jAisr. 6, ipoo.J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
be well to correct a misapprehension as to the truth or 
fiction of the paper. It is no fiction. There is no inci- 
dent in it which has not actually occurred, nor one cliar- 
aeter who is not known in the Rocky Mountains, with the 
exception of two whose names are changed— the originals 
of these, however, being equally well known with the 
others." 
I have personally identified' nearly every character ifi 
the book. In the St. Louis Republican of Aug. 30, 1848, 
?s an obituary of 'Ruxton, which speaks in appreciative 
mS of Ruxton's character and works, including "Life 
111 the Far West." There can be no doubt that this 
book was entirely of his own composition. If it had not 
been essentially a true picture of trapper life in the 
forties, there would assuredly have been a storm of pro- 
tests from readers in St. Louis, which, at that time, was 
the headquarters of the fur trade, and a rendezvous for 
tile very characters named in the book. 
Horace Kephart. 
approval of the movement. It is therefore sincerely hoped 
that Congress will immediately take up the matter and 
establish the park. 
The efforts of the Appalachian National Park Associa- 
tion are to be commended. Its promoters are moved 
only for the public good, and should this movement finally 
succeed, the thanks of the entire country will be due to 
them for their earnest efforts. 
C. P. Ambler, Sec'y. 
The Appalachian Park. 
AsHEViLLEj N. C, Dec. 27. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The efforts of the Appalachian National Park Association 
' — the organization which was perfected in Asheville, 
North Carolina, in November of this year, by citizens of 
many States, for the purpose of bringing to the attention 
of Congress the desirability of establishing a great na- 
tional ■ park and forest preserve in the Southern Appa- 
lachian Mountain region — are succeeding far beyond the 
anticipation of the mos! urgent supporters of this great 
movement. Prominent and influential men in every part 
of the country have given their aid, numerous newspapers 
have advocated the project, and as yet no adverse or un- 
favorable criticism has begn heard or written, and it 
seems practically certain that with a united movement the 
desired park can be secured. 
This unanimous approval and indorsement of the effort 
to secure this great national park is but the spontaneous 
demand of those who are acquainted with the Southern 
Appalachian region. For where can you find such rare 
iiatural beauty as in western North Carolina and eastern 
Tennessee, or, more definitelj^ speaking, in the Great 
Smoky Mountains, the Balsam Mountains and the Black 
and Craggy Mountains? Here are the most beautiful as 
well as the highest mountains east of the lofty Western 
ranges ; forty-three mountains of over 6,000 feet in alti- 
tude, as well as a great number of inferior height, all 
clothed with virgin forests and intersected by deep val- 
leys, abounding in brooks, rivers and waterfalls, combine 
to make this region one of unsurpassed attractiveness. 
Standing upon the summit of one of these lofty moun- 
tain heights, the eye often seeks in vain for a bare moun- 
tain side, the evidence of the devastating axe — and before 
one stretches out a \ie\v magnificently beautiful. If, in- 
deed, the national parks already established have been 
chosen for their unusual natural beauty, here is a national 
park conspicuously fine, awaiting official recognition as an 
addition to the number. 
The superb forests of the Southern Appalachian sys- 
tem are superior to those of any other section of the 
United States, and its variety of hardwoods and conifers 
is wonderful. Professor Gray, the eminent botanist, says 
that he encountered a greater number of indigenous 
trees in a trip of thirt}-^ miles through western North 
Carolina than 'can be discovered in a trip from Turkey to 
England, and through Europe, or from the Atlantic coast 
to the Rocky Mountain Plateau. Here is the home of the 
rhododendron, the meeting place of the flora of the North 
and South, and the only place where distinctive Southern 
mountain trees may be found side by side with those of 
the North. Here, too, are found trees of from 5 to 7 
Jeet. and even more, in diameter, which tower to a height 
of 140 feet, and these patriarchal trees, though innumer- 
able, are greatest in dense forests of manj' valuable and 
beautiful varieties. There is but one such forest region 
In America, and the neglect of the opportunity now j^ut 
forth in saving it may work irretrievable loss. The in- 
creasing scarcity of timber is causing the large areas of 
forests to be rapidly cleared bj^ those whose principal 
thoughts are immediate returns by a sj'^stem which will 
fesult in a few years in the extinction of the forests. The 
National Park alone can prevent this destruction, and 
surely it should not delay longer. 
