158 



Bird - Lore 



tained vast numbers of birds, and a great 

 deal of illegal shooting took place, espe- 

 cially in the inlets away from habitations. 

 The Ducks that were shot were too poor 

 to eat, and there was absolutely no 

 excuse for their killing. A good game- 

 warden could have done an immense 

 work in preserving the flocks. The Ducks 

 are so tame that they swim unconcerned 

 near the vessels, and beside a large lum- 

 ber-yard and planing-mill in the creek 

 near the railroad-crossing. The accom- 

 panying photographs (on pages 156 and 

 157) will give a little idea of their num- 

 bers, and also how tame they have be- 

 come." 



Frank Overton, M.D. 

 Patchogue, L. I. 



A Victory in Arkansas 



"I feel that one of the greatest victories 

 gained was when I succeeded in convinc- 

 ing the attorney general of Arkansas that 

 the local law for Mississippi County, 

 which permitted the exportation of 

 Ducks for market, was unconstitutional, 

 and secured, as you know, his opinion to 

 that effect. This will put a stop to the 

 shipping of millions of Ducks for market- 

 jHirposes, and absolutely put the market- 

 hunter out of business in Arkansas. I 

 am very proud of the success I have had 

 in knocking out the local game-laws; and 

 now, since I have succeeded in stopping 

 the shipping of game, I feel that I am very 

 well paid for all my work for the past 

 eight years." 



E. V. ViSART. 



Little Rock, Ark. 



Law-breaking Tourists 



"On January 19, 1914, the yacht 

 Flaneur, of New York, with Mr. John 

 Noething, of New York City, passed by 

 here and ran aground within a few hundred 

 yards of that big warning notice on the 

 Mosquito Inlet Bird Reservation. In a 

 few minutes I saw him get into a small 

 boat and drift down to a large bunch of 

 Pelicans that were resting on a sand-bar. 

 I saw the liirds fly but heard no report 



from a gun, and concluded that they were 

 photographing them, as many persons 

 do; but they had a high-power small- 

 caliber rifle. Some men fishing near saw 

 them shoot and pick the birds up and 

 carry them across the river and hide them 

 in the brush, and so informed me, and 

 told me where to find them. I at once 

 went down, found one bird, and took it 

 over and confronted Noething with it. He 

 promptly denied any knowledge until I 

 told him it was useless, and so placed him 

 under arrest, and am taking him to 

 Daytona, where I can put a marshal 

 aboard the boat to take care of him until 

 I can get action. It was a purely wanton 

 and illegal act on the part of Noething." 

 B. J. Pacetti, 

 Inspector of Government Reservations. 

 Ponce Park, Florida. 



[At a cost of $75; the National Associa- 

 tion assisted in prosecuting this man 

 Noething, who later, in the Federal Court 

 at Jacksonville, Fla., was fined $110 and 

 costs.— T. G. P.] 



A Bird Oasis 



"Last summer, during the extreme 

 heat and drought (it was unusually severe, 

 for we had no rain for more than two 

 months, and for several days the ther- 

 mometer registered 118 degrees in the 

 shade), I used to watch the birds gather- 

 ing daily in our yard for shelter from the 

 terrible heat. As the city water-supply 

 was very low, residents were not allowed 

 to use water on their lawns at any time 

 for a period of four or five weeks; conse- 

 quently our town presented a parched and 

 desert-like appearance, except for a few 

 lawns, like ours, which had a constant 

 supply of water from individual water- 

 plants. This yard, with its dense shade 

 and green grass, was a veritable oasis, to 

 which the birds flocked by the hundreds, 

 to bathe in the spray from the lawn- 

 sprinkler, and to drink from the vessels 

 I had provided for their use. Realizing 

 their needs, I placed several basins and a 

 large tin pail, which I kept filled to the 

 brim, where they might have access to 



