Dec, 18, 189?.] 
489 
THE MAN IN THE CLOCK TOWER 
Emperor William's Exploits. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your issue of Nov. 27 there appears on your editorial 
page a comment on a recent cable report which stated that 
the German emperor had killed 3,000 odd pheasants in an 
incredibly short space of lime. 
The reader ignorant of the hunting conditions in Germany 
would be apt to infer that such slaughter was an every-day 
occyrrence and was a fair example of the conditions pre- 
vailing there. 
Having enjoyed the hospitality of German sportsmen on 
numberless occasions, and having, during my five years' 
sojourn in Germany, had opportunity to acquaint myself 
with every method employed over there in hunting the 
various kinds of game, I think it only right that I should 
refute such a stigma, even if only implied, on the German 
game and sportsmen. 
While it is true that such vast, almost incredible, quanti- 
ties of semi-domesticated birds, and also of deer, are often 
killed by the German emperor, and by a few others of the 
highest nobility (by rank if not by nature), it must be said 
that the large majority of German sportsmen hold exactly 
the same sentiments concerning such slaughter as do Fokest 
AND Stream and its readers. 
They call such persons "shooters" over there, denying them 
the more honorable title of "hunters." 
I remember that once, several years ago, when six or seven 
of us were assembled in my den, I read aloud from a daily 
paper the report that the day before, the opening of roebuck 
season, the emperor, during a two-hours' drive in the park 
surrounding his palace at Potsdam, had shot nine full-grown 
roebucks. 
The roe deer in the park are perfectly tame, often allowing 
a visitor to approach within 30ft. of them. The language 
in which the comments of my friends were expressed on 
that occasion was more forcible than elegant, and if reported 
to the authorities would have landed each and every one of 
them in jail for the awful crime of lese majeste. 
A full-grown roebuck in his native wilds is as wary as a 
fox and as quick as a flash, and is worthy of any sportsman's 
bullet. The partridges, although somewhat larger, greatly 
resemble our quail in their habits and are game birds. The 
pheasants also, although inferior to our own ruffed grouse, 
who are in a class by themselves, afford good sport where 
they have not been bred and reared in captivity. Even the 
hares, which are very abundant, are not to be despised, as 
they are fleet of foot, and with their seven hides tougher 
than a gray squirrel. 
Kay, nay, give every one his due; the game slaughterers 
are not confined to Europe ; we have them here too, and they 
are not always market hunters, as Hermit truly says. I 
remember once reading in Fobebt and Steeam that two 
men, members of a "Western club, had killed over 600 ducks 
in one day. 
Sportsmen are sportsmen the world over, and there are 
always some game hogs to be found for whom it is impossible 
to stop slaughtering as long as there is anything in sight, 
and the law allows them. U. F. Bender. 
Virginia Game. 
CnAELOTTEsyiLLE, Va., Dec. 6. — The rabbit season is at 
its height just now, and the "slaughter of the innocents" 
looks like annihilation ; but this with the rabbit family is an 
utter impossibility, for it has been tried, not only in this 
country, but in Australia, and it has been a signal failure 
every time. The hunting of rabbits here is prime sport. It 
takes a quick and sure shot to kill a field rabbit, for they 
never jump, but "just kinder" slide along the ground. To 
see one going certainly reminds a person of the movements 
of a snake in the grass. Two or three hunters have been 
known to kill fifty in a little while. The negro, as a rule, 
uses a box trap, and one colored individual brought into this 
city forty that be disposed of to the grocery stores. Kabbits 
are bought for 8 cents apiece and are retailed at 10 cents. 
Notwithstanding the protection that is supposed to be 
given the partridge, the pot-hunter has been getting in his 
work and has killed a great many. 
The Legislature is now in session at Richmond, and I 
notice several bills have been introduced to repeal the law 
protecting this bird. "What is to be gained, only the de- 
struction of this innocent bird, I can't understand. The 
law as it stands expires by limitation next month, but the 
old law holds and they are protected until next October. 
To repeal the law at this time looks like nonsense and a de- 
sire to undo all that the two-year law has accomplished. 
Senator Morris, from this district, the author of the law, we 
are satisfied will do his utmost to prevent its repeal, and all 
true sportsmen wish him success. 
The average legislator, however, must earn his salary and 
be doing something for the dear people, without regard to 
sense or reason. Had we less laws and more common sense 
the country would surely be better off. 
There have been less accidental fatalities among sportsmen 
in the South than in any other section. We note one pecu- 
liar and rather ludicrous accident in a neighboring county. 
