Author Archives: docfoster2

All the game and fish in Arkansas belong to the people of Arkansas. E. V. Visart claims that local game laws are unconstitutional because laws cannot keep game and fish in one county off-limits to other county non-residents.

Colonel Joseph Acklen, millionaire lawyer, and sportsman from Nashville hunted Arkansas several times and developed the Big Lake Shooting Club near Manila in northeastern Arkansas. He was an enemy of the market and pot hunter. The former Tennessee State Game Warden lobbied in Little Rock several times to end market hunting in Arkansas but foughtContinue reading “Colonel Joseph Acklen of Tennessee, February 27, 1901”

In Arkansas’ capital city, citizens could call on Mr. William Wells and have some Game Fish delivered to their door. I especially liked the Well’s motto…

On October 10, 1907, the Log Cabin Democrat reported a pack of wolves menacing the area near Prairie Grove. Men had chased them with dogs and had killed two or three of them, but the bulk of the pack remained. It seems that the wolves had made war on the chicken population and were winning.

A great advertisement from Trumpler and Dabbs, outdoor dealers in Little Rock. Everyone needs a Bowie Knife! Look at the range of goodies that people can purchase. September 28, 1872. Daily Arkansas Gazette, Sep 28, 1872

In 1895, the Osceola newspaper published an advertisement for a complete listing of the various state game and fish laws. If someone was headed out of Arkansas to hunt, they needed to know those laws. You could send FIVE 2 Cent stamps to the American Field Magazine, and they would send you the current listContinue reading “On this Date in Arkansas Wildlife History: September 9, 1895”

On this date in 1908, William E. Jameson advertised that his Pine Bluff meat market had game and fish for sale in addition to domestic meats. Before 1925, it was quite common to sell wild game and fish in Arkansas meat markets.

Little Rock citizens could buy game fish from the local meat market lawfully. Millions of pounds of Arkansas fish went to the markets and most restaurants served wild fish in their establishments.

Earnest V. Visart was on the job for about two months before he decided to take the decision to pass wildlife protection laws to the people of Arkansas. Before he died, Visart fought a decades-long battle to protect the game and fish in the state. On July 1, 1911, he was circulating a petition toContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: July 1 Petitions”

One of my favorite nicknames that Arkansawyers used back in the day to describe fish was “Finny Tribe.” I guess they got tired of writing “fish.” When I first saw this term, it had no real reference, and I had to look it up. We don’t see this term used much anymore.