Commission of Conservation Canada

 SUPPLEMENT TO

 ANIMAL SANCTUARIES IN LABRADOR

 SUPPLEMENT TO AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY LT. -COLONEL WILLIAM WOOD, F. R. S. C. Before the Second Annual Meeting of the Commission of Conservation in January, 1911

 OTTAWA, JUNE 1912

 _Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador_

 SUPPLEMENT TO AN ADDRESS BY LT. -COLONEL WILLIAM WOOD OTTAWA, CANADA 1912

SUPPLEMENT TO AN ADDRESS ONAnimal Sanctuaries in Labrador

BY

LIEUT. -COLONEL WILLIAM WOOD, F. R. S. C. 

The appeal prefixed to the original _Address_ in 1911 announced theissue of the present supplement in 1912, and asked experts and otherleaders of public opinion to set the subject on firm foundations bycontributing advice and criticism. 

The response was most gratifying. The twelve hundred review copiessent out to the Canadian press, and the hundreds more sent out togeneral and specialist periodicals in every part of theEnglish-speaking world, all met with a sympathetic welcome, and wereoften given long and careful notices. Many scientific journals, likethe _Bulletin of the Zoological Society of America_, sportingmagazines, like the Canadian _Rod and Gun_, and zoophil organs, likethe English _Animals' Guardian_, examined the _Address_ thoroughlyfrom their respective standpoints. The _Empire Review_ has alreadyreprinted it _verbatim_ in London, and an association of outing menare now preparing to do the same in New York. 

But though the press has been of the greatest service in the matter ofpublicity the principal additions to a knowledge of the question havecome from individuals. Naturalists, sportsmen and leaders in publiclife have all helped both by advice and encouragement. Quotations froma number of letters are published at the end of this supplement. Themost remarkable characteristic of all this private correspondence andpublic notice, as well as the spoken opinions of many experts, istheir perfect agreement on the cardinal point that we are wantonlyliving like spendthrifts on the capital of our wild life, and that thegeneral argument of the _Address_ is, therefore, incontrovertiblytrue. 

The gist of some of the most valuable advice is, that while the_Address_ is true so far as it goes, its application ought to beextended to completion by including the leasehold system, side by sidewith the establishment of sanctuaries and the improvement andenforcement of laws. 

Such an extension takes me beyond my original limits. Yet, both forthe sake of completeness and because this system is a most valuablemeans toward the end desired by all conservers of wild life, Iwillingly insert leaseholds as the connecting link between laws andsanctuaries. 

But before trying to give a few working suggestions on laws, leaseholds and sanctuaries, and, more particularly still, beforegiving any quotations from letters, I feel bound to point out again, as I did in the _Address_ itself, that my own personality is really ofno special consequence, either in giving the suggestions or receivingthe letters. I have freely picked the brains of other men and simplyput together the scattered parts of what ought to be a consistentwhole. 

LAWS

It is a truism and a counsel of perfection to say so, but, to beeffective, wild-life protection laws, like other laws, must bescientific, comprehensive, accepted by the public, understood by allconcerned, and impartially enforced. 

To be scientifically comprehensive they must define man's wholeattitude towards wild life, whether for business, sport or study. Onegeneral code would suffice. A preamble could explain that the objectwas to use the interest, not abuse the capital of wild life. Then thenoxious and beneficial kinds could be enumerated, close seasonsmentioned, regulations laid down, etc. From this one code it would beeasy to pick out for separate publication whatever applied only to oneplace or one form of human activity. But even this general code wouldnot be enough unless the relations between animal and plant life werecarefully adjusted, so that each might benefit the other, wheneverpossible, and neither might suffer because the other was under adifferent department. If, in both the Dominion and Provincialgovernments there are unified departments of agriculture to aid andcontrol man's own domestic harvest, why should there not also beunified departments to aid and control his harvest of the wilds? A_Minister of Fauna and Flora_ sounds startling, and perhaps a littleabsurd. But fisheries, forests and game have more to do with eachother than any one of them with mines. And, whatever his designation, such a minister would have no lack of work, especially in Labrador. But here we come again to the complex human factors of threeGovernments and more Departments. Yet, if this bio-geographic areacannot be brought into one administrative entity, then the next bestthing is concerted action on the part of all the Governments and alltheir Departments. 

There is no time to lose. Even now, when laws themselves stop short atthe Atlantic, new and adjacent areas are about to be exploited withoutthe slightest check being put on the exploiters. An expedition isleaving New York for the Arctic. It is well found in all theimplements of destruction. It will soon be followed by others. And themusk-ox, polar bears and walrus will shrink into narrower and narrowerlimits, when, under protection, far wider ones might easily supportabundance of this big game, together with geese, duck and curlews. Itis wrong to say that such people can safely have their fling for a fewyears more. None of the nobler forms of wild life have any chanceagainst modern facilities of uncontrolled destruction. What happenedto the great auk and the Labrador duck in the Gulf? What happened tothe musk-ox in Greenland? What is happening everywhere to every formof beneficial and preservable wild life that is not being activelyprotected to-day? Then, there is the disappearing whale and persecutedseal to think of also in those latitudes. The _laissez-faire_ argumentis no better here than elsewhere. For if wild life is worth exploitingit must be worth conserving. 

There is need, and urgent need, for extending protective laws allalong the Atlantic Labrador and over the whole of the Canadian Arctic, where the barren-ground caribou may soon share the fate of thebarren-ground bear in Ungava, especially if mineral exploitation setsin. Ungava and the Arctic are Dominion grounds, the Atlantic Labradorbelongs to Newfoundland, Greenland to Denmark, and the open sea toall comers, among whom are many Americans. Under these circumstancesthe new international conference on whaling should deal effectivelywith the protection of all the marine carnivora, and be followed by aninter-dominion-and-provincial conference at which a joint system ofconservation can be agreed upon for all the wild life of Labrador, including the cognate lands of Arctic Canada to the north andNewfoundland to the south. 