A negro with a coonskin cap on and another colored indi- 
vidual while gunning for wild turkeys became separated, 
and while trying to sneak on to his game the one negro was 
"cock sure" he saw a coon, and blazing away at it brought 
down his brother huntsman with the coonskin cap. For- 
tunately the shot only perforated the skin, and were flattened 
against his skuU. 
Wm. Buracker, a professional hunter over in Page county, 
caught, not long since, a white coon. The strangest part of 
it is that it lacks all the well-known marks of the coon fam- 
ily, not having a stripe of any kind about it. 
W. O. Watson, the prime mover in the effort to stock our 
forests with Mongolian pheasants, informs me that it will be 
successful, and that he will purchase enough of these birds 
in the spring to give the matter a fair trial. From the expe- 
rience of others in colder climates, there don't seem any good 
reason why, with our mild climate and other favorable con- 
ditions, our forests should not be teerning with these fine game 
birds in a few years^ James H. Ferguson. 
News from the Klondike. 
Mr. M. Herrinqton, one of the party to the Klondike of 
which Mr. J. B. Burnham, of Forest and Stream, is a 
member, has been heard from as recently as Nov. 35. Mr. 
David Daggett, of the W. R. A. Co., received a letter from 
Mr. Uerrington on Saturday last, Dec. 11, dated from Skag- 
way, Nov. 25. In it Mr. Herrington says there is no diffi- 
culty in getting through to Dawson City, and that there is 
plenty of opportunity in Alaska and her gold regions for 
good and paying investments. He says that he is still at the 
White Pass, but is intending to move forward to Lake Ben- 
nett as soon as the sleighing is good. 
Six Days' Bicycle Race. 
Toward the northward I can see the tower of Madison 
Square Garden, and on its extreme top, dim in detail, yet 
recognizable, is the buoyant, graceful figure of Diana, 
poised airiljr on one foot in the attitude of the chase. She, 
too, is high in air, as becomes a daughter of Jupiter. Since 
she set foot on the pinnacle of the Garden she has seen 
some of the greatest gatherings of modern times — some 
political, some trade, but most on pleasure bent. There 
are no crowds more cosmopolitan than those of the Gar- 
den, and many times they are as distinct in class and pur- 
pose as ai'e the attractions which draw them thither. The 
horse shows, dog shows, flower shows, etc., draw within 
its walls New York's beauty, chivalry and wealth, gay and 
happy crowds seeking wholesome recreation or useful in- 
struction. The negro cake walk, a competition in human 
vanities, afforded passing amusement for high and low. 
Then again, many times, crowds gather which are made 
up of hard-featured men, with a light sprinkling of gentle- 
men who endeavor to be as inconspicuous as may be. 
The gathering is specially noticeable for the utter ab- 
sence of ladies. It is a gathering of the lovers of the 
"manly art." Every man smokes from the beginning of 
the "entertainment" to its close, and makes bets, with 
frank openness, with his neighbors on his favorite in the 
"exposition of science." The expounders compete directly 
with each other. Each of the numerous contestants slugs 
his opponent till he is "stopped," the latter a mild term for 
conveying the fact that he has been knocked senseless by 
a blow, or was so punished as to be unable to continue the 
"scientific contest." The patrons of such contests find 
pleasure only in physical struggling, with an incidental 
opportunity for gambling. The fight arouses their savage 
instincts, and the betting gives opportunity to their cupid- 
ity, thus they are both in it and of it. 
Yet withjall the spectacular brutality of the prize ring it 
is far less brutal than the six days of prolonged torture 
called a six-day bicycle race, witnessed in Madison Square 
Garden last week. The former is a contest of minutes, 
confessedly brutal while it lasts, yet ending when one of 
the contestants is exhausted or incapacitated. The par- 
ticipants rarely receive more than temporary hurts. While 
it is a contest in which courage and skill are misapplied, 
as being against public policy in time of peace, it never- 
theless is a contest which stirs up the remnant of barbarian 
instinct which civilization has not yet eradicated from the 
people. Reason impels them to denounce the gladiatorial 
contests, yet instinct, which will not be denied, impels 
them to watch the bulletin boards to learn at the earliest 
iQoment which fighter is the winner. It is the barbarian 
side of the individual, as wars are the barbarian side of 
nations. It is the spirit of the soldier in either case, find- 
ing expression in different ways. 
