172 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Feb. 8, 1913 
as we came through the reeds of a branch, a 
startled fawn paid tribute to the skill of the 
nineteen-year-old guide, whose No. 9 quail shot 
did effective work. It was his first deer and his 
joy was contagious; in fact, I beamed in the re¬ 
flected glory of his smile. A prouder boy I have 
never met. 
The pleasant week came all too soon to a 
close, and with its close came the knowledge 
that we had met most delightful people and been 
furnished the best accommodations and had sat 
at an exceptional table, with the result that there 
was planted the seed of that temptation which 
induces a gunner having the flimsiest sort of 
excuse to neglect his temporal affairs for an¬ 
other chance at the birds. 
Needless to say, both Mr. Pritchard and my¬ 
self determined to repeat as frequently as our 
affairs would permit, notwithstanding that we 
found the lady to have been the writer who ques¬ 
tioned our skill, and being herself no mean 
gunner had tolerantly smiled in a very superior 
sort of way at our many excuses for failing to 
shoot with greater accuracy. 
Louis Hess. 
The Fur Seal Question. 
Washington, D. C., Jan. 20 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The fur seal question has again 
loomed up as a bone of contention between those 
who wish to preserve the Alaskan seal herd in¬ 
tact for five years, and those on the other hand 
who wish to continue killing the surplus male 
seals on land for the purpose of securing seal 
pelts. After extensive hearings lasting several 
months, both the House and Senate committees 
agreed upon a treaty with Japan, Russia and 
England whereby pelagic sealing should be sus¬ 
pended for a period of five years, this country 
to pay each of the powers mentioned the sum 
of $200,000 in lieu of their sealing rights. The 
House bill as passed provided for a closed sea¬ 
son of ten years, but the Senate committee re¬ 
duced it to five years, to which the House agreed 
and the bill became a law. The evidence be¬ 
fore both the House and Senate committees 
showed that pelagic sealing, which is the killing 
of seals at sea, was the most destructive agent 
in the decimation of the seal herd. This appears 
true for the reason that the females and mother 
seals are killed in the sea while in search of 
food, thus leaving the young seal pups to starve 
on shore, resulting in the death of the mother 
and young. The evidence also showed that the 
land killing was almost equally destructive, as 
the unlawful killing of seals two years old and 
under at an age when it is difficult to determine 
the sex, resulted in at least 50 per cent, of the 
young seals thus unlawfully killed being fe¬ 
males. When these facts were shown, and it 
being further demonstrated that the decimation 
of the seal herd was a near probability. Congress 
extended complete protection for a term of five 
years to all seals in Alaskan waters. Now comes 
a report from Prof. George A. Clark and Prof. 
David Starr Jordan with arguments to show 
that the suspension of the land killing was an 
error, and urging the repeal of that item in the 
law. President Taft was prevailed upon to send 
a special message to Congress urging the repeal 
of the law suspending land killing. Notwith¬ 
standing these appeals, it is understood that 
Congress will not be inclined to repeal the pres¬ 
ent law, preferring, it is believed, to give com¬ 
plete protection for five years to all seals than 
to risk further decimation of the herd from any 
kind of killing. Raleigh Raines. 
State Gecme Preserves. 
Representative Kent, of California, has in¬ 
troduced a bill in the House providing for the 
protection and increase of State game preserves. 
The proposed law provides that whenever the 
Legislature of any State shall relinquish the 
sovereign rights of the State over the game in 
any given area, and the Governor so notifies 
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, then the 
President is authorized tO’ declare by public 
proclamation that the game, birds or fish with¬ 
in the area so relinquished are under the pro¬ 
tection of the United States, and that such areas 
thus constituted shall be known as national game 
refuges and feeding grounds for animals, birds 
or fish protected therein. The areas thus con¬ 
stituted may be in national forests or unoccu¬ 
pied public lands, and lands held in private 
ownership and relinquished to the Government 
for national game preserves. Appropriate fines 
and punishment are provided in the bill for those 
who violate its provisions. The bill aims pri¬ 
marily to extend Government protection of the 
game of the country, and has much merit to 
recommend it. The proposed measure, which 
was referred to the House Committee on Agri¬ 
culture, will be extended hearings if any de¬ 
sire to be heard on the merits of the bill. 
Deer Hunting in Wisconsin. 
