B I R D- P ROT ECTI V E LAWS 



their winter quarters beneath Southern skies. If the 

 older birds that had often taken the same trip 

 thought anything about the subject, they must have 

 been impressed, when they crossed the border into 

 the United States, with the fact that changes had 

 taken place in reference to shooting. 



It is true that in Minnesota, for instance, the firing 

 of guns began in September, as in other years; 

 but those Ducks that reached the Mississippi River 

 below St. Paul found no one waiting to kill them. As 

 they proceeded, by occasional flights, farther down 

 the river there was still a marked absence of gunners. 

 The same conditions prevailed all the way down the 

 valley until the sunken grounds of Arkansas and 

 Mississippi came into view. What did this mean? 

 Heretofore, at this season, hunters had always lined 

 the river. This had been the case ever since the 

 oldest Duck could remember. The Missouri River, 

 too, was free from shooting throughout the greater 

 part of its length, which was sufficient cause for many 

 a grateful quack. 



[173] 



