VOL.3

APRIL 1931.

MONTANA

No 11

WILD LIFE

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

MONTANA STATE FISH6.GAMEDEPI

^»^s>

/ he (2Jj

]portsman s d^icense

J^i

A Document of Honor

M

Senator Tower

ONTANA, with sportsmen working
in complete accord with the State
Fish and Game Department, has
established another national precedent un-
der authority given by the 22nd legislative
assembly by providing the opportunity to
exponents of wild life conservation to pur-
chase a $5 license to be known as "The
Sportsman's License." With funds of the
department at the lowest point in years
following increased demands, the legisla-
ture which has just concluded its 60-day
session, passed the increased resident li-
cense measure. The fishing and game bird
license is left at $2, the big game license
with deer and elk tags attached may be
purchased at $1 after the $2 license is se-
cured, and The Sportsman's License will be available at $5.
Possession of The Sportsman's License indicates that the
holder has contributed additional funds in order that the
conservation program of the State Commission may pro-
ceed without handicap. Senator Ralph R. Tower of Lake
county is the author of The Sportsman's License plan. Sena-
tor Tower has been a member of the senate four terms and
is serving his fourth term as a member of the fish and game
committee of the upper body. He is an ardent exponent of
wild, life conservation. He sponsored, the playi to establish
commercial whitefish fishing in Flathead, lake. He is a
member of the Poison Rod and Gun club. Senator Tower
was born in Iowa, came to Montana in 1909, and in 1910
drew No. 19 in the opening of the Flathead reservation and
located his farm UV-i miles northwest of Poison, where he
specializes in the growing of grain and stock. The response
of sportsmen of the state to this plan evolved by Senator
Tower ivill have much to do with producing more funds in
order that forest, streams and fields may be stocked to keep
pace with the ever increasing inroads of civilization.

'

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#*M

Page Two

MONTANA WILD LIFE

The Official Publication of The State Fish and Game Commission

VOL. Ill

HELENA. MONTANA, APRIL, 1931

No. 11

New Fish amid Game Legislatioe

By Floyd L. Smith, Editor of Montana Wild Life.

ONTANA'S -'2nd legisla-
tive session has passed
into history, and re-
gardless of diversified
opinions of its achieve-
ments coming from
many parts of the
state, it may be well
said that it passed constructive
fish and game legislation that gives
promise of aiding in the great campaign
of conservation of the wild life of the
state which has become the playground
of a nation. Outstanding measures
passed by the recent assembly, all of
which have been signed by the governor,
are those providing an adjustment of the
resident hunting and fishing fee.
strengthening the law regarding the
manner of taking fish and game, creat-
ing two game preserves, equalizing the
salary of the state fish and game war-
den and forbidding the ruthless and
wanton slaughter of game animals for
hides, heads, horns and teeth.

In summarizing the situation, it may
be said that some 600 bills were intro-
duced in both house and senate, while
about 200 were passed and became
laws; of these bills 26 had to do with
fish and game matters. Of fish and
game bills introduced, 10 were given
the approval of the department and
eight of the 10 were passed by a legis-
lature that realizes keenly the value
of Montana's fish and game and the
necessity for its conservation.

The following fish and game bills

were passed by both houses, signed by

the governor, and have become laws:

H. B. 50 — By Dougherty — Changing

open season on deer and elk.

H. B. 69 — By Spangler of Mineral —
Establishing Little St. Joe Game Pre-
serve.

H. B. 136 — By Fish and Game Com-
mittee— Correcting the law regarding
possession of fish and game.

H. B. 269 — By Fish and Game Com-
mittee— Adjusting resident hunting and
fishing fees.

H. B. 270 — By Fish and Game Com-
mittee— Manner for taking fish and
game.

H. B. 271— By Fish and Game Com-
mittee— Adjusting the salary of the
State Fish and Game Warden.

S. B. 74 — By Fish and Game Commit-
tee— To protect game animals from wan-
ton, ruthless and useless destruction
and mutilation for heads, hides, antlers,
horns and teeth.

Sub. S. B. 91 — Fur dealers' bill re-
garding tagging beaver skins from other
states.

Legislative Leaders

F. A. Hazelbaker
Lieutenant Governor

W. R. Flachsenhar
Speaker of House

S. B. 105 — By Fish and Game Commit-
tee— Creating the Little Snowy Moun-
tain game preserve in Musselshell
county.

House Bill 50 by Ralph Dougherty of
Ravalli county, was introduced with the
intention of changing the open season
on elk in a portion of that territory and
when it emerged from heavy seas in
conference committees and amendments
from the floor of both senate and house,
the law was considerably altered. In
order to place the section before mem-
bers of the legislature it was necessary
likewise to print the entire section re-
garding the deer season and that
brought further amendments.

When the bill became a law it speci-
fied that the open season for elk shall
be Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. both dates
inclusive, providing that in all that
portion of Ravalli county drained by
the west fork of the Bitter Root river
and in all that portion of Ravalli county
lying west of the Bitter Root river and
north of the confluence of the east
and west forks of the Bitter Root river,
the open season shall start September
20 and close October 20. The law pro-
vides, however, that the commission
may shorten the season.

Another change in the law provides
that during the open season on elk, one
of either sex may be killed in that
portion of Mineral county lying south
of the Missoula river and east of the
Little St. Joe game preserve created by
the last session.

The elk law provides that the fol-
lowing counties are closed and consti-

te an elk preserve: Deer Lodge, Fer-
gus, Chouteau, Valley, Golden Valley,
Daniels, Roosevelt, Fallon. Wibaux.
Richland, Granite, Phillips. Stillwater,
Sanders, Silver Bow, Broadwater, Mus-
selshell, Hill, Sheridan, Judith Basin,
McCone, Big Horn, Lincoln, Rosebud,
Mineral, Beaverhead, Powder River,
Garfield. Carbon, Cascade, Meagher,
Blaine, Yellowstone, Liberty, Carter,
Custer. Prairie, Dawson, Toole, Ravalli.
Treasurer, Wheatland, Lake, Jefferson,
and Sweet Grass. Limited open seasons
may be declared in these counties by
the state commission. The law provides
that one elk of either sex may be
killed in that part of Granite county
lying south and west of the Deer
Lodge river from and including Novem-
ber 12 to and including November 15
of the same year.

All of Lewis and Clark county is
closed to elk shooting except that por-
tion within the following boundaries:
Beginning at the point where the Big
Blackfoot river intersects the county
line between Lewis and Clark and
Powell counties, running thence up the
north bank of the Blackfoot river to
the mouth of Cadotte creek, thence up
Cadotte creek to the top of the Conti-
nental divide, thence northerly along
the Continental divide to Scapegoat
Mountain, where the headwaters of the
North Fork of the Blackfoot begin,
thence down the North Fork of the
Blackfoot river to its intersection with
the county line between Lewis and
Clark and Powell counties, thence i
along the county line to the point X
of beginning. In the excepted por-
tion of Lewis and Clark
county the open season
on elk begins Novem-
ber 1 and closes No-
vember 15, both dates
inclusive.

The closed elk
area also includes
all of Missoula
and Powell coun-
ties except the
drainage area of
the Clearwater
river and its trib-
utaries and that
portion of the two
counties north of
the Big Blackfoot
river and east of
the drainage area
of the Clearwater
river and except _ji .
that portion of ' ^««»^"

Page Three

JVS.0NTANA

wm© ur:

Missoula county within the drainage area
of Swan river and its tributaries and ex-
cept that portion ot Missoula and Pow-
ell counties within the drainage areas
of the South Fork of the Flathead and
its tributaries.

All of Gallatin county is open to elk

hunting except that portion lying north

of the township line

between Townships

3 and 4 north.

Elk may be killed
in Park county
from October 15 to
December 20 except
that the state fish
and game warden is
given the power to
shorten the season
when deemed neces-
sary on five days'
notice. It is un-
lawful to shoot Park
county elk between
5 p. m. and 8 a. m.
of any day. It is in
this area that elk

migrate when food
Senator Cooper " . . ...

Mineral County becomes short with-
in the boundaries of
Yellowstone Park.

According to the new law the open
season for elk in Teton county, not in-
cluded in a game preserve and all that
portion of Lewis and Clark north of
the north fork of the Dearborn river
and not included within the game pre-
serve, shall begin October 15 and con-
tinue through December 1.

The open season for deer has been
likewise amended in the new law. It
provides that the open season shall be-
gin October 15 and close November 15,
provided, however, that in all that por-
tion of Ravalli county lying west of
the Bitter Root river and north of the
confluence of the east and west forks
of the Bitter Root river, the season
shall begin September 20 and close
October 20. It is further provided that
in the counties of Sanders, Mineral,
Ravalli, Missoula, Flathead, Lincoln,
Granite, Powell, and Lake, the open
season for deer shall begin with Oc-
tober 25 and close November 25.

Under the act it is a misdemeanor for
any person to shoot or kill deer at any
time in Yellowstone, Daniels, Sheridan,
Rosebud, Custer, Musselshell, Powder
River, Carter, Richland, Roosevelt, Mc-
Cone, Dawson, Carbon. Phillips, Prairie,
Garfield, Petroleum, Treasure, Liberty,
Toole, Blaine, Teton, Valley, Fergus
and also all of Glacier and Pondera
counties lying within the Lewis and
Clark forest, and also that portion of
Gallatin county lying north of the south
line of township 4 north, M. P. M., and
that part of Big Horn county lying east
of the 107th meridian.

The law provides that seven counties
of the state shall permit the shooting
of deer of either sex during the regular
open season. Gallatin county tried the
experiment two years ago and this
year asked to be returned to the buck
law provisions. These counties are
Mineral, Glacier, Lake, Flathead, Lin-
coln, Sanders and Ravalli.

The new law forbids the shooting of
any deer or elk within the boundaries
of any incorporated or unincorporated
town.

