Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-10-03
IN TOPMOST MAINE.
s..'
John Quill Explores the Great
Aroostook Region.
The Record and the Outlook in the
Game Country.
The Neu q. & A. Extension from Ash
land 10 Fort Kent.

trav3-ier, today, in journeying 70 81
from the land Of promise and fulfill
nlent, finds the game degree Of comfort
;he SINE luxury Of travel. the same
Pullman service With iis dusky attend
ants, that he is accustomed 70 in the
1nore populated districts, adjacent To
IN. busy Ynarts II trade. AroogtoJk
county contains gsDJ square miles
of territory. II IL Il little world
By itgelf, ana larger by far thar sorn=
kingGorng over the water, ruled over by
King and pOtentates, it i9 d part and
r5arcel of the great national play
ground. the outing state Of the world.
About Z:.brpJ people come into the
STATE every year for health, pleasure
ana ccctcaticn, and q large per cent of
thig vaY' army. especially among the
lovers IL the rod and gun, finds the
the famous r. Il 4. ! say famous, be-
Gauge every disciple Of IZaa.k Walton,
every Get 0tee Of a strenuous life Is ~;
familiar with the curious interviewer
letters. The Il. Il a. monogram Of 4.
&, A. road, AZ the school boy IL with nis
primer. II rneang to them health,
recreation and sport, with big game IN
ahGn lance not found in any other
stats. IN The country. The spanning of
the loop with bands Of steel On the Fish
river extension, from Ashland 10 Fort
Kent. on the 81. John river, mas opened
up q 9ect!On Of the country, heretofore
almost fnacceaaibie. II has made IL
possible for the hunter 10 leave the
busy hum Of bugiIess after office hours,
IN til" evening, in New York and
Boston ana feast on fish, Of his own
|'rftchIne, ore the sun goes down thu
following day. Or perchance CHOICE
bit VI venison broiIed to a turn over the
live Goals to tickle bis eBicurean palate.
The country from Miio ,Junctionto the
Canadian barder, that Is by way Of
Ashland. ~ up the main hne TO Van
Buren, is2 one imrDense game preserve.
Every little village along its line has
fts record Of game slain. and in every
little h. rlet there j. some shady, shell
TIRED nook. freluented by the feet
footed deer. or his more ponderous
brothers. the moose and caribou. Some
plaC.g where they tarry on their way
doiysI 10 III. waters edge. Up Moose
head Like way, the same keen sport
eree;s the hunter, around the borders
Of this vast inland sea, and along it's
tributaries. the big game abounds,
waiting the man behind the gun with a
quick eye and the nerve TO shoot.
From October lst to December 18th
the open time in the Maine woods, the
true sportsman finds life worth the
living. He breakfasts by candle light,
th"f. comes the long tramp through the
wilderness, or a day in the canoe on the
stream, back in camp in time to see the
sun sinking in the West, and q long
pleasant evening before the huge open
fire, where with pipe and glass he fights
the days battles over and over again.
Its an ideal life, an every day picture
of the Maine woods. engraven on the
tablets Of ones memory that VIII re-
main long after other and moro
w.iehtier matters have passed away.
Old hunters predict the best shooting
Ia Main for years. The spring and
carly summer were favorable for the
mother partridge to rear her young, In
spite Of extensive forest fires, that pre-
vailed in this Northern section in the
carly summer. The writer while at
Fort Kent the Other day, heard COM
motion on the street, and found vii
lager waa shooting partridges in the
street. A rough estimate Of the num-
Der Of deer In Maine today is placed at
100000. This is owing in a measure to
the wise legislation, and protection on
the part Of the trusty Wardens who
scour the great Northern woods to the
Canadian border. And in spite of the
5000 hunters, who came to this section
last year. statistics from the wardens
show that the game Is increasing in
stead Of diminishing. Last year was
the banner year In the state, as more
than 10000 deer and 300 moose were
killed by nonresident sportsmen and
10000 more deer and 200 moose We're
killed by local hunters. 1t Is q fact
that out OF the 100000 deer killed not
more than 1000 were does, and Of the 600
moose only about 100 were cows. The
latter are protected by law the year
round, but the killing by poachers of
nearly "A hundred Is known to the com
mission. In spite of the Illegal killing
the showing is a good one, and II In
the future the majority Of the deer
killed are bucks the supply will never
give out. The fame Of Maine as a big
game country does not rest on what
can be done but what has been done In
the past. There Is no uncertainty with
the hunter, when he starts for the
Maine woods. He knows for GER
tainty what his chances are for getting
deer or moose, and he very seldom
gets disappointed although there are
other sections Of the state. where big
game abound, the section traversed by
the b. &, A., Is the natural haunts OF
both deer and moose, and naturally
sportsman turns towards the northeast
corner Of the state. 1t is easy Of ac-
cess, and twelve hours ride from Bos-
ton, In palatial cars, he Is on the
ground ready to start his first deer or
moose.
The following table compiled from
statistics on record, at the various
stations along the line, tells It's own
49, Nl~r-