Blue Jay, Vol.73, Issue 4

HOW FARLEY MOWAT CHANGED MY LIFE C. Stuart Houston, 863 University Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0J8 Farley Mowat, newly demobilized Mowat’s 1946 field diary, still from the Canadian Army after on extended loan, reveals that World WarTwo, used his Canadian he collected specimens in the Army gratuities to purchase an Dundurn area from 8 to 30 May, open Jeep. He headed west the Montreal Lake area from 3 in 1946 to gather material for June to 14 July and then arrived his planned work, the Birds of at Yorkton in his open Jeep on 17 Saskatchewan. A veteran of one July. Following Isabel Priestly’s pre-war collecting trip for the untimely death, Mowat had to Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology settle for a sharing of plans with (ROMZ), Mowat this time had only me, a young lad not yet nineteen. his expenses paid in return for My summer employment was my collecting additional specimens fourth year of banding ducks for for the museum. Ducks Unlimited; I had just been accepted into first year medicine at Before he came west, Mowat the University of Manitoba. Mowat wrote to Mrs. Isabel M. Priestly, declined DrSigga Houston’s offer the founder (four years earlier) of a bedroom upstairs at 82 Fourth and first editor of the Blue Jay. Avenue, Yorkton; he preferred to Each of Farley’s letters and place his folding camp cot in the envelopes were “banged off’ on one basement room that sported his antiquated typewriter. His a wooden floor, the meeting room introductory letter of 26 March for the Eagle Patrol of the Third 1946, which contained 50 cents for Yorkton Troop of Boy Scouts of a year’s subscription to Blue Jay, Canada, and my mimeographing contained his promise to come office. That room became his bird- to Yorkton that summer. His goal skinning room for preparation of was to write the definitive Birds scientific study skins. He stayed of Saskatchewan, and to share for three nights. with Canadians the importance of Dr John Richardson. Mrs Priestly Mowat was much the most shared her delight at this prospect interesting character I had met - with her family and with her and he kept up irregular contact friends J.R. Foreman and Ethel with me until his death on 7 May Lloyd, but she died suddenly of 2014. My front-page interview an unexpected and unfortunate and page two photograph with cerebral hemorrhage on 23 April. Mowat’s books in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix two days later, 188 Blue Jay Stuart Houston enjoying one of Farley Mowat’s books - Stuart Houston was followed by my interview his true experiences and his on Mowat’s birthday, 12 May imagination, Mowat had become on Global Television, shared one of Canada’s most successful nationwide. Writing from the authors. When Mary Houston entertaining interface between was presented with the Douglas 73 (4) December 2015 189 Pimlott award at the Canadian birds from Carlton House and 10 Nature Federation (now called from Cumberland House. Nature Canada) meeting in Yellowknife on 2 July 1988, she What an exciting three days I had told the appreciative audience with Farley in his Jeep, in place of that when accosted by Pimlott my usual bicycle, making daily at a soiree in Toronto, following rounds to each of a dozen duck publication of Never Cry Wolf, traps at the two Rousay Lakes Farley had replied, “Doug, I don’t and visiting Leech and Crescent bother with the facts; I just tell Lakes. I took a photograph of the truth.” Later, Farley had Mowat at a Northern Harrier nest written the foreword to Birds of in water and we visited nests of the Saskatoon Area, in 2002, an American Bittern and several saying that it was in Saskatoon Black-crowned Night Herons. All that he “first discovered birds” the while, Mowat regaled me with and simultaneously was “first stories. discovered by the birds.” I had no inkling at the time In 1924, when Hedley Horace that the stimulus from his visit Mitchell wrote his succinct would set up unrecognized ripples Catalogue of the Birds of that, against all expectations or Saskatchewan, published as an statistical odds, washed up on the entire issue of Canadian Field- beach of my existence time and Naturalist (with a few hundred time again, into my old age. copies distributed by the Saskatchewan government as a Following four years of family separate 18-page booklet entitled practice with my parents in Birds of Saskatchewan),1 he Yorkton, I wished to improve my had credited Thomas Blakiston, skills as a family practitioner. In magnetic observer with the Palliser 1955, I began additional training expedition, as the first person to in the exciting new and altruistic study birds in Saskatchewan. milieu of the recently-opened Mowat indignantly told me when University Hospital: Internal we first met in 