This occasion should be taken to place the whole of the fauna underlaw; not only _game_, but noxious and beneficial species of everykind. And here both local experts and trained zoologists ought to beconsulted. Probably everyone would agree that flies, wolves andEnglish sparrows are noxious. But the indiscriminate destruction ofall mammals and birds of prey is not a good thing, as a general rule, any more than any other complete upsetting of the balance of nature. Agreat deal could be learnt from the excellent work already done allover the continent with regard to the farmer's and forester's wildfriends and foes. A migrating flight of curlew, snipe, plover orsandpipers is worth much more to the farmer alive than dead. But by nomeans every farmer knows the value of the difference. 

This is only one of the many reasons why a special effort should bemade to bring a knowledge of the laws home to everyone in the areasaffected, including the areas crossed by the lines of migration. 

The language should be unmistakeably plain. Every form of wild lifeshould be included, as wholly, seasonally, locally or otherwiseprotected, or as not protected, or as exterminable, with penalties andrewards mentioned in each case. All animals should be called by theirscientific, English, French, and special local names, to prevent thepossibility of mistake or excuse. Every man, resident or not, who usesrod, gun, rifle, net or snare, afloat or ashore, should be obliged totake out a license, even in cases where it might be given gratis; andhis receipt for it should contain his own acknowledgment that he has acopy of the laws, which he thoroughly understands. Particular clausesshould be devoted to rapacious dealers who get collecting permits asscientific men, to poison, to shooting from power boats or with swivelguns, to that most diabolical engine of all murderers--the Maximsilencer, --to hounding and crusting, to egging and nefarious pluming, to illegal netting and cod-trapping, and last, but emphatically notleast, to any and every form of wanton cruelty. The next step may beto provide against the misuse of aeroplanes. 

I believe it would be well worth while, from every point of view, topublish the laws, or at all events a digest of them, in all theprincipal papers. Even educated people know little enough; and no one, even down the coast, at the trading posts, or in Newfoundland, shouldhave the chance of pleading ignorance. "We don't know no law here"ought to be an impossible saying two years hence. And we mightremember that the Newfoundlanders who chiefly use it are really noworse than others, and quite as amenable to good laws impartiallyenforced. They have seen the necessity of laws at home, afterdepleting their salmon rivers, deer runs and seal floes to the dangerpoint. And there is no reason to suppose that an excellent populationin so many ways would be any harder to deal with in this one than thehordes of poachers and sham sportsmen much nearer home. 

Of course, everything ultimately turns on the enforcement of the laws. And I still think that two naturalists and twenty men afloat and thesame number ashore, with double these numbers when Hudson bay and theArctic are included, would be enough to patrol Labradorsatisfactorily, if they were in touch with local and leasehold wardensand with foresters, if the telegraph was used only on their side, ifthey and the general inspector were all of the right kind, and if thewhole service was vigorously backed up at headquarters. Two fast motorcruisers and suitable means of making the land force also as mobile aspossible are _sine qua non_. 

The Ungava peninsula, Hudson bay and Arctic together would mean amillion square miles for barely a hundred men. But, with closeco-operation between sea and land, they could guard the sanctuaries asefficiently as private wardens guard leased limits, watch the outletsof the trade, and harry law-breakers in the intervening spaces. Ofcourse, the system will never be complete till the law is enforcedagainst both buyers and sellers in the market. But it is worthenforcing, worth it in every way. And the interest of the wild lifegrowing on a million miles will soon pay the keep of the hundred menwho guard its capital. 

LEASEHOLDS

An article by Mr. W. H. Blake, K. C. , of Toronto, on "The LaurentidesNational Park" appeared in the February number of the _UniversityMagazine_. The following extracts have been taken from Mr. Blake'smanuscript:

"It was in the year 1895, that the idea took substance of settingapart some two thousand five hundred square miles of the wild andmountainous country north of Quebec and south of Lake St. John as 'aforest reservation, fish and game preserve, public park and pleasureground'. At a later date, the area was increased, until now some threethousand seven hundred square miles are removed from sale orsettlement. An important though indirect object was the maintenance ofwater-level in the dozen or more rivers which take their rise in thehigh-lying plateau forming the heart of the Park. 

"When the ice takes in early November the caribou make it their greatrallying ground. These animals, so wary in summer and early autumn, appear to gain confidence by their numbers, and are easily stalked andall too easily shot. It is to be feared that too great an annual tollis taken, and that the herd is being diminished by more than theamount of its natural increase. Slightly more stringent regulations, the allowance of one caribou instead of two, the forbidding ofshooting in December and January, when the bulls have lost theirhorns, would effect the result, and would ensure excellent sport inthe region so long as the Park exists and is administered as it isto-day. There is, however, very serious menace to the caribou in theunfortunate fact that the great timber wolf has at last discoveredthis happy hunting ground. Already it would seem that there are fewercaribou, but the marked increase in the number of moose may be onecause of this. Before the days of the Park the moose were almostexterminated throughout this region; but a few must have escapedslaughter in some inaccessible fastness, and under a careful andintelligent system of protection they have multiplied exceedingly. Manmay not shoot them, and probably only unprotected calves have anythingto dread from the wolves. 