It is also the duty of the National Government as the 
guardian of the national interests, not the least of which 
' are the rivers which have their head waters in these 
mountains, to protect their sources and the water supply 
of the country. 
As 10 the healthfulness of the region, it is a well 
recognized fact that the plateau lying between the Great 
Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge is one of the most 
popular health resorts in the world. Malaria is unknown. 
It rivals Arizona as a sanatorium ; for those suffering 
from pulmonary troubles there is no better place. No 
better spot could be found for the establishment of a 
sanatorium for the sailors and soldiers of our country. 
■The climate is fine the year around, and by reason of 
the high altitude the climate in summer is more agree- 
able than that of regions further North. For many years, 
to those wishing to escape the rigors of the Northern win- 
"ters, this plateau has become a favorite resort. It has one 
of the best all-year climates in the world. 
The existing national parks can only be visited in the 
summer, If a national park were established in this 
m.nuntnin region, it could be visited and enjoyed the year 
aronnd. 
_ The location is central. It is only twenty-four hours' 
ride from New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Toledo and the 
Gulf States. It is therefore within eas}'- reach of millions 
of people, and a park there could be in fact as well as 
in name a national park. 
Apart from these natural reasons, the Eastern States 
are entitled to a national park. There is no national 
park of the character suggested east of the Yellowstone, 
which is considerably more than 2,000 miles from the At- 
lantic coast, nor is there even a forest preserve east of 
western Dakota, which is but a few hundred miles nearer. 
'The Government can easily secure a large boundarj' of 
this most beautiful and attractive country. These reasons, 
and many others, have given this movement popular sup- 
port. Other arguments could be advanced in its favor; 
but the Appalachian National Park needs no argument, 
for the mere mentioning of it alone is sufficient to cause 
**The Farmer's Boy. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In the issue of Foxiest -\nd Stream of Sept. 30, on the 
editorial page, there was a subject which I will not 
overlook. It was entitled "'The Farmer's Boy." I have 
been waiting for some of the readers of Forest and 
Stream's columns to put in a word of appreciation of 
that article. I cannot let it pass without saying a few 
words in commendation. 
It strikes me there are a great many readers who have 
been New England farmers' boys; though the article did 
not specify a New England farmer's boy in particular, I 
think the subject must have been taken from that part 
of the country, anyway. It fits me. It recalls old times. 
The writer must have been there himself to know how 
to put in all those little points which made it real. 
It seems to strike my boyhood days just as they were. 
The old farm house stood on one side of the road, the 
barn opposite on the other side on a little rise of ground; 
then back of the barn was the lane boarded on either side 
with hemlock slabs from the ncarbj' saw mill. Out 
through this lane where we drove the cows was a grove 
of hemlocks on the steep side hill, tlirough which the 
rockj' and winding cow path went until we reached the 
top of the hill, and there was the wide open green pas- 
ture dotted. here ahd there with a huckleberry patch, a 
large oak tree and a few buttonball trees to make shade 
for the cattle. On beyond this pasture we came to what 
we usQd to call the "Little Mountain," called so to-day. 
AVe did not go over this, but there was a good road that 
went around it and led us down the other side — down, 
down, until we stmck the trout brook. When we 
reached the trout brook we came to the mountain 
meadow of three or four acres, a lovely spot^ — ^I can see 
it now. Then be3'ond was the Bock pasture, which lay 
on the easterly side of grand old Mount Tom. 
Reading the "Farmer's Boy" brought back to me the 
recollections of twenty-five and thirty years ago. I liked 
to run over my line of traps set for mink, muskrat and 
fox, and I did it early in the morning before I went to 
school, taking my dog with me as a companion. I often 
brought home a squirrel or partridge, shot on the way. 