House Bill 270, introduced bv the
fish and game committee of the house,
changes the prevailing law in several
places of interest to sportsmen. It pro-
vides that shooting at game, game
birds or fur bearing animals from a
highway shall be a punishable offense.

In this measure the use of an air-
plane in hunting migratory water fowl
is forbidden. The law forbids the use
of an airplane for concentrating, pur-
suing, driving, rallying or stirring up
game or birds. Difficulties which re-
cently arose over the use of planes for
such purposes, made possible this pro-
tective legislation.

The bag limit of fish is reduced, yet
the weight limit remains the same. To
protect the smaller fish, the law now
reads that the game fish limit shall be
25 fish in the aggregate with a net
weight of 20 pounds and one fish. Un-
der the old law the limit was 40 fish
with an aggregate weight of 20 pounds
and one fish. No more than five fish
seven inches long are permitted in a
bag. The law applies to possession of
fresh game fish, dried, salted or cured
fish.

The law provides that from and after
May 20, 1931, it is hereby made un-
lawful for any person, persons, firms
or corporations to sell or have in pos-
session, any salmon eggs or spawn or
any imitations thereof or substance
prepared therefrom and it shall be un-
lawful for any persons to use in any
of the waters of this state any salmon
eggs or other fish spawn or any imita-
tion or substance prepared therefrom,
as a fish bait or fish lure.

The law further provides "that it
shall be unlawful to catch any game
fish through the ice or through a hole
in the ice, except in such waters as are
designated under proper orders of the
State Fish and Game Commission. In
case any game fish is unintentionally
taken contrary to restrictions, it shall
be immediately returned unharmed to
the waters."

The State Fish and Game Commis-
sion is given the power to change or
suspend the closed season on game
fish so as to meet local conditions.

For the last 10 years, the resident
hunting and fishing license fee has re-
mained at $2, despite the constantly in-
creasing demands of sportsmen for ad-
ditional rearing ponds, more planting
of fish, greater game farm capacity
and improved facilities all along the
line. Hence, the passage of the in-
creased license fee bill, H. B. 269, by
the fish and game committee of the
house, was an outstanding piece of leg-
islation. The bill, as eventually passed,
does not disturb the resident fishing
license. It provides that residents, on
payment of $2, shall be privileged to
l'is'h and hunt birds. The big game
license for residents shall be sold at
$1. The coveted Sportsman's license,
fostered by Senator Ralph R. Tower of
Lake county, sells at $5 and is proof

that the holder has paid an additional
sum for the conservation of wild life
of the state.

Because of the importance of this
measure, the bill is herewith published
in its entirety for the information of
Montana sportsmen:

CLASSES OF LICENSES. Licenses
shall be divided into the following
classes:

Class A — Resident game birds and
fishing license.

Class AA — Resident big game license.

Class AAA— Resident SPORTSMEN'S
LICENSE.

Class B — Nonresident fishing license.

Class B-l — Nonresident game bird
license.

Class B-2 — Nonresident Big game li-
cense.

Class C — Alien fishing license.

Class C-l — Alien game bird license

Class C-2 — Alien big game license.

Class D — Trapper's license.

Class E — Fur dealer's license.

Section 2. That Section 3685 of the
revised codes of Montana of 1921, as
amended by Chapter 59, laws of the
20th legislative assembly of the State
of Montana, 1927, be, and the same is,
hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3685: FEES AND POWERS
UNDER LICENSE. Said applicant, if
a resident of the state of Montana and
a citizen of the United States, shall pay
to the officer or person countersigning
and issuing the license, the sum of
two dollars ($2.00) as a license fee
and shall obtain a license of Class A
which shall entitle the holder to pur-
sue, hunt, shoot, kill,
capture, take and
possess game birds
and to fish with
hook and line or
rod in hand, as
authorized in this

Said applicant, if
a resident of Mon-
tana and a citizen of
the United States,
shall pay to the of-
ficer or person
countersigning and
issuing the license,
the sum of one dol-
lar ($1.00), and
shall obtain a li-
cense of Class AA,
which shall entitle
the holder to pur-
sue, hunt, shoot, kill, capture, take and
possess any of the game animals of
this state as authorized by this act;
provided, however, that said applicant,
in order to obtain said Class AA li-
cense, must be the owner and possessor
of a Class A license, as hereinabove
defined.

Said applicant, if a resident "sports-
man" of the State of Montana and a
citizen of the United States, may pay
to the officer or person countersigning
and issuing the license, the sum of
five dollars ($5.00) as a license fee, and

Ralph Dougherty
Ravalli County

Page Four

m MONTANA jyf WI ILB ILSF

shall obtain a license o£ Class AAA,
herein designated as a resident "Sports-
men's License," which shall entitle
the holder to pursue, hunt, kill, cap-
ture, take and possess game, game
birds, and game animals, and to fish
with hook and line, or rod in hand as
authorized by this act.

All citizens of the United States who
have lived in this state at least six
months immediately preceding their
application for a license, or officers,
soldiers, sailors and marines of the
United States army, navy or marine
corps, shall be deemed resident citizens
for the purpose of this section, as well
as officers of the forest service and
of the biological survey of the United
States department of agriculture.

Said applicant, if a nonresident of
the state or a resident for less than six
mouths immediately preceding his ap-
plication for a license and a citizen of
the United States, shall pay to the offi-
cer countersigning and issuing the li-
cense, the sum of $3.50 (Three and
50/100 dollars) as a license fee, and
shall obtain a Class B license, which
shall entitle the holder to fish with
hook and line, or rod in hand, as
authorized by this act; and such non-
resident on like application and on pay-
ment of the sum of ten dollars ($10.00)
as a license fee, shall obtain a Class
B-l license, which shall entitle him to
pursue, hunt, shoot, kill and take
game birds, as authorized by this act;
and such nonresident, on like applica-
tion and on the payment of the sum
of thirty dollars ($30.00) as a license
fee, shall obtain a license of Class B-2,
which shall entitle the holder to pur-
sue, hunt, shoot, kill, capture, take and
possess game animals, as authorized by
this act.

Said applicant, if an alien, resident
or nonresident, shall pay to the officer
countersigning and issuing the license,
the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) as a
license fee and shall obtain a Class C
license, which shall entitle him to fish
with hook and line or rod in hand, as
authorized by this act; and such alien,
on like application and on the payment
of thirty dollars ($30.00) as a license
fee, shall obtain a license of Class C-l,
which shall entitle him to pursue, hunt,
shoot, kill and take game birds, as
authorized by this act; and such alien,
on like application and on the payment
of the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) as
a license fee, shall obtain a license of
Class C-2 which shall entitle him to
pursue, hunt, shoot, kill, capture, take
and possess game animals as authorized
by this act, provided, however, that any
person in possession of first citizen-
ship papers shall not be considered
a resident of the State of Montana for
the purpose of this act.

To every license, whether issued to a
resident, nonresident or alien, which
authorizes the licensee to kill elk or
deer in this state, there shall be at-
tached to said license certain tags,
coupons or other markers, the form of
which shall be prescribed by the State
Fish and Game Commission, and when
any person shall take or kill any deer
or elk under such license such person
shall immediately thereafter detach

Committee Chairmen

Senator McCormick

Musselshell

In the Senate

S. C. Arnold

Stillwater
In the House

from his license, and attach in plain
sight to the carcass of said animal or
animals, the proper tag, coupon or other
marker, which said tag, coupon or
other marker, shall be kept attached
thereto so long as any considerable
portion of the carcass remains uncon-
sumed. When the proper tag, coupon
or other marker, is so attached to the
said game so killed the same may be
possessed, used, stored and transported;
provided the necessary permit to trans-
port the same accompanies the ship-
ment. To said license to hunt or take
elk or deer shall also be attached a
card, which said card shall on or be-
fore the first day of January, of the
year following the date of the issu-
ance of said license, be returned by
the holder of said license to the Fish
and Game Commission, and a report
made to said commission of the game
taken under said license and the place
where same was taken, it being the in-
tent of this act to require every li-
censee to make said report whether
any game was taken under said license
or not. It shall be unlawful and a
misdemeanor punishable, accordingly,
for any one killing any deer or elk
under said license, to fail or neglect
to attach the tag, coupon or other
marker so provided by said license to
any deer or elk killed by them imme-
diately after the same has been killed
or to fail to keep said tag, coupon or
other marker attached to said deer or
elk or portion thereof while the same
is possessed by him.

The applicant for a Class D license
or Trapper's license, must be the owner
and in possession of a Class A-2 li-
cense, and upon the payment of the
sum of ten dollars ($10.00) to the offi-
cer to whom the application for a
Class D license is made, shall receive
and obtain a Class D license, or Trap-
per's license, which shall authorize the
holder thereof to trap fur-bearing ani-
mals within the state at such time
and in such manner as may be lawful
so to do under the laws of this state
and the regulations of the Fish and

Game Commission, and at such places
as may be designated in said license.

All sums collected for licenses sold,
or received for permits issued, from
the sale of seized game or from fines,
or the sale of firearms, or other chat-
tels confiscated, from damages collected
for violation of the fish and game
laws of this state, from appropriations,
or received by the State Fish and Game
Commission from any and all other
sources, are hereby appropriated to and
placed under control of the State Fish
and Game Commission. All money so
received shall be remitted by the State
Fish and Game Warden to the State
Treasurer to be by him placed to the
credit of the fish and game fund.

The sum of Seven Thousand Five
Hundred Dollars ($7,500.00) shall be
transferred on or before January 1 of
each year from the Fish and Game fund
to the Bounty fund of the state, to be
used to pay bounties on predatory ani-
mals as provided by law; said sum of
$7,500.00 shall be matched with a like
sum of the said bounty fund money de-
rived from the tax on livestock now
provided by law, providing a fund of
$15,000.00. At the close of any bounty
paying season of any year, fifty (50)
per centum of any unexpended balance
shall be retransferred to the State Fish
and Game fund. Nothing herein con-
tained shall be so construed as to pre-
vent the Livestock Commission from
expending from its bounty fund any
part thereof in excess of $15,000.00
which may be necessary for the pur-
pose of paying bounties.