"In the administration of this Reserve the government adopts a policywhich has shown admirable results; and as this policy is in directcontrast to the one pursued in the Algonquin Park it may beinteresting to explain and discuss it. It can be admitted, as a matterof theory, that a 'public park and pleasure ground' should bemaintained by the people for the people, and that no individualsshould have exclusive rights conferred upon them to fish or shootwithin it. This ideal conception takes no account of human nature, anda scheme that has to do with the control and conduct of men should notdisregard their weaknesses, or the powerful motive of self-interest. The greater part of the Laurentide Park is free to anyone who takesout a license and complies with certain regulations. But, at thepoints most threatened by poachers, the practice is followed ofgranting five-year leases of moderate areas to individuals and toclubs. The first requirement of these grants is that the lessee shallappoint a guardian, approved by the Department, and shall cause theconceded territories to be protected in an adequate manner. Theguardian, for his part, is immediately answerable to an individual whopays his salary. He contrasts his former precarious living as atrapper or poacher with the assured competence which he now earns moreeasily, and makes his election in favor of virtue. Thus he becomes afaithful servant both of the Government and his employer, and areally effective unit in the protection of the Park. The lessee, inturn, will neither practice nor tolerate any infringement of the lawswhich would imperil his lease, nor deplete of fish and game a countrywhich he intends to revisit. He would not necessarily be actuated bythese motives if he entered the Park casually and considered nothingbut his own sport or pleasure. It may be added that the lessee hasreasonable assurance of the extension of his privileges if they arenot abused and knows that he will be compensated for moneys properlyexpended if the Government sees fit not to renew his term. Theguardians co-operate with one another under the general guidance of amost competent inspector, and the striking increase in fish, fur andfeather is apparent not only in the region immediately protected butalso ouside its boundaries. Trappers who fought bitterly against beingexcluded from this part of the public domain now find that theoverflow of wild life into the surrounding country enables them tobring more pelts to market than they did in the old days, and havebecome reconciled. Guardians, gillies, carters, porters and canoemenlive in whole or in part, on providing fishing and shooting. Under noother arrangement could the conceded territory afford sport and aliving to so many people, and in no other way could the balancebetween resources and their exhaustion be so nicely maintained. "

On page 47, Mr. Blake corroborates the statement of the shameful act Imentioned at the bottom of page 18 of my _Address_. "On sighting aband of six caribou he bade his man sit down to give him a rest forhis rifle. He then fired and continued firing till all were killed. When his companion made to walk towards the animals, Sir ---- said tohim roughly:

"'Where are you going?'

"'To cut up the caribou. '

"'... I don't want them. '"

This game murderer killed three times as many as the prescribed limiton this one occasion. Yet nothing was done to him!

SANCTUARIES

However desirable they are from any point of view leaseholds are notlikely to cover much of Labrador for some time to come. They should beencouraged only on condition that every lessee of everykind--sportsman, professional on land or water, lumberman orother--accepts the obligation to keep and enforce the wild-lifeprotection laws in co-operation with the public wardens who guard thesanctuaries, watch the open areas and patrol the trade outlets. 

I have very little to add to what I said about sanctuaries in the_Address_. Most of the information received since it was published hasonly emphasized the points it made. And as no one has opposed and manyhave supported the establishment of the Harrington sanctuary I againrecommend it strongly. The 64 miles in a straight line between capeWhittle and cape Mekattina should be made into an absolute sanctuaryfor all birds and mammals. If some more ground can be taken in oneither side, so much the better. But the 64 miles must be kept in anycase. The Bird rocks and Bonaventure island, one of the Mingans, thePerroquets, Egg island and The Pilgrims, are all desirable in everyway. There are plenty of islands to choose from along the AtlanticLabrador and round Hudson and James bays. It is most important to keepthe migratory birds free from molestation during the first fortnightafter their arrival; and the same applies to migratory mammals, thoughnot quite in the same way. Inland sanctuaries should be made nearHamilton inlet, in the Mingan and Mistassini districts and up theEastmain river. Ultimately an Arctic sanctuary might be made oneither Baffin or Melville islands. A meteorological station in theArctic, linked up with Labrador by wireless, would be of great benefitto the weather forecasts, as we now have no reports from where so muchof our cold or mild winters are affected by the different drift ofenormous ice-fields; and whenever one is established, a wild-lifeprotection station should accompany it. 

Sanctuaries should never be too big; not one tenth of the whole areawill ever be required for them. But they should be placed where theywill best serve the double purpose of being natural wild "zoos" andover-flowing reservoirs of wild-life. The exact situations of most, especially inland, will require a good deal of co-operative studybetween zoologists and other experts. But there is no doubt whatever, that they ought to be established, no matter how well the laws areenforced over both leaseholds and open areas. Civilised man isappreciating them more and more every day; and every day he isbecoming better able to reach them. By giving absolute security to alldesirable species in at least two different localities we can keepobjects of Nature study in the best possible way both for ourselvesand our posterity. 

Only twelve years ago forty mills were debasing the immemorial andgigantic sequoia into mere timber in its last refuge in California. But even the general public sees now that this was a barbarous andidiotic perversion of relative values. What is a little perishabletimber, for which substitutes can be found elsewhere, compared with agrove of trees that will be the wonder and delight of generations?What is the fleeting but abominable gratification of destroying theharmless lizard-like Tuatera of New Zealand compared with the deepinterest of preserving it as the last living vertebrate that takes usback to Primary times? What is the momentary gratification of wearingegret feathers compared with the certainty of soon destroying theherons that produce them altogether; or what can compensate for thevile cruelty done to mutilated parent birds and starving young, or themurder of Bradley, the bird warden when trying to protect them?

LETTERS

The following quotations from a few of the many and wholly unsolicitedletters received are arranged in alphabetical order. They are strictly_verbatim_:

_Australia. _ The Animals' Protection Society. F. Montagu Rothery, Esq. , Secretary, 82 Pitt Street, Sydney, New South Wales. 

