May 22, 1909.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
815 
Round About the Crescent City. 
New Orleans, La., May 15. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: President Frank M. Miller, of the 
State Game and Fish Commission, is enthusiastic 
over the prospects for the coming season and 
has expressed the opinion that it will see at 
least 50 per cent, more game within the State 
than at any time within recent years. President 
Miller made a strong speech before the Louis¬ 
iana Press Association at its annual convention, 
held at Covington a few days ago. He esti¬ 
mated the value of the game killed during the 
past season in Louisiana at $5,000,000, predicated 
upon reports received from the game wardens 
from each parish (county) in the State. He 
says this is a very conservative estimate and 
it is more than probable the aggregate value ex¬ 
ceeded the amount stated. Mr. Miller asserts 
that the value of the game next season in Louis¬ 
iana will be at a very low estimate, the lowest 
minimum $10,000,000. He called special atten¬ 
tion to the services of the game wardens and 
explained that they have exerted a wholesome 
influence over the State, and the public generally 
is obeying the hunting and fishing laws. He 
stated, however, that the various duties of the 
wardens are new to them and it required several 
months to properly instruct them and get the 
proper service. He explained that during the 
coming season the wardens will have to perform 
much more active service. In a remote country 
parish one warden rode horseback forty-eight 
miles and the following day in the same fashion 
covered fifty-two miles. 
There has been some discussion among the 
country weekly editors of the question of elect¬ 
ing the game wardens by a direct vote of the 
people in the several parishes. President Miller 
says his commission is opposed to electing game 
wardens at the polls, for the reason that the 
public is not always the best judge of the best 
qualified man for the position, while on the other 
hand the commission and the governor of the 
State make a study of the matter and know the 
qualifications of each man appointed and pre¬ 
cisely what is required of him. Another point 
made by Mr. Miller is the fact that when a 
warden is elected by the people he cannot be 
removed by the commission without consider¬ 
able trouble and friction and the holding of 
another election for his successor, and in the 
meantime the protection of the game will suffer. 
The game commission is also opposed to elect¬ 
ing or appointing Confederate veterans, for the 
reason that the duties are too trying and taxing 
on their strength. 
The commission will have the licenses for 
hunters ready for distribution on July i. Mr. 
Miller has ordered 100,000 license blanks. Last 
year there were about 77,000 licenses issued to 
the hunters, and it is estimated this number will 
be greatly increased. Resident hunters pay $i 
as a license fee, while a non-resident hunter is 
charged $25 for the privilege. The commission 
will recommend to the next Legislature an 
amendment to the law and ask that the license 
fee for the market or professional hunter be 
placed at $10, while the pleasure or casual hun¬ 
ter will be charged $i as the present law pro¬ 
vides. 
A report from Plaquemines parish, located 
near the mouth of the Mississippi River, just 
received by the game commission, will serve to 
show the enormous amount of game killed in 
Louisiana during the season which has recently 
closed. This report is as follows, based on the 
most careful estimate and conservative figuring: 
Ducks killed, 965,000; muskrats, 500,000; deer, 
325; doves, 300; quail, 500; squirrels, 500; brant 
or geese, 1,500; jacksnipe, 2,700; otters, 350; 
raccoons, 35,000, and minks, 12,000. The total 
value of this game from Plaquemines parish is 
put down at $411,000 by Mr. Miller, and this is 
a very low figure, and he thinks it is probably 
nearer $500,000. The value of the muskrat skins 
alone is $75,000 from this parish. The total 
muskrats killed in Louisiana during the past 
season is 5,000,000 and next season it is esti¬ 
mated that fully 10,000,000 muskrats will be 
slaughtered. 
Another interesting report is from St. Bernard 
parish, which adjoins Orleans parish, in which 
the city of New Orleans is located. This report 
COYOTE DEN AND YOUNG. 
shows the total value of game to be $61,287, 
and the parish is one of the smallest in the 
State. The report in detail is: Ducks, 41,000; 
poule d’eau, 6,000; snipe, 550; doves, 250; deer, 
52, and muskrats, 125,000. 
