Forest and Stream 
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NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JUNE 5 , 1909 . 
j VOL. LXXII.—No.23. 
I No. 127 Franklin St., New York. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1909, by Eorest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary, 
Louis Dean Speir, Treasurer, 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
THE FUR TRADE TO-DAY. 
Could the complete story of the fur trade be 
written, it would form a romantic and interest¬ 
ing part of this country’s early history. Indeed 
we might go further and say, that were it not 
for the fur trade, many parts of North America 
would as yet hardly have been settled—would 
have no history. 
It was the fur trade that 250 years ago in¬ 
duced the hardy Frenchmen—of which Radis- 
sor was the leader and the type—to push their 
way westward to the furthest limit of the Great 
Lakes, and then further and further west and 
north and south, looking always for fur or for 
a passage to the Indies, in other words, for 
money. The success of the French stimulated 
the English, and “governor and company of 
adventurers of England trading into Hudson’s 
Bay” received a charter. Infinite were the toils 
endured by these hardy voyageurs—toils not 
to be comprehended by the man of to-day, who, 
if he goes out into the wilderness, or, as he 
phrases it, deserts “civilization,” does so with 
all the accompaniments of food and transporta¬ 
tion and service, so that he knows nothing of 
the actual hardship of the explorer’s life. 
Into new and undiscovered quarters of North 
America, the trapper seeking for fur was the 
first to penetrate. Close upon his heels fol¬ 
lowed the trader, who used trapper and Indian 
alike to fill his purse, and through the energy 
of trapper and trader these furs reached a mar¬ 
ket and stimulated other men to start out and 
trap or trade. Earnest, enduring, industrious 
and brave w.ere the trappers of those early 
days. Their time is long past. Perhaps the last 
of them died when Uncle Bill Hamilton was 
laid at rest. 
Yet the work of trapping still goes on over 
all the northern part of the northern hemis¬ 
phere. Millions of furs are annually gathered 
and brought to market. Year after year this 
goes on and still the supply keeps up. It may 
happen that some day, on a sudden, the fur¬ 
bearing animals will all disappear, as years ago, 
on a sudden, the buffalo disappeared or the 
passenger pigeon disappeared. Yet when we 
think that the world is constantly becoming 
better educated as to the importance of pre¬ 
serving natural things, it may well enough be 
that before the breeding stock of the fur bearers 
has become exhausted, such protection may be 
afforded them that a permanent supply shall be 
assured for all time. 
We shall begin next week the publication of 
an article treating of the fur trade to-day, which 
cannot fail to especially interest two classes of 
our readers, those interested in trapping and 
those interested in the history of the old trap¬ 
pers as detailed in those fascinating books on 
the early West from which we have so often 
quoted. The account, which is drawn from the 
best informed authorities, tells a curious and 
interesting story which is full of surprises. 
NEW GAME AND FISH LAWS. 
Governor Hughes has signed the Hamilton 
bill, amending the game laws of New York 
State generally. A majority of the changes 
affect the State parks., which will be protected 
in the most approved manner by trained men 
equipped with modern appliances. The game 
protectors’ ranks will be strengthened by the 
addition of five men, chosen through civil ser¬ 
vice e.xamination in their home counties. 
To start a fire in the woods and leave it burn¬ 
ing will be punishable as a misdemeanor. If 
the fire spreads, its author may also be held 
liable for damages caused by it. In emergencies 
the Governor can suspend either the fishing or 
the shooting season and prevent persons from 
going into the woods for these purposes. It is 
believed these provisions will have a salutory 
effect on careless persons. Together with the 
new rules laid down for the guidance of the 
railways operating in the forest preserves, the 
present laws should materially cut down the 
forest, fish and game waste. 
There are minor changes in the seasons and 
in the matter of local laws, but in the main 
the new law strengthens the Forest, Fish and 
Game Commission and makes it a power for 
good. 
This year the opening day for hook-and-line 
fishing in the Delaware River will be June 15. 
The season is uniform in New York, New Jer¬ 
sey and Pennsylvania. In New Jersey the dates 
were changed so that while it is permitted to 
fish for bass, etc., on May 20 in all other waters 
in that State, June 15 is the opening day for 
bass, crappie, pike-perch, pike, pickerel, white 
and yellow perch and trout in the Delaware. 
There are not many trout in the main river, 
but a number of trout streams flow into it in 
New Jersey, and the law protects them so that 
they may not be taken below the mouths of 
these cold streams, where it is possible they may 
be found occasionally. 
Ernest L. Ewbank’s comments on the ab¬ 
sence of ground-nesting birds in regions in¬ 
fested with hogs furnish a timely warning to 
persons who may be contemplating wild boar 
hunting in America. The experiences of sports¬ 
men in parts of Missouri and Arkansas where 
the razorback hog runs wild, are similar. These 
creatures live largely on nuts, but their work¬ 
ings in the woods show how minutely they cover 
immense tracts, and even the wild turkeys, 
adepts at concealing their nests and young, find 
it difficult to find nesting places secure from the 
hog’s depredations. If the wild boar ranges as 
far and covers the ground as thoroughly as the 
razorback, turning him out in American pre¬ 
serves can only be contemplated with apprehen¬ 
sion. It is also a well-known fact that few if 
any fences long remain proof against the razor- 
back’s strength and cunning. His European 
cousin is a stronger if not a more cunning beast. 
at 
Reports from the trout streams are not so 
unfavorable as it was thought they would be. 
May was cold and stormy and the catch was 
below the average, but when the warm days 
came it was possible to collect evidence of the 
abundance or scarcity of trout that survived 
the drouth of last autumn. In the Catskills the 
supply of trout seems to be normal. Reports 
received by Commissioner Meehan indicate that 
Pennsylvania streams are well supplied. In New 
Jersey the results of restocking are to be seen 
in numerous streams, but these are so close to 
large cities that under-size trout are taken in 
large numbers by unscrupulous persons. The 
Adirondacks and the New England States will 
be heard from later. 
The tide of humanity setting away from New 
York city and toward fishing waters was greater 
last Saturday, perhaps, than ever before. Of 
the total a small percentage departed for distant 
waters, but the majority traveled less than one 
hundred and fifty miles, and took advantage of 
the evening fishing on Saturday and a full day 
on Monday. This shows the great popularity 
of nearby fishing waters, and the importance 
of exerting mighty efforts to keep these waters 
stocked with game fish. The railways, hotels, 
boarding houses and other interests receive a 
large income from week-end anglers, and they 
should be ever ready to assist in every known 
way to maintain the supply of game fish. 
Our cover picture, the two other sketches and 
the paper on “Late Camps,” printed elsewhere 
in this issue, will appeal strongly to readers who 
know the joys of these week-end visits to the 
woods. For Forest and Stream Theodore J. 
Cornu has prepared a series of which this paper 
is the first. Other papers, illustrated with 
sketches by the author, will appear during 1909. 
J. W. Schultz’s Arizona stories will run 
through several issues, as will also C. FI. 
Cooper’s fishing papers. 
