Jan. i, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
19 
has found something to eat. The call and 
actions of the young cock were perfect in 
every detail, just as if he expected a brood of 
hens to come flocking to him; and yet I have 
personal knowledge that he had never seen any 
of his own kind. I could only marvel at the 
wonders of instinct. 
I recently saw a half-grown raccoon in a 
box with wire screening over one side. It was 
in a show window, and above and all around 
it were cages containing canary birds. As I 
passed the window one day the coon was ap¬ 
parently sound asleep, when one of the birds 
got out of its cage and fluttered down in front 
of the coon’s box. Like a flash of lightning 
the Coon’s paw shot through a hole in the 
screening, seized the bird and pulled it up to 
the screening, and with the other paw pulled 
it through in pieces and proceeded to eat it. 
That was no doubt the first opportunity it ever- 
had to do the like, and certainly it had never 
seen it done; yet in the twinkling of an eye 
it acted when the opportunity came, even 
though apparently asleep at the moment. 
A large hawk was captured near here last 
spring before it was old enough to fly, and has 
been a captive here in town ever since. It is 
kept out doors with a twenty-foot cord at¬ 
tached to its leg to keep it from flying away. 
A few evenings ago, I was passing where it 
was kept, and just before coming around the 
corner of the house I heard a commotion 
among the chickens, a number of which were 
running at large about the house, and on 
coming in sight around the house I saw the 
hawk holding on to a brown leghorn rooster, 
which was apparently full grown, and which 
was struggling to get away. They disappeared 
down over the bluff, and when I went out to 
see the finish, the rooster had become quiet, 
while the hawk had it gripped by the neck 
with one claw, and had apparently killed it 
almost instantly. 
Another case where instinct taught the wild 
creature the approved style of doing things 
without any of its kind to give illustrated 
instructions. 
I often think of the inferiority of man as 
compared with the lower animals, when it 
comes to a time where quick, involuntary 
action is required. In man we call it presence 
of mind and we all admire a man who can “act 
like lightning,” on the spur of the moment, in 
the face of a crisis, and do the thing which 
proves to have been the proper thing to have 
done after time has elapsed for deliberation; 
but most of us, after we have passed some 
such crisis, which often comes in the experi¬ 
ences of the hunter, can see where we could 
have done so much better if we could have 
previously studied the situation. 
Emerson Carney. 
In Arkansas. 
Helena, Ark., Dec.. 23. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The fishing has been fine here all the 
year, but the hunting during the autumn has 
been very unsatisfactory. M. J. D. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and now in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
Minnesota Prairie Chickens. 
Galesburg, N. D. —Editor Forest and Stream: 
You will see by the enclosed clipping from 
Fargo Forum what our prairie chickens are 
compelled to do to get a living. There were 
none too many left last fall, because the sea¬ 
son was so wet all spring that most of the 
eggs of the first laying did not hatch, and many 
of the birds were rather small when the season 
opened: 
“The North Dakota Field Trial Club will 
lend its active assistance to an effort to save 
the prairie chickens, which with other birds 
which winter in this section, are starving as 
a result of the heavy rain and sleet storfn of 
two weeks ago over a large section of the 
Red River Valley. The sleet and rain, which 
froze as it fell, covered the ground to a depth 
of half an inch or more, and trees and shrub¬ 
bery as well, making it impossible for the 
birds and prairie chickens to secure their food 
from the usual sources. Many have died as a 
result, and large numbers are flocking to farm 
barnyards for subsistence. Some farmers are 
taking care of them so far as they can by scat¬ 
tering grain where they may find it. A farmer 
living near Grafton reports that large numbers 
of prairie chickens are flocking to a field of 
standing grain on his farm and threaten its 
annihilation. State Game Warden Smith, 
being appealed to, notified the farmer to let 
the chickens have all the corn they wanted, 
and in a case so serious as this the game and 
fish commission would pay a reasonable bill 
for the grain destroyed. Many other farmers 
are going to considerable expense in the way 
of food for the prairie chickens and the State 
Field Trials Club will endeavor to assist in 
bearing the expense, rather than have it fall 
on the farmers, with a view to larger efforts 
for the protection of game.” 
