98 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 15, 1910- 
tion of game than the adoption of a resident 
hunting license. The revenue would re-stock 
our State, would pay for an adequate patrol by 
the warden, and the number on the license would 
serve to identify violators of the law. What has 
proved so beneficial in so many other States 
should be tried in Maryland."—Dr. B. Holly 
Smith. 
"I am heartily in favor of a bill for a resi¬ 
dent hunting license of one dollar being passed 
by the Legislature, revenue derived therefrom 
to be used for game and fish protection."—Guy 
W. Steele, Westminster, Md. 
“After a study of about ten years of the 
game and fish laws of various States, and part 
of the time as State game warden, I have come 
to the conclusion that a reasonable resident 
hunting license is the solution of game and 
fish protection. There are estimated to be about 
150,000 gunners in Maryland. Assuming that 
but 10 per cent, of these pay a license fee of 
one dollar, which will entitle the holder to hunt 
anywhere in the State, a fund of $15,000 will be 
raised, amply sufficient to provide protection 
immediately, and as the fund grows, a fund for 
restocking purposes.”—Oregon Milton Dennis, 
former State game warden. 
“In my opinion it will be absolutely necessary 
to have this resident hunting license for the 
purpose of getting funds to enforce the laws 
and have paid wardens. It is in favor with the 
people from the counties, and I do not think 
we will have much opposition to it.”—George 
Franke, member State Game and Fish Commis¬ 
sion. 
“It is impossible to properly patrol the 12,000 
square miles of Maryland with one paid game 
official and a small sum of money for expenses. 
It is absolutely necessary to have more money 
to enforce the game and fish laws. Thirty-four 
States have solved the difficulty by requiring 
every hunter to obtain a license, the proceeds 
from which go to game protection. The present 
county license system in Maryland procures no 
benefits to game, the small amounts occasionally 
received therefrom going to county schools or 
good roads, and not to game where it should 
go, excepting in one county whose entire re¬ 
ceipts last year amounted to $74 and which was 
all that went to game protection in the State 
from non-resident county hunting licenses. On 
the other hand I estimate that the proposed 
system will yield $20,000 per annum to game 
protection and propagation, which will enable 
us to have a paid warden system throughout 
the State.”—Talbott Denmead, Secretary Mary¬ 
land State Game and Fish Protective Associa¬ 
tion. 
“There can be no protection of fish and game 
in this State unless money be had for the en¬ 
forcement of its laws, and as the State will not 
furnish the same to carry on the work, it be¬ 
comes necessary to seek other fields for revenue. 
There is only one avenue open from which to 
secure such funds, namely, the proposed resi¬ 
dent hunting license of one dollar, the income 
to be used exclusively for game protection and 
propagation.”—John G. Nagengast. 
“It is absolutely necessary to get a resident 
hunting license in this State as in most States 
before anything can be accomplished.”—Assist¬ 
ant Game Warden Sydney C. Jones. 
The revenue feature of a license system as 
proposed for Maryland is not the only advan¬ 
tage to be obtained therefrom. It affords a 
means of identification, and keeps a check on 
irresponsible parties and preserves the game for 
the benefit of the citizens of the State. 
You can help the passage of this resident 
hunting license by writing to your representa¬ 
tive, or handing this leaflet to some one who 
is interested in game protection, or by writing 
your views to the Maryland State Game and 
Fish Protective Association, 213 St. Paul street, 
Baltimore. 
Wildfowl in Currituck Sound. 
Currituck Sound, N. C., Dec. 31. —Editor 
Forest and Stream: The year 1909 closes with 
the record of a good shooting season for fowl 
and—wfitli a freeze up which has closed all the 
waters for the present. So far the season has 
been a good one for marsh ducks, and many 
have been killed; but we have had no canvas- 
back weather and have killed few of those 
birds. The bush-blinders have killed a great 
many redheads. Little blackheads, after hav¬ 
ing been absent for years, are with us again 
this year in the same plenty as fifteen or 
twenty years ago. Black ducks are very abun¬ 
dant, mallards numerous, sprigs more plenty 
than usual, but there seem to be no widgeons. 
Who among gunners or ornithologists can ex¬ 
plain the abundance or scarcity of certain 
species of birds in certain years? It is a prob¬ 
lem too intricate for most of us to have ideas 
on. The geese and swans are about as abund¬ 
ant as usual. A good many geese are killed 
each season, but very few swans. 
