimty which is open territory in the deer season, Octo- 
her and November. The men killed the 4m as it neared 
the shore. Commissioners Wentworth and Clarke arrested 
Merrill, charging him with hunting deer in Belknap county, 
thirikirig that according to the definition of the word 
"hunting" as glvetl in Webster's International Dictionary, 
they had a good case, fart of that definition is, "to chase; 
to pursue for the purpose of Catching or killing." It^must 
have been a poser for the commissioriei's when the judge 
ruled that the defendant was not hunting the deer when 
he followed it from the Gilford shore in Belknap county. 
They fear the decision will embolden hunters to take deer 
in a similar manner elsewhere. They say it is not im- 
possible when there is snow to take a deer's track and pur- 
sue the animal from a close county to an open one, and 
there kill it. Henry H. Kimball. 
Illicit Wisconsin Deer Shipments. 
MtLwAtrkBE, Nov. 35. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Please take notice of inclosed article. I also seized two 
deer last week ffoiri the train at Milwaukee which were 
shipped by a Wisconsin huntet from the northern part of 
this State to Indiana. 
According to the Wisconsin law no deer dan be shipped 
out of the State except by a htmter who has a non- 
resident license, for which he has to pay $25. He can 
lake two deer, but he must be on the same train. 
Valentine Raeth, State Deputy Game Warden. 
From itii Milwaukee Free Press. 
Madison, Wis., Nov. 26. — All the laws of Wisconsin 
relating to the hunting of deer and even the Lacey act of 
the Federal statutes were broken last week by a party of 
hunters from Illinois, the members of which were Mayor 
A. Bergman, of Frcepoft, 111., and H. R. Nelson and J. D. 
Hinds,"of Lena, III. As a result of this the party lost by 
-confiscation the six deer that had been killed and about 
$400 wol'th of guns and other things which gO to make 
up fine hunting dtltflts. 
By trying to ship the best portions of five deer out of 
the State in a trunk, the party violated that section of the 
Lacey act which prohibits the shipment of game in con- 
cealment. By attaching the coupon from a resident license 
to the carcasses of the deer concealed in the trunk, which 
was checked to Lena, 111., the State law prohibiting the 
shipping of game out of the State oil a resident license 
was violated, and in concealing the game in a trunk the 
statute providing that all game offered to the railroads 
for tfanSpoftatlon shall be properly labeled was broken. 
In addition to this, J. D. Hinds, of Lena, 111., laid himself 
open to prosecution for hunting without a license, hy at- 
tempting to use the resident license made out and issued 
to T. J. Hinds, of Monroe, Wis. _ Incidentally, T. J, Hinds 
is to be prosecuted for transferring his license to the Mr. 
Hinds from Illinois. 
Mayor Bergman and his party appeared before Gov. La 
Follette yesterday to explain the situation and to extricate 
themselves if possible. They told the Governor that they 
had acted in ignorance, of the law, and that the gatne 
warden had been Unduly active and over-officious. The 
Governor listened to them patiently, and then personally 
conducted them to the ofiice of the State Fish and Game 
Warden on the second floor of the capitol, where he intro- 
duced them and turned them over to Deputy Game War- 
den C. D. Nelson. They repeated the story to Mr. Nel- 
son, who said that he would investigate, and that if he 
found the facts as they represented he would forward as 
many deer as they could produce non-resident licenses, 
and would release their guns. Mr. Nelson has investi- 
gated, and has found that the confiscation was warranted 
and proper. He will not release either the deer or the 
hunting outfits, and if the party will not return to Wis- 
consin to stand trial under the State law, he will turn 
them over to the Federal authorities for prosecution under 
the Lacey act governing the shipment between States. 