Section 3. That Section 3G91 of the
revised codes of Montana of 1921, as
amended by Chapter 59, laws of the
Twentieth legislative assembly, State
of Montana, 1927, be, and the same is
hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 3691. EXCEPTIONS. The
provisions of the act shall not apply
to persons pursuing, hunting, captur-
ing, shooting, killing, taking or trap-
ping, or attempting to kill, take or
trap predatory animals, prairie dogs,
ground squirrels, jack rabbits, gophers,
or English sparrows, crows, hawks, fish
ducks, blue heron, snow owls, great or
grey owls, great horned owls, black-
birds, kingfishers, magpies, jays and
eagles, which may be pursued, hunted,
taken, killed, shot, trapped, possessed
or transported at any time; and mi-
nors under 15 years of age may pursue,
hunt, shoot, kill, take and capture game
birds, and fish for and take fish, dur-
ing the open season without a license.

Section 4. Any person violating any
of the provisions of this act shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con-
viction and unless as herein otherwise
provided, shall be punished by a fine
of not less than Twenty-five Dollars
($25.00), nor more than Five Hundred
Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment
in the county jail for not more than
One Hundred and Eighty (ISO) days or
by both such fine and imprisonment;
and in addition thereto, shall, in the
discretion of the court, forfeit his li-
cense to hunt, fish or trap within this
state for a period of one year from
the date of his conviction.

Page Five

What Does the Sportsman Owe?

Editorial by A. C. Barrell in Field and Stream

N the opening clay I was
out pheasant shooting
with Friend Farmer,
who owns two setters
and takes pity on me
each year. We were
only a tew miles from
New York, and yet the
shooting was splendid — better than I
had in any one day on a rather expen-
sive two weeks' trip to Virginia last
winter. Five cock birds fell to our
guns — fast in the air, beautiful to look
upon, delicious on the table. We saw
25 birds on that day of rare sport and
added to our credit in the Bank of
Good Health.

In the spring we have several days
of trout fishing together — good fishing,
with the browns often coming eagerly
to the fly in well-stocked streams. We
have to fish hard, far and fine for
these educated fish, but we get them.
Bigger trout come out of those waters
than I have ever seen taken in the
wilderness waters of Canada. They
may not come to me, but they come!

At the end of the perfect pheasant
.day the thought struck me, "Well, what
do I owe?" This natural question was
emphasized when I presented one of the
birds to the wife of a city friend on
whose country estate it happened to
have been shot. "Thanks for the beau-
tiful gift," said she, "but frankly I wish
our pheasants weren't shot. We would
like to keep them as part of our scenery.
They add a wild touch to our fields.

"But," I explained, "they belong to
the state. They don't just happen. They
come from the state game farms or are
hatched by the hens of friendly farmers
from eggs furnished by the state. But
for the sportsmen, you never would
have these pretty ornaments about the
place. Our game license money pays
for them. It pays for the trout in your
brook. If the waters hereabouts were
not stocked and protected, there
wouldn't be a trout left in them."

This was a new idea to her, and a
satisfactory one. I, however, thought it
over and decided that I got more than
I paid for. Here I had enjoyed a day
of healthful sport, and had secured
enough food for a guest dinner at home;
in the spring I had taken 30 trout in
tour trips, and had worked off the
winter ptomaines as well. In food
alone I had received about $15 worth
of delicacies. And for all this I had
paid only for my hunting license.

I had not put out any of the 25
pheasants we saw. I hadn't given them
a thought, except to shoot them. I
hadn't stocked the streams. I regis-
tered a proper disgust when I found
that a selfish factory owner was pol-
luting a fair river, which formerly af-
forded good trout fishing. But the re-
solve to do something about it came to
nothing. I was truly sorry when I read

of a game warden's murder by for-
eigners who were killing song birds on
Long Island. The late Dr. Kalbfus, for-
mer game commissioner of the state
of Pennsylvania, told me that 14 of his
state wardens were shot at, seven were
wounded and four killed by game law
violators in one year. In the United
States it is not unusual for game war-
dens to be injured or killed while per-
forming their duty. Absolutly shock-
ing, but —

A large part of a game warden's sal-
ary goes for gasoline if he really cov-
ers his territory. Somebody owes every
efficient warden more money. A large
part of game license money is deflected
from fish and game conservation to
general purposes in many states. How
utterly stupid! And yet we permit it.
Who can defend such a practice? How
long shall it continue?

What had I done about it all? I
had paid $1.25 and felt rather proud
of mj self in complying with the law.
The more I thought it over, the meaner
and lower I felt. I couldn't get away
from that troublesome question, "How
much do I owe and to whom?"

Doubtless you've felt the same way,
but probably the idea slipped away
without your doing a blamed thing
about it. Let's make a frank confession
of ignorance or downright guilt and
then get busy. What can we do to
square up?

And bear this in mind: if enough of
us decide to pay our sportsmen's bills,
we'll see 50 pheasants instead of 25 on
the opening day. We'll have our ducks
and quail and partridges back in num-
bers, our big game increasing, our wa-
ters clean and teeming with game fish
— and in a few years' time! If you
question this, look into what Penn-
sylvania has done to make itself the
best hunting and fishing state in the
east. It is years ahead of 90 per cent
of the other states because its sports-
men are alert, organized and de-
termined.

It does seem sure that we owe
plenty of dollars — five or ten or more
a year — for benefits coming to us.
Even rocking-chair sportsmen owe
something for their memories. There
are no people more generous in the
world than sportsmen. All that is nec-
essary is for them to understand fully
what should be done and how to do it.

Let's join our nearest fish and game
association. It will cost but a few dol-
lars a year. Even if we can't devote
much time to active service, let's put
our money behind the good fellows who
have made a hobby of conservation and
are keen to work. Better yet, let's get
in all over, and we'll have our youth
renewed and our enthusiasm rekindled.

Let's decide to write our senators
and congressmen whenever there is a

bill up to increase the fish and game,
to preserve the forests, to set aside
game refuges, to stop the draining of
valuable breeding places of fish and
fowl, to prevent the pollution of our
fresh waters (80 per cent of which are
now polluted), to increase the num-
bers and salaries of game wardens and
to encourage the use of firearms as the
birthright of all Americans.

Legislation is constantly more favor-
able to the sportsmen's interests, but a
few letters a year from a number of us
will hurry the enactment of laws which
are needed now. Is there any reason
why our legislators should be active in
the field of fish and game conservation,
unless they are informed as to the
facts and wishes of sportsmen?

Let's subscribe to one or more sports-
men's magazines and follow the pro-
grams of the trained specialists who
help to organize every movement aimed
at bringing back the wild life and pre-
serving the natural beauties of our
country. As one not connected with
the sporting press, I wish to register
my conviction that without magazines
of this sort little progress could be
made. In fact, I believe these maga-
zines are the most powerful factors in
creating leaders, in educating the pub-
lic and in coordinating the efforts of
widely scattered sportsmen in the field
of needed reforms. Buying an occa-
sional copy during the open season is
not enough to enable one to grasp in-
telligently the various programs of con-
servation movements. Subscribe and
keep in step. Cost — a few dollars.

Let's take time to get our boys and
girls sold on conservation, and get
them out with rod and gun. Cost —
nothing, when we consider the pride
we'll feel to have them follow in our
footsteps along the shore or through
the forest. Let's give them better fish-
ing and shooting than we ever had. We
can do it.

Of course, we'll insist on paying for
our fun when we realize that pheasants
don't grow like Topsy, that trout and
breeding places cost good money to
produce and plant, that ducks can't live
in the air and need resting places, and
that a lot of good fellows are willing
to work overtime to better conditions
if we give them our backing and pay
our share of the expense.

It's fine for you to decide you'll do
it; but let's act now — that's the test!
What will you do today?

CHANNEL CATS GAME FISH

Possession and sale of channel cat-
fish was the cause of William Wallace,
restaurant keeper at Chillicothe, Mo.,
paying a fine and costs amounting to
$3S recently for violating the game and
fish laws. Channel catfish are classed
as game fish in Missouri.

Page Six

Wfaeim Camels Roamed Mootaoa Trails

By David Hilger, Librarian, State Historical Library, Helena

M'

David Hilger

'ONTANA folks
who came
west with the
gold rush in the
days shortly after
the Civil war didn't
know anything about
a cigarette, but his-
torical facts never-
theless show the
doubters that camels
were once used as
pack animals on
Montana trails. The
stories of the use of
the flatfooted deni-
zens of the Sahara
desert on Montana's
trails in hills and
dales have for years
provided gossip
around the grocery store cracker barrel
and they have often been doubted.
Hence, for the benefit of those who
relish browsing among facts relating
to early Montana history, this article
has been prepared for MONTANA WILD
LIFE..

The fact that camels should have been
used in Montana as pack animals seems
unbelievable, yet the fact remains that
during 1S66 seven camels were brought
to Helena and used in packing to the
surrounding mining camps.

To go back a little as the old-timer
puts it, I must briefly recount the fact
that Jefferson Davis, when secretary of
war, took early action in the late fif-
ties of the last century and organized
the first if not the last "camel brigade"
of the United States which made its
way from San Antonio, Texas, to
Bakersfield, California. In 1S53, Jeffer-
son Davis urged congressional action in
the "interest of camel importation for
military purposes for express and for
other purposes . . . that the camel
would supply a want now seriously
felt in our service."

Well, the camel was imported and it
fell to the lot of Lieutenant Edward F.
Beale to take charge of some 30 camels
tor the first overland trip. His diary
has been published. The use of the
camel proved satisfactory. In fact,
they were packed with corn to cupply
the mules that accompanied them while
the camels lived by browsing on grease-
wood brush and never grew footsore.

