In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell

THE AUK

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF

ORNITHOLOGY

VOL. 56 JANUARY,1939 No. 1

IN MEMORIAM: GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL

Born September20, 1849--Died April 11, 1938

BY ALBERT KENRICK FISHER

Plates 1, œ IT seemsto be a recognizedfact that ornithologyin Americahas advanced further in intricate detail than in any othercountry, and suchaccomplish- ment shouldmake us feel justly proud. We in thesemodern times, however. cannotbut recognizethat our effortshave had little to do in buildingup the backgroundof our science. Thoseof us who worshipthe great out-of-doors shouldnot be unjustlycriticized if we are inclinedto be enviousof the experiencesof the early naturalistswho pushedinto the almostunknown wildernessand reapeda wonderfulharvest. In suchventures, with minds keyedup with enthusiasm,these men naturally gave little thoughtto hard- ship,suffering, or evenrisk of life, for anticipationof successand opportunity of unfoldingNature's secretsmade them think lightly of the unpleasant detailssure to creepin from time to time, or evenforget them. If we pass by the early ornithologicalpioneers and considerfor a momentthe activities of thoseattached to the PacificRailroad Surveys,or stationedat frontier army posts,it is easyto imaginetheir daily enthusiasmas beingsomewhat comparableto ours when we enter a new region where unfamiliar forms abound. Later on, beforeNature wasunbalanced by the ignorance,wanton- ness, or stupidity of man, and untrammeledby mechanicaladaptation, those attached to parties that went out under ClarenceKing, Hayden, General Custer, ColonelLudlow, and others,also helpedin moldingthe background. Amongthese was GeorgeBird Grinnell,the subjectof this paper,who passed beyond on April 11, 1938,in his eighty-ninthyear. 1 Born in Brooklyn,New York, September20, 1849, he was the son of GeorgeBlake and HelenLansing Grinnell. Amonghis ancestorswere five Colonialgovernors and Betty Alden, the first white womanborn in New

Photograph taken November 2, 1923. Tn• A•y•, VOL. 56 PLATE 1 2 FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell [AuktJan.

England. On August21, 1902,he marriedElizabeth Kirby Curtis, widow of Emery Leverett Williams,of Boston,who accompanied him on practically all the expeditionsof his later life, and who surviveshim. From about the beginningof easternrailroad construction and continuing through time, the building and extensionof the lines enabled people to leavecongested areas with comparativeease and to reachand build homes farther and farther in the country,following closely on the heelsof progress. In 1849,the year Grinnellwas born, the HudsonRiver Railroadcompleted its line between30th Street, New York City, and the villageof Peekskill,a distanceof aboutforty miles. This form of transportation,more comfort- able and rapid than stagecoaches, opened up the attractive country along the easternshore of the HudsonRiver. Not slowto take advantageof this opportunity,people settled northward along the river, my parentsamong them, goingas far north as SingSing in 1852. With this wave of migration, Grinnell'sparents moved to AudubonPark on the first of January 1857, about six years after the death of Audubon. Grinnell statesthat he was then a very small boy, about far enoughadvanced in polite learning to know A from B. At that time Madam Audubon conducted a little school for her grandchildren,which was attended alsoby someof the neighbors' children,of whom Georgewas one. It was his first attendanceat a school. The whole tract of AudubonPark, with the exceptionof two houses,be- longedto Madam Audubon. The family had abundanceof land, with much of it quite unsalable. Grinnellhad a vivid memoryof an occasionwhen he accompaniedhis father to seeMadam Audubonand concludethe purchase of a pieceof land, and of the great relief, satisfaction,and evengratitude, that sheexpressed to the elder Grinnellfor his willingnessto make the purchase. Madam Audubon gave Grinnell his first consciouslesson about birds. One of his early recollectionswas beingcalled from the breakfasttable one morningto look at a large flock of PassengerPigeons that was feedingin a dogwoodtree twenty-five or thirty feet from the house. Therewere so many of the birdsthat all couldnot alight in it, and many kept flutteringabout while othersfed on the ground,eating berries knocked off by thoseabove. When Grinnell was a little fellow, Madam Audubon identified for him a Red Crossbill,which he had caughtin a crab net. BeforeGrinnell was old enoughto own a gun, he killed with a borrowedone a GroundDove out of a flock, which was a northern record for the species. The painting of the Eagle and the Lamb that hung in Madam Audubon'sroom was willed by her to Grinnell, as he had admired and talked about it so much. In Grin- nell'swill he left this paintingtogether with a valuablecollection of Audubon manuscriptsto the National Associationof AudubonSocieties. Later Grinnellattended Churehill's Military Schoolat SingSing. As the Vol.1939 56]J FISHER,In Memoriam:George Bird Grinnell 3

