106 THE NATIONAL, GEO 
still are, the tundras of Alaska and the 
barren grounds that, dotted with count- 
less lakes and riv ers, stretch to the Arctic. 
Here, in these northern wilds, solitude 
reigns supreme, and vast multitudes of 
waterfowl breed, assured of both food 
and safety. (mn these Arctic plains Na- 
ture has provided in a remarkable way 
for her winged servants by supplying an 
inexhaustible crop of berries. As the 
short summer season wanes the berries 
ripen and furnish a nutritious food upon 
which the waterfowl fatten and gain 
strength for their long southern journey. 
Then the Ice Ning takes the remainder 
of the crop in charge, wraps it in a man- 
tle of snow and ice, and keeps it safe in 
Nature's cold storage, ready for delivery 
in spring to the hungry migrants. Wiuth- 
out this storehouse of berries it 1s doubt- 
ful if our waterfowl could sustain life in 
the Arctic, and the so-called barrens, in- 
stead of being a nursery for myriads of 
fowl, would indeed be barren so far as 
bird life 1s concerned. 
When the short Arctic summer closes 
and the young birds acquire strength for 
the journey, multitudes of ducks, geese, 
swans, and shorebirds, anticipating the 
Arctic winter, wing their way to southern 
lands. Including these winged hordes 
from the Arctic that visit our territory 
and the birds that nest within our own 
limits, America possesses upward of 200 
kinds of game birds, large and small, 
many of which are in the front rank, 
whether viewed merely from the eco- 
nomic standpoint as food or through the 
eyes of the sportsman. 
FORMER ABUNDANCE OF GAME BIRDS 
While the aggregate numbers of game 
birds are very great, they sink into ins‘g- 
nificance when compared with their for- 
mer abundance. ‘The statements of the 
early chroniclers regarding the multi- 
tudes of ducks, plover, and wild pigeons 
almost defy belief. When, in the records 
of the first part of the last century, one 
reads of clouds of pigeons that required 
three days to pass a given point in a con- 
tinuous moving stream, and again of 
flocks estimated to contain more than 
two billion birds, credulity is taxed to 
the limit. 
GRAPHIC 
MAGAZINE 
Yet not only one such flock was ob- 
served, but they were of periodic occur- 
rence during many years of our early his- 
tory, and the accounts of them are too 
well attested to be doubted. .\s throwing 
a curious sidelight on the abundance of 
wild fowl and the hardships to which the 
slaves of the period were subjected, I 
quote a paragraph from Grinnell ( Amer- 
ican Game Bird Shooting), who states 
that “in early days slave owners, who 
hired out their slaves, stipulated in the 
contract that canvasback ducks should 
not be fed to them more than twice each 
week” ! 
CAUSES OF 
What, then, has become of the teem- 
ing millions that once possessed the land? 
Be fore attempting to answer this question 
it may be well briefly to review certain 
general causes that contribute to the de- 
pletion of the ranks of game birds. 
mong these may be mentioned natural 
diseases - natural enemies, both winged 
and four - footed; forest, brush, and 
prairie fires; the drainage of swamps and 
the general elimination of nesting grounds 
by the advance of agriculture ; and finally, 
most potent of all the agencies of de- 
struction—firearms. 
From the nature of things, no data are 
available to show exactly the relative im- 
portance of the above causes of decrease 
or of their separate or combined effect. 
Nevertheless we can arrive at an approxi- 
mate idea of their relative effect. 
Natural diseases seem to play a com- 
paratively unimportant part in causing 
the death of birds, except perhaps indi- 
rectly. Ina state of undisturbed nature 
there are few sick or old birds, for the 
reason that the sick, the heedless, and the 
old, as soon as their strength begins to 
fail, are promptly eliminated by natural 
enemies, who, while foes of individual 
bird life, nevertheless do good service to 
the species in keeping the vigor of the 
stock at a high standard by promptly 
weeding out the unfit. 
While the annual loss of game birds by 
attacks of predatory birds and mammals. 
is no doubt very great, it is to be noted 
that it 1s relatively far less at the pres- 
ent time than formerly, owing to the 
DECREASE OF GAME BIRDS 
