PINNATKIt OIIOUSK. 271 



times in Rivcrliciid iiml Southampton. — Tlioir territory 1i;ih \>ccu ilcfincd 

 by Home HportHmen, as situated between Ilempstcjad-iiliiin on i1j(^ wchI, 

 an<l Sliinnccock-plain on tlie oant. 



" 'I'Ik' uutrc ])opiiliir name for tlicin is Ilcath-heng. By tliis they arc 

 designated in the act of our h'gishiture for the preservation of tliem and 

 of oilier game. 1 well rcnicinhcr the j)aHsirig of this hiw. Tiie })ill was 

 introduc(!d Ijy (yornchuH J. JJoggcrt, V,m[., a ni(^inhcr of the AsHoTohly 

 from the city of New York. It was in the ujonlh of l''iil)iii;iry, I7K1. 



" Tlie statute dcelarcH among oilier thingH, that tiie perHon who shall 

 kill any Ifeath-lieii within the (bounties of Suffolk or (^iccns, hetwe<;n 

 the first day of April and the fifth day of October, shall for every such 

 ofTc-nee, forfeit and pay the sum of two dolliirs aud a half, to he 

 recovered with costs of suit, by any person who shall prosccutcr for the 

 same, before any justice of the peace, in either of the said counties; 

 the one half to he paiil to i\n; jihiintiff, and th(! r)ther half to the over- 

 seers of the poor. And if any Jleath-hen so killed, shall h(^ fr)Und in 

 the possession of any person, he shall be deemed guilty of the offence, 

 and suffer tbi; penalty. Wnt it is provided, that no defendant shall he 

 convicted unless the action shall he brought within three months after 

 the violation of the law.* 



" The cou!itry selected by these cx([uisite birds requires a more par- 

 ticular description. You already understand it to be the midland and 

 interior district of the island. The soil of this island is, generally 

 speaking, a sandy or gravelly loam. In the parts less adapted to tillage, 

 it is more of an unmixed sand. This is so much the case, that the 

 shore of the beaches beaten by the ocean, affords a material from whicdi 

 glass has been prepared. Siliceous grains and particles predominate in 

 the region chosen by the ireath-hens or tJrouse. IFcto there are no 

 rocks, and very few stones of any kind. This sanily tract apjtears to 

 be a dereliction of the ocean, but is nevtjrthelesH not doomed to total 

 sterility. Many thousand acres have been reclaimed from the wild 

 state, and rendered very productive to man. And within the towns 

 frequented by these birds, there are numerous inhabitants, and among 

 them some of our most wealthy farmers. 



" But within the same limits, there are also tracts of great extent 

 where men have no settlements, and others where the population is spare 



* The doctor h(is probably foPf;otton a circiimKtancft of rather a ludicroiiH kiml 

 that occurred at the panninj; of thiH law; and wli'udi wiu', not lonj; Ofro, rchili'd to 

 me hy my friend Mr. Gardiner, of Oardiner'H Inland, F^on;; iMland. The lilll wu« 

 entitled " An Aet for the [ireHervation of lleath-licn and otlurr (Jaine." The lioneHt 

 chairman of the AHHemhly, no HportHtrinn I Miippone, read llie title " An Aet for the 

 prcBorvation of Hcatiif.n and other Oanie!" wliieli neenied to aMtoniHh the north 

 mernherH, who could not Bce the propriety of prcHcrving Indinim, or any other 

 Heathen. 



