The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-09-27
OF BEARS
PLAGUE FARMERS
LOuisIana's Latest Peril Ex-
pensiye as Boil WeeyiI.
STATE LAW PROTECTS BRUIN.

Planters, Losers by Depredations In
Sugar Cane Fields, Call on Profess
sionaI Hunters For Bids and Plan
an Immense Nimrodic Expedition
Against ursine Enemies.
A number of farmers living at Lot
tie and other points in the southern
part of Pointe Coupee parish, Louisi-
ana, near the great Atchafalaya and
Fordoche swamps, visited Baton
Rouge, which is only twenty-four
miles distant, the other day to secure
the assistance of professional hunt
ers in killing off bears that are de-
stroying their crops, especially corn
and sugar cane
This is the only big swamp section
left IN Louisiana, and 1t will probably
be drained in the next few years if the
people of Louisiana pass the conser
walton constitutional amendment now
before them. The swamp is full of
canebrakes and has always been a
favorite resort for bears, exceeding the
Yazoo delta in this respect.
Pack Raids Fifty Acres.
Heretofore the farmers in the clear
ed lands have cultivated cotton main
", but the boil weevil has driven cot
ton out, and they are now raising corn
and sugar cane, both favorite foods of
the bear, which has decidedly sweet
tooth. On one place pack Of bears
completely destroyed fifty acres of
fine growing corn, either eating the
ears or trampling down the stalks.
1t has never before occurred that the
farmers had to appeal to a neighbor
ing parish to help them out of bear
difficulty.
The Baton Rouge hunters sent an
agent out to the Atchafalaya swamp
to look over the situation. He return
ed with the report that the complaints
were justified, that the bears were
really doing a great deal Of harm and
that there were, judging from the
tracks, some immense fellows of 1000
pounds or more in the party.
He also reported that there was no
relief in sight, as it was unlawful I'M
der the game law to kill bears at this
time of the year and that even if the
farmers took the law into their own
hands for the protection of their prop
erty it would be impossible for man or
dog to run down the bears at this sea-
son of the year. The luxuriance of
the canes in the canebrakes where the
bears seek refuge renders it difficult
and unsafe If not impossible for a
hunter to force his way through them.
Game Law Breeds Bears.
The Louisiana game law, which was
passed when President Roosevelt was
hunting bear in Madison parish, fixes
the hunting season for the game from
November to February and makes it
unlawful to trap bears at any season
of the year. 1t was also made unlaw
full TO ship a bear carcass out of the
state. The idea. of course. was to pre-
serve bear hunting as sport, and
there has been in consequence an in
crease in the number of bears in the
state.
The farmers have been advised by
sportsmen to let the bears run few
months longer and then arrange for a
grand hunt But in the last few days
the depredations of the bears have
been so great that the farmers are IN
willing to hold off longer and now an
nounce that there is going to be bear
battue in Pointe Coupee the like of
which was never before seen. whether
the game law allows it or not and
whether the thermometer is 90 or zero.