Skip to main content

Full text of "Louisiana Conservationist"

See other formats 


•'.■,<•'■ 


ml 


%Jr 


CONSERVATIONIST 


ROBERT  F.  KENNON 
Governor  of  Louisiana 


L.  D.  YOUNG,  JR. 
Director 


Published  Monthly  except  May,  June,  July  and  August  when 

Bi-Monthly  in  the  interest  of  conservation  by  Louisiana 

Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Commission 

126  Civil  Courts   Building,   New  Orleans,   La. 

CLAUDE  H.  GRESHAM,  JR. 

Editor 


Vol.  6 


JANUARY,   1954 


BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 

A.  C.  GLASSELL,  Shreveport Chairman 

J.  J.  BESSON,  Baton  Rouge Vice-Chairman 

GEORGE  A.  FOSTER,  Pollock 

0.  A.  LAHAYE,  Eunice 

C.  H.  BROOKSHIRE,  Meaux 

J.  W.  DOXEY,  Cameron 

A.  J.  BUQUET,  Houma 


L.  D.  YOUNG,  Jr. 

Director 

WARREN  M.  SIMON 

Attorney 

JOHN  BLANCHARD 

Chief,    Division    of   Education    and    Publicity 

TED  O'NEIL 

Chief,  Fur  and  Refuge  Division 

JAMES  N.  McCONNELL 

Chief,  Division  of  Oysters  and  Water  Bottoms 

GEORGE  MOORE 

Chief,  Division  of  Fish  and  Game 

FRANK  COOGAN 

Chief,  Division  of  Research  and  Statistics 

V.  E.  SMITH 

Chief,   Division    of   Enforcement 

LEE  EDDY,  JR. 

Chief,   Commercial  Seafood  Division 


class    mail    matter    August    21,    1947,    at    the    Post    Offic 
Orleans,  La.,  under  the  act  of  August  24,   1912. 
>er.  Southwestern    Association  of  Industrial  Editors 


Permission  for  publication  of  all  material  in  this  issue  is  granted, 
except  where  specifically  prohibited,  provided  that  credit  is  given 
and  we  receive  marked  copies.  Contributions  and  photographs  are 
welcomed,  but  the  CONSERVATIONIST  cannot  be  responsible  for 
loss  or  damage  to  unsolicited  material.  Manuscripts  should  be 
addressed  to  Editor,  Louisiana  Conservationist,  126  Civil  Courts 
Bldg.,  New   Orleans  16.   La. 


IN  THIS  ISSUE 


Page 
RESEARCH  &  STATISTICS 

DIVISION  by  Frank  Coogan....     2 

OUTDOOR  WRITERS 

REORGANIZE 4 

COON  ON  A  LOG  by  Herman  G. 

Englehardt  and  J.  B.  Le  Ray 6 

ENFORCEMENT    DIVISION 

PERSONNEL 9 


PICTURES    FROM   THE 
READERS 


12 


DEER  'N  DOGS  by  John  Blanchard  14 

BIOLOGISTS   BEGIN   DISTRICT 

SETUP  by  George  Moore 16 

LOUISIANA'S   FIRST  GAME 

WARDEN  by  Robert  H.  Wilcox  18 


DEPARTMENTS 

Message  from  the  Director 1 

Action   of  the   Commission 20 

Speak   Your   Piece 21 

With  the   Federation 22 

Book    Review 24 

Bayou   Browsing Inside  Back  Cover 


COVER: 

Great    Horned    Owl. 


6&6 


L.  D.  Young,  Jr. 

Director 

Louisiana 
I     Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Commission 


Photo  by  Gresham 


THE  LIFE  YOU  SAVE 

The  hunting  season  is  only  half  over,  and  yet  the  weeks 
which  should  have  been  joyful  ones  have  turned  to  sorrow 
for  the  friends  and  relatives  of  at  least  a  dozen  Louisiana 
hunters.  Five  fatalities  from  gunshot  wounds  have  already 
been  reported  to  the  CONSERVATIONIST,  and  more  than 
that  number  of  non-fatal  accidents.  Let  us  once  again  in- 
spect our  own  gun-handling  habits.  That  time-worn  cliche 
usually  applied  to  safe  driving,  "the  life  you  save  may  be 
your  own,"  can  be  applied  with  equal  force  to  gun  accidents. 
A  firearm  per  se  is  no  more  dangerous  a  weapon  than  is 
an  automobile.  People  make  them  so!  The  Sporting  Arms 
&  Ammunition  Manufacturers  Institute  has  distributed  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  copies  of  their  "Ten  Commandments 
for  Hunters."  Take  time  to  read  these  ten  listed  below — 
even  though  you've  read  them  before.  See  how  you  measure 
up  on  each  one. 

1.  Treat  every  gun  with  the  respect  due  a  loaded  gun. 
This  is  the  cardinal  rule  of  gun  safety. 

2.  Carry  only  empty  guns,  taken  down  or  with  the  action 
open,  into  your  automobile,  camp,  and  home. 

3.  Always  be  sure  that  the  barrel  and  action  are  clear 
of  obstructions. 

4.  Always  carry  your   gun  so  that  you  can  control  the 
direction  of  the  muzzle,  even  if  you  stumble. 

5.  Be  sure  of  your  target  before  you  pull  the  trigger. 

6.  Never  point  a  gun  at  anything  you  do  not  want  to  shoot. 

7.  Never  leave  your  gun  unattended  unless  you  unload  it 
first. 

8.  Never  climb  a  tree  or  fence  with  a  loaded  gun. 

9.  Never  shoot  at  a  flat,  hard  surface  or  the  surface  of 
water. 

10.    Do  not  mix  gunpowder  and  alcohol. 


'Kttoui  tyoun,  TiJild  ^dc^e  and  0?i&6enie&  (faptmiteicM 


PART  I 


RESEARCH  AND  STATISTICS  DIVISION 


by  Frank  Coogan,  Chief 


With  this  issue  we  begin  a  series  of 
articles  designed  to  acquaint  you  with 
the  purpose  and  organization  of  the 
divisions  of  the  Louisiana  Wild  Life 
and  Fisheries  Commission.  Presented 
here  is  the  first  one,  on  the  Research 
and  Statistics  Division. 

The  activities  of  the  Division  of  Research 
and  Statistics  have  been  confined  almost 
exclusively  to  the  abatement  of  stream 
pollution  in  the  State  of  Louisiana.  Division 
personnel  enforce  the  Stream  Control  Com- 
mission rules  and  orders  as  provided  by 
law. 

In  order  to  make  clear  the  steps  taken 
by  these  members  of  the  Wild  Life  and 
Fisheries  Commission  to  promote  the  abate- 
ment of  stream  pollution,  the  various  ad- 
ministrative means  by  which  these  steps 
can  be  augmented  are  set  forth  below. 

The  first  set  of  personnel  involved  in 
pollution  abatement  in  Louisiana  are  waste 
disposal  inspectors,  employees  of  the  Wild 
Life  and  Fisheries  Commission.  These 
waste  disposal  inspectors  are  semi-profes- 
sional in  classification  and  are  capable  of 
performing  various  chemical  tests  in  the 
field  as  well  as  in  the  laboratory  in  Baton 
Rouge.  The  duties  of  these  agents  or  in- 
spectors are  varied  and  consist  of  continued 
inspection  of  the  sources  of  industrial 
wastes  in  the  areas  to  which  the  inspectors 
are  assigned  and  the  continuous  checking 
of  the  effects  of  discharge  of  industrial 
wastes  on  the  receiving  water  bodies. 

In  cases  where  the  discharge  of  an  in- 
dustrial waste  is  a  clear  violation  of  the 
laws  of  the  State  of  Louisiana  in  general 
or  laws  having  to  do  with  the  Stream  Con- 
trol Commission  in  particular,  the  waste 
disposal  inspector  files  charges  alleging  the 
violation  of  the  act  or  acts  in  the  district 
court  having  jurisdiction  and  continues  to 
press  the  charges  until  such  time  as  the 
case  is  brought  before  the  court.  In  in- 
stances where  the  cases  are  somewhat  com- 
plicated by  the  necessity  of  having  profes- 
sional opinions  rendered  by  engineers  or 
biologists,  the  waste  disposal  inspector  con- 
cerned makes  as  many  tests  as  he  possibly 
can  on  the  receiving  water  body,  takes  an 


adequate  sample  of  the  waste  or  wastes 
being  discharged  into  the  water  body  for 
forwarding  to  Baton  Rouge,  and  calls  in 
to  the  Main  Office  at  Baton  Rouge  for  the 
technical  personnel  capable  of  arriving  at 
the  proper  conclusions  regarding  the  effects 
of  the  discharge  of  the  waste  involved  in 
the  case. 

The  second  set  of  personnel  involved  in 
pollution  abatement  in  the  State  of  Loui- 
siana are  technical  personnel  employed  by 
the  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Commission. 
These  personnel,  engineers  and  biologists, 
are  located  at  the  main  laboratory  in  Baton 
Rouge  and  are  under  the  administrative 
control  of  the  Research  and  Statistics  Divi- 
sion chief.  The  work  carried  on  by  the 
scientists  and  engineers  are  work  assign- 
ments made  by  the  Stream  Control  Com- 
mission and  agreed  to  by  the  Wild  Life  and 
Fisheries  Commission.  In  the  ordinary 
course  of  events  these  technicians  are  not 
concerned  with  routine  day-by-day  enforce- 
ment of  the  anti-pollution  laws.  However, 
in  cases  where  the  Stream  Control  Com- 
mission rules  or  orders  are  violated,  it 
sometimes  becomes  necessary  for  these 
technicians  to  make  necessary  observations 
so  that  the  establishment  of  the  violations 
of  these  orders  might  satisfactorily  be 
proved  in  the  court  of  law.  In  several  in- 
stances this  has  been  done;  there  is  one 
such  case  now  pending  in  a  district  court 
involving  a  kraft  paper  mill. 

The  third  departmental  group  involved 
in  pollution  abatement  is  the  coastal  waste 
control  inspectors  and  boat  captains  em- 
ployed by  the  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Com- 
mission and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Chief  of  the  Division  of  Oysters  and  Water 
Bottoms.  These  coastal  waste  control  in- 
spectors and  boat  captains  confine  their 
efforts  to  observations  of  the  methods  of 
discharge  of  wastes  from  the  coastal  oil 
fields  located  in  southeast  Louisiana, 
stretching  from  Terrebonne  Bay  east  to 
the  Mississippi  line. 

These  men  make  periodic  inspections  of 
the  various  coastal  oil  fields  and  check  for 
violations  of  the  Stream  Control  Commis- 
sion's "Rules  Governing  the  Disposal  of 
Oil    Field    Wastes".     When    violations    of 


Frank  Coogan  has  been  with  the  depart- 
ment since  1939  and  has  been  chief  of  the 
Research    and    Statistics    Division    since    1946. 


these  rules  and  regulations  are  observed, 
the  coastal  waste  control  inspector  makes  a 
report  in  triplicate.  One  copy  is  left  with 
the  field  foreman,  one  copy  is  kept  on  file 
in  the  office  of  the  Division  of  Oysters  and 
Water  Bottoms  in  New  Orleans,  and  one 
copy  is  sent  to  the  office  of  the  Stream 
Control  Commission  in  Baton  Rouge. 

From  time  to  time  the  chief  of  the 
Division  of  Oysters  and  Water  Bottoms 
writes  to  the  Stream  Control  Commission 
inclosing  a  list  of  certain  oil  field  operators 
who  are  violating  the  rules  with  a  state- 
ment that  continued  efforts  on  the  part  of 
the  coastal  waste  control  inspector  have  not 
brought  about  the  remedying  of  the  condi- 
tions complained  of,  and  at  this  time,  the 
Stream  Control  Commission  can  order 
notices  to  be  sent  to  the  oil  companies  in- 
volved, stating  the  violations  of  the  Com- 
mission's rules  and  asking  what  steps  will 
be  taken  to  remedy  these  violations.  When 
the  answers  received  are  not  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  coastal  waste  control  in- 
spector and  the  Stream  Control  Commis- 
sion, a  "Cease  and  Desist"  order  can  be 
issued. 

Another  phase  of  waste  control  is  being 
carried  on  in  the  laboratories  of  the  Wild 
Life    and   Fisheries    Commission    in    Baton 


Rouge.  This  is  the  investigation  into  the 
physical  and  chemical  characteristics  of  the 
various  types  of  industrial  wastes  that  are 
being  discharged  into  waters  of  the  state. 
These  investigations  are  carried  on  by  the 
biologists  and  chemists  who  were  men- 
tioned before  as  being  employed  by  the 
Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Commission  and 
stationed  in  the  Baton  Rouge  area.  These 
technical  investigations  into  waste  char- 
acteristics have  been  almost  exclusively 
confined  to  effluents  coming  from  factories 
and  industrial  establishments  located  in 
southwest  Louisiana.  To  complement  the 
laboratory  work,  there  has  been  made  a 
complete  biological  investigation  into  the 
Calcasieu  River  drainage  system,  into  which 
the  majority  of  these  wastes  flow.  In  this 
drainage  area  there  are  located  two  large 
oil  refineries,  a  number  of  heavy  chemical 
plants,  three  pine  products  plants,  several 
domestic  sewerage  disposal  systems,  and  a 
large  number  of  oil  fields.  The  investiga- 
tion of  the  river  has  been  completed  as  far 
down  as  the  city  of  Lake  Charles  itself  and 
will  be  continued  down  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  at  Cameron. 

Another  scientific  investigation  by  tech- 
nical personnel  now  being  carried  on  is  to 
ascertain  the  effects  of  the  discharge  of 
oil  field  brine  on  the  Little  River  drainage 
system  in  the  central  part  of  the  state. 
This  area  is  a  highly  developed  recreational 
area,  and  the  purpose  of  the  investigation  is 
to  ascertain  the  effect  of  the  discharge  of 
oil  field  brine  on  the  aquatic  fauna  of  the 
receiving  stream. 

I  think  that  a  few  comments  on  the 
budget  of  the  Division  of  Research  and 
Statistics  of  the  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries 
Commission  is  called  for  at  this  time.  The 
money  made  available  to  the  division  from 
the  State  Treasury  through  the  director  of 
the  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries  Commission  is 
not  adequate  to  hire  all  scientific  personnel 
presently  needed.  By  this  I  mean  that  the 
supply  of  engineers  is  extremely  limited, 
and   while    such    personnel    could    be    used 


Many  people  do  not  realize  that  vast  sums  are  already  being  spent  in  Louisiana  on 
pollution  control.  This  Wham  Brake  impoundment,  built  by  the  International  Paper  Co. 
near  Monroe  solely  for  waste  disposal,  cost  $700,000  to  construct.  As  lagniappe  the  7(/2 
square   miles   under   levee   has   created   excellent   duck   shooting. 


here  in  the  state  they  can  not  be  hired 
because  of  high  starting  salaries  set  by 
industry.  In  fact  the  personnel  now  work- 
ing for  the  Department  of  Wild  Life  and 
Fisheries  have  been  reduced  in  number  by 
the  departure  of  one  engineer  in  1950  and 
of  another  engineer  in   1951. 

The  supply  of  competent  aquatic  biolo- 
gists is  equally  limited  because  the  training 
of  such  biologists  is  carried  on  in  just  a  few 
places  in  the  United  States,  and  men  gradu- 
ating from  such  institutions  where  such 
courses  are  given  are  in  great  demand. 

The  funds  that  have  been  allotted  to  the 
division  for  the  purchasing  of  field  equip- 
ment are  adequate. 


In  closing  my  comments  on  the  financial 
situation  and  the  budget,  I  might  say  that 
for  several  years  we  have  benefited  greatly 
by  receiving  about  $16,000  a  year  from 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  through 
the  United  States  Public  Health  Service. 
Fortunately  enough,  when  the  allocation 
of  these  funds  was  discontinued  the 
State  Legislature  of  Louisiana  saw  fit  to 
replace  these  funds,  and  we  have  been  able 
to  continue  in  part  at  least  our  enlarged 
program. 


Leslie  Sewell  and  George  Tregre,  Waste  Control   Inspectors,  working   in  the  laboratory 
at  the  Baton   Rouge  office. 

— Photo  by  Googan 


The    man    behind    the    startled    look    is 
aquatic  biologist   Kenneth    E.   Biglane. 

— Photo  by  Coogan 

For  a  list  of  Research  and 

Statistics  Division  Personnel 

Please  Turn  Page 


PERSONNEL  OF 

RESEARCH  AND  STATISTICS 

DIVISION 

Chief:  Frank  J.  Coogan,  Baton  Rouge 
Biologists:  Kenneth  E.  Biglane  &  Ro- 
bert Lafleur,  Baton  Rouge 
Chemist:   Mrs.  M.  T.  Losavio,  Baton 

Rouge 
Waste  Control  Inspectors: 
George  Tregre,  Port  Allen 
Leslie  Sewell,  New  Orleans 
Ambrose  DeLaunay,  Lake  Charles 
W.  B.  Bowers,  Pineville 
Edward  Regan,  Crowley 
Engineer:  Darrell  Reed,  Pineville 
Secretary:  Helen  Harrell,  Baton 
Rouge 

The  End 


SPORTSMEN'S  CALENDAR 

FOR    JANUARY    AND    FEBRUARY 

FISHING— No  closed  season.  CAUTION— 
YOUR  1953  fishing  license  expired  at 
midnight  on  December  31.  Get  your 
1954  license  now. 

