2S6 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April i, 1905. 
Non-Resident Laws and the Constitution. 
Prescott, Arizona, March 12. — jEditor Forest mn£ 
Stream: In the various discussions on the subject of 
non-resident Hcense laws that have appeared from time 
to time in your columns, the question of their constitu- 
tionality seems never to have been raised. 
Article 4, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United 
States states : "The citizens of each State shall be en- 
titled to all privileges and immunities of citizens of the 
several States." 
Article 14 states : "No State shall make or enforce any 
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 
citizens of the United States." 
In an old decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, under the former article the following language 
was used: "It was undoubtedly the object of the clause 
in question to place the citizens of each State upon the 
same footing with citizens of other States, so^ far as the 
advantages resulting from citizenship in those States are 
concerned. It relieves them from the disabilities of alien- 
age in other States ; it inhibits discriminating legislation 
against them by other States ; it gives them the right of 
free ingress into other States and egress from them; it 
insures to them in other States the same freedom pos- 
sessed by the citizens of those States in the acquisition 
and enjoyment of property and in the pursuit of happi- 
ness." In a later decision the court held, "The clause 
plainly includes the right to be exempt from any higher 
taxes and excises than are imposed by the State on its 
otvn citizens." 
All State license laws that have been brought to my 
notice provide for a special tax in the form of a license 
discriminating dii-.iinst non-residents in direct violation of 
the articles of the Constitution above quoted. There is 
apparently no objection to a State law discriminating 
against aliens, but there is a strong probability that such 
a law leveled against citizens of another State would be 
declared unconstitutional in case the matter could be 
brought before the Supreme Court of the United States. 
A discussion of the legal aspects of this question in 
your columns might be of great interest to those who are 
in doubt as to the legality of the various discriminating 
State license laws. , Prescott. 
Policemen and Pistols. 
BHt»r F»rest and Stream: 
A circumstance that goes to illustrate what the editor 
had to say about how some policemen handle their pistols 
occurred in the street in Philadelphia only a few day? 
ago. A policeman, who was pursuing a 14-year-old boy 
who had been charged with robbing another boy, was 
running after him in what would be one of the most 
crowded streets in town at that time in the evening, 
when he drew his pistol and fired a shot at the boy, but 
sent the ball through the breast of a young woman who 
was directly between him and the boy he was firing at. 
Then, not noting that he had hit the woman, he ran on 
past her and caught the boy. 
A policeman who could not arrest a 14-year-old boy 
without shooting at him, is as much out of place on the 
force with a pistol as he would be without it, though he 
probably is now no longer on that police force. 
An officer on the Pittsburg police force was shot and 
killed a fev^ weeks ago by one of his men while they were 
at target practice. It was an accident, of course, but it 
would never have occurred if the man had known how to 
handle his pistol. It was discharged while he was in 
the act of drawing it. Cabia Blanco. 
Mild Weather in the Northwest. 
Keller, Wash., March 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Thus far we have had the most delightful weather I have 
ever experienced in this country in March. That is, so 
far as my recollection goes. The winter has been free 
from severe storms, and there was but little snow com- 
pared with past winters. We had two cold spells, but 
they were of short duration. The early snow in January 
crusted, which made it hard on the deer, yet it was not 
deep. Lots of horses wintered here in the mountains, 
and while I have been around quite a lot, I have not so 
far seen a single carcass. 
One of our miners, hunting horses a short time ago, 
while going up the San-Poil, saw a cougar, and his dog 
treed it. The miner had a .22 rifle and he shot the 
cougar in the head, killing it dead. Grouse seem to be 
very plentiful this spring, and they came down from the 
mountains the first of March this year, when usually it is 
the middle. Robins wintered with us this winter for the , 
first time to my recollection. Larks often do. Wild geese i 
wintered along the Columbia, and are often seen going ; 
north now. , -3 ,. . Lew Wilmot, 
C Legislation at Albany. 
