The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1901-07-26
The Bird on the HAT.

tHc huDlcct OF the Dird on the nat,
and 1t Is sometimes asserted that
in spite OF IL all, the declaration IL
more worn than ever But this
may he doubted. At any rate, any
woman who chooses, and n great
many do choosc-to wear n hat
unadorncd with the defunct body
OF a bird. can do 40 nowadays
without appearing either singular
or III dressed.
The hope ofthc Audubon Soci"-
ty and Of various other organiza-
tons for the protection OF birds,
IL that the time may come when n
hat trimmed with plumage will be
rs curious an object as the feather
crown Of an Ashanti chief. One
thing Is certain, " fashion ever
does take u decided turn In this di-
rcction 1t IN unlikely that the old
barbnrous custom will ever come
back. II il essentially ugly and
unpleasant In it, -uggcstivcncss
1t need only go out Of style for n
few years to be abhorrcd In it,
true light. But there nrc people
who, II gloves and belts made of
tanned human skin from the dis
secting room happened to be the
fashion, would wear them without
more compunction than an Iro
quois warrior felt In putting on his
necklace of out-off human fingers.
The custom OF decorating wo-
mans hats with the plumagc of
birds IN probably NJ old as head
gear itself, and may have arisen
In part from the notion common to
many savage tribes that the qunlI-
ties of an animal slain become the
property of the slayer. Moreover.
before the invention of vclvcts d,
gauzr and lace, the feathers of
birds were among the most bcauti-
iul things available for the ndorn-
mcnt OF the human head. Trndi-
ton Is partly responsible for the
persistence of the custom in thesc
later days.
But there Is nothing pretty In its
later developments. however ap-
propriatc the wings or body Of a
bird might have seemed on the
head Of the hunters wife. Tn,
modern had II constructed to III
the modern face, and there IL no
beauty In the juxtaposition Of a
lair, Intelligent, essentially civiliz-
cd countcnancc and the body OF a
blackbird with It's neck In n sug-
gcstivc twist. II hints Mt ugly
possibilities existing underneath
the char and grace Of the wcnrcr.
As for the face which Is net charm
ing, or Intelligent, or kind, the boz
dies OF two or three humminp
birds or the head OF an owl, spear
ed with n hatpin and surrounded
with bows of ribbon, lend to such
a visagc an aspect positively sinis-
ter.
II would he unjust, of course, Ia
assume that there Is real cruelty
under all this passive obedience to
the dictates of fashion. But sine,
hats and bonnets quite as bccom :
ing aud orctty can be evolved
without the bird decoration as can
be devised with IL, II does seen
that women OF sense and fcclinp
might be c%ontentcd without shock.
Ing the scnsibilitics OF the Audi.
bon Society and outraging the 1T.
ness of things by demanding 1
yearly sacrifice Of bird life TO adorr
their heads. There was much sens,
ip the rctort of the little boy who
when rcprovcd by his pretty Sun
day school teacher for robbin,
birds nests, and asked, In pathctl,
tones, where the poor mother was
replied, ''shc amt %sufferin' none
miss-she's ON yer hat" Their
Is no excuse OF ignorance to b
-
pleaded. The public has been toll
over and over again that wearin
ospreys means the death of mul
titudes of helpless little bird,
since the feathers are best Mt tn
breeding season and the parer
bird must be shot then. The fac
that birds OF particularly fine plu
mage are often skinned alive Ia
also been made known: and ii
silence of woodlands add meadow
where the millincr's agent he
been, speaks for itself. IL Is abou