Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1900-12-12
AMERICAN OsTRICa FARMING.
4 shApload of the Great Birds Gross q
Pacific Twice.

Early this year New York syndis
cate purchase several herds of ostrich
es In California for the purpose Of set.
ting them aside to produce ostrich
feathers for the American markek.
The birds were mot for sale, and whe1
one of the largests ostrich farmers In
Ualdfronfa, who had sold the ma iordty
of his stock to the syndicate, wished to
obtain "a few more birds for his show
Harm, near Los Angeles. he had ditti-
Guilty in renewing his stock, says q
San francisco exchange. The market
OF the Cape of Good Hope, originally
the source of the supply of the ostrich
was closed ON account of the fact that
the Cape government had discovered
the importance and value of the indus
try OF ostrich raising and had eGtab-
hshed an export duty of G 100 on ev.
cry ostrich taloen from the land, -
well as e5 for every egg exported
1t is known that a herd of ostrichea
had ait one time existed in Kauad, in
the Hawaiian group, and in July, 1899,
a man was sen tito the islands to find
out 1t amy of those remaining were for
sale. The ostriches had been taken
from California ten years before and
placed on Kauai, where a company
had formed deal dn ostriches. The
enterprise did not prosper, as often
happens in ostrich enterprises I'M the
beginning. Some Of the ostrichea
died, and instead of the population Of
the farm increasing, the collectdo0
dwdnded down to eleven adult bdrda
and twenty-five chicks. The ramain-
der OF the aggregation has passed
out of the hands of the original con-
pany on account of non-payment o1
rent, and the new owner undertook =
deliver them alive on the wharf q
Honolulu.
just after the contract had ben
signed a sudden storm OF unexpected
severity killed all the chicks, leavixa
only the grown birds TO be reckonoG
with in the transportation problem.
The birds were in charge of q Chi.
nese, and half a dozen stout KanalEe
hoatmen were given the task Of cap
tuxdmg the eleven ostr.ches, which had
roamed almost at large unit they
were wild as hawks. Each ostrick
was chased into am enclosure, its bead
covered with a sack, and thus, blind
folded, led into an extemporzed cratA
the CRATES were transferred to ANAL
boats and thence to the interdslau6
steamer The Little 8: s:eamer rolls fear
fully, but the ostriches were aatve
when they reached the wharf at Ho1
edulu. Here they remained cooped AZ
for five days before the sailing veAsa
which was to bring them to Caaifoes
mia was ready to weigh anchor.
The vessel passed through tWe
storms During her trip, and bon
times the unhappy birds weu
threnched whit sea water. The fxaI
occupied thirty-five days, and durono
THAT thine the birds were cooped up -
their crates, unable to exercise beyon4
standing and sitting. Each mormane
khey were fed ON beans and wnt0s
| their crates cleaned out and their oee
ding charged. In the afternoon a10
again in the evening the birds we1
GIVEN more beans. Usually ON ocea1
Frsrs. the birds are seasisk, ana NJ
ouenltly they die from NAL de ~
from over feeding or from abraoeo
But the Hawsafiam-bred birds SURVIVES
al these difficulties and dangerspok
bly because they knew they Were So
tme home. They are now On exmns
| tdon near Pasadena and are doing ve1
enu,arently none the worse for naN9
| tvs6ce ionrneyed across the oce0
Inch Is sometimes misca1ed kne
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