Albany, March 25.— Fish and' game matters were dull in the i 
Legislature the past week. The only . development of interest in 
this connection was the attempt to pass through the Assembly the : 
bill of Assemblyman Hubbs (Int. No. 113) to allow the snring :' 
shooting of ducks in Suffolk county. The bill has been greatly 
amended so as to take in other sections of the State. It got but 
fifty-four votes, which is twelve short of a constitutional majority. 
Assemblyman Hubbs hopes to bring it up again and pass it. 
The Senate has passed the bill of Senator Prime (Int. No. 98), : 
making an appropriation for restocking the Adirondack region with i 
wild moose. ' 
The Assembly has passed the following bills: 
Assemblyman Apgar's (Int. No. 866) relative to the close season ' 
for deer in certain counties. 
Assemblyman F. G. Whitney's (Int. No. 1019) relative to fishing 
through the ice in Big Sandy Pond, Oswego county. 
Assemblyman Steven's (Int. No. 1006), relative to the close 
season for trout in certain counties. 
Assemblyman F. G. Whitney's (Int. No. 784), relative to fishing t 
in Lake Ontario in Oswego county. ' 
Assemblyman Reeve's (Int. No. 115), amending the game law 
in relation to penalties. 
Assemblyman Gray's (Int. No. 266), in relation to the close ' 
season for grouse, woodcock and quail in certain counties. 
Assemblyman Plank's (Int. No. 958), relative to the close .season , 
for muskallonge in the St. Lawrence River. 
Bills have been introdviced as follows: 
Assemblyman Wade's (Int. No. 1205), amending Section 82 so as 
to provide that muskallonge, black bass and yellow bass shall not 
be fished for, taken or possessed in Chautauqua covmty from 
Nov. 16 to June 15, both inclusive, unless by the State for the 
purpose of propagation, nor shall they be fished for or taken 
from any of the waters of the county on any day after dusk and j 
before daylight. Bullheads may be fished for and taken through | 
the ice with hook and line, baited with angle worms, in any of 
the lakes of the county. 
Assemblyman Standard's, by request (Int. No. 1214), amending 
Section SO, so as to provide that plover, ringneck or killdeer, 
dowitcher, willett or sandpiper shall not be taken or possessed 
from Jan. 1 to Aug. 15, both inclusive. Section 108 is amended 
so as to make the close season for Wilson snipe, commonly called 
English snipe, from May 1 to Aug. 31. 
Assemblyman Coutant's (Int. No. 1295), amending Section 75, 
providing that herring may be taken in the Delaware River, and 
that part of the Hudson River below the dam at Troy, with nets 
operated by hand only, from March 15 to June 30, both inclusive. * 
The Assembly Committee has reported Assemblyman Hapman's 
bill (Int. No. 1105), relative to fishing through thfe ice in Cross 
Lake, Cayuga county. , , . , 
Among the Florida Keys. 
From Miami to Key West and beyond extends a shal- 
low sea dotted with small and large islets. Toward the 
north and west these are little but mud, mangroves and 
mosquitoes, but toward the West and south they often 
show white beaches of coral sand and sometimes a little 
soil capable of cultivation, while cocoanut palms are not 
infrequent. The belt of islets is from ten to forty miles 
in width, and around the inner ones stretch wide sounds 
of shallow water and broad flats of sand or mud barely 
covered by the tide. Between the outer keys are fre- 
quent channels called creeks, through which the tide ebbs 
and flows, and beyond the outer line on the east coast is 
a belt of shoal water from three to five miles wide ex- 
tending to the Florida Reef, from which the. bottom 
plunges downward rapidly to the channel of the great 
Gulf Stream. On the west coast the water is shoal all 
through the Bay of Florida, deepening gradually toward 
the Gulf of Mexico. The whole region naturally divides 
itself into two districts, the "east coast" and "west coast," 
as tbey are commonly distinguished, the territory be- 
tween the keys being rather similar to and generally in- 
cluded with the latter. These two districts differ con- 
siderably in the character of their waters and the in- 
habitants thereof, the east coast being washed by water 
of crystal clearness, peopled by the Spanish mackerel, 
kingfish, barracuda, amber jack, and others that rarely 
appear on the western shore, while the waters of the west 
coast are more cloudy, and inhabited by the great rays, 
the sawfish, the sheepshead and the drums, gray and red. 