 Here in this State our _fauna_ and _flora_ are both rapidly disappearing, there being so many agencies at work for their destruction. It will soon be too late to save many of our beautiful birds and animals, and I am anxious to bring under notice your words for the preservation of animals by a system of sanctuaries. 

Dr. Robert Bell, late Chief Geologist, Geological Survey of Canada, who has made many explorations in Labrador and adjacent lands andwaters, and who has always given special attention to the mammals, writes:

 I approve very heartily of the plan. It will be a humane thing to try to protect the animals and will be very advantageous in every way. It will no doubt receive the sympathy of all classes. There will, however, be some difficulties to overcome and much work to be done before the plan gets into successful operation.... As to the location and dimensions of the sanctuary, the north side of the lower St. Lawrence is the most suitable or only region left, except where it is too far north to benefit the most of the mammals and birds which we should try to preserve. It will be desirable to reserve and protect as great a length of the shore as possible, but perhaps enough will be found between Bradore bay on the east and Great Mekattina island on the west, or this might be extended to Natashkwan. To carry it up to Mingan, it would become more and more difficult to protect the coast the further up you come. Between Mekattina island and Natashkwan, there are no attractive rivers to tempt trespassers to go inland, those which exist being difficult for canoe navigation.... 

 The animals soon find out where they are safe and come to live in even a small area. The Algonquin park is a case in point. There the bears have increased immensely in a few years and the less noticeable mammals and birds have also increased very much. I know of a more conspicuous case of a small area, on the Nelson river, where, owing to an old-standing superstition of the Indians, the animals have not been molested for a long period and they have become much more numerous than elsewhere.... Everything that can be killed is called Game. Most of it should be called animal murder and should be discouraged. 

 The Sanctuary should be placed in charge of a committee of naturalists. But zoologists are scarce in Canada and those who have taken an interest in the animals might be included. Faithful men to carry out their instructions I think can be found. 

The President of the Boone and Crockett Club, Major W. AustinWadsworth, Geneseo, N. Y. , wrote:

 I wish to express officially the admiration of our Club for your paper on Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador, because the whole question of Game Refuges has been one of especial interest to us and we have been identified with all movements in that direction in this country. 

Captain R. G. Boulton, R. N. , retired, was engaged for many years on theHydrographic Survey of the Lower St. Lawrence, the Gulf andNewfoundland. He says:

 There is no doubt, as regards the conservation of _birds_, that sea-birds, such as gulls, &c. , &c. , are useful "aids to navigation, " by warning the mariner of the proximity of land, on making the coast. On foggy shores, like those of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, they are especially useful, and it is to the advantage of the voyaging public to conserve what we have left. While carrying on the Survey of Georgian bay, and North channel of lake Huron, 1883-1893, the _Bayfield_, my surveying vessel, was more than once kept off the rocks in the foggy weather which prevails in May and June, by the chirping and warbling of land birds. 

His Excellency the Right Hon. James Bryce, British Ambassador atWashington, who is a keen botanist and lover of the wilds, writes:

 It is painfully interesting. One finds it hard to realize that such wicked waste of the gifts of Providence, and such horrible cruelty, should be going on in our time. You are doing a great service in calling attention to them and I heartily wish you success in your endeavours. 

At a special meeting of the Board of Governors of the Camp-Fire Clubof America, held on December 12th last, the following resolution wasunanimously passed:

 "_Whereas_, the Camp-Fire Club of America desires to express its interest in and endorsement of the plan for the establishment of Bird and Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador, outlined by Lieut. -Colonel William Wood in his address before the Commission of Conservation delivered at Quebec, in January, 1911;

 "We believe that the establishment of adequate sanctuaries is one of the most potent factors in the conservation of our rapidly disappearing wild life. The Camp-Fire Club of America has taken, and is taking, an active part in the movement for the establishment of such sanctuaries in various places. We believe that such sanctuaries should be established in Labrador in the near future, while an abundance of undeveloped land is available and before the wild life has been decimated to such an extent as to make its preservation difficult;

 "_Be it therefore Resolved_, that the Secretary convey to Colonel Wood the assurance of our hearty interest in and approval of the plan to establish adequate animal sanctuaries in Labrador, and our hope that such sanctuaries will be established in the near future. "

Dr. John M. Clarke, Director, Science Division, New York StateEducation Department, and a gentleman acquainted with the wild life ofthe gulf of St. Lawrence, writes:

 I have taken much interest in reading your paper. It seems to be based on an extraordinary acquaintance with the situation. 

 Canada is blessed with many unique natural resorts of animal life and I have been particularly impressed with the invasions that have been made on the wonderful nesting places of the waterfowl. In my repeated stays on the coast of Gaspe and the islands of the Gulf, now running over a dozen years, I have had my attention forced to the hideous sacrifices of bird life that are constantly going on; for example in the Magdalen islands with their extraordinary array of shore birds. The great lagoons within the islands afford ideal breeding conditions, and an extraordinary attraction for the hunter as well. 

 My observation leads me to the conviction that the shooting law is not in the least respected on these islands, except perhaps by the residents themselves. In some cases the outsider is obliged to wait for the fall migration of the ducks and geese and so comes within the law, but there are plenty of early migrants that arrive during the close season, only to be quickly picked up by the summer hunter, who realizes that he is too far away to incur the law's force. 

 As far as the shore birds are concerned, it is not the occasional hunter that does the real damage. The islands are becoming widely known to students of birds, and it is the bird student, the member of the Audubon Society, (in most instances, I regret to say, men of my own country) who are guilty of ruthless slaughter of the shore birds for their skins, and particularly for their eggs; all this in the protected season. 

