THE TUNA CLUB AND BRANCHES 77 



"impossible machinery"; that I could land a thirty- 

 pound yellowtail with such a "whip" he honestly 

 believed a figment of my imagination. The day of 

 my first landing at Avalon I saw men casting big 

 hand-Hnes (cod-lines) from the beach, catching yellow- 

 tails from eighteen to thirty-five pounds as fast as 

 they could pull them in. I saw that I had stumbled 

 upon an angling paradise; also, I recognized the fact 

 that no fishing-ground could stand such methods. 



At this time there were no laws of any value relating 

 to the fisheries, and before they could be made effective 

 the looters and "game hogs," found in all lands and 

 climes, had nearly exterminated the abalone and the 

 crawfish, and played havoc with the bait fishes, as 

 sardines, etc. I asked the cooperation of several 

 friends, and the Tuna Club was organized. The 

 original members were Mr. E. L. Doran, of Los Ange- 

 les, Dr. H. K. Macomber, of Pasadena, Mr. Fitch 

 Dewy, of Detroit, Mr. Clifford Scudder, of St. Louis, 

 Mr. Landers, of San Francisco, and myself. The club 

 grew. Men of influence all over the country joined, 

 and gave their moral support, and in a few years an 

 organization of men whose names meant something 

 the world over was formed to advocate fair play for 

 the oceanic game fishes. Among the honorary members 

 who lent their aid and influence and example were the 

 following : 



Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States, 

 elected in 1898, when Governor of New York; Dr. 

 Henry Van Dyke, author of "Fisherman's Luck," etc., 

 elected in 1898; H. H. Markham, ex-Governor of Cali- 

 fornia, elected in 1899; Charles Hallock, of Washing- 

 ton, founder of the "Forest and Stream," elected in 



