Forest and Stream. 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1904, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
'erms, $4 A Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, $3. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 190B. 
j VOL. LXIV.— No. T. 
j No. 346 Broadway, New York. 
FEDERAL CONTROL OF GAME AND FISH. 
The conviction is general that in the Federal control 
)f migratory game as contemplated in the Shiras Bill 
vill be found the solution of a problem which has been 
/■exatious and baffling. Mr. Shiras's proposal to put the 
vildfowl under the care of the National Government, 
IS to the shooting season, has been hailed with unquali- 
kd satisfaction. The only questioning of it has been 
with regard to the constitutional point of jurisdiction. Is 
;he regulation of the taking of migratory game properly 
i legitimate subject for Congress to legislate on? If 
his question may be answered in the affirmative, the 
)roblem is solved. 
We printed last week a letter from Judge D. C. Bea- 
nan, of Colorado, in which the jurisdiction of Congress 
ivas seriously questioned. To-day we publish a reply by 
yLr. Shiras, whose deep study of the points at issue has 
;onvinced him that Congress will be well within constitu- 
ional bounds in undertaking the control not only of 
nigratory game, but of migratory fish as well. The 
nagnitude of the commercial interests involved in the 
isheries far transcends that attaching to the game. If 
VIr. Shiras shall be successful in establishing the prin- 
;iple that Congress may legislate for the fisheries as to 
nigratory species, and that the Federal authorities may 
execute the laws made for their regulation, he will have 
wronght in the conditions controlling the fishing industry 
a change of which the value must eventually be computed 
in millions of dollars. 
We speak not only for Mr. Shiras as author of the 
measure which bears his name, but for all who have 
indorsed it and are working for its enactment, when 
iwe say that no satisfaction whatever would be found 
in the attainment of a statute which, however salutory 
it might be for a brief period, would be overthrown 
by tihe courts as radically wrong because unconstitu- 
tional. In his communication of to-day Mr. Shiras 
gives the reasons which have convinced him that his 
measure is right in principle and will be found in- 
vulnerable when put to the test of the courts. Whatever 
may be the merits of the question with respect to the 
legal and constitutional questions involved, it certainly 
is to be said — and may not be said too strongly — that the 
Shiras Bill has in its support the consideration of public 
advantage and public gain, present and permanent. If 
ever a game measure was proposed for the good of the 
whole people, now and in the future, the Shiras Bill is 
such a one. 
THE INDIAN THEN AND NOW. 
The story of his buffalo hunt with the Comanche In- 
dians which is concluded by Cabia Blanco this week, is 
one of great interest. Told with entire simplicity and in 
the present tense, it is very vivid and real. 
Many of us stay-at-home bodies have thoughtlessly 
supposed that— except for the buffalo— the conditions 
described in this account are to-day much as they were 
thirty years ago. This is not true. The country then 
occupied only by the wandering Indians is now full of white 
people, whose fertile farms stretch away for unending 
miles over a fenced country, where right-angled roads 
follow the section lines, and one can journey only over 
the roads. The Indians who then hunted the buffalo, 
fought with each other, and from time to time chased the 
casual white man, are now confined to their reservations 
or have had lands allotted to them in severalty and are 
proprietors of quarter sections. We are told that in the 
Indian Territory there are not over 17,000 full blooded 
Indians, and these are more than there are in the ad- 
joining Oklahoma. On the other hand, the In- 
dian Territory holds 600,000 white people, or people 
whose color and manners, even though they may have 
some Indian blood, are those 'of the Caucasian. The 
Comanches are on a reservation in the Indian Territory 
near the Wichita Mountains. 
Not the least interesting point in Cabia Blanco's ac- 
count is the way in which he was treated by the Indians, 
and the sympathy that he felt with them. He found them 
kindly and friendly and he had the same feelings toward 
them ; they hated the Cheyennes, whom they called dogs, 
and Cabia Blanco also regarded the Cheyennes as dogs. 
