THE DUCK SICKNESS IN UTAH. 



at the mouth of the Jordan River. As Augusl passed the reports 

 became more numerous, and Liter a few sick birds wrere noted al the 

 mouth of the Weber. On September 5 about 50 ducks, dead or help- 

 less, were noticed in the Bear River marshes by A. J'. Bigelow, of 

 Ogden, and within a week hundreds were found. At the same I ime 

 the trouble increased in the other localities mentio] ted. Manj thou- 

 sand wild ducks died on both the Jordan and the Weber, while on 

 the great mud flats in the Bear River delta the mortality is said to 

 have been almost beyond belief. Dead birds rotting in the sun 

 dotted the water in the shallow bays, and long windrows of bodies 

 were blown up on the shore lines and against the rushes. The birds 

 died in such great numbers, and the causes of the mortality were bo 

 obscure, that a strong prejudice arose against killing and eating ducks 

 that were apparently healthy. The gun clubs in the Bear River area 

 were not opened that year, and few ducks were killed elsewhere. 

 Many persons were even afraid to be near or to handle the sick birds, 

 and stories were told of people and domestic animals thc^ had con- 

 tracted disease through contact with the ducks. Large numbers of 

 dead ducks were picked up by men hired for the purpose on the New 

 State Gun Club grounds during this season. The birds were piled 

 up in heaps and covered with lime, and many of these piles were still 

 intact the following spring. With fall rains and a rise in the rivers, 

 due to the turning in of the flow used for irrigation during the summer, 

 conditions were ameliorated. A few sick birds were present as late 

 as October 21, but soon all had disappeared. 



In the Jordan River district the cause of the mortality was attrib- 

 uted to typhoid or some other obscure infection due to the presence 

 of sewage in the water from the Salt Lake City drainage. In 1911 the 

 sewer was continued beyond the marshes to a dumping ground on 

 the lake front, so that sewage was in a large measure ehminated. 



In 1911 the trouble began again late in summer and, while preva- 

 lent in the same marsh areas, was much less severe than during the 

 preceeding year. As the sickness was considered infectious or con- 

 tagious, effort was made to remove or bury all dead ducks lying in 

 the water in the channels of the Weber River. 



In 1912 conditions were more serious. The marshes about the 

 New State Gun Club are supplied with water through a series of 

 canals, and this year the water was diverted early in the season, so 

 that the marshes were dry, driving out the birds; consequently few 

 died here. The grounds were not flooded again until September 20, 

 when preparation was made for the fall shooting. On both the Weber 

 and Bear River marshes, however, conditions were bad, and attempts 

 were made to clear the marshes of dead birds. W. O. Belnap states 

 that about 30,000 birds were picked up on the Weber River flats, 

 while on Bear River, from records kept by V. F. Davis, it is learned 