I will quote from Beale's diary of
1857:

"It is a subject of constant surprise
and remark to all of us how their feet
can possibly stand the character of the
road we have been traveling over for
the last 10 days. It is certainly the
hardest road on the feet, of barefooted
animals I have ever known, and as
for food, they live on anything and
thrive. Yesterday they drank water
for the first time in 26 hours and al-

though the day had been excessively
hot they seemed to care little for it.
Mark the difference between them and
the mules; the same time, in such
weather, without water, would set the
latter wild and render them useless, if
not break them down."

Other importations of camels and
dromedaries were made by individuals
and companies to San Francisco follow-
ing the Jefferson Davis experiment and
from these came those which were
brought to Montana. From the South-
west to Boise and into Montana by way
of Virginia City and Helena they eventu-
ally reached the Kootenai mines.

But I am getting away from my story
and will confine my article to the
camels in Montana. I arrived in Hel-
ena in 1867, a boy nine years of age,
and as the camels were here in 1865
I have to rely on accounts of other
old-timers here at the time.

C. W. Cannon has described it well
and I will quote his story:

"I can not recall the name of the
man who owned the camels but I re-
member that they used to unload in
front of the store of Gaston and Simp-
son at the upper end of Main street in
Helena in 1865. They could carry tre-
mendous loads. They would be loaded
with sacks of flour until you couldn't
see anything of the animals except
their heads. They could carry all you
could pile on them and never show that
the pack was any load for them at -all.
They would go up and over the moun-
tains in the roughest and steepest of
places and never refuse to keep moving
in their slow deliberate way. They
would be loaded with gold dust in nail
kegs from the gulches and bring the
dust to Helena."

On one of their trips out of Helena
to Deer Lodge one of the camels was
mistaken for a moose while grazing
and shot by a man named James Mc-
Near. It cost the unfortunate hunter
$800 to settle the bill.

The camels had disappeared in 1867
for good and sufficient reasons. I have
often been regaled as an interested lis-
tener with many tales of runaways
caused by the camel trains. The sul-
len mule, horse or ox would surely
stampede at the sight of the camels.
The many damage suits that arose from
irate teamster and mule train packer
made it an unprofitable business and
they soon disappeared.

The Montana Post, published at Vir-
ginia City, gives several accounts of
the coming of the camels to that place
in 1865.

In the issue of July 29 of that year
we read: "On Saturday last quite an
excitement was created in town by the
appearance of a train of dromedaries
opposite the Stoke & Davis store. In

the presence of a large crowd of idlers
and spectators attracted by the novel
spectacle, the "ships of the desert" ex-
hibited the most lamblike docility, were
made to kneel down, for the purpose of
receiving their heavy burden of 600
pounds of floor each, and as soon as
the load was packed securely they
arose and traveled off with as much
ease as a cayuse if laden with a miner's
outfit. Their destination was Washing-
ton Gulch, which is accessible as far
as freight is concerned by pack animal
only."

That the camel became a menace on
public roads is attested by an act passed
by the Nevada legislature in February,
1876, which reads as follows:

"Section 1. From and after the pas-
sage of this act it shall be unlawful for
the owners of any camel or dromedary
to permit them to run at large on or
about the public roads or highways of
this state."

"Section 2. Provided a fine of from
$25.00 to $100.00 for any violation, also
imprisonment."

Times have changed, but we can well
remember when the first autos es-
sayed to take the road, causing many
runaways and irate farmers coming
into town made a wide circle to let a
one or two-cylinder car puff laboriously
by.

Priest Pass near Helena or Mullan
Pass, if you please, have seen strange
things happen since the time Lieutenant
Mullan crossed the summit in 1853,
when the Northern Pacific railway
pierced the tunnel but the strangest of
all was when the camels climbed the
summit laden with six hundred pounds
of flour in 1865 on their trek to the
Deer Lodge mines.

The only reason I can see for the
abandonment of the experiment was the
causing of horses, mules and ox teams
to stampede. The camels were docile,
thrived on meager pasture and brows-
ing and stood the climate well and kept
in good condition. Their tough cush-
ioned feet prevented becoming lame on
rough mountain trails where the horses,
mules and cattle had to be shod. They
packed from 600 to 1,000 pounds of
freight, never stumbled and negotiated
the hardest road with comparative ease,
but their peculiar aroma and looks were
enough to raise Cain on the road.

All this made the story of the camel
in Montana a short and interesting epi-
sode adding to the colorful life in Last
Chance Gulch of 1865.

"What did your boss say when you
told him it was triplets?"

"He promoted me to the head of my
department."

"What department are you in?"

"Production."

Page Seven

Mooteoa ¥hh aod d

G. T. Boyd, Great Fa\ls..Commissioner
Jos. L. Kelly, Anaconda.. Commissioner

Game Commissioe

W. K. Moore, Billings.. ..Commissioner
E. A.Wilson, Livingston. .Commissioner

Thomas N. Marlowe, Missoula, Chairman
Robert H. Hill, Helena, State Fish and Game Warden, Secretary

^M^^^r^^^l^^r

The Official Publication of the State

Fish and Game Department.

Published Monthly at Helena, Montana.

FLOYD L. SMITH, Editor

Subscription Rate $1 per Year — 15 Cents per Copy
Advertising Rates on Application

Copy for advertisements subject to approval of State
Commission and must be in the hands of the editor at the
State Capitol building, Helena, on the 15th of the month
preceding publication date.

VOL. HI

APRIL, 1931

NO. 11

MONTANA WATCHES FLOW OF WATER

MONTANA'S State Fish and Game Commission, ever
alert to preservation of the natural resources of the
state which provide livelihood and protection for wild
life, is watching progress at the national capitol regarding
the proposed construction of a series of dams along the
Mississippi and its tributaries intended to prevent floods.
The following self-explanatory letter has been addressed
to Senator T. J. Walsh at Washington, D. C, by Chairman
Marlowe:

"I understand two bills were introduced at the last
session of congress providing for the construction of a
system or series of reservoirs to prevent floods along the
Mississippi river and its tributaries, and that under the
provisions of these bills, one or two large reservoirs would
probably be constructed in Montana to check the flow of
waters in the Missouri river.

"We are very much interested in these bills, not only
because these reservoirs will retard the flow of waters in
the Missouri river and eliminate the terrible destruction
caused by floods, but the construction of these reservoirs
in Montana will also make additional breeding grounds for
wild water fowl and shore birds.

"On account of the rapid run-off water in this state,
the natural lakes and ponds are gradually drying up and
on this account the natural breeding grounds of migratory
birds such as ducks, geese and shore birds, are becoming
more and more restricted. Many places in this state which
formerly were splendid nesting grounds for these birds are
now dry or almost dry. If, under the provisions of one of
these bills, one or two large reservoirs could be constructed
in this state, it would add materially to the nesting grounds
tor these kind of birds, and would probably prevent other
nesting grounds from drying up, and on this account we
are greatly interested in these bills. I have never heard
what happened to them. Will you kindly send me copies
and advise me the status of them and what, in your opinion,
is the likelihood of their ever being enacted into law."

No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do
we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it.
Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not asked as
a favor. — Theodore Roosevelt.

WHOSE PUBLIC DOMAIN?

IT is doubtful whether many western states will grasp
at the opportunity .to obtain possession of their share
of the remaining 178,979,446 acres of public domain
lands — the skimmed milk of our vast former public hold-
ings— in the manner suggested by President Hoover's
special committee. This committee has been studying the
problem under the direction of James R. Garfield, secre-
tary of the interior in the Roosevelt administration.

In 1904 the unappropriated public domain lands
amounted to 473,S36,402 acres, but homesteading and other
methods of acquiring ownership have reduced the acreage.
How to dispose of the remainder of the lands, denuded and
ruined by uncontrolled grazing, has been the problem.

If these lands should become the property of the states
it will remove one of the most potent arguments for ap-
propriations by congress for public roads and other pur-
poses.

The committee recommends that all the remaining public
domain, except lands set aside for national defense, recla-
mation, reservoirs, national forests, parks, monuments, and
migratory bird refuges, shall be turned over to the states
if they, by act of their respective legislatures, agree to
accept the lands under the conditions laid down.

Lands which the states do not accept are to be con-
verted by executive order into national ranges, and the
existing laws and appropriations pertaining to the national
forests shall be extended to them.

Before any lands are to be turned over to the states,
a board of five shall determine which lands should be added
to national forests, national parks, wild life refuges and
other national uses. Many of these areas might be set
aside as refuges for antelope, sage grouse, and other wild
creatures.

I owe all my success in life to having been always a quarter
of an hour beforehand. — Lord Nelson.

A LEGAL 'BOUT-FACE

TWO decisions on the West Coast will interest every
outdoor man, regardless of where he lives, because
they are directly opposite in their effect.

California gave various county boards the right to
make regulations for the public safety. In Los Angeles
county, hunting for game was prohibited, but nothing was
said about hunting for mountain lions and other creatures
not classed as game.

A local sportsman killed a deer during the legal state
season in a remote, inaccessible place where no harm
could come to anyone to test the ordinance. He was hailed
into court and fined. The higher court upheld the deci-
sion, taking the position that the failure to include "var-
mint" hunters and other shooters did not weaken the
ordinance.

Oregon has on several occasions taken advantage of
its law authorizing the governor to close the hunting sea-
son as a protection against forest fires. There a sports-
man for the same reason as in California killed a deer
in Tillamook county contrary to the proclamation of the
governor.

The defendant held that since the law did not control
other uses of the forests it was unconstitutional. Upon
conviction he carried the case to the state supreme court,
and Judge Belt held the law to be unconstitutional, saying
that the theory that deer hunters constitute a menace to
the forests of the state is "absurd and ridiculous."

It is refreshing to find a supreme court judge who un-
derstands sportsmen, and who will not be a party to deny-
ing them privileges which the general public may enjoy.

Page Eight

MONTANA

W2IL1D) lif:

EXAMINATIONS FOR HUNTERS

IN the January issue of FIELD AND STREAM, John B.
BURNHAM, for many years the president of the Ameri-
can Association, editorially recommended that undesir-
able hunters be eliminated by a system of examinations.

