FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Fct, II, 1905, 
Boone and Crockett Club. 
Anno 
The annual meeting of the Boone and Crockett Club 
was held in Washmgion on Saturday, February 4. Mr. 
Arnold Hague enterianied the ciub at his house. Mr. 
W. Austin VVadsworth presided. , , 1 , 
The secretary reported that much work had been 
accomplished by the club during the year; that they had 
taken a prominent part in regard to the Alaska game 
laws, and had also successfully opposed the passage of 
the repeal of the law prohibiting spring shooting m iMew 
York While the latter is somewiiat out ot tne line ot 
the general work of the club, the club had acted in con- 
nection with other organizations in tlie general interest 
of the protection of animals. Very satisiactory progress in 
the cause of game protection has been made during the 
year The growth, sentiment and interest in the protec- 
tion of game is strikingly shown by the replies received 
from the members of Congress to whom copies of the 
club book had been sent. . ,1 
The following officers for the ensuing year have been 
elected: President, W. Austin Wadsworth, Geneseo, N. 
Y • Vice Presidents— Charles Deermg, Illinois; Walter 
B Devereux, Colorado; Howard Melville Haniia, Ohio; 
WiUiara D. Pickett, Wyoming; Archibald Rogers, ^lew 
York- Secretary, Madison Grant, 11 Wall street. New 
York city; Treasurer, C. Grant La Farge, 30 ^- fist 
street. Mew York city. Executive Commitiee— Alden 
Sampson, Owen Wister, to serve until 1906; Arnold 
Hague, Winthrop Chanler, to serve until 1907; John iiiil 
Prentice, James Hathaway, to serve until 1908. Editorial 
Committee— George Bird Griimell, New York; Theodore 
Roosevelt, Washington, D. C. , 1 j 
After the meeting of the club, a banquet was held at 
the New Willard Hotel, at which the following members 
were present: W. Austin Wadsworth, Madison Grant, 
Walter H. Brownson, J. Coleman Drayton, Arnold Hague, 
J. H. Kidder, C. Grant La Farge, Henry May, H. Clay 
Pierce, Gififord Pinchot, John Rogers, Jr.; Alden Samp- 
son, W. Gary Sanger, M. G. Seckendorff, William Lord 
Smith, Henry L. Simpson, Hon. John F. Lacey, C. H. 
Merriam, Major Pitcher, Commandant of Fort \ellow- 
stone, and Superintendent of the Yellowstone Park; Win- 
throp Chanler, A. P. Proctor, Judge Townsend, John H. 
Prentice, Senator Newlands. The following guests vvere 
also present: Mr. Roosevelt, who was the original 
founder and the first president of the club; Hon. W. Ji. 
Humphreys, Representative from Washington ; Hon. 
Joseph M. Dixon, Representative from Montana; Dr. E. 
W. Nelson, George Shiras 3d, Charles Sheldon. _ 
Mr Roosevelt congratulated the club on the noticeable 
increase in the support that all measures for_ the pro- 
tection of the forests and game animals are receiving, and 
spoke in appreciation of the large part which the club 
has had in bringing about this state of things. 
The event of the evening was an address by one ot the 
members of the club, Mr. William Lord Smith, on tiger 
shooting in Asia. Mr. Smith has hunted tigers from 
Corea to Manchuria, China, the Malay Peninsula, Java, 
India, and finally in Persia, obtaining specimens from 
each country with the exception of Persia, where the 
tiger is scarcely a game animal, as it has taken to skulking 
in caves, and has abandoned the habits which make it 
dangerous in Eastern Asia. The address was illustrated 
by a series of lantern slides showing hunting scenes, and 
was characterized by great modesty on the part of the 
speaker. Mr. Smith had on exhibition a number of tiger 
skins and skulls, all of which had fallen to his rifle The 
address was one of the most remarkable ever delivered 
before the club, and excited great interest. 