The tarpon frequents both coasts, but appears earlier and 
is, I think, more numerous on the west side, while sharks 
are common everywhere. 
-The eastern fish and fishing have been most fully and 
carefully described by Mr. W. H. Gregg in his admirable 
work, "When, Where and How to Catch Fish on the 
East Coast of Florida," and Mr. Chas. F. Holder, in his 
fascinating volume, "The Big Game Fishes of the United 
States," has written most exhaustively and lovingly of the 
principal tenants of both districts. Anyone contemplating 
a fishing trip to Florida will find these two books give 
abundant information as well as the keenest pleasure. 
My own experience is limited to a little fishing near 
Miami a year or two ago, and a month's cruise of very 
recent date; in which last I saw and fished most of the 
country, but at an unfavorable season and with unusually 
bad weather. Still we succeeded in taking forty species 
in all, including most of the principal fishes of both 
coasts, with the unfortunate exception of the tarpon, for 
which we were far too early, having started our cruise in 
the middle of January and ended it half way through the 
following month. 
To get the best results the northern fisherman might 
leave Miami about the middle of Ftbruary, spend two 
weeks on the east coast, and reach Marc© or Punta Rassa 
about March i, by which time h« •ujht t« Ind plenty of 
tarpon. Doing this he is not lik-tly t» mmt with many 
northers," which put an end to til ishin# while they 
blow, and still will be early enough to escape any great 
heat and the worst of the flies, which Igst are present in 
places favorable for them at all seasons, but are not very 
bad until spring, when the west coast is said to be almost 
intolerable, and even the more i^vofed east k p^t frtie 
In part from my own limited experience, but mainly 
from the evidence of my guides, I think there is really 
nothing especially desirable in the way of rod-fishing in 
the west except for the tarpon ; but, should the fisherman 
succumb to the attractions of the chase with the spear, as 
he is likely to do after the first trial, this district is the 
better for it. 
In the excessively clear waters of the east, fish have 
every opportunity to see the angler and his line, and they 
do not fail to make the most of them. As a consequence 
nearly all are extremely shy and madden one by the 
calmest indifference to the most seductive baits. To ob- 
tain success one must get his bait to the fish whil^ hirnself 
at a considerable distance, and this must be done either 
by trolling or by making a long cast or letting the sinker 
run down with the tide, and the bait lie on the bottom 
until a fish strikes. Of course a running sinker must be 
used, so that the Hghtest nibble can be_ felt. If these 
fish were surface feeders, one could have ideal sport with 
the fly, and I understand that this has been successfully 
tried by one or two anglers when fishing in shallow 
waters.' There seem to be few large flies in the country, 
and the fish live on minnows or crustaceans, so the fly 
is not offered to them as a fly, but as a strange moving, 
and therefore living, object, which is presented and 
snatched away until a rush is made at it and the unwise 
investigator is hooked in censequence. Mr. Dimmock, 
whom I met at Marco, and who has done wonders with 
the camera and with the spear, tells me that he has had 
excellent sport with channel bass and small tarpon by 
using the fly in this manner. 
In the channels between the keys fishing is greatly de- 
pendent on the state of the tide, as fish seem to travel 
back and forth with the currents while feeding, and when 
the tide is running strongly it is very difficult to _ feel 
the delicate nibble which is usually all that is given. 
Slack water and the hour or so preceding and following 
it is the favorable period, and if fish are not taken then 
you had better try some other place. On the outer reef 
this is not so much the case, and one can often find suc- 
cess at any stage of the tide. Florida fish are, however, 
very freaky and uncertain, like most other fish, and 
often choose their time for biting and for refusing to do 
so without apparent reason; but patience and diligence 
will bring success in the South as in the North. 