The suggestion elicited much discussion, most of it fa-
vorable. One prominent Kentuckian suggested that "it
might help to compel every applicant for a hunting license
to file a bond with the state to assure his good behavior.
The farmer could be reimbursed for damages. A shiftless,
irresponsible hunter would have a hard time giving the
bond."

At the Seventeenth Game Conference one of the speak-
ers predicted that ere long some state would muster up
enough courage to establish an examination system to
eliminate from the field those who cause all the trouble
between landowners and sportsmen. He said: "Such a sys-
tem, once established, would work automatically, and the
states could revoke certificates of those who violate the
law or commit depredations."

New York's new conservation commission, Henry Mor-
gentb.au, Jr., publisher of one of America's largest farm
periodicals, instead of depending upon the judgment of him-
self and staff exclusively, as his first step appointed an
Advisory Council composed of 20 of the Empire State's con-
servation leaders.

This council has already justified Commissioner Mor-
genthau's judgment. At a recent meeting it unanimously
recommended the enactment of a law requiring examina-
tion of applicants for hunting licenses, with an examina-
tion fee of 50 cents. It is therefore likely that the Empire
State will be the first to adopt this method of eliminating
the unfit and putting hunting upon a higher plane.

The New York Council also recommended that the tres-
pass law be so amended that it will apply equally to all
classes of trespassers instead of applying only to hunters
and fishermen, thereby reflecting upon thousands of honest
sportsmen as does the present law by singling them out as
a class.

Other recommendations of the New York Council in-
clude a uniform opening date for all small upland game,
and a plan for leasing public fishing waters similar to that
in operation in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Oneofthegreatproblemsinparkingistogetyourcaroutofalinelikethis.

SMELTS TURN TABLES AND DINE THEMSELVES

THE smelt has turned the tables on the Michigan Con-
servation Department — and dining tables, at that. In-
troduced to Michigan waters years ago as food for
lake trout and whitefish, the smelts have not only refused
to feed the game species, but have healthily increased by
the millions and are dining at the favorite fishes' expense
— on trout and whitefish eggs, the department has informed
the American Game Association. Now confronted by too
much "food," the department is seeking a way to control
the voracious smelts.

Pheasants feed on 100 different species of insects as well
as nearly 100 kinds of seeds and plants.

NOW THEY ARE "PANNING" THE DUCKS

{{fT^HAR'S gold in them thar ducks" say the Oregon-
ians who shoot big fat mallards on the Gardner

■*■ preserve of Sauvie's Island near Portland. Frank
Troeh, world-famous trapshooter of Portland, drew a nice
fat mallard hen in his bag — she had given him sport and
she promised a tasty meal, but lo and behold, she also
produced gold — gold nuggets, five of them. Stowed in her
crop along with the usual collection of food grinding peb-
bles were five gold nuggets — not large, but pure gold
ranging in size up to an eighth of an inch in diameter.

Now duck hunters in that vicinity are both carefully
cleaning all gizzards and wondering where Frank's mal-
lard scooped up those virgin gold nuggets during the sum-
mer. Because where she summered in the far north there
is free gold — now for a gold-bearing duck with an identify-
ing band on its leg. What if a Biological Survey identifica-
tion leg band should start another gold rush to rival the
days of '49 or the great hegira to the Yukon in the more
recent '90's?

CANADA STUDIES VANISHING DUCK AREAS

INVESTIGATION to discover the cause and extent of the
decrease of wild ducks is being made by several hun-
dred wildfowl observers in Canada, the native home
of most of the ducks that spend the winter in Montana and
the United States.

Observations have substantiated claims expressed by
experts that the shortage of wildfowl is largely due to
destruction of their Canadian breeding grounds.

"Settlement and agricultural development have cur-
tailed the breeding areas, and when dry conditions prevail,
shrinking the shallow lakes and marshes, the effect
on the duck supply of the continent is marked," the de-
partment stated.

A large share of the .continent's duck supply is hatched
in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Drainage and
agriculture have destroyed thousands of acres of marshy
prairie lands in the southern parts of these provinces,
where the most important of the duck nesting grounds
are found, the reports proved.

That the disappearance of satisfactory nesting spots
in southern Canada will merely cause a retreat of the
(lucks to northern fastnesses is a forlorn hope, the de-
partment indicated. A comparative study of the ranges
has proved that other sections are not suitable.

The weaker the argument the stronger the words.

ATTRACTING BIRD-LIFE

SPRING will soon be here and nature lovers and others
interested iu the out-of-doors turn their thoughts to
the arrival of birds. Already bluebirds and robins
have been observed and others of that grand array of
beautifully colored songsters will soon be following. Now
is the time to begin erecting and placing bird boxes in
desirable localities. Lots of people enjoy cutting up cigar
boxes and using odds and ends of wood material to make
homes for the birds. It is remarkable what splendid struc-
tures can be made from these old scraps and a little paint.

Boy Scouts and school children vie in contests for
bird house building, and newspapers and sportsmen's asso-
ciations sponsor these bird-house-building campaigns.

Sportsmen and nature lovers know what a serious
menace the half-wild, half-starved stray house cat is to
game and song birds. Observations have determined that
the food of cats is at certain seasons almost restricted to
young birds. As a rule, well cared for cats which are
house pets do not do serious damage to bird-life. There
can be but one solution to the feral cat problem — shoot the
cat wherever you find him wandering about the fields and
woodlands. The cat has no legal status and therefore one
is not committing a violation by killing destructive creatures.

Many a man who does not know his own mind would be
surprised to learn how well his acquaintances know it.

PLANT BIGGER FISH

MANY states, including Montana, are now endeavoring
to rear all species of game fish to fingerling size or
larger before they are stocked to lure the angler
astream during the balmy days of spring. Two states,
both of which have discontinued stocking fry except where
unavoidable, have recently furnished some interesting fig-
ures to the sportsmen of their states.

Charles O. Hayford, the superintendent of New Jer-
sey's fish work, has for a number of years been one of
the exponents of more and bigger fish. The statement of
the New Jersey Board of Fish and Game Commissioners
shows that last year 446,882 trout, 75 per cent of them
eight to 12 inches long, 203,000 trout under six inches
long, 131,000 black bass, 113,800,000 yellow perch fry, and
391,950 sunfish were stocked. The game distributions dur-
ing the year covered 22,700 ringneck pheasants, 32,000
pheasant eggs, and 14,900 rabbits.

In the distibutions made by Pennsylvania one item of
interest is 367,000 frogs two years old. Rearing frogs in
large numbers is an accomplishment of which Pennsylvania
is quite proud.

New Jersey estimates the fish distributed last year were
worth ?1S6,000, while Pennsylvania's figure is $621,000.

Page Nine

: mONTANA

•WH1L1D) L1F

Ueliceesedl Hootein

By J. B. Halm of Missoula, AVith Pictures by Author.

Joe B. Halm

ANY sportsman,
or bird lover,
who has had
the good fortune in
his rambles to come
upon a mallard or
pintail duck's nest,
lined with downy
feathers and watched
the hopeful owner,
faithfully incubating
her eggs, watched
her bring off her
downy brood, and
later seen the hap-
py family busily
feeding in some
nearby pond, must
have experienced a
real thrill of pleas-
ure and felt a pride
and responsibility in his discovery. Later,
however, if he came upon this same
beautiful nest scattered and destroyed
by some predator, he must surely ex-
perience somewhat the same pang of
resentment that I so often feel.

The rate at which our bird life is be-
ing destroyed by their natural enemies
in some localities in Montana is alarm-
ing.

Incidental to photographing wild life
last year, many nests of various kinds
came under my observation. Many of
these, in fact, the majority in one lo-
cality, were systematically destroyed by
predators. Thirteen mallard, pintail and
leal nests containing 117 eggs; three
Hungarian pheasant nests with 53 eggs,
and one Chinese pheasant with 13 eggs,
were destroyed in a single week, a to-
tal loss of 183 potential game birds. Just
who the destructive culprits were was
not apparent at first but my observa-
tion and patience were rewarded. The
scent of skunk was present in a great
many destroyed nests, and a search dis-
closed several dens in the vicinity. These
animals hunted the region at night,
nosing through every clump of grass
and weeds, until sooner or later they
found the nests and sucked the eggs. A
badger family consisting of a mother
with several pups also moved in and
cleaned up any remaining nests. At
first I blamed my own possible careless-
ness and visitations as responsible for
the crafty animals finding the nests by
following my scent. Later, therefore,
upon finding a nest, I kept at a consid-
erable distance. These, however, met
the same fate, as did many others which
I had not previously found. The badger,
like I he skunk, worked at night. When
a locality was thoroughly combed out
and eggs became scarce, they picked up
bag and baggage and moved their head-
quarters to greener pastures. The
badger, I noticed, moved camp at least
;i week.

If a mother duck or pheasant suc-
ceeded in outwitting these night prowl-

Hello, Spring

Hello, Spring! I've been a wishin'

You'd be amblin' 'long this way;
I'm jes' itchin' to go fishin'.

Been a watchin' ev'ry day.
Knowed you'd come along to cheer us

Like you always used to do;
Pitch yer tent an' camp right near us

Fer we're mighty fond of you.
Jes' lay off yer Easter bonnet,

Make yerself at home right here.
Whar's that fishpole now, doggone it!

That I put away las' year?
Never mind, I'll cut a wilier;

'Taint no time to fool around.