SQUIRRELS:  Closes  January  10.  Limits: 
10  per  day;  20  in  possession. 

RABBITS:  Closes  February  15.  Limits: 
5  per  day;   10  in  possession. 

DUCKS:  Closes  January  10.  Limits:  5 
per  day;  8  in  possession,  including 
not  more  than  one  wood  duck. 

GEESE:  Closes  January  10.  Limits:  5  per 
day  or  in  possession,  but  including  not 
more  than  two  Canadas  or  White- 
fronted    (speckle-belly)    geese. 

QUAIL:  Closes  February  10.  Limits:  10 
per  day;  20  in  possession;  80  for 
season. 

DEER:  See  November  issue.  No  parishes 
open  after  January  1. 

DOVES:  Closes  January  10.  Limits:  8  per 
day  or  in  possession. 

WOODCOCK:  Closes  January  20.  Limits: 
4  per  day;  8  in  possession. 

SNIPE:  Closes  January  5.  Limits:  8  per 
day  or  in  possession. 

COOTS:  Closes  January  10.  Limits:  10 
per  day  or  in  possession. 

BEAR:    Closed. 


FISHING  LICENSES  EXPIRE 

All  fishermen  are  reminded  that 
their  1953  fishing  licenses  expired 
at  midnight  on  December  31.  The 
1954  licenses  are  now  on  sale  at 
most  sporting  goods  stores  and  at 
all  sheriff's  offices.  Why  not  get 
your  license  now  instead  of  waiting 
until  you're  in  the  rush  of  planning 
a   fishing   trip! 


Outdoor  Writers  Reorganize 

On  December  6,  7,  and  8  the  Louisiana  Outdoor  Writers' 
Association  held  a  re-organizational  meeting  at  the  Pass- 
a-Loutre  Public  Shooting  Grounds  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  River.  This  meeting,  sponsored  by  the  Education 
and  Publicity  Division  of  the  Louisiana  Wild  Life  and  Fish- 
eries Commission,  should  mark  the  end  of  a  period  of  in- 
activity for  the  LOWA.  Retiring  president  Arthur  Van  Pelt 
handed  over  the  gavel  for  the  coming  year  to  Mr.  Charley 
Nutter,  Managing  Director  of  the  International  House, 
New  Orleans.  Elected  to  1st  vice-president  was  Hurley 
Campbell,  photographer  for  the  State  Department  of  Edu- 
cation, Baton  Rouge.  The  post  of  secretary-treasurer  was 
filled  by  the  election  of  Mr.  W.  McFadden  Duffy,  also  of 
New  Orleans.  Mr.  Adras  Laborde,  Alexandria,  was  elected 
2nd  vice-president.  The  1954  board  of  directors  will  consist 
of  Mr.  George  Hebert,  Lake  Charles;  Mr.  Forest  Hedges, 
Natchitoches;  and  Mr.  Arthur  Van  Pelt,  New  Orleans. 

Most  sections  of  Louisiana  were  represented  at  this  get- 
together,  including  workers  from  the  fields  of  radio,  news- 
paper, television,  photography,  and  free-lance  writing. 
Division  chiefs  of  the  Louisiana  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries 
Commission  were  on  hand  to  explain  to  the  assembled 
group  the  workings  and  program  of  their  respective  divi- 
sions, and  to  answer  any  questions  which  arose.  We  pre- 
dict that  this  will  result  in  a  much  better  understanding 
and  a  closer  working  relationship  between  the  state  wildlife 
agency  and  the  men  who  disseminate  most  of  the  out- 
door   news. 

The  group  enjoyed  two  days  of  very  good  duck  shoot- 
ing, but  did  very  little  damage  to  the  many  thousands  of 
geese  out  on  the  mudflats.  A  follow-up  meeting  of  the 
LOWA  will  be  scheduled  early  in  1954,  and  about  forty 
persons  from  all  over  Louisiana  have  indicated  their  intent 
to  participate.  Most  will  affiliate  with  the  national  organi- 
zation of  outdoor  writers,  the  Outdoor  Writers'  Associa- 
tion  of   America. 


Officers  who  will  preside  over  the  L.O.W.A.  for  1954  are  left  to  right:  W.  McFadden 
Duffy,  Public  Relations  Director  of  the  International  House;  Charley  Nutter,  Managing 
Director  of  the  International  House,  and  Hurley  Campbell,  photographic  chief  of  the  State 
Department   of    Education. 


John     Blanchard    presides    over    the    meeting    at   which    Commission    division    chiefs    pre- 
sented   their    program    to    the    assembled    writers,    photographers,    and    radio    men. 


•^  nm  |_- 


One  thing  Hurley  Campbell  brought  back 
from  the  trip  was  this  beautiful  photo  of  a 
bull    sprig    over   the    decoys. 

— Photo  by  Campbell 


Gwen  Kirtley  Perkins,  whose  stories  have 
often  graced  the  pages  of  the  CONSERVA- 
TIONIST, holds  a  limit  of  mallards  while  her 
Labrador    looks   bored. 

— Photo  by  Gresham 


Most  of  the  writers  were  able  to  kill 
their  limit  of  ducks,  but  found  geese  on 
the    mudflats   almost   too    elusive. 


*£§**  "^^ 


^-afti^*  -i*. 


btl  B'"'V 


ch«rd 


-THE   END 


C°°A/ 


ON  A  LOG 


by 


Herman  G.  Engelhardt  and  J.  B.  LeRay 


Labor  Day,  1953,  was  a  day  to  be  remem- 
bered by  over  a  thousand  sportsmen  and 
spectators  from  around  Baton  Rouge.  Be- 
ing the  contest-minded  citizens  they  are, 
they  saw  one  they're  not  likely  to  forget 
for  a  long  time  to  come — a  "Coon  on  a 
Log  Contest." 

The  contest  was  jointly  sponsored  by 
the  Louisiana  Coon  Hunters'  Association 
and  the  East  Baton  Rouge  Parish  Lions' 
Club  and  was  the  second  such  contest  this 
year  in  this  vicinity.  It  is  planned  that  this 
be  a  permanent  annual  event  in  the  future. 

Basically,  the  idea  was  to  have  a  dog 
swim  a  short  distance  into  a  lake  and  at- 
tempt to  unseat  Mr.  Coon  from  his  perch 
en  a  log  staked  out  in  the  water.  If  the  dog- 
performed  this  feat  within  the  space  of  one 
minute,  he  won  a  ribbon.  A  first,  second 
and  third  cash  prize  was  also  offered  to  the 
three  fastest  dogs. 

Many  of  the  spectators  who  lined  the 
banks  of  the  lake  eyed  the  "poor  little 
animal"  on  the  log  awaiting  the  vicious 
onrush    of   the    bugle-throated    dogs.     They 


Photos  by  LeSau 

clucked  their  tongues  sympathetically  at  the 
coon  who  just  lay  on  the  log  sunning  him- 
self, everyone  thinking  the  coon  didn't 
realize  he  was  in  for  a  dunking.  But  the 
spectators  were  soon  hooting  at  the  dogs 
that  thrashed  back  to  the  bank,  glad  to  be 
away  from  the  be-furred  buzz  saw.  Mr. 
Coon  got  several  good  wettings  before  the 
afternoon  was  over,  but  he  gave  a  darned 
good   account   of   himself! 

It  was  amusing  to  watch  the  dogs  per- 
form, their  characteristics  so  paralleled 
the  foibles  of  human  beings.  Some  of  the 
dogs  went  right  to  work  and  unseated  the 
coon  pronto ;  some  whooped  and  bellowed 
right  up  to  the  time  they  approached  the 
log,  and  then  swam  back  to  the  bank  as 
fast  as  they  could ;  some  of  the  large  dogs 
were  hopelessly  put  to  shame  by  the  coon, 
while  one  tiny  scrub  dog  smaller  than  the 
coon  made  the  ring-tail  happy  to  take  to  the 
water ! 

In  several  instances  the  dog  swam  out 
and  took  possession  of  the  log,  and  the  coon 
swam  back  and  unseated  the  dog!     All  in 


all,  it  was  a  hilarious  afternoon's  entertain- 
ment for  the  large  Labor  Day  gathering. 

One  aspect  of  the  contest  that  everyone 
appreciated  was  the  humane  consideration 
given  the  animals.  Three  men  were  posted 
near  the  log  in  the  chest-deep  water.  One 
of  the  men  had  a  long  leash  on  the  coon 
that  permitted  free  movement  but  could  pull 
the   coon   off  the   dogs. 

The  other  two  men  stood  ready  to  grab 
the  dog's  legs  and  pull  him  back  when  the 
two  animals  started  underwater  maneuvers. 
While  most  of  the  spectators  feared  for  the 
life  of  the  coon,  it  was  actually  the  dog 
that  was  in  peril  once  the  two  got  to 
battling  in  the  water!  A  coon  is  a  brave 
animal  and  a  good  swimmer  with  lots  of 
stamina.  The  dog,  heavier  and  more  ag- 
gressive and  usually  enthusiastic  about 
eliminating  his  arch  foe,  is  definitely  the 
"underdog"  in  the  water. 

As  it  turned  out  neither  group  of  animals 
suffered  anything  more  than  a  few  minor 
scratches,  some  humiliation  and  a  good  day's 
workout.    The  officials   changed   coons  fre- 


quently  to  prevent  them  from  becoming 
tired  out.  The  dogs  just  got  one  chance  each 
at  the  coon  and,  of  course,  didn't  tire  out. 
The  weather  that  day  was  in  the  upper 
nineties  and  none  of  the  animals  became 
chilled  from  exposure. 

For  those  interested  in  putting  on  Coon 
on  a  Log  contests  in  their  locale,  this  is  the 
way  the  contest  was  conducted: 

Dog  owners  registered  their  dogs  with 
the  officials,  paid  an  entrance  fee,  and 
drew  a  number  from  a  hat  which  was  their 
place  in  the  line-up.  As  it  turned  out  about 
40  dogs  were  registered.  The  dogs  were  put 
into  two  groups:  full-blooded  hounds  and 
mixed  breeds,  with  the  former  group  having 
first  try.  Then,  as  the  numbers  were  called, 
dog  owner  came  up  to  the  starting  en- 
closure for  his  turn. 

The  rules  stated  that  a  dog  must  swim 
cut  to  the  log  when  the  whistle  was  blown 
and  attempt  to  unseat  the  coon  in  the  space 
of  one  minute  in  order  to  qualify.  Three 
officials  had  stop  watches  which  were 
stopped  the  moment  the  coon  was  taken 
from  the  log  or  at  the  end  of  one  minute. 
If  the  dog  was  successful  in  the  one  minute, 
they  compared  their  times  and  entered  an 
average  time  in  the  records.  At  the  end  of 
the  contest  the  winners  were  announced 
and  awarded  prizes. 

Putting  on  such  a  contest  involves  a  great 
deal  of  advance  work  by  the  groups  sponsor- 
ing the  contest,  and  its  success  is  assured 
only  by  the  degree  of  effort  given.  The 
East  Baton  Rouge  Lions'  Club  and  the 
Louisiana  Coonhunters'  Association  went  to 
work  on  advertising  and  publicity,  getting 
the  information  to  both  coon  hunters  and 
the  general  public.  Their  success  can  be 
judged  from  both  the  number  of  paying 
spectators  and  the  coon  hound  entries,  both 
exceeding  all  expectations  in  view  of  the 
numerous  other  Labor  Day  activities  in 
progress  in  and  around  Baton  Rouge. 


"I   think    I'll   sit  this   one   out."   Part   of  the   crowd   can   be   seen    in   the    background. 


The  matter  of  getting  the  principal  par- 
ticipants— the  coons — is  an  exciting  and 
interesting  detail.  At  least  a  dozen  live 
healthy  full  grown  and  unharmed  coons 
must  be  corralled  in  advance.  Since  the 
coons    must    be    unharmed    they   cannot    be 


"Come   on    in,  fellows.   The   water's 
fine." 


trapped.  They  must  be  treed  with  hounds 
and  a  young  agile  hunter  must  climb  the 
ti  ee  and  retrieve  Mr.  Coon  in  a  sack.  Or 
else  he  must  be  shaken  or  poked  out  of  the 
tree  and  grabbed  just  as  soon  as  he  hits 
the  ground  and  sacked.    You  reallv  have  to 


Top  dogs  and  their  owners  are  Bill  Kiper 
(1st  place,  8  seconds):  Ed  Lorio  (2nd  place. 
10  seconds);  and  L.  A.  Thompson  (3rd  place, 
35   seconds). 


Officials  for  the  event  were  (left  to  right) 
Edgar  Roberts,  Herman  Engelhardt,  L.  J. 
Champagne,   and    Ed    Lorio. 


tree  about  10  coons  to  retrieve  one.  So,  the 
"scrap"  really  starts  between  the  coon  and 
the  hunter  before  the  main  event. 

Another  important  point  in  such  a  contest 
is  the  location  selected.  The  Lions'  Club 
made  available  their  property  within  five 
minutes  of  the  city  limits.  This  property, 
normally  used  for  local  Boy  Scout  activities, 
was  ideal  for  the  coon  contest.  There  was 
adequate  parking  space,  a  large  building 
with  chairs  for  the  ladies,  cold  drinks  avail- 
able and  the  lake  which  was  located  right 
at  the  parking  site.  The  proceeds  from  the 
event  were  shared  by  the  two  organizations, 
the  Coonhunters'  Association  planning  to 
further  their  work  with  the  Legislature  to 
liberalize  coon  hunting  restrictions  with 
their  share. 

Until  recently,  Mr.  Coon  was  considered 
a  fur-bearing  animal  and  could  not  be  shot 
by  hunter  s — just  trapped.  But  at  the 
farmers'  insistence  the  wily  animal  was 
declared  a  predator  and  could  be  hunted 
with  hounds  and  lights,  but  not  shot.  To 
coin  a  phrase,  it  seems  as  though  "the  old 
coonskins  ain't  what  they  used  to  be." 

The  only  other  freedom  the  coon  hunters 
hope  for  is  a  change  of  the  no  shooting  law, 
permitting  coon  hunting  parties  to  take 
along  at  least  one  gun  on  hunts.  The  way  it 
is  now,  they  explain,  it's  kind  of  like  being 
allowed  to  cast  when  fishing  if  you  don't 
have  hooks  on  the  plugs! 

Though  coon  pelts  are  no  longer  of  com- 
mercial value,  the  coons  do  provide  food 
and  exciting  nocturnal  sport  for  a  large 
following  of  Louisianians,  estimated  to  ex- 
ceed the  squirrel  hunters.  The  loss  of  rev- 
enue in  pelts  is  being  replaced  by  a  rash 
of  coon  hound  breeding  kennels  and  large 
purchases  of  sports  equipment  necessary  to 
this  type  of  hunting. 

The  "Coon  on  a  Log"  contests  are  another 
funds-producing  event  through  the  use  of 
the  scrappy  animals,  and  the  possibilities 
for  such  contests  throughout  the  State  are 
numerous.  Although  Mr.  Coon  has  been 
declared  a  predator  by  the  Commission,  he's 
considered  the  scrappin'est  predator  that 
Baton  Rougeans  had  seen  in  a  long  time! 
—THE  END 


'You  take  one   more  step,   Hound   Dawg,  and    I'll    mow  ya   down 


"You  had  you're  warning;    now  git  off  my  log!' 


"Just  stick  that  head  back  up  here  again  and  I'll  chaw  them  ears  off 


ENFORCEMENT  DIVISION 
PERSONNEL 


Since  there  have  been  some  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the 
Enforcement  Division  since  our  first  list  was  published  in  the 
February  issue,  and  since  many  new  names  have  been  added  to 
our  mailing  list  since  that  time,  we  are  again  publishing  this 
information.  Get  acquainted  with  the  ranger  in  your  vicinity  and 
help  him  in  any  way  you  can.  He  is  ready,  willing,  and  able  to 
aid  you  in  many  ways.  If  there  is  a  question  in  your  mind  as  to 
the  legality  of  some  item,  give  the  ranger  a  call.  Incidentally, 
he  usually  knows  where  the  fish  are  biting  and  where  the  best 
spot  is    to   kill    a   rabbit   or   two. 


Efforts  of  your  game  ranger  force  in  the  first  eleven  months 
of  1953  brought  about  some  3,400  convictions,  more  than  double 
the  previous  high.  This  could  not  have  been  accomplished  with- 
out the  help  of  a  majority  of  the  hunters,  fishermen  and  just 
plain  citizens  of  Louisiana.  We  'want  to  thank  all  justices  of  the 
peace,  judges,  sheriffs  and  their  deputies,  and  the  State  High- 
way Patrol  for  their  help  in  our  efforts  to  bring  fair  play  to  the 
pursuit  of  fish  and  game.  Let's  make  1954  an  even  better  year — 
not  necessarily  a  bigger  total  in  the  arrest  column,  but  a  better 
year   in   law  observance. 


