ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
81 
are reminded of a passage in the experiences of 
“Alice in Wonderland.” 
“The time has come,” the walrus said, 
"“To speak of many things.” 
In the first place, we find that man is entirely 
too ready to charge up against the animal king¬ 
dom the results of his own follies and crimes 
against wild life. We find that in some cases 
wild species have been charged, tried, con¬ 
demned and executed without their day in court, 
and without any witnesses for the defense hav¬ 
ing been heard. Certain specifications on this 
point have already been published, and if neces¬ 
sary, will be cheerfully furnished anew. 
The most conspicuous recent instance in the 
line of endeavor mentioned above is to be found 
in Alaska. The salmon canners have been so 
heedless and so destructive of the salmon sup¬ 
ply, that last winter the results of the industry 
were made the subject of a searching special 
investigation in Congress. Therein specific de¬ 
mands were made for a two-year absolute close 
season on salmon catching, in order that the 
depleted herds might recuperate, and thereby 
save the industry. 
At this very moment the salmon supply in 
the Yukon and Copper Rivers has fallen so low 
that the Indians living along the banks of those 
streams, unable to secure their normal and im¬ 
peratively necessary annual supply of salmon, 
have been compelled to take to the mountains 
and kill mountain sheep, moose and caribou in 
order to escape starvation. To many persons 
this will seem incredible, but it is incontestably 
true. Their effect on the big game easily can 
be imagined,—progressive extermination. 
Now, the salmon fishermen have made such 
an outcry about the destruction of salmon by 
birds and seals that a general massacre of Alas¬ 
kan white-headed eagles already has taken 
place. We are now informed by the last report 
of the Alaska Territorial Fish Commission that 
“authority has been granted by the Department 
of Agriculture, and the fish wardens have been 
instructed to kill gulls and terns during the 
coming season.” In addition to this a general 
slaughter of hair seals is in progress, and it is 
officially reported that on the Copper River 
Flats 1,325 seals have already been slaughtered. 
The infinitesimally small extent to which the 
killing of gulls, terns, eagles and hair seals is 
likely to go in saving the salmon industry of 
Alaska certainly will appeal to every person of 
intelligence. 
Here in the east a tidal wave of resentment 
against “pest” species of game destroyers, is 
rolling in. Mr. Madison Grant has pungently 
pointed out, through his own personal experi¬ 
ences, that today throughout New York and 
Pennsylvania, with the exception of the song 
birds every wild tiling in the woods except rab¬ 
bits, ruffed grouse, gray squirrels and deer are 
catalogued as “pests,” and slated for destruc¬ 
tion. He cites the hawks, owls, crows, blue 
jays, blue heron, night heron and kingfisher, 
foxes, minks, weasels, skunks and red squirrels. 
These facts should furnish all eastern conserva¬ 
tors of wild life serious food for thought. It 
looks very much as if the pest pendulum is 
swinging altogether too far. 
And now, at the very last moment before 
going to press, we received a friendly call from 
the owners of Little Tobago Island, in the West 
Indies. On that insular possession the greater 
bird of paradise has been successfully colonized, 
and today the number of individuals of that 
species are estimated at about 500. 
The island of Little Tobago also is inhabited 
by perhaps 200 individuals of the giant cacique, 
a bird so rare in captivity that very few visitors 
to zoological gardens and parks ever have seen 
one. This is the bird that builds the wonderful 
hanging nest, from two to five feet in length, 
which we have cited as one of the most remark¬ 
able instances of modern bird architecture. 
The gentlemen who own Little Tobago 
showed us some fine photographs of nesting 
colonies of the giant cacique, and then casually 
remarked that they were having those birds de¬ 
stroyed, because they had been advised by a 
naturalist of Trinidad that the caciques were 
very destructive to other birds, “by picking out 
their eyes, and killing them.” As soon as we 
had recovered breath with which to speak we 
asked our visitors how many of the caciques had 
been killed up to date, and the reply was, “about 
100 .” 
Our reaction to this shocking disclosure was 
a strong protest against the proceeding, and the 
assurance that it was totally wrong to kill ca¬ 
ciques for the reason alleged. The owners of 
Little Tobago expressed surprise and consterna¬ 
tion, and said: 
“We had supposed that Mr. A- was a 
good authority, and we thought that we were 
doing right to act on his advice. We will cable 
to Little Tobago tonight, and have the killing 
immediately stopped!” 
The idea that caciques on the island of Little 
Tobago would be so destructive to the bird life 
of that island and its vicinity as to merit whole¬ 
sale destruction is preposterous, and the destruc- 
