840 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. g, 1911 . 
Shameful Slaughter of Wildfowl. 
Boston, Mass., Nov. 28 .— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Inclosed please find clipping with items 
regarding goose slaughter, one of which, headed 
“Deadly Volley Kills 45,” is particularly sug¬ 
gestive : 
Plymouth, Nov. 22.—Fort the past two days there has 
been a great flight of wild geese, and the shooting stands 
at the large ponds and at the shore have bagged a large 
number. At the Clark’s Island stand, 60 geese have been 
killed; at the West Side, Great South Pond, 35; at the 
East Side, 37; at Island Pond, 33; at Plymouth Beach, 
18; at Duxbury Shore, 50, and at the other places many 
more, as most of the stands killed from 10 to 20 . 
The flight is one of the largest ever known for this 
time of the year, and the geese are all the early geese, 
and none of the large winter birds ha.ve come along 
as yet. 
Middleboro, Nov. 22.—One of the bigest bags of geese 
ever made here is reported from the Snipituit gunning 
stand. According to the report received here the gun¬ 
ners secured 45 geese, at a single volley, yesterday. 
The birds came into the pond, and the decoys lured 
them up toward the stand. The men held their fire 
until just the proper time, and then when they were 
through shooting, 45 geese were floating dead on the 
water. 
Another big record is reported from the Jeremys Point 
stand in Lakeville, which is run by Middleboro sports¬ 
men, including Samuel Shaw. They got 19 geese yester¬ 
day, and the day previous got 13 geese and 6 ducks. 
That is near a shooting record for the Assawampsett 
stands. 
The flights of geese the last few days over this section 
have been the heaviest that have been known for a long 
time.—Boston Globe of Nov. 22. 
I have had considerable experience in the field, 
duck shooting, and at the traps. 
Several years ago I made a protest through 
a sporting magazine against this system of goose 
slaughter. Now, as I understand the shotgun, 
the pleasure of shooting is to be able to pick 
them out of the air. I have never seen a man 
who could give a plausible excuse for shooting 
a bird other than when flying, except for the 
meat. The fixed position of a bird sitting on 
the water allows no other excuse for shooting 
the same. Therefore, I cannot see why men, 
who are good sportsmen in other lines, permit 
themselves to sit behind a brush fence, with a 
number of overloaded large-bore shotguns, firing 
over a rest, and murder forty-five geese, or any 
geese, sitting in the water. 
They excuse themselves, in part, by saying it 
is fascinating to see the wild birds coyed in by 
the goslings and the pegged-out honkers, and I 
can appreciate this. But the withering bombard¬ 
ment which follows, wherein a bunch of birds 
is annihilated—and the escape of one bird is 
considered a calamity—passes my understanding. 
I wish to protest emphatically against this 
murder. The country is gradually becoming 
educated up to game protection, and it is time for 
Forest and Stream, our leading outdoor “voice,” 
to take cognizance of this highly specialized 
goose murder and give publicity to this needless 
waste of birds, a waste consummated in a most 
unsportsmanlike and inexcusable manner. 
The fact that this style of shooting is in the 
hands of well-to-do sportsmen, because others 
cannot afford the necessary layout, makes the 
crime all the more disgusting, as these men have 
the means to get real shooting, where the rank 
and file of gunners could not afford to go, and 
where they have come under my personal ob¬ 
servation here in Eastern Massachusetts, they 
are an educated set of men, who are setting a 
mighty poor example to the younger generation. 
As an old subscriber, I would appreciate the 
publication of my protest. 
Charles C. Clapp. 
The California Plan. 
San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 28 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The Fish and Game Commission 
is endeavoring to interest sportsmen through¬ 
out the State in the protection of the game re¬ 
sources and has just issued a circular letter ask¬ 
ing for suggestions in regard to game laws and 
advocating that support be given to protective 
associations being formed. The circular reads 
as follows: 
To the People of the State of California: 
It has often been said that the fish and game laws of 
the State of California were passed in the interest of a 
favored few, to the prejudice of the great mass of the 
citizens of our State. 
Such impression has gone forth doubtless by reason 
of the fact that the people generally have had but little, 
if any, voice in suggesting or proposing legislation upon 
the subject, resulting in lack of co-operation by the people 
with the commission, without which co-operation neither 
beneficial laws can be passed nor material progress made. 
The commission sincerely desires the active, hearty and 
earnest co-operation of all the people of this State in 
the great work which is before it. 
This commission will be for the people, and we want 
their expression as to the laws most suitable for their 
districts. In other words, we want the people of this 
great State of California to say to the commission, “We 
want this and we want that,” and not for the commis¬ 
sion to say, “We will give you this and we will give you 
that.” 
