504 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JUNE 
1895. 
rarely treads and human voice is seldom heard; yet that land is the 
birthplace of more game birds than is any other region on earth. 
The solitude may be unbroken for months by any sound, but when 
the June days come and the snow is all melted, and the enlivening veg- 
etation gives notice that the short Arctic summer is at hand, then 
come the summer dwellers of the land. A long dark line may be seen 
far away on the southern horizon; gradually it comes nearer and 
nearer, and at last when it comes within the range of vision it proves 
to be a myriad of Canada geese. They do not circle and swerve as 
they do in inhabited countries, but when they see the gleaming waters 
the many wings slant downward, and with a rushing sound the great 
flock splashes into the water and rides peacefully on the waves they 
have themselves created. Away on the further horizon appears an- 
other flock, and behind them another, that proves to be canvasback 
ducks. Soon they are joined by other flocks, and in three days from 
the coming of the first goose the tundra will be one mass of bird! if e 
splashing in the water. Dashing in the air are clouds of birds— swan, 
geese, ducks and auks; all are represented, for between Norton Sound 
and that vast morass is the main breeding place of the wildfowl of the 
American continent. 
And yet the flowers of these paragraphs are like the 
flowers that bloom in the spring— they have nothing to do 
with the case. For though Mr. Middleton tells us that 
this morass "is the main breeding place of the wildfowl 
of the American continent," he also assures us that "in 
that land of loneliness the human foot but rarely treads 
and the human voice is seldom heard." But in the work 
of gathering millions of eggs the human foot would have 
to tread "quite considerable," and silence of the human 
voice would not brood to any great extent amid the 
brooding birds. 
Senator Mitchell seems to have derived his wild duck 
egg statistics from President Bortree, of the National 
Association, and the Oregon local secretary, • Mr. W. A. 
Storey. President Bortree gives out to the Chicago Record 
the following quotation from a letter received from Mr. 
Storey: 
"Another work that has been pushed by your Secretary for this 
State, and in which I am now prepared to ask your hearty co-opera- 
tion, is the protection from egg hunters of our wildfowl breeding 
grounds in Alaska. A careful investigation shows that millions of 
eggs are gathered and shipped from these grounds annually and count- 
less numbers of partly matured eggs destroyed. I have furnished our 
United States Senator, the Hon. John H. Mitchell, with the proper in- 
formation relating to the above facts, and if the state secretaries of 
this Association will bring the matter before their several ssnators at 
Washington, asking them to co-operate with Senator Mitchell in this 
matter, I am sure the effect will be for the best. Oregon, Washington , 
California, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia depend largely, if not 
entirely, on these breeding grounds for their supply of wild duck, 
geese, swan, etc., and unless they are protected from such wanton de- 
struction I fear we will, in a short time, be forced to enjoy our duck 
hunting in memories of the past." 
And Mr. Bortree himself tells the Record man: 
"The Atlantic flyway of the waterfowl still remains, but the flights 
of fowl which used to come by way of the Oalumet Valley have gone 
further west. At present the great breeding and nesting grounds of 
the waterfowl found in this region are Alaska and the Hudson Bay 
region. The letter shows what is going on in Alaska. The proposi- 
tion is to call on Congress to pass some game protective laws for the 
Territory of AlaBka, and to Becure an amendment to the interstate 
commerce law to prohibit the acceptance for transportation by com- 
mon carriers of any game killed in violation of the game laws or in de- 
fiance of the export laws of any State. 
"•The slaughter of game is frightful. Something must be done to 
make the laws more stringent and more uniform, or game animals 
will be exterminated." 
Mr. Bortree, when asked for specific information on 
this subject, confessed to a representative of Forest and 
Stream that he had no facts to give; but he promised to 
try to get some for us. 
ni. 
Now, if anything approaching the quantity of eggs 
mentioned were shipped each season from railroad points 
on the Northern Pacific coast, some one would know about 
it; there would be a great coastwise traffic in these eggs. 
