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Vol XXI I UuTCHER, Report of Committee on Bird Protection. 12 1 



passed the House by a vote of 32 yeas to 26 nays. In the Senate 

 the bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee, on motion of 

 Senator Harris of Key West, where it remained when the legisla- 

 ture adjourned on June 5. This narrow escape forcibly empha- 

 sizes the fact that every legislative session must be closely watched 

 in order to prevent the assaults of the ignorant and perhaps the 

 venal. As there will not be another session of the legislature un- 

 til 1905, the present excellent bird law will remain unchanged 

 until then. 



Warden zvork. — In the report for 1902 the Chairman urgently 

 recommended the purchase of a naphtha launch for the use of the 

 warden who has charge of the district at the extreme southern 

 part of the Florida Peninsula, and the thousands of Keys and 

 small islands in that section. The Executive Committee of the 

 Florida Audubon Society promptly took the matter in hand, with 

 the result that a special fund of $300 was raised, and a seaworthy 

 launch 23 feet long, with a 3 horse-power engine was specially 

 built and is now in daily use. The boat i$ capable of making 

 seven miles per hour, and has traveled hundreds of miles since it 

 went into commission shortly after May i. The boat bears the 

 name of the great artist-naturalist ' Audubon,' and is the property 

 of the Florida Audubon Society and is loaned by them to the 

 National Committee for the use of warden Bradley, who is paid 

 for his services by the Thayer Fund. 



Four paid wardens are employed in Florida. Paul Kroegel 

 has been placed in charge of the Pelican Island Reservation on 

 Indian River. As stated in the report for 1902, the Committee 

 thought it very important that this interesting island should be pur- 

 chased in order that perpetual protection should be given to the 

 colony of pelicans that had so long made it a breeding place. After 

 many months of effort and an expenditure of considerable money 

 in surveys and other necessary red-tape, an appeal was made to the 

 President of the United States, through the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, to have Pelican Island set aside as a public reservation. 

 President Roosevelt, with his well-known promptness in all matters 

 relating to the preservation of wild life, issued the following order : 