As most of these fish are bottom feeders, a pretty heavy 
sinker is usually necessary for still-fishing, and this dead 
weight is of course a nuisance in fishing and a great 
hindrance and disadvantage in playing a fish when 
hooked. In the channels and shoal water one can gen- 
erally use moderately light tackle, though it is always 
possible that you may hook something large enough to 
endanger your rig. On the reef to use light tackle is to 
court disaster, as you are practically certain to strike a 
monster that even the heaviest rig will^ barely save. _At 
Alligator Reef my companion had his line broken twice, 
and twice had the full two hundred yards carried away 
by some irresistible power. Having never before used 
a tarpon rod or a twenty-one thread line, I grew to think 
them equal t© any strain that could be exerted, so twice 
had the line broken at the leader knot through holding 
big amberjacks too tight, and,, having hooked two big 
sharks while trolling for kingfish, succeeded in both 
eases in breaking the line without losin| much, niore by 
good luck th^n by any §Wll 
Some months ago Mr. L. F. Brown asked me to join 
in a discussion as to whether fresh or salt-water fish were i 
the stronger. Having then had but little salt-water expe- 
rience, I did not feel qualified to express an opinion. ' 
Now, however, my conviction is fixed beyond shaking 
that the salt-water fish, weight for weight, is greatly the ; 
more powerful. No one who has seen the rushes and i 
leaps of a barracuda, felt the mighty surges of an amber- ' 
jack or the wild dashes of a kingfish, can for a moment 
doubt that to any of these the heaviest salmon tackle : 
would be as a thread of gossamer. Using a 24-ounce 6- , 
foot tarpon rod and a multiplier holding 200 yards of ^ 
2i-thread line (tested to a dead pull of 42 pounds), and 
equipped with a pad brake, I have repeatedly had more 
than a hundred yards torn from the reel, in spite of the : 
greatest pressure that my thumb on the brake and my ' 
gloved left hand clasped around line and rod, could pos- 1 
sibly exert, by fish that proved when gaffed to weigh only ,: 
twenty pounds or thereabout. After playing and landing , 
my largest amberfish — four feet long and weighing forty- 
five pounds — my left arm at the elbow ached very sharply, ■ 
and I actually had to rest for ten minutes before daring 
to risk it in another such struggle. Our fishing was done , 
from the big launch and was difficult in consequence; it | 
would have been much easier if done from small boats : 
which the fish could tow. - 1 
The play of the great pelagic fishes caught on or out- 
side the reef is interestingly different. The barracuda, . 
sabre-toothed and pike-like, makes fierce and long side • 
runs, and often leaps repeatedly clear from the water; 
the Idngfish, splendid in blue and, silver and iridescent 
with pink and purple, takes the bait with a rush that 
often carries him ten feet clear of the waves, the squid j 
in his jaws, and then dashes wildly from side to side, ] 
away, down, up and everywhere. The amberjack does not 1 
leap, but marches away with a force that nothing seems 
able to check, utterly refuses to yield to pressure, never > 
seems to tire, and is of all fish I have met, the one that 
fights longest and steadiest, with a fund of reserve power 
that it seems impossible to exhaust. The huge grouper, 
battleship of fishes, resists heavily and immovably, and 
is only too apt to get into a rock hole and leave you 
trying to lift the State of Florida. 
Since returning, many have asked me, "Will not your 
experience with these great and powerful fish make your 
beloved trout seem small and uninteresting?" To which 
I answer, "A thousand times no ! It has begn wonderful 
fishing, a very interesting experience, and one to be re- 
membered with great pleasure; but I don't care much to 
repeat it. The tackle is too heavy, the work too hard,, 
and the fish too many and too big. Far preferable to any 
of these splendid fish is fontinalis, with his personal 
beauty, wiliness and wariness, lovely surroundings, and 
the delicate tackle which must be used to ensnare him. 
As gossamer gut is to piano wire, as the finest silk line is 
to heavy linen, as a No. 12 hook is to a lo/o, as a tinyi 
artificial fly is to a five-inch block tin squid, so is the 
pursuit of fontinalis a finer, more delicate and more at- 
tractive sport than any that Florida has shown me. The 
southern fish are magnificent, superb, in all ways admir- ' 
able; but the heavy tackle which must be used in taking' 
them robs the sporty of much of its charm. If Florida 
ever sees me again, it will be that I may once more use 
t6e spear, not the rod." ' ' A. St. J. NEWBEimy, 
pLBVEI-AND^ Feb 