Trains of merchandise are not loaded up at night and 
shipped off secretly to unknown consignees, nor are ship- 
loads of eggs received from foreign countries without 
entry at the Custom House; a man does not start with an 
egg in his pocket from the shores of the Far North, come 
down to the border line and smuggle it across and then 
go back for another. We have given some time and 
trouble to the work of investigating this story, and can 
find no one who has any knowledge of such a trade. 
Nothing definite, so far as we know, has ever been written 
about the matter; no particle of evidence has been brought 
forward to show that such a trade exists. No names have 
oeen given of those who gather the eggs or ship them, 
nor of the consignees to whom they go, nor of the vessels 
by which they arrive in port, nor of the people who re- 
ceive the eggs and manufacture them. Not a word of 
detail, not a scintilla of evidence, just a series of repe- 
titions about millions and car loads of duck eggs, set in a 
glittering frame painted over with pictures of the far 
stretching tundra and the clouds of ducks, geese, swans 
and auks. 
Those people who started the story, and who — for what 
purpose is b 3st known- to themselves — have delighted to 
keep it going, may have some evidence to produce. If 
they have, it is time it was brought out, 
In our efforts to get information on this subject we have 
followed out three lines of inquiry, the first having to do 
with the transportation lines said to have carried the 
millions of eggs; the second with the customs ports of 
entry where the millions of eggs would have been received, 
and the third with the albumen industry itself in which 
the millions of eggs were said to be consumed. 
IV. 
We first inquired of the more northern lines of trans- 
portation and asked the Canadian Pacific and Northern 
Pacific railroads what they knew of shipments of wild- 
fowl eggs. The general traffic managers of these roads 
most courteously had their books examined for our benefit 
with the result given below. Mr. George Olds, of the 
Canadian Pacific R. R., wrote us as follows: 
Canadian Pacific Railway Co., Office of General Traffic Manager. 
Montreal, Feb. 5, 1895.— Editor Forest and Stream: I am in receipt of 
your favor of the 29th ulto. In reply, I beg to say that so far as my 
knowledge goes, this line has not up to this time transported a single 
package, barrel or otherwise of wildfowl eggs from any station on 
its line in British Columbia, or from the coast to any eastern point. I 
have never heard of an inquiry for rates for the transportation of 
such property since our line was opened to the Pacific coast. To be 
quite certain I have submitted your inquiry to our Western agents, re- 
questing them to examine their books and report their findings to me. 
On receipt of their reply I will write you again. Yours truly, Geo. 
Olds, General Traffic Manager. 
A few weeks later, after the promised inquiry had been 
made, we received from him another letter with two in- 
closures from his agents in British Columbia. He says: 
Canadian Pacific Railway Co., Office of General Traffic Manager. 
Montreal. Feb. 28, 1895.— Editor Forest cmd Stream: Referring to your 
favor of the 29th ulto., and to my acknowledgment of the 2d inst., I 
no w invite your attention to the correspondence inclosed from our 
Messrs. Brown and Forrest, Vancouver, B. O, on reading which I shall 
be much surprised if you do not ask yourself as I have, "What man- 
ner of man is Senator Mitchell, of Oregon?" Perhaps it will he chari- 
table to conclude that his natural ignorance of the subject he dealt 
with laid him open to some practical joke. Yours truly, Geo. Olds, 
General Traffic Manager. 
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, Vancouver, B. O, Feb. 18, 
1895.— Geo. Olds, Esq., Gent ral Traffic Manager, Montreal— Dear Sir: 
I herewith return correspondence in connection with shipment of wild 
birds' eggs from Pacific coast points via our line. 
Although I was satisfied we had not handled any of these eggs, 
still, to be sure, I wrote to Mr. Forrest here, asking him if any ship- 
ments had at any time been made, and you will notice by his reply 
that there have not. 
I wonder if, when Mr. Mitchell made the statement that is claimed 
were in cold storage were returned East. This is the only case I 
know of where eggs have been shipped from the Pacific coast to east- 
ern points. Yours truly, E. Dickinson. 
V. 
