14 



Bulletin of the Michigan Ornithological Club. 



To the MiGhigan Ornithological Club: 



BY CHIEF SIMON POKAGON. 



WITH a joyous heart I received and 

 read the first number of the 

 Bulletin of the Michigan 

 Ornithological Club, published in the 

 interest of the birds of my native state. 



Certain it is, the more we study the 

 characters and habits of animals, the more 

 we become impressed with their intelli- 

 gence, and the wisdom of Him who 

 created them. 



In early life I was deeply mortified as I 

 witnessed the grand old forests of Mich- 

 igan, under whose shades my forefathers 

 lived and died, falling before the cyclone 

 of civilization like before the prairie fire. 

 In those days I traveled 

 thousands of miles along 

 our winding trails, through 

 the wild solitude of the 

 unbroken forests, listening 

 to the song of the wood- 

 land birds, as they poured 

 forth their melodies from 

 the thick foliage above and 

 about me. Very seldom 

 now do I catch one familiar 

 note from those early war- 

 blers of the woods. They 

 have all passed away, but 

 with feelings of the deepest 

 gratitude I now listen to 

 the songs of other birds 

 which have come with the 

 advance of civilization. They are with 

 us all about our homes, and like the wild- 

 wood birds which our fathers used to hold 

 their breath to hear, they sing in concert, 

 without pride, without envy, without 

 jealousy; alike in forest and in field; alike 

 before the wigwam and the castle; alike 

 for savage and for sage; alike for beggar 

 and for prince; alike for chief and for 

 king. I am so glad it is the mission of 

 the members of this Club to associate 

 themselves in closer communion with the 

 bird creation, so as to become better ac- 

 quainted with their habits and character- 

 istics ; teaching freely to others the 

 knowledge they have gained through 

 sacrifice and unremitting toil, that they 

 too may learn to love, defend and preserve 

 these beautiful flowers of animal creation. 



It was not necessary to complete the 



happiness of singing birds, that the Great 

 Spirit, in His wisdom, should have given 

 them such beautiful plumage, and put 

 such melodious songs into their mouths, 

 any more than it was necessary for the 

 happiness of the flowers that they were 

 painted in such delicate colors, and made 

 to breathe forth such rich perfume. We 

 should regard their beautiful plumage, as 

 well as their sweet songs, as our inherit- 

 ance, to be guarded and protected from 

 the spoiler. They pour forth their loving 

 songs without malice, to please the tyrant 

 who has imprisoned them within the walls 

 of an iron-bound cage; and still stranger, 

 they will continue to sing their sweetest 

 notes to the cruel wretch who has blinded 

 their eyes with a red-hot iron, in the 

 belief that their song is then more touch- 



ingly melodious. 



When we consider their 

 pure, unselfish nature, it 

 does not seem possible 

 that mortal man, endowed 

 with reason, could prove 

 unfaithful to so sacred a 

 trust, placed under his 

 dominion by the Divine, 

 who has most emphatically 

 declared that not even one 

 sparrow falls to the ground 

 without His notice. It is 

 a lamentable fact that 

 ladies of fashion will 

 persist in wearing dead 

 birds on their hats, thus 

 creating a demand for 

 millions of song birds that otherwise 

 might live. A few years since, they 

 undertook to introduce artificial snakes, 

 frogs and lizards for that purpose; failing 

 in that, now let them show the same 

 regard for birds that they did for reptiles, 

 using artificial ones instead, and thereby 

 try to satisfy the greed of fashion, and 

 spare the birds. 



There is no bird in Michigan, perhaps, 

 more prized socially and for its song, than 

 au-pe-tchi, the Robin. When unmolested, 

 about many houses it appears almost 

 domesticated. It is one of the largest song 

 birds known among the feathered tribes. 

 For some cause yet unexplained, to my 

 knowledge, no larger bird has a musical 

 voice. Between this bird and man no 

 creature has yet opened its mouth in song, 

 hence au-pe-tchi is bound to us by that 



