136 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 24, 1909. 
Etay only a very few minutes among wooden 
decoys; the reason for this is, that they are 
then mating and will swim up to them and 
peck, and the moment they find the deception, 
they leave. Early in the season they will swim 
among wood decoys and stay long enough for 
you to scull to them and get a shot. I have 
often waited nearly an hour for a large floc.v 
to come in, when there have only been one or 
two among the decoys. 
Some years ago I took some young wood 
pigeons from a nest and brought them up by hand; 
they were perfectly tame, and splendid decoys. 
I would tie them and then hide, first placing 
some wooden stools in the trees. The wi 
birds would alight and walk round the decoys; 
they knew that they were not the regular wild 
birds, but I could see no difference. 
Feed and plenty of it is my hobby. I have 
a very comfortable blind in the Sound just off 
my house. Have shot fifty blackheads by mid¬ 
day—that is my largest bag. Late last fall I 
shot thirty-five in one day. 
I make it a rule never to shoot more than 
half a day at a baited blind; that gives the birds 
a chance to come back and feed again. The 
blackheads did not come to my side of the 
Sound till quite late this year. We had very 
little grass, and it was nothing but the feed I 
put out that brought them near the house, and 
after they have once got used to it, I can see a 
flock of ducks there any time I stand on the 
porch. Of course, I do not shoot there often 
I enjoy watching them. The year before last 
I shot a good many redhead duck from that 
blind; they are easier to kill than blackheads 
when they once get a taste of corn. 
This year I mean to put a blind near the 
shore, in hopes of getting the black ducks to 
feed in the shallow water. On the days that 
shooting was going on at the Swan Island Cluo, 
the black ducks sat out in the Sound by the 
thousands; but in deep water redheads came in 
to feed about dark, and if I was shooting in 
the evening, often got a few. 
Yesterday we had a tremendous rain, and I 
hear much of the bottom lands were under 
water, but don’t think that it has hurt the 
quail on my farm. Four Bore. 
Whereas, we believe that the greatest scope of liberty 
consistent with good order should be granted to the 
citizens of our State; therefore, be it 
Resolved by the police jury of the parish of Caldwell, 
in regular session convened, That it is the sense of this 
body and the great majority of the citizenship of our 
parish that that part of the State game law which pro¬ 
vides for the payment of a hunting license, creates a State 
Game Commission and game wardens for the severa 
parishes of the State should be abolished and repealed, 
and that we, as representatives of the people of the 
parish of Caldwell do hereby memorialize the Legisia- 
ture of the State of Louisiana to repeal and abolish this 
obnoxious law at the session of that body which will 
assemble in the city of Baton Rouge, La., in the mont 
of May, 1910, and that we especially instruct our Repre¬ 
sentative and Senator to work and vote for the repeal of 
The opposition to the game laws has de¬ 
veloped in several parishes, mainly because 
many hunters object to paying $1 license. They 
declare that the game of the woods belongs to 
any one who kills it, and say they should, not 
be taxed for a common privilege or right. 
Opponents of the fish and game laws maintain 
also that the regulation of the subject, if there 
is to be any regulation, should be placed in the 
hands of each parish or county and not be left 
to the Legislature to enact a general law. The 
game commission, on the other hand, contends 
that the game belongs to the entire people, and 
therefore is a proper subject matter of regula¬ 
tion by the General Assembly as a common 
asset. It is maintained also that unless the. 
taking of game and fish is regulated it will be 
a question of a short time only before there 
will be neither game nor fish in Louisiana, and 
as a consequence, the consumers will suffer for 
the lack of an important food supply. It is 
pointed out also that if the matter is left to 
each parish to settle for itself an unfair ad¬ 
vantage will be given to certain parishes which 
will have a monopoly of game and fish, while 
others will have no supply at all. This policy 
would be suicidal, resulting in a dearth of 
game in this State similar to that which pre- 
vails in many States which have county regu- 
lations, and that the losers will be the people at 
large. 
The game commission proposes to establish 
immense game preserves, which could not be 
done by the several parishes. It is also pro¬ 
posed to regulate by statute the catching of 
salt-water fish, in order to protect the thou- 
The Louisiana Game Laws. 
