i8o 



Wholesale Destruction of Birds in Florida. 



was with a 22-cal. Winchester rifle. With this he 

 could go into a rookery and secrete himself, and by 

 using the lightest kind of cartridge get many more 

 birds than with a shotgun, as the report is hardly 

 greater than the snapping of a branch, and is 

 scarcely noticed by the birds. In this way he said 

 he had been able in a large rookery down south to 

 get over four hundred "plume birds" in less than 

 four days. 



During the first week of Mr. Scott's sail- 

 ing among the islands he saw only what may 

 be called the final results of plume hunting, 

 but guided by Mr. Wilkerson he found his 

 way later to an island which had just been 

 worked by the plume hunters. We will let 

 him describe the same in his own words: 



A few herons were to be seen from time to time 

 flying to the island, and presently I took the small 

 boat and went ashore to reconnoitre. This had 

 evidently been only a short time before a large rook- 

 ery. The trees were full of nests, some of which 

 still contained eggs, and hundreds of broken eggs 

 strewed the ground everywhere. Fish crows and 

 both kinds of buzzards were present in great num- 

 bers and were rapidly destroying the remaining eggs. 

 I found a huge pile of dead, half decayed birds, ly- 

 ing on the ground, which had apparently been killed 

 for a day or two. All of them had the "plumes" 

 taken with a patch of the skin from the back, and 

 some had the wings cut off; otherwise they were un- 

 injured. I counted over two hundred birds treated in 

 this way. * * * This was the rookery that Mr. Wilker- 

 son had spoken of; within the last few days it had been 

 almost destroyed, hundreds of old birds having been 

 killed and thousands of eggs broken. I do not 

 know of a more horrible and brutal exhibition of 

 wanton destruction than that which I witnessed here. 



Now let us hear what Mr. Frank Johnson, 

 a professional "bird plumer," has to say on 

 the subject. Mr. Scott interviewed him of 

 course, and the bird plumer talked freely 

 — almost feelingly. 



He was hunting plumes, particularly of the snowy 

 heron. American egret, and reddish egret, as they 

 brought the highest prices, but he killed to sell to 

 the "taxidermists," as he called them, " almost any- 

 thing that wore feathers." He said he wished there 

 was some law to protect the birds, at least during the 

 breeding time, which would not be violated. He 

 added, however, that as everybody else was "plum- 

 ing," he had made up his mind that he might as well 

 have his share. 



He was killing birds and taking plumes now for 



Mr. J. H. Batty, of New York city, who employed 

 many men along the entire Gulf coast from Cedar 

 Keys to Key West. When asked what Mr. Batty 



purchased, it was again ' ' almost anything that wore 

 feathers, but more particularly the herons, spoon- 

 bills, and showy birds." * * * 



A fortnight later, while at Punta Rassa, 

 Mr. Scott again met Abe Wilkerson, who 

 had returned from the Myakka Lakes, at 

 which he expected to secure so many little 

 white egret plumes. He reported very lit- 

 tle success — about seventy-five plumes — for 

 although he had found large rookeries, the 

 birds (he said) had been so persistently 

 hunted that they had become very wild. 



But what need to pursue the subject fur- 

 ther ? The war of extermination has been 

 waged so successfully that the very plume 

 hunters, seeing their occupation gone, are 

 pleading for protection in the breeding 

 season. 



The lowlands of Florida, the marshes, 

 the rivers, the islands of its long indented 

 coast line, which but seven years ago were 

 teeming with bird life over their wide area, 

 are now one vast expanse of dreary desola- 

 tion — cities of the dead, rendered only still 

 more strikingly desolate by the mournful 

 cries of the few solitary survivors. Is it 

 not time to check this wanton destruction 

 and endeavor by a rigid protection of the 

 little remnant to restore the condition of 

 earlier years? There are other than senti- 

 mental reasons for this course. The lives 

 of these birds are not purposeless. They 

 take their food in the water and accumulate 

 their droppings on the land. In this man- 

 ner barren rocks and sands are dressed with 

 organic remains rich in phosphates that 

 have not been derived from the soil, but 

 which the birds have for ages been storing 

 up for the future support of the population 

 of the State. 



A war of extermination against these birds 

 is a war against God and Nature, and re- 

 flects no less discredit on the government 

 which tolerates it supinely, than on the in- 

 dividuals who prosecute it for gain. 



