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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1911)
3y 1 V. 'ZZJ&M 114 mtMiilvii., N mmm mwmmmt ihi n -i umi mm mmm. wmmmmmmk i mmmm w m . hhv hush .mmm -ummmr mi ' -mmm w i RESUM ABLY ovoryoouy H knows by this time that thero is a standing offer of MOO In caflh for" the man, I B woman, boy or girl who I 1W I finds the neat of a -wild pig I RmU I eon fectoDlstcs mlgratorl- us), othcrwiso known &b tho pasBcngor pigeon, and finds with It tho nestling birds. In order to get tho reward tho porson who makes tho dis covery must leavo tho nest and tho birds unmolested and provo tho truth of It by making. a report and giving tho sci entists an opportunity to verify tho caso. Magazlno and nowspapor articles lit erally by tho thousands hnvo been writ ten about tho disappearance of tho wild pigeons which once, as It 1b al ways put, "darkened tho sun with their flights." Tho members of tho biologi cal survey In Washington are specially Interested In tho subject of tho disap pearance of this bird of passage from its wild haunts. For years It has been hoped that nesting pairs might bo found in somo part of tho country and that with proper protection tho bird might bo restored in part at least to lto ploco In nature. Recently thero was a story published to tho effect that tho birds, wearied of tho constant persecution which mot them in tho United States, had changed tho courso of their flight and had gon6 into Mexico and thero woro living peace fully and happily, This story proved to bo absolutely without foundation. Still another tnto was to tho effect that, tho pigeons hntfgono Into tho heart of South America and thero finding conditions pleasant wero leading a non-migratory life. This talo also proved to be en tirely fictitious. In all parts of tho southern states In the winter seasons thero aro peoplo watching" sharp-eyed for a gllmpso of tho bird that onco was a common sight. In tho summer sharp eyes of tho north aro constantly on tho alert for tho same purpose, but as yet no authentic report hns been received that the bird of mys terious disappearance has revisited tho scenes familiar through tho centuries to its ancestors. 1 Ono of tho scientists most interested in tho search for tho wild pigeon is Ruthvcn Deane, fellow of tho American Ornithologists' union and president of tho Illinois Audubon Society for tho Protection of Wild Birds. Mr. Deano virtually has given up all hopo that any living specimen of the passenger pigeon ever will be found, but ho ,1s as tireless today as over In traolne rcnortn of tho bird's reappearance to their sources. The offer of $400 for tho discovery of a nesting pAlr of tho pigeons and their undisturbed nest comes from Clifton R. Hodge of Clark university, but $100 ad ditional will bo paid for tho disepvery of a pair of birds and their nest if found in tho stato of Illinois. Tho additional reward is tho Joint offer of Mr. Deano and, as I remember it, of Prorcssor Whitman of th,o University of Chicago. Ono of tho most curious features of tho searoh for tho wild pigeon is tho mistakes' which aro mado constantly by men who years ago trapped tho pigeons and were as familiar with their nppearanco as they woro, and nro today for that matter, with tho appearance of tho com mon robin of tho dooryard. Reports lmvo como in from all sections of tho country of tho reap pearanco of tho pigeon, but on Investigation it Invariably has been found that thp discoverers had seen nothing moro nor less than tho com mon wild dovo (venaidura macroura), or mourn ing dove, which is bo familiar a bird that It, seems almost impossible that any man of tho countrysido could havo failed to overlook it as his constant neighbor and could confuse it with its much larger cousin, tho passenger pigeon of other days. To give an example of how tho search Is con . ducted for tho wild pigeon nnd how conscientious aro tho scientists In attempting to verify reportB of its reappcaranco this ono instance, taken from n hundred instances, may bo noted. Recently a report from northern Michigan reached tho presi dent of tho Illinois Audubon society that tho passenger pigeon In very truth had reappeared in tho vicinity of a club liouso frequented by fishermen and gunners, many of whom had known tho pigeon well In tho old days and who wero certain that In this case they could not bo mistaken as to tho identity of the bird vis itors. it was a long Journey to tho northern Michi gan club house, but an ornithologist undertook tho trip bellovlng In his heart that finally tho passenger pigeon had been found, for he knew thut tho men who had mado tho report had been