56 ***** "Oh, Ranger!" 



scare the wild animals and birds away and not only spoil the scene for 

 the next arrivals but actually lose out on their own snapshots. The 

 way to get good pictures of wild life is to remain perfectly still until 

 the animal, unfrightened by sudden movement or by the noise of a 

 machine, comes close enough for a good shot. It requires great patience 

 and considerable skill to stalk game for pictures. It is one of the most 

 fascinating sports in the world. 



Some of the rangers have made remarkable pictures of wild life by 

 following this patient course. Ranger Scotty Bowman, at Tower Falls 

 in Yellowstone Park, has established such friendly relations with a colony 

 of beavers that they will let him pet them, though at first they would 

 growl and blow at him in hostile manner. Wild animals live by avoid 

 ing enemies. Their safety depends upon their ability to flee. Intuitively 

 they have learned to take no chances. If they are not sure whether or not 

 a newcomer is dangerous, they assume that he is an enemy and take to 

 the woods. The person who wishes to establish himself on good terms 

 with any of the wild animals or birds of the national parks must first 

 let them get well acquainted with him. Mr. Beaver is just like all the 

 rest of his neighbors. He wants to watch the newcomer, and decide 

 about him personally, before he effects any entente. It takes patience, 

 oodles and oodles of it. 



Perhaps the greatest beaver city in any of the national parks is one 

 discovered by Ranger Macy in Mount Rainier National Park along the 

 Nisqually River, which is formed by the glacier of the same name. In 

 the icy waters of this stream, the beavers have built a city covering 

 twenty acres houses, dams, ponds, canals, a maze of engineering. It 

 must have taken several generations of beavers to have achieved that 

 job. This is another instance in which the beavers resemble their human 

 friends. One generation carries on where the other left off, one beaver 

 engineer and his gang complete what a predecessor started. The whole 

 colony stays with the work until the project is completed. One often 

 wonders what unseen and unknown spirit or force guides these little 

 animals, enabling them to stay with their complicated engineering feats 

 without maps or plans or designs until twenty acres is covered with 

 construction. There is no other animal like them, only humans excepted. 



Next, in point of thrill they give the Dude, comes the moose. These 

 big animals are really rare beasts even in the national parks where they 

 are protected. The average visitor is excited by a moose track, let 

 alone the moose himself. The moose is a lonely animal. He prefers 

 life in the solitude of the back country. He haunts the marshes at the 

 base of high lakes, or those that play hide-and-seek with the rapids of 

 the mountain streams. He takes his stand in the willows and brush, and 

 when the visitor comes upon him unawares the moose takes one long, 