Fer a real ol' fishin' hound,
Ketehm' trout is sure a thriller.

ers, she had through necessity to leave
her nest for short periods during the
dav. It was then that that watchful,
sneaking, sharp-eyed murdress, the crow,
sitting on a post or nearby tree, seeing
the mother leave would pounce upon the
nest and destroy the eggs. Owls, ex-
cepting the short-eared diurnal owl,
and hawks, are a menace in some lo-
calities, but fortunately in this region
the sportsmen have reduced these van-
dals to a minimum. If the unhatched
ducklings, pheasants and other birds, by
good fortune, succeed in escaping these
ever-present hunters who know no law
and observe no closed season, the weasel,
that merciless, crafty and treacherous
little varmint comes into the picture and
takes its toll, of life from the helpless
young. I found countless young ducks,
pheasants and even mature tern killed
by this heinous little destroyer. I came
upon an entire brood of young meadow-
larks neatly laid out on the canopy of
their nest, their usual pink little bod-

w

"The Hump Hitch"
Is Next In Line

HEN Dave Hilger, who acquired
the reputation of being the
best buftalo hunter in Fergus
county, way back when the west
began, first suggested the fact
that camels were once used for pack
animals in Montana, folks looked at
him askance. The article on Page 7
sets forth the facts. Readers of
MONTANA WILD LIFE have in
store another treat, planned for next
month's edition, in a thrilling inci-
dent based on these facts, which con-
cerns the naming of Fourth of July
canyon between Wallace and Coeur
d'Alene in Idaho, written by W. B.
McLaughlin of Hamilton, known to
his friends at Bitter Root Bill. The
story, "The Hump Hitch," is all set
to go. Watch for it next month.

ies bloodless and white — a tiny puncture
in the neck told the story.

The common alley cat, abandoned at
some deserted farm house or along the
road, likewise demands serious consid-
eration by sportsmen and nature lovers.
He becomes a hunter and killer far
more destructive to our bird life than
the average perse-1 imagines. After a
light snowfall, I have found a perfect
maze of cat tracks stalking upland birds.
Many of these cats den up under aband-
oned buildings, in straw stacks and even
in old muskrat tunnels; here they thrive
and multiply. It is true these maraud-
ers prey to some extent upon mice and
small mammals but their toll of birds
is appalling. On several occasions I
have found the partially eaten remains
of freshly killed birds with cat tracks
as circumstantial evidence and have
seen them stalking pheasants and actu-
ally caught them in the act of killing
young ducks.

A rather amusing incident happened
several years ago. I had decided to
get the low-down on Mr. House Cat
and had planned to use my camera to
get the evidence. One morning a cat
was prowling about a pond rimmed
with tall grass and rushes; ducks,
young and old, were abundant. My
long-looked for chance had come.
Snatching my camera, I crept stealthily
along a slight depression into a heavy
cluster of weeds and thistles. I thought
I heard a crunching. Breathless, I got
my camera in readiness. Oblivious to
my surroundings, I cautiously pushed
my way through the dense screen of
thistles and could just make out an
object busily engaged, as I thought, in
devouring a newly killed bird. With
heart pounding, I crept still near. Now
was my chance. The cat seemed not
to suspect my presence. At last when
scarcely six feet away, I decided the
moment had arrived. Silently, with
camera set, I rose and caught one
glimpse, not of a house cat but a pole-
cat, with tail dangerously poised. I
gasped, retreated one step, then tripped
and fell backward among the thistles.
Unmindful of thistles I rolled and
scrambled pell-mell out of range of my
would-be quarry. The air around me
had suddenly become stifling with at-
tar, but not of roses. Fortunately, my
sudden fall had saved me the embar-
rassment of being skunked.

It is pathetic to see young song and
game birds destroyed at such an alarm-
ing rate. One cannot but marvel at the
courage and tenacity of these feathered
creatures who continue to survive in
the face of such overwhelming odds.
Even the little meadowlark might well
be decorated with a badge for bravery.
Although surrounded and harassed day
and night by enemies, he continues
daily to greet us with his happy full-
throated song; a shining example of
undaunted fortitude.

Page Ten

rOUM& DUCKS KILLE.D &Y WEASELS

AT MIME PIPES
C &IPCD KEFUGE ,

Page Eleven

K5

MONTANA j^jWIIIUP LIE

XPRESSIONS received
from throughout the
state indicate that
sportsmen are awaiting
the issuance of the
special $5 license pro-
vided by the last legis-
lature on recommenda-
tion of Senator Ralph R. Tower of
Lake county. Applications are pouring
in to headquarters of the State Fish
and Game department at Helena, ac-
companied by checks, asking that
names be placed on the waiting list
tor the badge of honor as soon as it
comes from the printer. Under the
plan approved by the legislature the
resident fishing and bird license shall
be $2, the big game license with deer
and elk tags attached shall be $1 and
the Sportsman's License $5. The ex-
ponent of conservation of fish and game
receives no greater privileges than the
resident who purchased the $2 and the
$1 license, but lists himself among out-
standing sportsmen of the state who
are expressing their unqualified stand
with extra dollars, in aiding in con-
tinuing the campaign of conscientious
preservation and propagation in which
the State Fish and Game Commission
is engaged.

Plans for the early issuance of li-
censes were placed in the hands of
Robert H. Hill, state fish and game
warden, at the recent meeting of the
commission held at Missoula, March 12.

The meeting of the commission was
held at the Florence Hotel. Those pres-
ent were: T. N. Marlowe, chairman;
E. A. Wilson, W. K. Moore, G. T.
Boyd and J. L. Kelly, commissioners;
Robert H. Hill, secretary, and K. F.
MacDonald, superintendent of State
Fisheries.

The following made statements with
reference to the M. L. Matzick case in
which Matzick was recently acquitted
on a game violation charge; Those ap-
pearing against Mr. Matzick's reinstate-
ment at the Somers hatchery were Ken-
neth F. MacDonald, Deputy Game War-
den A. A. O'Claire, Elmer Phillips. Al
Schlup and Owen W. Olson. Those
who made statements on behalf of Mr.
Matzick were M. L. Matzick, Mrs. M. L.
Matzick, George Ruby and Mr. Baldwin,
attorney for Matzick.

The commission re-convened at 3:50
p. m., at which time Chairman Mar-
lowe read a prepared statement which
he delivered to the secretary, as fol-
lows:

"The commission, having heard the
evidence for and against reinstating
M. L. Matzick as an employee of the
Fish and Game Department, it was
moved by Mr. Moore and seconded by
Mr. Boyd that, owing to the conflict-
ing evidence, Mr. Matzick be reinstated
as of March 16, 1931, and that Mr. Mac-
Donald's order suspending Mr. Matzick

New License Fees In
Montana

Former
Fee
Class A — Resident birds and fish,
$2 $ 2.00

Class AA — Resident big game with
tags, $1 (Must also hold Class A) New

Class AAA — Resident Sportsman's
License, $5.00 New

Class B. — Nonresident fishing li-
cense, $3.50 3.50

Class B-1 — Nonresident game birds.

$10.00 10.00

Class B-2 — Nonresident big game.

$30.00 30.00

Class C — Alien fishing, $10 10.00

Class C-1 — Alien game bird, $30 New

Class C-2 — Alien big game, $50 50.00

Class D — Trappers' license, $10 10.00

Class E — Fur dealers' license Same

Resident, $1.

Nonresident, $25.

Fur Dealers' Agent, $10.

without pay, pending hearing before
the commission, be ratified and ap-
proved." Vote: Mr. Boyd, yes; Mr.
Kelly, yes; Mr. Marlowe, yes; Mr.
Moore, yes; Mr. Wilson, yes.

Mr. Aide of the Forest service ap-
peared before the commission with a
petition asking the creation of a game
preserve bordering on the west side of
the Yellowstone river in the vicinity

Tenth Anniversary
of Commission

WHEN Montana's State Fish and
Game Commission meets at
Helena in April, it will mark
the tenth annual gathering of the
commission in its present form. Rec-
ords show that the first territorial
legislature of Montana passed the
first fish and game law February 2,
185, providing the manner in which
trout may be taken. The law like-
wise forbade the baiting of a hook
with poisonous substances or the use
of seines and nets. The law creating
the present commission of five was
passed by the legislature of 1921. In
that year Thomas N. Marlowe of Mis-
soula was selected chairman, and has
since served efficiently. On February
11, 1926, E. C. Carruth of Havre, and
W. K. Moore of Billings were named
members, the other members being
Chairman Marlowe, J. L. Kelly of
Anaconda and E. A. Wilson of Liv-
ingston. Gilbert T. Boyd of Great'
Falls became a member April 8,
1927, when Mr. Carruth resigned.
Robert H. Hill, secretary of the com-
mission and state fish and game
warden, has been associated with
the department for- 14 years.

of Gardiner. As Mr. Aide advised that
there were to be some corrections
made in the description of the boundary
lines of the preserve, the order was
made that Mr. Aide be instructed to
have corrections made in the descrip-
tion of the proposed preserve, and then
forward the petition to State Fish and
Game Warden Hill for his investigation,
and that Mr. Hill hold a hearing rela-
tive to the creation of this preserve, if
he deems it advisable.

All the members of the state legisla-
ture were ordered placed on the mail-
ing list of MONTANA WILD LIFE, of-
ficial publication of the department.

Paul J. Fair, moving picture opera-
tor for the department, appeared before
the commission relative to his employ-
ment after the expiration of his present
contract with the department. No ac-
tion was taken other than that he was
instructed to complete films which he
now has.

Mr. Hill was requested to confer with
the attorney-general for an opinion as
to whether or not Chinese pheasants,
Hungarian partridges and upland game
birds can be killed during the closed
season, for the purpose of making a
moving picture reel of hunting scenes
for the department, to be shown
throughout the state to sportsmen's
clubs and other organizations for edu-
cational purposes. If the attorney-gen-
eral renders a favorable opinion it was
ordered that the picture be taken as
soon as possible.

The matter of erecting a rearing
pond on the Dearborn river, which mat-
ter was referred to Mr. MacDonald and
Mr. Boyd at the last meeting, was dis-
cussed and the following motion made
by Mr. Marlowe prevailed: "I move
that Mr. MacDonald be authorized to
construct a rearing pond on the Ole
Bean place on the Dearborn river, pro-
viding proper easements can be ob-
tained, and when there is money avail-
able for this work."