familiar with tho bird in tho old days and sup poBedly know tho oppoarancoof its every feather. At tho end of the Journoy ho was told that tho pigeons wero thero and ho was led out to see them. They proved to bo mourning dovo, a bird common In nearly all parts of Michigan and in most of tho stntes of tho Union. Tho dis appointment was keen, and keener in this caso bocauso this was ono report which seemed to havo about it every mark of truth. When I was a boy I knew the wild pigeon fairly well. It waB nothing llko as abundant us it had been in tho years gono by, but occa sionally small flocks woro seen In. tho vicinity of my blrthplaco In the foothills of tho Adirondack mountains in central Now York. I am Borry to say that I shot somo of tho birds before I fully realized the valuo of giving protection to a van ishing race. Tho mourning dovo I know ns well as 1 know tho English sparrow, and I think that thero is no chanco of confusion in my mind re specting tho identity of tho dovo and Its blggor relative, tho pigeon. It is possible, though I am not sure that suci Is a fact, that I saw tho last wild pigeon roportcd in Illinois. Others may havo been soon Blnco that time within tho bor ders of tho state, but if o I havo not seen their nppeuranco reported. At five o'clock on tho morning of a lato April day, fifteen years ago, I wont Into Lincoln park, Chicago, to look for migrating birds which had dropped down Into tho pleasure ground from their night flight in order to rest and feed. I had Just entered tho park when my attention was attracted to a .Jargo bird perched on tho limb of a maple treo and facing tho sun, which was Just rising out of Lako Michigan. My heart gavo a sort of leap, for I recognized it Instantly ns tho passenger pigeon, a bird of which I had not. seen a living specimen for at least twelve years. Then Instantly I began to doubt and thought that my eyes must bo mistaken and that tho at mosphere waB magnifying tho bird and that what was before mo was really a mourning dove. I drow closer and then I know thero was no pos sibility of deception. Ilcforo mo waB a beautiful specimen of, tho male passonger pigeon with tho sun striking full on tho burnished feathers of his throat. I stood within IB yardB of tho bird for fully halt an hour and then it left tho maplo and went In arrowy flight down tho lako shoro drive toward tho heart of tho city. I havo often wondered slnco what was Us fate. Theodore Roosevelt 1b deeply interested in tho outcome of tho search for surviving mem bers, if such there may be, of tho passenger pigeon tribe. Mr. Roosevelt know tho bird when ho was a boy and in his trips afield ho always has kept a watchful eye open for a possible sight of a specimen of tho species now feared to bo extinct. When Mr. Roosevelt was president of tho United States ho occasionally went to a wild spot In Virginia whero ho owned a cabin. Ho called tho placo Pino Knot. tyhlle thero ono day ho saw what ho believed to bo nine wild pigeons. It would bo perfectly proper today for a man who saw as many pigeons as this together to shoot one of them ono only In order to provo beyond peradventuro that tho tribo still haB ex istence. When ono simply reports tho appear ance of a pigeon or of a flock of pigeons overy ono doubts very naturally tho truth of tho talo, holding that tho mourning dovo has been again mistaken for its cousin bird. President Roosevelt did not havo a gun with him on tho occasion of hlo mooting with what ho thought wero wild pigeons. If ho had ho probably would havo shot ono of them. Ho told no ono except a few scientists aud a fow friends of his discovery. Ho know as well as anyono olfo did that in tho absenco of tho proof fur nished by a bird In tho flash it would bo said at onco that ho mado tho common error. No ono knows positively today whether tho nino birds which tho president saw woro or wero not pas senger plgoons. Every tlmo that Mr. Roosevelt haB bom to Pino Knot sinco ho has hoped for another sight of the birds which mado him glad Bomo years ago. John Burroughs heard from his frlond, Thco- and tho country sports mcfi told Mr. Burroughs that they had seen pig eons that spring, at IcaBt 1,000 of them, but that, nono of them had been shot. Mr. Burroughs was Inclined to bellovo tho re port, for tho men who mado It woro old-tlmo sportsmen and supposed ly know tho bird well. Howovor, thero Is no pos itive proof today that tho Now York farmers and gunners wero not Just a much mistaken as woro tho old-timers who told tho story of tho return of tho pigeons to tho upper Michigan country. In Tho Auk, a quar terly Journal of ornithol ogy published by tho Amcrlcnn