Treacher* Does ^Missionary Work 

 among the ^^Mountaineers 



IN many of the Southern States the observance of 

 bird protective laws is notoriously lax and the 

 killing of song birds goes unchecked in hundreds 

 of communities. The work, therefore, of the Rev- 

 erend Harold E. Mouse, of Elkins, West Virginia, 

 stands out conspicuously. Through the mountainous 

 counties, where game laws are lax and the inhabi- 

 tants not cordial to any infringement of their shoot- 

 ing privilege, went Mr. Mouse, explaining, plead- 

 ing, arguing. He met great opposition, despite 

 which he secured 128 Sanctuaries with a total area 

 of 65,268 acres! His letter is interesting, showing 

 how he started the efforts that led to his being 

 awarded one of the gold sanctuary medals: 



I knew at the start my Sanctuary work would be 

 entirely missionary, so, before I made my personal 

 tour of the state, I procured and circulated thirteen 

 thousand descriptive bird-picture sets to an equal 

 number of persons. That seems to have been the 

 foundation for my success. The way I managed it I 

 had very few objectors. As you will perhaps know, 

 the mountaineer with whom I had largely to deal, 

 was slow to give up his rifle, but after he became 

 educated to the fact that the birds are among his 

 greatest assets, he became a willing worker. The 

 twenty-five or thirty objectors I had small success in 

 winning over were largely uneducated. 



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