Commissioner Moore made a motion:
That we carry on the predatory animal
contest among sportsmen's clubs as it
has been conducted in the past. Sec-
onded by Mr. Marlowe. Vote: Affirma-
tive, Mr. Marlowe and Mr. Moore; nega-
tive, Mr. Boyd and Mr. Kelly. Mr. Wil-
son was absent. Motion lost.

HEHO WOKSHIF

Edith's daddy is a preacher. Edith
is 5 years old. At breakfast the other
morning, one lonely piece of toast was
left.

"Be a hero," said Edith's mamma to
Edith's daddy. "Be a hero and eat
that toast."

Edith evidently thought mamma said
"hearer." She responded quickly:

"My daddy, he isn't a hero. He's the
preacher. The people what listens to
him every Sunday — they's the heroes."

Page Twelve

.MONTANA gvj WILD LIF!

Here's One for the Freak Book

In Mineral County

Name It and Take It

THESE be strenuous times in Mon-
tana among meandering scientists
who have discovered mastodon
teeth in Carbon county, a Republican
in Silver Bow county, the furbearing
fish recently explained in these col-
umns and other impossibilities too
numerous to mention. Comes now the
taxidermist's proof of the existence of
a chevrotain or traguloid ruminant,
known to certain scientists as the Cer-
vuselaphus Sylvaticus, or a cross be-
tween the red stag of Europe and the
jack rabbit, whose bodies strew the
highways of Montana. The horned pub-
s' caticus is known to graze only along
the Northern Pacific right of way.

"If there's any question as to the
existence of this whosit, there it is
before your very eyes," quoth George
Miner, Helena agent, who helped bore
the holes in the Continental divide
when the N. P. rails were laid.

To make it further impressive, the
picture of the stuffed mixup is here
presented. The stuffed bird was pre-
pared by Taxidermist George Noyes of
Billings and for several days recently
was displayed in the Northern Pacific
show windows at Helena, much to the
confusion of Dicky Dee, whose supply
of scientific explanations ran out early
on the opening day.

To sum up the story of Billings scien-
tists, who insisted that the rare beast
be stuffed for posterity, it is a wild
cross between a jackrabbit and a barbed
wire fence, or perhaps Jennie Doe Rab-
bit and Richard Roe Deer. It has a
splendid set of horns but it's tail is
a fluffy pompom. It has the hind legs
of a John Rabbit but the ears of the
emblem of the Democratic party. Some
specialists insist that they are found
only in graveyards, where they dine on
four-leaf clovers seasoned with sage.

Others assert they are related to the
Kinkajou or Quin-ea-jou, a nocturnal,
arboreal carnivore, described by Roy A.
Gibbons, expert on the Cervus Alces

family, as a cercoleptus Caudivolvulus
frequenting the warmer parts of South
and Central America and which has
been attracted to Montana because of
the unusually mild winter. The Kinka-
jou, however, has a long prehensile tail
and yellowish brown body and is er-
ronously called the yellow lemur, honey
bear or meat hound. The Montana va-
riety, hence, comes from some other
Pullman reservation.

This animile is afflicted with many
marks of the deer, the cervoid ruminant
with frontal appendages which, when
developed as antlers, are periodically
deciduous, such as the leaves of the
Anheuser Busch.

The Cariacas Virginianus is the com-
mon White Tailed deer of the United
States which feeds on twigs, bullrusb.es,
and red jackets worn by hunters.

On the other hand, the members of
the Lepus family with which the Caria-
cus Virginianus is crossed, has a white
downy fur from which Hudson seal
coats distributed by many legislators
are manufactured, and is a rodent of
the genus Lepus.

When the Cotton Tail is at home, the
name on the doorplate is Lepus Sylvati-
cus. It often feeds on the Welsh rab-
bit, which thrives on hot cheese poured
over brown toast. It's literary favorite
is that significant volume "Pigs Is
Pigs" and it is often found excelling in
mathematics, particularly in multiplica-
tion.

At any event, the nameless critter ex-
ists, thanks to the art of the taxidermist,
despite the fact that Shirley Garrity de-

Resolutions for
"Good Morning"

I will start anew this morning with a

higher, fairer creed;
I will cease to stand complaining of my

ruthless neighbor's greed;
I will cease to sit repining while my

duty's call is clear;
I will waste no moment whining, and

my heart shall know no fear.

I will look sometimes about me for the

things that merit phrase;
I will search for hidden beauties that

elude the grumbler's gaze;
I will try to find contentment in the

paths that I must tread;
I will cease to have resentment when

another moves ahead.

1 will not be swayed by envy when my
rival's strength is shown;

I will not deny his merit, but I'll strive
to prove my own ;

I will try to see the beauty spread be-
fore me, rain or shine;

I will cease to preach your duty and
be more concerned with mine.

RW. SPANGLER of Superior, Min-
eral county's representative in
* the house, is an ardent sports-
man. During the 22nd legislative as-
sembly which has just concluded its
sessions, Buddy Spangler was keenly
interested in measures concerning con-
servation and was one of the most ac-
tive members of the house committee
on fish and game. During the winter
flight of geese, the picture shown above
was taken with R. W. Spangler at the
left, little Joanne Spangler, one of the
best sportsmen of them all, in the
center, and W. J. Fletcher at the right.
Six of the geese were killed in the
Missouri river November 17 and four
on November 19.

clares it is the animal killed by the
Great Northern goat in the great his-
toric contest of the Continental divide,
shortly after Lewis and Clark oiled
the hinges of the Gates of the Moun-
tains in Dave Hilger's marine pasture.
L,est confusion arise it might be well
to explain that the taxidermist has
placed a pair of small antlers on the
body of a jackrabbit. Now the story is
out.

Vigilantes of Montana

A CHRONICLE OF

THE OLD
WEST

How They Disposed of

BAD MEN

In the Sixties!

A full ju'ouni of ihc capture
and execution of

HENRY PLUMMER'S
ROAD AGENTS

By PROF. THOS. J. DIMSDALO
(Illustrated)

286 pages of frontier adventure, with historical reference to
Virginia City and other western eommunities.

PRICE 51.00 POSTPAID

•Vs* F. J. FALBAUM, JR.C=

Page Thirteen

JVLONTANA I3WELBL1F:

When It's Springtime In the Rockies

The Sportsman

HERE'S a specimen of natural art with all the background hues and tints of
of the forest primeval and the fawn, nearly grown, in the foreground. De-
spite the size of the fawn it bears the spots with which it was decorated at
birth. It's a splendid bit of wild life photographed by Paul J. Fair.

THEE DOCTORS OUTLAWED

Quack doctors whose "patients" are
trees will be the next surgical fakers
to exit under the frown of the law.
if the New Jersey Federation of Shade
Tree Commission succeeds in securing
an act which it hopes will be passed
by the next state legislature. Quack
tree surgeons who charge exorbitant
prices for worthless and often fatal
tree treatments have been victimizing
the owners of forest, fruit and shade
trees in New Jersey for years.

It is told of an imposter who worked
through the state last year, claiming
to be able to inoculate trees against
all disease infestations and insect
scourges, in the same manner that per-
sons are inoculated against typhoid
fever. The injections killed the trees
which he "treated" — but not before he
collected $30 for each tree. The act
would require every tree surgeon to
pass an examination before a state
in i' protection board.

WISCONSIN HAS 25 HATCHERIES

Swimming end to end, the fish dis-
tributed last year from the hatcheries
of Wisconsin alone for restocking pur-
poses would stretch from Boston across
the seas to Singapore, before more than
two-thirds of the fish had had a chance
to leave the home waters. This esti-
mate was reported by the Wisconsin
Conservation Commission to the Amer-
ican Game Association in a summary
of its fisheries achievements. From the
state's 25 hatcheries it distributed more
than 300,000,000 "fingerlings" fish of
various species, including native food
varieties. But as its greatest triumph
the department listed the distribution
of 90,000 adult brook trout, large enough
to catch next season, and old enough
to spawn this winter.

"Willie, where's Johnnie?"

"If the ice is as thick as he thinks
it is, he's skating, but if it's as thin
as I think it is, he's swimming."

When you stop a week at the best hotel,
And stay within sound of the dinner
bell
With a can of worms and a bamboo
stick.
You catch 59 perch and 12 blue gills
quick
You're a fisherman — Yes, Sir — You're a
fisherman.

When you get up at dawn with a box
of grub
And a lot of minnows in a tub,
And you fill the boat as the swift hours
pass
With a lot of crappie and several
bass,
You're an angler — Yes, Sir — You're an
angler.

When you strike the lake when the

fishing's bad,
And there's not a single fish to be

had.
You land a half-pounder and throw him

back in,
And return at night with a happy

grin,
You're a sportsman — Yes, Sir — You're a

sportsman.

SUBSCRIPTION COMBINATION

American Game Protective

Association,

2273 Woolworth Building,

New York City, N. Y.

Herewith find remittance of $2.00
for membership in the Association
including subscription to "AMERI-
CAN GAME" and "MONTANA WILD
LIFE."

Combination
Price
Membership In American

Game Protective Assn.

Subscription to "American > $2.00

Game"
MONTANA WILD LIFE

If you are already a subscriber to
"MONTANA WILD LIFE" and wish
to renew for one year from the ex-
piration of your subscription please
mention that fact.

Add 50 cents for Canadian postage;
$1.00 for foreign postage.

Name

Address

Date

PAYS DEBT WITH TREES

A citizen of New York state is still
paying off one of the strangest Christ-
mas debts recorded. When charged by
an officer of the state conservation de-
partment with cutting down nine ever-
green trees on forest preserve land to
sell as Christmas decoration, he was
lined the customary penalty of $10 for
each lice. But unable to pay the fine.
he begged to be permitted to work mil
his penalty by replacing the nine trees
with 1,000 more.

i rider this agreement, the offender
is now busy repaying his debt to the
scenic beauty of the state by planting
1,000 balsams where nine grew before.

