AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



511 



I should like to put my arm around the 

 poor old fellow in sympathy and carry him 

 a basin of water, and I'll wager he would 

 see what was in my heart and accept the 

 offer. 



I am fond of big game hunting and have 

 looked for trouble many a time. I do not 

 mind taking advantage of a bear up a tree 

 because he is able to get down, and I am 

 not above putting half a pint of rum in 

 a molasses bait, beause it will sometimes 

 give a timid bear just enough booze to 

 make him reckless on a charge; but the 

 sight of a bear in a trap is so pitiful that 

 nothing would tempt me to shoot that sort 

 of game and classify the procedure as 

 sport. 



A lynx or an otter, or almost any preda- 

 tory animal, will keep plenty of fight in 

 reserve while in a trap; but a bear is so 

 intelligent that he ''knows when he is 

 licked," and he suffers so intensely that he 

 shows it in every hair. The bear in your 

 photographs has the typical air and bear- 

 ing of a poor, dejected, old warrior, and it 

 is an insult to the whole bear family for 

 Mr. Ewing to tell us this is the way a wild 

 Colorado bear looks when he has the keys 

 of the forest in his pocket. 



Robert T. Morris, M. D. 



Westfield, N. J. 

 Editor Recreation: 



I am a constant reader of Recreation 

 and enjoy it, and believe in game protec- 

 tion, forest protection, and the good things 

 generally advocated therein. 



I can enjoy a fish or a bear story well 

 told, even though I may be aware the teller 

 has a vivid imagination and has painted 

 his story in glowing colors. But here in 

 the October number is a bear story that is 

 too large for my swallowing capacity. And 

 I notice it troubled you some. 



I do not question the bear standing to 

 be photographed or to be shot, for curios- 

 ity will sometimes lead wild animals, as 

 well as women, to do strange things; but 

 I have never before seen nor heard of a 

 photograph being made of something that 

 did not yet exist. 



Now comes our friend, Mr. H. N. Rich- 

 mond, of Bradford, Pa., and says, 



"Picture No. 1 was taken before the 

 bear clawed the tree in the foreground." 



If the tree was not yet clawed how on 

 earth could the claw marks be photo- 

 graphed? 



Perhaps we have struck something new. 

 Prophetic photography would be a great 

 snap. By this means one could have his 

 picture taken to-day to see what he was 

 going to do to-morrow! The possibilities 

 of such a thing roll in on me like the waves 

 at Coney Island, with almost overwhelm- 

 ing force ; and I suggest that as one more 

 evidence of enterprise on the part of Rec- 

 reation you secure the services of the 



maker of those pictures and open a school 

 of prophetic photography. In that case 

 you may enroll me as your first pupil, pro- 

 viding the demonstrations are satisfactory. 



M. L. Nichols. 



Pittsburg, Pa. 

 Editor Recreation: 



Your rather doubtful authentication of 

 the photographs of "An Accommodating 

 Bear" in your October number is justified. 

 The left hind leg is apparently imprisoned, 

 and the claw marks on the tree show the 

 bear had made desperate efforts to extri- 

 cate itself. The facts that the first photo- 

 graph was taken at a distance of not over 

 10 feet, and that the hunter and photogra- 

 pher then shifted positions to take another 

 picture at the same distance, with the bear 

 in the same position, speak for them- 

 selves. The felled timber where the bear 

 stands accounts for his accommodating lei- 

 sure, when surrounded by guns, cameras 

 and presumably an admiring crowd. 



George Shiras. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 Editor Recreation: 



In your October number of Recreation 

 there are 2 snap shots of a bear. I have 

 serious doubts whether the bear is free of 

 a trap. 



From the claw marks on the tree, about 

 14 impressions of his left fore paw, you will 

 see that they are parallel, or nearly so. 



In the first photo there is a stump of a 

 tree directly behind the bear; picture 2 

 shows the same position, consequently the 

 person had to approach so that the sapling 

 in No. 2 does not show in No. 1. 



Inspecting the background closely there 

 are no piles of brush as the one hiding the 

 bear trap. I don't think it goes in this 

 part of the U. S. 



Howard Carter. 



Glenwood Springs, Colo. 

 Editor Recreation: 



I have your favor 1st. The bear photo- 

 graphs sent you by Mr. H. N. Richmond, 

 and published on pages 263 and 264 of 

 October Recreation, were given him by 

 Mr. F. C. Ewing, of this place. The bear 

 was trapped by me last May, and was fast 

 in the trap when photographed and shot. 

 I also made the photos and gave Mr. 

 Ewing copies of them to show his Eastern 

 friends while on a visit to New York. 



W. H. Hubbard. 



I reprint Mr. Ewing's letter from Oc- 

 tober Recreation: 



"Mr. Richmond handed me your letter of 

 July nth, asking if picture was taken with 

 bear in trap. There was no trap and the 

 picture was taken just as you see, with no 

 showing of any trap. It was miles away 

 from anyone, and impossible to trans- 

 port a heavy bear trap. You may rest as- 



