Page 124 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

102 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
Shields, President of the League of American Sportsmen, quickly became interestedinthematter,andenteredactivelyintothecampaign. For months unnumbered, he spent every Sunday patroling the woods and thickets of northern New York and Westchester county, usually accom- panied by John J. Rose and Rudolph Bell of the Zoological Park force, for whom appointments as deputy game wardens had been secured from the State.
The adventures of that redoubtable trio of man-hunters would make aninterestingchapter. Theywereshotatbypoachers,butmorefre- quentlytheyshotattheotherfellows. Justwhyitwasthatnoonewas killed, no one seems to know. Many Italians and several Americans were arrested while hunting, haled to court, prosecuted and fined. Fi- nally,areignofterrorsetin;andthatwasthebeginningoftheend. It became known that those three men could not be stopped by threats, and that they always got their man—unless he got into a human rabbit- warrenoftheItalianboarding-housespecies. Thatwastheonlyescape that was possible.
The largest haul of dead birds was 43 robins, orioles, thrushes and woodpeckers, captured along with the five Italians who committed the indiscretionofsittingdowninthewoodstodividetheirdeadbirds. We saved all the birds in alcohol, and showed them in court. The judge fined two of the Italians $50 each, and the other three were sent to the penitentiary for two months each.
Even yet, however, at long intervals an occasional son of sunny Italy tries his luck at Sunday bird shooting; but if anyone yells at him to "Halt!" he throws away his gun and stampedes through the brash like a frightened deer. The birds of upper New York are now fairly secure; but it has taken ten years of fighting to bring it about.
Throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecti- cut, Massachusetts, and even 'Minnesota, wherever there are large settle- mentsofItaliansandHungarians,thereportsarethesame. Theyswarm through the country every Sunday, and shoot every wild thing they see. Wherever there are large construction works,—railroads, canals or aque- ducts,—look for bird slaughter, and you are sure to find it. The excep- tion to this rule, so far as I know, is along the line of the new Catskill aqueduct, coming to New York City. The contractors have elected not to permit bird slaughter, and the rule has been made that any man who goes out hunting will instantly be discharged. That is the best rule that ever was made for the protection of birds and game against gang-working aliens.
Let every state and province in America look out sharply for the bird-killing foreigner; for sooner or later, he will surely attack your wild life. The Italians are spreading, spreading, spreading. If you are withoutthemto-day,to-morrowtheywillbearoundyou. Meetthem at the threshold with drastic laws, throughly enforced; for no half way measures will answer.
Pennsylvania has had the worst experience of alien slaughterers of