The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-04-29
SARGE PLUNKETT.
A ProhibItory Game Law Of Five Years
ls What Is Needed.
Atlanta Constitution.

Georgia needs a prohibitory law
against hunting for the term of five
years.
1t is distressing to see how scarce
our birds are getting. In a few more
years there will be no birds in Georgia.
An old man can remember when wolves
were as plentiful in Georgia as birds
are now. Pauthers were almost as
plentiful, and cats outnumbered the
birds of the present day. l mention
these savage brutes to impress that
birds are getting mighty scarce, and
need u protection. There is too
much hunting and too many hunters.
[ have seen the day that | could
step out in the woods a spring morn
ing like this morning and kill three or
four turkeys before breakfast, and I
have seen the day when droves of
pigeons and swarms Of blackbirds
darkened the elements every afternoon
along this season of the year. The
young generation would be scared to
see these birds coming like a great
black cloud, roaring like a cyclone and
turning the day into darkness. Right
down in the country where the Delk
gang is now hiding-in the fork Of
Trice creek and Flint river-I have
seen these pigeons and blackbirds
break the limbs from the trees. 1t is
a great swamp and the birds used to
congregate there to roost and big white
oaks were stripped of their limbs from
the sheer weight of the birds lighting
on them. Brown swears that he knew
Tom Erwin to kill 283 of these birds
at one shot with a rifle. I tried to
get my old friend to substitute a
double-barreled shot gun for the rifle,
but he would not-2S3 at one shot,
and a rife is the way it must go, and
whatever Brown says can be depended
upon. These birds kept down the in
sects, furnished some delicious dishes
for the table, besides the refining in
auence of the songs they sang. There
is a dearth of these bird songs on these
sweet spring mornings that robs man
Of a most pleasant delight. If [ was
a candidate I would run on the plat
form that there should be no more
birds killed in the period Of five
years.
Speaking of candidates brings up a
train Of thought that non can throw
off in these parts at this time. It
looks as if our whole population was
going to enter the field for political
honors. There are more candidates
and more political discussion than I
ever heard or saw before this early in
the campaign.
Brown and I have tried mighty hard
TO keep out of the wrangles, but we
could not, we had to thrown up our
hats a little the other day in spite of
our resolutions and ever since we have
had to keep our eyes skinned when we
were in Decatur to keep from going
back home looking like we had just
returned from Oshkosh.
We are too old to fool with politics,
but it is hard to make us understand
that a man has not a right to throw up
his hat, or that it is not a healthy con-
dition Of politics that men do differ
and throw up their hats and hurrah
for their side. We would like to see
the time come again when they would
raise liberty poles, as they did before
the war, and great speakers come, and
big barbecues prevail. We are in for
free speech, loud talk, a throwing up
of hats and all the enthusiasm that
can be mustered. 1t is this that gives
the people good government. We old
folks can remember something about
the bad government Of the %reconstruc-
ton period and what a depression
there was among the people. The old
Republican party had everything its
own way then, with a military to back
it up and it took a right smart of moral
courage to speak your sentiments. But
the Georgia boys-the people-were
equal to the occasion then and | live
in the faith that they will be. Ben
Hill was here in those days and he
was great, and as brave as a lion. He
saw the disposition to suppress the
people and he knew the Importance of
sustaining their courage and thus it
was that he made the two most nota-
BILE speeches of his life-the brush
arbor and Davis hall speeches. This
whole Southern country was hedged
in with bayonets at that time, but as
Hill spoke you could.see the dropping
heads begin to rise, courage grew as
he proceeded and before the speech
was over timid men before were throw.
ing up their hats, yelling, and they
didn't care whether the old Republi-
can corruptionists liked it or no. En-
thusiasm is good. 1t is like refresh
ing showers to the crops, and as far as
Brown and | are concerned we are 60
ing to have as much of it as we can
from this on.
Brown does despise quiet politics
he. says there is not even I drink in
quiet politics. And he is somewhat
against these secret movements, but
he is afraid to enthuse much on this
line, for they have got him guessing.
There is a right smart of pulling down
the left eyelid and jerking the left
side of the mouth around nearly to the
ear as fellows pass each other. and
Brown swears hat it is secret signs
and we can't get in with them fleet
enough TO catch on to a thing, and so
we guess.
We joined one of these secret Or
CARNATIONS once. 1t was a ] long time
ago. Our society then was called
"Know Nothings," and [ think the
name suited pretty well, for after we
had got everything ready to sweep the
country, as we thought, a young Irish
man from Atlanta came down into our
settlement and changed the whole
trend of things. Lochrane was the
Irishman's name and he has since been
prominent and we'll known.
Lochrane spoke as only Lochrane
oo,1J .no,1- on1 III ,r,;,ct tho bpow