The party had been hunting in the northern part of the 
State, and had secured six deer. When they started for 
home they took the train at Ingram, where they showed 
the carcass of one deer properly tagged and with the 
coupon of a non-resident license attached. They assured 
Game A¥arden J. W. Stone, who checked them up, that 
the one deer was all that they had. Stone, however, got 
on to the train and went through the baggage car, where 
he found a trunk addressed and checked to H. R. Nelson, 
Lena, 111., and another addressed and checked to H. R. 
Nelson, Lena, 111. The large Nelson trunk contained the 
best portions of five deer, and the other contained hunting 
outfits worth about $300. When the train stopped at 
Cameron, he held both trunks and notified the department. 
The deer in the trunk was tagged, and there was at- 
tached to one a coupon from the non-resident license of 
H. R. Nelson and to the others coupons from a resident 
license. Deputy Fish and Game Warden Nelson set out 
I0 run the Avhole thing down, and he soon found that the 
resident license had been issued in the name of T. J. 
Hinds, of Monroe. He went to Monroe and secured from 
T. J. Hinds an alilidavit that he had transferred his resi- 
dent license to a party composed of H. R. Nelson, J. D. 
Hinds, and A. Bergman, Mayor of Freeport. 
The trunks of deer and hunting outfits are held at 
Madison. The venison will be shipped to the State Hos- 
pital for the Insane, and the $300 worth of guns and other 
things that go to make up a hunting outfit will be sold 
here" at aaction — that is, unless Mayor Bergman and his 
part}' return to claim them. If they return they will be 
arrested and prosecuted under the State law. If they do 
rot return they will be turned over to the Federal 
authorities. 
This Beats on the Partt'dge Supply Question. 
Sagin.\w, Mich., Dec. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream': 
The.tollowing is a clipping, from the Mt. Clemens Leader 
oi.December .1: "Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Sunderlin, the first 
partridge hunters to go north, are the last ones to come 
home.'. In their five weeks' hunting trip they bagged 650 
partridges and quail. They were camped at Selkirk, Oge- 
maw county."-^ - ■ 
•It- seems as if comment was unnecessary, other than that 
this illustrates the necessity for a law- that would be en- 
forced, limiting the number "that^any -one person can kill, 
to a reasonable amount. The Mt. Clemens Leader last 
j'ear contained a similar account, and it seems that this 
man has been an annual butcher in the same manner for a 
number of years, W. B, Mebsbon. 
Grouse and Woodcock. 
Mr. A. B. F. Kinney's estimate of ruffed grouse scarcity 
in the vicinity of Worcester, Mass., having been disputed 
by other shooters, who have claimed that the birds were 
to be found in abundance, Mr. Kinney has made and pub- 
lished the following offer : 
"It has been repeatedly stated by would-be partridge 
exterminators that they can start 25 partridges in one 
day's hunting within six miles of Worcester. Now,_ I 
make an offer, which is no bet, but made purely for in- 
formation. I will give $25 to any man who_ will start 25 
partridges in a day's hunting within ten miles radius of 
my store, or city hall. This is extending the limit four 
miles, at which many hunters have claimed they could 
start that number of birds easily. The man who under- 
takes this offer is to take a man with him, and I will send 
another man. If, in the judgment of these men, 25 differ- 
ent partridges have been started, I will gladly give $25 for 
the information. It is a widely known fact that my days 
of bird shooting have long since passed, and that my only 
interest in the partridge is in view of the pleasure and 
benefit to health which the bird affords sportsmen and 
hunters in pursuing it. I should Jike to have the par- 
tridge remain with us for this object only. 
"A. B. F. Kinney." 
Jamestown, N. Y., Nov. 28.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Noticing your editorial in this week's Forest 
AND Stream asking sportsmen from different localities to 
report how plentiful they found ruffed grouse this season, 
I will tell what I know regarding this locality. It is the 
verdict of nearly all the sportsmen whom I have talked 
with iji this section that birds have been far more plenti- 
ful this year than they were last. Last year I was out 
a number of times during the season and killed quite a 
few grouse, but it was rarely that I killed a young bird; 
while this year over one-half my birds have been young 
ones. Considering the good hatching season we had last 
spring, it does not seem as though there were as many 
young birds as there ought to be. Still, there are a great 
many mdre than last season. Snow now lies on the 
ground over a foot deep, and has been for the last ten 
days, making the walking so hard that scarcely any of the 
boys have been out at all lately, thereby saving a great 
many birds for next year's breeders, and there are a great 
many left over in this locality, and as season closes Mon- 
day in this State, very few more will be killed. 
