46 
F61REST ANf)»STftfiAM. 
Kadiak Grizzlies, 
Reading in recent numbers of Outing the exceedingly 
interesting articles of Mr. James H. Kidder on "Hunting 
the Big Game of Western Alaska," one cannot but ad- 
mire the hunter's determination and persistence in fol- 
lowing up the hunt for his first bear so resolutely, which, 
Mr. Kidder states, took eighty-seven days of actual 
hunting. 
I have no doubt that the hunter felt well repaid for 
his long chase when, on the 15th of May, 1900, he brought 
down a Kadiak grizzly or "big bear" at Kadiak Bay. Pos- 
sibly he felt well rewarded at night for each day's exer- 
tions, for hunting, with the true hunter's spirit, is in one 
respect like virtue — being its own reward. 
But if Mr. Kidder had preferred to make short work 
of killing his first bear, and had gone to a certain place on 
Kadiak Island at the right time of year, I think much 
hard work might have been avoided, to say nothing of the 
time that would have been saved. 
This remarkable place to which I refer — ^perhaps it has 
not a parallel in the whole world for grizzlies — is Karluk 
Lake in the interior of Kadiak Island. Karluk Lake is at 
the head of Karluk River, and is about half way across 
the island in a general southeasterly direction from the 
famous salmon - fishery at Karluk beach. The lake is 
uninhabited by white men or natives, but during the 
spawning season of the "red salmon" or "blue backs" 
(Oncorynchus nerka), when they ascend the Karluk 
River to spawn on Karluk Lake, it is a carnival time for 
the Kadiak grizzlies, and they come down from the sur- 
rounding mountains and hills, and I fancy from a large 
part of the surrounding country, too, to feast on the 
spawning salmon, which then become an easy prey to the 
great bears, gathered together as the salmon are in great 
numbers in the shallow* waters near the shores of the 
lake. Here the enormous grizzlies congregate during the 
Grov-riing season of the salmon (August and September), 
and liere, where they obtain food so easily and certainly, 
and in such quantities, I am strongly inclined to think 
they stay till the spawning season is over, particularly as 
it is a place rarely ever visited by white men, and very 
seldom even by the native Aleuts. 
Judging from the numerous tracks which cover the 
shores of the lake, and which along the water's edge were 
like the beat^'.n cowpaths in a cattle pasture, these big 
bears must be very numerous around the Lake at this 
season. This was confirmed by our own experience when 
we formed part of a Government expedition which, for 
the purposes of surveying, photographing, and general in- 
vestigation, visited Karluk Lake and explored the whole 
length and breadth of the lake in the summer of 1889. 
A portion of the party, consisting of two white men 
and two Aleuts, made a tour of the whole lake shore in 
two baidarkas on the 19th and 20th of August, and in 
those two days' paddling, without making any effort to 
hunt grizzlies, they stumbled, so to speak, on six of the 
"big bears," of which they killed one. This circumstance. 
connected with the fact that grizzly tracks were so thick 
around the lake, leads one almost necessarily to the con- 
clusion that these bears are very nurherous at Karluk 
Lake while the salmon are spawning; and it seems to me 
that if Mr. Kidder had gone in August into the interior 
of Kadiak Island, and hunted on Karluk Lake, he could 
have almost have averaged a "big bear" a day. 
Livingston Stone. 
Moose Ages. 
Buffalo, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: How old 
is my moose? The question is often asked over the camp- 
fire when the successful hunter can hardly leave the head 
long enough to get his much needed night's rest. There 
is some difference of opinion among old hunters as to the 
length of time required for the development of the horns, 
but the most generally accepted theory is about as follows ; 
The first year the six-month-old .calves have merely 
bumps on the skull where the herns are to be. The 
second year the yearlings have spike or prong horns 
according to the size and development of the individual. 
Two-year-olds to five-year-olds are almost indistinguish- 
able, running three to eight points on a side, usually with 
some palm and about 30 to 40 inches spread. The size of 
the moose as well as of his horns gradually increases 
during these years, : but the individual differences are 
greater than the yearly, so that it is impossible to tell the 
age with certainty closer than to within three years. 
From the seventh to the ninth years he reaches his 
maximum, both as to size and spread of antlers and 
width of palm. There should then in the eastern moose 
be a spread of 50 to 65 inches and about 13 points on a 
side. The Alaska moose of course runs a larger spread 
and more points. Somewhere about the fourteenth year 
the horns are grown with a narrower spread, smaller 
palms and thicker, heavier points. The moose is "aged," 
the horns run to points, and the head is ragged looking. 
