The Price of a Poached Duck
A hunter learns a hard lesson when a game warden catches him in the brush.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A $40 fine and costs, his gun confiscated, and his hunting license forfeited for one year was the price L. H. Peckenpaugh of Benton City paid this week for shooting ducks out of season. Peckenpaugh had just bagged four nice ducks in the Yakima river when County Game Warden N. E. Palmer, who had concealed himself in the brush, walked up and placed him under arrest. Peckenpaugh plead guilty before Justice Harrington of Richland. This is the second arrest made in the past week by Warden Palmer and his deputies.
“County Game Warden N. E. Palmer, who had concealed himself in the brush, walked up and placed him under arrest.”
While wildlife management and state-sanctioned hunting seasons remain a core part of Washington's outdoor culture, the intense enforcement of 'brush-concealed' wardens reflects the strict conservation measures of the early 20th century, a time when overhunting threatened many local species with extinction.
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