SPORTSMEN-

Recognize this as Headquarters for All
Hunting, Fishing and Camping Equipment

THE MONTANA HARDWARE

Department of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, Butte, Montana

Page Fourteen

Why Build Bird Houses?

Out Fishin'

THERE are several answers to the
question — any one of them is suf-
ficient for the trifling cost to us.
The birds that accept this proferred
hospitality are always ready and will-
ing to make repayment to us either in
song, service or flashing form of
beauty. The plaintive call of the blue-
bird, the diligent chatter of the wren,
the early morning warble of the mar-
tin and the evening angelus of the
robin strike a most welcome note of
harmony in the increasing din of
civilization.

They are a vigilant police force, work-
ing hard to free our lawns, gardens,
shrubs and trees of innumerable insect
pests; true enough, the robin, when
thirsty, will occasionally help himself
to a berry or two, but what's a berry
or two between friends?

To the shut-in, to growing children
first beginning to note the mysteries
of nature, what is of more interest than
the swift development of a pearl-like
egg into the feathered flashing jewel
that will travel thousands of miles in
a few months, only to return next spring
to enjoy the hospitality of its birth-
place?

In tempting these birds to make their
home with us there are a few funda-
mental rules to be followed in connec-
tion with the making and placing of
bird-houses.

They must be easily opened in order
that last year's nest may be cleaned
out and also the nests of that pesky
gamin, the English sparrow. This bird
is noisy, quarrelsome, filthy and our
native birds will not associate with this
shanty type of fellow-being.

They should be placed away from
shrubbery and trees which would make
approach by their deadly enemy, the
house cat, easier. If poles or posts are
used, they should be guarded by pieces
of tin. The only cat that will not kill
birds, except a dead cat, is the cat that
cannot possibly get his claws on one.

Bird-houses should have entrances
which do not face the direction of pre-
vailing storms, and should be provided
with ventilation so that the young birds
are not over-heated during an excessive
warm spell.

The entrances should be protected
from driving rains, and the entrance
hole bored with an upward slant so that,
if rain should drive in, it would be
drained out of, and not into, the nest
cavity.

Better DUCK Shooting

V Order Wild Rice Seed For
Spring Planting Now.
Thousands of ducks will
come to an established rice
field. We also have wild
celery, Sago Pond plant,
Wapato duck potato and
other attractions for waterfowl and fur
bearers. Also parched wild rice for table use.
GEO. D. HAMILTON'S AQUATIC FARMS
Box 16 Detroit, Minnesota

Birds have no particular color sense —
a gaudily-painted house will have no ap-
peal to them. Good white paint is best
for an exposed house, it will reflect
back the intense heat rays of the bright
sun; in sheltered places a dark stain
will do nicely.

Entrance perches are unnecessary ex-
cept possibly in wren houses; lack of
them has a tendency to discourage Eng-
lish sparrows from usurping them.

Do not put windows in a bird-house —
its a useless waste of time.

Always put the entrance hole at or
near the top of the cavity — otherwise
the nestling may crawl out prematurely
and fall out of the nest to certain
death.

ARMY AMI NAVY FOREVER

The company commander told a pri-
vate to watch his horse. The gallant
steed galloped over a hill and out of
sight. "I thought I ordered you to
watch that horse," thundered the com-
pany commander. "Sir," said the pri-
vate, "I watched it as far as I could
see it." Such traditions must be pre-
served.

WHEN brethren of the rod and
reel
Go fishin'.
Somehow friendships seem to seal

While fishin'.
With fish a fryin' in the pan
One look beneath the coat of tan
Reveals that best that's in the man
That's fishin'.

One need be neither rich nor great

For fishin'.
His catch depends upon his bait,

While fishin'.
He's apt to lose all thoughts of care.
His troubles vanish in thin air,
Make him an optimist for fair

While fishin'.

The year ahead is one of strife

And fishin'.
You'll have to labor for your life

But fishin'
Supplements your work — a dole
That paves the way to every goal ;
It renews courage in your soul.

Go fishin'.

MELTON'S MOTOR INN CAMP

Cedar Boats— Spring Water— Camp Store— Dining Room— Cabins— Free Camp Sights

Lake Mary Ronaii — Fisherman's Paradise

BLR. AND MRS. ELI MELTON

PROCTOR. MONTANA
This camp was formerly operated by Fred C. Foster

for Spring Bear Hunting

BLACK, BROWN AND GRIZZLY
GOOD HORSES AND HONEST MEN

Write for particulars

IRA C. TESTER

LIBBY, MONTANA

SERVING -

118 Montana Cities and Towns

THE MONTANA POWER CO.

Page Fifteen

Sec. 435Vi,P. L. &K.
U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

Helena, Montana
Permit No. 27

MONTANA

wejud lif:

TKOUBLES OF A GAME WAEDEM

TRIBULATIONS which beset a deputy game warden
every day in the year seem constantly growing heavier
than most men are willing to bear, but Assistant Game
Warden J. W. Carney, in his constant quest tor funds be-
longing to the department, received a staggering letter
a few days ago. In many cases justices of the peace
to whom fines are paid by law violators, have poor
memories and neglect turning in the cash. Then their
memories must be jogged. Inasmuch as the gentleman
involved in this story is a perfectly good newspaperman,
well known at the offices of the Hardin Tribune-Herald,
in Big Horn county, it is well that his name be guarded.
The letter is self-explanatory, except for the question as
to why any newspaperman is entitled to more than one coat.
"I was surprised to receive yours of the 6th inst. call-
ing my attention to a case in justice court of July 12, 1930,
wherein one Joe Montes was charged with wrongful posses-
sion of firearms, he being an alien. The case was brought
to me by Charles W. Hutton, deputy game warden, out of
court hours. In fact, as 1 recall it now, it was late in
the evening. I placed the papers in my coat pocket and
went home, where I changed coats and would not have
thought of the papers now, had it not been that your let-
ter caused me to make a search. Of course, I should have
eventually ran across them. However, I have entered the
case in my docket, using an extra sheet from the back
of the docket, making the number of the case 10%. Here-
with is my (heck for $25 covering the fine. Please send
me a receipt so that I may paste it in my docket."

what women really n I are wrist watches that will run

and hosiery that won't.

hardest thing is t' disguise your feelin's when you put
, lot o' relatives in th' train fer home. — Abe .Martin.

Scientists an oring t<> split tin- atom. They should

: it through th.- post marked "fragile."

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

WPAUL HAHN of Townsend sends an interesting
communication to the Editor of MONTANA WILD
• LIFE outlining good work being done by Fred
Jorgenson, well known Helena sportsman, chef at the
Montana club. He writes:

"In 1929 Fred Jorgenson, well known Helena sports-
man, put out wheat, corn and peas during the duck season.
In 1930 he started to feed the ducks in August and con-
tinued to feed them all through the season. He has fed
them continually since the first of the year when feed
of natural qualities is scarce and is now making plans
for feeding the ducks all year around. I have personally
seen 350 mallards on this feeding ground at one time.
More sportsmen should be encouraged to put out duck
feed."

Poverty is a grindstone on which many wits are sharpened.

Strong Men — Atlas. Samson. Hercules, Sandow. the guy in
vaudeville who tears phone books, and the gas station attendant
who puts the cap back on the gas tank of your car.

RABBIT FOOT LUCK DOESN'T MEAN EARS

IF the traditional good luck qualities in a rabbit's left
hind foot extends to the ears, Miss Lena Brand, deputy
county auditor of Red Bluffs, Calif., sees no evidence of
it. A bounty of eight cents having been placed on bunny's
head in that section, because of his alleged depredations
to orchards, Miss Brand's chief job for weeks has been the
counting of hundreds of pairs of rabbit ears. Yet her plea
to the t inventive genius of the country for a rabbit-ear
counting machine has so far gone unanswered.

The Waster angled, but did not fish with a net.
He shot, but not at birds sitting.

— Sayings of Confucius (596 B. C.)

COYOTES DODGE TEXANS' ROPES

TEXANS who boast of their ability to rope and herd
anything on four legs may now limit that boast to
anything without a bushy tail and the yap-yap of a
coyote. Five hundred Texans recently joined in a first an-
nual coyote roundup on Padre Island in South Texas, while
1,000 onlookers and several movie newsreel photographers
watched to see the wily coyotes herded into a large pen
and duly roped. But they watched and watched, and saw
no roping. The coyotes refused to be driven, though an
estimated 26 were slain.

Some people have tact, others tell the truth.

Si Plunkard's dog, Bounce, is a wonder. He sub-conse-
quently treed three 'possums Friday while having a running
fit. — Ozark Life.

The only advantage w< can sei to living in London is you

would get your ten-dollar pipes for five dollars.

SWIFTWATER BILL'S "GREAT SNAKES"
By J. J. Meany

SWIFT Water Bill's account of a highway, 10 miles long,
being built on the back of a sleepy snake, has caused
a curious sportsman to write and inquire as to the
length of the entire suake. The tone of his letter would
imply that he was inclined to doubt Swift Water Bill's
statement that there ever was a snake so large or one so
sleepy as to permit a roadway to be built on his back.

If there is anj thing that gets under Swift Water Bill's
hide, it is to have someone question the truth of any state-
ment he has made.

When this question was submitted to him he took it
under careful consideration, filled up his pipe and started
a volume of smoke skyward which resembled a locomotive
pulling the North Coast Limited over the Evaro hill. He
tore a piece of wrapping paper off a slab of bacon, and
with the stub of a lead pencil, started to "figger."

After almost an hour of hard "figgerin' " he said: "Wall,
sir! I can't tell yer how long that suake wuz. Yu' see
that road wuz built crossways on his back, not length-
wavs, so its kinda' hard tu say just how long he wuz. But
judgin' from other snakes I saw, while I wuz in that coun-
try, I'd say he wuz a medium sized snake."

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