The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-06-04
THE PEST OF THE ANDES.

ChilPs Fruitless War Against the Condor
An American Hunters Failure.
"The CHILEAN government has declared
and is carrying on novel war" said
Cornelius w. Ryerson, of this city, who
arrive here from South America re-
Gently, "and that is war of extermina-
ton against the gigantic vulture of the
Andes, the condor. The government
issued proclamation last year declar-
ing the bird to be an enemy to tho re-
public. Condors have increased so
rapidly within the last few years all
along the whole western slope of the
great mountain chain, which is their
habitat, that they have become by their
foul habits scourge that has increased
the already sufficiently unwholesome
character of the country With the
hope of eXferminating them, or at
least greatly decreasing their num-
bers, the government, in its procla-
nation, offered bounty for
every condor killed. A friend of mine
who lives in Cairo wrote to me that ne
believed there was chance to make a
great deal olmOney by engaging ia con-
dor hunting, and as l had several years.
experience in mountain climbing and
hunting all sorts of wild beasts and
birds, both in this and other countries, 1
went down there last fall To SEQ what
there might be in this condor hunting.
Well, | was there tive months, and after
a persistent campaign against tho con-
dor with guns and traps | made up my
mind that man has got to DO 100 por
cont smarter than l am If he ever gets
rich on condor bOunties, and that If the
Gillian government expects to rid itself
Of its big winged outlaw il will baye 20
detail evory man, woman and child in
the country 60 take up arms against it.
1.-The hunting OF condors has been
regular business In the Andes noun
talns for many years and the natives
have made some money at II, but, like
all the vulture family, the condor grows
Suspicious and wary from cOntact with
mankind, anu IL has grown to know aud
lear a gun, SO that IL Is next to imposis-
BILE to get within gunshot OF one.
Shares are now the only means by
which condOrs may he takOn with any
certainty, and they have learned to be
ON the lookout for them. These birds
have the most wonderful powers of
vision and flight Of any living
creature of the air. Perched
on mountain peaks above the
clouds, they watch the trails which
mules and llamas follow with their bur. |
dens thousands OF feet below them, and
If an animal dies and is left on the plain
these monster vultures SEQ 1t, and al
though no human sight can discover the
presence OF a single bird, in few sec
onds' time they will be- seen dropping
DOM from the clouds like thunder. !
bolts. Formerly the hunter took adj !
vantage OF this swooping down upon |
the CarCasses OF dead animals by hiding !
within gunshot and picking of one or
two cOndors before they could rise out
of range. Traps were also set beside |
dead bodies of mules ana other animals. !
But this can barely be done successfully |
now, so wary has the condor become. |
Tho same wonderful eyes that keep the |
wandering caravan in view or discover |
the carcass lett lying Tor It's use, note |
also the hunter hiding with his gun, or |
the trapper arranging his snare by the |
carcass, and the bird remains in safety |
on its perch. To shoot IL on the wing, !
unless you are fortunate enough TO DO |
socreted near some loft peak when the |
bird comes sailing through the clouds 10 |
seek It for perch, is entirely out of the !
question, for IL tlios at attitudes such as !
no other bird attsins.
This lying in wait, however, far above |
the snow line for n chance to put a ball |
through condor Is something that re- |
quires moro grit and nerve than the NV |
erage hunter can boast, and conso. |
quently there are not many condors |
killed ON the wing. These birds hatch |
their young among the snow.covered |
crags OF the Andes, sometimes 1900 |
feet above the sea, and the bird has |
been seen at an altitude OF 10000
Al IL
you may hear OF some hunter bold |
enough TO Chamber to the nesting places |
among these crags in search of condor |
nests, as the capture Of the young or |
the eggs is as profitable ~ killing a |
grown bird, but such exploits are few |
and far between, There are always two |
eggs In nest, and, as there Is nothing |
that ventures TO make the condor its |
prey except the hunter, when a condor
makes It's nest II does so with more GER |
tain,y that there will be more ofits I
kin added TO tho family in the Caurfs !
of time than does any olher bird or .
beast Traps are set as high among b
these nesting places ~ the hunter can |
dare 70 venture, and many OF the birds |
aro captured in that way.
"Ihoro Is 10 more startling sight than
from some snowy rCok 70 Elgh In the
mountains that tho clouds hide tho
world from your Wow, 10 SEQ ono of
these Immense birds bseaf suddonly
through tho dense vapor below YOU AMI
sail upward with the brObd - y oep of its
ponderous wings into tho haunts whore
IL dwels alone IN tho solitude, IL
seems like the winged demon daring 10
seek The realms OF the SKY. This bird
can stand q range VI temperature bo.
yond which human existence IL impos.
Anle, and Is AZ home among tho snowy |
peaks OF Chilli and Poru ~ we'll Az upon
the burning sands NJ Patagonia. With |
sweep OF Wing Y feet In extont, the /
swiiinees of "a comforts 1lght il such that /
II VIII sail out Of sight, Notwithstanding
w great size, Nithin the space ola very /
Few minutes. tmay with ease eat III I
breakfast in the Northern Audcs, aud ~ |
hours later so 70 rooat among tho penks
OF the southern scs coast
III II were possible u get AZ the nests
OF the condor, ~ that ~ ugga might bo
DESTROY ed. lpro min IN Ia. come. ..i.......