DIVISION  CHIEF 

COL.  V.  E.  SMITH 

817  Madison  Ave.,  Covington 

Phone  1198-W 

MAJORS 


BEN  C.  DAHLEN 
4955  Gallier  Dr.,  Gentilly  Woods 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana 
Phone:  FR-5563 


MARION  SOLITO 
1410  Point  Street 
Houma,  Louisiana 
Phone:  9426 


CAPTAINS 


CAPTAINS 


District      Name 


Address 


2  New,    Leonard Box  376,  Kentwood 

Phone:  2236 

3  Jones,  Wm.   Monroe 3255   Linden   St.,  Baton 

Rouge 
Phone:   5-1697 

4  Landry,   Robert   D Paradis 

Phone:  Luling  4941 

5  Hebeit,   Lesma Labadieville 

Phone:  2651 

6  Ventrella,  Charles Batchelor,  La. 

Phone:  6106 

7  Richard,    Willie 204  S.  Miles  St.,  Abbeville 

Phone:  2094-J 

8  Bienvenu,    T.    Horace 311   W.  Bridge  St.,  St.  Mar- 

tinville 
Phone:  o785 

9  Ellis,  James Box  757,  Sulphur 

Phone:  4471 

10  Nugent,  Earl .....Rt.  2,  Dry  Prong- 

Phone:  2631 

11  Hood,   Clarence 204    Michigan    Ave.,    Jones- 

fa  or  o 
Phone:  2353 


District      Name 


Address 


12  Love,  Hartwell 411  Louisiana  Ave.,  Ferriday 

Phone:  3593 

13  Peyton,   Jessie   D Box  669,  Winnsboro 

Phone:  4580 

14  Parker,   James   P 403  Scott  St.,  Tallulah 

Phone:  813 

15  Smith,  Edmond Box  392,  Oak  Grove 

Phone:  116-A 

16  Stanfield,    Jack    Edgar.. ..1025  Laning  St.,  Minden 

Phone:  2044 

17  Farrar,   Dewey 2912  Alabama  Ave.,  Shreve- 

port 

Phone:  3-6495 
Wharf    LeBlanc,  Claude 77  Metairie  Court,  Metairie 

Phone:  TE-2272 
Comm. 
Seafood   Reno,  Harry  C.~ ..Akers  P.O.,  Manchac 

Phone:  3804 
Comm. 
Seafood   Billiot,  Joseph  .Box  27,  Lafitte 

Phone:  3658 


RANGERS 


Name 


Address   and   Phone 


ACADIA                                Hanks,  Irvy  John... Rt.  1,  Box  53-K,  Morse  (Phone:  %  1212-R2,  Crowley,  La.) 8 

ACADIA                                        Leieune,  Learlin .....Rt.  3,  Box  260,  Church  Point   (Phone:  4440) 8 

ALLEN .....Fontenot,  Rodney  L Rt.  1,  Box  54,  Oberlin   (Phone:  2381) 8 

ASCENSION Schexnayder,  Harold. Sorrento    (Phone:  9202) 3 

ASSUMPTION Arcement,  Gustave  H Labadieville   (Phone :  4811) 5 

ASSUMPTION    Landry,  Cullen Paincourtville  (Phone :  2986) 5 

AVOYELLES Chaze,  Samuel  J.,  Sr Marksville  (Phone:  5942) 6 

AVOYELLES..  Clark,  Elzie  D Vick 6 

AVOYELLES. Couvillion,  Alfred Rt.  1,  Simmesport  (Phone:  Moreauville  3413) _ 6 

AVOYELLES Luneau,  Alfred Center  Point — 6 

BEAUREGARD             Dewey,  Tom Box  44,  Merryville   (Phone:  4421) 9 

BEAUREGARD lies,  James  H. 508  Magnolia  St.,  DeRidder   (Phone:  7672) _ 9 

BOSSIER                                     Barnette,  Wm.  G 535  Riverside  Dr.,  Bossier  City 17 

BOSSIER.        Coleman,  Olney  C Plain  Dealing  (Phone:  1528 — 362) _ 17 

CADDO                                     — Britt,  J.  H Rt.  4,  Box  446,  Shreveport _ 17 

CALCASIEU                              Andrus,  Lloyd  C 407  Sixth  St.,  Lake  Charles  (Phone:  4482) 9 

CALCASIEU                              Jardell,  Bernett 412  Ruth  St.,  Sulphur  (Phone:  5551) 9 

CALCASIEU                     Reeves,  Newton... Rt.  1,  Box  3020,  Lake  Charles  (Phone:  6-9079) 9 

CALDWELL                    Arthurs,  Lance Box  424,  Columbia  (Phone:  304-J) 13 

CALDWELL... Roberts,  James R.F.D.  1,  Columbia   (Phone:  2-1305) . 13 

CAMERON .Rutherford,  Arnold Rt.  1,  Box  7,  Creole _ 9 

CAMERON                          Devall,  Simmie Rt.  2,  Box  254,  Big  Lake  Community,  Lake  Charles,  La 9 

CAMERON    Roux,  Daniel Box  114,  Cameron 9 

CATAHOULA Barron,  Ray -Foules,  La.  (Phone:  Sicily  Island  2007) 12 

CATAHOULA     McGuffee,  Cecil Enterprise 12 

CATAHOULA                             Swayze,  Allen  D.... Box  160,  Jonesville   (Phone:  5241) 12 

CLAIBORNE Killgore,  Walter  E Box  182,  Lisbon   (Phone:  2526) 16 

CONCORDIA Beard,  Ivy  M Monterey  (Phone:  3593) , 12 

CONCORDIA Forman,  Theo,  Jr ...Eva  (Phone:  %  A.  D.  George,  5241) 12 

CONCORDIA                Fairbanks,  Edwin Wildsville  (Phone:  Jonesville  4901) — 12 

DE  SOTO.   Elam,  Charles P.O.  Box  446,  Mansfield  (Phone:  96) 17 

DESOTO                 Speights,  Nobel  A Longstreet  (Phone:  9) — 17 

E.   BATON   ROUGE Jarreau,  Larance  U 4165  Winbourne  Ave.,  Baton  Rouge  (Phone:  5-0831) 3 

E.   CARROLL..... Fortenbery,     Quinton Lake  Providence  (Phone:  557-M) 15 

E.  CARROLL ....Magee,  C.  Chappel 54  Davis  St.,  Lake  Providence  (Phone:  487-J) 15 

E     FELICIANA         Bunch,  George  T ..Clinton    (Phone:  227-J) - 3 

E    FELICIANA                   Price,  Ben  A Box  93,  Ethel   (Phone:  2112) - 3 

EVANGELINE                           Andrus,  Jos.  Alex Rt.  3,  Box  486,  Ville  Platte  (Phone:  803-F2) 8 

EVANGELINE Hays,  Guy  Ford P.O.  Box  19,  Reddell  (Phone:  800-J5,  Mamou) 8 

EVANGELINE     Rozas,  Arthur  L Rt.  4,  Box  526-C,  Opelousas - 8 

FRANKLIN                     Hodges,  Homer Box  264,  Wisner  (Phone:  96-F2) 13 

FRANKLIN                      Stewart,  Rheo  G Rt.  4,  Box  4014,  Winnsboro   (Phone:  4505) _ 13 

GRANT                  Coleman,  Jack Pollock  (Phone:  4581) - - 10 

GRANT Shipp,  Edgar Rt.  2,  Pollock  (Phone:  3-3923) - - 10 

IBERIA. Bonin,  Theodore Avery  Island   (Phone:  2-7751) — - - 7 

IBERIA         Duhon,  J.  Melvin Rt.  B,  Box  113,  New  Iberia - - 7 

IBERIA                             Weber,  Earl  J Box  204,  Jeanerette   (Phone:  4183) 7 

IBERVILLE                          Olano,  Charles Box  164,  White  Castle  (Phone:  2427) -  6 

JACKSON Shell,  Thurman ....  Box  363,  Chatham  (Phone:  89-W) 11 

JEFFERSON Coulon,  Alex  J.,  Sr Extension  Rt.,  Box  452,  Barataria  (Phone:  Lafitte  9976) 4 

JEFFERSON Rau,  Peter 1122  Central  Ave.,  New  Orleans  (Phone:  CE-9500) 1 


10 


RANGERS  —  Continued 


Parish  Name  Address   and  Phone 


JEFFERSON   DAVIS LeLeux,  Louis  N 618  W.  Plaquemine  St.,  Jennings  (Phone:  1043-J) _ 9 

LAFAYETTE Begnaud,  Noisey  P P.O.  Box  165,  Carencro   (Phone:  5-0042)  7 

LAFAYETTE Cormier,  Easton  J 417  Elizabeth  St.,  Lafayette  (Phone:  8-2235)  7 

LAFOURCHE Adams,  Anthony R.F.D.,  Box  139,  Lockport  (Phone:  LaRose  3-3796)  4 

LAFOURCHE Ougel,  Ulysse  J R.F.D.,  Box  161,  Lockport  (Phone:  cr  LaRose  Hotel,  3-9715)  4 

LA  SALLE Dunn,  Thurston Olla  (Phone:  96-F11) 12 

LASALLE Otwell,  T.  H. Walters   (Phone:  Jonesville  4861) 12 

LA  SALLE Stutson,  Willie  R Nebo  Rt.,  Jena  (Phone:  %  White  Castle  Serv.  Sta.    9107)  12 

LINCOLN Maxwell,  Spencer R.F.D.  4,  Ruston   (Phone:  1988-J1)  11 

LINCOLN. Williamson,  Jewel Rt.  2,  Choudrant 11 

LIVINGSTON Harris,  Charles  R Rt.  1,  Box  103-B,  Denham  Springs  (Phone:  2906)  3 

LIVINGSTON Kozan,  George Box  13,  Albany  (Phone:  Hammond  1168-J)  3 

LIVINGSTON Mack,  Prestley  R Rt.  3,  Box  189,  Hammond  (Phone:  185-M2) 3 

MADISON Smith,  William  D Rt.  1,  Box  157-B,  Delhi  (Phone:  %  813,  Tallulah)  14 

MOREHOUSE Burgess,  Frank Rt.  1,  Oak  Ridge  (Phone:  Rayville  4-3991) 15 

MOREHOUSE Mayo,  Dan  P R.F.D.  1,  Jones  15 

MOREHOUSE Pace,  Norman  A Haile 15 

N.  NATCHITOCHES Brossett,  Percy Rt.  1,  Box  235,  Campti 10 

N.   NATCHITOCHES Conlay,  Louis Creston   (Phone:  2521,  Campti) 11 

N.   NATCHITOCHES Desadier,  Clarence Rt.  3,  Box  179,  Natchitoches  (Phone:  Clarence,  2957)  10 

N.   NATCHITOCHES Weaver,  Eugene Creston   (Phone:  %   Campti  2783) 11 

N.   NATCHITOCHES Williams,  Lary Chestnut 11 

S.   NATCHITOCHES DeBlieux,  Jack  L Rt.  3,  Box  112-A,  Natchitoches  (Phone:  3398) 10 

ORLEANS Danove,  Paul,  Sr 4537  N.  Rampart  St.,  New  Orleans  (Phone:  BY-1207)...                         .  1 

ORLEANS Harmon,  Wilkes  R 3187  DeSaix  Blvd.,  New  Orleans  (Phone:  BY-3258) 1 

ORLEANS McCue,  Arthur  J 1013  S.  Genois  St.,  New  Orleans  (Phone:  AM-2236) 1 

ORLEANS Tullier,  Albert  J.,  Jr 539  Wagner  St.,  New  Orleans  (Phone:  AL-7349).   .     ..  1 

OUACHITA Oxley,  Wm.  M 507  S.  Third  St.,  Monroe   (Phone:  2-1266) 11 

POINTE   COUPEE Bonaventure,  Wilfred Oscar,  La.   (Phone:  4541  or  4549) 6 

POINTE  COUPEE Kline,  Joseph  M .Frisco  (Phone:  4541) 6 

POINTE  COUPEE Purpera,  Vincent,  Jr Innis  (Phone:  6106) 6 

RAPIDES.  Price,  Murrell Sieper  (Phone:  Simpson  62-8609) 10 

RAPIDES Slay,  Wesley Rt.  3,  Box  91-B,  Alexandria  (Phone:  %  2-0563) 10 

RED  RIVER Cason,  Ronald  B Rt.  3,  Coushatta   (Phone:  4040,  Range  Towers) 17 

RED  RIVER Jowers,  James  O Box  213,  Coushatta  (Phone:  4040) 17 

RICHLAND Albritton,  Henry Rt.  4,  Box  368,  Rayville  (Phone:  2693) 14 

SABINE Anthony,  Clyde  E Many,  Rt.  1 10 

ST.  CHARLES Schaubhut,  Willie  R Des  Allemands   (Phone:  Luling  5135) _ 4 

ST.  HELENA Brecheen,  Roscoe Greensburg  (Phone:  %  Greensburg  Drug  Store) 2 

ST.  HELENA McCoy,  Granville  K Rt.  3,  Box  165,  Amite   (Phone:  3504) 2 

ST.  JAMES Pertuis,  Robert Box  77,  Lutcher   (Phone:  3350) 4 

ST.  JOHN Gorio,  Earl Garyville   (Phone:  3186) 4 

ST.  LANDRY Doucet,  Regile,  Jr Star  Rt.,  Washington   (Phone:  5701) 8 

ST.  LANDRY Jackson,  Andrew  L Rt.  2,  Melville  (Phone:  3903) 8 

ST.  LANDRY Tate,  Honore Box  281,  Washington   (Phone:  6665) 8 

ST.  MARTIN Dupuis,  Melvin Rt.  2,  Box  678,  Breaux  Bridge  (Phone:  5165) 8 

ST.  MARTIN Romero,  Robert 102  Vivier  St.,  St.  Martinville  (Phone:  3298) 8 

ST.   MARY Fouquier,  Everett  A 305  Sanders  St.,  Franklin   (Phone:  895). 5 

ST.   MARY Gilmore,  Cecil Box  45,  Berwick  (Phone:  3886) 5 

ST.  TAMMANY Jenkins,  Arthur Box  166,  Covington  (Phone:  219-J) 2 

ST.  TAMMANY Parker,  Arthur  D 18th  and  Monroe  Sts.,  Covington  (Phone:  839-W) 2 

TANGIPAHOA Hyde,  Buddy  F Rt.  1,  Roseland  (Phone:  3397,  Kentwood) 2 

TANGIPAHOA Milton,  E.  J Tangipahoa,  Box  52 2 

TANGIPAHOA Niehaus,  Nick Ponchatoula  (Phone:  7063) 2 

TANGIPAHOA Sanders,  Jessie  M R.F.D.  1,  Kentwood   (Phone:  4076) 2 

TENSAS Poe,  Bill R.F.D.  1,  Newellton   (Phone:  4432) 13 

TENSAS Spruill,  Harvey  Lee Rt.  3,  St.  Joseph  (Phone:  46-X) 13 

TENSAS ...Stewart,  Thos.  W R.F.D.,  Newellton 13 

TERREBONNE Jaccuzzo,  James  V 614  Point  St.,  Houma  (Phone:  6422) 5 

TERREBONNE Mclntire,  Daniel  C. Box  39,  Gibson   (Phone:  %  Walter's  Store) 5 

UNION Fallin,  J.  Marvin Bernice,  La 16 

UNION Hamilton,  James Downsville  (Phone :  8465) 16 

UNION Langston,  Edward Litroe - - 16 

VERMILION Frederick,  Paul Rt.  1,  Box  297,  Gueydan   (Phone:  -i  Fred  Hebert,  3291) 7 

VERMILION Lege,  Milton 708  S.  East  St.,  Abbeville   (Phone:  1774-R) - 7 

VERMILION Menard,  Levise Henry  (Phone :  Erath  3471) 7 

VERNON Davis,  Leslie Simpson   (Phone:  62-8609) 10 

WASHINGTON Seal,  Leroy Varnado   (Phone:  1991-J3) - 2 

WEBSTER ..Smith,  Claude Box  443,  Cotton  Valley  (Phone:  8603) 16 

W.  BATON   ROUGE Francois,  John  G Rt.  1,  Port  Allen   (Phone:  1414,  Erwinville) 6 

W.  CARROLL Ford,  James  A Box  133,  Epps  (Phone:  %  2181) 15 

W.  CARROLL Schrock,  Clyde Rt.  1,  Box  310,  Oak  Grove  (Phone:  Dumas  Serv.  Sta.,  112) 15 

W.  FELICIANA Rosenthal,  Joseph St.  Francisville   (Phone:  122-J) 6 

WINN Harrington,  Hoyt  W Rt.  3,  Winnfield  (Phone:  4372) 11 

WINN Raborn,  Victor Rt.  1,  Goldonna   (Phone:  cc  2353,  Jonesboro) 11 

11 


Who'll  claim  this  very  cute  youngster  with 
the  very  nice  sac-a-lait?  We  lost  the  data 
that    came    with    the    pic. 


Victor  and  Sam  Michelli,  Son  and  Sam  Fedele,  and  Samuel 
Consentino,  all  of  Baton  Rouge,  with  the  results  of  a  highly  suc- 
cessful   rabbit   hunt. 


Leopard  Catahoula 
Cur  owned  by  Overton 
Futrell    of   Dry    Prong. 