In similar situations, with other tribes, other white men 
have a hundred times had similar experiences. Whether 
his lot was cast among Sioux, Cheyennes, Pawnees, 
Plackf^et pr Ner Perpes, the white man who lived among 
them ever found the Indian camp to be only similar to 
other communities, and he came to regard their enemies 
as his enemies, and to credit these enemies with the bad 
qualities which all men attribute to those toward whom 
they have hostile feelings. 
It is not strange that the Comanches hated the 
Cheyennes. During many years in the early half of the 
last century, the Cheyennes and their allies, the Arapa- 
hoes, were at bitter war with the allied Kiowas, 
Comanches and Apaches. These three tribes, • living to 
the south and within striking distance of the Mexican 
settlement, were constantly engaged in raiding the settle- 
ments and taking from them great numbers of horses 
and other plunder. The Cheyennes and Arapahoes, living 
further to the north, had fewer horses and had no way to 
supply their need of horses except by in turn raiding the 
villages of the southern tribes and taking from them the 
horses which they had captured from the Mexicans. 
The last great fight between these two brave and 
powerful alliances took place in the year 1838. Long ago, 
as it seems to us now, yet we have known not a few men 
who took part in that fight. 
Two years after the "great fight" — for it still bears 
that name among the Cheyennes — a peace was made. The 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes on the one hand, and the 
Kiowas, Comanches and Apaches on the other, met on the 
Arkansas River below Bent's Fort, smoked together, ate 
together, gave presents to on another and became friends. 
The treaty then made was never broken, but the memory 
of the old hostilities lingered long, and perhaps still 
lingers, among the peoples of the two tribes. We have 
accounts both of the great fight of 1838 and of the peace 
of 1840, told by men who were present at each, which we 
shall before long publish as an interesting commentary 
on Cabia Blanco's buffalo hunt. 
As was said the other day, Cabia Blanco's story is of 
a game animal and a phase of hunting which has disap- 
peared from the earth ; not less is it a picture of a mode 
of life that has passed away forever. 
THE, BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
The report of Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the 
Division of Biological Survey of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, contains much matter of 
interest. 
In the section of geographic distribution it deals with 
the natural life zones and crop belts of the country, for 
the purpose of showing to the farmer what crops are 
likely to be profitable in his locality. The data for 
such work accumulated in the field is worked up in 
the office with gratifying results. The study of eco- 
nomic ornithology deals with the influence of birds on 
crops. Since the insect is the farmer's worst enemy, 
that creature which destroys the insect should be the 
farmer's best friend. It is therefore of great im- 
portance to have an actual knowledge of the food of 
our native birds, and over 2,000 birds' stomachs have 
been examined in order to learn more of what birds 
feed on. California has been an especial field for such 
investigation, and here it has been found that two 
common and beautiful California birds, the black- 
headed grosbeak and Bullock's oriole, feed to a con- 
siderable extent on the pupje of the destructive codling 
moth, so important in the apple-raising counties of 
Santa Cruz and Monterey. The habits of the codling 
moth are such that it is almost entirely protected from 
the attack of birds. The adult moth flies only at night, 
while the larvse live inside the apple. In neither of 
these stages could birds be expected to destroy them; 
but when the larvae leave the apple to become pupse, 
they seek crevices in the bark of the trees or descend 
to the ground and there conceal themselves among the 
rubbish. But these birds search for them, and destroy 
them in great numbers, thus doing much to help the 
fruit grower. 