We are told here that much further south, 
on Albemarle Sound, the good ducks—by 
which are meant redheads and canvasbacks—are 
enormously abundant. Here multitudes of 
trading canvasbacks and redheads are seen 
each day, flying north and south; great V- 
shaped hordes of from seventy-five to one 
hundred in number. If you happen to be 
under them as they pass—well out of gunshot 
—the sound of their wings is like the rush and 
whistle of a strong wind through a ship’s rig¬ 
ging. Faintly heard at first, it grows stronger 
and stronger, and then dies away in the 
distance. 
At the various shooting clubs the season is 
regarded as, so far, very successful. The Swan 
Island, Currituck, Palmers Island, and Nar¬ 
rows Island clubs all say that they have had 
good shooting and have killed more than their 
usual quota of birds. After this freeze is over 
there is likely again to be shooting. The freeze 
closed the shoal waters and little ponds re¬ 
sorted to by the marsh ducks, and prevents the 
club gunners from getting about,' since the 
chief method of progression here is by boat. 
Formerly men rowed or sailed; but now 
almost every gunning skiff is provided with a 
gasoline engine, and the owner sits down and 
steers, where he used to be raising a white 
ash breeze, or jumping from side to side as 
he tended the sheet. 
I hope to be able to tell you something 
about the opening of 1910 before long. 
Currituck. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
An Involuntary Bear Hunt. 
Valdez, Alaska, Dec. 20.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: We had hit the high spots over the 
ridge and dropped down below timber line where 
we were making our way through the shoulder- 
high brush at the best speed that could be mus¬ 
tered by two men who had been prospecting for 
sixteen hours without lunch. 
The sight of camp, sixty yards below, had 
gladdened our hearts, but the visions of ham 
and beans were rudely shattered by the appear¬ 
ance of a gigantic brown head protruding from 
the tent door. We dropped behind the shelter 
of the brush in consternation, for the bear, as 
it proved to be, showed no inclination to hurry. 
We had left our rifles in the tent that morn¬ 
ing and had no weapons except my automatic 
pistol. Now, to take issue with an animal carry¬ 
ing a head like that seemed foolish, so we de¬ 
cided by unanimous vote that we were in no 
hurry and would await developments. He evi¬ 
dently had not seen us, for he turned back into 
the tent and there came to our ears the sound 
of rending canvas and the rattling of cans. We 
had no difficulty in guessing that our limited 
supply of grub would soon be still more limited. 
I was about to suggest that we “beat it” while 
our appetite was comparatively young, when 
bruin, evidently suspicious, again came forth. 
This time the head was followed by a body that 
would have done credit to a draft horse, and to 
my excited imagination his size would have com¬ 
pared favorably with a load of hay. He seemed 
to have located us, for he looked in our direc¬ 
tion for several moments. His unblinking little 
pig eyes; his wide apart, short, sharp ears, and 
his wrinkling nose, working from side to side, 
seemed to stand out of the surrounding land¬ 
scape as though in the glare of a searchlight. 
I was seized with a mad desire to climb down 
and stroke his long sleek hair, which seemed to 
fall away from an even parting in the center of 
his back, but it did not require much effort to 
overcome this desire. Several times I covered 
him with my .38. First, between the ears, but 
I feared his head might be too hard; then aimed 
at an eye, but that target was too small; then I 
tried the back of his neck, but I had never heard 
of a bear being shot there, so still hesitated. 
The back seemed to offer a good target, but 
after a moment’s reflection I decided that I 
really did not want to kill him, anyway. While 
I was in this state of uncertainty he either saw 
us or got our wind, for he turned suddenly and 
bounded up the opposite side of the gulch. 
Recovering my waning courage, I took quick 
aim broadside and fired. As he cleared the top 
of the incline I saw the hair part over his ribs 
and could tell by the way he humped his back 
that he was not feeling well. He disappeared 
over the knoll, I drew a long breath of relief, 
and we scrambled down to inventory our stock 
of provisions. 
In the tent we found things pretty well scat¬ 
tered, but with the exception of an open syrup 
can lying on its side on our fur robe, and a few 
sacks ripped open, the loss was light. While my 
partner cooked supper I went down the gulch, 
seeing here and there drops of blood on the 
stones. I followed his trail by these for about 
three-quarters of a mile to a heavy growth of 
brush which he had evidently entered. For sev¬ 
eral reasons I did not care to go further and 