Pictures 


Winners  of  the  South  Louisiana  Beagle  Club  Field 
Trial  October  25  were  Mona's  Molly,  Dyers'  Tilley, 
Cherokee  Missy,  Bonura's  Frisky,  and  Dyers'  Sandra. 
This  was  in  the  15"  class  for  females. 


Wayne  Coon,  11  year  old  from  Monroe, 
killed  this  nice  buck  in  Madison  parish  last 
year. 


This  170  lb.  alligator  gar  was  caught  in  Tensas  River 
near  Gilbert  by  Carl  Rider,  Geo.  McManus,  and  Henry 
Wafer,  Jr.,  all  of  Winnsboro.  It  was  seven  feet  and  four 
inches    in    length. 


12 


Deer  killed  near  Westwego 
by  Frank  Gisclair,  Sr.  and 
Frank,  Jr.  Palmated  antler  of 
top    head    is   6%"   wide. 


The  Ouachita  unit  of  the 
La.  Wild.  Fed.  had  this  excel- 
lent exhibit  at  the  Ouachita 
Valley    Fair. 


The     Readers 


Mrs.  Bill  Stone,  Cotton  Valley,  with  a  50 
lb.  Opelousas  catfish  caught  on  trot  line  by 
Bill   Stone,   V.    Keeling,   and   John    Dean. 


d,  all  of  7  years 
ss  unaided  on  a 
ucky  "13"  out  of 
om   Delhi. 


W.  A.  and  I.  S.  Herrington 
of  Mansfield  took  this  string 
of  bass  from  Black  Lake  on 
December  29,    1952. 


A  group  of  Marksville  High  School  boys  did  mighty  fine 
the  Spring  Bayou  area  on  this  trip.  Prof.  Fuqua  and  Jam 
Bordelon    display   the   catch. 


"Slick"  Thompson,   Winnsboro,  with   an   eight- 
point    buck    killed    in    Madison    parish. 


13 


DEER 


n 


Guy  Kincaid  checks  the  weight  (184  lbs.)  of  a  nice  five  point  buck  killed  by  Bill  Allen 
Butler  on  opening  day  at  the  Winnsboro  Hunting  Club,  Tensas  parish.  Bill  Allen  is  the  one 
with   the    grin    and    without   horns. 


It  had  been  11  months  since  we'd  heard 
the  coarse  choppy  tongue  of  Tip,  the 
squalling-  mouth  of  Rachel,  woods-rocking 
blare  of  Sampson  and  the  sharp  squealing 
of  Bell  and  we  were  hungry  .  .  .  starved 
for  a  good  deer  race  and  a  chunk  of  venison 
smothered  in  brown  onion  gravy.  The  time 
was  near;  mighty  close — only  one  night 
away  as  our  station  wagon  lights  burned 
twin  holes  in  the  Madison  parish  twilight 
November  30. 

Bernard  had  gone  ahead  in  the  pickup 
with  the  hounds  and  was  standing  on  the 
front  steps  of  the  weather-beaten  club- 
house when  we  bumped  into  the  yard.  We 
call  it  a  clubhouse  just  to  have  bigshot 
ideas.  Actually,  it  is  no  more  than  a  lean- 
to  built  off  the  ground  to  keep  out  spring- 
floods.  The  yard  is  a  pin-oak  studded 
piece  of  ground  enclosed  with  two  strands 
of  rusting  barbed  wire.  We  fondly  speak 
of  the  stables  (four  pieces  of  tin  held 
intact  by  two  by  fours)  and  dog  pens 
(rabbit  and  poultry  wire  draped  around 
some  trees)   in  our  world  of  make-believe. 

You'd  have  thought  we  hadn't  seen 
Bernard  in  two  years  when  we  landed  our 
booted    feet   in    the    yard    and    yelled    our 


greetings.  We'd  talked  to  him  in  Tallulah 
not  six  hours  hence.  But  it  was  a  happy 
world  this  chilly  November  night  as  the 
tantalizing  odor  of  squirrel  mulligan  waft- 
ed from  the  kitchen  (the  kitchen  is  also  a 
part  of  the  living,  dining  and  bedrooms). 
Bernard  is  a  pretty  fair  cook,  rifleshot, 
horseman  and  hound-handler  and  we  con- 
sidered ourselves  lucky  to  have  him  as  one 
of  the  "Terrible  Four." 

The  station  wagon  springs  sighed  in 
relief  as  the  bed  rolls,  ice-box,  guns,  lan- 
terns and  what-have-you  were  unloaded. 
Willie  D.  called  back  over  his  shoulder 
and  reminded  us  that  "Be  sure  and  unload 
my  long-handles"  which  his  wife  insisted 
that  he  take,  even  after  the  vehicle  took  on 
the  appearance  of  an  over-stuffed  dufflebag 
back  at  his  house.  We  tied  the  arms  and 
legs  of  the  union  suit  in  forty-eleven  dozen 
knots  and  deposited  them  casually  on  his 
army  cot  as  he  threatened  the  trio  with 
double-oughts. 

We  must  have  chewed  three  or  four 
times  as  we  downed  the  mulligan  and  drank 
piping  hot  black  coffee.  We  were  eager, 
eager  as  16  year-olds  on  the  first  hunt. 
The  four  of  us  probably  had  a  total  of  60 


DOGS 

by 
John  Blanchard 


Photos  by   Gresham 

years  experience  deer  hunting,  but  that 
wasn't  to  be  considered  as  we  held  a  goose- 
pimply  bull  session  after  supper,  discussing 
what  stand  we'd  take  as  Bernard  drove 
(rode  after  the  dogs)  the  next  morning. 

Charles  insisted  that  we  go  to  bed  or 
we'd  be  a  sleepy,  drowsy  crew  to  look 
down  gunsights  the  next  morning.  Charles 
is  a  pretty  bright  boy,  quiet,  reserved  and 
a  darn  good  hunter,  regardless  of  the  game 
he  stalks.  For  once  we  listened  to  his  well- 
put  advice,,  turned  out  the  lantern  and 
snuggled  in  our  blankets  as  the  oil-drum 
heater  cast  a  red  glow  into  the  darkness. 
It  seemed  to  call  for  more  wood  as  it 
popped  and  crackled  in  its  cooling-off 
process. 

Tip  knew  it  was  breaking  day  and  told 
us  about  it  with  a  mournful  howl  which 
seemed  to  say:  "This  is  opening  day,  fel- 
lows; pile  out  and  let's  get  a  race  started." 
We  did. 

We  scattered  in  three  directions  as  Ber- 
nard rode  off  with  the  four  hounds  trailing 
him.  Charles  headed  toward  the  Bloody 
Bucket,  Willie  D.  for  the  Scottish  stand, 
and  I  went  northward  to  the  three  stoopin' 
oaks.  Familial-  landmarks,  not  seen  in  al- 
most a  year,  brought  back  memories — of 
the  spike  shot  by  my  fellow  hunters,  of  the 
12-point  slain  by  one,  a  neat  six-point  by 
another  in  years  gone  by.  Right  then  I  had 
my  mind  set  on  the  three  stoopin'  oaks  and 
almost  noiselessly  gum-shoed  my  way 
through  buckvines,  hanging  spiderwebs  and 
vine-draped  trees.    I  might  creep  up  on  a 


14 


big  buck  and  get  the  jump  on  my  com- 
panions, I  day-dreamed  as  I  continued 
toward  my  favorite  stand,  located  about 
one-half  mile  east  of  Tensas  river. 

We  had  time  to  reach  our  destinations 
when  I  heard  Tip  give  out  a  sharp,  warning 
bark  that  indicated  a  cold  but  promising- 
trail.  The  big  black  and  tan  is  a  strike 
dog,  one  of  the  best,  who  weaves  in  and  out 
of  brush  tops  in  search  of  his  quarry. 
Oddly  enough  he'd  rather  run  a  buck  than 
a  doe,  and  if  he  starts  a  race  with  both 
sexes  and  they  split  their  trails,  Tip  will 
take  the  buck  everytime.  Put  down  those 
shotguns,  men,  'tis  a  fact.  He'll  run  a 
deer  about  45  minutes  and  then  return  to 
start  another  race.  Miss  a  buck  and  he 
stands  and  looks  at  you  with  his  big  brown 
eyes  as  if  to  say  "why'n  hell  did  you  miss 
'em?" 

Rachel  put  in  her  two  cents'  worth  be- 
cause she  trusts  her  running  mate  and  Bell 
squalled  in  anticipation  of  fun  remembered 
from  last  season.  Not  a  word  out  of  Samp- 
son because  this  was  his  first  trip  with  the 
music-making  trio.  Tip  gave  five  short 
barks  and  I  knew  that  he  had  struck;  the 
trail  had  suddenly  become  hot;  probably 
routed  the  venison-on-the-hoof  from  one  of 
his  favorite  tree  tops.  Three  other  tongues 
joined  in  as  the  deer  headed  northwest  to- 
ward the  Bloody  Bucket  now  guarded  by 
Charles.  Rachel,  the  half  black-and-tan 
and  half  redbone,  soon  gained  the  lead  as 
she  always  does,  ahead  of  the  big  Walker, 
Sampson,  in  front  of  Tip  and  Bell.  Not  to 
be  defied  by  a  female,  Sampson  pulled  in 
close,  nearly  knocking  the  acorns  from  the 
trees  with  his  resounding  bass  voice. 

The  deer  undoubtedly  turned  south 
momentarily  and  was  making  his  famous 
circle.  Then  I  knew  it  was  a  big  buck, 
especially  if  he  turned  again  into  the  north 
wind  and  headed  out  of  the  country.  I  got 
cold,  colder  than  I  have  ever  remembered 
'cause  the  pack  seemed  to  be  headed  east 
toward  the  oaks  where  I  stood  trembling, 
cold  from  the  chill  morning,  but  colder 
from  the  anticipation  of  getting  a  shot. 
He  made  the  circle  and  headed  out  as  I 
stood  motionless  with  ears  strained  for  the 
report  of  Charles'  12  gauge  automatic.  He 
was  going  Bucketward  and  there  was 
nothing  I  could  do  but  hope  that  Charles 
would  fold  him  like  an  accordion  with 
those  double-oughts. 

The  woods,  all  of  Madison,  seemed  to  be 
alive  with  dogs.  The  quartet  sounded  like 
a  pack  of  forty  as  Bernard  cheered  them 
on,  encouraging  them  as  much  as  possible 
over  the  roar  of  Tip,  Rachel,  Bell  and 
Sampson.  "Why  doesn't  he  shoot?"  I  asked 
myself.  "Has  he  got  buck-ager?"  I  thought. 
"Maybe  he  didn't  get  to  the  Bucket."  I 
answered  all  of  my  own  questions,  becom- 
ing more  impatient  with  every  fleeting 
moment. 

Then  I  heard  the  twelve.  Once.  Twice. 
The  dogs  continued  their  chase  and  won- 
dered if  the  deer  was  THAT  far  ahead  or 
had    Charles    missed.     Heavens    to    Betsy, 


what  in  the  world  was  going  on?  Then 
there  was  silence  and  I  grinned  triumph- 
antly, knowing  that  Charles  was  cutting 
the  buck's  throat  by  now.  My  feet  just 
wouldn't  stand,  I  had  to  go  see  for  myself. 
It  had  been  so  long.  I  struck  out  through 
the  dense  undergrowth  toward  the  Bucket, 
walking  as  fast  as  I  could,  knowing  that 
I  shouldn't  be  tramping  through  the  woods 
making  so  much  noise.  I  might  get  some 
buckshot,  so  I  started  whistling  .  .  .  for 
joy. 

I  was  greeted  at  the  scene  by  a  grinning 
Charles,  four  hounds  and  Bernard  who  had 
ridden  nonchalantly  to  the  spot  on  the  big- 
bay  horse.  Tip  lapped  up  a  few  splotches 
of  blood  as  the  other  three  lay  quietly  near 
the  very  dead  eight-point. 

We  took  a  vote  and  Bernard  hauled  the 
deer  aboard  his  horse  and  headed  camp- 
ward  to  deposit  his  load  and  try  another 
race.  The  morning  was  young  and  we 
three,  Willie  D.  had  arrived  by  this  time, 
were  willing  to  make  another  drive.  To- 
ward our  two  stands  headed  Willie  D.  and 
I  to  wait  for  the  music  ...  if  it  started 
again. 

I  leaned  against  the  oaks,  had  a  smoke 
and  when  I  relaxed  I  discovered  I  was 
sleepy;  probably  caused  by  tension  and 
then  relaxation.  I  summoned  my  strength 
and  listened  to  the  dogs  running  near 
Hunter's  and  Greenleaf  bends,  but  wanting 
to  hear  the  sweet  voice  of  old  Tip.  I  did 
and  I  jumped  quickly  to  my  feet,  hoping. 
And  I  hadn't  long-  to  hope  because  the 
pack  ran  two  does  through  my  stand  giving 
me  heart  failure,  goose-bumps,  nervous 
tension,  the  shakes  and  other  disturbances 
too   numerous  to   mention. 

Too  excited  to  catch  the  dogs  I  stood  and 
watched  them  literally  fly  through  the  brush 
in  pursuit  of  the  sleek  beautiful  creatures. 
My  mouth  stood  open  like  a  fireplace  as 
the  race  faded  in  the  distance  and  I  came 
to  my  senses,  cussin'  my  luck  and  blaming 
old  Tip  for  running  a  doe,  almost  consider- 
ing writing  an  editorial  about  the  ratio  of 
bucks  to  does  in  this  area.  I  knew  the  day's 
hunt  was  over  and  hoped  that  the  pack 
would  return  so  we  might  have  another 
race  the  next  day.  I  was  way  ahead  with 
my  pipe  dreams. 

Making  a  little  passe  toward  the  river 
in  hopes  of  finding  a  walking  buck,  I 
headed  toward  the  camp  and  found  all  my 
companions  dressing  the  buck.  They  had 
already  rehashed  the  chase  and  even  ac- 
cused me  of  having  buck-ager  on  that  last 
sashay.  Nothing  is  as  indignant  as  a  man 
who  has  does  run  over  him  and  his  buddies 
insist  that  he  should  have  shot  at  the 
BUCK. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  without  in- 
cident and  the  night  dragged  through  to 
dawn  into  a  damp,  foggy  morning,  ideal 
for  deer  we  said.  The  dogs  and  the  party 
were  just  as  eager  as  ever,  excepting 
Charles,  of  course.  Willie  D.  talked  him 
out  of  the  Bucket  stand  and  we  split  up  as 


Crossing  the  Tensas. 


during  the  previous  morning.  Rachel 
opened  up  on  a  hot  trail,  unusual  for  her 
since  she  isn't  a  strike  dog,  and  the  three 
joined  in.  May  be  a  back  trail,  I  thought, 
knowing  that  Tip  would  straighten  out  the 
pack.  This  he  did  and  another  race  was 
in  progress  more  fervent  than  yesterday. 
The  circle  and  again  toward  the  Bucket 
they  went  as  I  cussed  for  not  having 
thought    of    trading    stands    with    Charles. 

The  sharp  crack  of  a  high-powered  rifle 
severed  my  thought  chain  and  I  knew  that 
Bernard  had  fired  at  the  fleeing  buck  with 
his  carbine.  He  had  shot  while  the  animal 
was  making  his  circle  in  an  attempt  to 
throw  the  dogs  off  track.  The  race  was 
short-lived  and  the  dogs  hushed  as  if  turn- 
ing off  a  water  faucet.  There'd  be  no  shirt- 
tail  cutting  if  Bernard  had  done  the  shoot- 
ing I  knew.  I  heard  the  call  blow  (three 
long  blasts)  and  headed  toward  the  sound. 
Upon  arrival  at  the  scene  I  saw  a  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pound  buck  with  antlers 
much  likened  to  branched  candelabra  at  a 
wedding.  Twelve  points  that  buck  had  and 
we  three  enviously  congratulated  the  proud 
victor  for  his  running  rifle  shot  and  trophy. 

We  had  one  more  day  to  go  and  I  tossed 
restlessly  in  my  bunk,  dreaming  of  to- 
morrow, the  stooping  oaks  and  herds  of 
deer  which  grazed  nearby  while  I  searched 
in  vain  for  shells  to  load  my  automatic.  I 
was  awakened  sharply  by  my  wife  who  said : 
"John,  if  you  are  going  back  to  north 
Louisiana  to  kill  a  deer  you'd  better  get  up. 
Edouard  and  Claude  will  be  here  any  min- 
ute now." 

—THE  END 


15 


Biologists  Begin  District  Setup 


There  will  be  changes  made  in  the  Fish 
and  Game  Division  on  the  first  of  January, 
but  as  far  as  the  sportsmen  are  concerned, 
there  will  be  little  noticeable  difference. 
These  changes  should  reflect  more  and 
better  game  management  in  the  future. 
The  reorganization  will  give  the  sports- 
man closer  and  more  frequent  contact  with 
the  game  and  fish  technicians  and  should 
reflect  in  better  service  to  everyone  in  the 
state. 

