The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1882-03-25
The Overflow and the Game Law.

The Overflow and the Game Law.
! We are informed that great many
deer have been driven from the swamps
to the highlands by the overflow We
are also reliably informed that great
numbers of deer are being killed daily.
This is not only a great pity, but is
in plain, direct, and palpable violation
of statute of the State adopted in
1873, making it misdemeanor, pun
ishable by severe penalties. to kill deer
between the 1st of February and the
lst of August. Il 10 in time of ever
4 flow, when the deer are driven from
their haunts in the swamps to the high
lands, by the high water, that the cav
/ should be most rigidly enforced. TAat
/ it has not been enforced more strictly
this month is no doubt owing to the
fact that our parish Jail is torn down,
and convicted parties, in default of be-
ing able to give bond, weuld have to be
sent out of the parish to be imprisoned.
This, however, will not prevent violat
ors of this law from being dealt with as
they deserve to be. Soon the Jail will
be completed. and we would not he sur
prised to see a good many Of the cnl-
prits called to account. Tls grand
/ jury in their general report, made week
before last. directed the District Attor-
new to enforce the law to the letter,
and in conversation with the District
Judge few days since, he made the
statement that if there were not indict-
ments by the scere, for violation of this
law, at the next meeting of the grand
/ jury, it would not be for want of
charge to the jury on the subject, as
he intended to call ON them for rigid
enforcement of the law, and to use
every means in his poweG to see it
rigidly enforced. We know the Sheriff
and District Attorney to be equally de-
termined to prosecute all who may
have violated the law.
Since the law was adopted in 1873,
there have been several prosecutions
under it, and in every case, conviction
has been followed by sentence of $25
fine and all costs, or in default of the
payment of the fine and cests. amount
ing in the aggregate TO about $40, to
imprisonment in the Parish Jail for 60
days. In every case so far the parties
CONVICTED paid up rather than 60 to
Jail. Hence these :. pet hunters" whe
are now slaughtering the deer, may and
probably will live long enough to come
to the conclusion that it is deer meat
sure enough, when they have TO come
down with $40 or $50 for each deer
killed or go to Jail for so days. There
are parties enough in every neighbor-
hood, genuine levers of sport, who
want the game law enforced. to furnish
the Judge, District Attorney and Sher-
iff. by letter or otherwise, with the
names of witnesses and parties-it has
already been done in many cases sand
then lock out, ye pot hunters" when
our next criminal term of court comes
on. Under the law, half the fine gees to
the party informing; and if the law il
: enforced as it should be, and as we
hope TO see it, the next criminal term
Of our District court can be almost
made self-snstaining from these fines
2 IF one hundred convictions were had
under this law-and it wenld net sur
prise us to see that many--the nice
little, sum of %, 900 or So. 500 might 10
this way alene be poured into the Par.
ish Treasury. This 10 what every trns
t sportsman In st. Landry would like tt
9 see done. The deer fleeing from the
9 angry f1oofts, have left the swamps tt
!. seek refugt{en the high lands. They
are poor, iaBed, bewildered the doel
All with fawn-so that the killing o
one is often equal to the destruction 0
two or three and instead of being al
object OF relentless pursuit, should b
rather an object of sympathy and pity
J. Daring the great floods Of 1865. 1856
!, and 1874, the destruction of deer wa
wanton and wholesale, They wer,
+ butchered By hundreds and thousand
in the eastern part Of St. Landry. /
! repeated now and again within tn
next few years. the species viii in
manner become extinct. Hence W
say, Hunters. obey the law, and let til
Z deer alone. If the hunters will not d
It this, then all We can do is to say, Off
. GERS of justice, enforce the law.
q -ss---
We learn that on the 22d inst, a bo.
! aged about IS years, named Ben Bar
/. ton, killed q man BY the name Q
: White. near Bayou Chicot, in this par
ish. The slayer surrendered hinsel
4 to deputy sheriff Erlich. and wa
!, brought te Opelonsas on the 23d
!. whence he was taken to Alexandria o
the evening of the 24th.