The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-08-30
ENGLISH POACHERS.
They and Game Keepers at Never
Ceasing Contest Of Wits.

CeaS1nS contest O1 WIS.
Though private game preserves in
the United States are rapidly increas-
ing in number and game brings a high
price in the markets, it will probably
be some time before poachers become
such a serious problem as they are in
England, when poaching is a very an
cient if not honorable occupation, and
where a constant warfare, more or
less serious in results, is maintained
between these gentry and tie game
keepers.
The signs sometimes seen on the
fringe of English woods, Beware Of
mantraps and spring guns" may
frighten the harmless cockney out on
a Sunday, but the professional poach-
or knows that mantraps and spring
guns are prohibited by law. He has
to be on the watch, however, for traps
which will at least give him a bad fail
or a ducking. A fence which he is
climbing and has climbed many times
before may give way with crash, or
a plank laid conveniently across a
ditch or stream may have been sawed
almost through. A fine but strong wire
stretched across a path about eighteen
inches from the ground is a serious
danger for the poacher, as he may
stumble over it and get bad fail, or,
worse still, his dog may encounter it
when running at full speed and be
cut almost in two. Without his dog.
the poacher is practically harmless,
and the most effective way of putting
an end to poaching is to kill or injur,e
the faithful and Intelligent beast.
Sometimes a trap is set for the dog
which is not intended to injure him
but which will give an alarm. A load
ed gun is put in field where hares
feed, and a number of strings fasten-
ed to the trigger are led in various di-
rections and secured to pegs. In driv-
ing the hares the dog is almost cer-
tain to encounter one of the strings,
discharge the gun and put the keepers
on the alert.
When a keeper finds number of
snares set he will put dead hare -
rabbit in one, scratch up the grouad
and leaves to make it appear that the
animal. had struggled in a natural
manner, conceal himself nearby and
take the prowler 'in the act'' when he
next comes to his snares.
The usual way Of collecting pleas
ants is for the poacher to provide him
self with light gun, using very
small charge, so that the report will
be slight, with which he kills the birds
in the trees in which they roost. Keep
ers, therefore, make wooden decoys
and place them in trees located from
= the poacher's point of view most con-
venient and conceal themselves nea,
by. When the night prowler begins
to blaze away at the decoys the keep
ers rush out and make a capture. The
stealing of pheasants' eggs is regard
ed in England as the most heinous
form of poaching, and eggers are
sometimes caught by means of a de-
coy nest in which eggs have been
placed When ali else has failed
poachers are occasionally bagged by
means of marked hares or rabbits
when such a marked animal is found
in a game shop it is an easy matter to
trace it back to the man who origin
ally offered it for sale.
On more than one occasion it has
been proved that London game dealers
were professional poachers, who oper-
ated boldly in gangs so large as to
make the efforts of the keepers futile
-Harper's Weekly.