Nov. 16, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
623 
Shooting Conditions in Different States 
(Continued from last week.) 
Oregon. 
Pendleton, Ore., Oct. 11 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Game and game fish conditions generally 
throughout Oregon have improved since the crea¬ 
tion of the present fish and game commission. 
Prior to that time, May, 1911, enforcement 
of protective laws had degenerated into a stand¬ 
ing joke. The first work of the commission 
was to appoint an energetic and efficient game 
warden, in the person of William L. Finley, 
widely known previously as an agent of the Na¬ 
tional Audubon Society and an interesting 
writer on the subject of American birds. 
The salary of the game warden was im¬ 
mediately raised to a figure commensurate 
with the work demanded and the whole warden 
service entirely reorganized. 
Results in the shape of decreased violations 
and an improved public sentiment toward laws 
for protection and propagation were noticeable 
almost immediately. We believe improvement 
in these directions has been constant, and we 
are hopeful that it will continue indefinitely. 
The State board, of which I am the chair¬ 
man, has control of all matters relating to the 
game of the State and also the game—and com¬ 
mercial—fish and fishing of. the State. Propa¬ 
gation and protection of game—and commer¬ 
cial—fishes is under the management of a 
Master Fish Warden in the person of Mr. R. 
E. Clanton, an efficient and energetic officer. 
The State Game Warden and the Master 
Fish Warden work in conjunction as far as the 
propagation and protection of game fishes is 
concerned. We are doing artificial propagation 
work on a large scale and are confident that 
results already apparent fully justify us in our 
determination to continue on an increased scale 
in the future. 
We have also undertaken propagation of 
game birds, but on a rather modest scale as 
compared with our fish propagation work. We 
have leased a game farm, bought breeding stock 
and contracted for the services of an experi¬ 
enced game breeder, ’Gene Simpson. We are 
now liberating the birds reared this past sea¬ 
son. Our main effort has been directed to¬ 
ward raising two species, namely China ring- 
neck and Reeves’ pheasants, but we are experi¬ 
menting with many other species and varieties. 
All our liberations are upon areas under con¬ 
tract to the State by the owners to be pro¬ 
tected as game-bird refuges, and our hope is 
that the birds thus liberated will there naturally 
increase and gradually spread and stock sur¬ 
rounding areas. 
Our work in connection with the game 
mammals of the State has been almost en¬ 
tirely confined to an effort to enforce the pro¬ 
tective statutes now in force. We have con¬ 
ducted one experiment, with which you are 
probably familiar, in introducing the Wyoming 
wapiti into Oregon. The results of that trial, 
so far, bid fair to prove successful. A fair 
proportion of the elk survived the trip and 
have adapted themselves to their new sur¬ 
roundings. I have no report on them down to 
date, but the last word received indicated that 
we may hope for a good increase of the band 
next season. 
Game and game fish are fairly abundant 
throughout the whole State of Oregon. Elk, all 
the species and varieties of Western deer, Ameri¬ 
can antelope, mountain sheep, mountain goats, 
gray squirrels, all the species and varieties of 
American grouse (except ptarmigan), Oregon 
mountain quail and practically all of the Ameri¬ 
can aquatic game birds may be found wild with¬ 
in the State. To this list of native game must 
be added the bobwhite quail and the China ring- 
neck pheasant. Both of these fine birds have 
been introduced, and the' latter particularly has 
thrived marvelously. In 1911 a law was en¬ 
acted stopping shooting of pheasants for two 
years, in order to allow the stock to “catch up’’ 
from the effects of over shooting. Reports 
this summer indicate that they have “caught 
up’’ all right. Over the area of the State where 
they were formerly plentiful they are now more 
abundant than ever. The portion of the State 
west of the Cascade Mountains is practically all 
well stocked with pheasants. The Grande Ronde 
valley, in Eastern Oregon, has a very fair start, 
and we are making numerous liberations in 
other parts of Eastern Oregon. Elk have be¬ 
come very scarce in Oregon. No open season 
for shooting them is allowed, and we think it 
doubtful that they will become plentiful 
enough to permit of an open season being de¬ 
clared for many years in the future, if at all. 
Deer may be found in most of the rough, 
sparsely inhabited sections of the State, but 
deer can hardly be said to be plentiful in more 
than a few isolated places of comparatively 
small areas. I attribute the depletion of the 
stock of deer in this State to a number of 
causes, chief of which is, I believe, the close 
pasturing of the forest areas by sheep. Preda¬ 
tory animals and unfair hunting have also con¬ 
tributed their share of the damage. Native 
quail are still abundant in a few localities, but 
they, too, are greatly depleted over much of 
the range where they were once plentiful. 
Southwestern Oregon is, probably, the part of 
the State where the most quail exist. Blue and 
ruffed grouse are still fairly abundant in most of 
the parts of the State where they were originally 
found. The blue grouse, or sooty grouse, is 
perhaps most abundant in the northeast corner 
of the State, in Wallowa county. 
It just occurs to me that 1 have said noth¬ 
ing about the many fine streams of the State 
and the fine stock of game fishes which inhabit 
them. We probably have as fine angling waters 
in Oregon as in any place in the world, bar 
none. Our stock of game fishes includes all 
the American trouts, the pacific salmons, Wil¬ 
liamson’s whitefish, black bass, crappies and 
bullheads. It would take another page or two 
to enumerate and describe the waters where 
fine angling may be had, so I will not elaborate 
further. C. K. Cranston, 
Chairman Fish and Game Commission. 
South Carolina. 
Summerville, S. C., Oct. 23.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: Although impaired by long neglect, 
the game resources of South Carolina are still 
considerable. With adequate protection they 
would be enormous. 
As it is, good hunting may be had in many 
parts of the State by parties who go for it and 
exercise a little judgment and patience. 
The rivers and marshes of Georgetown, 
Charleston and Beaufort afford abundant duck 
shooting, the best being mallard and blackduck. 
Georgetown, on account of its vast area of 
abandoned rice fields, affords the best ducking 
ground. Naturally the choicest shooting has 
been pre-empted by hunting clubs, but there is 
enough good shooting outside that may be 
had, with proper guides that know the country. 
This is all reached from Georgetown. 
CARIBOU ON ALASKA PENINSULA. 
Photograph taken December, 1911, by T. C. Tolman, Game Warden. 
