Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 529 



The Coot is not generally held in high esteem as an article of 

 food. Those who have put themselves on record in the books are 

 almost unanimous in the opinion that it is worthless for food. As 

 a matter of fact, however, the Coot is scarcely inferior to most 

 species of ducks. Coots, particularly young ones, skinned and 

 fried, or even old ones parboiled, then baked, are quite as delicious 

 as any duck. It is, however, doubtless true that the delicacy of 

 flavor, not only of the Coot, but also of the canvasback and other 

 ducks, is largely determined by the kinds of food they have been 

 eating. The wild celery (Vallisnena spiralis) is sufficiently 

 abundant in Lake Maxinkuckee to give the Coot frequenting it a 

 delicate flavor which has received high praise from all who are 

 familiar with it. 



Beginning soon after their arrival in the fall the coots are 

 hunted relentlessly until the constant persecution or the freezing 

 over of the lake compels them to leave. Soon after they come in 

 numbers certain local pot-hunters and temporary cottagers, and 

 people from various parts as far away as Terre Haute, Indian- 

 apolis and Logansport, who come to the lake for a few days shoot- 

 ing, begin to bombard the coots from early morning until late in 

 the evening. Unfortunately not all of these are sportsmen ; in fact 

 the majority of them are not. Many of them are mere pot-hunters 

 or butchers who possess none of the instincts of the true sports- 

 man and who continue to pursue the birds as long as they are in 

 sight. The methods of these pot-hunters are reprehensible in 

 every way. They shoot everything in sight whether edible or not, 

 including coots, helldivers, grebes, tern, and loons. The Coot has 

 a particular fascination for them, though few of them make any 

 use of it ; they simply kill or cripple the coots, helldivers and grebes 

 in pure wantonness and leave them to float ashore and decay. Some 

 of these pot-hunters use naphtha or gasoline launches (contrary 

 to the law) , and keep up their fusilade until after sundown (also 

 unlawful) ; and some of them have been known to pursue the fowl 

 on Sunday, in violation of the law. 



On October 25, 1900, the remains of about 100 coots were found 

 in a pile at the small green house at the south end of the lake. The 

 next day one hunter shot 12 coots, and on the following day two 

 pot-hunters got 34. On November 9, two other pot-hunters from 

 Indianapolis, men who ought to know better, killed 36 coots and 

 ducks, and the next day they got 50. They did their bombarding 

 from a small launch. 



Fortunately a few of these pot-hunters have been caught and 

 fined heavily. Public sentiment in favor of fish and game protec- 