But of the six days of prolonged torture aforementioned 
nothing in praise or in extenuation can be said. It taxes 
human endurance to the extreme of brutality, and after it 
is all ended it has proved no useful fact to the individual 
or to the puhlic. As to its benefits, it begins and ends 
within itself. Its purpose is in the gats receipts only. 
There it has its inception and its ending. It is made as 
sensational as possible to awaken public interest. A band 
of men struggling to do something that men never did be- 
fore, or to beat the records of all men who had gone be- 
fore, appeals to the spirit of the masses. It may be said to 
the credit of human nature, however, that but few of the 
visitors can perceive the cruelty of the competition. To 
the untrained eye a number of men riding round, and 
round an ellipse differ in no respect from a like number of 
riders to be seen at any hour on the Boulevard, save in the 
matter of costume. The distance and bad light hide the 
distress imprinted on the riders' faces and in their labored 
gait. A visit of an hour or two gives no adequate idea of 
the enormous strain of the week. The trainers' quarters, 
and in a lesser degree the vicinity of the trainers on the 
track, give a realistic idea of the brutality of the "races." 
On Sunday night, soon after 12 o'clock, thirty-six riders 
started for the six-day ride. As the days passed, some 
quit from exhaustion, or accident, or hopelessness. There 
were 142 hours of torturing effort before the finish. 
The ten leaders on the fourth day had ridden nearly all 
the time. One had slept only two hours, and another had 
slept seven and one-half hours. The others had slept 
various lengths of time within these limits. The loss of 
flesh was enormous, some losing 41bs. in the four 
days, some in the same time as high as lO^llbs. Miller, 
who was in the lead, was so stiff after a short rest on 
Thursday that he could not mount his wheel. His train- 
ers lifted him bodily to the seat, placed his feet on the 
pedals and steadied him till he resumed his pedaling. 
The faces of all the riders were drawn and hollow, though 
each had a different vacuous expression. Harsh lines 
seamed some; eyes were red and sunken, and deep-set in 
their sockets; legs were numb and stiff, and arms and 
hack^ were similarly affected, with torturing aches and 
pains added. The want of sleep was an extreme punish- 
ment in itself. The atmosphere was vile and filled with 
tobacco smoke. The minds of some were affected. 
_ Hallucinations affected one rider. Another would be 
simple as a child. Irritability and a mania to keep on at 
all hazards were exhibited by some, while the most in- 
tense desire to drop and go asleep were exhibited by 
others. The trainers urged, cajoled, threatened, and at 
times used phj'sical violence to keep their men going. The 
negro, Gray, was kept going for days through fear of his 
trainer, who threatened him with personal injury if he 
quit, and betimes stimulated him vpith the sight of a cane 
or a whack over the back. Men would go asleep on their 
wheels and tumble to the floor. One rider's arms and 
hands were so benumbed by injections of cocaine, used to 
deaden the aches, that he could not feel the handle bars. 
He kept his hands closed on them by sight, and despite 
his efforts he received many falls. 
The riders took their food while riding, drinking milk, 
heef tea, soups, oatmeal, etc., out of canisters, and even 
while eating and pedaling at the same time their trainers 
were urging them on. Starting in as strong men, they 
were gradually degenerating into irritable, unreasoning 
children. Such pressure was brought to bear by public 
opinion that a medical examination of the men was 
caused to be made hy the police officials, to determine 
whether they were taxing themselves to a dangerous de- 
gree, and yet the daily press announced that on that day 
the real test of endurance had only begun. And yet this 
torture, physical wreckage, mental injury and general 
brutal spectacle was presented to the public as an interest- 
ing spectacle and legitimate competition. 
As showing the nature of the sport, it was stated in the 
daily press that most of the leaders were under contract 
to business firms, and their competition had a trade sig- 
nificance. Its true purpose was to advertise a certain 
make of wheel, tire, saddle, etc. The prizes were insig* 
nificant in comparison to the thousands of dollars profit 
made. There were eleven prizes, won. as follows: First, 
Miller, $1,300, and ^200 more for breaking the world's 
record. Second, Rice, $800; third, Schinner, $500; fourth. 
Hale, $350; fifth, Waller, $300; sixth, Pierce, $200; seventh, 
Golden, $150; eighth, Gannon, $125; ninth, Enterman, 
$100; tenth, Elkes, $100; eleventh. King, $75. 
The track, which was considered as being one-ninth of 
of a mile, was found to be short 227.26ft. Miller's nominal 
record ofi 2,093 miles and 4 laps when corrected is 1,983 
miles and 885yds. 
The Squirrel Question. 
