THE CHINA OR DENNY PHEASANT IN OREGON 15 



suitable island in the Columbia River and there turned loose in charge of a rancher. 

 Unfortunately, however, through a series of unforeseen circumstances the organization lost 

 control and in the course of time the birds became scattered. Regarding the fate of the 

 partridge and copper pheasant, little is known. It is said that the latter, being strong of 

 wing, have subsequently escaped to the mainland and become lost to record. Many flocks 

 of silver pheasants now west of the Cascades trace their ancestry to this island in the 

 Columbia.* The success of the second shipment of birds, which were taken charge of by 

 Judge Denny's brother, Mr. John Denny, is now a matter of history, for it is from these, 

 the ring-necks, that the Pacific Northwest is stocked. We remain indebted to the fore- 

 thought, energy, and determination of those who, in the face of obstacles and discourage- 

 ments, brought it to completion. In the light of these facts it seems unfortunate that the 

 name "Denny pheasant" cannot be more universally used. For this account of the intro- 

 duction of the pheasant into Oregon the writer is indebted to Mrs. O. N. Denny, to whose 

 efforts, together with those of her late husband, the success of the enterprise is largely due. 

 There were splendid native birds in the state before the pheasant, but for numerous 

 reasons many of them are fast disappearing. Nowhere in all America are found more 

 species of magnificent native grouse than in the West. Passing the Rocky Mountains 



* Protection Island, Washington. 