At the annual dinner of the Boone and Crockett Club 
the guests are invited only by the Executive Committee, 
and consist solely of men of special distinction m the 
cause of game protection, or who have achieved some 
recent and interesting exploits in hunting. A dinner will 
be held during April, however, when members of the 
club will be at liberty to bring guests with them. 
Following out its plan of endeavoring to interest our 
legislators and the public in the preservation of the 
natural resources of the continent— the wild animals and 
the forests— the Boone and Crockett Club— as above sug- 
gested in the report of the secretary— recently sent out to 
members of Congress and a few other individuals espe- 
cially interested in the subject, a number of copies of its 
last publication, "American Big Game In Its Haunts. 
The volume is one of about 500 pages, beautifully illus- 
trated. It opens with a sketch of President Roosevelt, 
the founder of the club, followed by an article from his 
pen on "Wilderness Reserves," and contains also these 
chapters : "The Zoology of North American Big Game," 
Arthur Erwin Brown; "Big-Game Shooting in Alaska," 
Tames H. Kidder; "The Kadiak Bear in His Home," W. 
Lord Smith; "The Mountain Sheep and Its Range," 
George Bird Grinnell ; "Preservation of the Wild Animals 
of North America," Henry Fairfield Osborn; "Distribu- 
tion of the Moose," Madison Grant; "The Creating of 
Game Refuges," Alden Sampson; "The Temiskaming 
Moose," Paul J. Dashiell; "Two Trophies from India," 
John H. Prentice. . . , 
There are several editorial articles dealing with Big 
Game Refuges," "The Forest Reserves of North 
America," and "Forest Reserves as Game Preserves.' 
The whole makes a work of the greatest interest to 
sportsmen, naturalists, and those who are merely inter- 
ested in the economic side of forest preservation. 
From the gentlemen to whom the volumes were sent 
have been received a multitude of notes of acknowledg- 
ment, indicating a sincere appreciation of the work of the 
club as shown in its latest volume, and, what is more 
important, a hearty interest in this work, and an apparent 
wish to co-operate with the club in its efforts to bring 
.'ibout better conditions. 
A few extracts from some of these letters of acknowl- 
edgment we are permitted to print: 
As a sportsman myself, the book will be of great inter- 
est to me, and I am in entire syrripathy with the splen- 
did work which your club is doing in the proteciion and 
preservation of the natural resources of the continent. — 
Wm. p. Frye. 
It has given me a great deal of pleasure to scan its 
pages, and I shall from . time to time have additional 
pleasure in giving it more careful reading. I live in the 
land of big game. No State has so varied and ample a 
supply as Idaho. — W. P. Hepburn. 
X * * t- jjgg congratulate the club on the good 
work it is doing.— J. H. Gallinger. 
I assure you of a deep interest in the matter touched 
upon in your letter, and beg to say that I will gladly sup- 
port any measures tending to this additional protection 
and for the creation of additional parks. I consider 
myself fortunate in the possession of this volume, which 
i shall take pleasure in reading. — Jos. Howell (Utah). 
I desire to express to you my appreciation of it, and 
to assure you of my sincere desire to co-operate in every 
way possible in the purpose mentioned in your letter. I 
feel a deep interest in these matters. — Geo. F. Burgess 
(Texas). 
I am thoroughly in sympathy with the movement, and 
shall gladly do anything in my power to aid it. My only 
regret is that my experience in hunting has not yet qual- 
ified me for membership in a club which is doing such 
good work as yours. — J. H. Davidson (Wisconsin). 
The publication is one which has aroused my interest, 
and it will be a pleasure for me to peruse it. In matters 
of Federal legislation I have been in favor of all measures 
which had for their object the preservation and propaga- 
tion of game. — ^John J. Esch (Wisconsin). 
I am in full sympathy with the aims of your club, and 
that is an additional reason why I prize the book. — B. S. 
RODEY. 
I am deeply interested in the preservation of forests 
and of game, and am especially glad to have you call my 
attention to the articles by President Roosevelt, Professor 
Osborn and Mr. Sampson. — D. S. Alexander (New 
York). 