The points which Mr. Rice makes in Forest and Stream 
in favor of the red squirrel are many of them to my mind 
good points ; but there is no getting over the fact that he 
destroys birds' nests, eating the eggs or preferably the 
young whenever and wherever he may find them. 1 have 
known a pair of red squirrels to take three out of a brood of 
four young robins in a single morning, and this in spite of 
all the old birds could do to drive them off. In this, to . be 
sure, he is only following out his nature just as the hawk 
who forages in your poultry yard is following his ; but in 
each case his nature renders the animal injurious to man. 
I do not know whether the gray squirrel lays up a store 
for himself or not. I suspect that sometimes he does, and 
for this reason: Two small nephews of mine have outside 
of their bedroom window, on the eaves of the old wooden 
house in which they live, a box in which each day a hand- 
ful of nuts is placed for the gray squirrels, which are abun- 
dant about the place. The animals come every morning, and 
take these nuts away till the box is empty. They are often 
seen to carry them to a hole in the limb of an oak tree near 
the house, where each autumn they raise a litter of young. 
Everyone who has lived in the country knows that gray 
squirrels in winter dig down thi-ough the snow to the ground 
for food, as stated by Pine Tree. I do not think they do 
this aimlessly, for I have often seen gray squirrels burying 
nuts in the ground, and they do it very quickly and neatly, 
scraping a little hole of just the right size, putting the nut in 
it, and then covering it up with a very little du-t and placing 
a little grass or moss on top ; patting the whole down so that 
it is not easy to find the place after the squirrel has gone, 
even though you may have watched the whole operation. 
"The Oldest Inhabitant." 
From the top of the high clock tower the man therein 
can see far away over the heads of many men; far away 
over the tops of many cities, towns, villages and country 
places; far away, over many objects, into the hazy distance, 
where all becomes vague and lost. In every place where 
the eye of The Man on the Tower can pierce there dwells 
that universal revered authority, "the oldest inhabitant." 
And beyond the Man's vision there is probably an oldest 
inhabitant in every nation, in every city, town, hamlet, 
neighborhood, and indeed in every house. 
The average writer, who feels that bis word needs vouch- 
ing for, when events of the present come in comparison 
with the events of the past, summarily settles the problem 
by a line thus : ' 'Never within the memory of the oldest 
inhabitant," etc., or, if he is pleased to be more ornate and 
comprehensive, he will say: "Never since the time when the 
mind of the oldest inhabitant runneth not to the contrary 
has there been known," etc. And when this calm, dignified 
and superlative old authoritative nonentity decides with a 
precision and finality becoming his superlative years, who 
can gainsay his word or his knowledge ? 
Any reader of any amiability will concede at once that a 
writer who in simple terms states that "Never within the 
memory of even the oldest inhabitant have codfish been so 
numerous on the Jersey Coast," knows the oldest inhabitant 
personally, and knows also the things which he, the said 
0. i , knows. And also that he knows something about cod- 
fish. 
The oldest inhabitant may be a blacksmith, a saddler, a 
wagon maker — all useful and honorable callings — and yet he 
may have a bad memory concerning current events, or no 
knowledge of aU of them, or even no interest in them. In 
such a way he is an entity. Such is the real man. To the 
writer who knows nothing of statistics, or who cares nothing 
for them, that dear old fiction, the oldest inhabitant, does 
yeoman service. He gives proper emphasis, a tone of 
authority, to a statement that otherwise would be flat and 
insipid. Dear old "oldest inhabitant," whom nobody knows 
and nobody could know, yet who is the benefactor of the 
world of scribblers, the patron saint of those who need a 
universal authority for cheap events. Let the "oldest inhab- 
itant" live on. Without him those who write of the 
weather, hot or cold, or of fish, or fowl, or animal, would 
be without a beginning or resting place. 
The Man in the Clock Toweb. 
Christmas Gifts. 
At this season of the year persons residing at a distance from large 
cities often desire to order a number of different books issued by dif- 
ferent publishers. This necessitates -writing many letters, and pef- 
haps paying many express charges, and takes time, trouble and 
money. 
To relieve its readers of this burden, the Forest and Stream Pub- 
lishing Co. will receive and fill all book orders that may be sent to it, 
purchasing the books, packing and forwarding them, and all this 
without charge. In all eases the titles of books must be plainly 
written; where possible the name of the publisher must be given; 
and the money for the consignment must accompany the order. 
As the busy season has already begun, those who wish to take ad- 
vantage of this offer should send on their orders at once, so that their 
goods may be sent off in time to be received before the holidays. 