This  reshuffle  will  affect  only  the  Pitt- 
man-Robertson  Section  of  the  Fish  and 
Game  Division.  Effective  January  1  the 
entire  Administration  Office  of  the  Federal 
Aid  Section  will  move  from  Baton  Rouge 
to  New  Orleans.  This  move  is  designed  to 
reduce  overhead  and  give  closer  coordina- 
tion between  the  various  sections  of  the 
Game  and  Fish  Division  and  between  other 
divisions  of  the  Wild  Life  and  Fisheries 
Commission.  The  closer  coordination  in  the 
administrative  level  will  reduce  cost  and 
give  more  efficient  operation  in  purchasing 
and  other  procedures. 

The  major  change  will  be  a  district  setup 
affecting  the  entire  Pittman-Robertson  pro- 
gram, and  resulting  in  a  complete  reorgani- 
zation of  that  program.  The  state  will  be 
divided  into  districts,  with  parishes  of 
similar  game  conditions  grouped  together. 
Each  district  will  have  one  supervisor  who 
will  be  responsible  for  carrying  out  all 
Pittman-Robertson  activities.  In  addition 
to  the  supervisor,  one  or  more  biologists 
and  other  personnel  will  be  located  in  each 
district.  The  number  of  men  in  each  dis- 
trict will  be  governed  by  the  type  of  work 
being  undertaken  and  the  complexity  of 
the  problem. 

The  present  Pittman-Robertson  program 
consists  of  several  distinct  research  proj- 
ects, several  developmental  and  mainte- 
nance activities,  each  project  having  a  lead- 
er, one  or  more  assistants,  and  associated 
personnel  as  needed.  The  scope  of  the 
project  was  frequently  state-wide,  which 
necessitated  considerable  travel  on  the  part 
of  certain  men.  Effective  January  1  all 
separate  research  development  and  mainte- 


District  1 

Headquarters:    Minder. 

Supervisor  Morton  Smith  is  on  leave  in 
the  armed  forces.  Biologist  Ray  Rogers 
is  Acting  Supervisor  in  his  absence.  Par- 
ishes: Caddo,  Bossier,  Webster,  Bienville, 
Red  River,  and  DeSoto. 


by 
George  Moore 


nance  projects  will  be  combined  into  one 
of  each  type.  Under  this  setup,  the  duties 
of  the  entire  Pittman-Robertson  staff  will 
be  prorated  into  one  of  the  three  projects, 
depending  upon  the  amount  and  kind  of 
work  he  does.  There  will  be  no  projects 
requiring  statewide  travel  by  a  single  proj- 
ect leader,  as  all  the  work  in  each  district 
will  be  carried  out  by  the  district  per- 
sonnel. The  present  leaders  of  key  research 
projects  will  also  serve  as  study  leaders, 
and  each  will  be  responsible  for  compiling 
and  submitting  the  data  on  his  specialized 
study.  He  will  organize  the  work  but  will 
gather  the  information  only  in  his  district. 
Additional  data  will  be  gathered  by  other 
district  personnel  and  routed  to  the  study 
leader  for  assembling. 

There  are  disadvantages  in  the  district 
setup,  but  these  are  outweighed  by  the 
many  advantages.  A  major  disadvantage  is 
the  tendency  of  a  district  man  to  become 
a  troubleshooter  in  his  particular  locality 
in  all  matters  concerning  the  commission. 
Thus,  his  duties  are  spread  so  thin  that 
his  major  objective  suffers.  This  disadvant- 
age is  not  a  serious  one  and  depends  upon 
each  individual's  ability  to  follow  the  work 
program  as  outlined  for  him.  The  advan- 
tages are  many,  the  major  ones  being  bet- 
ter utilization  of  personnel,  more  economi- 
cal operation,  and  more  security  in  the 
job.  By  arranging  the  work-load,  each  em- 


ployee can  set  up  a  schedule  so  that  there 
will  be  no  slack  periods,  thus  giving  better 
utilization  of  technical  talent.  The  em- 
ployee will  also  have  a  chance  to  become 
familiar  with  all  types  of  problems,  rather 
than  being  limited  to  the  ecology  of  one 
or  two  species.  In  the  future,  each  man 
will  be  working  on  a  program,  not  just  a 
three-year  study  of  a  specific  game  animal. 
The  types  of  data  gathered  will  change 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  commission, 
but  the  program  will  continue.  The  com- 
pletion of  a  certain  phase  will  not  end  a 
project  and  leave  the  administrators  and 
project  leaders  uncertain  as  to  what  they 
will  do  next.  Since  each  man  is  part  of  a 
program,  he  will  continue  his  work,  and 
new  jobs  will  be  added  with  no  change  in 
his  status.  Since  the  district  man  knows 
he  will  be  permanently  stationed  in  an 
area,  he  can  feel  free  to  establish  a  home, 
whereas  in  the  past  he  had  no  idea  where 
his  next  project  might  take  him. 

The  district  system  is  more  economical 
because  time-consuming,  expensive  trips 
from  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other  will 
be  eliminated.  Problems  that  arise  will  be 
handled  by  personnel  in  the  district  in 
which  the  situation  occurs.  This  not  only 
reduces  the  cost  of  travel  but  also  gets 
the  job  done  quicker. 

The  state  will  be  divided  into  seven  dis- 
tricts of  similar  physiographical  conditions 
(see  map).  The  district  supervisor  and 
biologist  are  listed  in  Table  I.  Every  sports- 
man is  invited  to  get  acquainted  with  the 
Pittman-Robertson  personnel  in  his  district 
and  to  call  upon  them  for  assistance. 


District   2 


District  3 


RAYMOND   MOODY 
Supervisor 

Headquarters:    Monroe 

Parishes:  Union,  Morehouse,  W.  Carroll, 
E.  Carroll,  Lincoln,  Ouachita,  Richland,  and 
Jackson. 


JOHN   NEWSOM 
Supervisor 

Headquarters:    Alexandria 

Parishes:   Winn,  Grant,  Natchitoches,  Sa- 
bine, Vernon  and  Rapides. 


16 


District  4 


District   7 


RICHARD   YANCEY 

Supervisor 

Headquarters:    Ferriday 

Parishes:  Madison,  Caldwell,  Franklin, 
Tensas,  La  Salle,  Catahoula,  and  Concor- 
dia. 


District  5 


ROBERT  MURRY 
Supervisor 

Headquarters:     DeRidder 

Parishes:  Beauregard,  Allen,  Evange- 
line, Calcasieu,  Jeff  Davis,  Acadia,  Cam- 
eron, and  Vermilion. 


District  6 


Headquarters:    Opelousas 

Parishes:  Avoyelles,  Pointe  Coupee,  St. 
Landry,  Lafayette,  St.  Martin,  Iberville, 
West  Baton  Rouge,  Iberia,  Assumption,  St. 
Mary,  Terrebonne,  Lafourche,  St.  James, 
and  Ascension. 


KENNETH   SMITH 
Supervisor 

Headquarters:    Baton    Rouge 

Parishes:  West  Feliciana,  East  Feliciana, 
St.  Helena,  Washington,  East  Baton  Rouge, 
Livingston,  Tangipahoa,  St.  Tammany,  As- 
cension, St.  James,  St.  John,  St.  Charles, 
Jefferson,  Plaquemines,  St.  Bernard,  and 
Orleans. 

THE  END 


The 


Duck  Hunter 


By  A.  B.  Cobb 


Another  year  has  come  and  gone, 
And  the  ducks  are  on  the  wing; 

The  honkers  are  a'honkin, 
And  the  season  has  a  ting. 

The  leaves  have  started  fallin', 
And  the  grass  is  turnin'  brown; 
Your  eyes  are  on  the  calendar, 
"Cause  the   ducks  are   comin'   down. 

The  clock  just  seems  to  slow  up, 
And  the  weeks  are  twice  as  long; 
The  time  just  doesn't  get  here, 
When  the  warden  sounds  the  gong. 

And  then  one  day  it  happens, 

And  it  seems  it  isn't  true; 

But  you  get  into  your  blind, 

And  you  blow  like  "Little   Boy  Blue." 

And  you  blow  the  kind  of  language 
That   you've   practiced   all   the   fall, 
And  you  find  the  ducks  are  furriners, 
And  they  don't  understand  at  all. 

And  then  you  finally  realize 
They  are  anything  but  bright; 
They  circle  just  outside  of  range 
And  never  try  to  light. 

A  smug  smile  creeps  across  your  face, 
And  you  thank  your  lucky  star 
That  you're  blessed  with  intelligence 
And  not  stupid  like  they  are. 

And  the  north  wind  is  ablowin', 
And  you're  shivering  'cause  you're  wet; 
And  the  same  thing  happens  every  year. 
It  takes  one  year  to  ferget! 

17 


How  They  Flew 

Malcolm  Connolly,  JENNINGS  DAILY 
NEWS  .  .  .  Well,  we  got  a  later  opening 
date  on  ducks  this  year,  and  still  lots  of 
gripes  about  hunting  conditions. 

Maybeso  the  boys  who  set  the  dates 
should  get  together  with  the  Weather  Bu- 
reau.   Something  might  be  worked  out. 

This  Corner  believes  there  are  lots  of 
ducks  down  here  now  and  lots  more  to 
come.  Just  not  enough  bad  weather  to 
make  them  circulate.  Too,  the  moon  has 
been  full  this  week  and  that  sorta  messes 
up  the  legal  shooting  hours. 


Paul  Kalman,  NEW  ORLEANS  ITEM 
.  .  .  Anyone  could  figure  that  duck  hunting 
was  far  below  par  during  the  first  week  of 
the  1953  season.  Most  of  the  shooters  go- 
ing out  last  weekend  considered  themselves 
extremely  fortunate  to  bag  even  a  limit 
of  the  smaller  ducks  they  have  by-passed 
during  recent  seasons  in  preference  to  the 
choicer  and  more  handsome  French  ducks 
and  pintails. 

Arthur  Van  Pelt,  NEW  ORLEANS 
TIMES-PICAYUNE  .  .  .  Waterfowl  hunt- 
ers in  the  marshes  that  extend  entirely 
across  the  southern  borders  of  Louisiana, 
and  those  also  whose  hunting  is  done 
around  the  many  large  lakes  scattered 
about  the  state,  found  ducks  of  several 
species  and  in  large  concentrations  in 
numerous  localities.  Beginning  with  open- 
ing day,  Nov.  17,  limit  hunts  made  within 
a  few  hours  were  reported  by  the  majority 
of  those  hunting. 

W.  C.  Goins,  SHREVEPORT  JOURNAL 
.  .  .  The  duck  season  has  come,  and  for 
a  lot  of  hunters,  it  is  already  gone.  Most 
observers  agree  on  the  fact  that  the  main 
flights  have  left  this  area,  and  many  of 
them  did  not  even  stop  in  for  a  visit.  Last 
Saturday  and  Sunday  when  the  winds  were 
so  strong,  many  flocks  were  seen  flying 
high  over  the  lakes  on  their  way  south. 
A  few  flights  of  geese  were  also  reported, 
but  most  of  these  birds  have  been  on  the 
coast  for  some  time. 

Delbert  Oliver,  LAFAYETTE  ADVER- 
TISER .  .  .  Duck  hunters  have  reported 
large  flights  of  ducks  every  day  since  the 
season  opened  if  you  have  or  can  find 
places  to  hunt  them.  Large  concentrations 
of  ducks  were  reported  Tuesday  and  Wed- 
nesday, and  Thursday's  rains  increased 
activity  for  the  birds  and  gave  hunters 
plenty  of  targets. 

Mallards  and  pintails  are  plentiful  in 
the  marshes  or  flooded  rice  fields,  one 
hunter  reported,  and  the  rains  have  prob- 
ably made  a  lot  of  other  areas  wet  enough 
to  attract  ducks  and  geese.  Limits  were 
easy  to  get  all  this  week,  and  most  hunters 
could  pick  their  flights  to  shoot  into  to 
assure   them   of   at  least  a   couple   of  mal- 


lards. 


THE  END 


Recollections  of 


LOUISIANA'S  FIRST  GAME  WARDEN 


by 
Robert  H.  Wilcox 


18 


A  copy  of  the  Louisiana  Conservationist 
showing  recent  developments  in  the  state's 
fish  and  game  fields  brings  back  memories 
of  conditions  as  I  knew  them  more  than  a 
half  century  ago.  I  was  then  publishing 
the  Southern  Sportsman  in  New  Orleans, 
with  an  office  in  Carondelet  Street  near 
Gin-Fizz  Ramos.  This  ambitious  little 
magazine  was  short-lived.  Two  years  of 
yellow  fever  quarantine,  when  only  first- 
class  mail  left  the  city,  and  that  punched 
and  fumigated,  was  much  too  much.  In  my 
connection  with  the  Sportsman  I  became 
acquainted  with  the  leading  hunters  and 
fishermen  and  enjoyed  their  hospitality  at 
their  camps  on  Chef  Menteur  and  other 
favored  locations.  At  that  time  there  was 
very  little  restraint  as  to  dates  and  bag- 
limits  for  fishing  or  hunting  throughout 
the  state.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  a 
license  required  for  either  sport  and  the 
only  thing  resembling  a  date  that  I  can 
remember  was  that  a  gentleman  should  not 
shoot  a  deer  before  September  first.  Soon 
after  that  date  the  owner  of  the  Promised 
Land  Plantation,  several  miles  down  river, 
would  send  out  invitations  for  the  annual 
drive;  a  tug  would  be  chartered  and  the 
New  Orleans  crowd  would  go  down.  One 
year,  I  remember,  the  only  successful 
hunter  was  a  one-armed  individual  with  a 
double-barreled  shotgun  who  bagged  the 
three  deer  approaching  his  stand.  He  surely 
reloaded  without  delay! 

In  an  effort  toward  regulation,  at  the 
suggestion  of  leading  sportsmen,  I  was  ap- 
pointed a  Special  Officer.  We  were  having 
trouble  enforcing  the  Parish  of  Orleans 
ordinance  protecting  black  bass  (green 
trout)  and  I  drew  up  a  stronger  one  which 
was  adopted  by  the  Council.  Also  I  en- 
deavored to  tighten  up  an  enforcement  of 
wildfowl  ordinance.  One  of  the  first  offend- 
ers I  brought  in  was  Captain  Leathers  of 
the  famous  river  steamer  T.  P.  Leathers. 
He  had  too  many  poule  d'eau!  He  paid  his 
fine  but  remained  a  firm  friend  and  after 
:he  demise  of  the  Sportsman  he  helped  me 
run  the  shotgun  quarantine  against  the 
yellow  fever  ridden  city  by  taking  me  with 
my  team  of  ponies  and  buckboard  aboard 
the  Leathers  and  dumping  me  off  a  distance 
up  the  river  whence  I  drove  to  Calcasieu 
parish,  five  days  driving  over  the  roads  of 
:hat  time. 

The  aforementioned  officer's  badge  al- 
most caused  me  trouble  in  the  rice  country. 
[  was  sewing  sacks  with  a  harvesting  crew, 
iving  in  bunkhouse  with  the  other  hands, 
>vhen  a  nosy  member  saw  fit  to  go  through 
ny  luggage  in  my  absence  and  found  the 
star.    The  crew  got  wind  of  it  at  once  and 


there  was  an  exodus  from  that  farm!  It 
seemed  all  were  allergic  to  police  officers 
and  each  thought  I  was  a  detective  on  his 
trail.  A  new  crew  had  to  be  rustled  to 
complete  the  threshing. 

That  winter,  with  a  young  man  named 
Earl,  I  trapped  'coon  and  mink  back  of 
Lake  Arthur.  We  were  doing  well  as  far  as 
quantity  was  concerned  but  the  price  of  fur 
was  very  low,  prime  'coon  and  mink  bring- 
ing only  about  75  cents  each.  Mink  were 
especially  numerous,  probably  due  to  the 
supply  of  crippled  ducks.  However,  our 
trapping  ended  on  receipt  of  news  that 
Earl's  parents  and  their  entire  family  had 
been  murdered  on  their  farm  near  Lake 
Charles  by  a  hired  hand.  My  partner  left 
to  join  the  posse  in  pursuit  of  the  killer 
who  was  captured,  driving  a  team  of  the 
Earl  mules,  a  couple  of  hundred  miles 
north. 

I  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter  with 
a  party  of  market  hunters  camped  on 
Hackberry  Island  in  Lacasine  Bayou,  Cam- 
eron Parish.  Market  hunting  was  not  con- 
sidered reprehensible  in  those  days!  Ducks 
and  geese  were  so  numerous  that  there  was 
little  sport  in  hunting,  only  butchery.  Out 
before  daylight  in  our  pirogues,  poling 
through  swamp  grass  to  some  cleared  space, 
then  shooting,  shooting,  shooting,  and  drag- 
ging in  the  game.  At  night  each  man  must 
reload  150  or  200  brass  shells  and  roll  his 
cigarettes  for  the  next  day,  and  the  birds 
would  be  sketchily  dressed  by  plucking 
feathers  from  breast  and  removing  entrails. 
They  were  packed  in  barrels  and  teamed  to 
then  the  nearest  railroad  at  Welsh,  thence 
to  New  Orleans  market.  The  gizzards  were 
salted  down  by  the  individual  hunter  for 
his  family  later. 

