DREST AND STREA 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1904, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
Terms, $4 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. 1 
Six Months, $2. j 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 2 6, 1904. 
( VOL. LXII.— No. 18. 
1 No. 346 Broadway, New York. 
The Forest and Stream is the recognized mediuin of entertain- 
ment, instruction and information between American sportsmen. 
The editors invite communications on the subjects to which its 
pages are devoted. Anonymous communications will not be re- 
garded. While it is intended to give wide latitude in discussion 
of current topics, the editors are not responsible for the views of 
correspondents. 
Subscriptions may begin at any time. Terms : For single 
copies, $4 per year, $2 for six months. For club rates and full 
particulars respecting . subscriptions, see prospectus on page iii. 
CONCERNING BIRDS AND TARGETS. 
Correspondents who use the improper terms "birds," 
and "Itilled," and "kills," when writing for publication 
on matters pertaining to trap shooting at flying targets, 
thereby contribute materially to the legal abolition of 
trapshooting at live birds throughout the United States. 
Moreover, the foregoing terms, as commonly applied to 
target shooting, are misnomers. They properly belong 
to the nomenclature of live-bird shooting. When per- 
versely used in matters of trapshooting, they afford gen- 
eral and substantial evidence for the hostile use of the 
part of the daily press and the humane societies which 
are- actively opposed to pigeon shooting at the traps. The 
daily press in particular is a powerful educator of the 
masses. 
The public is prone to accept published statements 
literally. The fact that "birds," and "kills," and "killed," 
are quite commonly used by trapshooters to denote the 
breaking of inanimate targets, does not in the least change 
the idea of slaughter conveyed to the public by those 
misnomers, nor does it in the least impair the force of 
such misnomers when presented before legislative bodies 
as good evidence. By the use of those misnomers, trap- 
shooters have aided materially in educating up a broader 
and more aggressive public hostility to pigeon shooting 
at the traps, and amplified hostile evidence for hostile 
legislation. 
The trapshooters, as a class, may accurately compre- 
hend the true significance of the misnomers, but the 
public at large, without the necessary opportunities, or, 
perhaps, inclination, to inform itself concerning the nice 
distinctions of trapshooting colloquialisms or awkward 
attempts at metaphorical embellishments, is certain to 
understand the terms according to their literal sig- 
nificance, which also is their true significance in the 
nomenclature of trapshooting. 
The daily press abounds in reports of trapshooting 
competitions at targets, which refer to targets as "birds," 
and to breaks as "kills," and those reports are not in- 
frequently furnished by trapshooters themselves. 
To the public, the "birds," and "killed," and "kills," 
convey ideas of the incessant slaughter of countless 
thousands of "innocent doves," by gun clubs of every city 
and town in the United States. 
If this popular belief of the public is considered from 
an unprejudiced viewpoint, it is quite justified as a con- 
sequent to the common and improper use of the mis- 
nomers aforementioned as applied to targets. Under the 
circumstances, it seems to be quite unfair to scoff at the 
public for its failure to understand that "bird" does not 
mean bird at all ; and that "kill" does not mean kill at 
all; and all this in view of the fact that both kill and 
bird in trapshooting nomenclature actually have their 
literal significance. , 
In view of the situation as between accuracy and in- 
accuracy, and as between the trapshooters as a class and 
the public at large, the more simple and sensible pro- 
cedure would be, perhaps, to abandon the pernicious use 
of the terms as misnomers. The true terms, targets and 
breaks would not, ^to the public, convey the idea of big, 
heartless men with mammoth guns blowing innocent 
doves into fragments around the horizon ; or of wounded 
doves dying in slow torture in multitudes throughout the 
country;, or of an atmosphere laden with showers of dis- 
membered wings, feet and feathers, and blood and 
butchery everywhere. ' 
In short, if a trapshooter publishes to the world that 
there was a shoot at "birds," and that a certain number 
was "killed," the public is quite justified in accepting the 
statement literally, and the public cannot justly be ac- 
cused of stupidity therefor. And, independent of all else, 
accuracy of statement should be cultivated and observed 
for its own gake, 
SENATOR ARMSTRONG'S BILLS. 
Our remarks last week respecting Senator Armstrong's 
bills in the New York Legislature relative to the use of 
guns by boys under eighteen years of age, were based 
partly upon ignorance of the law as it is to-day, and 
partly upon misinformation as to the precise scope of 
Senator Armstrong's amendments. The prohibition 
against giving a gun to a boy under eighteen years of 
age was assumed by us to be a novel proposition : while 
as a matter of fact, the penal code now contains a pro- 
vision that any person "who in any city or incorporated 
village in this State, without the written permission of 
the chief magistrate, sells or gives any pistol or other 
firearm [which, of course, includes a shotgun], to any 
person under the age of eighteen years ... is 
guilty of a misdemeanor." No special sense of mortifica- 
tion attends this frank confession of ignorance of the 
law : probably there are comparatively few citizens of 
the State who know that having given their sons and 
nephews guns, may have made themselves amenable to 
prosecution. 
This, then, is the law to-day. Senator Armstrong 
would amend it by reducing the age limit to sixteen, 
which is in the line of common sense ; and by enlarging 
the present specification of the statute "pistol or other 
firearm," to read "gun, revolver, pistol, or other fire- 
arm, or loaded or blank cartridges or ammunition there- 
for." The full text of the amendments is printed in 
another column, together with a letter from Senator 
Armstrong explaining the motive and intent of his 
measures. It is further to be noted that the prohibition 
of adults carrying arms is restricted to public places, and 
to the carrying of "any pistol, revolver or other concealed 
firearm;" and would not interfere with the sportsman 
going afield with shotgun or rifle. 
COLD STORAGE. 