lane whichled from the schoolarea to the woodsand fieldsof the country beyondbordered my homeproperty, we oftensaw the boyson their excur- sions. SinceGrinnell was a lover of the out-of-doors,and probablywent to the woodsoften, we undoubtedlymet without knowingthat later on we shouldbe the closestof friends. He left this schoolin 1866,and after a trip abroadentered Yale, wherehe receivedhis A.B. in 1870, Ph.D. in 1880, and Litt. D. in 1921. Like many of the happeningsof years ago, where positiverecords are lacking,it often is very difficultor even impossibleto rememberthe date when one first met an individual who later became a devoted friend. This is my experiencewith Grinnell. Grinnellwas not locatedin New York during the years1875-79 when the LinnaeanSociety of New York wasfounded and meetingswere held, and when my studiesat the Collegeof Physiciansand Surgeonswere carried to completion. Consequentlyour meetingwas sub- sequentto that period. Visits are recalledwhile he waseditor of 'Forestand Stream' and when he was host at his Audubon Park home. On one occasion, to get a better view of the interestingAudubon plates, host and guest spreadthe hugevolume on the parlorfloor, where they sat and enjoyedthem. In the summerof 1870 soonafter graduatingfrom Yale, Grinnell joined the party of O. C. Marsh to collectvertebrate fossils in the hostileIndian country, during a periodof six months. The areasvisited were fossilbeds in Nebraska,Wyoming, Utah and Kansaswhere a rich collectionof Pliocene andCretaceous material was secured. Hi continuedto make annual trips to the West, and in 1874shortly after he had goneto the PeabodyMuseum as assistantin osteology,he wasasked by ProfessorMarsh to take his place as Naturalist in the expeditionto the Black Hills, which was beingsent out under command of General Custer. In almosteveryone's life therehave beenoccasions when keen disappoint- ment prevailedbecause what was thought a minor affair, preventedthe accomplishmentof oneseemingly much more important. When time brought in its final analysis,however, it wasfound that the interventionwas a bless- ingin disguise,asotherwise dire happenings would have been the alternative. As a goodexample of this intangibleguidance of Nature, or in whateverway we wish to designateit, we will cite Grinnell'slast experiencewith General Custer, who had becomevery much attached to him during the Black Hills trip. As a consequence,Custer extended him an urgentinvitation to accompanythe 1876 Expeditionas Naturalist. The invitation would have beenaccepted with alacrity,as the experiencesof eachday wouldhave been teemingwith interest,but at the time, Grinnellwas assistantin osteology in the PeabodyMuseum, where there wereduties he considerednecessary to perform. Accordingly,he felt obligedwith deep regret to decline.the invitation. If the lure of the Westhad drawnhim awayfrom New Haven 4 FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell [•aUnk. on this occasion,he undoubtedlywould have figuredin the grand massacre that annihilatedCuster's command. This wouldhave beenan addedgrave tragedy,as the Indians would have lost a later staunchdefender, and the countryone of its finestnaturalists, one who was to be uppermostin ad- vancingconservation and kindred subjectsrelating to Nature and wildlife. The numerous letters he wrote to Doctor C. Hart Merriam and others are most interestingand contain much of wisdomand philosophy,often in direct reply to letters sent to him containinga recital of sometrouble, opinion,or grievanceor other outstandingsubject. The followingquota- tions from two of theseletters would seemwell to record:"One alwaysre- gretsthe opportunitiesfor doinggood that were missed,but on the other hand we flatter ourselveswith the thoughtthat we have tried to do the best, although of coursewe wish that our effortshad been attended with more success.""Even old peoplehave to sufferthese things [changed conditions of life] from time to time; I waspulled up by the rootsfrom AudubonPark and transplantedat East 15th Street. The changewould have been misery if I had permitted myself to think about and lament it. I did not think about it, and did not regret." In a letter in whichhe wasinformed of successin the accomplishmentof a rather importantand intricateproblem, he replied:"The conqueringof difficultiesis one of the chiefjoys of life." How aptly this shortsentence describeshis character! All throughhis active life whendifficult problems arosein conservation,wildlife protection,and Indian and other matters in which he had keen interest,he had sucha quiet, unassumingbut effective way of planningand carrying methodsof organizationleading to success, that he shouldbe considereda grandpast masterin the scienceof noology. In 1875, as Naturalist, he accompaniedthe expeditionunder Colonel William Ludlow that made a reconnaissance of the Yellowstone Park and adjacentterritory. His reportson the natural history of the region,es- peciallyrelating to the birds and mammals,are full of data of value and interest. Duringthis trip, he visitedsome of the localitiesin whichMerriam, the sixteen-year-oldnaturalist of the Hayden Surveyof 1872,had the good fortuneto explore,and to have the sameprivilege, not enjoyedby thoseof this generation,of gainingan insightinto the backgroundof ornithology. The listsof speciesGrinnell recorded as observedin the territory traversed by the expeditioninclude forty mammalsand 139 birds,in many cases,well annotated. He had also a nominal list of the mammals and birds of the YellowstonePark, consistingof Merriam'sobservations in 1872and his own madefour yearslater. The list of mammalsincluded thirty-three species and that of the birds eighty-one. His report was well receivedby zoologists,but what is perhapsits most significantstatement is found in the letter to Colond Ludlow which ae- •ol.1939 $6•.I FISHER,In Memoriam:George Bird Grinnell

