FOREST AND STREAM 
227 
by the slow action of the flint-lock, had much to 
do with building the fadeless fame of the old- 
time rifleman. 
In “Back Number’s’’ interesting article, before 
referred to, the matches appear to have been shot 
at circular marks. It may be, however, that a 
three inch circle was drawn upon a three inch 
square paper or pasteboard target, as was the case 
in all the matches I ever witnessed. In every in¬ 
stance the square paper was tacked upon a black¬ 
ened board; a round hole a half inch in diameter 
was cut in the center of the paper, and from the 
bottom of this hole to the bottom of the paper 
an acute-angle-triangle was cut out of the paper 
leaving the target to look like the diagram “A.” 
The habit of the rifleman was to begin the aim 
at the bottom of the black triangle, slowly lift the 
gun until the sights were trained upon the round 
hole in the center of the mark, softly press the 
front trigger, and steadily dwell upon the aim 
until the bullet was through the board. 
I have attended many such matches in North¬ 
ern Georgia and witnessed the triumphs of 
Wells, Taliferro, DuBose, and “Bud" Ellis, and 
other less famous riflemen, and have seen even 
better targets made than the excellent ones de¬ 
scribed by “Back Number,” but, of course, I have 
never had the pleasure of meeting the rifleman 
who “could put five consecutive shots into a cap- 
box lid, off-hand at one hundred yards” as the 
average liar has dinned into my ears for half a 
century; nor have I ever seen the fellow who 
“could put three balls into the same bullet-hole, 
off-hand at forty yards,” which the same unmiti¬ 
gated liar has seen done a hundred times.” Every 
rifleman has met him. He is the same old fraud 
who haunts the archery field and tells of the 
wonderful shooting he has seen the Indians do 
with the bow, knocking a penny out of a split 
stick at sixty yards, and keeping six arrows in 
the air at a time! The wonder is that no one ha* 
broken his neck. 
A GAME LAW WITH TEETH. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
We have got a game law at last and a law 
with teeth. I don’t mean that we have not had 
one of a kind for several years but it had no 
teeth for it was nobody’s business to enforce it. 
The new law provides for a game commission, 
shortens the season on everything, limits the 
quail bag to 15 per day, and ducks to 25, prohibits 
the use of nets between March 1 and June 15 
and after that requires a $25 license to use a net. 
And it gives the Game Commission control over 
the whole thing, so it will not depend upon a 
country justice and constable to prosecute their 
neighbors. I wrote you about one man slaught¬ 
ering 800 robins on the roost in one night. There 
was a state law against killing song birds but it 
was as dead as Pharaoh’s laws because the local 
officials would not enforce it. 
But E. V. Visart, the U. S. Game Inspector, 
under the Migratory Bird Act, went down there 
and made 500 arrests in that section under the 
state law. Just how many will be convicted 
under the charges by the country justices cannot 
be told, but it has thrown a scare into the souls 
of the bird hunters. Now we will have game 
wardens independent of the local people and 
there is likely to be something doing in the line 
of game preservation. The law is not perfect 
but it is so far ahead of anything ever passed be¬ 
fore that we feel we have gained a great 
victory. J. M. ROSE. 
RECORD GOAT HEADS. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am sending you a photograph of two goat 
heads with measurements of their horns. I am 
of the opinion taking all measurements in con¬ 
sideration they are the record heads of this 
specie, Rocky Mountain Goat. 
“Billy” goat; length of horn, left 10% in.; 
right 10% in., with small piece broke on tip; 
base 6 in., spread 6 in. “Nanny” goat, length 
10 in.; base 4% in.; spread, 7% in. 
In Rowland Ward’s book the world’s rec- 
Two Record Goat Heads. 
ord head is given—-Goat, length 11% in.; base, 
4% in. 
It seems to me 10% in. with a base of 6 in. 
ought to be the record head as for a “Nanny” 
goat. I don’t know of any as large as the photo 
of one I am sending you. 
