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26 Oo From Constable to Baroness Belle and Ella were to share many happy years at Hobcaw. They did not always agree but deferred to each other. Ella, for instance, was an animalrights activist and deplored hunting in any form. Belle, of course, was an avid hunter, though she never shot deer or turkey once she took over the plantation and rarely shot ducks in order to protect their diminishing numbers. Ella did not enjoy riding but for Belle’s sake made an attempt. It caused her great pain in her hip, however, and after dismounting one afternoon she said to Belle: “I love you very much but I’m not going to get on that horse anymore.” It wasn’t long after that Belle came home from riding and said, “Well, I really think it’s over for me.” The arthritic pain in her back and knee was so severe that it was almost crippling. “Thank God she had her airplane,” said Ella. “She was so happy when she was in the cockpit, a big smile on her face.” Ella would rather fish than fly. Belle would take the plane up for its daily spin, often flying low over the lake where Ella fished. “You should have come flying,” Belle would say, “you didn’t catch anything anyway.” “True,” Ella would answer, “but I enjoyed just standing there fishing.” Belle would coax Prince Jenkins and Francena McCants to come for a ride, but both refused. Prince would shake his head and say, “No, Ma’am.” Laughing, Belle would say, “Stay, you big sissy,” and climb aboard. Francena was even more determined not to go than Prince. When Belle pointed out that a plane was safer than a car, Francena said, “Yeah, but I’m not goin’ up there. They may be able to find me in a car wreck, but if you come down [in a plane wreck], they can’t find you.” Baroness of Hobcaw 160 Besides the simple joy of flying, Belle used the plane to search for poachers. They were a constant worry, and she consulted attorneys on trespass laws and precedents. Except by air, it was impossible to effectively patrol the woods, marshes, and inlets of the barony. Research showed that as far back as 1897, the courts had found that hunters could use only navigable streams (those that had two termini). If a stream ended in a marsh or land, then the stream was unnavigable and the public had no right to be in it except with the owner’s permission. Even if a stream was navigable , a hunter could use it and the immediate banks but could not go onto private land through which it passed or into the marshes at which it ended. Belle and Taylor enforced those rulings to their limit. Hunters soon found that if they hunted on Hobcaw property, Belle Baruch was ruthless in pursuit and prosecution. She wanted no poachers in her beloved Hobcaw. If she spotted violators from the air, she would buzz them whether they were on foot or in a boat, often creating turbulence that rocked their boats precariously. She would snap photographs as she dove, and it wasn’t uncommon to find Belle and the sheriff waiting when disgruntled hunters pulled up to the dock in Georgetown . In 1953 Belle was appointed South Carolina’s only woman constable, without pay but with the right to carry a gun and make arrests. She later became an investigator for SLED (State Law Enforcement Division) under the same circumstances because of statewide concern for both poaching and smuggling. Belle’s relentless war against poachers did not earn her many friends among the avid hunters in Georgetown County, but it earned her respect. Those who had the temerity to hunt on Hobcaw Barony much preferred to encounter Taylor than Belle. Taylor would give at least one warning; with Belle there was no warning, only prosecution. Nor were the guilty inclined to argue. One look at Belle’s implacable brown eyes, towering height, and unwavering shotgun barrels would convince even the most courageous man that it would be wise to admit defeat. Once when she was up for her afternoon flight, she flew low over Ranger Island and saw a herd of goats on the property. Landing her plane, she immediately contacted Taylor to find out how the goats got onto her land. They discovered that an enterprising farmer from Georgetown had decided the island would make ideal free...

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