1 do not know whether it was by design or by accident 
that you happened to send me this work, but I am very 
much interested along the line of the work which your 
club is doing. As you know, I live at Seattle, in a coun- 
try where there is still some big game, and most of it 
needs protection, especially the ..^^Roosevelt . elk in the 
Ob'mpics. — W. E. Humphrey (Washington). 
I think you may count upon Congress to act liberally 
and wisely in the matter of preserving our forests and 
public parks.— H. S. Boutell (Illinois). 
You could not have sent me anything more interesting, 
and I can say to you with enthusiasm that all proposed 
legislation for the protection of the natural resources of 
the country and their preservation shall find in me a loyal 
friend. — Abraham L. Brick. 
You could not have sent me a publication that I would 
have appreciated more. I have camped eleven seasons in 
the Rocky Mountains, hunting big game, and I am an 
enthusiastic sportsman. I enthusiastically favor both 
State and Federal game protection. I assure you that 
I will do everything possible in that direction. — Ben F. 
Caldwell (Illinois). 
I am heartily in sympathy with the object of your club, 
and I shall take pleasure, when opportunity arises, in 
furthering the object by proper legislation. — E. Y. Webb 
(North Carolina). 
I usually succeed in spending a month of each year in 
the woods myself, and while the time is almost exclu- 
sively given to fishing, I am in thorough sympathy with 
the aims and purposes of your association. I beg to say 
that if at any time I can in my capacity as a member of 
Congress promote such purposes, I should be very glad 
, to do so. — J. S. Sherley (Kentucky). 
I am not only earnestly interested in the preservation 
of the forests and game of the country, but I am an en- 
thusiastic admirer of the hardy men for whom your 
unique club is named. The last home and the original 
burying place of Boone were in Warren county, Missouri, 
which is in my Congressional district. The Kentucky 
Legislature promised to erect a monument on the spot 
where Boone was originally buried in return for the 
privilege of removing the bones to Kentucky. This 
promise has never been kept. — Champ Clark (Missouri). 
I am heartily in sympathy with the objects of your 
association, and it will give me pleasure to aid in securing 
legislation tending to protect and preserve the animals 
and birds which form a picturesque attractiveness that 
cannot be spared from the rugged grandeur of our 
country's wilds.— H. L. Maynard (Virginia). 
It is late, I fear, for any action to influence the work 
of the present Congress, but I took pains to introduce the 
subject at the recent meeting of the State Academy of 
Science in connection with a paper read at that time, 
and presente^d the following resolutions, which were 
adopted : 
Whereas, The destruction of large animals in this country has 
brought many kinds to the verge of extinction, and promises, 
vuiless speedily checked, to ultimately lead to the extermination 
of all; and 
Whereas, Such an outcome would be to the public a serious 
deprivation by removing natural features of the greatest interest 
to tourists and pleasure seekers, and of the greatest educational 
value; to the nation a deplorable waste by the sacrifice of great 
natural wealth before its value can be calculated, or its possibili- 
ties investigated; and to the scientific world at large an irreparable 
loss; therefore, be it 
Resolved, by the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, That it does ; 
most heartily indorse all measures which may serve to keep the 
killing of svich animals within reasonable bounds and prevent such 
extermination, including the enactment of laws restricting the ■ 
killing of them and the setting aside of game and forest preserves j 
tmder Government control; and further be it , ' 
Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be furnished for 
publication to th.e press of the State, and be also communicated 
to our representatives in Congress, with the request that they 
lend all the support in their power to sueh legislation. 
Especially deplorable is in this State the killiiig of the 
few remaining antelope and deer and the shooting of . 
eagles. — Robt. H. Wolcott (Nebraska). 
The Boone and Crockett Club, if it never did anything 
else, deserves the thanks of every American citizen for 
the agitation started setting aside breeding grounds as 
havens of rest for our big game. That agitation taken 
up by your club has spread all over the United States ; we ; 
feel the efl:'ects even here in Minnesota, where we have ; 
set aside several small tracts of land, where shooting of 
all kinds is prohibited, and we see the effects in the in- 
crease of our big game just from small tracts, scattered ' 
throughout the State. — ^Sam F. Fullerton (Minnesota). 