Secretary Sheppard states that the club has 
but a small fund, which can be made available 
for this purpose, but will interest the sports¬ 
men of the valley in assisting in the work. He 
issues the following: 
“ ‘All farmers knowing of prairie chickens 
suffering for want of food as a result of the 
recent sleet storm are requested to communi¬ 
cate at once, giving particulars, to J. C. Shep¬ 
pard, secretary of North Dakota Field Trials 
Club, Grand Forks, N. D.’” 
Fortunately for the birds, the hunting sea¬ 
son was also very unfavorable'for big bags— 
vegetation tall and rank; weather hot and dry; 
and ground dusty, so dogs could not work and 
scent did not lie. 
I have noticed some sizable packs since the 
season closed. They linger around the corn¬ 
fields a good deal, and the corn is a compara¬ 
tively new crop up here. The birds have 
learned to husk the ears and get the kernels 
as well as a Kansas chicken. 
It is very gratifying to find the farmers tak¬ 
ing an active interest in keeping the game 
through the winter and preserving it in sum¬ 
mer. I find hereabouts the interest of the 
people in the preservation of game and the 
observance of the game laws is increasing 
right along. J. P. Whittemore. 
License Fees Too High. 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 26.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: It seems probable that the game 
commission in making its recommendations to 
the next Legislature will advocate a reduction 
in the price for hunting licenses to non-resi¬ 
dents. It is believed this license is too high at 
the present time and ought to be reduced to $10. 
It is now $25. Those who are familiar with 
such subjects assert that many more people from 
the North and East will be attracted here if the 
license fee is reduced to a reasonable figure. 
Those who advocate a reduction assert that 
many visitors come to New Orleans to spend ten 
days or two weeks and desire to hunt while in 
Louisiana, but they do not feel like paying $25 
for so short a time. This license is personal 
and is not transferable, hence those who pur¬ 
chase them cannot dispose of the license when 
they leave the State. It is almost certain that 
if the commission recommends this change the 
Legislature will comply, as there appears to be 
a decided sentiment in its favor. Public senti¬ 
ment appears to be for revision and reform in 
nearly all the game laws, rules and regulations, 
and it is confidently predicted that a great many 
changes will be made in the original game com¬ 
mission act. The Legislature meets next May. 
Herbert K. Job, of West Haven, Conn., is 
spending several days in this city as a guest of 
Commissioner Frank M. Miller. Mr. Job has 
come to Louisiana to study bird life in the 
interest of his magazine and the Audubon so¬ 
cieties. He is making a special study of wild 
geese and ducks and sea gulls and birds on the 
coast and is taking a number of pictures of birds 
found in Louisiana. Lie delivered a lecture in 
Abbeville in Vermillion parish on the subject 
“Game, its Conservation and Worth.” Mr. Mil¬ 
ler introduced Mr. Job and also gave his illus¬ 
trated lecture on a similar subject., 
The police jury of the parish of Pointe Coupee 
parish assembled at New Roads has adopted 
resolutions calling upon the game commission to 
destroy the water hyacinths in False River. The 
resolutions state that these wild hyacinths are 
destroying the fish, and as the people in certain 
classes are dependent upon fishing for a living, 
the jury determined to ask for relief. The com¬ 
mission will endeavor to comply with the re¬ 
quest. 
The weather of the past few days has been 
extremely cold and quite suitable for satisfac¬ 
tory hunting, especially the professional hunts¬ 
man. Quite a number of pleasure hunters are 
going out. Reports are to the effect that ducks 
and wild geese and turkeys are quite plentiful. 
Many hunters went over to the Rigolets, Lake 
Catherine, Chef Menteur and other places last 
Saturday, but the weather proved so disagree¬ 
able that most of the hunters returned on the 
early trains of Sunday. A veritable blizzard 
prevailed during the entire day and shooting was 
practically out of the question. 
The special places near New Orleans are the 
Barataria section, Chef Menteur, the Rigolets, 
Lake Catherine and along the Grand Isle Rail¬ 
road and Double Bayou and nearby grounds. A 
large increase in the number of winter visitors 
is expected by the latter part of this month and 
many of them will join local parties on camping 
hunts. 
(Continued on page 36.) 