Waldheim Park, Wis., Jan. 20. — Editor 
Forest and Stream: The deer we were going 
after are found in Taylor county. Northern Wis¬ 
consin. The open season is from Nov. ii to 30, 
and each hunter is limited to the killing of but 
one deer. 
I started, alone, from Milwaukee to be in 
time for the opening and was joined, en route, by 
two companions, all young- men with some 
earlier experiences and good , 'marksmen—or 
claimed to be. 
The pine forests are dense in places and 
success lays in obtaining plain sight of your 
object, and at the same time, be aware of other 
objects nearby, and when covering a deer, be 
able to hit it in the spot you want and bring 
him down. 
On the first day we were out early from 
our quarters, and after a long tramp through 
the close pine woods we separated. Hearing 
a distant shot made by other hunters to the 
south, I knew a deer was in motion and ran 
for an open road, expecting, if not killed, that 
I might head the deer off, which, luckily, I did, 
as it—a fine buck—crossed the opening within 
fifty yards, when off went my rifle, the ball go¬ 
ing directly through the heart, and I had him. 
He weighed fully 175 pounds and carried a 
splendid pair of antlers. To this, our first one, 
we attached a license coupon, conveyed him 
some distance to an old settler’s house and later 
presented him to one who had done much for 
our entertainment and comfort. 
During the very short season, and the terri¬ 
tory being limited, many hunters are out and 
one is liable to encounter more hunters than 
deer, and to avoid any possibility of our crack¬ 
ing away at each other, or being served in that 
manner by others, red cloth was attached to 
each hat and boat, easily seen at a distance, 
not only by our party, but by other hunters. 
This practice should be the law. 
Chances for a shot in an opening of the 
woods are rare—more luck than otherwise^—but 
each of our company got his allowance, and 
then it was home again. The deer in that sec¬ 
tion are not scarce, as was evident from the 
numerous signs in the snow, and we had fre¬ 
quent sights of a flying white tail appearing at 
times above the thicket—underbrush—apparent¬ 
ly without a body. But shooting then is haz¬ 
ardous to other hunters—a hazard not taken 
by a sensible and careful sportsman. 
J. H. VojE, Jr. 
Hunting in California. 
BY GOLDEN GATE. 
Duck shooters are now enjoying the best 
sport of the season, the recent storms having 
brought great numbers of birds down from the 
north, many of these being the coveted canvas- 
backs. The birds are now well scattered, water 
being plentiful in all sections following the 
heavy rain, and it is not necessary to belong 
to a gun club to secure a limit bag. Good hunt-, 
ing is being experienced on the bay shore, al¬ 
though in some sections the presence of oil on 
the water ruins the birds for table use. 
The interest of sportsmen through the 
State is now being centered on the State Legis¬ 
lature, where a bill has been introduced by 
Senator Flint, which provides for the non-sale 
of game. This measure is being bitterly at¬ 
tacked by market hunters and hotel men and 
certain newspapers. The California Associated 
Societies for the Conservation of Wild Life is 
working hard in the interests of the proposed 
law and has prepared statistics showing the de¬ 
crease in the game of the State during recent 
years, especially in ducks, now the only game 
that is allowed to be sold. 
The controversy over fish and game mat¬ 
ters promises to continue through the entire ses¬ 
sion of the Legislature, and just what changes 
will be brought about are difficult to foretell. 
Some of the enemies of game protection favor 
the abolishment of the Fish and Game Com¬ 
mission, others want counties to handle game 
matters as they see fit. Back of the entire 
controversy is the subject of private game pre¬ 
serves, and there is no doubt but that the gen¬ 
eral feeling is against these. If the sale of 
ducks is to be prohibited, it would seem that 
it would be necessary at the same time to 
enact legislation prohibiting the baiting of 
ponds and excluding the public from the 
marshes. The tendency is toward legislation of 
this kind, and this will probably be the solution 
of the problem. Members of the Fish and 
Game Commission favor this and even many 
members of prominent gun clubs express the 
belief that the gun club in its present form must 
go. 
An international convention for the pro¬ 
tection of migratory birds, along the lines of 
existing agreements as to fish, is provided for 
in a resolution introduced on Jan. rq, at Wash¬ 
ington. by Senator Root, and sent to the Com¬ 
mittee on Foreign Relations in the Senate. 