Ornlthologlsta' union, thero recently apt pcared a paper by Albort Hazen Wright on "Somo , Early Records of tho Pas senger Pigeon." In this papor aro reported somo of tho first accounts which over flaw print of tho pigeon multitudes of tho early days. Whon ono reads them It seems al most incredlhlo that a bird species which num bered Its individuals almost, It would appear, by tljo million millions could over disappear from tho faco of tho earth. Tho account of tho great pigeon flocks which la rnnflt fnmlllnt in tho noonlo of tho country Is that wrltton by John James Audubon, tho natural ist. It secma from Mr. Wright's paper, nowovor, that a century nnd a half boforo Audubon wna born records wero mado of tho ImmonBo numbors of tho blrdB which wero seen in America. Tho earliest writers called thorn turtlo doves. Mr. Wright quotes from tho Jesuit fathor, ha Jcune, who In tho year 1637 likened tho American Indi ans to tho plgoonB. "Our savages nro always sav age; they rcsomblo tho migratory birds of tholr own country.' In ono seaBon. turtlo doves aro some times found in such nbundanco that tho end of their army cannot bo seen when they aro flying In a body." Mr. Wright found another reference to tho Im sense numbers of tho pigeons In tho writings of another Jesuit fathor in tho year 1C71. Tho ob servation wub mado at Cayuga lako In Now York state "Four leagues from hero I saw by tho sldo of a river within a very limited Bpaco eight or nino extremel), flno salt springs. Many snares aro set there for catching pigeons, from soven to eight hundred being often taken at onco." Another fa thcr of tho church In tho latter part of tho sevon' tecnth century writes of tho passenger pigeons of tho St. Lawrcnco country: "Among tho blrda of every variety to bo found hero it is to bo noted that pigeons abound In such numbors that this year ono man killed 132 at n single shot." Within tho last five or six years reports havo como of tho reappearance of tho pigeon In Mis sourl, Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, .Ohio, Pennsylvania, Now York and Virginia nnd perhaps, from somo othor Btntcs. In no lnstnnco haB proof been ndduced that tho real passenger pigeon, th6 bird of tho old tlmo, was tho species seen. Tho disappearance of tho flocks which onco covered tho sky as with a cloud is ono of tho mys teries of nature. Man's persecution of courso had much, If not everything, to do with tho annihila tion of tho species, but It would seem that some- ting else, dlseaso perhaps, must bo hold account able at least In part for the dying out of a noblo raco of feathered gamo. dore Roosevelt, that tho nino pigeons had been and said: He Was Too Wise Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, tho government's food cx pert, said at a rccont dlnnor in Washington: "But In our Bearch for pure foods wo muy go too far. Thus a lady entorcd a grocer's tho othor day seen In Virginia. Burroughs believed tho story because no Know now accurate an observer of nature his friend tho president was and is. Tho stories of tho pigeons In Virginia led Mrv Bur roughs to mako inquiries at onco in tho counties in New York state west of the lower Hudson lying In tho old lino of flight of tho migrating pigeon armies of years ago. Thero tho farmers "Havo you got any currants?" Tho clerk, a collcgo graduate, replied: "'Yes, madam, wo havo very flno Corlntbs, or stmut urjeu grapes. from tho Greek town of that name currants, you know, la tho corrupted form. How many will you havo?" " 'None nt all If they aro corrupted,' muttered tho .lady. I belong to a puro food league.' " NEW MINISTER TO PORTUGAL Henry Sherman Boutnll, who bm represented the Ninth district of Il linois In the national congress for the pfiBt 13 years, but who failed of re nomination lAtt year, has been nom inated by. President Tatt ae minister plenipotentiary to the new republic of Portugal, at -an anniwl slry ef $10,000. Ho succeeds Henry T. Gage of Lob Angoles, Cal., who recently re signed tho mission because of 111 health and to. look after his private Interests In southern California, Mr. Gago waB appointed minister to Portugal In December, 1000, and was In chargo 'of tho-legaflotv at Lis bon when tho monarchy of King Man uel was overthrown and tho republic of Portugal proclaimed In May, 1910. Ho rolurncd to tho United States soon nftor that ovont, and never hns boon poraonnlly accredited to Dr. Brnga, provisional president of .Portu gal. Slnco then tho affairs of tho American legation at Lisbon havo boon conducted by Mr. Lorlllard, secretary of tho legation. At tho stato department It is declared tnat tne appointment oi mr. Boutoll to tho Porttiguoao