A duck hunter gets his limit of cherished memories For more than half a century, Julius M. Reynolds, Jr. has hunted waterfowl, and the Santee lakes of South Carolina have been his sporting paradise. Early mornings, cold duck blinds, and sunrises on the Santee compose some of his most prized memories. Reynolds has lived on both sides of the lakes and has roamed them from the Santee delta to the Pinopolis powerhouse. He has witnessed both the glory days and the decline of duck hunting in South Carolina. With this heartfelt memoir, Reynolds recalls his best hunting stories, shares his knowledge of waterfowling, and chronicles recent dramatic changes in his beloved sport. Describing himself as a Sumter boy who "grew up chasing ducks in Pocotaliago Swamp and from one end of the lake to the other," Reynolds takes readers into the Santee's best duck hunting areas--from Cane Branch, Billup's Slough, and Line Island, all located around Jack's Creek, to McGirt's Lake, Otter Flat, Riser's Old River, Pine Island Creek, Broadwater, Indigo Flat, and Fuller's Earth Creek, Reynolds's favorite hunting spots in the Santee Swamp. He tells stories of memorable trips, colorful South Carolina sportsmen, favorite dogs, boats, shotguns, and the joy of life in the outdoors. He recalls a time when the Santee National Waterfowl Refuge wintered more than 100,000 ducks, and records the heroic efforts of outdoorsmen who saved the Santee Swamp from timbermen's sawmills. Reynolds touches on his personal milestones--shooting "a hundred straight" of skeet, participating in the national duck calling competition, and hunting in a luxury Arkansas blind--but he also looks to the future of waterfowling. Reynolds challenges the next generation of hunters to save our rapidly vanishing wetlands, for the health of the environment and in the hope that waterfowl migration might return to the Santee.

Empowerment of North American Indian Girls is an examination of coming-of-age-ceremonies for American Indian girls past and present, featuring an in-depth look at Native ideas about human development and puberty. Many North American Indian cultures regard the transition from childhood to adulthood as a pivotal and potentially vulnerable phase of life and have accordingly devised coming-of-age rituals to affirm traditional values and community support for its members. Such rituals are a positive and enabling social force in many modern Native communities whose younger generations are wrestling with substance abuse, mental health problems, suicide, and school dropout. Developmental psychologist Carol A. Markstrom reviews indigenous, historical, and anthropological literatures and conveys the results of her fieldwork to provide descriptive accounts of North American Indian coming-of-age rituals. She gives special attention to the female puberty rituals in four communities: Apache, Navajo, Lakota, and Ojibwa. Of particular interest is the distinctive Apache Sunrise Dance, which is described and analyzed in detail. Also included are American Indian feminist interpretations of menstruation and menstrual taboos, the feminine in cosmology, and the significance of puberty customs and rites for the development of young women.

When Luke Collier, a rough and tumble cowboy, meets Faith Honniwell, he decides it's time for him to settle down. But murderous Apaches bent on revenge interrupt his plans.

This timely set invites readers to celebrate the most beautiful and environmentally important places in the United States. Each of the United States boasts numerous special places that are significant for their biodiversity, ecology, habitats for rare and endangered species, or other qualities that make them unique and worthy of preservation. These sites range from nature preserves to state and national parks, wildlife areas, ecosystems that provide a home to diverse flora and fauna, and even scenic vistas. The five volumes of America's Natural Places examine over 200 of the most spectacular and important of these places, with each entry describing the importance of the area, the flora and fauna that it supports, threats to the survival of the region, and what is being done to protect it. Organized by state within regional volumes, this encyclopedia both informs the reader about the wide variety of natural areas across the country and identifies places nearby that demonstrate that preserving such treasurers is of immediate importance to every U.S. citizen.

In this colorful memoir, a South Carolina game warden recounts a quarter-century of adventure patrolling the woods and waters of the Palmetto State. Ben McC. Moïse served with distinction as a South Carolina game warden for nearly a quarter century. In this 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, Moïse 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.