22 



THE OSPREY. 



THE DOCUMENTS IN THE BENDIRE BUSINESS. 



Editor Nidologist : 



While I am obliged to you for reprinting from The 

 OsPREY my skit about the late Major Bendire's early 

 troubles, I am surprised to find }our correspondent, 

 Mr, Manly Hardy, commenting in such a silly man- 

 ner upon it. Who this person may be I have no idea, 

 except that I lately edited for him a paper on some 

 Maine birds which was published in the 'World's 

 Congress on Ornithology,' after I had taken the 

 trouble to make it presentable by fixing up its bad 

 spelling and worse grammar. His gratuitous insults 

 in the Xidologist for ]\Iay, pp. io6, 107, are his thanks 

 for my pains in his behalf, I suppose; but he had 

 better have remained in the obscurity of his native 

 heath, or backwoods, or wherever Brewer, Me., may 

 be, than have come to light laboring under the strange 

 delusion that I did not know what I was about in 

 penning my Osprey column. He is absurd enough 

 to quote a letter from Bendire of 1883, to refute 

 what I said was the state of affairs in 1873. I seldom 

 explain mjself, and still more seldom have occasion 

 to produce the proof of what I write. That generally 

 goes without saying I am far too old a hand at the 

 business to speak in print except by the card. But 1 

 will, on this occasion, produce the vouchers. All my 

 correspondence with Baird, Brewer and Bendire is 

 before me now. and some of it is rich enough, as you 

 will see. 



What I said, in substance, in the Osprey article, 

 was that Bendire fancied himself misused in some 

 way, I had forgotten how ; that a breach occurred 

 in consequence, which I was instrumental in healing 

 by sending Bendire's letters to Baird, etc. 



On retraversing the whole correspondence, I find 

 myself exactly right, except that there was more 

 Baird and less Brewer in it than I intimated : and the 

 main cause of the quarrel, which I said I had forgot- 

 ten, was Baird's failure to have Bendire ordered East 

 from Arizona. Here are the documents in the case — 

 extracts from letters to me which speak for them- 

 selves ; 



In Catiip near Tucson. A. T., March 27, 1872. 

 . . . Professor Baird must not expect that I mean to let him 

 select at random and give me such other eggs in exchange as 

 he sees tit. It appears to be a general complaint amongst col- 

 lectors that you never can get anything like the value of your 

 specimens from the Smithsonian Institute. I mean to get the 

 value for mine. . . . [Signed] Chs. Bendire. 



Camp near Tucson. A. T., April 22d, 1872. 

 . . . Prof. Baird says in his letter that Prof. Henry can get 

 almost anything done at headquarters in the interest of science. 

 I am satisfied of this myself and on that account made this 

 proposition. If he gets me ordered East, the Smithsonian will 

 get my whole collection... .On these terms my collection goes 

 east, I go with it, or it stays where it is. . . 



[Signed] Chs. Bendire. 



Camp near Tucson. A. /"., May 19th. 1872. 



... If you should see Prof. Baird in case he does not give 



me a satisfactory answer, you might represent my case to him 



and tell him frankly .. . that I shall not deviate from my terms 



they can be easily enough obtained by him. if he is in earnest. 



[Signed] Chs. Bendire. 

 Camp near Tucson. A. /'., May 21st, 1872. 

 .... I have not heard from Professor Baird yet and am inter- 

 ested in what he will have to say to my proposition. . . . My 

 collection will ultimately find its way to Germany, where I in- 

 tend to present it most probably to the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences at Berlin. .. . [Signed] C. Bendire. 



Camp near Tucson. A. 7\. June 2d, 1872. 

 .. ..I want this order by the ist of August, or even sooner if 

 possible, and if you can do anything at the Smithsonian for 

 me, you will lay me under lasting obligation.... make your 

 suggestions to Professor Baird accordingly if you will be kind 

 enough to interest yourself in the matter. . . . 



[Signed] C. Bendire. 

 Camp near 7'ucson. .-/. T.. June 13th. 1872. 

 ... .1 think that it will be worth while now for Prof Baird to 

 get me ordered east if possible, or else I shall most probably 

 ship the largest portion (of my eggs] direct from Sau Francisco 

 to Kurope [Signed] Chs. Bendire. 



Camp near Tucson. A. J'.. Aug. 7, 1872. 



.... Prof. Baird . . . wants me to send on my eggs by express . . 

 I can't possibly persuade myself to see the thing in that light 

 and thought I had certainly expressed myself clearly enough 

 on this subject in former letters to him.. .1 have given up all 

 hopes of getting east through Prof. Baird's mediation, and he 

 may give up the hope of getting many of my eggs. I am per- 

 fectly aware of the condition the eggs you get from the Smith- 

 sonian are [in], and can do much better outside. I have seen 

 some of their exchanges, and if they would not give me better 



ones, I would not have them at all I intend to send nearly 



3000 specimens to Germany as soon as I get to San Francisco. 

