Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-20
THEY HUNT SONG BIRDS.
Complaints Against italian Labor Col
onies in Westchester County.

From the New York Sun.
People In Westchester county are COM
planning Of the depredations Of the italian
labor colonies. These colonies, which peo-
pie hastily erected shacks along the rail-
roads or near the scene OF large enter
prises, have long made a practice of send
ing marauding parties into village parks
and private gardens in search Of supplies
One resident of New Rochelle spent three
weeks in gloating over a large mushroom
crop which was making fine progress in his
back fields. He even invited some city
friends to share the dainty with him. On
the appointed morning he arose two hours
before breakfast and sailed forth with a
accent trowel knife, purchased especially
for the occasion, only to find his fields
wholly shorn of the delicacies, and to dis
tinguish the forms of half a dozen Italians
crossing distant stone wall.
In this particular case the victim was able
to remedy the theft at the village store and
to let his friends feast on the French
canned variety Of mushrooms A more Sc
rious charge made against these labor COL
onies concerns the slaughter of song birds.
At dawn and dusk the woods of Lareh-
Of cheap 16-bores. On Labor day the bang
ing was so constant that some residents
awoke under the impression that the
Fourth OF July had come again. Parties
hunters ranged the woods, firing incessant-
ly at robins and blackbirds and every other
feathered thing they found.
One Italian had the hardihood to 20 the
length OF principal street of one village
with two red-eyed vireos strung from the
end Of his gun barrel. Another was seen
to blaze into line of sand martins sitting
on telegraph wire. In this case the re-
and the local telephone system was only
temporarily put out Of business.
But the cause Of the greatest wrath
among bird lovers in Westchester is the
disappearance of a small flock of starlings
from one Of the outlying parks of New
Rochelle. The starting Is q rare bird on
this side of the Atlantic, and the residents
Of the neighborhood were proud and pleased
when flock Of a half dozen settled among
them. Now the birds have vanished and
italian gunners are accused of having
driven them away or killed them.
The favorite method Of bagging the game
among these hunters Is to spot some luck
less warbler hopping about among the
weeds Of a brookside, steel up to within at
most fifteen feet, wait until the victim
chances to light upon rock or stump. and
then rake him fore and aft. If he nies off
before thus exposing himself, he escapes
unscathed. To shoot on the wing is con-
sidered a reckless extravaganza amons
these hunters. since cartridges cost s. a
hundred.
Neither Is the game pursued without mis-
hap. One hunter is said to have fred at a
sparrow in the front yard OF a farm house
on the Boston Post road last week when
the dog on the back porch happened to be
loose; and the farmer Is now proudly ex-
hibiting the sportsmans gun-a cheap, sim
gle-barrel of German make, with q fanci-
fully carved stock and hammer which
suffers from intermittent locktaw. Another
hunter accidentally blazed into shack at
Elmsford, and only escaped being muir
dered by tho mixed-ale party within
through having second barrel. still
charged, to cover his retreat.