 The situation is even worse on the Bird rocks. That is a protected area and yet is subject to fearful attacks from the egg hunters. I do not mean the commercial "eggers, " but the member of the Audubon Society who has a collection of birds' eggs and skins and wants duplicates in order to enter into exchange with his colleagues. I met there on one of my visits an American "student" who had taken 369 clutches of eggs of each of the seven or more species of waterfowl there breeding, thus destroying at one swoop upwards of two thousand potential birds. It is no wonder that, with such a hideous desecration of the rights of the birds, the population of the Rocks is rapidly decreasing. 

 I believe the light-keeper is supposed to be a conservator of the birds and to prevent such uncontrolled destruction; but what can he do, a man who is practically exiled from the rest of his race for the entire year, frozen in for six months of the year? He is naturally so overjoyed at the sight of a fellow creature from the big world outside as to indulge him, whatever his collecting proclivities may be. The eggs that are taken by the occasional sailor seem to me to cut no figure at all in the actual diminution of the bird life there. That is a slender thing compared with the destruction caused by the bird students. It is a severe indictment of the ornithologist that such statements as the foregoing happen to be true. 

 Almost as remarkable for its number of waterfowl of the same species is the roost on the east cliffs of Bonaventure island. These have fortunately been rendered by Nature, thus far, inaccessible and the bird men have not yet found a way of getting among them. Yet, even so, there is constantly a great deal of reckless shooting at the birds simply for the sake of "stirring them up. " This place is not protected by law, I believe, as a special reservation, but that might easily be brought about if the matter were placed in the hands of some responsible citizen residing on that island. 

 There is a happy situation in connection with the great Percé rock at Percé, on the top of which the gulls and cormorants have kept house for untold generations. These birds are a constant temptation to the men with a gun, but the Percé people are so attached to the birds that no one would ever think of killing one, except the occasional French fisherman who will eat a young gull when hard pressed. Any attempt made by outsiders to use the birds as targets is resented so strongly that even the cormorants are let live. 

 Your address seems to me timely and extremely pertinent. I hope your proposition may receive more than passing attention and the suggestions therein be made effective, for they certainly aim to maintain the natural attractions and the natural resources of the country. 

Mr. Napoleon A. Comeau, author of _Life and Sport on the North Shore_, and one who has had fifty years' practical experience within theLabrador area, writes from Godbout River, Que. :

 I trust your good work will be crowned with success. A lot of good has already been accomplished by the spreading of literature on this subject by the Audubon Society, the A. O. U. And others, but much remains to be accomplished. It has always been my aim in this section to prevent wanton destruction of all kinds and I am glad to say I have had considerable success in educating our younger generation here. Small birds of all kinds used to be wantonly killed by boys, a thing I rarely see now--it was the same in the other ways by men--but I must say that _real_ trappers or Indians are not the worst by any means. These men will kill at all times and seasons but only through necessity; strangers and so-called sportsmen are generally the offenders. I have been a trapper myself for years, a professional, but had been taught never to kill wantonly.... Of course, much study and care must be exercised in preserving species of birds and animals from destruction, or else, as you say, mistakes may be made. There are species of such that are destructive to others when allowed to increase beyond certain limits, and it takes a very short time to do that in some cases.... About three years ago, ruffed grouse were so scarce everywhere that I have travelled hundreds of miles without seeing one. They were protected by law, which no doubt did much near the densely populated sections, but as far as our coast was concerned did absolutely nothing because Indians and trappers shot them on sight for food. Last year there were a few seen here and there and all at once, during the present season, there are thousands. Hundreds have been shot and they are reported abundant all over. I imagine this must be due to particularly favourable weather conditions and the immense number of foxes trapped last winter. There is also this fall, an extraordinary number of muskrats--they are swarming everywhere, even in totally, unfavourable localities, doing much damage in some places. What is the cause of this? Presumably it must be through some cause decreasing the number of their enemies. This is why I think much care must be taken before any steps are taken to protect certain species. Some still hold their own against all odds. 

His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, Governor General of Canada, acknowledged the receipt of the _Address_ from Balmoral Castle inSeptember, granted an interview at Ottawa in December, and authorizedthe use of his name to show his sympathy with the movement. 

Dr. W. T. Grenfell has a long and most intimate knowledge of theAtlantic Labrador. He writes:

 The matters of animal preservation which interest me most are: The rapid decline in numbers of harp seals which we Northern people can get for our boots and clothing. This food and clothing supply, formerly readily obtainable all along the Labrador, helped greatly to maintain in comfort our scattered population. It is scarcely now worth while putting out seal nets. We attribute this to the destruction of seals at the time of their whelping, by steamers which are ever growing larger and more numerous. No mammal, producing but one offspring can long survive this. 

 Along the Labrador coast east of the Canadian border, birds are destroyed on sight and nests robbed wherever found. The laws are a dead letter because there is no one to enforce them. 

 There is great need also for scientific inquiry with regard to the fisheries--the herring and mackerel are apparently gone, the salmon are getting scarcer, and the cod fisheries have been failing perceptibly these past years. Yet there is no practical effort made to discover the reason and obviate it. 

On the 9th of September, 1911, Earl Grey made the following entry inthe visitors' book at La Roche:

 I desire to thank the provincial government of Quebec for having given me the opportunity of visiting, as their guest, the Laurentides National Park, and to acknowledge the great pleasure which I have derived from all I have seen and done.... I would also like to congratulate them on the wisdom of their policy in establishing so large a reserve, as a protection for various breeds of wild animals which would otherwise be in danger of extinction, and as a place of rest, refreshment, and recreation for those who love the quiet of the wilds. 