companiedhis report. In it he wrote:"It may not be out of placehere to call your attentionto the terribledestruction of largegame, for the hides alone,which is constantlygoing on in thoseportions of Montanaand Wy- omingthrough which we passed.Buffalo, elk, mule-deer,and antelope are beingslaughtered by thousandseach year, without regard to ageor sex,and at all seasons Femalesof all thesespecies are as eagerlypursued in the spring,when just aboutto bringforth theiryoung, as at any other time. "It is estimatedthat duringthe winterof 1874-'75not lessthan 3,000elk were killed for their hidesalone in the valley of the Yellowstone,between the mouthof Trail Creekand the Hot Springs. If this be true, what must have been the number for both the Territories? Buffalo and mule-deer suffereven more severely than the elk, andantelope nearly as much It is certain that, unlessin someway the destructionof theseanimals can be checked,the largegame still soabundant in somelocalities will erelong be exterminated." This may be regardedas the keynoteof his careeras a conservationist, and from that time his strengthand his influencewere alwaysopposed to the wanton destruction of wildlife. We both weremembers of the memorableHarriman AlaskanExpedition of 1899 which gave a group of scientificand literary men an opportunity to enjoy the wondersof Alaska,and at the sametime to becomewell ac- quainted with one another. Three months of this closeassociation, during which the members,usually high authoritieson their subjects,conversed freely,produced combined information that almostequaled a collegecourse. This trip more strongly welded the friendshipof Grinnell and myself, a friendshipthat deepenedas time wenton. In 1881,accompanied by the late Dr. E. S. Dana of Yale, he madea longcanoe trip alongthe coastof British Columbia. A friend who was going to Charleston,South Carolina, in November1928, received somewhat of a surprisewhen Grinnell wrote that he wishedhe wasgoing with him ashe neverhad beenso far south. Know- ing him and the region,with its abundanceof game,it naturally had been assumedthat he wouldhave entered the realmsof the Southin followinghis favoritesport of bird shooting. After his return from YellowstonePark, Grinnellcontinued his protest againstthe terriblehavoc wrought by unscrupuloushunters, and warned the countrythat unlessthe destructionof theseanimals was checked in some way, the large game still so abundantin somelocalities would ere long be exterminated. Years of agitation followed before his recommendation broughtabout legislation making the killingof gamein the parksa punish- able crime. Throughmagazines, particularly 'Forest and Stream,'Grin- nell had foughttirelessly for the measure,and in March 1894,its passage was assured, 6 FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell [Jan.Auk

