Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-10-30
SUCH SLAUGHTER!
Ohio Men Have Strewn the
Ground With Carcasses.
Shocking Story Of Warden Nichols
Afr a Tour Of Duty.
Great Forest Ere Supposed to Have Been
Caused by Some Sportsmsn.

Bangor, Oct. 2S.-The Commercial
tonight, under the above headlines
has the following:
This is story Of the greatest
| slaughter of game which has ever
taken place in Maine. In many re-
spects 1t excels the wilful violation OF
the game laws by the Ziegler party In
this State several years ago, the facts
of which will be remembered by the
readers Of the Commercial.
On Tuesday. Game Warden c. C.
Nichols, who is stationed in this city
with Game Warden Neal to look after
the shipments of game through here,
received request from Hon. l.. T.
Carleton, chairman of the board of fish
and game commissioners, requesting
him to go at once to Jackman. as he
had been informed that the game laws
were being shockingly violated there
by a party of Ohio sportsmen.
Mr.. Nichols left for Greenville on the
afternoon train and the story which
he tells of what he found Is at once
most startling and interesting. He ar
rived at Greenvil!e about 8 o'clock and
there waiting for the Montreal ex-
press, which passes there at n.4O
o'clock for Halifax and ST. John. He
boarded that train at Greenville and
arrived at Jackman about l o'clock.
The train does not make very long
stop there, so Mr.. lichols had to
hasten to attend to his work.
He had an idea that some Of the
sportsmen might be going home on
that train so he alghted and ran
ahead to the baggage car. There were
four large boxes on the station plat
form. He watched two men put two
of them into the baggage car. and saw
that they were very heavy and at once
surmised that they were full of meat.
He went along to the boxes that re-
manned on the platform and found that
he was correct in regard to their con-
tents.
He jumped aboard of the train again
and went into the baggage car. Just
as he reached the interior the conduc-
tor gave the signal to start and. the
train began to move out of the station.
Mr.. Nichols carries Ratchet in his
pocket which he uses in opening boxes,
and he went along to the two boxes
that were in the car and cut the corner
off each of them so that he could get
at the contents. He found that they
were also filled with meat. He pulled
the baggage car door open and ended
up the boxes and rolled them out OF
the car. sopt ..y ,,-
How he ever did it he does not know.
h,,t h. l,nI
the strength of two or three men at
that moment. The train was moving
at a lively rate when the boxes were
tipped out of the car and rolled down
over the side of the track into the
sand. Mr.. Nichols then hustled to get
off the train and just as he was leav-
ing saw two anxious sportsmen look
ing out of the door OF the next car.
He did not know then that these men
were the owners of the game which he
had pitched from the train. but he
found later that they were a very
small part of the Ohio party which
has been slaughtering game in this
State for nearly three weeks past.
Mr. Nichols got the boxes back upon
the platform and there had them
weighed. He did not have time to ex-
anime their contents closely but was
satisfied that they all contained meat
He weighed them and the scales
showed that there was 700 pounds of
venison and probably other game. 1t
was then about o'clock and the war
den thought he would rest awhile and
make inquiries in the morning.
Wednesday morning he found that
the game belonged to the Collins party
of Dayton, Ohio, and that they were
members of a crowd of 60 sportsmen
from that state that arrived in Maine
most three weeks ago. This party
boarded the train at Jackman when
the warden alighted from it and ran
along to the baggage car. They were
the sportsmen who owned the boxes of
meat and they had it checked as per-
sonal baggage. The two men whom
the game warden met coming out of
the car door when he was getting off
the train the second time were some
of the Collins party.
Mr.. Nichols found that the Collins
party was composed of Geo. Collins.
DR.. Shaffer, D. r. Hale and Messrs.
Sloane, Collins and Hale. He was not
oplc " get tue SflflStldn names OF the
last three men but may find them later
Wednesday morning, Mr.. Nichols
took team and, accompanied by a
guide, started for the boundary line
He first came across the camping place
of the Collins party. which was on the
lanw owned by Bangor men, it being
says that the sight which met his eyes
there was the worst he ever looked at.
The ground around the camp was just
covered with carcasses of deer, par
tridges, looms, hawks, in fact almost
everything that can be shot in the
woods was to be found there. He says
there were rotting on the ground
scores of cartridges which had never
had the feathers picked from them.
They had been killed by the Ohio hunt
ers and then thrown away.
There were numerous carcasses of
deer near the camp and examination
showed that the "sportsmen" had eat
en- the best parts of them and thrown
the rest away to rot. The camping
place was left in such conditions that
no one could ever camp there again.
Mr.. Nichols says that he was informed
at Jackman that the same party came
into Maine last year and camped near
Jackman and when they left, each man
carried out eight deer. They also used a
1aWn Tor target. hanging it On an old
stub some distance from the camp. where
hnvy hoo Lea