New Orleans, July 19 —Editor Forest and 
Stream: The police jury of Caldwell parish in 
Louisiana has adopted the following resolution 
condemning the State game commission law and 
petitioning the Legislature to repeal the act: 
Whereas, the game law of 190S has been in force since 
Oct. 1, 1908; and 
Whereas, during that time it has been demonstrated, to 
our complete satisfaction that the Game Commission 
and the game wardens created by that law have not 
only not been of any benefit in the protection of the 
game of our parish, but, on the other hand, have been 
a detriment to it; and 
Whereas, we believe that the license of $1 extracted 
from the citizens of the State for the privilege of hunt¬ 
ing in our forests is unjust, undemocratic and sumptu¬ 
ary; and 
Whereas, we believe that the game of the State can 
be better protected by leaving the matter of such pro¬ 
tection in the police juries of the several parishes of the 
State; and 
Whereas, we believe that the State Game Commission 
has already assumed authority not conferred upon it by 
the law, and that if allowed to go unchecked and unre¬ 
buked, it will become oppressive and tyrannical to the 
people; and 
sands who live largely on fish diet. 
A case has been made against an express 
company here by the State game commission 
for delivering four young mockingbirds to a 
resident in New Orleans. The birds were 
shipped from a small Louisiana town. It is a 
violation of the law to sell, ship or convey for 
delivery any non-game bird at any time. The 
law applies to song birds that breed and live 
in Louisiana. Canary birds can be sold during 
certain seasons, but they are not indigenous. 
F. G. G. 
Homing Pigeon Shot. 
Many, La., July 5 .—Editor Forest and Stream: 
T. F. Marsh, a farmer near Mansfield, La., re¬ 
cently shot a pigeon which had on its leg an 
aluminum band marked “F. S. I 5 ~i 905 -” The 
bird was suffering from an old wound and was 
thought to be a carrier pigeon homeward bound. 
Thinking this information may be of interest to 
some of your readers I send it for publication. 
W. P. G. 
Prairie Chickens. 
Omaha, July 1 7.—Editor Forest and Slrean 
From all the information that I have been ei 
abled to obtain recently, the prairie chicken cn 
this autumn is going to prove an unusual^ 
light one. The spring was too cold and lot 
drawn out and the heavy and incessant rains fi 
the past month have about settled the matte 
On the famous old grouse grounds along t 
White Bear River, north of Cody, there a 
still fair prospects, and in Duell county, on 
our greatest chicken region, where the bir 
are still hanging on wonderously well, there a 
prospects for more than a fair crop. But N 
braska is a great sooner state, and the you 
birds are almost exterminated before they a 
half grown, and it is all done, too, by the cou 
try residents of the localities where the bir 
abound. These chaps go on the theory that t 
shooters from the cities have no right to t 
birds at all—that they all belong to themsehi 
exclusively, so they kill them off law or no la, 
long before the city sportsman thinks of taki; 
down his hammerless. 
In discussing our game laws Dan Geilus, N 
braska’s efficient official, has this to say on 1: 
non-resident law and its results: 
“It has been held,” he says, “that a non-re' 
dent license law in respect to the killing of ga: 
has in it much that is selfish and little of 11 
generosity which goes with sportsmans!' 
This would be true beyond question were e:: 
state well supplied with game, and therefore 
each could reciprocally meet the obligations : 
sportsmanship as they pertain to the matt: 
But some states have been wasteful of the gai 
and stingy with measures of protection. So' 
people slaughter to gratify a love for killing 
for count; some for market; some in mode, 
tion, but the sum total of unlicensed slaugh 
and neglected protection is the extermination 
great decrease of game in certain sections, 
it is selfish to adopt a non-resident game 11 
it is still more selfish on the part of sportsr 
to leave their own state and go to another si: 
which protects its game and there kill to tli 
satisfaction. In other words, the man who g: 
forth to kill game has his own selfish purps 
in action. 
“As a result of our non-resident and resit; 
license law, the ducks have bred and multip; 
throughout Nebraska in the last three or f: 
years beyond anything known within the hisl' 
of the oldest inhabitants. The license is a p 
feet bar to the swarm of non-resident shooi 
who invaded the state during the open seast 
though it admits such shooters as conform tc 
requirements. In this way the state is rn 
bursed in a measure for the expenses incu:; 
in protecting the game while permitting l 
non-resident to have the same shooting p' 
leges as are conferred on residents. The 1 
that the game has so wonderfully multiplie 
a demonstration of the munificence of thejl 
cense required of residents and non-residd 
and the fact that so many non-residents 1 
out licenses proves that they appreciate the pi 
ileges and game thereby secured.” 
Sandy Griswol 
All the game laws of the United States 1 
Canada, revised to date and now in forced 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See ad' 