In December 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club, an associationof sportsmenwho are especiallyinterested in big gameand its conservation, was foundedby Doctor Grinnell,Theodore Roosevelt (then assemblyman in New York), and others,at a very opportunetime to assistin the fight then goingon to securethe enactmentof lawsfor the protectionof the big game. Grinnell was active in this association,gave long servicein its editorial work, and was its presidentfor ten years. The Club now has world-widerecognition for its progressiveactivities in securingbetter treat- ment and care of wildlife, and for this Grinnell shouldreceive considerable credit. AlthoughGrinnell was profoundly interested in wildlife,especially birds and big-gameanimals, as conservationist,naturalist, and sportsman,he alsowas devoted to the Indians and their welfare, and was a sincerestudent of their manners,customs and traditions. This interesthad its beginning in 1870, when he was associatedwith Pawnee scouts in a hostile Indian country. The majority of the twenty-six large volumesand numerous lesserpublications that he wrote are in part or wholly devoted to the Indians. Outstandingamong these is hismonumental work 'The Cheyenne Indians, their History and Ways of Life.' Grinnellwas an authority on the Plains Indians, especiallythe Blackfeet,Cheyennes, and Pawnees. If Grinnellhad not madeearly excursionsto the ruggedmountain regions of northwesternMontana in searchof big game,many moreIndians would havestarved in the "winter of death" (1883-84),the Blackfeetwould have failed to have him as Chief (in the early '90's), and GlacierNational Park would not exist. He becamevery much interestedin the Blackfeet,and gavethem substantial help. Whenhe heardthat the Indianswere starving throughthe rascalityof the Indian Agent,four hundreddying, he quickly got in touchwith Washingtonand food was hurriedfrom Fort Shawand Fort Benton which relievedconditions. The Agent who had made false reportswas dismissed.Frequently he visited Washingtonto seePresident Roosevelt,or the Secretaryof the Interior, to help in Indian troubles,and his friend GeorgeKennan assistedhim in promotingpublic sentiment in favor of the Indians. Grinnell'sgood deeds and sanecounsel endeared him to membersof the Blackfeettribe, and he wasbeloved by White Calf, the Chief. In January 1903, White Calf and a band of Blackfeetcame to Washington,but on the 27th, White Calf wastaken sickwith pneumoniaand died on the 29th. In a letter written on January31', Grinnell voiced his sorrowfor the lossof the noble Chief,and amongother things said: "A goodmany years ago [the early '90's]when in the big lodgein the centerof the circle,at the Medi- cineLodge in the ceremonialat whichall the Chiefswere present, he made me stand up by his side and told me that he now transferredto me the Vol.1939 56]J FIS}IER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell 7 care of the people,and henceforthI shouldbe the headchief of the tribe. I havetried hard to deservethe confidencehe put in me thenand later, but I have oftenfailed." Subsequentlyhe mademany trips to the agencyfor councilmeetings and pow-wows,and to give advice. In 1895, President Cleveland choseGrinnell as commissionerto deal with the Blackfootand BelknapIndians, and in 1902,President Roosevelt dele- gatedhim to settletroubles among the Indiansat StandingRock Reserva- tion, in North Dakota. In the winter of 1901-02, he becameinterested in CharlesLummis's idea of organizinga westernsociety, or league,to start a movementto give Indiansfair play. He suggestedthat we shouldfollow Lummis'slead for the present,and let him start and run the thingfrom the Southwest end. One of Grinnell'smost interestingstories and one that held his hearers' closeattention was of his experienceon the summerbuffalo hunt of the PawneeIndians in 1872. This was publishedin his first book, 'Pawnee Hero Storiesand Folk Tales,' in 1889. From 1899 to 1913, he wrote seven interestingbooks for boys,using 'Jack' as the hero. They were:'Jack the Young Ranchman';'Jack amongthe Indians'; 'Jack in the Rockies';'Jack the Young Canoeman';'Jack the Young Trapper'; 'Jack the Young Ex- plorer'; and 'Jack the Young Cowboy.' He onceremarked that one had had the distinguishedhonor of being read aloud by G. K. Gilbert and listenedto by Dr. C. Hart Merriam. In his writingshe sometimesused the nov, de pluv.e 'Yo.' His early associationwith Madam Audubonand the impressionof her teachingson his mind may have beenthe spark that kindledhis desireto found the first bird-proteetlveorganization, in 1886, whichhe called'The AudubonSociety.' It is understoodthat he personallymet the expenseof its publications.This movementresulted in the formationof the many State Audubon Societiesten years later. With the foundationof the National Associationof Audubon Societiesin 1905, he became one of its trustees. It progressivelygrew to an organizationof influenceand power in securingprotection for wildlife. Undoubtedlyhis wise and sanejudg- ment functioned as a balance wheel to offset the activities of intolerants, whostrongly advocated full protectionfor all gameanimals. It alwayshas beenthe strongopinion of the writerthat if in this countrysportsmanship were abolished,we would soonbecome an easyprey for any aggressive nation. Sportsmanshipwith all its activitiesis a potentfactor in develop- ing and producingmen of strength,courage, and character,qualities which serveas a safeguardagainst aggression. Grinnellis an outstandingexample of the true sportsman,and standsout in.sharpcontrast to the ruthlessand mercenaryhunters, known as 'game- hogs,'who sixty yearsago, when gamewas abundant,considered it inex- 8 FISUEI•,In Memoriam:George Bird Grinnell [Jan.Auk