mission involves no change in tho status of tho dip lomatic repreaontatlvo of this government nt Lisbon, and makes no chnngo In tho diplomatic rnlatlonB between tho United States and tha now republic. Ac cording to this statement, Mr. Boutoll will continue in tho name relationship to tho provisional government of Portugnl ob tho chargo d affaires whom, ho succeeds. Several members of tha diplomatic corps maintain that tho appointment of tho now minister to Portugnl is, to all intents and purposus, an official recognition by tho United Stntos of tho now republic of Portugal, regardless .1 ll. . . it . oi uio view oi uio Biaio uepnriment oiucinis on mat point. SILENT MAN OF THE SENATE Tho silent man of tho United States senate Is Wlnthrop Murray Crane of Massachusetts. Mr. Kean, Mr; Penroso and Mr. Wotmorp cpuld not bo called babblers, but they are noisy and dlnordoriy compared to Crane, and their economy of speech becoraen wasteful prodigality meas ured by his standard of conservation. Crnuo would prefer to talk with his hands tf ho could mnko' himself under-, stood that way. Tho Massachusetts senator hn'toa any kind of a racket. Ono could not Imaglno him banging n door, wearing squoaky shoos or sum moning a pago by clapping his hands. No sound horalds his approach as ha comes down tho seriate corridor. He does not walk, ho glides about When nor gliding ho la .sliding, and when not sliding ho is flitting. Tho only thing disturbed whon Crane comes into the Bonate or gooa out Is the atmoBphoro ho makes a slight draft, that is all. It Is not sorlouBly bollovod that Mr. Crano can walk through a door without opening it, and yet tho faculty ho haa of appearing suddenly, noiselessly and unexpectedly in plaees whero thero has boon no sign of him nn instant before, nlmost invites the conviction that ha is more an apparition than a man and a senator. Whon tho clerk of tho Bcnato starts to call tho roll, Mr, Crano 1b not in tho chambor, and yet whon his namo is reached rand it Is only a short way down tho list bis voice answers "Horo." Senators turn to Jqok, and ho Is gone I Perhaps tho Bwlngtng door loading to the cloakroom la still gently oscillating, if so it is tho only sign that Mr, Crnno'u corporeal body had been thero a moment boforo and that his volco did not como through tho skylight. MAYOR IS OUSTED BY WOMEN Tho women of Scnttlo, Wash., oxen clslng their political power for tho first time, recently ousted from ofllco Mayor Hlruhi C. QUI and elected as his successor Qcorgo W. Dllllng. Whlla tho women did not accomplish this work 'alone, tlioy wero in a t largo measure instrumental In bringing it about, so much so that tho result would havo been different bad. they not voted. Gill was elected mayor of Scaltlo n year ago by a majority of 3,300. Women wero then denied tho right of suffrage, but in Novomber wero clothed with that power. Almost from tho Btart GUI's administration carao In for sharp criticism. Ab soon ns tho woman suffrago amendment to tho constitution was adopted laat November tho move ment to "recall" Gill under a provi sion of tho city charter and elect at BucceBaor to servo tho unexpired term took form and tho women entered' Into tho campaign with ' ohthuilasim Tho campaign was a bitter ono. Half tho women of Scattlo who word en franchised in Novombor qualified as voters by enrolling tholr names and to thorn la duo tho fact that in tho rccont election tho majority of 3,800 given to aill a year beforo was rovorscd and Ills opponent, George W. Gllllng, was, elected by a plurality of 04231. Tho number of women registered exceeded 20,000. NEGRO NAMED FOR HIGH POST the of One of tho leading negroes of country Is .William Henry Lewis Boston, who was nominated by ProH- ldont Toft to bo assistant nttornoy general of tho United States. From obscurity and from tho lowly condi tions of a Blavo ho has thus risen to his present ponltlon of trust and responsi bility. Ho was born of slave parents In Borkoloy, Va., in 1803, while tho Civil war waB raging in all its flerco Intensity. At tho ago of 23 ho wont to Now England and entered Am herst collego, whero ho mado rapid progress in his studies and bocamo captaln of tho football team. Ho was, tho class orator at commencement,, and won two of tho main prizes of tho college. Ho then entered Har vard, where he uphold his record of proficiency in his studies and develop ed into an athlete. For tw.o years ho( played center in tho football team und was later one of tho coaches. On tifilnv 9lmtiVa1 4r Dm hot tAb. tho practice of his profession In Washington and during tho administration ol Prerident Roosevelt was appointed assistant district attorney.