Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-04-14
NO. 93.

One man wanted the pickerel protected in
this pond, another the perch in that, and so
on: and there is altogether too much of this
local protection now. All of our public wa
tiers should be controlled bv general laws,
and a few individuals. whom accident has
placed on the banks, should not be allowed
to exclude. by mere caprice, Others who have
an equal right there, and great deal more
interest. Local laws only confuse and dis
gust our people, and petition for such
should be carefully investigated and not
passed hastily
| Another point which must be carefully
guarded against in all of our protective laws
is that We do not lcgslatc so that it will in
crease the profit of the pot hunters and en-
able them to make more by breaking the
laws than by regarding them.
Froude in his history of Ireland crti-
cises the action of the Home Government,
| in passing revenue laws so that il made
smuggling the most profitable business a
man could engage in We have done the
same thing in some of our legislation. BY
| fixing the price of whiskev at our town
agencies, at ten or twelve dollars per gallon,
il has become the accepted price. Whiskey
can be bought at two dollars, poor to be
sure, but having all the elements necessary
for drunk. Now retailing Two pints of this
at a dollar pint, man makes more than
he can earn by common honest labor in day,
and some men will engage in the business as
long as the profits are so large. And there
Is no crime against nature or against law,
but that men can be found to do if the reward
is to be paid in cash.
In our protective legislation we must look
to this and try and rot reward men for
breaking the laws; make it urprofitable in
itself, and above all, unpopular, by teaching
| ia IL tlat, q
our fresh w.ters is robbing his neghbor of
some of his own and his children's property.
Then again we must restrain our desire for
fish and game killing to the very minimum. You
have all heard of the soldier when rations were
very short, who was found by his command
ing officer, eating green persimmons. On
being told that they were not fit food he re-
piled that he was not eating them for food
but was trying to pucker his stomach up so
as to fit his rations Now We must pucker
up our desire to slay and tell our friends we
are not out for game but tor recreation.
few words more in regard 10 preserving
game in our northern forests. The greater
part of that territory never ought to be clear
ed. 1t is worth more to grow timber than
potatoes, and we must set our faces against
any more importation of foreigners for the
express purpose of clearing land and thereby
making State paupers of them. Now we
have along our frontier a class Of men who
have lived so long by hunting and fishing
that feel that they have vested rights in the
balance of the game left In point of fact the
man who has lived years on the public prop
erty has less right to say what shall be done
with the remainder than one who has never
been benefited by it. Still the fact remains
that the trappers consider themselves the
guardians of the game. Jonathan Darling
writing from Bangor to ''Forest and Stream
says. thatthe game laws won't be enforced un-
til the hunters do it, and they won't until they
get laws to suit them" The inmates of an
almshouse demanding to bepnt onthe board of
trustees of the institution, would be similar
cheek. These men have lived on that which
belonged to every citizen of the State alike.
and now lay claim to the little that is left
believe that this should be distinctly and
firmly made known to these men. and also
that their own best interests lie in selling the
chance to shoot game to sportsmen rather than
in the game itself in market
Our lakes and streams are all laid out
into hunting grounds by trappers, and think
there is very little unoccupied. There is an
unwritten law among them by which they
respect each others rights. For instance,
one man claims AS his trapping ground the
Ebeeme lakes, another the Joe Mary region.
another n certain stream or brooks and they
out permission. have known this proprie-
tary right to trap on certain ground sold and
bartered the same as other property.
Now here is where are interested.
These men. who trap on our lakes are the
ones to protect game. and they can be encOur-
aged to do it in this way. Always employ
the trapping proprietor as guide, in anv part
of the woods you may visit, if he can be had.
A man who has daily seen herd of deer and
rcfraincd from shooting them, must have his
patience tried severely to have party of
sportsmen with professional imported guides.
squat on his ground and kill them of, while
he does not get one penny by his patience
through the summer. Always make it
point to seek out and reward the local guar
dians. and we shall soon have them feel that
their interest lies in protecting game and
making this particular locality attractive to
visitors Keep as clear as possible of the
professional guides loafng around the hotels,
and employ men who have Il local interest in
protecting your sport.
There is another class of men who are sell
dom if ever taken into account in our great
wilderness, and that is proprietors of the wild
land. OF the thousands of people who camp
at Moosehead lake, very few ever think that
the camp wood they burn belongs to any one
in particular, and yet every foot of that land
has an owner and he is generally ignored. |
think that their rights should be more regard
ed than they have been, and gentlemen in
search of legitimate recreation should obtain
permission when the owner is known. to camp
on his land. To insure success we must be
just to all parties. and allow no one class to
usurp the right of another; hence we must
not encourage the sportsman or his guides to
ride rough shod over the legal owner.
-
=