haustibleand consequentlyslaughtered it to their hearts'content. Early in his careerGrinnell with keen foresightsaw that suchaction would eventu- ally meanextermination. In 'Forestand Stream'and risewherehe continu- ally calledattention to the danger, and gradually others,recognizing it, joinedwith him in an effortto controlthe abuse. Grinnellhad a prophetic vision,and hiskeen and activemind, coupled with theteaching of experience, seemedto enablehim by intuition or other creative vision to recognize future happenings,which if not corrected,would destroyor greatly injure important activities or resourcesof value to the nation. This formative powerenabled him to start to remedythe ills more or lesspotential, by enlighteningothers of the danger and thereby securingpublic sentiment againstthe evils. Doctor Grinndl was natural-historyeditor of 'Forest and Stream' from 1876 to 1SS0,operating from the PeabodyMuseum, in New Haven, but in 1880 he movedto New York and becameeditor-in-chief and presidentof the publishingcompany, positions which he held until 1911, when he sold the paper. As he was both naturalistand sportsman,it is no wonderthat the journal progressivelyimproved in all its departments. In a compara- tively short time the natural-historysection attracted the attention of zoologistsand becamepopular with them. He took great pains to insure accuracyand alwaysmade careful inquiry to removeany doubtregarding facts. With this care and foresight,the articlespublished became standard and receivedthe sameconsideration as thoseappearing in older scientific journals. The followingportion of a letter written to Doctor Merriamon April 11, 1878,from Yale CollegeMuseum, shows how early in his editorial careerhe startedto build up the natural-historysection: "Except for the fear of having the articlescut, I do not see why your membersshould not be willing to publishin Forestand Stream. I certainly would give them a recordof their paperscontaining any new facts, and I really think it has a certain standing,though, of course,as yet it is rather low amongnaturalists. If you look over the files,you will seethe namesof Baird, Coues,Gill, Allen, and othersamong our contributors,and in 'Birds of the Northwest'and 'Fur BearingAnimals,' Coues quotes frequently from our columns. I take a gooddeal of interestin the paper,outside of the fact that I am paid to write for it, and am anxiousto do anythingthat I can to raise its scientific standard."

The death of Edward RussellWilbur, part ownerof the Forest and Stream PublishingCo., July 30, 1905, addedmaterially to Grinnell'sduties. With the knowledgethat cooperationgives strength to a movement,the American Game Protective Associationwas founded in September1911. John B. Burnham, who had been the effectivehead of the New York Game AuK, VOL. 56 Pr•?• 2

GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL •ND MRS. GRINNELL IN CAMP WITH TIlE •LACKFEE•

THE OLD HOME IN AUDUBONPARK, BUILT ABOUT1857 Vol.1030 56]J FISHER,In Memoriam:George Bird Grinnell 9

