Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and PreservationHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
Our Vanishing Wild Life: Its Extermination and Preservation
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Game-laws -- United States; Wildlife conservation -- United States
But there is a sequel to this story. One of those men was a dealer in
guns and ammunition; and when his customers heard what he had done,
"they simply put him out of business, by refusing to trade with him any
more." He is now washing dirty dishes in a restaurant; but at heart he
is a game-hog, just the same.
Near Bridgeport, Connecticut, a gentleman of my acquaintance owns a fine
estate which is adorned with a trout stream and a superfine trout pond.
Once he invited a business man of Bridgeport to be his guest, and fish
for trout in his pond. On that guest, during a visit of three days all
the finest forms of hospitality were bestowed.
Two weeks later, my friend's game-warden caught that guest, early on a
Sunday morning, _poaching_ on the trout-pond, and spoiled his carefully
arranged get-away.
In his book "Saddle and Camp in the Rockies," Mr. Dillon Wallace tells a
story of a man from New York who in the mountains of Colorado
deliberately corrupted his guides with money or other influences, shot
mountain sheep _in midsummer_, and "got away with it."
In northern Minnesota, George E. Wood has been having a hand-to-hand
fight with the worst community of game-hogs and alien-born poachers of
which I have heard. There appears to be no game law that they do not
systematically violate. The killers seem determined to annihilate the
last head of game, in spite of fines and imprisonments. The foreigners
are absolutely uncontrollable. The latest feature of the war is the
discovery of a tannery in the woods, where the hides of
illegally-slaughtered deer and moose are dressed. Apparently the only
kind of a law that will save the game of northern Minnesota is one that
will totally disarm the entire population.
In Pennsylvania, there exists an association which was formed for the
express purpose of fighting the State Game Commission, preventing the
enactment of a hunter's license law and repealing the law against the
killing of female deer and hornless fawns. The continued existence of
that organization on that basis would be a standing disgrace to the fair
name of Pennsylvania. I think, however, that that organization was
founded on secret selfish purposes, and that ere long the general body
of members will awaken to a realizing sense of their position, and range
themselves in support of the excellent policies of the commission.
A POT-HUNTER is a man or boy who kills game as a business, for the money
that can be derived from its sale, or other use. Such men have the same
feelings as butchers. From their point of view, they can see no reason
why all the game in the world should not be killed and marketed. Like
the feather-dealers, they wish to get out of the wild life all the money
there is in it; that is all. Left to themselves, with open markets they
would soon exterminate the land fauna of the habitable portions of the
globe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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