Birds have laid very well to dogs almost all this season 
until this snow came, when they have been as wild as 
hawks since. 
I have never since I could remember seen as many 
woodcock killed in this locality as this year, I having 
killed as many during this fall as I have killed before in 
all the years I have carried a gun. They were all flight 
birds, as none breed here. Taking it all together, we have 
had quite a fair sprinkling of woodcock. I hope this 
gamy Httle bird is on the increase. 
If we have a good nesting season next spring, we will 
have some grand ruffed grouse shooting here next fall. 
It ought to be better than for ten years. May we all sin- 
cerely hope so. C. FI. Y. 
Welland, Ont., Can., Dec. 12.— Ruffed grouse on the 
high grounds are to be found in fair average numbers, 
but on the low marsh grounds scarce. The hatch was 
good, but immediately after the cold wet rains set in, and 
the young were almost entirely destroyed. - _ 
On my holidays this season I was about forty miles in 
the bush south of the Canadian Pacific Railway (niain 
line), starting at Wahuapital, which is between North 
Bay and Sudbury. I found large game— deer, moose, 
bears, lynx and wolves— plentiful, but the feathered friend 
(ruffed' grouse) very scarce. Where last season I found 
plenty of birds, this season very few, about a ratio of one 
to ten. Only about five per cent, of the birds I shot were 
young. The game wardens and fire rangers told me the 
young were destroyed by the hundreds owing to bad 
weather. G. C. B, 
Springfield, Mass., Nov. 27.— You ask a difScult 
question when you wish to know why the ruffed grouse 
is scarce in the covers of New England, as well as in 
other parts of the country- But question or no ques- 
tion, the fact remains that the so-called partridge of 
New England is rapidly disappearing, and especially in 
the southern part. The season, which will have closed 
before this will be read by the lovers of New England's 
greatest game bird, has been unusually disappointing 
to the hunters of Springfield and the surrounding 
cities and towns. In years past we have had our finest 
sport with the ruft'ed grouse, and many have been killed, 
but many have been left in the covers for seed, and 
the sportsmen did not seem to realize that the birds 
-were in danger of extermination. When the Massa- 
chusetts hunting season was shortened a few yea^s ago 
it was felt by most men interested in the preserva.tion 
of game that a step had been taken in the right direc- 
tion, and that fewer birds, especially young birds which 
had not attained their full strength and growth, would 
be killed. But this did not seem to be the case with the 
partridge, at least. Each year they have grown wilder 
and fewer in number, and this year the man who has 
killed a good bag of ruffed grouse in the covers near 
this city is as hard to find as the grouse themselves. 
Andrew Hill, of East Longmeadows, who is one of the 
finest shots in New England, and who hunts a great 
deal, has not killed a single ruffed grouse this year, a 
statement which he has never been able to make since 
he was tall enough to ram powder into a niuzzleloader. 
His case is an exception, of course, but it is a straw 
which shows the general direction of the wind. 
T?he reason for the rapid disappearance of the grouse 
in this section can largely be laid to the exceptionally 
wet weather which followed after the hatching season. 
When the trout were beginning to take an active" in- 
terest in life, people along the brooks saw partridges 
and saw little chicks as well. One man repori:s seeing 
two large broods very near together; in fact, ,he ready 
stepped on the chicks in the last one lie saw, and the 
old hen flew up into his face and showed signs of fight 
until the youngsters had scurried away among the 
leaves and vanished. Then she played th§ <?ld brok?q 
