B34 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
I Dec. 24, 1904. 
weak point of the plan. Even if Federal game legisla- 
tion be constitutional, it would be of little "use if the 
means of enforcement were left to the several States. 
Some would do something, some more, some less. There 
would be the same confusion as to means of enforcement 
as there now is to . close seasons. To hope that Congress 
would appropriate money for game protection is vision- 
ary. It is doubtful if the people at large care much for 
game protection; they don't yet realize it pays — that it 
brings in money to the community; therefore they cer- 
tainly will ask that sportsmen themselves furnish the 
money needed. There is no practical way for sportsmen 
to contribute the necessary funds other than gun license 
fees. 
So I fear that even if we should get a Federal game 
law, it would not accomplish all we hope. The situation, 
though, would be better than it is now; and that would 
be something gained. F. S. Mead. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 13. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I was very glad to see the other day that there 
are beginning to be some results from my long letter 
published in Forest and Stream last summer on the sub- 
ject of protecting wildfowl by Congressional legislation, 
which would be enforced uniformly in all the States. In 
that letter I expressed some doubts as to whether Con- 
gress had the constitutional power to protect wildfowl 
in all the States and enforce its protection by fine and 
imprisonment. But in your issue of last Saturday you 
describe a bill which has been introduced into Congress 
by Mr. George Shiras 3d, of Pennsylvania, to accomplish 
wildfowl protection and put the matter under the con- 
trol of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Shiras evi- 
dently thinks that this bill is constitutional, and the 
ground it takes that the migratory wildfowl are, so to 
speak, interstate birds, belonging to all the people and 
not to any one State, is very interesting, and I hope it 
will prove to be legally sound. 
We can never accomplish very much in wildfowl pro- 
tection until we have the whole force of the National 
Government on our side. Let us give every encourage- 
ment to Mr. Shiras and his friends in their praiseworthy 
efforts. A beginning has now been made, and it was some 
sort of begining which I have always longed for, and 
which I advocated in my letter. We can now move for- 
ward, put the question through its regular stages, and 
feel our way to some satisfactory result. I am con- 
vinced that all that is required to bring back the wild- 
fowl to the numbers they were sixty or seventy years ago 
is merely a little ordinary thrift and common sense in the 
protection of them, administered by laws which can be 
enforced without fear or favor. I feel sure that Forest 
and Stream will not be behind hand in backing up Mr. 
Shiras. Sydney G. Fisher. 
wildfowl by the States has proved ineffectual, and if the 
migratory^ species are to be preserved from utter exter- 
mination in a short period of time they must have the 
protection which only the Federal Government can give. 
It contends, further, that the thoughtful sportsmen of 
the country will indorse the bill in question as the only 
solution of the vexed problem of protection to migratory 
birds yet suggested. It calls on sportsmen, as individuals 
and in association as clubs and game protective societies, 
to declare fo rthis bill and give it their cordial and un- 
reserved support. It is to be borne in mind that the only 
species of fowl aimed at in the proposed legislation is the 
migratory birds which breed in districts beyond the State 
boundaries in the north and pass, after a temporary stay, 
into other districts and out of the State boundaries to the 
south, and being only temporarily and transiently in the 
limits of the State they are not properly under its juris- 
diction, nor may they be efficiently protected by it. 
Many of the most intelligent men of Michigan have 
expressed satisfaction with the Shiras bill, and promise to 
lend their influence in getting for it the recognition to 
which they believe it is to be entitled, as the only practi- 
cable method by which migratory birds can be protected 
every State in the Union, but I think a Federal law 
enforced by officers especially appointed for the pur- 
pose, would be more effective than a mass of conflicting 
laws." 
The law contains features that have been aggregated 
by sportsmen for many years. Advocates of the bill say 
that extermination of game birds is threatened. The 
valuable species which are destroyed by the wholesale, 
it is said, cannot be restored under State laws. Mr. 
Fullerton says that if the bill is passed this winter to 
go into effect next spring, by the time the game bird 
season opens in Minnesota in the fall, the increase 
will be very great. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I had intended to write a few lines commendatory of 
the measure for national game protection, but, in lieu 
of same, I will inclose a clipping from the Pioneer 
Press, giving Mr. Fullerton's view upon the bill, which 
will certainly carry more weight than anything I might 
say. Who will oppose this bill when it comes up, I 
cannot imagine, nor can I conjure up any reasons that 
may be given for its "killing," unless some "Blunt Old 
Man" should arise in his wrath and object to any law 
that would prevent his killing a duck standing or wad- 
dling, asleep or awake, swimming or flying, in winter 
or in summer, or in spring, or in autumn. 
Charles Cristadoro. 
From the Bay City (Mich.) Tribune. 
