Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-12-14
CURRENT SPORTS Talk
Gossip Concerning Iowa's Game
and Her Laws Protecting
the Same.
Quail Are More Plentiful Than
in Many Years..Other Feath.
cred Game.
More Stringent Laws Are Neces
sary to Protect...The Fur
Bearers.

Bearers.
Altho Iowa is not regarded as great
game state, nevertheless she is entitled
to considerable notice, for she is
Astounding in much small game. Iowa is
coming to the front in respect 20 hel
quail shooting, and this season has seer
the best quail shooting for years, even
| beating last year. which was remark
able year Until now the winter has
been quite mild, and the outlook is IA
! vorable for good shooting next year
Unlike other game the quail is not the
easiest thing to hit, as all sportsmer
know and if one gets five or six quail he
Is counted as doing well. When they
are shot at in the brush they make very
difficult shooting and as this is the
principal haunt the small number
bagged are accounted for.
An old hunter recently remarked tina,
the coming game bird of Iowa would be
ate. unless pot-hunting be the case
When all other game birds have been
exterminated the quail will still remain
How true this is we will soon be able to
tell IL the game laws are not Needed
better than they are now.
The prairie chicken shooting is not as
good as it was expected to be. The
birds badly scattered when the season
opened and showed signs of having been
shot at considerable before the law
opened on September l.
The duck shooting was above normal
in the northern part of the state, with
the local birds. chiefly teal, which breed
in Iowa and lasted till the first of De-
cember, predominating. Mallards were
unusually plentiful and many sports
men regard them equal to the canvas
back for eating purposes. Iowa still
permits spring shooting. which should
be stopped and already State Game
Warden Lincoln is trying to have law
passed during the coming session OF the
legislature prohibiting it.
49,
the protection of deer and elk. Deer
were quite plentiful in Iowa then. one
man killing sixteen in one winter near
Humboldt. An old trapper has very
good story to tell OF how he and his
partner in the early days of Iowa tray-
elled thru the northern part OF Iowa
capturing the young deer. They took a
cow along with them which furnished
milk for the captured young deer as
we'll as enticing many old deer to follow
them till killed.
The wild turkey law still continues,
but this is about all that is left of this
great bird. Occasionally wild turkey
is shot in the country in the southern
part OF the state, but even here the bird
is regarded as extermlnted.
The small fur-bearing animals are
becoming plentiful and a trapper could
list in value and is becoming quite plen-
tiful. At one time these animals were
nearly exterminated. Muskrats are very
numerous but their fur is OF little val
ue, bringing only cents each. The
skunk is the king Of the fur bearers.
They are very plentiful and much
money can be made by the fur and oil.
Skunk farms may become a regular
business when it is discovered how
much money can be made out Of the
"varmints." The fur of a large black
skunk will bring $3.50. while the aver
age skin brings from so to 25 cents. ac-
cording to the size of the white strips.
The two species Of rabbits. the common
eattontail and the jack, give much sport
during the winter months and are plen-
tiful as we'll as fat and tender this year.
There is much time spent by the sports
men hunting bunny and mixed with this
Is chance at the grey or timber squir-
rel.
Iowa is naturally q great hunting
ground. equal to many of the northern
states. and the only thing she seriously
needs now is a stronger enforcement of
Ter game laws, which could be helped
greatly by the organization of more
sportsmen's clubs. organized not only to
see how much game they can kill, but to
see how much they can aid the state
warden in his work. Iowa does not have
many clubs working under the above
condition and it is to be hoped that
there will be more in few years. A
number of Des Moines sportsmen have
been doing good work the past two years
at Twin Lakes, a famous duck resort in
Calhoun county. During the month OF
August they have had the country
around the lakes patroled and it has
resulted in much larger supply OF
game.
Upton Discouraged.