Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-21
How State Police Disguise
To Protect Game and Fish

The real thrilling detective stories
these days come, mostly, from the
experiences of the state mounted po-
lice, whose men are the finest off
GERS in the whole world, and politics
does not dare interfere with them.
A good yarn is told of our wonder
full service when in the wilds or
Lycoming county a fisherman, aged
but alert. called to what he thought
was another Isaac Walton, but who
turned out to be a camouflaged state
cop.
"See here,". called the old fellow,
'aint they beauties?"
He disclosed a bunch of trout and
the stranger methodically took out
little stick and measuring found
three under six inches in length.
You'll have to come along with
me-" said he. showing his badge.
The story is one which will never
stale in the state police annals, for
the fisherman then disclosed himself
a Supreme court judge and threaten
ed the other with having him broke"
Nevertheless he went along and paid
| a seventy-f five dollar fine.
His only revenge was to write a
| four-page letter demanding the Off
GERS dismissal. but he had a brief
reply thanking him for calling atten-
tion to the policeman's shrewd abil-
| ity.
| The present season has compelled
all sorts of secret service disguises
, both in Pennsylvania and New York,
which modelled its force from ours.
In the vast Adirondacks more than
200 violators have been captured.
Those caught in the dragnet in
clude prominent persons from every
part of New York state and some
| from outside the state, as well as
, residents of the North woods, among
them being a deputy sheriff, city
police lieutenant, and even a clergy
man, as well as men in other walks
of life.
The offenses in which these men
are implicated cover practically every
possible violation of the deer law,
! including the killing of dogs and
fawns, shooting more than the legal
limit, driving deer with dogs. hunt
ing by jacklight, shooting from the
public highway. buying and selling
venison, Illegal transportation of deer,
and non-residents hunting upon resi-
dent licenses. The non-residents face
charge of perjury in addition to vio-
lation of the game law.
The game protectors. who enter the
woods in the guise of sportsmen and
obtain admission to the innermost
councils and doings of violators. oper-
ated upon a plan prepared Llewellyn
Legge, chief of the division of fish and
game, and proved, according to the
commission, that the violators were
wilful and deliberate and were COM
mitted in the recesses of the deep
woods, where the violators thought
that they could "get away with It,"
This Is the second year in which
game protectors have worked under
secret service methods, in furtherance
of Commissioner Pratt's determination
to root out the lawlcssness which pre-
walls during the deer hunting season
This method has made it possible to
break through the informal organiEa-
ton of the violators in keeping track
of the local game protectors as they
go about upon their regular patrol
work.
Last year Division Inspector C. T..
Underhill, of the conservation COM
mission Travelled into all parts of the
state, interviewing and making settle