Page:The Passenger Pigeon - Mershon.djvu/127

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The Pigeon Butcher's Defense
99

by a special act of Providence, could not have done more good. Such being the case, can any blame be given an Emmett County jury if they required evidence direct and to the point before convicting? And in no case that came to trial was direct evidence given. So the four true "sportsmen" there in behalf of justice and humanity, had such a cold reception from all, that they concluded strategy beat that kind of work all to death, pulled up stakes and hurried home, and worked up the poisoned berry business.

· · · · ·

Now, about the merciless slaughter. Prof. Roney estimates 1,500,000 dead and 80,000 live birds as the shipments, and then goes on to say that one billion birds have been destroyed! What logic.

I have official figures before me, and they show that the shipments from Petoskey and Boyne Falls were:

Petoskey, dead, by express 490,000
Petoskey, alive, by express 86,400
Boyne Falls, dead 47,100
Boyne Falls, alive 42,696
Petoskey, dead, by boat, estimated 110,000
Petoskey, alive, by boat, estimated 33,640
Cheboygan, dead, by boat, estimated 108,300
Cheboygan, alive, by boat, estimated 89,730
Other points, dead and alive, estimated 100,000
Total 1,107,866