14 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 3, iW- 
Round About the Crescent City. 
New Orleans, June 21 .—.Editor Forest and 
Stream: The State Game Commission at a 
meeting held to-day offered a reward for suffi¬ 
cient evidence to convict any person who throws 
dynamite into any stream for the purpose of 
killing fish in Louisiana. The amount of the 
reward is $50 and a severe penalty is attached 
to this misdemeanor by legislative statute. 
The commission has taken under advisement 
a petition from one of the parishes asking that 
the license for pot or market hunters be placed 
at $25 instead of $20. The commission has no 
power to change the amount of the license fee, 
but it can recommend the amount to the Legisla¬ 
ture. Another petition is that the number of 
quail killed in one day be limited to one hunter 
to fifteen. It is probable the commission will 
pass a rule regulating the kill of quail to fifteen 
after it has heard from other parishes on the 
subject and ascertains the sentiment of the hun¬ 
ters and the people generally. 4 he commission 
has decided to appoint four new game wardens, 
but will not commission them until the coming 
October. 
The latest suggestion for ridding certain 
places of the provoking pest known as the Eng¬ 
lish sparrow comes from President Miller, of 
the commission. He says he believes if the 
boards in charge of City and Audubon Parks 
would procure a dozen pairs of bluejays and a 
similar number of mockingbirds, the question 
would be solved. The bluejays and mocking¬ 
birds usually form an alliance and thus strength¬ 
ened make common war on the belligerent Eng¬ 
lish sparrow, otherwise the sparrow gets the bet¬ 
ter of them, as they fight only when they have 
large armies, so to speak. Mr. Miller says when 
he was in Baton Rouge Thursday he went to 
the Federal Cemetery and there saw scores of 
bluejays and mockingbirds, and he never heard 
sweeter songs in his life from mockingbirds. 
He noticed that the two species of birds com¬ 
bined and declared war on the English sparrow, 
and the result is they will not allow one to re¬ 
main long in the cemetery. 
The commission has received a report from 
Winn parish which shows that fifty deer were 
killed during the past season. Mr. Miller says 
that this indicates that there are at least 100 deer 
in the parish, and will be a good start for the 
5,000 acre game preserve which is to be estab¬ 
lished there. 
The parish of Orleans has a splendid record 
in the game line for the past season, as shown 
by the official report made to President Miller, 
of the Game Commission, by Warden C. H. 
Audler. This report shows a total of 300,000 
ducks killed in this parish and 200,000 ducks 
killed in adjoining parishes by New Orleans 
hunters, making a total of 500,000 ducks. The 
total number of snipe is put down at 200,000 
and t; deer, 3,885 minks, 5.655 raccoons, 5,000 
muskrats, 812 opossums and 59 otters. 
The value of this game reported is put down 
at $157,320, while this amount will be increased 
to $175,000 when the number of rabbits, squirrels 
and various other game is reported. President 
Miller asserts the value of fish caught in Orleans 
parish aggregates $175,000, making a grand total 
of $350,000, which ranks well with any of the 
parishes and far ahead of most of them. The 
members of the game commission say that the 
figures in regard to the number of ducks killed 
is conservative and very probably below the 
actual number. Warden Audler is still going on 
with his investigation, and he has been careful 
to put down figures even somewhat below those 
furnished him by the hunters. 
The game referred to was killed within the 
parish of Orleans, which is the city of New Or¬ 
leans, city and parish being the same. 
The report of the game warden of Caddo 
parish, in which the city of Shreveport is located, 
states that 270,000 quail were killed there during 
the past season. The total value of the game is 
put down at $91,122. The report gives ducks, 
130,000; snipe and geese, 15,000; doves, 9,000, 
quail, 270,000; squirrels, 4,000; rabbits, 2,000; rac¬ 
coons, 1,000; opossums, 250, and minks, 500. 
The report from St. Mary parish shows the 
total value of game to be $105,795 as follows: 
Raccoons, 100.000; opossums, 10,000; muskrats, 
50,000; minks, 20,000; otters, 40; 'ducks, 6,500; 
pould’eau, 6,235; quail, 235; snipe, 2,620, and 
deer, 247. The record for deer from this parish 
is one of the largest in Louisiana and probably 
ranks with any county in the United States. 
Both of these records are surprising and make 
a gratifving showing for Louisiana as a wonder¬ 
ful game State. 
The record of Louisiana of 5,500 deer killed 
by the hunters during the past season is twice 
that of any Southern State and almost equals 
New York and Minnesota combined. President 
Miller has just received a letter from Dr. T. S. 