Complaints that birds destroy honey bees were in- 
vestigated, especially in southern California. It was 
learned that in some special situation birds do destroy 
bees, but a further investigation shows that almost all 
the bees eaten are males or drones. Other investiga- 
tions carried on as to the food of the quail show that 
this bird feeds largely on some of the most injurious 
insects known to agriculture. Among these are the 
cottonboll weevil, potato bug, chinch bug, ^.vireworin, 
various cutworms ^.nd the cottonboll worm, 
The records of the section of game protection show 
that during the year 1,470 mammals and about 247,000 
birds were admitted to the country. Of the mammals 
more than 1,000 were guinea pigs, and of the birds 
the most were song birds. There were among them 
65 capercailzie brought in by the fish and game com- 
missioner of Ontario, for liberation in the Algonquin 
Park in Ontario; some Mexican quail, for liberation 
in California, and a number of rare pheasants for ex- 
hibition in confinement. 
The division has been energetic in its prosecu- 
tion of violations of the Lacey act, involving inter- 
state commerce in game. Ten cases have been reported 
during the year, representing shipments of 700 birds 
and 36 rabbits. Six convictions were secured during 
the year. The authorities, not only the Federal author- 
ities, but those of the various States, have cordially 
co-operated with the division. The enactment of a 
law in Texas in 1903 prohibiting the sale and export 
of waterfowl, presumably did much to restrict the 
enormous destruction of ducks for the northern ijiar- 
kets which formerly occurred in that State. A close 
watch was maintained on the usual routes of shipments, 
but no unlawful packages were detected. 
The various restrictions on the sale of game in 
different places has resulted in a remarkable increase 
in the price of certain game. 
POLICE AND REVOLVERS. 
It was about ten years ago that the Forest and 
Stream urged the Board of Police Commissioners in 
New York city to establish a school of revolver practice 
for the police force. This was done chiefly in defense of 
the public, for the police used to kill and wound not a 
few innocent people. In 1895 most policemen carried re- 
volvers, but a very large proportion— possibly a majority 
of the force— knew little more about the use of a revolver 
than they did about the handling of an automobile— at 
that time a machine practically unknown. At the same 
time every policeman who, in the discharge of his duty, 
felt that he must arrest an offender, every policeman who 
saw a dog having a fit on the street, every policeman who 
saw a frightened cat run into an area, was likely to draw 
his pistol, to point it in the general direction of the 
object he wished to hit, and to pull the trigger. The pis- 
tol balls went anywhere except in the direction desired. 
Men, women and children anywhere within range of t|ie 
arm were likely to be killed or wounded ; in short, a very 
large proportion of the police force were entirely unfit to 
be trusted with dangerous weapons. 
The school of revolver practice was established and for 
a time carried on. It was put in charge of Sergeant 
Petty, an expert pistol shot, and the men made good 
progress. Then, for some reason or other, the school was 
abandoned, and until recently nothing more was heard 
of it. 
Police Commissioner McAdoo has lately re-established 
this school, and the men to whom he has handed over the 
work of training the police officers find among the force 
to-day just as much ignorance of firearms as existed 
when the earlier school was started ten years ago. There 
are men who do not know how to load or uiiload their 
pistols, and there are men who had their revolvers loaded 
by the gunsmiths when they purchased them years ago, 
and who have never used their revolver or taken out the 
cartridges since. Marksmanship is the rare exception. 
In some cases the weapons have remained so long un- 
touched that rust has collected on the arm so that the 
chamber will not revolve, and the weapon is of course 
ineffective. Incidentally at a recent practice session of 
the school a policeman shot a brother officer by mere 
carelessness. The man who did the shooting was reported 
by the surgeons to be under the influence of liquor. 
It is very clear that a school of instruction in revolver, 
practice is a very pressing and immediate need of the 
New York police force. Commissioner McAdoo's atti- 
tude appears to indicate that, so long as he has charge 
of the force, this is one matter— among many others 
looking to it's improv ement— which he will carry through. 
We print in our angling columns the ample programme 
of the casting tournament which will be held in connec- 
tion with the Sportman's Show in the Madison Square 
Garden, this city, next week. The meet of last year was 
a pronounced success, and it is anticipated that that of 
1905 will prove of increased importancf. 
