Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-07

ought TO ne Il close time on moose, 81
not all of the people in that section
are opposed to a close time. 1t was
brought out before your committee
that not all of the people in Washing
ton county were opposed to the close
time, and / trust that the members of
this House will give this question cam
did consideration.
1t is true. that there are not a
great quantity of moose in the State
OF Maine, but there are some along
our eastern border and along the
northeastern border of our State and
l want to tell you, gentlemen, that /
nave hunted myself a number of years
and | have hunted in these sections
| that / have mentioned, and if those
moose along the borders We're let alone
| they would work further finland into
| our state, and We would have moose
/ al over the State.
l would like TO read a letter which
I have received from guide in Aroostook
county, This letter is written March 3D.
, 1918, from Masardis Maine. In this let
ter this gentleman SAYS. Il think We
should have had a close time two years
ago"-and Just let me stop there for a
, moment Two years ago certain guides
and camp owners came down from Aroos-
took county and opposed this measure
That was asked for two years ago |
happened to be here ON other matters at
that time, and they came to me and they
, said: You have hunted a number of
, years in our section and YOU know some
| thing about the conditions that exist
there | said | certainly did and /
talked the matter over with them can
didly and | told them that We were now
killing the moose that we ought not to
kill. The law allows the killing Of small
moose with two tines on a side, and the
heads are absolutely useless. but they
will kill them as long as the law will al
low them to be killed. And SO 7 said TO
the boys; "Why don't You come down.
or why didn't you come down years ago
and ask that the number be at least -four
or five Oh a side?'' That would have
been a great protection said to them.
why don't you do it now" and they
said they would. They hadn't done it.
and they knew then that | didn't agree
with them and wished for a close time
two years ago, but they said Here we
have a number of camps and .one thing
and another up there and we would like
to have a year or so to prepare for this
thing" SO | said: "All right. ! don't be
lieve in working a hardship upon any
one" and therefore / said l would do
what I could to help them. Now there
hasn't been any preparation made for il.
and the same matter is coming up this
year, and / pitched in and helped the
boys at that time TO wait until We could
have "A little more time.
In this letter to which | nave referred,
this man says; Il think we should have
had it two years ago as at that time
we had quite "A few cows calves and
small bulls, but they seem TO have lett
now altogether and are very scarce all
through Aroostook county. Some of the
camp owners claim there are as many
moose now as ever. hut all you have to
do is TO look mp the b x A. shipping rec
ords. Years back there were good
amounts of shipments from most all OF
the stations for moose. There We're 10
moose shipped from Masardis station for
three years running and for the last five
years l have had to take my sportsmen
to New Brunswick after moose as knew
no place in this county where | could go
and get decent head. l saw IS bulls
in my fall hunt, so YOU can see there are
a lot of moose in that country Camp
owners here are making a very great
mistake to advertise moose hunting. as
there are hundreds of sportsmen who
come into this country moose hunting.
and as they travel around two or three
weeks in the woods they want a moose
very bad and they work very hard It
they see one at all it will be small one
Wit f,,C+ oh
law. | have a few moose heads which
were killed in different sections of
Maine for mounting, and they are the
most inferior lot of moose heads | ever
saw. When / hunted moose here in
Maine we never thought of killing any
such stun. l feel that close time on
moose is for the benefit of the whole
State. OF course il viii cut us taxi
dermists out of few of these little
scrawny heads. but we would gain q
benefit in years to come. Some say
our feed is entirely eaten up. | have
travelled over good deal of this
country, during the spring and summer
season, and | acknowledge that there
are some places where the feed is COM
pletely destroyed, and deer are plenty
enough in those sections to clean the
young sprouts up as fast as they come
up. Yet there is a lot of the country
where there is plenty of feed for moose
and deer What we need to increase
our moose in this country is a close
season and plenty of protection both
: in summer and winter | think what
we should have here in Aroostook
county is a chief warden or one of
the commissioners to look after the
the other wardens and see that they
are in their right sections. If we don't
have good protection lere Il close sea-
son won't amount to anything. As the
moose are killed in summer and Win
ter here to a certain extent, ] don't
complain on any one. but | know there
are many moose killed in close season
/ had a talk with Mr.. Jangerson here
last week. He was in my shop and had
long talk with linn. and he was go
ing into the woods to look up a Cana
dian, who was poaching. He told me
that nearly every one he talked with
in ArooStook county wanted a close
season except two or three camp own
ers, and that he would have said
great deal more about close season on
NOSE when be was out there bur he