Nov. 17, igoo.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
389 
the ground, I picked up my rifle, and, getting close to 
the bison, I brought him down with two more shots, and 
then gave him a final quietus, while Hira Singh, who liad 
now turned up, murmured prayers to "Allah." 
When T gazed on my prostrate foe T could not help 
admiring his splendid proportions. A young bidl in his 
prime, he had offered a stubborn resistance to unequal 
odds, and to the last had shown a bold front to his re- 
lentless foes. What a chase he had given us, and how 
nearly had my success ended in a ghastly tragedy similar 
In poor Dollah's! Forced by circumstances to use an 
inferior weapon against so redoiibtable an antagonist, I 
had been successful, but my advice to others before they 
make a similar attempt is the same as that offered by 
Mr. Punch to people about to get married, and that is 
"Don't." And 1 will further emphasize mV advice by 
syying that any one attacking dangerous game in th'clc 
jungle with light weapons only deserves any catastrophe 
that may befall him, for he is simply courting disaster. 
G. FiTz W. C. 
Warden Loveday's Work. 
From the Annual Report of the Illinois Game Warden. 
It is with keen satisfaction that I am able to say that 
the conditions for game protection, and the outlook for 
the preservation of the beneficial birds and animals of 
the State, are better to-day than they have been at any 
time in the past. It is a certainty that the people of 
Illinois at large are at last awakening to the realization 
of the importance to the State's welfare, that lies in the 
proper protection of the insectivorous and game birds 
that make their homes in our farms, fields and woodlands. 
The labor for the preservation of the different feathered 
species has been so well started that there is no question 
but that the future will see full fruition of the work. 
The farmer is becoming convinced rapidly that protective 
game enactments are as much for his benefit as for the 
good of the sportsman. He is coming to know the full 
vakje that the insectivorous birds are to agriculture and 
he is lending his assistance to the enforcement of the 
s.atutes which, while protecting the birds, are also in 
a large measure protecting the interests of husbandry. 
Although the agriculturist himself may never use a gun, 
he has found that he has as much at stake in the en- 
forcement of the law as any sportsman in the State, 
lo state the case succinctly, everyone ms coming to know 
that the game and bird laws of Illinois are made for the 
benefit of all classes and not for ir#lividuals. 
It was only three j^ears a:go when there existed a 
sent ment in most of the counties in Illinois that almost 
I or bade the oilicers of the law to hope for the conviction 
uf a person charged with the violation of a game law. 
To-day, such has been the progress of public opinion, 
ti'.crc is scarcely a place in Idinois where proof of guilt 
w....i,oi: secure ilie punishment of the offender. When 
.iiist taking hold of the work in an ofticial way, I was 
to.d that it wotdd be a sheer impossibility to enforce the 
inw in the southern half of the State. Undeterred by 
ihc warnings given, the work of enforcing the law was 
ijvgun and in nearly" every county convictions were se- 
^ored, although at the time ihis office was working 
iiiider the old law, which was as lull of errors as a sieve 
!s of holes.v It is undoubtedly true^that many people 
V scaped prosecution, but this grew out of the statute 
i.m.tation of the law. I had but ninety days in which to 
wv^rk, a time wholly insufficient to allow me to cover 
Liioroughiy the country. In addition to this handicap 
the deputy wardens had far less power to act than they 
nave under the law to-day. 
Sentiment has entiieiy changed in the southern sec- 
lions of the State. The people have learned that a game 
law is as good as an.v other law, that it is capable of 
enforcement and deserving of respect. I am glad to be 
abie to say that the southern counties now rival those 
of the north in their desire to see the game and birds 
of the State properly protected. Throughout the entire 
sections under cofisideration the appointment of deputies 
is constantly -asked tor.- The men appointed are. in al- 
most every instance, men of standing in the community 
in which they hve. I am in constant receipt of letters 
asking for information and general literature on game 
l->rqtection. My office hours are kept busy in replying. 
This fact .shows better than anything else, perhaps, how 
interested the people are in the subject and how bright 
the future is for the preservation of the feathered and 
inrred species. 
A little more than two months ago 1 sent out a gen- 
eral inquiry to points throughout the State, having for 
i s object the discovery of how well the game law had 
been respected, and whether or oiot there was any 
marked increase in the animal of bird life of the State. 
