Co DuTCHER, Protection of Gulls and Terns. I Jan. 



out by Desire, our warden, and verified by myself with the two 

 exceptions on the mainland. 



"As far as the trip is concerned I am more than satisfied. I 

 firmly believe we will have no trouble on that section of the coast. 

 The only weak point is this : hunters may be stopped from shoot- 

 ing the birds on land, but possibly could not be prevented from 

 doing so on the water, unless I could get the authority of the 

 United States Government to enforce the law on the three mile 

 limit. I believe the A. O. U. might secure that for me under the 

 Lacey Act. I think it would be well for you to look into this 

 matter at once and do what you can. It will certainly help to 

 make our undertaking a completely successful one." 



Later on Mr. Beyer received the following letter from warden 

 Ferdinand Desire' : 



July 13, 1901. 

 Terrebonne Parish, Timbalier Island, 

 Dear Sir: 



On the 8th and 9th the wind blew very strong and the tide was very 

 high, in fact, washed over the different islands and destroyed the eggs and 

 young birds. There are only a few eggs and young birds left, but the old 

 birds are still left on Racoon Pass and will very soon lay again. The same 

 of the cranes ; their nests were blown down, but the old birds are there 

 still. Timbalier beach has suffered the same ; nests and birds destroyed 

 by the tide. 



I could not leave this place as often as I would have liked; the China- 

 men and fishermen were here and I had to watch to keep them from get- 

 ting the eggs around Timbalier and Racoon Islands. They are all gone, 

 the fishermen leaving on the loth. Will make a round as often as possible 

 and report accordingly. 



Yours truly, 



Ferdinand Desire. 



The following letter from Mr. Beyer gives the result of the 

 effort to protect the birds of Louisiana. It very forcibly shows 

 how necessary it is that the birds should not be subjected to the 

 wasteful methods of mankind when they have to contend with 

 such natural forces as storms and tides. 



"Your fears were only too well grounded, as you may perceive 

 from the reports sent me by Desire. Just before the storm I 

 made an attempt to go to the islands, but could only get as far as 

 Houma. While it is deplorable that we have lost two entire 