Such old veterans are not apt to be found where the 
country is very much shot over. The bulls are lucky 
enough if they reach their prime, and seldom get a chance 
to pass it. - 
The long whip-lash bell is usually seen in cows or 
young bulls under six years. In their prime the moose 
usually have a short bell with a very long base. The 
aged moose have little or no bell. I have seen a moose 
with a long whiplash bell, the end of which was a sup- 
purating sore. It looked as if the tip had been torn or 
bitten off. Repeated injuries of this sort might help 
shorten the bell not only by tearing off portions of it, but 
by cicatricial contraction of the stump. 
The teeth of the young moose are dead white, marked, 
especially in the grooves, with very dark color almost 
black. Even in moose in the prime of life caries may 
often be found. The teeth of the aged moose are yellow 
and worn down. 
It would be interesting to hear from your readers if 
these theories tally with their experience, especially from 
those who have watched moose develop in captivity and 
can give facts rather than theories. 
■ Last fall was an unusually good year for large moose 
horns in central New Brunswick. This was said to be 
due to the open character of the last two winters. 
Partridges (ruffed grouse and Canada grouse) were 
more plenty than they have been for many years, as 
noted in your last issue by Mr. Butler, of Pittsfield. 
Horned owls, hawks, and foxes seemed, however, to be 
doing their best to restore the balance of life, as many 
bunches of feathers scattered in the trails testified. 
David E. Wheeler. 
The Hoop Snake. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I desire to publicly thank Mr. Hay for his valuable 
criticism of my last article on the "Joint Snake," which 
appeared in the December 26 Forest and Stream; and to 
add that I hope no reader has jumped to the conclusion 
that I intended to oppose my bare "guess so" to hard 
scientific facts; but I do want to affirm that I consider a 
number of orthodox scientific opinions (negative ones) 
far: from infallible; and while I, at present, seriously 
respect the conclusions of men of learning — leaders in 
their line of research — yet I prefer to remain open to 
contrary evidences, and to boldly and candidly declare a 
"change of mind" whenever convinced that a pet theory 
is in error. 
I have known a turtle to live, and remain active, for 
about thirty hours after its head had been entirely re- 
moved. Any scientist, who had never seen or heard of 
a turtle, would call that a miracle, or an impossibility. 
The turtle's heart will continue to beat strongly for a 
very long while after it has been taken out and entirely 
disconnected. 
Frog's legs, removed from the body, skinned, and laid 
away for awhile— I forget the exact time — will begin to 
quiver violently as soon as salted. 
I could name many other facts that seem to defy scien- 
tific notions. Of course none of these prove that a 
broken "joint snake" can re-unite; and reason — as well as 
science — says it is very unlikely that the reptile can do so. 
Does either, however, dare to say positively that it can- 
not? Has the matter ever been proven? And, indeed, 
it seems to me that it would be easier to re-unite parts of 
the "snake" than to graft skin (or ears or noses) on to 
human beingS: — especially as the creature's vitality is 
much greater than human vitality. But the operation 
might require human skill instead of brute instinct; and 
this brings me back to the evident unplausibility of its 
intended self-restoration. So I am bound to agree, after 
all, that the skepticism of the naturalists is reasonable, 
and almost unassailable. However, albeit I am no sur- 
geon, I intend to try another experiment on the first un- 
injured "joint snake" I can secure. 
L. R. Morphew. 
Arkansas. 
Possession in Close Season. 
The Booth Case Decision. 
Considerable interest having been aroused by a recent 
decision of Justice John M. Kellogg, of Ogdensburg, in 
the New York case of the People vs. A. Booth & Co., a 
foreign corporation doing business in this State, in which 
It was held that the people could not recover a penalty for 
the possession, sale, and transportation of brook trout in 
the close season (as the evidence showed that the trout 
were imported from Kingston, Canada, to a warehouse at 
Cape Vincent, N. Y.), a reporter called on Major J. W. 
Pond, Chief Protector of the Forest, Fish, and Game 
Commission, who, in reply to questions as to what bear- 
ing he thought the decision would have on future actions 
of a similar character, said in part : 
"I do not believe this decision will have any bearing 
on game which Justice Kellogg has alluded to in several 
instances in his decision that was not involved in this 
litigation, as the Act of Congress known as the 'Lacey 
Act,' which became a law May 25, 1900, provides 'that all 
dead bodies or parts thereof of any foreign game animals, 
or game or song birds, the importation of which is pro- 
hibited or the dead bodies, or parts, thereof, of any wild 
game animals, or game or song b|i-ds transported into 
any State or Territory, or remaining there for use, con- 
sumption, sale, or storage therein, shall, upon arrival in 
such State or Territory, be subject to the operation and 
effect of the laws of such State or Territory enacted in 
the exercise of its police power, to the same extent and 
in the same manner as though such animals and birds 
had been produced in such State or Territory, and shall 
not be exempt therefrom by reason of being introduced 
therein in original packages or otherwise.' 
