﻿Ct)e &ut)ubon J5ociette0 



" You cannot with a scalpel find the poet ' s soul, 

 Nor yet the wild bird's song." 



Edited by MRS. MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT and WILLIAM DUTCHER 



Communications relating to the work of trie Audubon and other Bird Protective Societies should 

 be addressed to Mrs. Wright, at Fairfield, Conn. Reports, etc., designed for this department, should be 

 sent at least one month prior to the date of publication. 



Notice to Members 



All members of the National Association 

 receive the organ of the Society, Bird-Lore. 



The Finance Committee, for convenience 

 in book- keeping, wish to make the annual 

 dues of members payable in January, the 

 month when each new volume of Bird-Lore 

 commences, in order that the members may 

 receive complete volumes of the magazine. 

 A further and important reason is that the 

 committee may know approximately how 

 large a fund it will have to expend during 

 the year, and may make up its budget ac- 

 cordingly. Notices in accord with the above 

 explanation are now being mailed, and it is 

 hoped that members will cheerfully approve 

 the plan and promptly remit their dues and 

 contributions. 



The Bradley Murder 

 The man who shot and killed our war- 

 den, Guy M. Bradley, is free, as the grand 

 jury failed to indict him. The National 

 Association employed Colonel James T. 

 Sanders, of Miami, Florida, as its represen- 

 tative to aid in securing justice. His state- 

 ment regarding the case is given to show 

 our members why an indictment was not 

 found. 



"Smith, the slayer of Bradley, had a son 

 about eighteen or twenty years of age, who 

 had on previous occasions been guilty of vio- 

 lating the laws by killing plume-birds, and 

 had been arrested by Bradley, acting as dep- 

 uty sheriff and game warden, on two pre- 

 vious occasions. There was, on account of 

 these arrests, and othermaiters, bad blood ex- 

 isting between young Smith, his father, and 

 the officers of the law, and on three separate 

 occasions, Smith, the father and murderer, 

 made open threats that if Guy Bradley ever 

 attempted to arrest him, or any of his fam- 



ily, again for shooting plume-birds, he 

 would kill him. 



"On the day of the killing, Smith, his son, 

 and two smaller sons, aged seven and eleven 

 years, and another young man ; also two 

 friends, one Ethridge, and one Alonzo Saw- 

 yer, on board of Smith's schooner boat, 

 sailed up to the rookery, directly opposite 

 and about two miles distant from Bradley's 

 house, and anchored. Young Smith and 

 his friend went ashore into the island where 

 the rookery was located, and there began 

 shooting the egrets. The discharge of the 

 guns attracted Bradley's attention, and, 

 being familiar with the boats in that vicin- 

 ity, and knowing this to be Smith's boat, 

 but not suspecting any designs of foul play, 

 got into his small skiff boat, and went out 

 to stop the killing of the birds, and also 

 arrest the offenders, if necessary. When 

 near Smith's schooner, Smith, knowing 

 Bradley and his boat, and seeing him on 

 the way to his schooner, fired his rifle as a 

 signal to his boy and the other young man, 

 to return to the schooner, which they did, 

 having their birds already killed, in the 

 boat with them, and arriving at the schooner 

 at about the time Bradley arrived. Smith 

 asked Bradley what he wanted, and Bradley 

 informed him that he wanted his son, and 

 his son's companion, under a charge of vio- 

 lating the law by shooting plume-birds. 

 Smith said, 'Well, if you want him, you 

 have got to have a warrant.' Bradley in- 

 formed Smith that where he found parties 

 in the act of perpetration of a crime, a war- 

 rant was not necessary. Smith then said, 

 'Well, if you want him you have got to 

 come aboard of this boat and take him,' at 

 the same time picking up his rifle. Bradley 

 said, ' Put down that rifle, and I will come 

 aboard.' This is all the testimony we had 



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