A Review- History of the 

 Passenger Pigeon of Manitoba 



The following' paper was prepared 

 for and read at the annual meeting of 

 the Manitoba Historical and Scientific 

 society at Winnipeg on March 2, 1905, 

 by Geo. E. Atkinson, naturalist, Port- 

 age la Prairie, a member of the so- 

 ciety. 



If we were at all inclined to doubt 

 the fact that in nature's economy one 

 immutable law is that the stronger 

 shall prey upon the weaker or that 

 despite alleged enlightenment and ad- 

 vanced appreciation of moral responsi- 

 bility, man, who was made head of 

 creation, has in his consideration of 

 all other forms of life failed to rise 

 above the animal nature of making 

 all weaker and less resourceful creat- 

 ures subserviant to his dominating 

 will, to kill at his pleasure, to enslave 

 for his convenience or to deny the 

 right to life for the gratification of 

 an autocratic whim. If, I repeat, we 

 were to doubt that these conditions 

 were existent we would but have to 

 peruse for a time the natural history 

 of the world for conclusive evidence 

 to dispell all doubt. 



Yet while the biological history of 

 any country records .the decrease and 

 disappearance of many forms of life 

 due to just or unjust circumstances, 

 it remains for the historical records of 

 North America to reveal a career of 

 human selfishness which may be con- 



sidered the paragon. Within four cen- 

 turies of North American civilization 

 (or modified barbarism) we can be 

 credited with the wiping into the past 

 of at least three species of animal life 

 originally so phenomenally abundant 

 and so strikingly characteristic in 

 themselves as to evoke the wonders 

 and amazement of the entire world. 

 And sad to relate, so effectual has 

 been the extermination that it is 

 doubtful if our descendants a few 

 generations hence will be able to learn 

 anything whatever about them save 

 through the 'medium of books. While 

 herein again we shall be just subjects 

 of their censure for having manifestly 

 failed to preserve in history's archives 

 any material amount of specific infor- 

 mation. 



The earlier settlers landing upon the 

 Atlantic coast between Newfoundland 

 and the Carolinas found them in pos- 

 session of armies of great auks and 

 the few scraps of authenticated his- 

 tory which we now possess disclose a 

 most iniquitous course of wanton 

 slaughter and destruction which end- 

 ed in the complete extinction of the 

 bird over sixty years ago. Yet in the 

 face of this destruction there remain 

 but four mounted speciments and two 

 egjgs in the collections of North Am- 

 erica to-day while but 70 skins re- 

 main in the collections of the entire 

 world. 



