EDITOR'S CORNER. 



Recreation desires to ue of the greatest possi- 

 ble service to its readers in every way. You are 

 therefore invited to ask this offi.ee/or any infor- 

 mation you may want, on any subject whatever. 

 If I cannot answer directly, I will endeavor to 

 get the information, and reply at the earliest 

 possible motnent. 



More especially if you are planning a hunting 

 or fishivg trip anywhere in the United States, 

 Canada, or Mexico, let me know and I will tell 

 you all that can be learned about the fish or 

 game to be found in any such region, and as to 

 the best means of reaching your objective point. In 

 nearly every case, I can put you in correspond- 

 ence with subscribers who live in the district in 

 question. 



If you do not see what you want, ask for it. 



TWO GREAT BEAR SIORIES. 



The December number of Recreation 

 will contain 2 stories that will raise your 

 hair — that is, if you have any to raise. 

 One of these was written by George B. 

 McClellan, manager of the Red Bank 

 ranch at Red Bank. Wyo., and details an 

 interview he had with 5 grizzlies in the 

 Big Horn mountains last fall. In the 

 hunting party were ex-Governor Richards 

 and Assistant Attorney General Van De- 

 vanter, of Washington, D. C. It hap- 

 pened, however, that both of these excel- 

 lent hunters were on another trail at the 

 time McClellan jumped the bears, and so 

 he had to handle them alone. He was 

 backed, however, by the 9 dogs which con- 

 stitute the famous pack of wolf and bear 

 hounds kept at the Red Bank ranch. 



This was one of the hottest fights I 

 have ever read of; yet it is told in the 

 plain, simple, straightforward language of 

 a cowboy who has ridden the range for 

 30 years and who has learned to save his 

 wind. He makes every word count, even 

 as he makes every shot count when he gets 

 in a hot place. 



A. B. Frost is making a full-page picture 

 for this story, which shows the 5 bears 

 charging the 9 dogs, and McClellan in the 

 foreground, pumping lead into the herd 

 with a Savage rifle. 



The other story describes the killing 

 of an immense silver-tip grizzly on Lodge- 

 grass creek, a tributary of the Little Big 

 Horn, on th East side of the Big Horn 

 range. There were 4 men in this fight, 

 and the bear came so near getting one of 

 them that he killed the horse under him. 

 This story was written by Hon. T. C. 

 Koch, of Fullerton, Neb., an ex-member 

 of the State Legislature and now a promi- 

 nent banker. This fight is also described 



in a manner that will cause many sports- 

 men to forget to breathe from the time 

 the first shot is fired until the big brute is 

 stretched out. 



Ernest Seton-Thompson has made a 

 picture for this story, showing the great 

 grizzly in the act of crushing the horse with 

 a blow of his immense paw. 



I have published a good many bear 

 stories in Recreation, and have read a 

 number in other publications, but these are 

 2 of the best I have ever seen since the 

 famous story of "Big Foot Wallace," which 

 was written by the Hon. B. B. Brooks, 

 of Wyoming, and published in Recrea- 

 tion of May, 1895. I say this without dis- 

 paragment to the literary ability of numer- 

 ous other contributors. The difference is 

 that the 2 writers mentioned above have 

 had opportunities which come to only a 

 few men. and have made the best of them. 



If you want your friends to enjoy one 

 of the best literary treats of their lives, 

 tell them to be sure to read December 

 Recreation. 



IN THE THIRD CLASS: 

 A gentleman in Maine, who is interested 

 in game protection, and who is anxious to 

 see a strong division of the League built 

 up there, sent me the names and addresses 

 of a number of sportsmen who he thought 

 would join the League on receipt of an 

 invitation. I wrote each of these men a 

 letter, not only inviting, but urging him 

 to join and help us in our work. A few 

 of them responded favorably. To those 

 who did not I sent another letter, calling 

 their attention to the good work of the 

 League, and appealing to them in strong 

 terms to aid us in protecting the game 

 of their own State as well as of the other 

 States. 



One of the men to whom these 2 letters 

 were sent, made the following endorse- 

 ment on the back of the second letter and 

 returned it to me: 



"Returned to the writer. This is a piece 

 of insolence, unprovoked. and inexcusable. 

 I am not, as he assumes, a citizen of Maine. 

 but of New York. Why he addresses me 

 I do not know. I have no interest in the 

 Act of Congress on which he prides him- 

 self, other than a desire to protect tin- 

 lives of God's creatures, when not needed 

 for food, for man, or other justifiable pur- 

 poses. But to preserve game for sports- 

 men to kill for pleasure, is in my judg- 

 ment, unjustifiable and contemptible. I 

 think the methods pursued by the Act, un- 

 constitutional and impolitic, and the prod- 



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