Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden: A Memoir

by Ben McC. Moise

Career-spanning tales of a coastal crimefighter, ranging from the treacherous to the hilarious

Ben McC. Mo?se served with distinction as a South Carolina game warden for nearly a quarter century, patrolling the coastal woods and waters of the Palmetto State. In this colorful career-spanning memoir, the cigar-chomping, ticket-writing scourge of lowcountry fish-and-game-law violators chronicles grueling stakeouts, complex trials, hair-raising adventures, and daily interactions with a host of outrageous personalities. With a lawman's eye for fine details, a conservationist's nose for the aroma of pluff mud, and a seasoned storyteller's ear for the rhythms of a good southern yarn, Mo?se recounts his stout-hearted and steadfast efforts to protect the lowcountry landscape and bring to justice those who would run roughshod over fish and game laws on the Carolina coast. Along the way he paints a vivid portrait of evolving attitudes and changing regulations governing coastal conservation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570037280
• ISBN13: 9781570037283
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A must read for all sportsmen, nature lovers and storytellers

Often game violation cases make the news, with bloodthirsty tales of egregious over-hunting, poaching or selling of illegal species. But you almost never hear of the hours of stealth, soul-sucking mosquito swarms or frostbite that went into catching the criminal in the act. Veteran South Carolina Game Warden, Ben Moise, the cigar chomping, ticket writing scourge of Lowcountry fish and game violators, has written his memoirs about his twenty-four years patrolling the coastal woods and waters of the Palmetto State. A bit Havillah Babcock meets Roscoe P. Coltrane, Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden has a good many stories about how most of the time the poacher gets it, but how sometimes the outlaw sticks it to The Man. From frequent bouts of pneumonia due to wintry pre-dawn stakeouts, to search and rescues in hurricane-force winds, the focus of the book is the author's steadfast and unrelenting desire to bring to justice those who ran roughshod over the fish and game laws. Moise takes the reader on a narrative journey from his beginning days, his formative experiences, court trials, surveillances, and embarrassments all the way to the very moment of his retirement at sunset on the last day of the 2002 duck season. It covers conservation, environmental stewardship, hunting, fishing and general badassmanship. Moise caught drug runners, deer shiners, bootleggers, bad liars and those sportsmen who were either too lazy or too greedy to abide by the state's fish and game laws. From busting judges, representatives, sometimes his friends, and once, even a blind man, he got the reputation for being mean enough write his own mother a ticket. This is a must read for any conservationist, hunter, sportsman, tree hugger, campfire talker or lover of a good yarn.

A Must Read for Adventurers

I got my first camera 4 decades ago.I've developed a love for capturing "the moment".My love of adventure combined with my curiosity have put me in some unbelievable places.In the early eighties I became involved with environmental issues.Over time I became the spokesman for all the Sierra Club Groups in my home state of South Carolina.My connections got me pointed down an ever increasing number of wilderness pathways.Traveling by plane,auto,sail,canoe,kayak and on foot I have learned to sneak up on scenes from Death Valley California to The Western Isles of Scotland.My camera is always with me. The necessity of earning a living keeps me primarily in The Lowcountry of South Carolina.My photography puts me in many of the same places that this Author writes about.Scouting in the daytime ,I take for granted getting up in the dark,traveling in the dark and getting in position early. Having read the book I realize the Author is an hour ahead of me and in waiting.We have never met in the field.I'm staying away from Humans,he is observing and outsmarting them.What we share is an incredible amount of joy from the scenes that have unfolded in front of our eyes because we were out there. In this book you will hear of incredible places that anyone can visit.I have not seen half the places mentioned here.Can you imagine my happiness to read about so many more adventures all around me,just waiting for me ? This book is about much more than Law Enforcement.It is The memoir of A Quintessential Southern Gentleman.It is a guide to conservation,history,human psychology,personal responsibility and how you bring your personal values and leadership to the general public for the good of all. The book is riveting.Not since James Dickie's "Deliverance" have I sped through such an enjoyable book. You will laugh,wonder and keep turning pages.If the account of the last hunt of The Santee Gun Club doesn't bring a tear ,you have ice water in your blood.The eloquence of his writing combined with the seldom described events he is recounting,will keep you spellbound.Your minds eye will be activated and you will have a new perspective on many things. If you want to take a nice trip without leaving the house,read this book.If you want to plan a nice adventure,the ideas here are plentiful.If you like romance and dogs , this book is for you.Would someone Please make this into a movie?