Congressman Shiras, of Pennsylvania, has introduced 
a bill to protect migratory game birds of the United 
States. .The ground taken as the motive for the introduc- 
tion of this bill is that it has been demonstrated by ex- 
perience' that laws passed in the States and Territories 
to protect game birds within their respective limits have 
proved insufficient to protect migratory birds, and the ex- 
termination of many valuable species of the same is 
threatened. 
The measure is cordially supported by Forest and 
Stream, which contends that in practice the protection of 
S. F. Fullerton, Executive Agent of the State, Fish 
and Game Commission, has written to Senators Nelson 
and Clapp and the Minnesota Congressman, urging 
them to support the Federal game bill which is to come 
up in Congress at the short session. 
The bill was introduced by Congressman Shiras, of 
Pennsylvania, and it is endorsed by the game wardens 
of the States and sportsmen throughout the country. 
The bill provides especially for the protection of migra- 
tory game birds. 
"It is time that some such law is passed by Congress," 
said Mr. Fullerton. "Few of the Northwestern States 
have laws against spring shooting of game birds. 
Minnesota has such a law and some of the other States 
have imperfect laws, which do not protect the game 
bird as it should be protected. From the time the 
birds leave this State to winter in the south until they 
return in the nesting time in spring, they are 'pounded' 
all along the route. It ought to be a crime for any one 
to shoot game birds during the nesting season, and yet 
this is just what is done from the border to the gulf. 
To do this is like killing the goose that lays the golden 
"I know that the bill which is to come up for dis- 
cussion at this session of Congress will have the ap- 
proval of every sportsman in the United States. Special 
laws to achieve the same end are being agitated in nearly 
In West Virginia. 
Morgantown, W. Va. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The mountains of West Virginia still afford some sport 
for the gunners. Recently one of our fellow townsmen, 
Glenn Hunter, went up into the mountains about fifteen 
miles for a few days' hunt, and killed two fine wild tur- 
key gobblers, each weighing 19 pounds. As a result a 
few of his favored friends were treated to a turkey din- 
ner. I was among them, and can testify that wild turkey 
fattened on nuts, as in this case, is of delicious flavor. 
May the noble bird multiply and wax fat, and never cease 
to exist in our mountain State. Mr. Hunter reports them 
in considerable numbers, and seemingly very little hunted. 
Small game of all kinds is scarce this season. A letter 
from a friend in Randolph county says he secured a fine 
buck October 19. The morning he left the woods — Octo- 
ber 21 — there was a little tracking snow, and they tracked 
five different bears, which would indicate that they are 
quite plentiful. 
On the 8th itist, a six-year-old child of Horace Baker, 
in Logan county, was attacked by a black bear while 
playing near the edge of a clearing 300 yards from the 
house. Before help could reach her she was badly crushed 
and bruised, and the clothing was torn from her body. 
Her recovery is doubtful. She was rescued by her 
sixteen-year-old brother, who killed the bear with his 
father's rifle. It weighed 300 pounds. This is unusual, 
but the report seems well founded. There is now a move- 
ment on foot to enact a law to protect the bear in West 
Virginia, and put him on the list of same animals, to be 
killed only at certain seasons of the year. Reports come 
in from time to time of deer being killed in different 
parts of the State. 
There are prospects of a lively hustle among aspirants 
for the. office of State Game Warden, and it is hoped that 
some energetic person who has the interests of game pro- 
tection at heart may be appointed, for it is well known 
that game laws are violated without interference in some 
parts of the State. Emerson Carney. 
A Long Memory for a Sight. 
Toronto, Canada, Dec. 9. — Editor Forests and Stream: 
I have looked over a lot of files of Forest and Stream, 
but cannot find the address of the seller of the "Barger 
sight" for shotguns. It was advertised with a plate. 
Can you help me out by sending me the address, and 
oblige an old subscriber. W. B. P. 
[Our correspondent has a good memory. The sight 
in question was advertised for about six months in 1900 
by Gray & Barger, 309 Broadway, New York. We have 
not heard of it lately, and do not know that it is still 
made.] 
Fish and* Fishing. 
A Fifty Thousand Acre Preserve. 
The Canadian Camp of New York, which has now 
over five hundred members, is contemplating the pur- 
chase of a large hunting and fishing preserve in north- 
ern Canada. It is understood that the committee 
charged with the necessary arrangements has secured 
an option upon a very desirable territory of some 50,000 
acres in extent, situated to the north of Lake Huron in 
the Province of Ontario. Through the middle of this 
territory runs the Mississaga River, which rises close 
to the height of land that separates the waters running 
into Hudson Bay from those falling into the great lakes. 
