148 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZIN 





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Photograph by George Shiras, 3d 



THK ANCESTOR OE THE ALBINO DEER HERD OE GRAND ISLAND 



Observed first in 1912; killed by a pot-hunter in 1914, when about seven years of age. 

 Body mounted as above. Spread of antlers, 2 feet 2 inches; weight, 150 pounds. It has had 

 nine white descendants so far (see page 182). 



might be attributed to several reasons 

 apart from the various and continuous 

 methods of destruction, namely : the 

 range was always east of the Great 

 Plains, thereby permitting concentrated 

 hunting in the more accessible regions. 

 Furthermore, each pair had but one 

 young, in contrast to the domestic pigeon, 

 with double the number. However, their 

 unexpected and inexplicable extinction 

 in, perhaps, a single season constitutes the 

 greatest of all ornithological mysteries. 



The birds came in vast flocks to Lake 

 Superior in May, and before colonizing 

 for nesting they were killed by natives, 

 who fired into the passing flocks as they 

 swept low along the shores, this being the 

 only period when wing-shooting was in- 

 dulged in. 



After the birds had selected a breeeding 

 place, usually in the same locality each 

 year, the slaughter began ; for, besides the 

 local hunters, the professional trappers 

 were quickly notified of any gathering 



place, and were soon on hand netting or 

 killing these birds by the thousands for 

 the eastern market, besides shipping them 

 alive in crates for trap-shooting tourna- 

 ments. 



BIRDS SLAUGHTERED BY FIRELIGHT 



I never attended any of the holocausts 

 at the breeding places, for such they 

 often were, since circular fires were built 

 around the roosts after all the birds had 

 assembled for the night, and in the con- 

 fusion of the smoke and flames they were 

 beaten down and destroyed in the most 

 relentless manner. 



About the middle of July the survivors, 

 with their young, dispersed over much of 

 the surrounding country, gathering par- 

 ticularly about huckleberry plains and 

 burnt - over districts, where ground 

 food — huckleberries, alder-berries, wild 

 cherries, and service-berries — were abun- 

 dant. 



After the wild fruits were gone many 



