SAM F. FULLERTON, deputy state fire marshal, does not 

 believe that the tail of a muskrat adds materially to 

 the value of an Indian stew. He doesn't mind a little 

 "mussrat" meat, the flesh from an ordinarily respectable 

 snake, the smooth flanks of a pickerel nor the ham of a 

 gopher, but he will not stand for the tail of a muskrat. 



In a communication to The North Woods, Mr. Fullerton 

 tells of a trip to Cutfoot-Sioux in the early days of Minne- 

 sota, and of being fed a strange stew by a squaw while en 

 route. His letter says: 



Believes in Adage "It's Never Too Late to Mend." 

 "I came to Minnesota in 1879, settling in Duluth. At that 

 time the lumberman was just coming in to subdue the forest 

 (as they called it). I have watched the waste and know the 

 efforts being put forth to reforest our cut-over land not suit- 

 able for agricultural purposes. I am not one of the men who 

 think this is a case of locking the barn after the horse is 

 stolen. Rather I believe in the old adage, 'It is never too late 

 to mend.' The efforts being put forth by the Forestry Board 

 to save what we have, from fire waste, should have the back- 

 ing and hearty support of every man who loves Minnesota 

 and her great future. 



"I am sometimes astonished myself at the great changes 

 that have taken place in the space of a few years. Recently, 

 as I rode over the Great Northern railway from Crookston 

 to Duluth, my mind went back to another trip I took on 

 horseback. The road had been finished to Deer River and I 

 wanted to go to Cutfoot-Sioux. At 5 o'clock in the morning 

 I started, thinking the Indians would ferry me across the 

 foot of Ball Club lake, but when I got there the ferry was 

 on the other side and no Indians. I could do nothing else 

 but swim lengthening out the rope I had on the horn of 

 the saddle I swam across, not even removing my clothes. 



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