Jan/Feb 2006It Happened One Night: Adventures of a Game Warden by Lt. Pearly Britt (retired)

In Mullins, where I live, everybody knows everybody else. We have about 2,500 people, and it's like a big neighborhood. In the late '60s, I had set up to look for violators in a good place near Mullins where lots of ducks come in. I hid where nobody could see me and waited. Then I heard some hunters start shooting like a war was going on. Word got out I was out there checking them, so I decided to have a talk with these guys.

Me: "How many'd you get?"
Hunter: "Two apiece."
Me: "I know you, and I know you shoot better than to have only two apiece."

We talked and talked. I knew they had those ducks somewhere, so I told them to get the ducks and bring 'em back, and I'd let 'em split the fines. They said they had no more ducks. Finally they left, but I decided to stay around to see what happened. Sure enough, a pickup showed up later, and a guy got out and went down into the woods with a flashlight. I heard all kinds of noise. Turned out seven hunters that had never come out before had been hiding there all that time, and all seven came out and jumped in the truck. I waited till the last one got in - they were lying down, and it was pretty crowded - and I jumped in with them. In the dark, they thought I was just another hunter. While we rode, we had a little discussion.

Hunter: "We got to be kinda careful 'cause he like to caught us."
Me: "What do you mean 'like to caught us'? "
Hunter: "Well, I'll be, it's him!"

They were old friends of mine from school, and there were no hard feelings. They paid their fines. They still kid one another about it now!