Guy Morrell Bradley (April 25, 1870 – July 8, 1905) was an American game warden and deputy sheriff for Monroe County, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he relocated to Florida with his family when he was young. As a boy, he often served as guide to visiting fishermen and plume hunters, although he later denounced poaching after legislation was passed to protect the dwindling number of birds. In 1902, Bradley was hired by the American Ornithologists' Union, at the request of the Florida Audubon Society, to become one of the country's first game wardens. Tasked with protecting the area's wading birds from hunters, he patrolled the area stretching from Florida's west coast, through the Everglades, to Key West, single-handedly enforcing the ban on bird hunting. Bradley was shot and killed in the line of duty, after confronting a man and his two sons who were hunting egrets in the Everglades. His much-publicized death at the age of 35 galvanized conservationists and served as inspiration for future legislation to protect Florida's bird populations. Several national awards and places have been named in his honor.
Early life Bradley was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1870. His family had strong ties to the city; his father, Edwin Ruthven Bradley, was born there in 1840, and two members of the family held high positions in Chicago's law enforcement. Six years after Guy's birth, the family relocated to Florida. After making their home in smaller towns, the family eventually settled in Fort Lauderdale, where Edwin became keeper of the Fort Lauderdale House of Refuge. Shortly after the death of Bradley's sister Flora from an unknown illness—which also affected Guy, leaving him ill for several years—the family moved to the vicinity of Lake Worth. Edwin became a postman, earning an annual wage of six hundred dollars. He, with the help of his oldest son, later received national attention for being one of several barefoot mailmen, who operated until a road was constructed in 1892. The family then relocated to Miami, where Edwin served as superintendent of the Dade County school district. In 1885, fifteen-year-old Guy and his older brother Louis served as scouts for noted French plume hunter Jean Chevalier on his trip to the Everglades. Accompanied by their friend Charlie W. Pierce, the men set sail on Pierce's craft, the Bonton, ending their journey in Key West. At the time, plume feathers—selling for more than $20 an ounce ($501 in 2011)—were reportedly more valuable than gold. On their expedition, which lasted several weeks, the young men and Chevalier's party killed 1,397 individual birds of thirty-six different species.
Hunt for plumes
At the turn of the 20th century, vast numbers of birds were being killed in order to provide feathers to decorate women's hats. The fashion craze, which began in the 1870s, became so prominent that by 1886 birds were being killed for the millinery trade at a rate of five million a year; many species faced extinction as a result. In Florida, plume birds were first driven away from the most populated areas in the northern part of the state, and forced to nest further south. Rookeries concentrated in and around the Everglades area, which had abundant food and seasonal dry periods, ideal for nesting birds. By the late 1880s, there were no longer any large numbers of plume birds within reach of Florida's most settled cities.
The most popular plumes came from various species of wading birds, known as "little snowies" for their snowy-white feathers; even more prized were the "nuptial plumes", grown during mating season and displayed by birds during courtship. Poachers often stole into the densely populated rookeries, where they would shoot and then pluck the roosting birds clean, leaving their carcasses to rot. Unprotected eggs became easy prey for predators, as were newly hatched birds, who also starved or died from exposure. One ex-poacher would later write of the practice, "The heads and necks of the young birds were hanging out of the nests by the hundreds. I am done with bird hunting forever!" In the mid-1890s, Edwin became head of the Florida Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company and then the Model Land Company, both of which sold land for the railroads. In 1900, after twenty years living in Lake Worth, the family moved to Flamingo in Monroe County, near the Everglades. Edwin had heard that railroad tycoon Henry Flagler planned to build his railroad through the area, and that the then primitive city of Flamingo would flourish as a result; Flagler later changed his mind, deciding to build to Key West instead. Guy and his brother, who continued working as guides and hunters, each received a quarter of a mile of land on Florida Bay as part of their father's deal with the Model Land Company. While working variously as a postman, farmer and boatman during his 20s, Guy continued to augment his income with an occasional plume hunt. In 1899, he married the young widow Sophronia ("Fronie") Vickers Kirvin from Key West. Their first child, Morrell, was born a year later.
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