Jan. 8, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
57 
In Louisiana. 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 29. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: The very cold weather of the last 
ten days has had rather a stimulating effect on 
sportsmen as a whole, although very few went 
out during the holidays to shoot ducks, quail, 
turkeys, deer or other game. The cold rains and 
the blizzard were most too severe for the aver¬ 
age man to brave in the marshes. Many of the 
market hunters were out and the result is shown 
in the increased number of deer, turkeys and 
ducks in the public markets. Doves are perhaps 
not so plentiful this year as last season. It has 
been too cold for fishing and the fish are quite 
scarce in this city. Several large parties are 
being organized to go to the Rigolets, Lake 
Catherine, the Barataria section and Grand Isle 
during the next day or two to hunt turkeys, 
deer and ducks. A number will go to The Jump 
at the mouth of the river to shoot ducks which 
are very plentiful there. Some fur animals are 
being trapped in the northern portion of the 
State, and muskrats near here. 
Dr. Lyman Abbott, editor of the Outlook, 
stopped over a short while in New Orleans with 
his daughter while en route to take part in a 
celebration at the Louisiana State University at 
Baton Rouge. Dr. Abbott gave out an inter¬ 
view to the local papers advocating the conser¬ 
vation of the natural resources of each State. 
He said that this was a subject of paramount 
importance and the people should be aroused 
and made to consider it. Dr. Abbott believes 
it will not be long before the forests as well as 
the coal fields will all be gone. He referred to 
the game in the forests and says when the trees 
are destroyed there will be no game of any con¬ 
sequence. His views on this subject attracted 
considerable attention and were read with much 
interest. Dr. Abbott believes the situation de¬ 
mands attention at once by both the Federal and 
State Governments. 
The game commission has adopted a system 
of daily reports from the various wardens over 
the State. These reports are sent in at the end 
of each week and the exact daily work of each 
warden is recorded. It is thought this system 
will work much better than a monthly report 
giving a general review of the work. The statis¬ 
tics in the daily reports are much more reliable 
and gives the commission an opportunity to have 
• errors or exaggerations corrected at once. It is 
making a special effort to obtain accurate re¬ 
ports of the kill in each parish and the estimates 
made on the most reliable authority are always 
rather toned down than increased. 
President Miller and Mr. Job, the expert orni¬ 
thologist, are engaged in a speaking tour this 
week in several of the lower parishes. Mr. Job 
is studying the birds of Louisiana and making 
extensive observations. The object of these lec¬ 
turing tours over Louisiana is to familiarize the 
people with the plans and purposes of the com¬ 
mission. 
Attorney Ponder, of the game commission, has 
sent an interesting communication to one of the 
local papers defining the position of his board 
in reference to the doctrine of the State owner¬ 
ship of all wild game, birds and fish and also 
explaining the law in reference to searching 
bags, sacks and other receptacles for game and 
fish. He says the law does not give to the war¬ 
dens or any one else the right to search private 
premises or houses for game, and even with a 
search warrant they could not do this. He cites 
a good many opinions of the United States Su¬ 
preme Court and the various State courts show¬ 
ing that the courts have uniformly held all wild 
game, birds and fish to be the property of the 
State. 
Mr. Ponder declares that this doctrine was 
recognized from the time of Solon in Athens 
and reaffirmed by Blackstone in English com¬ 
mon law. He says in Texas the supreme court 
has held the law valid which prevents the sale 
of wild game, and that in seventeen States and 
the District of Columbia the law provides for 
search for game by wardens in certain places, 
while in other States in order to search premises 
the warden must have a search warrant. His 
communication was the result of certain criti¬ 
cisms of a paper in this city and the action of 
some thirty or forty citizens of De Soto parish, 
declaring that the doctrine of State ownership 
of game was a decided innovation, defying the 
commission to enforce its regulations and de¬ 
clining to purchase any licenses to hunt or fish. 
A. Collet and Jean Ecurer, two oyster fisher¬ 
men, were frozen to death a mile off the coast 
of Grand Isle. The men were caught in a bliz¬ 
zard four days ago while fishing, their smack 
became unmanageable and they could not get to 
shore. They were discovered by other fishermen 
and their bodies brought to shore. Collet was 
sixty years old and Ecurer was twenty-five 
years of age. The men were experienced oyster 
men. F. G. G. 
Salem County Rod and Gun Club. 