There  was  no  thought  of  conservation 
at  that  time.  Ducks  and  geese  were  a  pest 
to  the  rice  planter  and  had  to  be  guarded 
against  to  protect  the  crop.  I  have  seen 
the  fields  blanketed  with  ducks,  literally 
thousands  of  them.  When  disturbed  they 
would  rise  with  a  roar  and  form  clouds  of 
mallard  and  pintail.  Between  the  Mer- 
mentau  and  Lacasine  bayous  in  upper 
Cameron  and  lower  Calcasieu  parishes  was 
a  bountiful  hunting  section.  There  were 
many  prairie  chickens  and  I  have  had  great 
sport  with  quail  along  the  long-  Cherokee 
rose  hedges  bordering  the  old  "providence" 
rice  plantations.  Going  along  the  hedge 
on  the  lee  side  and  the  quail  would  run 
along  a  short  distance,  then  flush  and  come 
over  the  high  hedge  to  a  perfect  shot.  Jack 
snipe  were  plentiful  in  season  and  rail  were 
com  in  on. 


The  wild  prairie  between  the  two  bayous 
extending  north  from  Lake  Miserie  was 
inundated  in  late  winter  to  a  depth  of  two 
or  three  feet.  The  immense  buffalo  fish 
would  come  up  seemingly  in  droves  and 
were  impaled  with  pitchforks  from  horse- 
back and  wagon.  It  was  quite  a  problem, 
however,  dragging  a  squirming  thirty 
pound  fish  up  to  the  saddle  of  a  half  wild 
pony!  During  this  high  water,  too,  deer 
hunting  provided  some  excitement.  In  some 
locations  there  were  many  "domes",  each 
probably  half  an  acre  in  extent.  (These 
were  surmised  to  indicate  oil  deposits  and 
now  probably  each  dome  is  topped  by  a  der- 
rick.) The  deer  would  sun  themselves  high 
and  dry  on  these  domes  and  the  idea  was 
to  approach  from  the  shady  side  and  get  a 
shot  as  they  bounded  away  through  the 
water.  Not  so  easy  from  a  running  horse ! 
The  high  grass  on  these  prairies  during 
normal  dry  weather  was  sometimes  burned 
off  by  alligator  hunters.  The  holes  that 
were  occupied  and  grass  kept  moist  by  the 
saurians  in  the  outgoings  were  well  marked 
after  the  fire  and  could  be  located  from 
a  distance.  The  'gators  were  snaked  from 
their  holes  with  a  hook  on  a  long  pole. 
They  were  hunted  for  their  hides  and  teeth, 
and  cross  slices  from  the  tail  of  a  small 
four  footer  were  not  bad  for  a  fish  fry. 

Well,  that  was  a  long  time  ago  and  the 
old  timer  has  quit  burning  powder.  I  am 
looking  just  at  this  moment  at  a  couple  of 
gray  squirrels  hunting  acorns  just  outside 
my  window.  Later  in  the  afternoon,  should 
I  go  outside,  I  could  hear  a  partridge 
drumming  a  few  hundred  feet  away.  The 
lake  shore  another  hundred  feet  away 
every  morning  bears  the  prints  of  a  family 
of  'coons  that  were  in  quest  of  frogs.  Deer 
come  down  from  the  hills  for  water  at  the 
lake  and  kept  my  beans  trimmed  off  in  the 
garden  until  I  found  a  slight  sifting  of 
bloodmeal  was  very  objectionable  to  them. 
There  is  a  beaver  house  in  the  shallow 
water  of  the  lake  not  far  from  shore  and 
its  inmates  have  lumbered  all  the  poplar 
near  the  water.  Within  fifteen  miles  bear 
are  frequently  seen  and  only  within  the 
past  five  years  have  been  protected  as  a 
game  animal.  But  this  a  far  piece  from 
Louisiana!  I  should  like  to  visit  that  land 
again  but  perhaps  it  is  time  that  an  octo- 
genarian settle  down. 

Anyhow,  Good  Hunting! 

ROBERT  H.  WILCOX 
Lake  Hortonia 
Brandon,  Vermont 


1!) 


OF   THE 


9MMISSION 


NOVEMBER   24,    1953    MEETING 

Continuing  its  program  to  convene  in 
different  sections  of  the  state,  the  seven- 
member  agency  met  in  the  Police  Jury 
Building  in  Franklin,  Iberia  Parish. 

Members  of  the  Commission  agreed  that 
a  three-foot  dam  on  Catahoula  Lake  would 
possibly  not  destroy  the  lake  as  a  migra- 
tory waterfowl  resting  area  and  feeding- 
ground.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the 
Fish  and  Game,  Fur  and  Refuge,  and  Re- 
search and  Statistics  Divisions.  George  A. 
Foster  requested  that  the  attorney  be  in- 
structed to  investigate  the  Commission's 
power  in  permitting  or  rejecting  cutting  of 
canals  to  and  from  the  lake. 

The  Civil  Service  salary  schedule  for 
wildlife  rangers  was  changed  as  follows: 
Wildlife  Ranger:  Old  range,  $250  to  $305; 
new  range,  $230  to  $305.  Wildlife  Refuge 
Supervisor:  Old  range,  $200  to  $275;  new 
range,  $250  to  $325.  Wildlife  Refuge 
Warden:  Old  range,  $180  to  $230;  new- 
range,  $230  to  $305. 

The  $50,000  allotment  from  the  Board 
of  Liquidation  was  allocated  thus:  Increase 
rangers'  salaries,  S22,890 ;  expenses,  mem- 
bers and  department  personnel  to  Gulf 
States  Marine  Fisheries  Meetings,  $1,500; 
per  diem  and  expenses  Commission  mem- 
bers, seven  meetings  at  $500  each,  $3,500; 
reimburse  budgetary  funds  for  per  diem 
and  expenses  Commission  members  (12 
meetings  to  date),  $5,500;  to  increase 
salaries  other  personnel  not  meeting  Civil 
Service  minimum  pay  scale,  seven  months 
at  $225,  $1,575;  purchase  of  outboard 
motors  and  miscellaneous  equipment  for 
Enforcement  and  Fish  and  Game  Divisions, 
$5,000;  to  cover  increased  costs  license 
and  several  tax  collections  and  printing- 
costs,  S7,535 ;  educational  program  equip- 
ment and  increased  expenses,  $2,500. 

Director  Young  advised  that  the  sale  of 
fishing  licenses  show  an  increase  of  almost 
100  per  cent  in  1953  as  compared  with 
the  previous  year. 


A  request  from  the  St.  Tammany  Police 
Jury  to  permit  commercial  fishing  with 
seines,  mesh  not  smaller  than  two  inches, 
in  Lake  Pontchartrain  was  tabled. 

A  permit  for  Sand  and  Shells,  Inc.,  to 
continue  their  dredging  in  Lake  Pontchar- 
train was  renewed. 

No  action  was  taken  on  a  request  by 
the  Catahoula  Lake  Game  and  Fish  Com- 
mission asking  that  the  sanctuary  bed  of 
the  lake  be  extended.  Such  action  requires 
an  enactment  by  the  state  legislature. 

Two  requests  by  the  Avoyelles  Police 
Jury  asking  that  permission  be  given  to 
kill  grosbeaks  and  declare  an  open  season 
on  raccoons,  allowing  night  hunting,  were 
not  granted  because :  Grosbeaks  are  mi- 
gratory birds  and  are  controlled  by  fed- 
eral law;  raccoons  are  fur  bearing  animals 
with  regulations  set  by  the  state  legisla- 
ture. 

A  report  from  W.  S.  Werlla,  assistant 
director  and  revenue  supervisor,  showed 
an  overall  increase  of  $188,163.13  in  rev- 
enues for  the  current  year. 

Union  Parish  requested  a  32-day  deer 
season  instead  of  45  days  as  designated 
by  the  Commission  at  a  previous  meeting. 
Because  of  the  lateness  of  the  request,  the 
agency  failed  to  grant  same. 

James  N.  McConnell,  Chief  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Oysters  and  Waterbottoms,  pointed 
out  that  the  reef  area  in  Plaquemines  and 
St.  Bernard  Parishes  were  the  backbone  of 
the  oyster  industry  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  and  that  fresh  water  must  be  ob- 
tained for  the  area  because  of  the  conch 
threat.  He  recommended  that  the  Com- 
mission, in  conjunction  with  the  U.  S. 
Engineers,  Orleans  Levee  Board  and  the 
Police  Jury  of  Plaquemines,  do  everything 
possible  to  find  ways  and  means  to  open, 
with  controlled  structure,  Bayou  Lamoque, 
situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
opposite  Sixty  Mile  Point  and  emptying 
into  California  Bay  south  of  Mangrove 
Point.  "Should  the  Mississippi  River  water 
reach  California  Bay,  tremendous  areas  of 


oyster  reefs  now  dead  because  of  high 
salinity  and  conch  infestation  would  re- 
produce; and,  in  my  opinion,  no  other  one 
thing  can  be  done  which  would  be  of 
greater  value  to  our  natural  reefs  east  of 
the   Mississippi." 

McConnell  also  recommended  that  an 
effort  be  made  to  obtain  a  control  struc- 
ture built  where  the  Violet  canal  formerly 
connected  with  the  Mississippi  at  Violet. 
U.  S.  Engineers  should  be  asked  to  dredge 
and  maintain  a  channel  with  a  minimum 
depth  of  five  feet  from  Bayou  St.  Malo  to 
Yscloskey.  Canning  plants  obtaining  oysters 
from  natural  reefs  in  St.  Bernard  and 
Plaquemines  should  increase  their  shell  re- 
turn from  10  to  20  per  cent,  at  the  canner's 
expense.  The  board  adopted  the  recommen- 
dations. 

Director  Young  asked  that  the  State 
Public  Shooting  Grounds  at  Pass-a-Loutre 
be  used  for  public  relations  purposes  when 
not  in  use  by  persons  who  reserved  privi- 
leges prior  to  November  10,  the  closing 
date  for  requests  from  the  public  for  camp 
facilities.  He  stated  that  he  would  assume 
full  responsibility  for  camp  operation.  His 
request  was  granted. 

The  agency  voted  not  to  sell  any  timber 
in  the  Iatt  Lake  Fish  and  Game  Preserve 
in  Grant  Parish  at  this  time. 

Director  Young  was  authorized  to  dis- 
pose of  the  equipment  at  the  L.S.U.  quail 
farm  and  that  expendable  equipment  be 
given  to  interested  parties  of  sportsmen's 
clubs,  4-H  clubs  and  others. 

The  hull  of  the  boat  Eagle  will  be  sold, 
since  the  cost  of  repair  was  estimated  at 
$1,800,  according  to  action  by  the  group. 

The  Washington  Sand  and  Gravel  Com- 
pany's request  to  lease  a  part  of  the  Bogue 
Chitto  River  was  referred  to  Fish  and 
Game,  Oysters  and  Waterbottoms  Divisions 
and  the  Stream  Control  Commission  for 
investigation  and  report. 

Concerning  leasing  of  bottom  lands  of 
the  state  for  sand,  shell  and  gravel,  the 
following  resolution  was  adopted:  That 
from  and  after  November  24,  1953,  all 
exclusive  leases  by  this  Commission  cover- 
ing and  affecting  the  dredging  of  sand, 
shell  and  gravel,  exclusive  of  oyster  bot- 
toms, in  the  bottom  lands  of  the  waters 
of  this  state,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this 
Commission,  shall,  prior  to  the  granting 
and  confection  thereof,  be  anteceded  by  a 
notice  of  intention  to  lease  which  shall  be 
advertised  for  a  period  of  three  times  with- 
in 10  days  in  the  official  journal  of  the 
parish  and/or  parishes  wherein  said  bot- 
tomlands are  situated,  which  notice  shall 
contain  a  description  of  the  area  to  be 
leased  and  other  matters  which  shall  from 
the  subject  matter  of  said  lease  to  the 
extent  that  whomsoever  may  be  interested 
in  bidding  thereon  shall  have  ample  notice 
of  the  proposed  letting. 

The  meeting  was  adjourned  to  meet 
again  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  December 
21  and  22,  1953  in  the  city  of  Jennings,  La. 


20 


DIFFERENCE  OF  OPINION 

Pioneer,  La. 
I  have  been  out  three  times  and  have 
seen  only  one  squirrel,  three  rabbits  and  one 
fox.  Most  of  the  squirrels  were  killed  before 
the  season  opened.  The  warden  you  hired 
has  not  been  on  the  job.  Either  he  was  out 
too  late  to  catch  the  law  violators,  or  would 
not  try  to  catch  them,  or  would  not  report 
certain  ones  when  he  caught  them. 

• — Randall  L.  Vining 

Basile,  La. 

I'm  so  well  pleased  with  the  many  squir- 
rels we  find  this  year,  I  feel  I  should  let 
you  know.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are 
more  than  I  have  seen  for  a  good  many 
years  before.  One  reason  is  satisfactory 
to  me  for  the  increase.  They  were  protected 
during  breeding  season,  which  they  were 
not  before.  — Leopold  Miller 

Any  other  ideas?     — C.H.G. 

BLACK  LAKE   ARTICLE 

Shreveport 

Would  appreciate  it  very  much  if  you 
could  mail  me  another  copy  of  your  Novem- 
ber   issue. 

I  am  more  than  anxious  to  have  two  of 
my  Missouri  cousins  (who  love  to  fish) 
come  down  here  to  spend  their  vacations 
with  us  this  coming  summer.  Have  talked 
Black  Lake  to  them  so  much;  but  your 
November  issue  will  tell  it  all,  and  the 
pictures   are  lovely,  too. 

We  have  been  going  to  Chandler's  for 
years.  Their  hospitality  and  service  are 
perfect,  and  we  consider  our  money  well 
spent  there.  — Mrs.  Adrian  K.  Hide 

We  were  gratified  by  the  many  fine  letters 
complimenting  the  magazine  on  the  Black- 
Lake  article.  Mo>  e  of  that  type  coming  up. 
—C.H.G. 

HOW  ARE  FIRES  STARTED? 

Easton,   La. 

I  would  like  to  get  your  opinion  about 
how  most  fires  are  started  in  the  woods  and 
swamps  in   Louisiana. 

I  am  a  great  outdoor  sportsman;  I  have 
been  on  several  camping  trips  this  year 
with  my  friends,  and  each  time  I  bring  up 


the  subject  of  forest  fires  and  how  they  are 
started.  In  most  articles  I  read,  cigarettes 
seem  to  be  the  biggest  cause;  but  I  can't 
see  it  that  way.  I  have  offered  S100  to  any 
member  of  our  party  if  he  could  start  a 
fire  with  a  cigarette,  and  I  still  have  my 
S100.  They  have  tried  with  crumbled  leaves, 
sage  grass,  pine  straw  in  the  heat  of  the 
day — none  has  started  a  fire  yet. 

I   am   careful  with  my  cigarettes;  but  it 
is  my  opinion  that  forest  fires  are  started 
from  camp  fires  left  smoldering  and  from 
matches  thrown  away  while  still  burning. 
■ — Harland  Ardoin 

/  believe  that  statistics  show  that  most 
fires  in  Louisiana  are  incendiary  in  origin — 
they  are  started  deliberately.  I  expect  that 
you  are  right  in  your  believe  that  most  ac- 
cidental fires  result  from  matches  and  camp- 
fires.   Anybody  else  got  an  idea?  — C.H.G. 

CONSERVATIONIST   AN   AID    IN 
TEACHING 

Baton  Rouge,  La. 

I  take  this  opportunity  to  thank  you  for 
past  issues  of  the  Louisiana  Conservation- 
ist and  to  request  that  future  issues  be  sent 
to  me.  Copies  of  this  publication  are  espe- 
cially helpful  in  conveying  to  ninth  grade 
boys  and  girls  the  importance  of  conserva- 
tion and  in  studying-  about  the  organization 
of  and  the  services  rendered  by  the  Wild 
Life  and  Fisheries  Commission  when  we 
study   Louisiana's   government. 

Several  issues  of  Louisiana  Conserva- 
tionist are  kept  on  my  desk  at  all  times 
during  the  school  year  for  the  benefit  of 
those  students  who  complete  assigned  work 
before  the  end  of  a  supervised  study  period. 
Many  of  the  boys  anticipate  with  eagerness 
the  arrival  of  a  new  issue. 

Thanks  again  for  this  fine  teaching  aid. 
— Charles  MacMurdo 

Our  magazine  is  sent  to  every  school  in 
Louisiana,  and  we  hope  that  many  teachers 
are    taking    advantage    of    it    as    you    are. 
—C.H.G. 

HORSESHOE   LAKE 

Jackson,  La. 
Am  enclosing  a  picture  that  might  be  of 


interest  to  the  readers  of  the  Conserva- 
tionist. This  is  a  picture  of  31  out  of 
36  fish  (five  wei'e  too  small  and  were  thrown 
back)  caught  on  Labor  Day  at  Horseshoe 
Lake  near  Ferriday.  There  were  three  of  us 
in  the  party:  Charlie  Ray  Allen,  Bill  Haney, 
and  myself,  all  of  Jackson,  La. 

The  fish  were  caught  between  daybreak 
and  9:30  A.M.  They  weighed  from  1%  lbs. 
to  3%  lbs.  All  put  up  plenty  of  fight;  guess 
that  was  due  to  a  cool  spell  at  that  time. 
The  first  six  fish  were  caught  on  jitterbugs; 
the  rest  were  caught  on  a  Helldiver,  a 
Hawaiian  Wiggler,  and  a  Fisherman's 
Favorite.  — Harvey   Spillman. 

