50 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



folks talkin' about the 'poor birds.' Why don't 

 they make a fuss 'bout the po' sheep, or the po' 

 beef critters, or the po' hogs? An' as for the 

 cruelty o' killin', yo' can't get mutton or beef or 

 pork without killin' a critter, can yo'? 



"It's so swot-hingled unreasonable. It's 'poor 

 bird' when yo' shoot a Wild Turkey, but it's only 

 a matter of eatin' when yo' chop the head oif 'n 

 a tame one. It's state's prison to shoot a Wood 

 Pigeon squab, but it's 'good business' to raise 

 squabs of another breed for the market. Yo' 

 can only shoot Prairie Chicken for one month in 

 the year an' that only in a couple o' states, but yo' 

 can wring the neck of a Leghorn chicken any day 

 in the year in any state in the union. 



"An', if yo' ask me," persisted the old man, 

 "it's a durn sight worse to raise a fowl or critter 

 like a house pet an' then kill him an' eat him. Yo' 

 might as well shoot the house cat or the yard dog 

 fo' dinner, or make a pie out o ' caged canary birds. 

 Man ain't no different from the rest o' the animals, 

 he's got to live by killin' same as they do, but he 

 might as well hunt for his dinner, fair an ' square, 

 like them. 



"They call me a 'pot-hunter,' " he continued, 

 with a savageness which showed that the word of 



