98 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Get-Together Meeting in Missouri 
Fishing and Gun Clubs Well Represented in St. Louis Gathering to Discuss 
New Game Bills 
Dy J. R. Hickman, Secretary Missouri Fish and Game League. 
T HE Legislative Committee of the Missouri 
Fish and Game League held a State meet¬ 
ing at the Marquette Hotel, St. Louis, 
Tuesday, Dec. 29th. Representatives of the dif¬ 
ferent hunting and fishing clubs, throughout the 
State, attended this “get together” meeting. 
The object of this meeting was to go over the 
game laws and clear up some of the sections 
that had caused trouble on account of their 
wording, and also make a few changes and addi¬ 
tions that would strengthen the admirable laws 
the State of Missouri has on the statutes. This 
convention developed the idea that the State of 
Missouri is awake to the fact that state game 
conservation can be brought about by unity of 
action. 
The framing of a game bill that will meet the 
demands and conditions of residents of the 
prairie lands of North Missouri and at the same 
time meet the approval of residents of the swamp 
lands of southeast Missouri, or the Ozarks in 
Central Missouri, is practically impossible, but 
this difficulty was overcome by the sportsmen 
getting together on a give and take basis, and 
when the meeting adjourned, the entire action 
of the day’s proceedings was indorsed by repre¬ 
sentatives from all sections of the state, who 
will work for the passage of the bills at the 
next session of the Legislature. 
The Interstate Sportsmen’s Association, an 
organization of about two thousand members 
scattered over the states of Missouri, Kansas, 
Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Illinois and Indiana, 
sent delegates to the convention. Representa¬ 
tives from gun clubs from the great duck shoot¬ 
ing clubs along the Mississippi, met with the 
fishing clubs of Southeast Missouri; Kansas City 
and Missouri River duck shooters’ clubs, helped 
boost the pet hobbies of the Ozark Fishing clubs 
or quail shooters. Thus, Missouri sportsmen will 
go before the next session of the Legislature as 
one body, and the entire state is going to back 
the bills that were recommended at the St. Louis 
conference. 
The convention stood as a solid body for 
more active enforcement of the state game laws. 
The Federal game bill, protecting migratory wild 
fowl had the hearty support of the Missouri, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska sportsmen, 
who were led to believe that when the Federal 
Department took hold of the proposition, it 
would be handled in a safe and sane and busi¬ 
ness-like way, and that the sportsmen of this 
section would be given due consideration. 
These states are neither in the breeding or the 
wintering zone, and there is very little shooting 
in the fall, as the sloughs are dry and the birds 
go further south. In the spring, the winter snows 
fill the marsh lands, and there is a short season 
when the ducks are here in the spring, but the 
Federal authorities will not permit shooting at 
this time. This Federal law may be declared 
unconstitutional and the sportsmen of this sec¬ 
tion of the country do not know where they are 
at. The Government will not make arrests or 
prosecute outlaw hunters and the sportsman that 
wants to observe the laws, has to stand idly by 
and watch the “outlaws” go after the birds- 
This section of the country should be placed 
in a “third zone” or passing zone, as it is neither 
a breeding or wintering zone and the seasons 
are variable. 
Under the circumstances, this convention de¬ 
cided not to make any changes in the state laws 
covering the season on migratory birds. 
Among some of the changes suggested, that of 
seasons and bag limit may be the most impor¬ 
tant. The present law permits one to kill two 
turkeys and ten other birds of each kind, or to 
have in possession four turkeys or fifteen birds 
of any other family. It is proposed to limit the 
kill on one calendar day to one turkey and fifteen 
birds of any other family, or not to have in 
possession at one time, more than two turkeys 
and twenty-five birds of each and any other 
family. 
The squirrel season has been lengthened from 
July first to November thirtieth to June first to 
December thirty-first. Woodcock' has been 
closed the entire year for a number of years, but 
it is proposed to have an open season the same 
as quail. 
The present open season on quail is December 
fiist to December thirty-first; the season has 
been moved up to November tenth to December 
tenth, so as to give shooting before the ground 
is covered with sleet and snow. 
The dove season, now September first to 
December thirty-first, will be changed to August 
first to December tenth, closing at the beginning 
of the quail season. 
Selling of game is now prohibited, but a new 
provision will make it a penalty to store game in 
any commercial establishment, and a clause has 
been added, making it a misdemeanor to adver¬ 
tise for, or solicit legal game birds in or out of 
season. 
The contaminating waters from mills, or in¬ 
dustries, flowing over land to the streams of the 
state will be placed under the supervision of the 
State Game and Fish Commission. 
A new section covering the size of fish that 
can be taken for commercial purposes will be 
added to prevent undersized fish being sent to 
the market, the idea being that the fish should 
be permited to spawn once before they are 
caught for commercial purposes. 
A new section will make it unlawful to sell 
frogs during the months of May and June. It 
will be unlawful to operate a game farm without 
first taking out a license. A game warden will 
be permitted to inspect the clothing of a hunter, 
if he has reason to believe game is being con¬ 
cealed. 
The fee for a non-resident license will be re¬ 
duced from $25.00 to $10.00, and special identi¬ 
fication marks must be shown on all licenses, or 
state that there are none. 
The $5-00 state or $10.00 county hunter’s 
license will also permit one to fish with artificial 
bait, or a special license to fish in the state with 
artificial bait will cost $2.00. An unnaturalized 
citizen may not obtain a license to hunt, until 
after he has taken out his “first papers.” 
One dollar will be added to all court costs in 
prosecutions, in order to pay the clerk for mak¬ 
ing out report, which is to be made to the Fish 
and Game Commissioner, as a matter of record. 
It will be unlawful to catch more than twenty- 
five legal game fish in one day with artificial 
bait, or to have more than fifty fish in possession 
when so caught. 
A copy of the above proposed change will be 
sent to each hunting and fishing club in the State 
of Missouri. 
“REYNARD AN ARTFUL DODGER.” 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
1 he description of a red fox hiding in a 
hollow tree by Robert Page Lincoln in your 
issue of December 19th is so nearly like one of 
my own experiences with sly reynard that with 
your kind indulgence I will relate in as few 
words as possible a similar one. In a certain 
spruce swamp fringing a meadow lived one of 
the foxiest, if not quite, the foxiest fox I ever 
met during my twenty-five years of fox hunt¬ 
ing. It was no trouble to start this particular 
animal any day, for he was always to be found 
in the above mentioned spruce thicket. To the 
right of this thicket rose a sharp hill or moun¬ 
tain some 500 feet high covered with a hard 
wood growth of beach and birch. A snake pole 
fence wormed across this mountain's cone shaped 
crest and converted part of it into a sheep pas¬ 
ture. Whenever the hounds jumped this par¬ 
ticular fox he led them straight up to the top 
of the Mountain’s peak and by the time I could 
scramble after them to the summit, the dogs 
would invariably be at fault. This fox got on 
my nerves, and I studied him faithfully but could 
find no solution of the problem he had set me, 
in fact there was something uncanny about the 
whole business. At this time I owned some fif¬ 
teen trained fox hounds, among them as fine 
dogs as ever put their nose in a track, including 
Ben Butler, than whom no finer trailer or truer 
driver ever lived. One frosty morning in Novem¬ 
ber I took Ben out alone and before sunrise his 
powerful rich voice echoed and re-echoed 
against the Mountain’s breast, from the little 
meadow at its base, where old reynard had been 
