FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



375 



BOSTON IS AHEAD. 



The Boston Show proved a revelation to 

 everyone who visited it. The officers of the 

 N. E. Sportsmen's Association, from pres- 

 ident to night watchman, have covered 

 themselves with glory. They have shown 

 the public there is something else in hunt- 

 ing and fishing beside the killing of game 

 and the taking of fish. They have taught 

 the public the value of a close study of nat- 

 ure. They have shown that the ozone of the 

 pine woods can be brought into a great 

 city, and that people assembled within brick 

 walls may be made to feel the influence of 

 the great forests. The multitudes that at- 

 tended the Boston Exhibition gazed with 

 wonder and admiration on the forests of 

 Maine, -the rocks and crags of the Rocky 

 mountains, the muskeags of Nova Scotia 

 and New Brunswick and the lakes and 

 rivers of Ontario. Elk, moose, caribou, 

 Rocky mountain sheep, beaver, antelope, 

 foxes, wolves, lynxes and raccoons were 

 there, collected from the 4 quarters of the 

 continent. 



The people who attended this great show 

 listened to the familiar " honk " of the wild 

 goose, the clatter of great flocks of mal- 

 lards, teal, wood-ducks, and other denizens 

 of the lakes; to the twitter of yellow legs, 

 the familiar cawing of the crow and the 

 grotesque bellowing of the moose. 



These multitudes have also looked with 

 admiration and delight on a great variety 

 of aquatic sports indulged in by canoeists, 

 swimmers, divers, etc. 



The great Exhibits that were shown in 

 the Mechanics' Building, of guns, fishing 

 tackle, tents, camping outfits, taxidermy, 

 and sportsmen's goods of all kinds, while 

 intensely interesting to visitors were but 

 an incident in this great show. 



The visitor, on entering at the East end 

 of the building, was amazed to find him- 

 self at once in a great forest of pines, hem- 

 locks and cedars. He found himself con- 

 fronted by wild animals that inhabit not 

 only the woods, but also the marshes 

 and the mountains. As he wended his way 

 about the building, he discovered on every 

 hand new evidences of his nearness to nat- 

 ure. He saw everywhere indications of the 

 great labor and expense which the officers 

 and members of the New England Sports- 

 men's Association have put into the work 

 of installing this Exhibition. No one who 

 has not had experience in organizing and 

 conducting such shows, can realize how 

 great has been their task. I have been 

 through the mill, year after year, in one 

 capacity or- another, and I know what they 

 have encountered. I have also been in 

 touch with the gentlemen who have got- 

 ten up this show, for nearly a year past, 

 and have known how they were working, 

 night and day, and how they were spending 

 money. 



It is impossible to attempt anything like 

 an adequate description of the show at 

 this time. It would take a whole issue of 

 Recreation to state it all. For months, 

 I have been advising my readers to go and 

 see the show, and while thousands of them 

 have done so, yet there are many thousands 

 of others \yho could not spare the time or 

 money to visit Boston. These will never 

 know what they have missed. Many of 

 them live close to nature all the time, yet 

 I regret that they could not have seen the 

 combination of nature and of art that were 

 brought together in the great Mechanics' 

 Building. 



Among the more novel of the exhibits 

 were those of the Boston Camera Club, the 

 collection of live game fishes, the illustra- 

 tion of fish hatching, etc. Among the more 

 prominent trade exhibits were those of the 

 Winchester Repeating Arms Co., David T. 

 Abercrombie & Co., M. A. Frazer, Gas 

 Engine & Power Co. and Charles L. Sea- 

 bury & Co., Helvetia Milk Co., Marlin 

 Firearms Co., Page Woven Wire Fence 

 Co., Peters Cartridge Co., and William 

 Read & Sons. 



There was a picturesque Indian Camp on 

 the stage, back of which was a realistic set- 

 ting of typical Rocky mountain scenery, 

 with a river running out of the mountains 

 into the plains beyond. 



A young hunter gave frequent imitations 

 of calls of various kinds of game. 



Among the water sports which were 

 roundly applauded by thousands of people 

 were water polo, swimming and diving, 

 canoeing, tugs of war, log rolling, canoe 

 upsets, exhibitions of walking on the water 

 in rubber shoes, etc. Two professional di- 

 vers leaped from the dome of the building, 

 a distance of 70 feet, into the lake, in the 

 centre of the auditorium. 



Mr. L. A. B. Street dove from a pedestal 

 20 feet 'high, completely dressed in a busi- 

 ness suit, and then undressed — down to a 

 bathing suit — in the water. 



Wallace Ross, the famous oarsman and 

 sculler, gave some novel exhibitions of 

 aquatic tricks, in a Boynton rubber suit. 



The officers of the Eastern Division of 

 the American Canoe Association are en- 

 titled to a great deal of credit for their 

 hearty co-operation with the managers of 

 the show. Purser Burgess and Vice Com- 

 modore Drake were in daily attendance and 

 always had some good teams from the va- 

 rious Canoe Clubs in New England, whose 

 exhibitions were thoroughly enjoyed by 

 everyone. 



The rifle and revolver tournaments drew 

 great crowds to the basement, where the 

 ranges were located. A large number of 

 valuable trophies were offered by the 

 management and the men who won them 

 have something to feel proud of. 



The display of photographs was the best 

 that has probably ever been given, in the 