1 received in reply scores of letters, and almost without 
ixception the WTiter.s said that never within- their ex- 
Ijerience had the laws been so well observed. The in- 
crease of quail was reported form all sections to be little 
short of phetiom.enal. The reports on prairie chickens 
were generally extremely favorable, and to the effect 
that there are more of this species of bird this season, 
than for many 3-ears past. 
The reports from_ game wardens are similar to those 
which have come from private citizens. In some in- 
.stances wardens and deputies have not made a single 
arrest, but this is not owing to a dereliction of duty, 
hut simply to the fact that in their districts there have 
lieen no violations. It is undeniably a fact that having 
wardens scattered all over the country, with ample power 
to act. has had a deterrent effect on would-be offenders 
a.cainst the game laws. 
Immediately after my installation as State Game 
Warden under the old game law in May. 1897. almost 
niy first thought was that if I would do the most good 
lor the people of the State in the way of protecting and 
preserving their game supply, T mtist put a stop to tin- 
work of the market hunter. In order to do this I felt 
that T must stoo the handling of game in our markets 
out of season. I was aware that much game was bought 
and sold in the close season, and that this was particu- 
larly the case in Chicago. The question wa&-liow to 
effectually put a stop to tliis illegal traffic. 
Several self-styled game protectors advised me to 
make war on the common carriers. It struck me forci- 
bly, however, that inasmuch as these advice g-ivers. al- 
thotigh ficcf^rding- to tjieir own statements they had been 
working for years, had accomplished nothing for game 
protection, it would hardly be wise for me to follow their 
counsel. It did not seem to me at all probable that the 
general managers of our great transportation lines and 
express companies could be in league with a lot of pot- 
hunters and South M'ater street law violators. As a 
result of this feeling I wrote to the traffic managers, 
told them what I wished to accomplish, how I proposed 
to do it, and recjuested their co-operation in the protec- 
tion of _game. I received a reply to eveiy letter, and 
without exception, the answers were expressive of not 
only a willingness but of an anxiety to help me in the 
enforcement of the law and in the bringing of all violators 
to justice. From the men in attthority in the express 
and railroad companies were sent letters to every agent 
in the State with explicit orders to render me all as- 
sistance that was possible, to secure the law's enforce- 
ment. .Since that time sub-agents throughout the State 
have been my active assistants, many times going out of 
their towns as witnesses for me, and this at the expense 
of the companies which they represented. In view of 
this fact, I think the people owe the common carriers 
a debt of gratitude for the part they have taken in the 
securing of the increase in our game supply. 
There are cases where the agents of the trarjsportation 
companies are deceived so cleverly by unscrupulous 
game shippers that they cannot be blamed for falling 
victims to the deception. Here are some cases which 
will mark the point which I wish to make. A box con- 
taining two dozen preserve jars with the usual airtight 
screw tops was shipped. The lid of the box was so 
carelessly put on that the tops of the preserve jars could 
be readily seen. This apparent carelessness was really 
to aid in the deception, for the preserve jars contained 
a gross of quail. One box which was marked "Rabbits" 
contained thirty-two of those animals, but they had all 
been "dressed out" and five dozen qtiaii were found 
sewed up within the carcasses. Milk cans are often 
used to contain birds and animals shipped out of season. 
Cases with eggs at the top and bottom also are often 
pressed into service. The birds or animals are placed 
between the egg layers, and are thus effectively con- 
cealed. A small barrel containing ten dozen quail was 
put within a larger barred and filled in above, below and 
around with hickory nuts. A box marked "Cash Regis- 
ter" held within its compass two dozen prairie chicken 
and forty-two quail. Two saddles of venison were 
shipped inside two bales of hay. Two large packing 
cases, marked "Household goods" and with bed quilts 
and ticks plainly visible, contained over two hundred 
partridges, and several saddles of venison. Between the 
boards of one of these packing cases, a sewing machine 
leg, stuck out, and there was an old clock packed away 
inside that rang an alarm every time the case was moved. 
This particular instance marks better than any other, 
perhaps, the amount of ingenuity that law-breakers will 
exercise to violate the plainly written statutes. 