This commission intends to assist in getting just, equable 
laws concerning fish and game upon the statute books, 
laws which will preserve the rights of the people therein 
and be fair to all. To do this the commission will assist 
the people of the State of California in forming fish and 
game protective associations. The price of membership 
will be 25c., which will be used to pay the expenses of 
the delegates of the different counties. Each county will 
send three delegates, or less, whichever they deem best, 
to where a district meeting will be held. Here the 
county delegates will decide on the laws most suitable 
for their district, and at which time they will select a 
representative, who will be instructed to meet with the 
Fish and Game Commission two months before the 
Legislature meets and prepare proper laws. 
After agreeing with the representatives, the com¬ 
mission will take the proposed laws of the six districts 
to the Legislature and say: “Gentlemen, these are the 
laws that the people of the State of California want,” 
and it is to be believed that they will pass them with¬ 
out delay, thereby saving the people of our State many 
thousands of dollars, and at the same time giving to the 
people the laws that are sure to please. 
If you favor the formation of these associations, please 
sign the enclosed card and forward the same to Kin. 
E. D. Roberts. State Treasurer, Sacramento, together 
with 25 cents for your dues for one year. Mr. Roberts 
has kindly consented to act in this connection, and upon 
receipt of your card and dues, will issue you a receipt 
card of membership and enter your name upon the 
tegister for your county. When a sufficient number of 
names have been received from your county a meeting 
of such men will be called at some central point in the 
county, and at that meeting an association formed which 
will in turn take steps for the formation of a district 
association. The money received by Mr. Roberts, less 
postal expenses and printing of membership cards, will 
be turned over to the duly elected officers of the club 
in each county. 
This fund, you can readily see, will be used by the 
people for the sole purpose of legislating for themselves 
and) to demand that they make the laws, a right that 
justly belongs to them. 
The State of Maine, not more than twenty years ago, 
had little or no game, but by protection, she is to-day 
receiving a revenue of five millions of dollars from the 
people who pursue her fish and game. California is four 
times larger than the State of Maine, and has more 
varieties of fish and game, and it is believed that the 
co-operation of the people with the commission in this 
work will so increase fish and game that California will 
become the best field for this sport in the West. 
Let this work be carried forward, and with our great 
highways completed, not only will the State revenues be 
increased, but the hunters and fishermen from all over 
the world will visit our mountains and streams, as they 
do in the State of Maine. 
As we have said before, this commission will be one 
for the people, and the only way for it to be guided is 
by the voice of the people through the fish and game 
protective associations. 
Join now, and help to protect one of the greatest 
assets of your State. 
Fred G. Sanborn, president of the commission, 
has resigned from that body. It has been known 
for some time that Mr. Sanborn has not been 
in accord with some of the ideas of his associa¬ 
tes, M. J. Connell, of Los Angeles, and F. M. 
Newbert, of Sacramento. He opposed the ac¬ 
tivity of the commission in assisting to form 
protective associations, fearing that it might be 
construed that these were being formed for 
political purposes. Commissioner Newbert, who 
was appointed recently to take the place of Prof. 
Jordon on the board, is one of the moving spirits 
in the plan for protective associations. 
A change in management of the State Game 
Farm at Hayward is to be made, W. N. Dirks, 
of Alameda, .having been selected to take the 
place of J. R. Argabrite, who has been superin¬ 
tendent for several seasons. Mr. Dirks is an 
enthusiastic propagator of game birds and has 
become an authority on the subject of rearing 
quail and pheasants. On a small city lot he has 
raised several hundred birds this season and 
has had inquiries from all parts of the world 
for these. His experiments this year in hatch¬ 
ing and rearing pheasants have been highly suc¬ 
cessful, his methods differing considerably from 
those usually followed. He has the confidence 
of the game commission, which has been watch¬ 
ing his work, and it is anticipated that with his 
experience and initiative some splendid results 
will be secured at the farm next season. His 
large collection of birds will be removed to Hay¬ 
ward when he enters upon his new duties. 
Santa Rosa Island, off the southern coast of 
the State, is being made a huge game preserve 
by its owners, Vail & Vickers, of Los Angeles, 
under the guidance of manager Frank Pepper. 
A few years ago two elk were liberated there 
and recently nine were seen in a remote section 
of the island. Absolute protection is given them 
and they are expected to multiply rapidly now. 
Other species of wild game will be added from 
time to time until the island is well stocked. 
A short time ago, when the commission an¬ 
nounced that in all likelihood it would be neces¬ 
sary to remove the game farm to some other 
location, the matter of a suitable site was quite 
a problem. Since that time much interest has 
been aroused and the question now is to deter¬ 
mine upon one of the many sites that has been 
offered. The Alameda county commercial or¬ 
ganizations are working hard to have the farm 
retained, and a site has been selected near Lake 