The transportation lines knowing nothing whatever 
about the thousand barrel shipments of which we have 
heard so much, we looked about for other sources of in- 
formation. These eggs were supposed to come from the 
Northwest, and so would be entered at some Custom 
House. If they were shipped from Alaska through 
Canada by the Canadian Pacific R. R., they would be 
entered at the Victoria, B, O, Custom House. Shipments 
from British Columbia or from the Hudson's Bay country 
would be entered at Pacific coast ports or at some of the 
border line ports. In order to secure this information, 
we requested a correspondent, who is in the TJ. S. Custom 
service, to make inquiry for us, and the replies which he 
received are given below: 
Office of the Collector of Customs, Port of Fort Benton, Mont., 
Feb. 19, 1895.— William W. Castle, Esq., Examiner, Boston, Mass.: Sir— 
I have the honor to acknowledge receipt your communication 12th 
inst. relative to importations of wildfowl eggs into this customs dis- 
trict. In reply to same I respectfully state that there are no importa- 
tions of the above in this district. Very respectfully, David G. 
Browne, Collector. 
Office of the Collector of Customs, Port of Sitka, Alaska, March 
9, 1895.— Mr. William W. Castle, Appraiser's Office, Boston, Mass.: 
Sir— In reply to your letter of the 12th ultimo, relative to the manu- 
facture of albumen from wild sea fowl eggs, I would refer you to the 
U. S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross, now stationed at Mare 
Island, California, for the above information, as I fail to find any 
records for same in this office. Very respectfully, George Moore, 
Special Deputy. 
The inquiry to the Port of San Francisco is returned 
with the following indorsements: 
San Francisco, Cal , Feb. 20, 1895.— No importations of the within 
mentioned merchandise are received at this port; therefore no infor- 
mation can be given on the subject. James Eunker, Appraiser. 
Respectfully returned with the above information. E. B. Jerome 
Collector. 
"INDIANS GATHERING DUCK EGGS FOR ALBUMEN IN ALASKA." 
[Bag of 480 ducks, 11 geese, 7 grouse, 3 cranes. Shot in 5 hours by 6 shooters, in North Dakota.] 
he did, he considered how many of the wild hirds' eggs it would take 
to fill 1,800 barrels, and how many years it would take to gather them; 
for, with the exception of gulls' eggs, which are gathered in larger 
• quantities than those of any other wild birds, it would simply be an 
-.impossibility to gather the large quantity mentioned in a hundred 
years if any one did feel disposed to do so, and, so far as I know, I do 
not think any one on the coast would gather these eggs, as it certainly 
would not pay them to do so. Yours very truly, Wm. Brown. 
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, Vancouver, Feb. 15, 1895 — 
William Brown, Esq., A. G. F. A , Vancouver— Dear Sir: Returning 
papers in connection with shipment of birds' eggs. No shipments of 
wild birds' eggs have ever been handled through this station. Yours 
truly, W. H. Forrest, Agent. 
Of like tenor are the letters from Mr. J. M. Hannaford, 
General Traffic Manager of the Northern Pacific R. R., 
whose investigation of the subject on the Pacific coast 
appears to have been very thorough. Mr. Hannaford 
writes: 
Northern Pacific Railroad Company.— Office of the General Traffic 
Manager. J. M. Hannaford, General Traffic Manager, St. Paul, Minn., 
Feb. 15, 1895.— Editor Forest and Stream: I have to acknowledge yours 
of the 11th in regard to statement made of shipments of wildfowl eggs 
supposed to be gathered in Alaska. Would say that, so far as my per- 
sonal knowledge of this matter goes, I am inclined to take the view 
that the stories are more a matter of fake than founded on fact. In 
order to exhaust, however, the means of inquiry at our command in 
regard to the subject, I have sent your letter to our representatives on 
the coast, requesting that it have their prompt attention. On return 
of papers I will give you the benefit of their investigation. Yours 
truly, J. M»Hannaford, General Traffic Manager. 
