Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-02-12
STATE HOUSE.
Porcupine Feet Not Made Like
Seals Noses.
.. II
Bounty Paid, However, on Many Kill
led in New Brunswick.
Fort onoinn Rsnorfs-Chat of the Va.
Forthcoming Reports-chat Of the Va
rious Departments.

the Willy red men. VINO llihe u UuSl-
ness of hunting seals, has caused some
people to wonder if there has not also
been fraud in the collection OF the
pnrcupine bounties. The seal hunters
manufactured bogus noses by taking
small bits of seal skin and cutting Sits
in them and sewing on to them
whiskers These were used by hun
.lradS +, deceive the unSuSpcctinC town
and city treasurers, and for each such
bogus nose the manufacturer received
the 81 bounty. The extent of this fraud
is not wholly known. but several
Indians We're arrested i'll Portland. and
have confessed and their trial will soon
-omc of.
1t is not unlikely. however that this
fraud has been c1Iri"d Oh to any such
extent. even il it mas existed at all, in
the porcupinc business, IL che porcu-
pine hunter is not paid the bounty
:ipon presentation Of the nose alone.
He must also present the four feet of
tn, porcilpinc, ami the manufacturing
ii pOrcupihc feet would probably
puz=ir even Il Taasan.aquoddy brave
v no \ III made a torture cut of bogus
seal hoses. Moreover the porcupine
bounty is only - cents for each animal
Eilled. while 1t is 81 for each seal. and
80 tn former presented much less in
luccmcnt for fraud of This kind.
Tn"i- is one kind OF fraud. however
which the porcurine hunters have
doubtless p"rrc,ratcl and this is the
collection OF bounties upOn Il grra,
number OF pnr"uoin.s killed over thn
Inc in New Bruins wick. Nobody
,nowS to now great an extent this has
.ecn carried on, but there is little
loubt that III" TT 'aSuro-S III the border
owns have unnnOwingly paid for many
lurldr Is of rorrupilpS killed on New
| Brunswick soil.
| One OF the Portland pap.rs 4 short
! time ago had what purpootcd to be an
| Interview with Commissioner Carleton
III this matter of the porrupina boun-
! les. in which that official was made t.
| say tina: he had no doubt that many
| )orcupine bounties mad been collected
| Ipon bogus noses. manufactured rs the
| bogus seal noses had been. Following
| his Interview there were several news
| iaper comments and Communications
| anon Mr.. Carleto,i's ignaranc Of the
law in not knowing that tho feet Of the.
| porcupines have 10 be presented along
| with the nose. AS Il matter of fact.
Mr.. Carleton declares that he has never
/ granted 6terview on the subje,t
tto any papersknd that no reporter had
arg ground pr quoting him as was
done. Either 3he interview was wholly
| a fake, or.ffse the Portland report. y
| ytfryieYef He,ne other man under The
2if%.iierI. Hfat- he WAS taking With
B3s1fl yaAeSy
e In tn hasantime, the returns fro,a
tthe 5lrsMaher towns. which "~rcct the
te tEIalnhur-5c them for the So 900
Pp;tfd out' For .60.co0 porcupincs killed
| during 1906. ave still stitched upon the
desks in the Senate chamber. The Coy
ernor and Council at its meeting. last
Week. took no action upon the matter.
and the towns arc having TO whistle
| for their money for the present. Their.
Is IN appropriation Of only 500 for the
| two years to meet this demand for
| S1J.6@i. and the prospective. demand for
another $lJ,ro0 that will be paid out in
| bountirs during 1864. o. course the
state viii have to leimburs-. are towns
| which pHid the money for thrsc bo;.II-
ties in good faith. however small the
DIFFERENTIATION originally made for this
Purpose. The only question is whether
TIE Governor AMI COuuc il shall go
ahead and pay the towns out Of tn
money already in the treasury and not
otherwise appropriated, or whether
nothing shall he CON" about tho mat
Ley Until III" Legislature meets a year
hence and makes al appropriations.
Tho Governor and council Will ccrtain-
lly TAX" up the matter at their next
meeting. Anybody who wants to bet
on a sure thing can give big odds that
the ext Legislature will lose no time
III repeating the rorcupine bounty law
"hici. has made AL this trouble and
tanglC.