The statute expressly forbids the marketing of Illinois 
killed game except water fowl, and I am glad to be able 
to state that notwithstanding the tneans taken to violate 
the law the marketing of Illinois game has been practi- 
call}'^ stopped. In the years 1897 and 1898 thousands of 
birds were seized while in transit to Chicago dealers 
from dift'erent parts of the State. All those shippers 
that coidd be traced within the time limit allowed by 
the then exi.sting statute were punished. This had the 
desired effect. Although the same care and diligence 
have been exercised recently that were exercised then, 
' only three packages of Illinois game were seized in 
Chicago during- the last year. In these three cases both 
the shippers and receivers were punished and made to 
contribute to the game protection fimd. 
In the months of November and December, 1898, I 
gave up my time to the southern part of the State, where 
I went to stop the shipments of game to St. Louis, and 
to the cities of the East. My efforts .were rewarded by 
the seizttres of great quantities of birds in nearly every 
place that I visited. In the main this game was intended 
for the markets of St. Louis. The game dealers of that 
city made a great ado through the newspapers, making 
all sorts of threats of what they were going "to do to me." 
The abuse and threats had no other effect than to help 
me in the suppression of the illegal traffic. The shippers 
of the birds were in many instances traced and punished, 
though I am sorry to say that a large number were al- 
lowed to escape through the jnistaken kindness of the 
country justices. In the next year, 1899, during the 
same months I made the same trip much better prepared 
for the work than I had been the year previous. This 
time my labor was reinforced by that of several men who 
accomnanied me, but the effect of the rigorous prosecu- 
tions of 1898 was shown by the fact that the trip resulted 
in only one seizure, that of a small box containing five 
dozen quail. 
The gravitud? of the people to the last General .Vssem- 
bly for the passage of the non-resident hunters license 
law is practically without measure. The statute prohibits 
residents of other States from killing game in Illinois 
without procuring a license so to do, at a cost of ten 
dollars. The people of the border counties, and more 
particularly of that section near the city of St. Louis, 
have the most reason to be pleased at this paragraph 
in the s atute. Heretofore the farmers of the State have 
been annoyed almost beyond endurance by hunters and 
their dogs who overran the farms, killing everything 
that they could find that could either fly or crawl. Even 
the domestic fowls and the pigs and sheep of the agri- 
culturist were not safe from the irresponsible mob of 
Inmters that infested the fields. This year not one com- 
plaint that any depredations have been committed has 
come to my knowledge. The people from other States 
that have taken out licenses are real sportsmen, having 
shown that they are such by this action, and they are not 
men who would infringe on the rights of those over 
whose land they shoot. The irresponsible gunners who 
would violate the law by shooting withottt legal per- 
mission so to do, know that our wardens are doing their 
duty, and so they are afraid even to make the attempt 
to trespa.ss. Only four cases of this latter kind have 
been reported. In each of these instances prosecution 
has follewed and a conviction been secured. 
The first of these cases was a flagrant one. It was 
that of Frank Eberle. of Ruriington, Iowa, who came 
into Henderson county, Illinois, to shoot ducks, with- 
out a license. He was arrested promptly by Deputy 
Warden Deklague. After a trial he was found guilty in 
the county court, but he appealed to federal jurisdiction 
on the ground that the license law was unconstitutional. 
The case was tried November 6, 1899, before Judge 
Kohlsaat of the United States bench. Eminent counsel 
were employed on both sides and the case was warmly 
contested, but the presiding judge, after due considera- 
tion, decided for the People of the State of Illinois. 
Another case was that of Herman Anderson, who 
undertook to ignore the law by duck shooting on the 
preserves of the Crystal Lake Club without providing 
himself with a license. He was arrested by the same 
deputy who apprehended Eberle. Anderson refused to 
obey the officer of the law and threatened to shoot him 
if he attempted to do his duty. This fellow was not 
brought to book until extradition papers were issued 
for him. He was taken to Oquawka. the county seat of 
Henderson county, where he was tried and found guilty 
on three counts: Assault, trespassing and shooting with- 
out a license. 