Mr. George Bird Grinnell, one of the greatest authorities in the worldon the Indian and wild life of North America, writes:

 I have recently read with extraordinary interest your address, presented last January to the Commission of Conservation.... 

 I wish to offer you my personal thanks for the effective way in which you have set forth the desirability of establishing wild-life refuges in Labrador, and I trust that what you have said will start a movement in Canada to carry out this good project. It has long interested me to know that your people and their officials seem much more farseeing than those on this side of the line, and Canada's show of national parks and reservations is far more creditable than that of her neighbour to the south. 

Dr. H. Mather Hare, who does on the Canadian Labrador what Dr. Grenfell does on the Newfoundland or Atlantic Labrador, and whoseheadquarters are at Harrington, where the first coast sanctuary oughtto be established at the earliest possible moment, says:

 May I make a suggestion? The fishermen coming here from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland do not believe there is really a law against egging and shooting. They say it is a put-up job by the people living on the coast, because they want all the eggs and birds themselves. This being the case, would it not be a good idea to have a notice in several of the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland papers warning the fishermen against breaking the law, and in this way putting the interdiction on a legal footing; so they may understand that it is not a mere bluff on the part of the people living on the coast. So far there has been nothing but talk, and nothing official; no arrest made, etc. , so one can hardly blame them for the position they take, especially as they have been doing the same thing for many years. 

 The notice should be very clear and penalties set forth plainly. 

Mr. W. T. Lindsay, M. E. , who has travelled thousands of miles throughLabrador, writes:

 I have spent two summers in the north eastern wilderness of Quebec and can fully appreciate your suggestions. 

 I take the liberty of sending you a copy of an "interview" by the _Montreal Witness_ upon my return in 1909, by which you will see that I am in accord with your views, _i. E. _, unless the Government takes immediate steps to protect the wild animals in the Province of Quebec, many of them will become extinct.... 

 I would suggest that the Commission of Conservation make a close investigation of the _ways and means_ of the fur traders along the north shore, and I believe that official, unbiassed and independent investigation will expose a very peculiar state of affairs in connection with the mal-conservation of game. 

Mr. Clive Phillips-Wolley, the well known authority on big-game sport, writes from Koksilah, Nanaimo, B. C. , Canada:

 ... Of course I agree with your views: we have in this Province been doing our best to put them in practice with the most excellent results. Dr. W. T. Hornaday stirred us up, and, though we did not put our sanctuaries exactly where he suggested we took a hint from him and have been rewarded by an extraordinary increase in big-horns, wapiti and other big game. I, of course, have shot a great deal as a big game hunter, but, thank God, I don't remember one wanton kill, and I know I have not killed one per cent. Of the beasts I might have done. No one wants to.... 

The Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, ex-President of the United States, writes:

 I desire to extend my most earnest good wishes and congratulations to the Commission of Conservation of Canada. Your address on the need of animal sanctuaries in Labrador must appeal, it seems to me, to every civilized man. The great naturalist, Alfred Russell Wallace, in his book, "The World of Life, " recently published, says that all who profess religion, or sincerely believe in the Deity, the designer and maker of this world and of every living thing, as well as all lovers of Nature, should treat the wanton and brutal destruction of living things and of forests as among the first of forbidden sins. In his own words, "All the works of Nature, animate or inanimate, should be invested with a certain sanctity, to be used by us but not abused, and never to be recklessly destroyed or defaced. To pollute a spring or a river, to exterminate a bird or a beast, should be treated as moral offences and as social crimes. Never before has there been such widespread ravage of the earth's surface by the destruction of vegetation, and with it, animal life, and such wholesale defacement of the earth. The nineteenth century saw the rise and development and culmination of these crimes against God and man. Let us hope that the twentieth century will see the rise of a truer religion, a purer Christianity. " I have condensed what Mr. Wallace said because it is too long to quote in full. He shows that this wanton and brutal defacement of Nature, this annihilation of the natural resources that should be part of the National capital of our children and children's children, this destruction of so much that is beautiful and grand, goes hand in hand with the sordid selfishness which is responsible for so very much of the misery of our civilization. The movement for the conservation of our natural resources, for the protection of our forests and of the wild life of the woods, the mountains and the coasts, is essentially a democratic movement. Democracy, in its essence, means that a few people shall not be allowed for their own selfish gratification, to destroy what ought to belong to the people as a whole. The men who destroy our forests for their own immediate pecuniary benefit, the men who make a lifeless desert of what were once coasts teeming with a wonderfully varied bird life, these, whether rich or poor, and their fellows in destruction of every type, are robbing the whole people, are robbing the citizens of the future of their natural rights. Over most of the United States, over all of South Africa and large portions of Canada, this destruction was permitted to go on to the bitter end. It is late now, but it is not too late for us to put a stop to the process elsewhere. What is being done in Labrador is substantially what was done, and is still, in places, being done in Florida. A resolute effort is now being made by the Audubon Societies, and all kindred organizations, to stop the waste in the United States. Great good can be done by this effort, for there is still very much left to save in the United States. But there is very much more left to save in Canada. Canada has taken the lead in many matters of far-reaching importance to the future welfare of mankind, and has taught other nations much. She can teach no more important lesson to other nations, and incidentally, she can benefit herself in no more striking way, than by resolutely setting to work to preserve her forests, and the strange and beautiful wild creatures, both beasts and birds, of her forests and her sea-coasts. Labrador offers one of the best of all possible fields for such work. The forests, the wild beasts and wild birds of Labrador can be kept perpetually as one of the great assets of Canada; or they can he destroyed in a spirit of brutal and careless vandalism, with no permanent benefit to anyone, and with the effect of ruining the country and preventing its ever becoming what it otherwise would become. The economic argument is by no means the only argument, and, in my eyes, is hardly the most important argument for preserving the forests and wild life of Labrador, as your Commission desires to preserve them, but it is in itself so important that, even though there were no other reason to be adduced, it would amply warrant the taking of the action you recommend. I extend you my warmest good wishes for the success of your movement. 

Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton writes:

 ... Your most interesting and convincing address on _Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador_. You certainly have hit the nail on the head. It is now demonstrated by experiments in many parts of the world that the only sure way to preserve indefinitely a supply of wild animals is by giving them well-placed, well-selected sanctuaries, wherein at all seasons they are safe. I am delighted to know that you are taking up this important matter with such vigor. 

_South Africa_. Major Hamilton, Superintendent, Transvaal GovernmentGame Reserves, Koomatipoort, says:

 I have been much interested in reading Col. Wood's address. They seem to have the same difficulties to contend with there as we have here, _i. E. _, ignorance and apathy of the public, and active opposition from those with axes to grind. 

Major Hamilton encloses the _Regulations under Section_ 4 _of the GamePreservation Ordinance_, 1905, (C)--_Reserves_. By these it appearsthat "owners of private land situate in a Reserve or persons havingthe permission in writing of such owners shall have free access toevery part of such land. " But routes of access in the Reservegenerally are exactly defined and must be followed. Penalties up to£50 may be imposed for the infraction of any one of six differentclauses. Major Hamilton also says:

 The Game Sanctuaries of the Transvaal stretch along the eastern border of the Province for a length of 250 miles with an average breadth of 50 miles. 

 They are in charge of a Warden under whom are six Rangers. Five of these Rangers are in charge of each of one of the five areas into which the Reserves are divided, four for the Sabi Reserve and one for the Singwitsi Reserve, and each has at his disposal a force of 12 native rangers or police. The sixth Ranger is specially employed in the capture of live animals for zoological purposes, the destruction of vermin and for any emergency duty which may arise. His headquarters are, therefore, within easy reach of the Warden. 

 The Warden has, further, in the districts included in the Game Reserve, the powers of a Resident Justice of the Peace, a Sub Native Commissioner, and a Customs Officer, while the Rangers, white and native, have the full powers and duties of police. The area is therefore quite self-contained, and at the Warden's headquarters, are police barracks, court house and lock-up, and a post of the Transvaal police in charge of a corporal is permanently stationed there. The special by-laws which are enforced are set forth in the attached slip. There are about 4, 000 natives, all told, resident within the area. Most of them have been admitted as residents on condition of their giving assistance to the staff, and hold their tenure conditionally on their behaviour. This system has been found to work admirably, for, while practically no harm is done by these residents, very considerable assistance has been obtained from them in detecting poachers. 

 All carnivorous mammals are treated as vermin and are systematically destroyed. 

 No shooting or hunting of any kind is permitted in the Reserve, and in fact members of the public except on special permit are not allowed to carry firearms or to leave certain main tracks. 

 The species of game mammals found are as follows: Elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, sable and roan antelope, kudu, water buck, blue wilde-beest, impalla, reed buck, bush-buck, steenbok, duiker, klipspringer, mountain reed buck, red duiker. 

 Of game birds there are: five kinds of francolin, two kinds of knorhaan, sand grouse, quail and crested paauw. 

 The most destructive of the carnivora are lions, leopards, chitas, hunting dogs, caracals and servals. 

 Baboons, porcupines, &c. , being destructive in various ways, are considered to be vermin. 

 Vermin have perceptibly decreased during the last few years, in spite of the fact that the game has increased at the rate of fully 10 per cent, per annum. 

 About 1, 500 head of vermin, on an average, are destroyed annually. The figures for 1910 included 21 lions, 24 leopards, 31 wild dogs, &c. , the balance being made up of chetahs, caracals, servals, civets, genets, wild cats, hyenas, jackals, otters, baboons, crocodiles, pythons and birds of prey. 

 There were 133 prosecutions for infringement of the regulations, all against natives. 

Dr. Charles W. Townsend, Boston, Mass. , an eminent ornithologist, says:

 I have just read with much interest your Address on _Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador_, and wish to tell you how fully I agree with you, not only as to the importance of stopping the destruction in Labrador before it is too late, but also in the value of animal sanctuaries in general and of Labrador in particular. I sincerely hope you will succeed in your good work. 

 In the _Birds of Labrador_, 1907, Boston Society of Natural History, by Mr. Glover, Mr. Allen and myself, we called especial attention to the great destruction of life that has gone on and is still going on there, and we suggested the protection of the eiders for their down, as is done in Norway, instead of their extermination, the present course. 

Commander W. Wakeham, of the Department of Marine, says:

 No one can question the desirability of having certain areas set apart, where wild animals may find asylum, and rest.... 

 A few years ago, from some unusual cause, the woodland caribou, in great numbers, visited that part of Labrador, east of Forteau, and along down as far as St. Charles. A large number were there killed by the white settlers--but this was a solitary, and exceptional year. The Indians who hunt in the interior of Labrador undoubtedly do kill a large number of these caribou; but, when we consider the great extent of country over which these deer migrate, compared with the comparatively small number of Indians--and there is a steadily decreasing number--I can hardly believe that there is much fear of their ever exterminating these deer. Then, could we possibly prevent these Indians from hunting the deer wherever they meet them? I hardly think we could. The barren-ground caribou are not hunted to any extent by whites. During the month of August, the Eskimo of the Ungava peninsula, as well as those in Baffin island, resort to certain fords, or narrows where these caribou usually pass at the beginning of the fall migration. They kill considerable numbers--rather for the skins as clothing, than for food. But the Eskimo are few in number, and I cannot conceive that there is any fear of these caribou ever being greatly reduced in number by these native hunters. Any one who has ever met a herd of barren-ground caribou, and seen the countless thousands of them, could hardly conceive of their ever being exterminated. Nor would they be if we had to deal only with the native hunters. But, with our experience of what happened to the buffalo when the white man took up the slaughter, we must take precaution in time. 

