54 Wm.B. Richardson 1936 General Account Condor Post-mortem Lays Deaths to Violent Storm SANTA BARBARA, Oct. 25.—The mysterious deaths of two of a colony of three American condors in the Peach Tree Flat region of the Santa Barbara National Forest, was cleared today after a post-mortem conducted by Ornithologist Edgmont Z. Rett of the Museum of National History in Mission Canyon. The loss of two of the small remaining colony of the largest birds that fly over America, is definitely laid at the door of a hailstorm. The mountain tragedy was discovered by Sam Kosub, associate forester at Sunset Valley camp, when he was sent into the Peach Tree country with several C.C.C. boys to look for lightning fires. They came across the carcass of a horse and near by a dead condor, while a second bird lay some distance away. The third condor, apparently badly injured, flew away. Hail still lay piled in surrounding gullies to a depth of from two to three feet, some of the hailstones as large as walnuts. H. O. Robe of the United States Forestry Service and Capt R. E. Bidwell of the State Division of Fish and Game, sent a truck for the dead birds, meeting Kosub at Little Pine. Brought here the first bird post-mortem in local history was decided upon. The backs of both birds were broken. Foresters believe the condors came to feed on the carcass of the horse. When the storm broke they were perched in a tall pine tree, when the avalanche of hail came upon them suddenly and knocked them from their perch. Clipping From Peterwill Evening Record Oct 2, 1936