Northern Pacific Railroad Company.— Office of the General Traffic 
Manager. J. M. Hannaford, General Traffic Manager, St. Paul, Minn., 
March 23, 1895.— Editor Forest and Stream: Referring again to your 
communication of Feb. 11 in regard to shipment of wildfowl eggs from 
Alaska, I am just in receipt of letter from our Pacific coast repre. 
sentative advising that he has given the matter full investigation 
through parties intimately connected with the Alaska traflSc, but is 
unable to learn of any such shipments being made. Our agent at 
Tacoma, where this business is generally delivered to our line, 
advises that no one there has ever seen or handled a shipment of 
this kind. Representatives of the Pacific Coast Steamship Co., the 
principal carriers in the trade, and other lines operating between 
Puget Sound and Alaska, say no eggs have ever been shipped to their 
knowledge. Representatives of this company at Vancouver and Vic- 
toria also say that no such shipments have ever been handled at those 
points. Yours truly, J. M. Hannaford, General Traffic Manager. 
Union Pacific System, E. Dickinson, General Manager.— General 
Manager's Oflice. Omaha, Nebraska, June 1, 1895.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Your letter of 28th ultimo has been referred to our freight 
traffic manager for reply direct. So far as I am aware there is "no 
truth whatever in the statement, except that during the "corner" on 
eggs last spring several car loads that had been shipped West and 
Office of the Collector of Customs, Port of Port Townsend, 
Wash., Feb. 21, 1895 —William W. Castle, Esq., Appraiser's office, Bos- 
ton, Mass.— Sir: I beg leave to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 
the 12th instant, and to advise you that no albumen or wildfowl eggs 
for the manufacture of commercial albumen has been imported into 
this district. I regret that I am unable to give you any information on 
the subject. Very respectfully, J. C Saunders, Collector. 
Consulate of the United States, Victoria, British Columbia, 
March 20, 1895.— Hon. William W. Castle, Boston, Mass.— Dear Sir: 
Replying to your communication, dated Feb. 12, 1895, 1 have the honor 
to inclose herewith a letter from Hon. J. R. Anderson, Statistician of 
the Department of Agriculture, British Columbia; also a letter from 
Hon. A. R. Milne, collector at this port, from which the information 
you desire can be obtained. Owing to the delay in receiving the let- 
ters, it was impossible to answer your communication earlier. I am, 
sir, very respectfully, W. P Roberts, U. S. Consul. 
Department of Agriculture, British Columbia, Vietoria, Feb. 25, 
1895.— General W. P. Roberts, U. 8. Consul, Victoria.— Sir: In answer 
to your communication of the 23d instant, I beg to say I am not aware 
that the collection and manufacture of albumen of wildfowl eggs has 
ever been attempted in this province, and that in my belief none is 
sent from here. Possibly something may be known at the Custom 
House about the matter; they would certainly know if any was ex. 
ported. I return your correspondent's letter. I have the honor to be 
your obedient servant, J. R Anderson, Statistician. 
Customs, Canada, Victoria, B. C, March 19, 1895.— Hon. W. P. 
Roberts, U. S. Consul, Victoria, B. C— Dear Sir: I have the honor to 
receive your letters of the 26th ultimo and the 18th inst., inclosing a 
letter from Mr. William W. Castle, examiner of the port of Boston, 
regarding the collection and manufacture of commercial albumen of 
wildfowl or sea birds' eggs. 
hive carefully looked into the matter, and I cannot find that the 
albumen of wildfowl or sea birds' eggs is collected for any purpose or 
manufacture in British Columbia. If such were the case I certainly 
should know something about it, and I can find nothing in our com- 
piled exports with reference to that kind of albumen or such eggs. I 
have the honor to be, dear sir, your obedient servant, A. R. Milne , 
Collector. 
The whole matter is pretty well summed up in the letter 
given below, in which the gentleman who took the trouble 
to collect for us these reports from the various custom 
houses give3 hi3 own conclusions on the matter: 
Port of Boston, Mass., Appraiser's Office, May 2, 1893.— Editor 
Forest and Stream: Inclosed find such replies as I have received on 
the egg question. I wrote to all the border line collectors, but have 
received no replies from some. I think, however, the reply from 
U. S. Consul at Victoria and inclosures will establish the fact that 
there can be no great traffic in that section. If I get anything more 
will forward it to you. I hope you have not thought me neglectful, 
but it takes quite a time to get replies sometimes, and I have been 
waiting for some that have not yet arrived. 
My opinion is that more eggs are destroyed in the Mississippi Valley 
by the spring shooters, a thousand, or even ten thousand", to one, than 
