186 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVI 
mammals as well as birds are concerned. 
There would, however, be no more danger of 
this becoming either a sportsman’s magazine 
or an exponent of sentimentalism than at 
present. 
Purely technical matter would be given 
second place to life-histories, geographical 
notes, and field-and-study items, of the same 
character as those concerning birds alone 
and now appearing from issue to issue in 
The Condor. 
The auspices under which The Condor is 
published should remain exactly as they are: 
the magazine would still be fostered by the 
Cooper Ornithological Club and would rep- 
resent the interests of that organization to 
the highest degree. 
Vote by postal card, “yes” or “no”, with 
signature and date. Brief poignant com- 
ments are invited. Address before Septem- 
ber 1: — J. Geinnell, University of Califor- 
nia, Berkeley, California. 
DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS AS A RESULT 
OF VOLCANIC ACTION 
[Editorial Note: Reports of the eruptive 
activity of Mount Lassen naturally arouse 
our interest as to the possible effects of such 
phenomena upon the animal life in the vi- 
cinity. The following letter indicates vivid- 
ly how serious such a factor may become. 
We are indebted to Judge P. W. Henshaw 
both for calling our attention to this subject 
and for the privilege of publishing the let- 
ter. The authenticity of the account is es- 
tablished beyond doubt.] 
Judge F. W. Henshaw, 
San Francisco, California; 
Dear Sir: 
Referring to the conversation I had with 
you a few days ago, relative to the destruc- 
tion of game birds in Alaska, resulting from 
the eruption of Katmai Volcano on June 6, 
1912, I am sending you under separate cover 
the February, 1913, issue of the National 
Geographic Magazine, which contains a very 
comprehensive article by Dr. Geo. C. Martin, 
on the extent of damage caused by this erup- 
tion. 
Some of the photographs accompanying 
the magazine article will give you a very 
vivid idea of the desolation that was caused, 
and what effect such a deposit as shown in 
the pictures would have on nesting birds, 
within the radius of the fall of ashes. 
During the period of greatest volcanic 
activity, from June 6th to June 8th, 1912, 
birds would frequently drop from the air, 
and in every case that I witnessed, would 
be dead when they landed. This shows, I 
believe, that the gases had a deadly effect 
on the mature birds while flying. I was at 
Kodiak during the eruption, distant about 
100 miles from the volcano; so if the gases 
from the crater had such an effect on birds 
at that distance, it is safe to say that very 
few birds on the mainland of Alaska, and 
within the radius of the disturbance, could 
have escaped. 
On June 9, 1912, I had occasion to make 
the trip by tug boat from Kodiak to Seward. 
For a distance of about 120 miles at sea, and 
until' we passed beyond the line shown on 
the map on page 132 of the National 
Geographic Magazine, as the limit of the 
one-quarter inch ash deposit, the sea was 
literally covered with dead birds, of prob- 
ably every variety known in that section of 
Alaska. I dare say, that during the entire 
progress of the trip, for 120 miles, there was 
not a time when from 15 to 20 dead birds 
could not be seen from the deck of the 
steamer. When one realizes that it would 
be impossible to distinguish these birds over 
an area exceeding the size of a pin point 
on the map, he can probably get some con- 
ception of the vast multitudes, of birds that 
must have been destroyed. 
Again, the eruption occurred during the 
nesting season, or when the young birds 
were too immature to fly. Nearly all' the 
bays and indentations of the coast within 
the area of disturbance, as shown by the 
map referred to, are headed by large flat 
tracts of marshy land, with many small 
lakes and streams. These places are the 
natural breeding grounds of many varieties 
of our game birds, and it is safe to say that 
millions of these birds were on the nests at 
the time of the eruption. The country sur- 
rounding the large lakes, from Clarke Lake 
south on the Alaska Peninsula, is also a vast 
breeding ground, and most of this territory 
was covered by the deposit of ash. 
Possibly the scarcity of mallard ducks 
during the 1912-13 hunting season in Cali- 
fornia can be attributed to some extent to 
this eruption. At any rate, this variety 
seems to be in greater abundance than any 
other during the nesting season in Alaska, 
— or that part of Alaska which was within 
the limits of the disturbance, — so I believe 
that the eruption must have affected, to 
some extent at least, the numbers of these 
birds that migrated south. [See also article 
above referred to, pages 179-181. — Ed.] 
With kind regards, I am. 
Very trul'y yours, 
W. J. Erskine. 
San Francisco, April 7, 1914. 