Sorry  we  couldn't  use  the  picture.  That 
was  a  fine  string  of  fish.  — C.H.G. 

CAREER   IN   WILDLIFE   WORK 

New  Orleans 
2459  Gladiolus  St. 

I  am  very  interested  in  the  articles  on 
conservation  in  the  Conservationist  this 
month.  I'm  almost  17  and  love  to  collect 
snakes.  I've  wanted  to  get  into  the  con- 
servation department  of  wildlife.  If  there's 
any  field  open,  could  you  please  let  me  know 
what  I  could  do  to  get  in  it.  I  am  taking 
my  high  school  course  in  conservation. 

If  you  could  give  me  the  addresses  of 
any  boys  my  age  whom  I  might  be  able 
to  write  to  and  trade  ideas  with,  I  would 
appreciate  it.  Or  perhaps  you  would  put 
my  name  and  address  in  the  magazine  so 
anyone  who  was  interested  could  contact  me. 
My  address  is  2459  Gladiolus,  New  Orleans, 
La. 

Your  friend, 
Bobby   Crayon 

/  do  not  knoiv  how  many  years  of  high 
school  you  have  left  but  would  suggest  that 
you  take  all  the  courses  offered  in  botony 
and  biology.  If  you  intend  to  go  to  college 
there  are  quite  a  few  courses  ivhich  offer 
training  in  wildlife  work.  The  Louisiana 
State  University  School  of  Forestry  offers 
both  the  bachelor's  and  the  master's  degree 
in  wildlife  management  and  forestry.  If 
you  would  prefer  to  specialize  in  reptiles, 
which  yon  say  you  are  interested  in,  you 
could  get  such  training  in  the  zoology 
schools  of  both  Tulane  and  L.S.U. — C.H.G. 


21 


by 

Charley  Bosch 

Executive   Secretary 
Louisiana  Wildlife  Federation 


We  are  still  missing  some  important  data 
that  we  wish  to  use  in  our  article  on  Cata- 
houla Lake.  But  we  assure  you  it  will  be  in 
the  February  issue.  We  think  the  following 
address  delivered  last  March  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  our  readers  as  it  deals  with  the 
overall  problem: 

HIGH  DAMS  -  LOW  DAMS 
-WATERSHED  PLANNING 

by 

Hon.    Clifford   R.    Hope 

House   of  Representatives    (Kansas) 
Washington,  D.  C. 

PRESENTED  AT  THE  18th 

NORTH  AMERICAN  WILDLIFE 

CONFERENCE 

WASHINGTON,   D.   C. 

MARCH    10,    1953 

I  am  pleased  to  be  here  today  and  have  a 
part  in  this  discussion  of  a  natural  re- 
sources policy  for  the  nation.  I  agree  thor- 
oughly with  Bill  Voigt  as  to  the  importance 
of  this  subject  and  with  his  statement  that 
a  concise,  comprehensive  declaration  of  a 
natural  resources  policy  in  our  law  books 
is  long  overdue. 

It  is  true  that  some  steps  have  been  taken 
in  the  direction  of  formulating  a  policy.  We 
have  made  progress,  but  it  has  been  piece- 
meal and  erratic,  and  in  most  cases  what 
has  been  done  has  been  inspired  by  some 
national  calamity.  The  result,  as  might  be 
expected,  is  that  we  have  advanced  on  some 
fronts  but  haven't  even  gotten  started  on 
others.  Almost  everywhere  there  is  much 
confusion  and  little  coordination.  Nowhere 
is  this  more  apparent  than  in  the  field  of 
soil  and  water  conservation. 

Let  me  illustrate  what  I  mean.  The 
great  Mississippi  flood  came  along  in  1927 
and  jarred  us  out  of  our  complacency  to  the 
extent  that  we  enacted  the  Flood  Control 
Act  in  1938.  This  has  been  supplemented 
by  later  flood-control  legislation  including 
the  Act  of  1936,  the  Act  of  1944,  the  1950 
Act,  and  others.  The  terribly  destructive 
flood  on  the  Kansas  and  Missouri  Rivers 
last  year  has  naturally  resulted  in  a  fur- 


ther consideration  of  flood-control  legisla- 
tion, but  except  for  financial  assistance  to 
those  who  suffered  losses,  no  new  legisla- 
tion has  resulted  as  yet.  The  President, 
however,  has  appointed  a  Commission  of 
nine  members  known  as  the  Missouri  Basin 
Survey  Commission  to  consider  anew  the 
whole  problem  of  soil  and  water  conserva- 
tion in  the  Missouri  Valley. 

We  have  had  legislation  on  our  statute 
books  relating  to  reclamation  ever  since 
1902,  but  it  took  the  drought  of  the  1930's 
to  awaken  the  nation  to  the  need  for  ex- 
panding our  irrigated  acres  on  a  large 
scale. 

This  drought  and  the  dust  storms  which 
accompanied  it  focused  attention  in  a  very 
dramatic  way  upon  the  destruction  of  our 
topsoil  by  blowing.  It  also  brought  the 
realization  that  for  every  acre  of  farm  land 
we  were  losing  through  wind  erosion,  we 
were  losing  one  hundred  acres  from  water 
erosion.  Almost  overnight  this  became  recog- 
nized as  one  of  our  top  national  problems 
and  so  we  set  up  the  soil  conservation  pro- 
gram. 

The  development  of  the  water  resources 
of  the  Tennessee  Valley  begun  as  a  war 
measure  in  World  War  I  plus  the  great  ex- 
pansion of  industry  in  World  War  II 
brought  increased  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  hydro-electric  power. 

High  transportation  rates  stimulated  in- 
creased interest  in  the  expansion  of  navi- 
gation on  our  inland  streams,  although  ac- 
tivity on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  the  development  of  inland  water- 
ways goes  back  more  than  a  hundred  years. 
All  of  these  matters  have  resulted  in 
some  degree  of  action.  We  have  had  legis- 
lation— much  of  it.  Large  sums  of  money 
(and  I  mean  large  even  in  these  days)  have 
been  and  are  being  spent  in  the  name  of 
flood  control,  reclamation,  soil  conservation, 
navigation,  hydro-electric  power,  range  and 
forest  restoration,  and  the  development  of 
recreational  areas,  but  all  of  these  things 
have  been  done  piecemeal.  As  Mr.  Voigt 
well  says,  "It  is  a  crazy  quilt  pattern." 

I  do  not  know  how  many  federal  agencies 
in  all  have  dealt  with  these  subjects — I 
could  name  a  dozen  right  now  without  half 
trying.  I  don't  know  how  many  committees 
in  Congress  have  dealt  with  various  aspects 
of  the  matter.  Even  since  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  Congress  with  its  consolidation  of 
committees,  there  are  still  several  com- 
mittees in  each  House  including  Appropria- 
tions Subcommittees  which  must  pass  upon 
some  particular  phase  of  legislation  and 
government  activity  dealing  with  the  sub- 
ject of  soil  and  water  conservation. 


Furthermore,  as  long  as  we  insist  upon 
dividing  government  activities  relating  to 
soil  and  water  resources  into  separate  com- 
partments with  such  labels  as  soil  conser- 
vation, watershed  protection,  reforestation, 
agricultural  production,  irrigation,  drain- 
age, navigation,  flood  control,  federal  pro- 
grams, state  programs,  local  programs,  and 
so  on,  there  is  bound  to  be  duplication,  over- 
lapping, and  rivalry  between  agencies,  as 
well  as  inefficiency,  waste,  and  an  utter 
failure  to  get  our  money's  worth  in  the  way 
of  conservation.  In  fact  as  long  as  we  pro- 
ceed in  this  way,  the  job  simply  is  not  going 
to  be  done. 

I  have  already  given  one  reason  for  this 
dispersion  of  effort.  It  is  due  in  most  cases 
to  the  fact  that  our  efforts  toward  conser- 
vation in  the  past  have  generally  been 
brought  about  by  a  rather  sudden  recog- 
nition that  something  was  wrong.  So  we 
rushed  in  and  attempted  to  do  something 
about  that  particular  difficulty  without  giv- 
ing much  if  any  consideration  as  to  how 
the  situation  arose  in  the  first  place  or 
how  the  proposed  remedy  fits  in  with  the 
over-all  problem  of  conserving  our  land  and 
water  resources.  When  one  of  these  specific 
programs  is  set  up,  it  is  placed  in  the  hands 
of  some  particular  government  agency  and 
that  agency,  as  it  probably  should,  dedi- 
cates itself  to  doing  the  job  that  is  assigned 
it.  In  doing  that  job,  it  bumps  into  many 
allied  problems  and  if  it  can  get  the  money 
from  Congress,  it  starts  dealing  with  them 
also,  even  though  some  other  agency  may 
have  already  occupied  that  field.  Illustra- 
tions of  this  can  be  cited  time  and  again. 

This  is  not  said  so  much  in  the  way  of 
criticism  of  these  agencies  as  it  is  of  the 
fact  that  we  have  failed  so  far  to  develop 
a  comprehensive  policy  dealing  with  the 
subject.  It  is  true,  however,  and  I  do  say 
this  critically,  that  every  effort  which  has 
been  made  in  and  out  of  Congress  to  bring 
about  a  consolidation  of  agencies  dealing 
with  conservation  matters  has  been  bitterly 
resisted  by  practically  all  of  these  agen- 
cies. 

When  I  say  this  I  am  speaking  from  ex- 
perience because  I  have  introduced  consoli- 
dation bills,  and  I  know  just  what  the  re- 
actions are — not  only  among  the  agencies 
which  are  affected  but  on  the  part  of  in- 
dividuals and  organizations  who  feel  that 
they  have  some  vested  interest  in  the  work 
which  is  being  done  by  them. 

Some  of  you  are  familiar  with  the  report 
of  the  Hoover  Commission  on  the  subject 
of  natural  resources.  Whether  one  agrees 
with  the  details  of  that  reorganization  pro- 
posal   or    not    (and    even    the    Commission 


22 


divided  on  it),  it  was  a  sincere  effort  to 
effect  a  consolidation  of  agencies  which 
were  operating1  in  competition  with  each 
other  and  in  whose  work  there  was  over- 
lapping and  duplication.  It  is  well  known 
of  course  that  the  report  aroused  tremen- 
dous opposition  on  the  part  of  the  agencies 
affected.  I  think  this  will  be  true  as  to  any 
proposals  along  this  line. 

I  do  not  say  that  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  every  activity  relating  to  soil 
and  water  conservation  be  handled  by  a 
single  government  agency.  In  fact,  such 
a  program  might  not  be  practical  at  least 
in  the  beginning.  What  we  do  need  is  an 
over-all  policy  which  will  clearly  define  the 
objectives  to  be  followed  up  by  a  legislative 
program  which  will  outline  how  the  job  is 
to  be  done  and  just  who  is  to  do  it. 

Even  in  the  absence  of  a  statement  of 
national  policy,  we  are  making  some  prog- 
ress. It  is  encouraging  that  within  the 
last  few  years  there  have  been  instances 
where  federal  agencies  have  gotten  togther 
in  an  effort  to  work  out  natural  resources 
programs  in  a  coordinated  way.  Some  of 
these  efforts  have  worked  out  well. 

In  a  more  recent  instance  Congress  has 
stepped  in  and  directed  that  a  survey  be 
made  and  plans  submitted  to  Congress  for 
the  development  of  the  Arkansas,  White, 
and  Red  River  Basins.  Every  government 
agency  dealing  with  any  aspect  of  soil  and 
water  conservation  and  related  subjects  is 
to  participate  in  this  survey.  Because  this 
marks  the  first  time  to  my  knowledge  that 
this  approach  has  been  taken  in  the  case 
jf  large  river  basins,  I  am  going  to  read  to 
you  the  language  directing  this  survey,  be- 
ing a  part  of  Section  205  of  the  Flood  Con- 
;rol  Act  of  1950.  The  provision  in  question 
after  stating  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Army  is  authorized  and  directed  to  make 
preliminary  examinations  and  surveys  goes 
)n  to  say,  and  now  I  quote,  "with  a  view 
;o  developing  comprehensive,  integrated 
Dlans  of  improvement  for  navigation,  flood 
lontrol,  domestic  and  municipal  water  sup- 
slies,  reclamation  and  irrigation,  develop- 
nent  and  utilization  of  hydro-electric  power, 
conservation  of  soil,  forest  and  fish  and 
vildlife  resources,  and  other  beneficial  de- 
velopment and  utilization  of  water  resources 
ncluding  such  consideration  of  recreation 
lses,  salinity  and  sediment  control,  and 
rollution  abatement  as  may  be  provided  for 
inder  Federal  policies  and  procedures,  all 
o  be  coordinated  with  the  Department  of 
he  Interior,  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, the  Federal  Power  Commission,  and 
)ther  appropriate  Federal  agencies  and  with 
he  States,  as  required  by  existing  law." 

This  survey  is  now  in  progress.  The  re- 
)ort  is  scheduled  to  be  submitted  to  Con- 
gress by  July  1,  1954.  It  is  my  understand- 
ng  that  every  federal  agency  which  deals 
vith  the  subject  matter  is  participating  in 
his  survey.  No  one  knows  how  it  is  going 
o  work  out.  The  report  itself  will  be  the 
>est  proof  of  that,  but  it  is  encouraging  to 
mow  that  such  an  effort  is  underway  and 
hat,  so  far  at  least,  there  is  apparently 
i  close  working  arrangement  between  the 
igencies  which  are  participating.  It  may 
ie  that  previously  there  have  been  similar 
urveys  on  small  streams,  and  of  course 
he  Tennessee  Valley  Authority  has  been 
i  coordinated  effort.  Otherwise  I  do  not 
:now  of  any  attempts  at  coordination  which 
lave  gone  as  far  as  this  one. 

Speaking  specifically  to  the  subject  of 
watershed  planning,  it  seems  to  me  that  all 
'f  us  must  agree  that  the  way  to  do  that 
ob  is  to  put  first  things  first  and  begin 
vhere  nature  begins.  That  is,  watershed 
ilanning  must  start  at  the  place  where  the 
rater  falls.  Yet  until  very  recently  at  least, 
ve  have  followed  just  the  opposite  course. 


We  did  so  for  one  thing  because  we  ap- 
proached the  subject  from  the  standpoint 
of  flood  control.  The  big  spectacular  floods 
occurred  far  down  on  the  main  streams. 
We  decided  the  way  to  meet  the  problem 
was  to  build  huge  levees  on  the  main 
streams  in  order  to  hold  the  water  in  ex- 
isting channels.  Building  levees  was  help- 
ful, but  it  was  dealing  with  the  effect  rather 
than  the  cause.  So  the  next  proposal  was 
to  build  reservoirs  on  the  main  streams  and 
the  larger  tributaries  to  impound  flood  wa- 
ter before  it  reached  the  areas  of  concen- 
trated population  most  subject  to  heavy  and 
dramatic  losses.  Experience  has  been  that 
such  reservoirs  are  helpful  in  controlling 
floods,  but  we  have  found  as  time  goes  on 
that  neither  reservoirs  nor  levees  nor  a 
combination  of  the  two  will  do  the  entire 
job. 

And  so  at  long  last  we  are  planning  to 
go  to  the  headwaters  of  the  streams  and 
beyond  that  to  the  farm  land  and  the  range 
and  forest  areas  where  the  water  falls.  It 
is  proposed  to  hold  as  much  of  the  water 
as  possible  in  that  area.  There,  in  most 
cases,  it  will  serve  a  useful  purpose  and 
every  drop  which  can  be  retained  in  this 
way  means  that  much  less  water  to  cause 
damage  and  destruction  farther  down- 
stream. 

This  makes  sense  from  several  stand- 
points. In  the  first  place  if  we  put  the  land 
where  the  rain  falls  to  its  proper  use  and 
if  we  take  steps  to  set  up  good  cropping 
practices,  terraces  and  grassed  spillways, 
small  ponds,  gulley  plugs,  and  minor  reser- 
voirs on  the  smaller  streams,  these  steps 
will  directly  prevent  some  of  the  greatest 
flood  damage  now  taking  place.  In  saying 
this  I  am  referring  to  the  damage  which 
occurs  on  the  uplands  and  in  the  valleys 
of  the  smaller  streams. 

It  may  surprise  some  to  know  that  sur- 
veys made  by  the  Soil  Conservation  Service 
show  that  75  per  cent  of  our  average  an- 
nual flood  loss  occurs  above  our  main  river 
valleys.  This  of  course  is  due  in  part  to 
the  fact  that  the  major  river  flood  plains 
and  the  cities  along  the  rivers  are  already 
protected  in  part  at  least  by  levees  and 
major  reservoirs,  but  the  main  reason  that 
the  greatest  damage  occurs  where  it  does  is 
because  the  greatest  loss  from  floods  is  the 
loss  of  the  soil  itself. 

