The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-09-13
AMERICAN GAME BIRDS
MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED
KINDS-HUNTED WITH PER-
H4OUS THoROUGHNESS.

Washington, Sept. 13.-With the
beginning of the hunting season, the
variety and plenty of the North
American huntsman's domain is in
Dictated in a communication to the
National Geographic society from
Henry w. Henshaw, chief of the
United States biological survey,
which tells of American Game
Birds" Mr.. Henshaw enumerates
more than 100 kinds of game birds
common to this country's preserves,
among which are thirty-seven kinds
of duck, eight kinds of goose, eight
kinds of quail and five kinds of
grouse. While Americas preserves
are distinguished among the hunting
fields of the world for their wealth of
game, the writer shows that they are
hunted with dangerous thorough
ness. He says;
America has always been a para
disc for sportsmen, but of late years
the number of those whose chief re-
taxation is the pursuit of game has
greatly increased. and today there
are probably not far from 5000, 600
who are interested in the pursuit of
game. What this army of 5000, 600
hunters means to the large and small
game of America can better be mag
ined than described. Modern guns
and ammunition are of the very best,
and they are sold at prices so low as
TO be within the reach of all. Added
to these very efficient weapons for
killing small game are innumerable
devices for killing waterfowl, as
sneak boats, punt guns, swivel guns.
sail boats, steam launches. night
floating. night lighting and others.
The varieties of American game
duck given by Mr.. Henshaw are
| baldpate, Barrow goldeneye. black,
~bufhehead, king, Pacific, specialized
and Steller's elder, fulvous tree duck,
mallard, merganser, redhead, pintail,
scaup. scooter, canvasback, shoveller
and teal. OF canvasback he says:
The ~canvasbaek, perhaps the most
famous of American waterfowl, has
purchased it's fame at a price. Sc
highly is it priced by the epieure
that today he who a afford to dine
on ~canvasback set the mark of lux
urious living. Not that the canvas
back differs essentially from other
ducks, but it's exceptional flavor is
due to the fact that its favorite food
is wild celery a long, ribbon like
grass which grows in shallow ponds
and estuaries. As the plant roots
several feet under the surface, only
the diving ducks can secure it, and
the plebeian kinds have to be content
with such floating fragments as they
can pick up or can steal from theil
more a~ristocratic relatives. In Ore
gon and Washington, the c~anvasbach
lives much upon wapato. a bulb like
root formerly a staple article of food
among many Indian tribes. and their
exceptional flavor is said to be little
if any, inferior to that of the celery
fed canvasback of the east. Priced
alike by sportsmen and by epieure
the ranks of the canvasback have
been depleted by the relentless pur-
suit to which it has been subjected
However, the greater number ol
these ducks breed far to the north
ward, where they are safe, and under
present laws their number should in
crease to something like their former
abundance"
Despite this country's present vas
wealth in game birds, according tt
the writer, they would soon be sho'
away but for proper protection. As
1t is, he continues, the numbers o.
game birds today are quite insignih
cant when compared to the abund
anee of former days. Destruction o
former breeding places by drainage
and, more especially, the RELENTLESS
pursuit with firearms, are the causes
assigned for the falling off of sup
ply. Mr.. Henshaw writes:
THE statements of the earl,
chroniclers regarding the multitude
of ducks, plover and wild pigeons al
most defy belief. When, in the rec
ords of the first part of the last cen
olo-.dn- AE ninaaln