1946 that Mitchell medicine under Dr. Irwin Hilliard had been unaware of Dr John and pediatrics under Dr John Richardson, who had become Gerrard. While there, with a wife Mowat’s hero. Ably assisted by and two small children, I received Thomas Drummond, Richardson a catalogue from bookseller John had first described to science 14 Johnson in North Bennington, new species or subspecies of Vermont. Most of his used books 190 Blue Jay sold for five or ten dollars, but William Swainson had introduced the item that caught my attention in 1820 the use of lithographic was “Richardson, John. Fauna techniques for depicting birds which Boreali-Americana, Vol. 2, the allowed “a more lifelike depiction of Birds,"2 [hereafter, FBAm2], in plumage,... increased the accuracy, good condition, at $45. Relative ... [and was] considerably less to my monthly income of $150, expensive.”4 ForFBAm2, Swainson $45 was a lot of money. It seems wrote descriptions of some of the that none of Johnson’s nearest new species and painted 50 colour customers whose catalogue had plates of birds. reached them earlier, had felt they could afford it. But Mowat had set Mary and I returned from Yorkton the stage and, fortunately, I have on 30 December 1956 to take an understanding wife. the first of two Christmas Bird Counts at Carlton, to see what When the precious book arrived changes had occurred in winter soon after Christmas 1955,1 found bird life since Richardson’s visits it even more exciting than Mowat there in 1820 and 1827. Three had indicated. It seemed that I cars containing four birders from was now the owner of the only Prince Albert, five from Saskatoon copy of the book in Saskatchewan. and two from Yorkton gathered to Mary and I were spurred to spend amass 13 14 hours on foot and every second weekend studying 13 hours by car and record 643 the birds at Carlton. individuals of 20 species. The following winter, Margaret Belcher I also studied the extent to which from Regina, three birders from Joseph Sabine, in his Appendix Saskatoon and two from Yorkton, to Franklin’s first journey in 1823,3 recorded 15 species on 29 missed describing valid new species December 1957. Later, In 1969, and how he compounded the felony we took the relatively new winter by usurping credit that Richardson road to Cumberland Flouse, to would otherwise have earned. join Dr Stan Riome and his son I also noted which species lost David of Nipawin, with Doug their taxonomic priority through Whitfield, my two youngest sons, the nearly two-year delay caused and Raymond Bisha. We did 25 by William Swainson’s attempts to miles by car and 32 miles with force bird classification into the soon- Carriere dog teams and recorded discredited Quinary classification -- 14 species. On 2 January 1971, which wasted 129 pages in the 501 - we had Vern Gunnlaugson and page FBAm2. On the positive side, Stan Shadick with us, again with 73 (4) December 2015 191 Dr Riome, and did 6 miles by foot but persistent reminders to and 27 miles by car, sighting 21 government from the young species. Saskatchewan Natural History Society (SNHS). The million-dollar These CBCs have a double building was even larger than Mowat connection. He had not we had dared hope for, but our only aroused my interest in taking reminders had convinced Premier CBCs at former Richardson Tommy Douglas to make this haunts at Carlton and Cumberland building the government’s most House, but when he was a 14- tangible jubilee gift “dedicated year old grade nine student Mowat to the honour of all the Pioneers undertook the first-ever Saskatoon who came from many lands to CBC with his school chum, Bruce settle in this part of Canada.”6 Billings. Their Christmas Bird With the new building came the Count on December 22, 1935 appointment of Doctor Bob Nero recorded 37 birds of 8 species as assistant director.7 during five miles’ travel on foot and three miles by dog-sled, Nero soon proposed what seemed south of the city. The next winter improbable to local naturalists. the same two covered nine miles He proposed the new museum south along the river, partly on building as an ideal location for snowshoes and partly by dog- an annual meeting of the august team, and saw 144 individuals of ornithological group which had 11 bird species. Both of Mowat’s never yet met in western Canada. counts were published in the The Saskatchewan delegation Canadian Field-Naturalist and in to the AOU meeting in Denver, the Blue Jay. Colorado in September 1956, to present a formal “attractive Saskatchewan’s Golden Jubilee invitation” to a Regina meeting Year, 1955, saw the realization in 1959, consisted of Bob Nero, of the long-term dream of a new George Ledingham, Bernie Gollop provincial museum building, and Stuart and Mary Houston.

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