So Great Was the Slaughter

"The state of Arkansas, like many of its neighbors, remained a rough and undeveloped region of the South well into the early twentieth century. Crude transportations networks protected its rich wildlife population from all but the most determined hunters. But by 1925, market hunters had harvested almost every deer, bear, turkey, and quail population in the state, and completely eradicated bison, prairie chicken, and the passenger pigeon. The national demand for meat drove market hunters to harvest millions of birds, mammals, and fish to feed the masses. Technological advancements in transportation, firearms, and food preservation allowed shooters to gun down and ship tons of Arkansas's wildlife to Memphis, Chicago, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and St. Louis. At the same time, a national conservation movement began to develop as concerned observers witnessed the vanishing of the nation's wildlife. In Arkansas, sportsmen and other conservation groups, concerned that this slaughter would drive the game and fish populations to extinction, rallied to create stricter state game laws, end market hunting, and conserve the remaining wildlife. To achieve their aims, they lobbied legislators to pass meaningful conservation legislation, establish a state-wide game law enforcement organization, and create fish hatcheries, game farms, and wildlife refuges. They also raised money and petitioned the state and federal governments to restock Arkansas with wildlife. Few know about this early fight, and historians have written little about it. So Great was the Slaughter tells this story of the unlikely partnerships between hunters, sportsmen, and conservationists in striving to preserve the wildlife and natural resources in one of the great wild places in the American South. Arkansas sportsmen, along with non-hunting conservationists, led by individuals like Arkansas State Sportsmen's Association Game Warden Earnest V. Visart, Judge Lee Miles, Senator Junius Futrell, and Helena bird lover Mrs. Louise Stephenson, created the foundation of Arkansas's wildlife management system, including the creation of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. These Arkansas conservationists, with assistance from outsiders like Tabasco heir and bird conservationist E. A. McIlhenny, American Game Protective Association Vice-President Ray P. Holland, non-resident hunting and fishing club members, and the United States Biological Survey, fought against stubborn politicians, game and fish merchants, and a frontier mentality that Arkansawyers had the God-given right or American privilege to kill, trap, or catch as much game and fish as they desired. The battle raged for decades. Sadly, by the time Arkansas legislators passed enough laws to protect the game and fish adequately, most of the wildlife was already gone. Only through restocking efforts does Arkansas have the significant game and fish populations it does today"--