68 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
THE GIFT TO BELGIUM 
In 1916, when the war was pressing upon the Belgian people 
with the utmost severity, the Zoological Society resolved to send 
to the Societe Royale de Zoologie of Antwerp, a large gift of 
mammals, birds and reptiles to assist in the reconstruction of the 
Antwerp Zoological Gardens. A communication was despatched 
to the Antwerp Society declaring this intention, and promising 
that as soon as the enemies of Belgium were out of that country, 
and the Gardens were ready to receive new collections, the gift 
would be forwarded. 
In the summer of 1919 Dr. M. L’Hoest, Director of the Ant- 
werp Gardens, advised us that the proposed gift might be for- 
warded forthwith. In furtherance of the plan, the officers of 
the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp secured from the owners 
of the Lloyd Royal Belgian Steamship Line the privilege of free 
transportation for the entire collection, and three keepers to care 
for them, over and back. 
On the steamer Hglantier, which left New York on October 
2, 1919, went forward the entire collection of 224 birds, 49 rep- 
tiles and 2 California sea lions which arrived from Santa Barbara 
in time to go directly on board. With this shipment went Bird 
Keeper Louis Wahl. The New York agents of the ship, and the 
ship’s officers, did literally everything in their power to render 
the enterprise both successful and agreeable; and the same must 
be said of the officers of the steamer Jndier that carried the 
mammals, later on. 
With only three losses among the birds the Indier reached 
Antwerp on October 19, and the shipment was promptly taken 
in hand by Dr. L’Hoest and the Antwerp Society. 
It was arranged in New York that the mammals should go 
forward on the steamer /ndier, that was booked to sail on October 
3. But the longshoremen’s strike intervened, and for three 
weeks or more the Jndier lay comfortably at her dock at 41st 
Street, unable to receive any cargo. 
This exasperating delay eventually led to an entire change 
in the plans for the cargo of the ship, and in order to get away 
it was decided to load with grain, off the Jersey shore at Hobo- 
ken. With that decision the Jndier quickly left her home berth, 
and went to Hoboken. 
