-June, 1920 
FOREST AND STREAM 
305 
MR. SH IRAS’ LAW 
IT was a great and goodly company of men who — 
A in the spirit — crowded about Hon. George Shiras 
3rd, on the morning of April 20th, and extended to 
him — still in the spirit — the glad hand of congratu- 
lation on having, at last, come into his own. On 
the previous day the United States Supreme Court 
had held the Migratory Bird Treaty Act constitu- 
tional, and had thus, for good and all, settled the 
question over which, for some years, there has been 
much discussion. 
At intervals there arises in every country some 
man who performs for his fellow men a public ser- 
vice of such extraordinary worth that it is always 
connected with his name and that the benefits re- 
ceived from it insure to him the enduring gratitude 
of a multitude of thoughtful people. Such a man 
is George Shiras 3rd, who first set on foot the move- 
ment to place migratory birds under the control 
of the Federal Government. 
His original bill, introduced in the 58th Congress 
in December, 1904, raised a storm of discussion. 
Many lawyers declared that it was unconstitutional 
and could never stand; and in fact it was opposed 
to all previous ideas of wild life protection. It in- 
volved a new principle based on the fact that the 
creatures to which it applied were migratory — 
made long journeys and at different times lived in 
different places. Mr. Shiras was the first to recog- 
nize the fundamental difference, from the game 
protection viewpoint, between migratory and non- 
migratory birds. His forceful brief in support of 
the principle was published in Forest and Stream 
in November, 1906, and to him belongs the credit 
for having discovered and announced the greatest 
protective force yet set on foot in America. 
In 1908 Mr. Weeks introduced another migratory 
bird bill which failed, but in 1913 such a law was en- 
acted. Meantime, Senator Root had proposed a con- 
vention between Great Britain and the United States 
for the protection of migratory birds. During 1916 a 
treaty providing for this was signed and ratified 
by both Powers, and in 1918 an Enabling Act was 
passed and became law. It is this act that has just 
been declared constitutional. 
To secure the passage of this act, many men 
worked hard and faithfully without hope of reward 
other than the satisfaction which comes of loyal 
labor for a principle. To all these men credit is 
due. They have accomplished tasks that entitle 
them to stand well out in front of the army of 
fighters for the cause; they are leaders. But no 
man working for wild life in America has, in our 
belief, done any single thing which is so notable 
and offers such promise of enduring benefit to the 
country as the service performed by George Shiras 
3rd. 
ACCIDENTS IN THE WOODS 
"THE Indians of the North have a single specific 
1 for every bodily ailment: gunpowder and black 
tea, mixed and boiled. Such treatment seems almost 
painfully heroic, nevertheless the Indians frequently 
recover. But a more varied treatment, and one 
rather more in touch with medical practice, would 
seem to be necessary, not only for the Indians, but 
for the city man who finds pleasure and profit in the 
woods. For many of the latter, though they are 
far beyond the gunpowder and tea stage, are almost 
totally unprepared to deal with a serious accident. 
Living in the woods is probably no more dangerous 
than living in the city. But in the city there is al- 
ways a doctor around the corner. In the woods it 
may be several days or a week before a doctor’s ser- 
vices are available. 
First Aid courses have been given by the American 
Red Cross to hundreds of thousands of persons in 
the past few years — in schools, factories, mines, in- 
dustries and to groups of people everywhere. Since 
these courses have been given in the settled parts of 
the country, First Aid has been taught with the idea 
that a doctor can be had in a few hours. ' It has been 
a preventive measure, so that the patient may reach 
the doctor’s hands in good condition, and students 
have been warned against attempting anything be- 
yond this. But in the woods something more must 
be added; simple methods of treatment taught. 
Instruction in First Aid is not difficult to get, nor 
does it take much time. As arranged by the Red 
Cross, the primary course consists of ten lectures 
and demonstrations of one and a half hours each. 
The advanced course consists of five lectures and 
demonstrations of the same length. At the end of 
these two courses a man should be proficient in the 
treatment of fractures, dislocations, wounds, burns, 
hemorrhages and performing artificial respiration. 
The Red Cross will aid any group of people anywhere 
in the country to form a class, and the cost is neg- 
ligible. A First Aid kit whose weight will be trifling, 
and which will occupy very little room in the pack, 
would consist of tweezers, a 'Wire clip for cutting 
fishhooks, scissors, needle and thread, small bottle 
of iodine, dressings, absorbent cotton, bandages and 
adhesive plaster. With such a kit, and the knowledge 
to apply it properly in an emergency, the danger of 
a serious outcome in accidents, or of the unnecessary 
pain and suffering that improper treatment is fre- 
quently responsible for, is greatly minimized. 
BLOODLESS HUNTING 
'T* HERE is a gulf between field shooting and trap 
1 shooting that must be bridged. The old line 
field shot is an agile, dependable sort of a chap who 
can drop his birds with due regularity under almost 
any condition, flight and angles ; his quarry flashes 
into view at the most unexpected times and under 
the most trying conditions, and at best he has only 
a second in which to think and act. On the other 
hand the trap shot is a highly trained marksman 
shooting under a set of fixed and standardized con- 
ditions. The bird does not rise until he is ready to 
fire and gives the word, he knows the pigeon will 
be thrown a given distance from a given point, that 
it will be beautifully silhoutted against the sky and 
the flight will be within a certain prescribed angle. 
One man is a hunter, the other is an expert target 
shot, and both keen sportsmen of widely different 
schools. Between these two extremes there is a 
sport having all the zest and hazard of the field, plus 
availability and an all year open season, a sort of 
bloodless hunting that appeals to the old timer and 
makes the tyro a creditable field shot; the clay 
pigeon released under conditions that closely simu- 
late thoseencountered in the field when hunting birds. 
This form of shooting calls for field guns and light 
loads, bird released at the command of the coach 
while the shooter is already with the butt below 
the elbow, and the use of the second barrel is per- 
mitted. That is how it is done at the Forest and 
Stream Shooting School and even this early in 
the season, the use of game conditions has proved 
to be of unusual interest and an unqualified success. 