Last  year  after  the  record-breaking  flood 
on  the  Kansas  River  and  other  streams  in 
that  area,  the  Soil  Conservation  Service 
made  a  survey  of  the  storm  and  flood  dam- 
age in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  during  the 
month  of  July.  That  survey  showed  that 
the  loss  of  crops  on  upland  farms  amounted 
to  approximately  110  million  dollars;  that 
the  loss  of  irreplaceable  topsoil  there  was 
estimated  at  200  million  dollars;  and  losses 
from  flood  water  and  sediment  in  the  ci'eek 
bottoms  and  in  the  small  stream  valleys 
above  the  points  where  specific  flood  protec- 
tion had  been  proposed  were  estimated  to  be 
102  million  dollars;  or  a  total  of  412  mil- 
lion dollars,  all  of  which  occurred  before 
we  even  got  to  the  areas  which  were  severly 
flooded.  Yet  one  who  got  his  information 
from  the  press  and  radio  would  have 
thought  that  practically  all  the  damage  oc- 
curred in  Kansas  City  and  Topeka  and  other 
cities  along  the  Kansas  River. 

The  thing  to  remember  is  that  every  year 
this  loss  of  crops  and  soil  occurs  in  the 
upstream  areas,  but  it  is  only  occasionally 
that  important  damage  is  done  on  the  main 
streams. 

Yet  another  reason  why  flood  control  to 
be  effective  must  start  where  the  water  falls 
is  that  the  greatest  menace  to  the  reservoir 
and  levee  program  is  siltation  which  can 
only  be  prevented  by  treatment  of  the  land 
and  upstream  control.  Illustrations  of  the 


folly  of  overlooking  this  can  be  found 
everywhere  that  reservoirs  have  een  con- 
structed. 

I  do  not  want  to  be  misunderstood.  Flood- 
control  measures  on  the  land  and  along  the 
small  streams  will  not  of  themselves  afford 
complete  flood  protection  on  the  main 
streams.  There  will  still  be  a  place  for  reser- 
voirs and  levees.  And  when  it  comes  to 
making  beneficial  use  of  our  water  resources 
for  hydro-electric  power,  navigation,  irriga- 
tion, and  other  purposes  then  dams  and 
reservoirs  must  come  into  the  picture.  All 
I  am  saying  is  that  we  must  start  with  the 
land  and  the  small  streams  and  unless  the 
work  is  done  there  first,  or  at  least  con- 
currently with  the  work  downstream,  we 
will  not  achieve  sound,  permanent  flood  con- 
trol or  the  most  economical  and  beneficial 
use  of  our  water  resources  for  other  pur- 
poses. 

Let  me  conclude  these  remarks  by  saying 
that  the  fact  that  this  great  conference  is 
devoting  so  much  time  to  a  discussion  of  a 
National  Policy  for  Renewable  Natural  Re- 
sources is  the  best  possible  indication  that 
the  American  people  are  awake  to  the 
grave  dangers  which  confront  them  through 
the  careless  way  in  which  we  have  handled 
our  natural  resources.  When  our  fore- 
fathers came  here  they  found  a  land  rich  in 
all  the  resources  needed  in  establishing  a 
great  and  growing  country.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  no  nation  in  all  history  has  been 
blessed  with  such  a  combination  of  fertile 
soil,  healthful  and  diversified  climate, 
abundant  water  supplies,  plentitude  of  wild- 
life, rich  and  varied  mineral  wealth,  and 
forest  resources  as  existed  originally  in 
the  United  States.  And  when  we  come  to 
look  for  those  things  which  have  made  us 
the  world's  greatest  and  most  powerful 
nation,  we  must  agree  that  this  combina- 
tion of  natural  resources  has  played  a  tre- 
mendous part.  And  yet  this  very  abundance 
constituted  a  danger  because  for  a  long 
time  it  prevented  us  from  realizing  the  ex- 
tent to  which  we  were  exploiting  and  wast- 
ing this  greatest  of  all  heritages. 

But  thank  God  we  are  waking  up.  Now 
instead  of  a  few  voices  crying  in  the  wil- 
derness, we  have  millions  of  people  who  are 
aware  of  what  is  going  on  and  who  are 
determined  not  only  to  conserve  our  re- 
maining resources  but  to  do  everything 
possible  to  restore  that  which  has  been  lost. 
These  millions  of  Americans  are  today 
speaking  through  the  Natural  Resource's 
Council  and  the  37  conservation  organiza- 
tions which  constitute  its  membership. 
The  fact  that  these  organizations — some 
large,  some  small,  but  all  dedicated  to  the 
idea  of  conserving  and  restoring  the  natural 
resources  of  this  country — have  set  up  this 
Council  and  have  gotten  together  on  a 
statement  of  policy  for  renewable  natural 
resources  is  perhaps  the  most  significant  de- 
velopment in  American  conservation  efforts. 
It  is  a  good  statement.  It  covers  the  field 
and  it  outlines  a  good  program  which,  if 
adopted,  and  implemented  by  legislation, 
will  give  us  for  the  first  time  a  goal  and  an 
integrated  program  in  the  field  of  conser- 
vation. This  is  the  only  way  that  we  can 
do  the  big  job  that  has  to  be  done. 

—THE   END 


REMINDER 

The  Annual  Convention  of  the 
La.  Wildlife  Federation,  Inc.,  will 
be  held  in  the  Captain  Shreve 
Hotel,  Shreveport,  on  February 
26,  27,  28,  1954. 


23 


§ 


PHOTOGRAPHY  AFIELD,  by  Ormdl  I.  Sprungman, 

Published  bv  the  Stackpole  Company,  Harrisburg, 
Perm.    7"  x  10",  449  pages.  $7.50. 

An  excellent  presentation  of  a  subject 
becoming  more  and  more  important  to 
sportsmen.  The  book  is  divided  into  two 
main  parts,  the  first  on  still  pictures  and 
the  last  on  movies.  Each  is  designed  to 
furnish  the  sportsman-cameraman  all  the 
information  he  needs  to  take  home  a  photo- 
graphic record  of  his  trips  afield.  Both  the 
beginner  and  the  advanced  amateur,  as  well 
as  the  professional  interested  in  outdoor 
photography,  will  find  this  publication  help- 
ful. It  contains  many  photographs  in  black 
and  white  and  in  color. 

Sprungman  is  well  qualified  to  write  this 
book.  He  has  conducted  the  camera  section 
of  SPORTS  AFIELD  magazine  since  1934, 
and  has  made  a  number  of  movies  for 
Ducks  Unlimited.    Very  good.     — C.H.G. 

HOMEMADE  FISHING,  by  Verne  E.  Davison.  Pub- 
lished by  the  Stackpole  Company,  Telegraph  Press 
Building!  Harrisburg,  Penn.  6"  x  9",  205  pages.  $4.50. 

If  you  are  interested  in  farm  fish  ponds, 
or  small  fish  ponds  of  any  kind  for  that 
matter,  this  is  for  you.  Many  books  have 
been  written  on  this  subject  but  this  one 
does  the  job  just  a  little  bit  better.  Davison 
should  know  whereof  he  speaks — or  writes. 
He  worked  first  with  the  Oklahoma  Fish  and 
Game  Department  and  then  joined  the  Soil 
Conservation  Service  in  1935.  He  has  been 
with  them  ever  since  that  time  as  Regional 
Biologist,  and  was  chiefly  responsible  for 
the  introduction  of  the  fertilized  and  man- 
aged farm  fishponds  advocated  by  the  S.C.S. 

This  book  is  well  written  and  easily  read. 
It  tells  all  you  need  to  know  about  building 
and  managing  a  fish  pond,  from  selecting 
the  site  to  catching  the  fish.  Best  of  all, 
it  hammers  home  the   need   to   forget  the 


old,  erroneous  traditions  of  fish  manage- 
ment that  handicap  so  many  programs.  The 
first  three  chapters  are  general,  the  next 
twelve  are  on  warm  water  ponds,  and  the 
last  three  on  cold  water  ponds.  Excellent. 
—C.H.G. 

THE  PIKE  FAMILY,  by  Robert  Page  Lincoln.  Pub- 
lished by  The  Stackpole  Com]. any.  Harrisburg.  Pa. 
6"  x  8%",  274  pages.  Published  October  1,  1953. 
Price:    $5.00. 

This  book  will  be  rather  limited  in 
interest  for  most  residents  of  the  Pelican 
State,  since  the  pike  family  is  not  important 
in  Louisiana  fisheries.  It  appears  to  be, 
however,  a  very  well-handled  treatise  on 
the  northern  pike,  pickerel,  wall-eyed  pike, 
and  muskellunge  by  a  very  able  author, 
Robert  Page  Lincoln.  It  is  the  final  chap- 
ter in  47  years  of  telling  readers  through- 
out the  world  what  he  knew  about  fish  and 
fishing.  Lincoln  died  this  year  at  the  age 
of  61.  —C.H.G. 

DUCK  DECOYS:  Hon-  To  Make  Them,  now  To 
Paint  Them,  Hon-  To  Big  Them,  by  Eugene  V.  Con- 
nett  :Srd.  Published  by  D.  Van  Nostrand  Company. 
Inc.,  New  York.  9"  by  6",  116  pages,  numerous  illus- 
trations,   two   color   plates.    32    scaled   patterns,    $4.75. 

This  book  is  a  welcome  source  of  infor- 
mation for  duck  hunters — whether  he 
makes  decoys  or  uses  decoys  made  by 
others.  There  are  chapters  on  materials, 
patterns  for  bodies  and  heads,  painting 
decoys,  ballast  and  balancing  weights,  an- 
chors and  anchor  lines,  and  setting  out 
your  decoys  for  various  species,  etc.  The 
author  has  produced  an  excellent  book 
for  the  lay  decoy  builder  or  potential  de- 
coy builder;  it  is  of  less  value  to  the  ad- 
vanced decoy  maker.  The  32  patterns  of 
heads  and  bodies  are  most  valuable  and 
there  is  a  wealth  of  information  about 
ducks,  their  attitudes  and  characteristics, 
and  just  how  to  copy  these  in  your  decoys. 
Good.  — C.W.B.  &  W.R. 

THE  PRACTICAL  FLY  FISHERMAN,  by  A.  J. 
MrClane.  Published  by  Prentice-Hall,  Inc.:  New  York. 
0"  x  9",  253   pages.   $5.95. 

Many  of  you  are  familiar  with  the  writ- 
ings of  A.  J.  McClane  through  FIELD  & 
STREAM  magazine,  of  which  he  is  the 
fishing  editor.  This  book  is  McClane  at  his 
best,  and  as  the  title  denotes,  is  strictly  for 
fly  fishermen.  He  runs  the  gamut  with 
chapters  on  The  Fly  Rod,  How  to  Cast, 
The  Fly  Line,  Leaders,  Fishing  The  Nymph, 
Fly  Fishing  for  Bass,  Panfish,   and  others. 


Contains  five  full  color  plates  of  flys,  and 
the  "receipts"  for  many  of  them.  Very 
good.  — C.H.G. 

BIRDS  AS  INDIVIDUALS,  by  Len  Howard.  Pub- 
lished by  Doubleday  &  Co.,  New  York.  5y2"  x  8", 
216    pages,    1953.     Price:    $4.00. 

The  home  of  Miss  Len  Howard,  in  a 
little  Sussex  village,  is  literally  for  the 
birds.  BIRDS  AS  INDIVIDUALS  is  a 
record  of  her  experiences  in  coming  to 
know  birds  through  very  intimate  asso- 
ciation. Visitors  to  her  place  are  under- 
standably surprised  to  find  birds  flitting 
about  through  the  house,  in  and  out  the 
open  windows  and  doors.  The  book  is  di- 
vided into  two  parts;  Bird  Behavior  and 
Bird  Song.  Illustrated  with  excellent  photo- 
graphs by  Eric  Hosking,  one  of  the  finest 
of  bird  photographers.    Very  good.    C.H.G. 


In   Memory   of 

JOHN  WHITE,  JR. 

Age:  16.  Address:  Paradis, 
La. 

Shot  while  hunting  on  De- 
cember 13,  1953.  Trigger  of 
gun  caught  in  brush  when  vic- 
tim alighted  from  his  pirogue. 
Wound  fatal. 

One  of  the  ten  commandments  of 
safety  is:  "Always  carry  your  gun 
so  that  you  can  control  the  direction 
of  the  muzzle,  even  if  you  stumble." 


FISHING  LICENSES   EXPIRE 

All  fishermen  are  reminded  that 
their  1953  fishing  licenses  expired 
at  midnight  on  December  31.  The 
1954  licenses  are  now  on  sale  at 
most  sporting  goods  stores  and  at 
all  sheriffs'  offices.  Why  not  get 
your  license  now  instead  of  waiting 
until  you're  in  the  rush  of  planning 
a  fishing  trip! 


In   Memory   of  ■ 


ALVIN   HENRY  DAVIS 

Age:  28.  Address:  Poncha- 
toula,  La. 

Shot  while  deer  hunting  on 
December  13,  1953.  Died  De- 
cember 16.  Shot  by  lifelong 
friend  who  mistook  him  for 
game. 

One  of  the  ten  commandments  of 
safety  is:  "Be  sure  of  your  target  be- 
fore you  pull  the  trigger." 


24 


The  Conservationist  is  now  gathering  data 
from  all  parishes  on  parish  regulations  which 
might  affect  the  activities  of  the  hunter,  fisher- 
man, or  camper.  When  the  survey  is  completed 
we'll  tell  you,  through  the  pages  of  this  magazine, 
the  results.  Some  of  the  rules  now  in  effect  will 
surprise  a  great  many  people.  For  instance, 
there's  at  least  one  parish  in  which  you  must  have 
a  permit  from  the  sheriff  before  you  can  buy,  sell, 
borrow,  lend,  or  transfer  in  any  manner  any  rifle 
or  pistol. 


Charles  W.  Howell  is  dead!  This  Baton  Rouge 
sportsman,  in  the  prime  of  life,  was  deliberately 
shot  by  a  headlighter  while  sitting  by  his  camp- 
fire  in  the  marshes  near  Venice,  La.  I  say  delib- 
erately because  the  man  behind  the  gun  pointed 
it  deliberately  and  pulled  the  trigger  deliberately. 
He  was  headlighting,  presumably  for  deer,  in  vio- 
lation of  state  law,  knowing  that  in  such  practice 
there  is  always  the  possibility  of  shooting  a  cow, 
or  horse — or  a  man — instead  of  a  deer.  When 
the  killer  heard  the  screams  of  John  Day,  Howell's 
companion  who  was  wounded  by  the  same  load 
of  buckshot,  he  fled  the  scene.  The  Baton  Rouge 
Sportsmen's  League  has  begun  a  fund  which  it 
will  offer  for  information  leading  to  the  arrest 
of  the  man  who  did  the  shooting.  The  League 
kicked  in  with  a  hundred  bucks,  and  the  total  is 
up  to  several  hundred  now. 


The  Louisiana  Outdoor  Writers'  Association 
held  a  reorganizational  meeting  on  Dec.  6,  7  and  8 
at  the  Pass-a-Loutre  public  shooting  grounds  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River  as  guests  of 
the  Commission.  While  there  they  were  treated 
to  an  explanation  of  the  program  of  the  Wild  Life 
and  Fisheries  Commission  by  the  various  division 


ayou 
rowsing 


chiefs.  This  should  result  in  a  much  better  work- 
ing relationship  between  the  department  and  the 
men  who  contact  the  public. 

Among  the  officers  who  were  elected  to  serve 
the  LOWA  for  the  coming  year  were :  President — 
Charley  Nutter,  managing  director  of  the  Inter- 
national House,  New  Orleans;  Vice-President — 
Hurley  Campbell,  who  has  charge  of  all  photo- 
graphic work  for  the  State  Department  of  Edu- 
cation;  and  Secretary-Treasurer — W.  McFadden 
Duffy,  public  relations  director  for  the  Inter- 
national House. 


Our  mailing  list  revision,  initiated  with  a  card 
insert  in  the  October  issue,  is  about  to  be  com- 
pleted. We  don't  know  yet  whether  it's  a  success 
or  not.  Depends  on  the  way  you  look  at  it.  Actu- 
ally, we  confidently  expected  to  chop  ten  to  twenty 
thousand  names  off  of  our  list  of  44,000.  Ten- 
nessee recently  cut  their  roster  from  27,000  to 
12,000  by  the  exact  procedure  we  used.  In  our 
case,  however,  it  looks  as  if  we  may  end  up  with 
more  names  than  we  originally  had.  Such  may 
not  be  the  case  when  the  tabulations  are  finally  in, 
but  believe  you  me  we  had  a  flood  of  cards.  Many 
people  commented  about  the  magazine  on  the 
bottom  of  the  card,  and  we'll  be  telling  you  more 
about  some  of  those  gems  at  a  later  date. 


We  made  one  trip  into  the  Bay  Denny  area  of 
the  Atchafalaya  floodway  to  shoot  some  mallards. 
It  wasn't  exactly  an  armchair  trip,  what  with  a 
boat  ride  of  a  couple  miles,  another  couple  by 
shank's  mare  circumventing  a  posted  area,  and 
then  the  going  got  kinda  muddy.  Wood  ducks  by 
the  literal  thousands  were  there.  Makes  a  guy 
wonder  about  the  one-a-day  limit  on  that  species. 
Yep,  I  missed  my  share  of  mallards,  too. 


Sunset,  January  10,  1954,  will  mark  the  end  of 
waterfowl  shooting  for  Louisiana  hunters  for  an- 
other ten  or  eleven  months. 

Photo    by    Gresham.