The river is navigable for about 250 miles, and I have 
it from one who has canoed many of its connecting 
waters, that its lake expansions and tributary streams 
afford some of the most picturesque and gorgeous land- 
scapes of the continent. The Mississaga rises some few 
miles south of Biscotasing and Winnebago, which are 
on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, be- 
tween Sudbury and Chapleau, and empties into 
Georgian Bay near Blind River, a station on another 
branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Throughout 
the entire length of the river there are, running into 
it, from the east and west, many lakes and streams af- 
fording good fishing. These streams and many of the 
lakes are well stocked with speckled trout and bass, 
and a number of the larger lakes offer excellent rnas- 
kinonge and lake trout fishing. Catches of bass ranging 
from three to six pounds, and of brook trout weighing 
from two to five pounds have been reported from some 
of these waters, so that the lines of the campers bid 
fair to fall in pleasant places, and to be cast in waters 
well supplied with fish. 
A Charming Letter Writer. 
A few days ago the mail brought me a delightful 
letter from that charming writer. Mr. Charles Hallock, 
whose sayings and doings for the last third of a century 
and more, have been closely followed, not only by suc- 
cessive generations of American sportsmen on the 
south of the international boundary line, but also by a 
group of devoted personal, literary and angling friends 
in Quebec, of whom the following, among others, be- 
sides the present writer, still survive: Sir James M. 
LeMoine, J. U. Gregory, Geo. M. Fairchild, Dr. Geo. 
Stewart and William C. Hall. Sir James no longer 
goes a-fishing, but all the others are still in the ring. 
And though Mr. Hallock wrote me some time ago that 
he had probably killed his last salmon and sold his 
rods, there are anglers in Canada, including the under- 
signed, who still hope to be able to tempt the veteran 
founder of Forest and Stream to again cast the fly 
for trout in some of the many beautiful lakes or streams 
within easy distance of the city of Quebec. And that 
the hope is a very moderate one after all, will be at 
once admitted when it is recalled how that sprightly 
Boston youth of over eighty summers — Mr. Walter 
Brackett — with the brightness of the springtime in his 
eyes, despite the snows of many winters upon his head, 
still does battle to the death with the valiant salmon of 
the Marguerite, sometimes, according to the stories told 
by his guides, insisting upon standing up in the canoe 
while following a well-hooked, freshly run fish through 
the rapids. 
But the Marguerite is far away from Mr. Hallock and 
his letter, and I must return to the latter, from which 
the following is a question of interest to the readers 
of "Fish and Fishing": 
"In your article on the sea trout in Forest and 
Stream, of Nov. 19, you have summarized all that 
is essential in order to establish this fish's indentity. I 
will not name the word 'species' or even 'variety,' in 
the same breath; for so long as bone structure is ac- 
cepted by scientists as the basis for differentiation or 
classification, their contention that the marine and 
fluvial trout are the same, will stand. But as distinct 
types they are as different as two fishes can well be, 
and anglers and commercial fishers so recognize them. 
This is necessary, for practical purposes. Exact science 
is exact truth, but pseudo-philosophy is an attempt to 
dislodge the truth. If we despise the truth we catch no 
fish." 
Whether or not it be at all times true that if we de- 
spise the truth we catch no fish, there is no doubt that 
it has frequently been charged against anglers — though 
most unjustly so, no doubt — that when they catch no 
fish they are apt to despise the truth. 
We certainly do not necessarily despise the truth when 
we employ, as a lure, the gay deceit of the artificial fly 
tyer, for all our angling skill and entomological science 
are drawn upon to enable us the better to deceive the 
fish into the erroneous belief that the bunch of feather, 
tinsel and silk or wool upon the shank of the hook is a 
fluttering insect, skipping over the surface of the water; 
so true to nature must we necessarily be in our dressing 
and in our casting of the artificial fly, in order to catch 
fish. This is our idea of truth. What the hooked trout 
thinks of it, as with hollow voice he cries 
"Dear mother, had I minded you, 
I need not now have died," 
is altogether another story. Nevertheless, if we had 
despised the truth — the true principles of the science 
of correct angling — we should, in all probability, as Mr. 
Hallock has said, have caught no fish. 
It is most gratifying to those who have recognized 
what the ichthyologists call for as establishing the 
differentiation of species and varieties, to have from 
so eminent an authority as Mr. Hallock, the admission 
that the marine and fluvial trout are the same, hut it is 
only what was to have been expected of so careful an 
observer, and more than thirty years ago he had de- 
clared in "The Fishing Tourist," that it is the "varying 
marks on the body and tints of flesh, produced by ex- 
traneous causes, that so greatly confuse the attempts 
to determine and classify the apparent varieties of the 
Salmo family." Hence the many distinct types of fish 
to be found in the same trout stream or pond. I know 
mor© than one spot in a small trout stream, and have 
no doubt that almost every one of my readers can 
think of just such another vantage ground, where it is 
quite possible to stand and catch two distinct types of 
Saivelinus fontinalis. On the one side is a rapid running 
