PREFACE vii 



side of the fire, a low table beside him, holding paper, ref- 

 erence books, and the indispensable tin of "John Cotton," 

 while snowstorms might rage without, in imagination he 

 was able to roam with the bison or musk-ox on the sunny 

 plains, to climb the peaks with the mountain goat, or to 

 hear the songs of birds in sanctuaries made safe by his ef- 

 fort. The facts and conclusions herein contained were 

 gathered and matured throughout days of action, research, 

 and travel, when he followed the pressing needs of the 

 country, and attacked problems as they presented them- 

 selves, never resting until they were solved, and then, un- 

 satisfied, merely using success as a stimulant to greater 

 effort. 



Pages could be written of his work in preparing and in 

 drafting what is now known as the Northwest Game Act, 

 and, after the bill was introduced in Parliament, of his 

 watchful support of the measure until all opposition was 

 overcome and it became law. The Migratory Birds Treaty 

 also tested his powers; international and interprovincial 

 arrangements and compromises had to be made, and the 

 successful completion of this important treaty bears wit- 

 ness to his courage and diplomacy. During these and 

 other less important negotiations, he would travel many 

 miles for a single interview; he was thankful when the cause, 

 supported and enforced by his persuasive powers, won the 

 day, and he was willing to try again when they failed. 

 How rarely they failed ! The appeal of his winning person- 

 ality and his earnest desire to help usually carried convic- 

 tion. 



As an example of his sincerity, and of his willingness to 

 carry out whatever he asked others to do, before publicly 

 advocating individual and community effort in wild life 

 conservation, he hung nesting-boxes in the trees, and sup- 

 pHed an original water bath in his own garden. Little 

 homes for bumble-bees were carefully tucked under the 