I have always felt that the diminution of sporting with 
the rod and gun was a loss to the country, a loss in health 
and happiness, in tlie pure and beautiful outdoor life. 
Let us try to preserve it as long; as we can. That has 
been my efi'ort through life, and I am glad that your club 
is taking up the good work in an earnest way. As the 
president of the New York Society for the Protection 
of Game, I can promise you our hearty support. — Robert 
B. Roosevelt. 
Heart and , soul am I interested in nature and in all ef- 
forts to maintain the equilibrium thereof. — E. W. • 
Brackett (Massachusetts). 
At the last session of Congress I had the pleasure of 
co-operating in the passage of the bill by which 20,000 
acres were added to our State Forest Reserve area in 
Northern Minnesota. While Governor I succeeded in ex- 
tending the boundaries of the Itasca Park materially. . I 
also secured a family of beaver for the park from Canada. 
1 hope to see our park and game reserve area extended to 
ai least 100,000 acres in the northern part of our State 
shortly. I mention these matters only to indicate that 
you -can count on m.y co-operation in furthering the aims 
of your club on any and all occasions. — John Lind 
(Minnesota). 
The volume has really much interested me, and I think 
such publications will be a great help for the protection 
of our game, as they contribute largely to spread all over 
tlie continent the knovv^ledge we ought to have on the 
importance of protecting our fish and game.- — Hector 
Caron (Canada). 
The Shiras BilL 
.Denver, Colo., Jan. 3.- — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In my letter of December 16, published in j^our issue 
of December 31, in relation to the Shiras migratory- 
bird bill, I stated incidentally that, in my opinion. 
Congress had no power to extend Federal protection 
of game over private -lands, but could extend such 
protection over all public lands, as an incident to the 
control of their occupancy and use, and that this 
could be efifected by regulations in accord with the 
laws of the States in which such lands lie. 
Since writing that letter, and in your issue of the 
24th ult., _ I notice that Representative Lacey, of 
Iowa, has introduced a bill looking to the designation 
by the President of a game preserve in the Wichita 
Forest Reserve in Oklahoma. In this bill not only 
the idea above indicated is embraced, but it goes 
further, in that it entirely supersedes the local laws 
within the limits of the area to be set aside as a game 
preserve. It is also properly based on the power to 
control the occupancy and use of the land rather than 
the right of property in the game, and also confers 
the power on the "Secretary" of Agriculture to make 
the rules restricting hunting thereon, and provides 
the penalty in the lawr , itself, instead of undertaking 
to authorize the "Department" of Agriculture to make 
the rules and also prescribe what the penalty for vio- 
lation shall be, thus avoiding two fatal defects in the 
Shiras bill. 
The committee to whom the Lacey bill was re- 
ferred not only reported it favorably, but called atten- 
tion to the fact that the President in a former message 
asked that such authority be given him as to all the 
forest reserves in the United States. No general law 
in this direction has as yet been passed. 
Many lawyers have expressed doubts as to the 
power of Congress to interfere even on public lands 
with the police, power of the States as to game protec- 
tion. These doubts have arisen from viewing the 
question on the basis of legislation aimed at game 
protection alone, and from this view they are unques- 
tionably well founded; but I am quite well satisfied 
that when this Congressional power is exercised in 
prescribing merely the conditions under which the 
public lands may be entered upon for the purpose of 
hunting (not only game quadrupeds, but birds, migra-. 
tory, song arid insectivorous), it will be a valid exer-. 
cise of such power, even if one of its effects may be 
to interfere with the right to hunt as given in State 
game laws. 
The same principle is involved as is involved in the 
unquestionable right of any owner of land to prohibit 
others from coming at any time on his land to hunt, 
while permitting them to enter it for other purposes, 
and notwithstanding the State laws may give the right 
to every one to hunt at particular seasons, as such 
right- to hunt confers no right to trespass on another's 
land for that purpose. 
