80 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Jan. i8 , 1913 
Published Weekly by the 
Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 
Charles Otis, President. 
W. G. Beecroft, Secretary. S. J. Gibson, Treasurer. 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
CORRESPONDENCE— Forest and Stream is the 
recognized medium of entertainment, instruction and in¬ 
formation between American sportsmen. The editors 
invite communications on the subjects to which its pages 
are devoted, but, of course, are not responsible for the 
views of correspondents. Anonymous communications 
cannot be regarded. 
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THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful in¬ 
terest in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate 
a refined taste for natural objects, 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
THE TARIFF AND BIRD PLUMAGE. 
One of the first things likely to be done by 
Congress is to amend the tariff laws. The at¬ 
tempt for such a revision is likely to come, and 
when it comes, it may linger long with us. 
A movement is in contemplation so to change 
the tariff law as to prohibit the importation of 
bird plumage for millinary purposes. Such a 
prohibition would no doubt except ostrich plumes 
and the so-called fancy feathers, which are, in 
fact, the plumage of poultry. This movement 
is quite sure to receive the support of bird pro¬ 
tectionists individually, of the bird protective so¬ 
cieties and of the Biological Survey. It will be 
welcomed as a more efficient and sweeping means 
of bird protection than anything yet suggested. 
It is intended that the amendment shall be 
so carefully drawn as to be of unquestionable 
constitutionality, and it will be so simple and un¬ 
mistakable in terms as to be easy of compre¬ 
hension by anyone and to enlist hearty and en¬ 
thusiastic popular support. Such an amendment, 
if adopted, can be enforced by the customs ser¬ 
vice without additional expense. It is believed 
that it will settle the plumage question for this 
country and will greatly encourage and strengthen 
those who are trying to secure like legislation in 
England and in Germany. Passed and enforced, 
it will be a great stroke for bird protection. 
Even if it should fail to become a law, 
those who are urging it believe that it will greatly 
advance the cause of bird protection by calling 
renewed attention to it, and will avert any re¬ 
duction of the tariff now imposed on finished 
millinery products. The effort is now in its in¬ 
fancy. but we are likely to bear more of it be¬ 
fore long. 
When you think of an outdoor publication, 
there stands Eorest and Stream. 
ACID KILLS WILD DUCKS. 
Investigations of the causes for the enor¬ 
mous mortality among wild duck in the neigh¬ 
borhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, which were 
instigated by the American Game Protective and 
Propagation Association, have revealed the fact 
that sulphuric acid poisoning, and not a con¬ 
tagious disease, as was believed, was respon¬ 
sible for the death of two million waterfowl in 
1910 and nearly as many during the past season. 
The association solicited the aid of the Bio¬ 
logical Survey at Washington, and through its 
officers Dr. Buckley, of the Pathological Divis¬ 
ion of the Bureau of Animal Industry, was sent 
to the scene of the supposed epidemic. All those 
who have given the matter attention now con¬ 
cur in Dr. Buckley’s conclusion that sulphuric 
acid discharged into the marshes by industrial 
plants has destroyed the birds. This discovery 
paves the way for legislation, which should be 
immediately enacted to prevent this great waste 
of valuable animal life. 
OF THREE THINGS BEWARE! 
Tragedy treads close upon the heel of mirth. 
We set out on pleasure, and it is likely to end 
in sorrow. Of three things beware!—a loaded 
gun, an unloaded gun and a canoe. 
In an interior village of this State one day 
last week a son, returning from a shooting ex¬ 
cursion, came into the house with game and fun. 
The father picked up the gun, thinking it to be 
unloaded, pointed it at the mother and said in 
fun, ‘‘Suppose I should shoot you,” pulled the 
trigger for a joke—and shot her dead. 
Last Sunday, two young men set out in a 
canoe to cross the Hudson. The rudder paddle 
didn’t handle the craft very well, so the men 
tried to change seats—and only one was left to 
tell the story of joy turned into mourning. 
And yet three of the most harmless things 
in all the world are a loaded gun, an unloaded 
gun and a canoe. 
DR. RAINSFORD’S REPORTS. 
Dr. W. S. Rainsford, who is conducting the 
third African Expedition of the American 
Museum of Natural History, has agreed to re¬ 
port to Eorest and Stream his progress from 
time to time, as he gets a chance to arrange 
data gathered along the way. The first of these 
articles appeared last week. A second paper, 
just received, will be found in our next issue. 
Dr. Rainsford’s writings will interest both big- 
game hunters and naturalists, as they will give 
intimate detail of present conditions in Africa, 
told in the inimitable style of one who knows. 
THE HERO OF 1858. 
Captain Oliver N. Brooks, an old-time skip¬ 
per, and for nearly a generation the keeper of 
the lighthouse on Eaulkner’s Island, in Long 
Island Sound, died Jan. 5 in Derby, Conn. 
It was a piece of heroism performed on the 
night of Nov. 23, 1858, that caused Captain 
Brooks to be spoken of as the “Hero of 1858.” 
That night the schooner Moses F. Webb went 
ashore in a heavy gale on Goose Island, not far 
from Faulkner’s Island. Captain Brooks, disre¬ 
garding the weather, put out to the stranded 
vessel in an open boat, and safely took off the 
five men of the crew. This feat was widely 
heralded. The Life Saving Benevolent Associa¬ 
tion of New York presented him a gold medal 
and the citizens of New Haven gave him a purse 
of gold. 
Captain Brooks was known to every Con¬ 
necticut ornithologist of thirty years ago as a 
careful observer of birds, and as possessing in 
his home at the lighthouse a collection of birds 
of unusual interest. His name has been quoted 
in many a list of Connecticut birds during the 
last forty or fifty years. 
Captain Brooks was a delightful man, full 
of stories of his experiences and observations. 
He was twice a member of the Connecticut Gen¬ 
eral Assembly. 
THE VISION OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 
Taunton, Mass., Dec. i. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Some years ago I chanced to be locked 
up in the fortress by the guard who was un¬ 
aware of my presence. I however managed to 
attract his attention, and he returned and let 
me out after a short incarceration. Otherwise 
I should have stayed there all night. I occupied 
the cell allotted to Osceola, the Seminole chief, 
and subsequently to Geronimo. This poem owes 
its existence to that fact. 
Henry D. Atwood. 
The sun had set. 
The dark lunette 
Of Marion’s ancient fortress gleamed 
Beneath the moon 
All pale; but soon 
The clouds were parted and it seemed 
■ A fairy scene 
So calm, serene — 
The while the waves with muffled roar 
Upon the beach, 
A pure white reach 
Of sand, in constant tumult pour. 
I .gazed, sad-eyed, 
On every side 
Until upon the waters mild 
I saw a sail. 
And o’er the rail 
A stalwart form appeared and smiled: 
It seemed in joy. 
Without alloy — 
And yet his face I did not know; 
Some happy thought 
His fancy caught. 
Or he could not such pleasure show. 
Perhaps his eyes 
Saw other skies —■ 
Perhaps he saw one loved of yore 
In vision sweet. 
Whom he would grCet, 
If he should ever meet her more; 
For time nor place 
Can e’er efface 
The love in sweethearts taught to grow; 
Go where they will 
It lingers still— 
It ever was, and wdll be so. 
So may it be, 
Good friend, with thee— 
Thou valiant heart and seaman bold; 
And now at last. 
Thy voyage past. 
Before the rising moon is old, 
Mayest thou on shore 
Meet her once more— 
Once more within thine arms enfold. 
And plead again. 
And not in vain. 
And bring her jewels, silks and gold. 