Recommendation for a License* 
I would earnestly recommend to our next General 
Assembly what I consider to be the absolute necessity 
of amending our present ssk.me law, by adding a section 
which shall provide that each of our own citizens who 
wishes to shoot within the State shall pay a license fee, 
not to exceed one dollar a year, for the privilege. This 
license would in no sense be a hardship, and it would 
result in the raising of sufficient fimds for the protection 
of game without calling upon the general fund which 
comes direct from the taxpayers. The men who kill the 
game would be in reality, by the payment of the small 
fee, simply providing for the further increase of the birds 
and animals and for the perpetuation through the com- 
ing years of their own field sports. The general tax- 
payer who does not care to shoot would be relieved of 
a burden. The money thus raised would, at a fair esti- 
mate, amount to $25,000 each year. This sum added to 
the money collected from fines and from the payment of 
non-resident licenses would create a fund sufficiently 
large to pay the deputies for the hard and conscientious 
work they perform in the pursuit and prosecution of 
offenders against the law. 
Another excellent object to be attained by this local 
license fee would be the placing in the hands of the 
commissioner and his subordinates a record of every 
gunner in the State. In addition to this, it would aid 
largely in the work of arresting non-resident trespassers, 
because evry shooter would be obliged to be possessed 
of a license of one kind or the other. There is not the 
slightest doubt that at present some persons living be- 
yond the State limits declare themselves residents of 
Illinois, and the wardens, fearful of making a serious 
mistake, let these doubtful hunters go their way. 
Another recommendation that I would urge upon the 
Legislature is that spring shooting should be abolished 
bylaw. The birds coming from the south in the spring 
are, so to speak, birds that are coming home. As a 
matter of fact many of the ducks, geese, snipe and plover 
are mated before they leave the limits of Illinois. The 
continuous shooting at these fowl from the moment 
they cross the Ohio river until they pass into Wisconsin 
prevents thousands of the mated ones from breeding in 
sections of the State favorable to the raising of their 
broods. With the entire doing away of the spring- 
shooting, good fall shooting would be assured. Every 
duck killed in April means twelve less for November. 
Every jacksnipe Icilled in the spring means one brood 
less for the autumn. It is a fact that in the spring water, 
fowl, like all other kinds of birds, for that matter, are ^ 
unfit for the "table. They are poor and tough and tens 
of thousands of them go to waste in the market for the 
lack of purchasers. There are mapy other reasons why 
spring shooting should be stopped, and most of these 
will sttggcst themselves at once to the true sportsman. 
"Wardens and Deputy "Wardens. 
There have been appointed throughout the State 274 
Avardens and deputy wardens, and 3^et, as a matter of 
fact, the country is not properly covered in some of the 
coimties. The reason for this state of thngs is that in the 
tmcovered places I have not been able to secure the 
services of reputable and competent men. Under present 
t-onditions it is a hard matter to get citizens of standing 
to accept deputy wardenships. As a matter of fact, all 
these otiicers shotdd be paid salaries for certain months 
in the year, and in addition should get traveling ex- 
penses from one county to another while on duty. 
Many of the wardens in the service are business men 
of means, who have not accepted the position for gain, 
but simply because they love the birds and desire to see 
them protected. Many of these men in their reports of 
what they have done show that they have actually lost 
money, in sums ranging from $25 to $150 in individual 
cases, because of their devotion to their work. Almost 
every line of business and every profession are repre- 
sented in the ranks of the wardens. There are lawyers, 
doctors, senators and representatives, whose personality 
has as .strong influence in working good to the cause as 
has the prosecution of occasional offenders. 
Seizures of Game. 
The keeping of a close watch at all railroad stations 
by my wardens and deputies during the last year has 
resulted practically in the stopping of the shipping of 
game to the markets from points within the State. After 
the old offenders among the shippers had suffered some 
losses that hurt their pocketbooks, they stopped the 
practice. As the result of this strict enforcement of the 
law very little game has been seized within the last year. 
.After the beginning of the close season, February 5, only 
fi_\ e packages of game came to this market from other 
States and none from our own. The seized packages 
contained a mixed lot of birds, prairie chicken, ducks, 
snipe and plover. Nearly all the birds were in an ex- 
tremely bad condition. Altogether there were seized 
three hundred and seventy-two birds, which were as- 
sorted, and the good ones sent to cold storage to remain 
unt!l_ Oct._ I, when they will be sold or given to 
charitable institutions. One of the seized packages con- 
tained some hen prairie chickens with breasts destitute 