The Salem County Rod and Gun Club gave a 
game supper at its home in Salem, N. J., the 
night of Dec. 22, some forty members and guests 
being present. The various game dishes were 
prepared at home by the members’ wives and 
were rushed to the club house in motor cars in 
time for the feast. 
After the supper the last regular meeting for 
the year was held. Senator William Plummer, 
who is a member of the club, was present and 
asked for expressions of opinion regarding the 
existing game laws. The sentiment of those 
present seemed to be in favor of the season for 
shooting ducks opening earlier and restoring the 
one hour shooting after sundown. Some were 
opposed to the resident license fee, while others 
were in favor of the fee provided a liberal 
share of the money is used in restocking the 
woods and streams with birds and fish. Many 
were in favor 6f using dogs for gunning deer, 
believing that there will be less crippled animals 
and the deer will be driven to the thick timber 
and cause the farmers less annoyance and dam¬ 
age to their growing and harvested crops. Sena¬ 
tor Plummer promised the club his support in 
the good work it is doing to advance the in¬ 
terest of the sport in this section. 
The following officers were elected for the 
ensuing year: President, H. G. Hart; Vice- 
President, William H. Harris; Recording Secre¬ 
tary, Harvey Bossier; Financial Secretary, L. D. 
Compton; Treasurer, Paul Erhardt; Field Cap¬ 
tain, Ernest Schubert; Executive Board, James 
S. Wheeler and William W. Bell. 
All the game lazvs of the 'United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
A Family Buck. 
Aitkin, Minn., Dec. 30.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The one great event of the entire 
season happened on Nov. 10. For a couple of 
weeks before the opening of the season there 
had been four or five deer coming into an in¬ 
teresting piece of woodland that stretches away 
to the west of us for a mile or so. Sometimes 
they would stay with us four or five days and 
again they would disappear for four or five 
days. The tracks showed a probable doe and 
two large fawns and two very large bucks. The 
bucks did not keep company with the others nor 
yet did they seem to seek each other’s company. 
Their tracks showed them to be solitary wan¬ 
derers though hovering in the vicinity of the 
others. On the morning of the 10th I circled 
the wood, but it seemed the time of the dis¬ 
appearing of the deer, for 1 saw no fresh sign. 
Returning, I hung the rifle in the rack and 
started out for a stroll in the east wood where 
it seemed impossible there could be any deer. 
In the meantime the artist of the ranch, now 
eighteen years of age, had gone down through 
the wood toward the river. On the way he 
crossed the trail of one of those wandering 
bucks. He followed it and found the old fel¬ 
low had gone into the island. The island is a 
small body of timber inclosed by a lagoon lying 
in the shape of a horseshoe with a narrow strip 
of land leading into it between the two ends 
of the shoe. Across this narrow neck the boy 
followed the trail, and making sure of where it 
led, returned to the house for help. In early 
summer before the floods drove them out this 
island was a favorite haunt for the deer, though 
the heart of it is not more than 300 yards from 
the house. 
Now, the lagoon was covered with a thin 
sheet of ice which did not seem strong enough 
to hold up a deer. To the boy it. seemed a sure 
catch if he could only get help in time. At 
the house he learned I had gone off toward the 
island and without a gun. He knew where the 
deer usually crossed the lagoon when there was 
no ice, having seen them cross in the summer. 
It seemed the only hope to go there and wait, 
though it hardly looked possible for a deer to 
cross on the thin ice. Back he went at a canter 
to what seemed the only hope. A younger mem¬ 
ber of the tribe also took a rifle and started for 
the bayou at a run. 
Meanwhile, unconscious of this tempest in a 
teapot, I wandered down into the east woods and 
then turned back and continued my rambles on 
the island. Suddenly I was awakened from my 
dreams by the crash of firearms immediately to 
the west of the island, three shots almost blend¬ 
ing the one with the other so near did they come 
together. I knew the boy was in the woods, but 
the way the shots were delivered denoted two 
shooters. That meant strangers on our pre¬ 
serve. I turned and hastened toward the house. 
As I reached the foot of the garden a strange 
sight burst upon my vision. Across the garden 
following the path in single file, like braves upon 
the warpath, went first the artist with a gun, 
second the farmer with an axe, third the little 
girl with a hatchet and fourth the mistress of 
the ranch with a butcher knife. The hunters 
having returned to the house and reported, 
silently they sped on, entered the wood and 
disappeared. Wondering, I followed. Soon I 