Commission,was madepresident, and Grinnell was on the advisoryboard. This association,with its adjunctivebranch, the American Game Conference, broughta largenumber of sportsmentogether and becamea powerin game conservation. During the fight for the first •nigratory-birdlaw, and for the subsequent migratory-birdtreaty with Great Britain and the enablingact thereunder for Federalcontrol of migratorybirds, Grinnellrendered great assistance, and was on the advisorycouncil. In the winter of 1907,when a petulant congressman,inspired by a jealousmember of another bureau,tried to abolishthe BiologicalSurvey, Grinnell rendered fine and effectiveservice in telling of its goodwork and value. All inhabitantsof our countrywho have any interestin the out-of-doors, shouldbe more than gratefulto Grinnellfor his long-continuedefforts and final successin securingfor them the GlacierNational Park, whichwas ac- quired by an act of Congressthat receivedPresident Taft's signatureon May 12, 1910. This wonderfuland picturesquegroup of mountains,in- eludingthe continentaldivide in northwesternMontana, alwayshad beena favorite hunting groundof Indians and had been visited by three or four different tribes to obtain meat and hides. It was in 1885 that Grinnell, hearingthat it wasa wonderfulgame country, went there on a huntingtrip. So much was he charmedwith the regionthat he made subsequenttrips eachsummer from 1887for a numberof years,devoting his time to hunting, climbing,and exploring,and to the studyof the BlackfootIndians. In 1891, it occurredto him that the regionshould be setaside as a nationalpark. As MadisonGrant expressedit, "The GlacierNational Park, born in the brain of GeorgeBird Grinnell, in 1891, after nineteenyears of effort on his part, became an established fact." Grinnellnamed many mountain peaks, mainly on the easternslope of the divide, and in 1898 while on the summit of Blackfoot Mountain, he named Mount Cleveland,the highestpeakin the northernpart of the park,after the formerPresident. He discoveredthe glaciernow known as GrinnellGlacier, whichon a later trip wasnamed in his honorby LieutenantJ. H. Beaconof the Army, who also named Grinnell Mountain and Grinnell Lake. J.W. Schultz, who with otherswas with him when he discoveredthe glacier, states,"On the day we discoveredGrinnell Glacier,Grinnell killed a fine bighornram uponit, and we had a greatfeast that night." Grinnell,at the requestof the Blackfeet,was one of the three.commis- sionerswho treated with the tribe in the purchaseof their land includedin the proposedpark area. He held out for a just priceagainst the two others who advocateda muchlower amount. Grinnell'snoteworthy article, 'The Crownof the Continent,'giving an accountof the region,is to be foundiH the 'Century Magazine' for September1901. 10 FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell [jAaUnk'

When the telegramannouncing his death reachedthe Agency,and the old Blackfeetlearned of it, they camein numbersto expresstheir sorrowand to say that they all would have died long agoin 'starvationwinter,' but for him, 'Pinut-u-ye-is-tsim-o-kan-FisherHat.' Grinnellhad savedthem and had greatlyhelped them eversince. He was active in the foundingof the New York ZoologicalSociety of which he became one of the trustees. When the Boone and Crockett Club establishedthe New York ZoologicalPark in 1895, Grinnell amongother things,assisted in choosingthe site in the Bronx area. In lookingover this park and its collectionsafter forty years of progressivedevelopment, one feelsthat the Club has a right to be justly proud of its accomplishments. Grinnell was very active in the National Park Association,and in 1925, succeededHerbert Hoover as its president. He was the oldestliving member of the Union Club. Other club membershipsincluded the University, Century, Rockaway,Mayflower Descendants,Society of ColonialWars, Authors,Explorers, Narrows Island, Cosmos,and WashingtonBiologists' Field Club. He was a trusteeof the HispanicSociety of Americaand of the National Associationof AudubonSocieties, Fellow of the AmericanAssocia- tion for the Advancementof Science,American Ethnological Society, Ameri- can GeographicalSociety, the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, the American Ornithologists'Union, and a member of the American Society of Mammalogists,the New York Academyof Sciences,the Archaeological Institute of America,the New York Genealogicaland BiographicalSociety, and Psi Upsilon fraternity. For a number of years prior to his death, Grinnellwas president of the NarrowsIsland Club in North Carolina. Sofar as we can learn, Grinnellhad little interestin fishingas a sport,but of course,if necessary,would go through the formalitiesto insurea good campsupply of attractivefood. On the other hand, he was an ardentfol- lowerof the complementarysport with rifle and shotgun. The questof big game at one time, or of waterfowlor upland game birds at another,lured him to a great variety of localitiesand at timesto far-off places. His ability to absorband placeon paperthe interestingand valuablethings occurring in theseexperiences makes his books'American Duck Shooting'and 'Ameri- can Game Bird Shooting'masterpieces, most interestingand valuable to both veteransand amateurs. The presentwriter had the pleasureof reading the latter work in manuscript. In 1909, a few months after Grinnell departed from Audubon Park and took up new quartersin 15th Street,he invited me to stopwith him and remarked,"We cannotgive you solarge a back yard to play in as you had at AudubonPark, but can protectyou from the weather." The following April in a contentedmood he wrote,"It hasbeen a greatpleasure this spring to have seenmore of you than we commonlysee. This is somethingthat Vol.1939 56]J FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell 11

