The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-03-11
David L. Bennett Sup
plies PIumes to Bon
Ton MiIIiners.
HAS MADE A FORTUNE AT TT.
Highest Degree Of Skill and Article
Necessary to Bring the Birds Within
Ranse-Seon Be Exterminated.

In the world lives among the orange
trees In the San Gabriel valley. He
- Is David L. Bennett. Go anywhere
among millinery feather expert
buyers the world over and you will ind
how well Bennett and his egrets from Gen.
trial America and Mexico are known.
Bennett eeret plunes are often quoted spe-
cialiy In the millinery trade journals OF
Paris and New York. Mr.. Bennett makes
an industry Of egret hunting and OF seli-
ing egret feathers and plumes, and by II
he has made a fortune In twenty-five
years.
lie comes up the Pacific coast from his
hunting expedition twice year. He mar
tiful Southern California ranch few
kets his egret products. rests at his beau-
weeks and then goes down the coast Tor
another season OF hunting. Sometimes he
gets. during five or six months. feathers
and plimes that he sells for 81 go and even
$2.S9. He says that he became profess
sional egret hunter by accident. Having
always loved gun. he went hunting while
he was silver mining along the coast OF
Yucatan. during the winter OF iSiA one
day he brought TO camp several beautiful
specimens of herons or hitierns. lie care
fully packed away box OF the finest
feathers plucked from the birds carcasxes.
When he went home TO New Orleans his
sisters were delighted with his gift of the
feathers. A local mfiiiner saw the Bennett
girls new piumes. and he wanted 20 buy
the lot for SO. That set Mr.. Bennett 10
thinking He knew where he could get
hundreds more lots OF similar feathers.
II contracted with a wholesale milliner
to furnish him egret plumes for a year.
said Mr.. Bennett. in relating his expert
ences 10 the San Francisco Call. "and
then ! set out for Yncatan. OF course
my business is that of a common pot
hunting shooter. l don't apologize for H..
but do put as much craftsmanship In
my work as possible.
"Thc first two years was hunting
down In yucatan and Honduras clear
ed over and above my expenses and my
living $780, but thai was when there was
no one who competed with me in egret
hunting. except lot OF lazy, stupid,
drunken natives of Central America. and
there were thousands or egrsts more In
those days than now. ON some days
used 10 get as many as twenty egrets or
herons. and have never found any oe-
cupation profitable AZ getting thirty
or so egrets week. at about 81 each for
their plumes and feathers.
where DO | hunt now on the west
coast OF Mexico. near Topic and Sfnaios
I hunted for fiftcen years In every part
OF Central America. and had the natives
work for me at times. 80 We made the
birds mighty scarce down there hefore
we got through began hunting down
In the Gulf Of California. and later In the
bays and laEoons on the Pacific ocean
aide OF Mexico in 1888. and believe there's
enough birds in that region To keep me
busy as long "a care tn stay BY the
egret-hnnting business. But every where
in the regions have been and have ever
heard about rapidly growing scarcity OF
egrets Ia evident, I am sure that In
dozen years or more n the fashion tn
wonen's millinery prevails ms now. there
w.il be very few cgrets left ON the west
coast OF ne whole Western continent.
have talked with men whc used 10 hgAt
egrets and heToaA IN the marsh lands and
hays OF Peru. the United States of Colom-
hia and Ecuador for The Paris and other
European markets ana they tel me that
the birds have been - thoroughly wiped
out down that WAY that u Is a iuAs ~
time ard money 20 try to act living ~
hunting eersts and her0us a millinery
feather~huyrr rom f'pffs who came down
20 The city q Mexico last January told
me that he viii never come aui thss WAY
any more 20 bay feathers, for there were
So few good piufnea 20 ~ had that II was
q losing proposition for BIN. lie said that
his nrm IN Paris was going 20 turn rs At
tsnJien 70 seeking tts ornamental feather
sBps,iy Ia Africa. but that g was ~ no
means certain that u naaia gut erret
g.1urnes 10 that part 81 the world The
houRs ~ WITH IN Paris used - tuy
- go wuFth ~ errsf feathers in Mexico
A7fufra4 AEIftftt8 ara fNfA Every NeHfs NJ
yaa car aes huN sts business On this cor
tlasug has Diminished
ssonty a very frw feathers are swanA-
hls "a ihe greet on the heron there arc
three times az many has heron feathers
are worth less than half a. much as
sKYst feathart. Ths experienced feather
buyers knoN the difference Al q gianea.
ana naAmT fees Away. ton 70 L. m-sieaz
20 rrix berna nrH eKrRs feathers together
ans try 20 palm them o~ on buyer
that En0wa his business fgH Esswu
nKTet wid Yield ahsat one-fsufth ~ "a
auEce ~ feathers and Gne sixth q an
feathers are taached ARD q takes much
experience far hartsF % kn0w sess
what viii - marketable All ths avail
abe sgrrt n3Henxs are 90 thu hir6's hack
gssst hack a. ere sait bat tbs heFan has
s-sarkpfatls feathers On 18th fas hack
and the breast We reneTaEly reckon that
az exrrf tnsf II E0g Without GamNRe ~
sha feathers - wnrgh about ~ - snH saeh
heron gG Although the sheIsaAla
feather buyers are wand~rfaiiy exaeslBK
ard sharp wfth che hEutsfs r. % tho
Different pTtess Tor tAa eEfet ard heron
feathers there ~ alE9Uzt universal Dr.
certtnn ~ thu consumers ana the gen
hral public on these uo3aEa have hesn
IN frst-e3ASs millinery STOKES IN San
Francisco. New York aad other cities.
and have seen heron featheTa and piuues
sold ~ apparently honest salsswpnDen
fnr genUiae egrotE. ! have been ON Fifth
and Madison avenues 10 New York, ard
Il IL seldom that ! have seen nrst-class
egret plsEnes worn know. too. that
many Of the fashiouatAs women whom ]
RAISED thought fhty were wearing the
best egrets.
An esret banter must be the foxiess