Palmer, head of the game preservation depart¬ 
ment of the Biological Survey at Washington, 
congratulating Louisiana on its fine showing. It 
is the best record ever established by this State 
and is just twice as many deer as have been 
bagged in Florida, the second Southern State 
in this respect. Dr. Palmer says in his com¬ 
munication that he will endeavor to have Louis¬ 
iana’s record printed in one of the Government 
reports which had only gone to the printer a 
day or so prior to receipt of the figures from 
the Pelican State. Mr. Miller thinks that in 
the near future Louisiana will furnish 10,000 
deer a year, and millions of quail and ducks in 
addition to other birds and animals when the 
game preserves are properly established and 
maintained. 
The Game Commission has elected Mr. Miller 
a delegate to the American Fishery Society which 
meets in convention at Toledo, Ohio, July 26 
and 27. Mr. Miller has instructions to invite 
the convention to meet in New Orleans in 1910, 
and if he is successful in bringing the national 
body here he will ask the United States Fish 
Commission to make an exhibit in New Orleans 
at that time. If this is done the exhibit will 
attract thousands of people to this city. 
Attorney Ponder, of the commission, has writ¬ 
ten to the State Board of Health stating that 
he has received numerous complaints to the 
effect that hundreds of fish have perished on 
the banks of Caddo Lake in Caddo parish. It 
is alleged that owners of oil lands have allowed 
crude petroleum to run into the lake with disas¬ 
trous results to the fish. A section of the santi- 
tary code recently adopted by the State Plealth 
Board prohibits emptying of waste matter or 
oils or any kind of injurious liquid in any stream 
in this State containing fish. Caddo Lake is a 
valuable body of water and many make their 
living by fishing in it. F. G. G. 
Game Wardens and Politics, 
Nilwood, Ill., June 25 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: Conditions now or recently existing 
in this State lend point to your very able edi¬ 
torial 011 "Game Wardens and Politics.’’ 
According to the newspapers a member of 
our Legislature does not hesitate to let it l|j 
known that he considers the office of game war¬ 
den a political perquisite to be awarded regard¬ 
less of the fitness of the man appointed to the 
position. 
The member in question objected to the ap¬ 
propriation for the game commission and when 
asked for his reasons said he wanted a game 
warden appointed in his county. He went flj 
the governor and made his request. The gover¬ 
nor told him he did not belong to the right or 
ganization and that he had been working agaiii 9 | 
the State administration; but the governor saic 
that if he (the member) would go back and ge 
the authority of the proper organization thi 
warden would be appointed. The governor, la 
said, had determined to appoint two wardens fo 
each county, one to be endorsed by the county 
representative, the other by the county chair 
man of his party. The member, he said, re 
turned home and secured the endorsement 0 
the organization, but on examining the book 
of the auditor found there were already thre 
game wardens in the pay of the county, an 
said he was still awaiting the appointment of hi 
man. ■ 
It happens that the man whom the member i 
trying to oust is an energetic and worthy office 
who has made tlye path of the violator a roug 
and expensive one. There is no charge of an 
kind mentioned by our representative; all he : 
after is the ousting of the incumbent to find 
berth for his friend. He does not even claii 
that his man is a good one. He just wants h 
man to have the office. The warden and tl 
member have been on opposite political sidf 
and this seems to be his way of getting his r 
venge. We are thankful that we have a gove 
nor who has a mind of his own and who wi 
not listen to the ravings of the representativ 
that ive have in our Legislature. 
The other clippings indicate what is goii 
on in our neighboring State, Wisconsin. Fro 
the evidence furnished the investigating cor 
mittee a short time ago, it seems that a certa 
great reformer was mixed up in the same bu; 
ness as a lot of lesser lights when it came 
forcing the Fish and Game Commission into t 
political arena for the benefit of himself at 
friends. 
Many people have begun to realize that $ 
Fish and Game Commission is a farce, and 
farce it will be so long as small-minded politic 
“bosses” dictate who shall be the head of 
and who shall be named as his assistants. 
Take the office out of politics and the politici 
w iH cease to use the holder as a heeler for '1 
own benefit; put the wardens on the civil s< 
vice list and make them show they are fit a 
proper persons to discharge the duties of 
office, then allow them a fair trial before a hot 
of examiners before they can be discharg 
This will make them more independent and pi 
thee behind me, Satan.” 
In this locality we are blessed with a goo 
quantity of quail, and the proper application 
