142 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 100 



I am indebted to the following people for records and in- 

 formation. Mr. C. Orville Lee of Sac City, whose parents 

 came to Sac County in 1854, and who was born in 1860. In 

 his youth he improved all opportunities for hunting and has 

 always been a keen observer of things natural, being still in- 

 terested in the subject. Mr. Hugh Cory of Sac City, who came 

 to Sac County in 1854 as one of the first party of white settlers. 

 Mr. Shelt Tiberghien of Sac City, who came to Sac County 

 in 1856. The earliest settlers obtained most of their living 

 from the game animals and birds and were keen observers 

 of them. Mr. Harry Colburn of Sac City, furnished one 

 observation, and Mr. Piatt Armstrong of Lake View, who 

 came to the county in 1878, a few. Dr. A. S. Hayden of 

 Wall Lake, who came in 1873, and his wife, who came in 

 1878, also their daughter, Mrs. George May, have furnished 

 much valuable data. My father, John Spurrell, who came 

 to Wall Lake in 1875, contributed some data. One of my 

 most valuable sources of data was Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Smith 

 of Odebolt, who came to the county in 1876. They not only 

 furnished information but had formed a collection of mounted 

 birds which included nearly all the game birds of the region, 

 besides many land birds. Mr. Smith is now dead, but his 

 wife still maintains the collection, which they had started 

 many years ago in Ohio. I visited them July 28, 1913, while 

 Mr. Smith was living, and obtained information about all 

 the specimens taken in Sac and adjoining counties. 



While, in general, the topography of Sac County is that 

 of a treeless prairie, except for the now numerous planted 

 groves, there are two distinct types of land surface. The 

 eastern half of the county is wnthin the Wisconsin glaciation, 

 characterized by very gentle swells, a few low knobs, a level 

 landscape, and very poor drainage conditions. At the time 

 of settlement all the low-lying land in this area was either 

 pond, marsh, or slough. The roads wound around, follow- 

 ing the ridges of the low swells. At the present time the 

 roads follow section lines, all of the ponds and the great 

 majority of the marshes and sloughs having been drained. 



