^°i9o^^^] DuTCHER, Protection of Gulls and Terns. ^'J 



our fellow member, Mr. George E. Beyer, who kindly and gener- 

 ously gave largely of his time in its prosecution. He obtained 

 from Mr. Dresser full power of attorney, attested and sworn to 

 before a notary. On April 6, Mr. Beyer returned from a trip to 

 Timbalier Island, an account of which is here appended : 



''Last night I returned from the seacoast and the islands, 

 whither I had gone to see what could be done for the protection 

 of the sea birds, and how many still remained to be protected. 

 In regard to the latter, unfortunately but few remain. I left New 

 Orleans for Houma on the 26th of March. Immediately upon 

 my arrival I tried to find out the sentiment of the people in regard 

 to the proposed protection, and was rejoiced to find not a single 

 instance of disfavor ; on the contrary, people seemed to be glad 

 that I was about to take steps for the preservation of the sea 

 birds. My presence in Houma and its object spread like wildfire, 

 and quite a number of men whom I met published notices of tres- 

 pass. In Houma I engaged the services of a small sailing vessel, 

 and left the town on the 28th of March. I reached the first 

 island on the evening of the 29th, and the following morning I 

 proceeded to Timbalier Island. I spent an entire day in a 

 thorough investigation of this piece of land, but only the east end 

 or Racoon Shoals has a colony of breeding birds. This colony 

 is at once the largest and the only one of any consequence left on 

 a stretch of seacoast of about 150 miles. In Houma I had been 

 informed by the sheriff of Terrebonne Parish, that the man living 

 on the island, Ferdinand Desire', would be about the most reliable, 

 strict, and altogether most suitable one for our purpose. I found 

 that the man came up to every requirement, and also that he was 

 well informed as to the species and number and strength of the 

 remaining colonies. Becoming, in the meantime, familiar with the 

 conditions around, I engaged him for a period of four months, his 

 term of duty to commence on April 15. He was notified by the 

 sheriff to come to Houma to be sworn in as deputy sheriff, and be 

 invested with every authority the parish can possibly grant him. 

 At this man's suggestion, I visited quite a number of other islands, 

 but as he knew, and told me before hand, no birds are left. I 

 enclose a map, published by Wisner and Dresser, upon which I 

 have designated my route, and also the breeding grounds, pointed 



