Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
HENRY EVANS,
922 and 92A r St. NV.
de2s
NAMES CANINE GAME WARDEN.
Dog Employed to Detect Unlawful
Shipments Of Birds and Deer.
From the New York Sun


Bis name Is scip and he Is four-legged
detective. From dog fancier's standpoint
he is not worth 30 cents He is an under
sized cur with bright eyes and sharp ears
of badly mixed lineage. He is owned by
one Of the state game wardcns whose duty
fl is to examine certain trains coming down
from the game regions. to see that all game
transported is accompanied by the owner
and Is in plain sight and that there Is no
smuggling of game meat or birds. or any
other evasion Of the game laws.
When the game season Is at its height
the Wardens hours are long and busy
Hunters by the score, and carloads of deer
and moose come down over the line Of the
Bangor and Arostook railroad to Old town.
Every piece of game must be checked up
and suspicious packages examined fer con-
traband game. Cases Of game smuggling
are frequent. The Maine law positively
forbids the taking out of the state of game
birds under any circumstances, but the
average amateur hunter Is tempted to PACK
away brace of two plump birds In his
gripsack or baggage, while the high prices
TO be obtained are temptation for the pot
hunters to run the blockade and land goods
in the Boston and New York markets IL
possible And right here is where Scip
gets in his work and earns his board and
keep.
AS the people alight from the down trains
few notice little dog lodging about
among them, shifting at this handbag and
that bundle and acting for all the world
like dog hunting for his lost master But
SCip Is far from lost. Soon the warden
hears a plaintive whining bark and he
knows that Scip has discovered something
worth locking after. He finds the little
dog nosing about the heels of perhaps an
deliberately togged-out sportsman. carrying
big grip. or 1T may be a woodsman, with
his clothes and possessions tied up in
meal bag The warden closes In on the
game pointed by Scip and the astonished
suspect is invited into the baggage room
where he is told TO open his baggage for
inspection. There Is usually something of
a stormy scene. Scip squats close by and
looks on approvingly.
The search invariably discloses game of
some kind. sometimes saddle of venison,
but often a number OF birds Once In
awhile the offender is ignorant of any
wrongdoing. but 1t has happened that no.
torious poachers have been brought to
book by Scip and his master. The dog has
never made a misa after he has come
to point, and ii is doubtful If much has
escaped him.
But inspecting the personal effects Of the
travellers IS not all of the canine detectives
work After the passengers are all out he
hops into the baggage and express car and
applies his sharp little nose to everything
in sight Frequently he IS found scratching
about an innocent appearing trunk case
barrel. which article promptly comes in
for examination. Scip's star piece of work
was accomplished a few days ago, when
he broke up smuggling scheme which had
evidently been in operation for some
months without suspicion. While making
his usual inspection of the car for express
matter he came across barrel to all In
tents and purposes containing fish. 1t
smelled nshy enough and was tagged
Fish" Scip shifted al IT, went on and then
came back and shifted more thoroughly
Then he sat down and considered Finally
he came to decision and began scratching
and ba rking about the barrel as If 1t was
full of rats.
The warden found him In a highly ex-
cited state about the fish. and thought that
the dog had made mistake for once. but
with faith In the little animal born Of long
experience. he investigated the barrel and
found III the center of n liberal lining Of
fresh shore cod several dozen of nice
plump partridges
Now that the game season Is over Scip is
of duty and Is romping with the boys in
the snow and chasing the rabbits In the
Milford swamp.