One vicious quality of the system which permits the 
storing of game in bond in close season is in the encour- 
agement it gives to excessive killing for market in the 
open season. The ultimate rule must be the absolute 
abolition of traffic in wild game, without regard to season 
or place. Pending the realization of that ideal condition, 
we should at least confine the selling period to the open 
season for killing. It is quite practicable for dealers to 
restrict their purchases to the supply of game that can 
be disposed of in the open season. On the other hand, 
if they enjoy the privilege of storing their stock on 
hand at the close of the open season, they will take all 
that comes up to the very end, and keep it in storage to 
be dumped on the market when the next season opens. 
The New York Association for the Protection of Game 
is thoroughly right in its contention that the present law 
providing for the cold storage of game "is opposed to 
the entire spirit of the game law, as it is solely in the 
interest of those who keep game in cold storage, and 
would not hesitate to exterminate all game for present 
profit." Mr.. Prentice's bill in the Assembly to repeal the 
cold storage provision should have the active support of 
individuals and clubs and protective associations. 
ALASKA BIG GAME. 
The bill introduced into the Senate at Washington to 
repeal the Alaska game law was discussed by the Com- 
mittee on Territories, on Thursday last, without final 
action. The repeal of the bill is earnestly opposed by 
sportsmen throughout the country, on the ground that 
such repeal would threaten the extermination of a certain 
species of large game whose numbers are very scant, and 
vv'ould result in head and hide hunting all through the 
Territory. Among the reasons urged for the bill are that 
the bears destroy the settlers' sheep, and that the killing 
of game is the only means by which the settlers may 
procure fresh meat. 
The bill to repeal the law appears to have been intro- 
duced largely under the misapprehension that the present 
law forbids the killing of game for food and also 
trapping, and that it is a great hardship tc> the natives 
whose subsistence and whose trade are thus largely taken 
away from them. As we have several times pointed out, 
the .A.laska game law makes special exception in favor of 
natives, miners and travelers, who may kill for food at all 
times, and does not prohibit trapping. 
Jf the bill actually did work to the prejudice of the 
natives of Alaska, the Forest and Stream would be, 
among the first to urge its repeal, but it does not abridge 
their rights in any degree, except so far as it does pre- 
vent, their killing and bringing to market and export the 
heads and horns of game. 
It is not certain how the committee will finally act on 
the bill, but in view of the fact that at least one member 
of the committee is well known as an earnest advocate 
of game protection it is hoped that the present bill will 
remain in force without substantial change. ; 
COLORADO'S LAST BUFFALO. I 
A press despatch of March 20 announces the killing 
in Colorado of the last of the Lost Park herd of buffalo. 
The story may be true or not, but even if not true, it. 
foreshadows something that must shortly take place. It 
is sad to know that a great State whose territory for un- 
counted ages has been traversed by America's greatest 
mammal, has lost its last wild specimen of that species. 
The little bunch of buffalo within the northwest corner' 
('■f Colorado close to Wyoming has for years been known 
as the only wild herd of buffalo left in the United States. 
The Yellowstone Park buffalo are under the charge of: 
guardians employed by the Government and so are in a 
sense domesticated animals. The little bunch on the 
head of Dry Fork and Porcupine rivers in central Mon- 
tana, is believed to have been utterly destroyed about six 
or eight years ago, by the Red River half breeds, who 
made a systematic hunt for them. But in the high 
mountains and among the dense timber of North Park, in 
C'olorado, about Hahn's Peak and Lost Park there has' 
always been a bunch of buffalo, bison, mountain buffalo, 
strongwood buffalo — call them what -we please — which; 
have held their own bravely, though with constantly 
diminishing numbers. Every year or two we have read 
accounts of one, two or three of these animals being' 
killed and smuggled across the Wyoming line into that, 
State, and now we arc told the last one has gone ! 
How inadequate is a $100 fine as the penalty for killing 
the last buffalo in Colorado. What does the man de- 
serve who would commit such a deed ? 
NIAGARA FALLS. 
The latest and most outrageous grab to be schemed for. 
by the commercial spirit of the age is the water flow of 
Niagara Falls. If the Niagara Power Company shall 
secure from the New York Legislature the franchise it 
is seeking, it will be authorized to divert the water of 
the Niagara River without limit, even to drawing it off in 
such volume as to destroy the falls. The people not only 
of New York, but of the country, are alarmed at the 
prospect that the Legislature may pass the Thompson 
bill, giving the company this extraordinary franchise ; 
the press has denounced the scheme, and mass meetings 
of citizens have voiced the public indignation. 
The proposition to destroy, or to make possible the 
destruction of this unique and stupendous marvel of 
nature, is so impudent and audacious, that it ought to 
fasten lasting obloquy and enduring infamy upon the 
names of those who have presumed to attempt it. Only 
the dark expedients and hidden ways of legislative cor- 
ruption could compass it. The passage of the bill would 
not only make possible the destruction of Niagara's 
cataract, but it would destroy also the self-respect of 
the citizens of New York, and make our commercialism 
a byword with the nations of the earth, and earn for us 
the execration of posterity. 
The fighting that is now going on in Southwest Africa, 
between the Germans and the native tribe known as 
Heroros, lends an especial interest to Mr. Frank J. 
Thompson's article this week on the Zulus of South 
Africa, with whom he was so closely associated for many 
years. Mr. Thompson's letter gives in a nutshell the 
salient characteristics of that interesting race, which for 
many years has been more or less prominently before 
the public. The British bill introducing coolie labor in 
South A_frica is one that may have great effect on the 
future of all the native races there, and if put in force its 
operation will be watched with great interest. 
The paper " With the Gloucester Fishermen, " an- 
nounced for the present issue, has unavoidably ttifeen de- 
ferred to next week. A new chapter of " Floatirfg Dovvn 
the Mississippi" will be given next week. 