 Up to the present, very few white men have penetrated any distance into the interior of the Labrador peninsula, and I do not see that they are very likely to, in the near future. But we never can tell. A few years ago we would have said the same of the Yukon region, so that it would be a wise precaution to have set apart a considerable section of the Labrador, in the interior, as a sanctuary.... It would perhaps be better to have two regions set apart, one near the Saguenay country and another nearer the Atlantic coast. We have, however, to consider the fact that sanctuaries will be of no value unless they are well guarded. 

 In the case of the birds the conditions are bad; the destruction on the Labrador is horrible to contemplate. The outer islands were scoured by crews from foreign vessels, and whole loads of eggs carried off. There has not been much of this done in recent years. There can he no doubt that, if certain of the larger and less inhabited islands were set apart, and carefully protected, the birds would return to them. I believe that owing to the constant way in which the birds--eider ducks, certain of the divers, gulls, &c. , were disturbed, on their natural and original nesting places, they have changed their habits; and, instead of nesting on the islands and by the sea, they have moved to the shores of the interior lakes. You see flocks of young birds in the fall; they have come from the interior, as they were not hatched out on the islands as they used to be. 

 The destruction of geese and curlew does not take place on the Labrador. These birds are not disturbed on their nesting grounds; but, to the south and west when they are passing to their winter haunts. Geese are found feeding on the hill-sides, on the most distant and northern islands--as far north as any of our explorers have gone. The first birds Sverdrup met as he was coming south, in the early spring, were wild geese. These birds are not disturbed on their breeding grounds. The Eskimo do not meddle with them. In the same way caribou are found feeding about the shores of Hudson bay and strait. Like the geese, they feed on berries about the hill sides. I have shot them at the mouth of Churchill river, and near cape Digges in August, when they were very fat--so fat that it is said that, on falling on hard ground, they would burst open; though this did not actually happen in my case. I certainly think that it would be a grand thing to have certain groups of islands--or even certain sections of coast--set apart as bird sanctuaries. 

 Your paper deals entirely with conditions in Labrador. There is, however, another part of the Gulf coast, where the need of protection is much greater than on the Labrador. That is the interior of the Gaspe peninsula. A certain region in the interior has been set aside as a park, but it is quite unprotected. Here, we have moose, woodland caribou and the red deer, besides nearly all the fur-bearing animals that we find on the Labrador. There is no game protection whatever. Moose and caribou are killed mostly out of season--when they are yarded, or when it is easy to run them down. In many cases the meat is left in the woods, the hide only being wanted. Lumbermen are penetrating up the rivers, further into the interior--every lumber camp is a centre from which the game laws are persistently violated.... The game, both fur and feather, (particularly the ruffled grouse) is rapidly disappearing before their pitiless onslaughts. Lumber camps are opened much earlier in the season than they used to be; so that the interior lakes and head waters of the rivers are being cleaned out of fish taken while in the act of spawning. All this may seem very strong language; but it is really not exaggerated. It may help to show the need of more and better conservation.... 

Mr. Alfred Russell Wallace, the founder and exponent of the science ofzoo-geography, writes:

 ... Your address on "Animal Sanctuaries" in Labrador, which I have read with the greatest interest and astonishment. Such reckless destruction I should hardly have thought possible. 

 There is a considerable public opinion now against the use of feathers as _ornaments_[A] because it inevitably leads to the extermination of some of the most beautiful of living things; but I think the attempts to stop it by legal enactments begin at the wrong end. They seek to punish the actual collectors or importers of the plumes, who are really the least guilty and the most difficult to get at. It is the actual _wearers_ of such ornaments who should be subject to fines or even imprisonment, because, without the _demand_ they make there would be no supply. They also are, presumably, the most educated and should know better. If it were known that any lady with a feather in her hat (or elsewhere) would be taken before a magistrate and _fined_, and, on a second offence, _imprisoned_, and if this were the case in the chief civilized countries of Europe and America, the whole trade would at once cease and the poor birds be left in peace. 

 You have, however, treated the subject very carefully and thoroughly, and I hope your views will be soon carried out.... 

 I am glad to hear that Mr. Roosevelt is a reader of the "World of Life. " My own interest is more especially in the preservation of adequate areas of the glorious tropical and equatorial forests, with their teeming and marvellous forms of life. 

Numerous other letters from all parts of the world expressingappreciation of the _Address_ have been received, the correspondentsexpressing strong approval of the effort to establish AnimalSanctuaries in Labrador. The names of some of the correspondents aregiven herewith:

Sir Robert Baden-Powell, London; Prof. H. T. Barnes, Montreal; JulienCorbett, London; Rudyard Kipling; Lord Stamfordham, London; Sir JamesLeMoine, Quebec; J. M. Macoun, Ottawa; Henry F. Osborn, New York;Madison Grant, New York. 

_Note. _--As a postscript I might add that the owner of part of a verydesirable little archipelago, not far from the Saguenay, has alreadyoffered to give the property outright if a suitable sanctuary can bemade out of the whole. This is all the more encouraging because such agift involves the refusal of an offer from a speculative purchaser. May others be moved to do the same!

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: Mr. Wallace refers to feathers like egrets, not thepermissable kinds, like ostrich plumes. ]