Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-07-22
The Bird Tragedy on Laysan Island.

l
About seven hundred miles from Hon
olulu lies the small island of Laysan.
It is level, sandy, and barren Of all
things likely to enlist the attention OF
predatory man, but to the harassed birds
of mid-ocean 1t seemed like secure ha-
ven, and for ages past 1t has been inhab.
tied only by them. There several
species Of sea birds, large and small,
have found homes and breeding places
q veritable bird paradise till the serpent
entered. Naturally man, the ever greedy,
began to cast about for ways by which
to convert some product of that feather
ed host into money. At first guano and
eggs were collected. For several years
this went on, and the birds themselves
were not molested. "At last tentacle
of the feather trade octopus reached out
to Laysan. In an evil moment In the
spring of 1909, predatory individual OF
Honolulu, named Max Schlemmer, de-
cided that the wings of those albatross,
gulls and terms should be torn off and
sent to Japan, whence they would be
shipped to Paris, the special market for
the wings OF sea.birds slaughtered In the
North Pacific. Schlemmer, the slaugh-
terer, bought a cheap vessel, hired twen-
ty-three phlegmatic and cold-blooded
Japanese laborers, and organized raid
on Laysan. With the utmost secrecy he
sailed from Honolulu, landed bis bird
killers upon the sea-bird wonderland,
and turned them loose upon the birds.
For several months they slaughtered
diligently and without mercy. By the
time the bird butchers had accumulated
between three and four carloads OF
wings, and the carnage was half finish
ed, William A. Bryan, professor OF 20
ology in the College of Honolulu, heard
OF it and promptly wired the United
States government. Without the loss OF
a moment the secretary of the navy de-
spatched the revenue cutter Thetis to
the shambles of Laysan. When Captain
Jacobs arrived he found that In round
numbers about 100000 birds had been
destroyed, and all that remained OF them
were several acres of bones and dead
bodies and about three carloads OF
wings, feathers and skins. 1t was evil
dent that Schlemmer's intention was to
kill all the birds on the island and only
the timely arrival of the Thetis frustrat-
ed that bloody plan. The twenty:three
Japanese poachers were arrested and
taken to Honolulu for trial, and the
Thetis also brought away all the stolen
wings and plumage with the exception
of one shed full of wings that had to be
left behind on account of lack of carry
ing space"
Says Professor Dill of the U. S. De-
partment of Aprjculture: "Our first
impression of Laysan. was that the
poachers had stripped the place of bird
life. An area of over 300 acres on each
side of the buildings was apparently
abandoned. Only the shearwaters moan
ing in their burrows, little wingless
rail, skulking from one grass tussock to
another, and the saucy finch remained.
IAN old cistern back Of Cne OF the
buildings tells story of cruelty that
surpasses anything else done by these
heartless. sanguinary pirates, not e1-
cepting the practice of cutting wings
from living birds and leaving them to
die of hem morhage. In this dry cistern
the living birds were kept by hundreds
to slowly stsrve to death. In this way
the fatty tissue lying next the skin was
used up, and the skin was left quite free
from grease 80 that 1t required little
or no cleaning during preparation.
Many other revolving sights, such as
the remains of young birds that
had been left to starve,I and birds with
broken legs and deformed beaks, were
to be seen. Killing clubs, nets and
other implements used by the maraud.
ers were lying all about. Hundreds OF
boxes to be used in shipping the bird
skins we're packed in an old building. 1t
was very evident they intended to carry
on the bird slaughter as long as the birds
lasted"
Doesn't the reading of such hellish
doiugs buttress your belief that there is
hell or something of that nature, or
ought to be PA rod in pickle for the
fools back" as it were.
In February, 1909. President Roose-
velt issued an executive order creating
the Hawaiian Island Reservation for
Birds. In this are included Laysan and
twelve other islands and reefs, some OF
which are inhabited by birds we'll worth
preserving. By this act, we may feel
that for the future the birds of Laysan
and neighboring islets are secure from
further attacks by bloody.handed agents
of the vain woman vino still insists upon
wearing the wings and feathers of wild
birds.
By the way, should you happen to
hear of fair one who is blood-hungry
for wild feather for her head-gear to
add attractiveness to her already charm
ing personality, you might drop her a
line and say that IL she will procure q
tame tail feather from a domesticated
rooster and dip the same in aniline dye
of the right shade to match her love OF .
hat, the slow.moving masculine mind
would hardly note the difference be.
tween the domestic feather and the Wild
land woolly) sort, and he would love her
just as we'll and "pop" as readily.
| JOHN.