W. P. BASCOM, Box 128, Mackay, Idaho. 
FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GAME 
BREEDING AND PRESERVING. 
Game conservation received enthusiastic im 
petus at the first meeting of the National con¬ 
ference held at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York 
City, on March 1. A representative gathering 
of game experts presented papers and led dis¬ 
cussions on the most practical way to bring to 
perfection the gentle art of conservation and pro¬ 
tection of the sportsman’s future bag, the na¬ 
tion’s feathered decorations and insect destroy¬ 
ers. The meeting began at nine on Monday 
morning, continued throughout the day and 
wound up with a feast for the inner man at 
seven in the evening. As usual the ultra protec¬ 
tionist was in evidence but many valuable sug¬ 
gestions were made that will take care of the 
covers and give the sportsman a chance for a fair 
kill. As a direct result of the meeting, which 
was fathered by the American Game Protective 
and Propagation Association, as usual in front 
in such matters, the following resolution was re¬ 
ported : 
The Resolutions Committee, after recom¬ 
mending that the Board of Directors of the 
American Game Protective Association be re¬ 
quested to organize the conference into a per¬ 
manent department of that organization, urging 
that an annual meeting be held, outlined a set 
of ten principles as the underlying basis for the 
proposed department. These hold in part that 
all insectivorous birds should be protected at all 
times, except those clearly recognized as of the 
game species and those condemned by the Biologi¬ 
cal Survey; that protective laws should be so 
framed as to effect a reasonable annual increase 
in game birds; that sancturies for wild life 
should be established and that forests, fish and 
game should be regulated by state and Federal 
commissions; that game breeding should be en¬ 
couraged by permitting the sale of such hand- 
reared and semi-domestic game at any season of 
the year as has been properly killed and tagged; 
that the sale of all but hand-reared game should 
be prohibited; that widespread information 
should be given both by state and private asso¬ 
ciations, designed to increase the protection and 
propagation of the most adaptable game birds 
and meat-giving animals; that license money paid 
by hunters should be strictly segregated; that 
Congress should give adequate support to the 
United States Bureau of Biological Survey. 
ANIMALS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK. 
Butte, Mont., Mar. 15.—Visitors to the Yellow¬ 
stone National Park next season will enjoy the 
privilege of bathing in a natural hot water 
plunge 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, which is 
under construction at the Upper Geyser Basin, 
together with five private plunges, 5 by 10 feet 
each. In the report of Col. Lloyd M. Brett, 
acting superintendent of the park, which has just 
been issued, the number of elk in the herd in 
Wonderland is given as 35.209 head. Last year 
permits were granted to ship 782 elk from the 
park, but owing to the unusually open weather 
only 99 animals were captured and shipped. The 
elk found natural food in abundance and were 
not tempted by the hay displayed by their would- 
be captors. 
The report goes on to state that shipping wild 
elk considerable distances under winter condi¬ 
tions is no longer an experiment, but that the 
fact is well established that the animals can be 
shipped with but little greater percentage of loss 
than ordinary range cattle. The expense of cap¬ 
turing and loading elk on the trains is estimated 
at $5 per head, or $15 apiece when the animals 
are crated for shipment by express. 
No Accurate Census. 
Of the other animals in the park the report 
says: 
“No accurate census has been taken of the 
wild buffalo which roam the confines of the 
park. They are believed to be slowly increasing. 
In the tame herd of buffalo there are 96 males 
and 97 females. 
“Gray wolves have been seen in considerable 
numbers, traveling in packs of 10 or less. Efforts 
have been made to kill them, but thus far none 
have been taken inside the park. “Moose are 
frequently seen.” 
Travel in the park last year was lighter than 
for some seasons past. The total number of 
visitors was 20,250. Of this number 9,875 came 
in via the Yellowstone gateway and 8,929 via 
the Gardiner entrance. 
