THE OSPREY. 



striking example of what may be accom- 

 plished under seeming-ly very adverse 

 circumstances. "He came to this country 

 in 1852, and in June, 1854, enlisted as a 

 private in Company D of the 1st Dra- 

 g-oons, United States Army. During- the 

 next ten years he was promoted to Ser- 

 geant, and served as Hospital Steward in 

 the 4th Cavalry. In 1864 he was trans- 

 ferred to the 1st Cavalry and pro- 

 moted to 2d and soon after to 1st Lieu- 

 tenant. In February, 1873, he attained 

 the rank of Captain, and in April, 1886, 

 was retired on account of an injury to 

 the knee. In February, 1890, he was 

 breveted Major for gallant services ren- 

 dered on September 13, 1877, in fighting 

 the Indians at Canon Creek, Montana." 



His active military service after the 

 close of the war, as well as prior to that 

 period, was almost entirely in the far 

 West, which was then, before the days of 

 the transcontinental railways, a very 

 different place from what it has now be- 

 come. Among the posts at which he 

 was stationed may be mentioned "Canton- 

 ment Burgwyn, in New Mexico; Forts 

 Bowie, McDowell, Wallen, Lowell and 

 Whipple, in Arizona; Bidwell and In- 

 dependence in California; Harney and 

 Klamatt, in Oregon; Vancouver and 

 Walla Walla, in Washington; Boise and 

 Lapwai, in Idaho, and Custer in Mon- 

 tana." 



This period of over twenty years wit- 

 nessed numerous Indian troubles, and in 

 these Major Bendire played an active and 

 important part. The Indians learned to 

 fear, and at the same time, to respect 

 him, for while he was relentless in their 

 pursuit when they were obviously in the 

 wrong, he never deceived them, and once 

 it is said, during the Apache War, boldly 

 visited the camp of one of the most sav- 

 age chiefs, Cochise, and prevailed upon 

 him to abandon the war path. If all the 

 dealings between the white and red races 

 could have been in the hands of such men 

 as Bendire, civilization would not have 

 so much to blush for. 



Besides these campaigns against the 

 Indians, Major Bendire also conducted or 

 was engaged in numerous surveys for 

 roads, telegraph lines, and the general 

 exploration of unknown territory. He 

 had crossed Death Valley, California, in 



1867, and he also explored the deserts of 

 Southern Nevada. 



While engaged in these surveys and 

 explorations Bendire's manner of dealing 

 with the men under him was such as to 

 speedily command their best energies and 

 esteem. After ascertaining what was a 

 reasonable day's work, he set a task for 

 each, on the completion of which the man 

 was free to do whatsoever he pleased for 

 the balance of that da}'. If he could 

 accomplish his task by eleven o'clock he 

 was free to hunt or fish, or climb near-by 

 mountain peaks until dark. As a result 

 of this stimulus and confidence his men 

 accomplished twice the amount of work 

 that other commands were able to do. 



It was this extensive field work, this 

 intimate association with nature, that so 

 well qualified him to take up what may 

 be called his scientific life work. His 

 opportunity for careful field observation 

 was undoubtedly very great, but that he 

 fully availed himself of the opportunity 

 shows conclusively that he was a born 

 naturalist and observer. As Dr. Merriam 

 has pointed out, it is quite impossible to 

 say just where his scientific work began, 

 but judging from the voluminous note 

 books, from which so many interesting 

 facts were later drawn, it must have be- 

 gun within a few years after he entered 

 the Western field. His collection of birds' 

 eggs certainly dates back as far as 1870. 

 It has since grown to be the most exten- 

 sive and valuable one in existence of 

 North American birds. 



Major Bendire's first published contri- 

 butions appear to have been in the form 

 of letters to well-known naturalists as 

 Baird, Brewer, and Allen. In all he 

 published about fifty papers, one of the 

 first and most important being an arti-- 

 cle on the "Birds of Southeastern 

 < )regon," which appeared in 1877. But 

 his iiiag'nuiii opus is his "Life Histories 

 of North American Birds," the second 

 volume of which was noticed in these 

 columns only a few weeks since. These 

 magnificent volumes will remain as a 

 monument to him and a high mark for 

 the emulation of future workers. It may 

 be high praise to compare these Life His- 

 tories with the writings of Audubon, 

 Wilson and Nuttall, but it is freely be- 

 stowed, for they are undoubtedly the 

 best written and most readable accounts 