oughtto growrather than decrease.You as yet are a merekid, and I have alreadyfallen into the sereand yellowleaf, and my hold on the twig of llfe is loosening. To me, therefore,it seemsmuch to be able to seeold and dear friends,and I trust you will recognizethe existenceof this feeling,and will give and use this pleasurewhenever you can." We were eachinterested in joininga clubof whichthe otherwas a member,and consequentlywere very gladto exchangecompliments; thus, throughnomination each of the other, he became a member of the Cosmos Club and I of the Boone and Crockett Club. About 1906,Grinnell bought a pieceof propertyat Milford, Connecticut, containingafter severalsubsequent purchases approximately two hundred acres,of which ninety acreswere woodland,swamp, and stream,and the rest moreopen ground. Like many of us,he liked to be out of the din of the city and to receiverest and recreationin the woodsand fields. He and his wife almostalways spent their week-endsthere, walking about and some- timesshooting Ruffed Grouse and Woodcockin the swalesand Quail in the fields,for he alwayshad huntingdogs. In 1925, when he receivedthe RooseveltMemorial gold medal for dis- tingnlshedservice, President Coolidge, who presentedit, said:"You were with General Custer in the Black Hills and with Colonel Ludlow in the Yellowstone. You lived amongthe Indians;you becamea memberof the Blackfoottribe. Your studiesof their languageand customsare authorita- tive. Few havedone so much as you, nonehas done more, to preservevast areas of picturesquewilderness for the eyes of posterity in the simple majestyin which you and your fellow pioneersfirst beheldthem. In the YellowstonePark you preventedthe exploitationand, therefore,the destructionof the natural beauty. The GlacierNational Park is peculiarly your monument. As editor for thirty-five years of a journal devotedto outdoorlife, you have donea noteworthyservice in bringingto the menand womenof a hurried and harried age the relaxationand revitallzationwhich comesfrom contactwith Nature. I am glad to have a part in the public recognitionwhich your self-effacingand effectivelife has won." In a letter from Mr. Barrington Moore, who was a member and at one time secretaryof the National Parks AssociationCommittee, are somein- terestingdetails that showwhy victory came to Grinnell'sefforts which PresidentCoolidge so highly commended."At the time it lookedas if the invasionof the YellowstoneNational Park by the projectsfor damming YellowstoneLake wouldbe successful,as it had very strongpolitical sup- port. Of coursethis would have been disastrous,not only for the Yellow- stone, but as a precedentfor commercializingthe resourcesof all of the othernational parks. Dr. Grinnellthrough his past work in gameprotection and other conservationactivities and with his early backgroundof news- 12 FISHER,In Memoriam: George Bird Grinnell [zAaUnk' paper experience,had confidencein public opinion,if it could be educated and inducedto act." He cameto the defenseof the Yellowstoneby bringing togetherin the National Parks Associationa committeeof about twenty to twenty-fivemen of organizationsinterested in variousforms of conservation. It was an impressivegroup. After becomingsecretary, Mr. Moore saw a gooddeal of Dr. Grinnell,as therewas a lot goingon in whichthe committee couldbe helpful,and testifiedthat Grinnellbrought to every problemthe richbackground of his wide knowledge and experience. Moore remarked that the outstandingcharacteristics which one felt were his kindliness,his infinite patience,and his unshakablefaith in the eventual outcome;and that if thingswere goingwith discouragingslowness, he would say that it took years to passthe migratory-birdlaw or so many years to stop hunting in the Yellowstone. In summingup his character,we might very appropriatelyquote the last paragraphof Dr. Robert CushmanMurphy's editorial in the 'New York Herald-Tribune'of April 17, 1938:"Aside from Grinnell'sprophetic vision, his forthrightness,his scholarshipin the fieldsof zoologyand Indian eth- nography,and the drive that empoweredhim to carry so many causesto successfulconclusion, his outstandingpersonal characteristic was that of never-failingdignity, whichwas doubtlessparcel of all the rest. To meet his eye, feel his iron handclasp,or hear his calm and thrifty words--even when he was a man in his ninth decade--was to conclude that here was the noblest Roman of them all." Washington,D.C.