 ... In Germany, any officer who shows a taste for scientific pur- 

 suits would be encouraged and reasonable facilities given to 

 him, but here it is exactly the reverse. I had my doubts from 

 the very commencement, and have not been mistaken .... 



[Signed] Chs. Bendire. 

 Camp near Tucson. A. /'.. Sept. 4th, 1872. 



....1 have given it up, about getting east through Professor 

 Baird's influence and am perfectly satisfied as it is. I was 

 more than once sorry for what I had promised him, particu- 

 larly as I can get east now anyhow in the course of two or 

 three months. Hereafter I don't make any more hasty prom- 

 ises, and will not take any, which he may make, into consid- 

 eration. You will find it always that way with the Smithson- 

 ian. I know their style a great deal better than they think I 

 do . . Regarding the specimens, do w ith them what you please; 

 I send them to you and not to the Smithsonian, in fact I would 

 like it much better, if they did not get them... 



[Signed] Chs. Bendire. 

 Camp near 7'ucson. A. T.. Sept loth, 1872. 



.... I have not heard a word from Prof. Baird for about a 

 month, and suppose he is satisfied liy this time that promises 

 do not take well with me. .. . [Signed] Chs. Bendire. 



Camp near 7'ucson. A. 7'.. Sept. 12th, 1872. 



When I came back to camp this morning I found two 



letters from Prof. Baird. written in the usual style, with an 

 extra promise added in, by way of a change, I shall certainly 

 have a detail on one of the scientific expeditions next year. 

 This is certainly consoling, but I think that the Prof, may find 

 somebody that may want it worse than I do, 1 have no use for 

 it now, and would not accept it if I could help it. Should I 

 have to take it, however, there is such a thing possible I would 

 not collect a single thing for the Smithsonian, this would par- 

 tially set me even with them.. .1 am just co.nmencing to over- 

 haul and assort my eggs, and am selecting those which I am 

 going to send to Europe ... I do not believe that the Smithson- 

 ian will get a great many, certainly not a single one, before I 

 have seen the condition of the specimen that 1 am to receive 

 for it. I am not going to be taken in, and receive trash for 

 good eggs. They will have to come down to my terms now, if 

 they want anything from me... [Signed] Chs, Bendire, 



Camp near Tucson. A. 7'.. .Sept. 13th, 1872. 



.... I am very sorry that I can't see you before you leave for 

 Dacota and cannot forgive Prof. Baird for it. He has not 

 tried to get me ordered east. I got a letter from a friend of 

 mine, with whom Prof, Baird talked about this subject. He 

 told him he would get me ordered east aher he came back 

 from from his fishing business, and he certainly talked to him 

 as if he had only to ask and it would be done. The way I put 

 the thing up is this, he does not want you to get hold of any 

 information before he got it. and as he could not be back in 

 Washington before October, he did not want me there before. 

 .1 knew this for some time, but said nothing about it.,, The 

 Smithsonian has not made anything of it by fooling with me, 

 and I do not think they will make anything out of me here- 

 after. I had a bad opinion of their dealings from the start, 

 and I have had no reason to change it yet, and I would rather 

 smash the last egg I had, than give them one of them, or any 

 information on the subject. This is also one of the principal 

 reasons why I do not care to give you such new items as I may 

 have, and I have a good many, If you insert them in i.\\e^ Nat- 

 uralist now, all Prof, Baird has to do is to copy them for his 

 new work, and he is not going to do that if I can help it... , 

 This will end my negociations with the Smithsonian once and 

 forever, and what I say I generally mean. 



]Signed| Chs. Bendire. 



Camp near 7'ucson. A. 7'.. October 28th. 1872. 



I have heard nothing more from Prof. Baird, and do not 



expect to hear anything more, as I have not answered his last 

 three letters. I may be wrong, but can't possibly persuade 

 myself otherwise than that he tried to humbug me. If he had 

 left his promises out of his letters, he would have accom- 

 ]>lished much more with me. now I want to see facts from 

 him before I will believe him..,. No I am perfectly satisfied 

 that Prof. Baird thought, that he could keep me on his string 

 as long as he pleased, but he should have seen by this time 

 that it is all a mistake. [Signed] Chs. Bendire. 



Was/i/n^ton. D. C. Nov, 2, 1872, 

 .,..1 infer that Bendire is down upon the Smithsonian, but 

 1 cannot see any reason for it.. .We certainly did tin- best in 

 our power, but gave Bendire no guarantee that we could ac- 

 complish his object. I did not ask him to present any speci- 