The open season for the catching of green 
trout or black bass begins in this State to-day. 
May 15. This fish may be caught with rod, 
hook and line, but not for the general market 
with seines. It is thought a large number of 
fishermen will now go over to the several fish¬ 
ing places on the Louisville and Nashville road 
and try to land black bass. Large numbers take 
the late Saturday afternoon trains for Lake 
Catherine, Chef Menteur, Lookout, the Rigolets, 
Waveland and other places and return to New 
Orleans the following Sunday. The hunting sea¬ 
son for killing papabotes, snipe, sandpipers and 
chorooks closes Saturday, May 15. No game 
birds of any description can be killed in Louis¬ 
iana until Oct. I; and the hunters will have to 
take a rest until next fall in this State. 
F. G. G. 
Digging out Coyotes. 
Mazeppa Ranch, Cal., April 25.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: I am engaged at present on one 
of the largest ranches in Northern California 
(30,000 acres) trying to exterminate, if possible, 
the festive coyote by the dig-’em-out process, by 
back trailing the female coyote to her den. 
This, the month of April, is when the coyote 
brings forth her young, and so when success¬ 
ful in trailing her to her den one strikes at the 
root of the pest to sheep raisers. The work of 
trailing down or spying out a coyote den is a 
strenuous undertaking, especially so when the 
ground lies bare of snow or the lay of the land 
becomes somewhat rocky. Much is to be learned 
by close observation of the sneakiijg, skulking 
nature of the coyote and where he is wont to 
depredate. The locality of a coyote den differs, 
accordingly as the country is mountain or plain. 
In a mountainous country the den of a female 
coyote is found directly over the comb of a 
ridge on a south slope where, if a field glass 
is brought to sweep the slope, a den is likely to 
be discovered. Should the slope be dotted by 
brush or bush, then one’s only recourse is to 
bring into use his natural tact as a trailer. I 
should not advise the use of dog or hound if 
the locality of the den is clo^ at hand, as the 
scent will be confusing, for the coyote guards 
his back track to his den at this time of the year. 
If too much haste is made, or the approach is 
bungling, the mother coyote will pick up her 
litter and make for more inaccesible ground. 
Patience, keen use of eye and good judgment 
must be used to trail a bitch coyote to her den. 
When the pups are about two or three weeks 
old the male coyote is permitted to approach the 
den, and in a month or six weeks the whole 
coyote family, male, female and her litter, will 
be assembled outside the den some warm sun¬ 
shiny day. 
When the den is located, quick action is re¬ 
quired, and to that end a short handled shovel, 
a pick, and an implement to drag out the mother 
are the chief, tools of the profession. Now the 
dirt and gravel will fly and when you listen 
occasionally you soon will hear sounds in the 
den, and when you drag forth the old one you 
will club or shoot her as you see fit. The pups 
can be taken alive if desired or they can be 
flayed on the common heap, the bounty being 
the same dead or alive. 
Now, this short essay of the coyote and the 
method to get at his collar is to the point to 
the best of my knowledge. H. S. P. 
Ducks in the Storm. 
Minneapolis, Minn., May 15 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: Residents who sold their over¬ 
coats to the old clothes man are not the only 
creatures to be caught unawares by the genial 
May time. May i a flock of ducks, north bound, 
settled down on the lake in Loring Park. True 
to their instinct they had turned tail on the 
sunny South to seek the bracing spring time of 
the Northwest. They found it very bracing. 
From the disturbance they made they got all the 
spring time they wanted. It was a sorely puzzled 
flock of ducks. On its way it had been over¬ 
taken by chilling winds and from the dejected 
mien of the leader, he had been accused of get¬ 
ting his poles mixed. Instead of flying to 
equable climes the ducks evidently were afraid 
they had discovered the north pole. They took 
wing later in the day. 
Robert Page Lincoln. 
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