"It is doubtful if Judge Kellogg was thoroughly 
familiar with this law, as he cited several cases showing 
that the States have no power to regulate commerce with 
foreign countries or with each other, but that such power 
has been delegated to the Congress of the United States, 
apd that body can by law determine what shall or shall 
not be permitted to be imported. We are pleased at this 
decision of Judge Kellog, which has been sustained by the 
United States Court, as found in 140 U. S., 545, an action 
that arose on habeas corpus proceedings in the Circuit 
Court of the United States for the District of Kansas 
by Charles A. Rahrer vs. John M. Wilkinson, sheriff of 
Shawnee county, Kansas. The litigation referred to was 
for the sale of liquors transported from the State of Mis- 
souri into Kansas in the original packages. The courts 
held: 
" 'That all fermented, distilled or other intoxicating 
liquors or liquids transported into any State or Territory, 
or remaining therein for use, consumption, sale or stor- 
age therein, shall, upon arrival in such State or Territory, 
be subject to the operation and effect of the laws of such 
States or Territories enacted in the exercise of its police 
po\yers, to the same extent and in the same manner as 
though such liquids or liquors had been produced in such 
State or Territory, and shall not be exempt therefrom 
by reason of being introduced therein in original packages 
or otherwise.' 
"This decisioli, with others cited by Judge Kellogg, 
should be taken as a concession on his part that the 
Lacey Act is constitutional." 
When asked what attitude the Forest, Fish, and Game 
Commission proposed :to assume with reference to game 
that may not be turned over for sealing and bonding as 
the law requires, on account of Judge Kellogg's decision, 
as certain dealers had withdrawn from the lists submitted 
to the Department certain foreign game; which it was the 
intention of the Commission to seal. Major Pond said: 
"The Department is fully convinced that its interpreta- 
tion of the law is correct, and will not in the most minute 
detail deviate from the course it has hitherto pursued, for 
if the sale of foreign game is permitted no protection is 
furnished to State game, as was the case under Section 
149, which caused so much contention some years since 
that its repeal was demanded and secured. Under that 
law the Department detected grouse going intO; th« New 
York markets during the winter and early spring. Judge 
Kellogg's ©pinion seems to be based wholly on the de- 
cision in the case of the People vs. The Buffalo Fish Co., 
164 N. Y.,'93. Since that decision the game law has been 
amended to provide that where the possession of fish or 
game is prohibited, reference is had equally to that com- 
ing from without as to that taken vi'ithiii the State. It 
was a divided court in the decision in the Buffalo fish 
case, standing three to three — the seventh judge concur- 
ring in the opinion of the lower courts, but stating that 
he formed his opinion upon the basis that the State law 
as it then read did not apply to foreign caught fish. 
"The amendrrient to the law made since the decision in 
the Buffalo fish case obviates the objection as to foreign 
fish, and the Commission is firm in the belief that should 
the case be resubmitted to the Court of Appeals, but one 
decision could be rendered, and that in favor of the peo- 
ple, and it is hoped that no dealers in fish and game will 
be misled by Judge Kellogg's decision to their own 
disadvantage." 
The New York City Game Markets. 
New York, Jan. 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: The 
markets here are now literally glutted with game, and 
fully 90 per cent, of it is shipped in from Western States. 
In Washington market I saw prairie chickens that they 
said came from ]\Linnesota, ducks (mostly mallards) from 
Kansas City, and raljbits by the tens of thousands alleged 
to have come from Michigan. It is wonderful to see the 
numbers of rabbits ; surely wherever they were gleaned 
from rabbits must be plentiful, indeed. ■ 
It is truly a great pity that the selling of game cannot 
be wholly prohibited. Much of the game sent to New 
York must bring the shooters rather small prices, for it 
often looks badly, coming packed in barrels, and when 
offered for sale has a sadly mussed and distorted' 
appearanc. _ . . , 
Last spring I saw at one place in Washington market 
ten boxes of jacksnipe, each box containing twelve dozen, 
or about 1,440 snipe, all shipped from Indiana, while' that 
number of ducks or even quail would not seem so great; 
it is a lot of snipe sure. 
COURTLANDT BABCOCK. 