But the boys have gone, the farm is deserted and no won- 
der they think of the good old days. My favorite fish- 
ing companion of thirty years ago was the Rev. Dwight 
Ives, of Suffield, Conn. About May of every year he 
would drive from^ Suffield to Conway, Mass., and always 
stopped at our place to spend a daj' or two. He gener- 
ally reached our place about time to do the chores in the 
afternoon, and I can never forget the pride that we boys 
used to take in unhitching his pet horse Frank; and he 
would look on and say, "Boys, give him a good bed"; 
and so we did. But he would not go to supper until 
Frank was cared for. Then, if I was* not in sight, he 
would say: "Where is my little fisherman?" Of course 
I was in hearing, and would in quick time sneak out from 
behind the cows or some other place of seclusion and 
carry more rye straw for Frank's bed. In the morning 
Uncle Dwight and I would start for the trout brook, he 
with his slick little pepper cane rod and I with my rough 
ash rod in three joints put together with zinc ferrules 
(home-made). But we were happy — old age and child- 
hood. We would go out toward the barn and then 
through the lane and on to the trout brook. We always 
took a tramp up to near the source of the brook and 
would then fish down stream through the pastures and 
meadows. He always let me fish ahead of him, and now 
I can see how generous he Avas to teach me the arts of 
the trout fisherman. I shall never forget his telling me 
one day as we reached a favorite spot in an old meadow 
partly grown up to alders, where the brook took a quick 
turn and there was a -deep hole: "Now be careful; 
crawl up and catch that big fellow that I did not get last 
year." I crept as stealthily as a cat, dropped the fresh 
bait in the ripple of the brook and let it go with the 
current into the hole. Swish ! and the rod nearly went 
out of my hands. I gave a jerk and up came a trout that 
would weigh probably three-fourths of a pound, but it just 
cleared the water and my line was entangled in the brush 
in the rear, and I said "By gosh, Uncle Dwight, did you 
see him?" "Look here, mv bov, do not swear." "I 
didn't swear," said I, "I only said 'by gosh.' " "Well, 
we will not talk about it now; but please hand me one 
of those apples, and while you are getting your line free 
from the brush I will sit on this stump and' enjoy It." I 
gave him the apple, and to my regret I gave him the 
largest in my pocket, because the apple lasted longer 
than the snarl of my line in the bushes. While the apple 
was being eaten I was receiving a great lecture on using 
the word "by." It was some months after before 1 
thought it proper to read in the papers any article "by 
ielegraph"; but I understand it all now. 
I want it distinctly understood that this is no infringe- 
men on Fred Mather's "Bv Gosh." I had not thought 
of it until I read it in "Men I Have Fished With," and 
then old farmer boy days made me think of it. Per- 
haps Fred Mather has seen me when I was a boy hang- 
ing around the place about five rniles above Holyoke, 
Mass., where he used to bring up young shad in large 
cans and go out on the end of our old ferry boat and 
dump them into the Connecticut River. They were so 
many fish thrown away, and Mr. Mather knows the rea- 
son why. * * 
The news of the assignment of the John P. Lovell Arms 
Company, of Boston, last week, was received with much 
regret in business circles and by the many friends of that 
well-known concern. The firm was one of the oldest in 
he trade, having been founded in 1841 by John P. Lovell, 
who was first engaged solely 4n the manufacture of guns. 
It was one of the largest sporting £roods houses in New 
England. 
la Memory of Joseph Bir fcett. 
Wil-ii'the rustle of the last falling leaves callie to me 
the tidings of the fall of another old friend and comrade 
on the long trail. Stricken mercifully by a painless 
blow in one instant, his eyes beheld the fading glory 
of the autumnal earth and the untold glory of the world 
beyond. 
In boyhood we became comrades in the bonds of the 
gun, the angle and the trap; bred our first hounds from 
the same litter; killed our first foxes together on old 
Shellhouse; pulled trigger on the swarming ducks of 
Little Otter, and caught its pickerel. He was a true and 
faithful lover of nature, but shy of expression of his love; 
a born naturalist, unlearned in the lore of printed books, 
but taking his lessons at first hand where nature records 
her secrets, and quick to read them. I rarely spent an 
hour with him that he did not tell me something new 
of the ways of the wood folk, and water folk; or some 
shrewd guess concerning them. He had also a quaint, 
spicy and most original humor, that made him a de- 
lightful companion. 
In the old forest days or in the wilder region than ours 
he would have been a Natty Bumpo or a Nessmuk; as it 
was, he made the most of what was left to us, and was 
a type of a class that is fast passing away from us, that 
we miss the more that we shall not recover it. 
Farewell, old friend and genial comrade. Peace be 
unto thee; and may all thy days be pleasant in the per- 
petual Indian summer of the Happy Hunting Grounds. 
AWAHSOOSE. 
The Largest Bird that Flies. 
