Torch Hunting at the Panama Canal

President Woodrow Wilson had many things to worry about before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

A popular sport in the American-controlled Panama Canal Zone involved hunting animals by torchlight, so they would panic at the coming fire and spring from hiding, or be dazzled by the light and wander toward it. Wilson was so disturbed by this practice that he passed an executive order classifying it as a misdemeanor.

It’s unclear why he cared so much about the goings-on of such a small territory, but he signed several other executive orders concerning postal crimes and telegraph services in the Panama Canal Zone.