This edition shares a double feature of articles that appeared in separate editions of the MAINE WOODS newspaper published in Phillips Maine. Rangeley did not have a local paper (Perish the Thought!) at the time. We hope you enjoy it.

Contemporary commentary found in italics.

This from Page 2 of the MAINE WOODS January 31,1902

Fish Hawk Takes a Double

Few people realize the size of the fish that this strange, though common, bird is capable of carrying away. When a boy the writer lived near the shore of Umbagog Lake, which was a favorite haunt for the osprey. There is scarcely a sight more thrilling to the young mind than to watch the performance of one of these birds as it lingers around high in the air until it spies a fish that it thinks it can manage. It will be noticed that the breast and belly of all fishing birds are mostly white. The osprey gets the sun at its back with its shadow on, or near, the fish, then descends with a rush and plunge, sometimes falling like a stone from a height of a hundred feet, into the water. The writer once saw one rise with the utmost difficulty with what seemed to be a very large fish, and when over the land let it fall, but went on and passed quite close to the watcher. I am positive that it still carried a good-sized fish. At the spot where the first fish was seen to fall was found a sucker, which weighed a good pound, and the one it bore away to its nest was fully just as large. The strangest part of the story is how it happened to get hold of two fish at once.

Many years ago, I was fishing on the Rapid River at the outlet of Pond-in-the River. The Rapid flows into Umbagog. I was pleased to witness a Bald Eagle swoop down to capture a decent sized trout and he then flew up about 50 feet just over my head. Suddenly, an Osprey dove down in an attempt to make the eagle let go of the fish to defend itself. The Osprey was the clear aggressor in the aerial combat that followed until the eagle tired of occasionally having to fly talons up in self-defense, despite it being the larger bird. Our national symbol flew off and the osprey seized its stolen prize in a talon skimming glide. It was an unforgettable experience.

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The following article appeared in the January 6, 1906, issue of the MAINE WOODS and shares some enlightening statistics and commentary on a public safety issue that remains ‘hot’ to this very day. I was so tempted to engage in some dark humor regarding some of the incidents below, and despite that 124 years shouldn’t be ‘too soon’, I’ll let you develop your own. 

ON SHOOTING ACCIDENTS. FISH AND GAME COMMISSION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE

Several Instances Cited Where the Accident Was Not Caused by Hunting.

Writer Thinks Blame Should Be Placed on Shoulders of Individual Concerned

There’s a novel approach

The Kennebec Journal publishes the following compilation, by the Fish and Game Department of the State of Maine, of the accidents of 1905. God Save the People of the State of Maine:

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Joseph Denaco, Brownville, killed by Charles Philpot of Cornville. Coroner’s verdict: “That Mr. Denaco came to his death by a bullet fired from a rifle in the hands of Charles Philpot at Barnard Plantation and that the shooting was careless negligence.”

James Green of Perham shot by Leonard Green of same place.

Hiram Grant of Solon accidentally shot himself and died.

Roy Jordan of North Lamoine shot himself.

Linnie N. Morrill of Belgrade shot by Harvey Parker. The leg was amputated.

John Glidden of Burlington was accidentally shot.

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Horace Butler of South Gorham accidentally shot himself.

Joseph Wellington of Houlton accidentally shot himself.

Lorenzo Weir of Wytopitlock accidentally shot by his companion.

Basil Reed of West Tremont shot by Roy Eaton, instantly killed.

George Crocker age 14 of Woolwich shot by Fremont J Crocker 16.

Almon Gilley of Caswell plantation shot by Lorenzo Boerk. Instantly killed.

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Daniel B. Durgin of The Forks accidentally shot and killed by Herman Popp of Boston.

Ralph Stimson of Gardiner shot by O. Marston while rabbit hunting.

Samuel Drost accidentally shot himself near Belfast.

Wellman Reed of Glenwood was shot by his wife near Mattawamkeag.

Arthur Minister of Gardiner accidentally shot himself.

Mrs. Jack Hatt of Machias narrowly escaped being struck by stray bullet.

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Lewis Emmons of Milo shot by his father while cleaning revolver.

Muriel Whitten, 14 years of age, shot by playmate named W. Stackpole while playing with rifle at Limerick.

Benjamin Kimball shot in Bridgton by stray bullet or attempt to murder.

Charles Black of Lewiston claimed to have been accidentally shot by George Glodenis. Chester H. Norton, engineer on Boston & Maine railroad, shot in back ’by stray bullet while running train through Deering Junction.

Waitress, name not given, narrowly escaped being struck by stray bullet in Portland restaurant.

Mrs. George Staples, 71 years of age, shot by small boy.

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Paul Edwards, 8 years old, shot and instantly killed by 12-years-old brother.

James Lawrence of Eastport shot while taking a gun from boat.

We have redacted the article here and it clearly demonstrates that some of those injured or killed in 1905 were from careless hunting, reckless firearm handling accidents, and very few incidents of intentional malice or violent crime. The article went on to list 13 additional victims of gunshot wounds in Maine 125 years ago. The article continues…

Oxford, January 13, 1906. To the Editor of the Maine Woods: The above article was clipped from the columns of one of our leading agricultural papers, though the original article is credited to the “Kennebec Journal.” That the article was reprinted with the intention of misleading its readers into believing that all of these accidents were caused directly by our game laws.

Please note that there were no hunter orange requirements or mandatory hunter education programs, nor any requirements in the law to fully identify a target and what lied downrange of it. Thanks to those modern common-sense measures, hunting accidents have been reduced dramatically.

The article lists 39 total victims in 1905 and includes folks that shot themselves. Maine’s population then was approximately 723,000 in 1905. This indicates that .0054% of the population were gunshot victims. Today, Maine’s population is 1,405,000. In an average year, 166 people die and 126 are wounded by firearms here in Maine. Suicides are not included in the current statistics. Therefore, .020% of the total current population of Maine suffer gunshot wounds, 166 resulting in death. Maine is currently ranked number 43 in gun violence in the US, so we are better off than all but seven states. A solemn “achievement,” for sure. What does all this mean? What stood out to me was that the percent increase in gun related injury and death from 1905 to 2025 is…270.37%! Being one who admires our predecessors for their integrity, faith, and civility, this number was meaningful to me and more about what we have degraded to as a society than about guns themselves. There are so many variables and factors to consider here and I will defer to the reader on what this all means, however, I found the old article quite interesting, it prompted some research and there you have it. Back then, as it does now, the debate raged on …

It is plainly evident from the introduction of the article, even if it were not a well-known fact that this agricultural paper mentioned, incited chiefly by personal animus, has for the past few years been doing all it could to retard the work of our Fish and Game Commission and to repeal, if possible, our game laws.

We can learn a great deal from history. Stay Calm and Carry On as you venture forth to make some great Rangeley History of your own!

(Sources for Maine population stats: www.macrotrends.net and for gun deaths and injuries; www.thetrace.org)

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