If the subject of inquiry were the largest bird that ever 
lived, there can be little doubt that the palm would have 
to be awarded to the extinct New Zealand moa (Dinornis 
■maximns), of which the total height was about 10 feet, 
the tibia or tliigh bone measuring a yard in length. But 
this bird, like all the members of its genus, and like the 
apteryx, emu, cassowary, rhea and ostrich, which survive 
at the present day, was incapable of flight, and, therefore, 
for the present purpose need not be compared with those 
presently to be noted. As, however, there is some conflict 
of opmion as to the probable height of the largest species 
of moa, and a variation in tlie statements as to length 
of tibia in Dinornis maximus, it may be of interest en 
passant to refer to it. According to Messrs. Nicholson 
and Lydekker (Manual of Palaeontology, 3d ed., 1889), 
the height (as above stated) was 10 feet, and the length 
of tibia 3 feet. In Professor Newton's admirable "Dic- 
tionary of Birds" (art. "Moa") it is stated that Dinornis 
maximus is the largest of all the species, having a tibia 
measuring 39 inches, and probably reaching a height of 
12 feet. The former statement having been published in 
1886, and the latter in 1894, suggests as a possible ex- 
planation that between those dates a longer tibia (3 inches 
longer) came to hand, from which tlie increase in height 
of 2 feet was inferred; but the proportions in inches 
would be— 36 : 39 : : 120 : 130, that is to say, the specimen 
with a tibia of 3 feet 3 inches would measure only 10 feet 
10 inches in height, instead of 12 feet, as mentioned in the 
Dictionai'y quoted. 
But this by the way. The problem I will now try to 
solve (and it is one of some little interest) is, "Which 
is the largest existing bird that flies ?" The question is by 
no means easily answered oft'hand.' Ninet3r-nine persons 
out of a hundred who are not naturalists would probably 
infer, from the marvelous stories they have read of lambs, 
kids and even children being carried off by it, that the 
lammergeier, or bearded vulture (Gypcstus barbatiis) must 
be unquestionably the largest living bird that flies. Those 
who have traveled in Peru and Chili would doubtless 
maintain that the South American condor (Sarcorham- 
phus gryphns) must surely exceed it in size; while pas- 
sengers who have made a voyage to the Cape or to the 
Falkland Islands will feel convinced that no bird at the 
present day has a greater expanse of wing than the 
\vandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) . ' It is not pos- 
sible to settle tliese rival claims without having recourse 
to actual measurement. "Estimated" expanse of wing is 
for our purpose useless; hearsay evidence must be dis- 
carded. What we want are facts, first hand, from those 
who have actually taken measurements and ascertained 
Aveights, or seen them taken by others in their presence. 
If length of body from tip of beak to end of tail, ex- 
panse of wing nieasured between the extended tips, and 
weight of dead bird are to be taken as a test of size, it 
will probably surprise many persons to learn that the lam- 
mergeier is not the largest bird of prey in Europe, and 
that quite as large and somewhat heavier a riyal has 
visited the British Islands within the memory of those 
now living. I refer to the great Griffon vulture (Gyps 
fulvus). a specimen of which, as related in Yarrell's 
"British Birds," was captured in 1843 near Cork Harbor. 
This huge bird, when adult, measures from tip of beak 
to end of tail from 3 feet 10 inches to 4 feet i inch, accord- 
ing to sex (the females, as with most birds of prey, being 
larger than the males); the expanse of wing is from 
8 feet 10 inches to 9 feet 2 inches, and the weight from 
18 to 20 pounds. 
Not 'much inferior in point of size, though somewhav 
less m weight, is the cinereous vulture (Vulttir 
■monachiis). the male of which attains a length of 3 feet 
6 inches, and the female 3 feet 9 inches, with an expanse 
of wing varying from 8 feet to 9 feet 10 inches, according 
to age and sex, and an average weight of about 14 pounds, 
the feniale bird being a pound or two heavier. 
An inquisitive reader may here inquire how do these 
weights compare with those of the eagles which dwell in 
Scotland and the Isles, as well as in Ireland, and are met 
with from time to time in England, on migration, gen- 
erally in autumn. ' ' 
_ An immature golden eagle from Loch Gair. obtained 
m the month of August, weighed gVz pounds, and meas- 
ured between the extended wings 6 feet 7 inches An- 
other two-year-old bird, procured in Ross-shire in Septem- 
ber, 1897, weighed 11 pounds; a third, killed at Kylemore 
Castle» Galway, in October. 1889, weighed i2j^ pounds. 
