Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-10-04
Names Game Resources Re-
ceive Newspaper Attention.
The Metropolitan Papers Now Deyot-
ing Pages to the Subject.
rev Remarks About the Visitors Of the
Average State Official.

game department that now pre-
dominates) to see what an impression
III all parts of the United States the
open season of game down in Maine.''
makes. For long time the papers
and sporting magazines have been
teiiing about the conditions of the
game of the State and what large
quantities of deer are to be seen in the
woods. This is especially true of the
papers of Saturday and Sunday. Page
after page of the metropolitan papers
were devoted to the game outlook in
Maine and to the retelling of some of
the stories of the shooting of the game.
In almost every case there was an alb
stract of the Maine game laws for the
sportsmen to look over.
Then there were, in many cases, a
list OF the men from the city where
paper was published, who were in the
State of Maine, and those who had left.
Friday and Saturday, to take a run
down into the State for the purpose of
shooting deer or two, possibly to stay
long enough to chase moose.
If any one ever doubted that there
are hundreds in the State who have
come here for the game season, they
should read in these metropolitan pa
pers the long lists of those who come
oven from, ono citxy
Many of these papers described the
scenes in the depots at the start of the
sportsmen for Maine. Bankers, law
yers and all classes of men who have
the money to spend, were at the sta
ton in clothes that had seen better
| days. and with packs and grips from
the regular "Kennebecker" or meal
sack tied at the ends, to the dainty
dress suit case. There We're rifles of I'll
kinds 1t reminded some of the scenes
| several months since when the boys in
| blue, rather the ones who afterwards
wore the blue, were departing for the
camps of the volunteers, only thera
was that absence of partings that were
| then so sorrowful.
| Then the articles would follow the
hunters little farther to the smoking
| apartments, where they were retelling
| the stories of the big bucks they shot
last year, or the year before. Every
story that had been told on a previous
| occasion had grown to twice it's fo"-
mer size, for these hunting stories Of
actual" experiences are elastic.
Then it followed the hunter little
farther to the Maine city, where they
brancbed off to their several favor.e
hunting grounds.
The next scene in the drama was
Sunday. It was a sad scene in which!
the men are sitting about the camp
and longing for the morrow as it is as
unlawful to kill deer on Sunday as one
the day before the law goes off the
animals. The writers of the articles
they had they would doubtless have
found more of the hunters actually
hunting than were sitting about the
camp. Perhaps they did not kill any
thing, but in any case had deer APP
peared, law or no law, there would
have been either case of buck fever
or a dead deer, for after the close time
is off the deer there is little regard
paid to Sunday if there is no chance OF
getting caught.
The Boston Globe of Sunday had an
article written by Bangor man that
estimated the number of deer in Maine
at 10000. The way he made his estl-
mate is very simple and is about as
follows:
A year ago Jock Darling, Maine
famous hunter and guide, figured that
there were 100000 deer in the Maine
forests, and he believed that in no sea-
son did the hunters kill more than
$4,000 1t is claimed that the average
herd of deer will double every year, SO
that 100. 900 deer of last year will pro-
duce 100000 this year. If the sports
men killed $4,000 and the same number
died from natural causes, there will De
/, still an increase of $4,000 to account for.
The sportsmen, guides and lumber
men say that there are half as many
more deer this fall than there were
last; so if there were 100000 last year,
there are at least 10000 here this year.
Maine has more deer than all the
hunters can KILL and when everybody
has killed all the law allows there VIII
be plenty left for breeding purposes for
| arc Their year.
People little imagine the time that is
taken up of the officials day by the
callers that he has to entertain. Maine
| is after all quite n little State. with
many people in it with whom state
| official has to transact business. ana
many of them call upon him personally
to transact their business.
The adjutant general is good en-