ISO 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. i6, igoi. 
On a Ledge. 
Wells, Wyo. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have just 
been reading Mr. Ireland's letter in Forest and Stream 
of Jan. 12, and it is very plain to be seen that Mr. Ireland 
has been there himself several times. Really, though, 
there are some hair-raising trails in the Book Cliffs, and 
once in a while a pony goes over when the trails are 
slippery and bad. And when one does go over he is 
pretty well demoralized when he hits bottom, as the 
drop off is several hundred feet. There is one place 
especially that I never went across that I didn't think, 
"Suppose this fool bronc should take a notion to pitch," 
and sometimes when no one was along I got off and 
walked, just to ease my mind. However, Col. Roose- 
velt does not happen to be going to the Book mesa to 
hunt, therefore he will be spared that trial to his nerves. 
Of course I don't know just when the hunt will take 
place, but as his guide happens to be an old hunting 
partner of mine I'll bet two bits that I could find the 
outfit without much trouble. I only wish I could be 
there to yell a few times when the dogs string out on a 
fresh lion track, or to help poke a big cougar out of a 
tree and see the fun when the pack takes hold and dogs 
and lion roll over and over down the hill — and the 
racket can be heard for a mile. 
I know the dogs well, for John GofJ's dogs and mine 
are blood relations, and lots of times we have doubled 
up packs for a big hunt. 
Once we treed a big cougar, and when we got him 
out he got among a lot of rocks right on top of a 
cliff. For several seconds no dog could get hold, but 
at last Brig got a shoulder grip, the lion got Brig by the 
cheek, the rest of the pack piled in, and the whole works 
went over the cliff. Luckily, there was a bridge about 
three feet wide down about ten feet, and on this part of 
the outfit stopped, but the lion and Hector went on over, 
falling nearly seventy feet. Hector must have lit on top, 
as he was all right, while the cougar was dead. Brig 
ran along the ledge to where the cliff had a little slope 
and took a header, landing head first in a deep snow drift. 
Three or four of the puppies started to follow, but landed 
on a narrow ledge a foot wide halt-way down, and after 
the row was over we had to let a rope down from above, 
drop a noose over their heads and draw them up that 
way. 
When we got down Brig had lost so much blood from 
the hole in his cheek that he couldn't stand, but a quid of 
tobacco in the wound stopped the flow, and he came out 
all right. It was always a wonder to me that moVe 
sportsmen don't come out for cougar hunting. It is 
more fun than any other sport we have. But as it must 
be done when the weather is cold and snow on the 
ground, I suppose it seems rather hard work. 
Wm. Wells. 
Cutting Hay in the Yellowstone Park. 
Asheville, N. C. — Editor Forest and Stream: I was 
pleased to see (Forest and Stream, Dec. 12, 1900) in the 
recommendation of the acting superintendent of the Yel- 
lowstone National Park, that he recommends "That no 
individual nor business concern be allowed to cut hay 
within the limits of the National Park." 
One year ago last October while returning from a hunt- 
ing trip in the Jackson Hole countrj% we went out through 
the Park, traversing it from the Snake River Landing 
on the south to Ft. Yellowstone on the north. Our ob- 
servation, of course, only embraced that territory which 
could be seen from the road (via the Thumb and Norris 
Basin). From the Thumb north every meadow, large and 
small, which presented suitable ground, had been gone 
over with the mowing machine ; and in conversation with 
guides, residents and soldiers, it was developed that the 
same was true in the more remote parts of the Park, The 
guides claimed that many elk were driven south out of 
the Park by this short-sighted policy. The best grazing 
was yearly removed, and as the elk depended upon the 
grazing in these meadows for their winter foragee, it 
meant destruction by starvation and freezing for the 
weaker. The guides claim, in fact, that a great per cent, 
of the elk which migrate south have been compelled to 
do so each year since the hay cutting commenced. 
It is the intention of the Government to protect and 
foster the game. The cavalry horses are fed baled hay, 
shipped in. Why allow transportation companies to thus 
embarrass game already in the Park? 
I trust that Capt. Goode will secure the passage of all 
his recommendations, and particularly this one concerning 
the cutting of hay in the Park. 
To keep an animal at home, feed him well — at least 
don't steal that which he recognizes as rightly his own. 
C. P. Ambler. 
West Virginia Deer. 
Morgantown, W. Va. — Editor Forest and Stream: It 
seems high time that some active steps were taken to im- 
prove the game laws of West Virginia by limiting the law- 
ful number of deer killed by one person. John Burner 
arrived at Parkersburg on Dec. 25 with fourteen deer, 
which he had killed in Pocahontas county within a few 
days. One was a big buck which weighed 275 pounds. 
Mr. Burner has killed during the season thirty-five deer 
and three bears, besides other smaller game, all in the 
mountains of Pocahontas county. 
Just how long game can last in these mountains de- 
pends on how many such hunters we have, unless we 
follow the example of other States and put a limit to the 
number one may kill. If the limit was made one instead 
of two, it would mean a saving of hundreds of deer each 
year in each State which contains any quantity of deer, 
and would surely lessen the income of such States from 
non-resident sportsmen but a very little, since the true 
sportsman would feel justified in making his regular 
hunting trip for the privilege of securing one deer. Some 
might figure that where they are at an expense of a hun- 
dred dollars or more, the killing of one deer would not 
justify making the trip. Neither would the killing of 
two or three, from the financial point of view. For the 
present, however, ,we wouj^l be thankful for a law in 
\V^t Virgii?ia maidng ih^ limit two. 
Moose in Qtiebec* 
Aylmer, Que. — Editor Forest and Stream: You will 
find inclosed herewith a letter I have received a few 
days ago from Mr. Isaac C. Bates Dana, of Worcester, 
Mass., which speaks for itself. This moose was shot on 
the Kippewa. N. E. Cormier, 
Provincial Game Warden and Fishery Overseer. 
Notice. 
I drop you line from home to thank you most heartily 
for all your kindness to me in regard to my late moose 
hunt in the Province of Quebec. Coming to you an 
entire stranger, yow literally took me in and fed and 
clothed me with all the requisites necessary to bring 
my trip to a most successful conclusion. 
As you may have already learned from some other 
source, I shot an unusually large moose. The horns 
have been measured by many interested sportsmen, not 
all agreeing by any means. The smallest measurement 
made was 61 inches; the largest 63^ inches. Our local 
taxidermist gives them 63 inches. Certainly they have 
both the widest and deepest spread of any set of horns 
hereabouts. I had a mighty pleasant sojourn in your 
country. I reach out my hand to you in the spirit, as 
from one sportsman to another, of one who considers 
himself most deeply indebted to you for administering to 
one of the most enjoyable hunting trips of a life time. 
Sincerely yours, J. C. Bates Dana. 
Live Game at the Sportsmen's Show. 
Two splendid specimens of moose — a bull and cow — 
have been secured for the coming Sportsmen's Show at 
Madison Square Garden. Arrangements made for ex- 
hibiting the animals at this year's show will enable visitors 
to get a much better view of them in studying their pro- 
portions and habits. Instead of one large park, there will 
be a series of smaller inclosures in which the various 
species will be confined. At no past show has the number 
and variety of both birds and animals been so large as 
that decided upon for next month's exhibit. Moose, elk, 
caribou, half a dozen varieties of deer, antelope, mountain 
sheep and buft'alo, together with mountain lion, lynx, wild- 
cat, black and cinnamon bear, wolves, foxes and other 
carnivorous species, all of them extraordinarily fine speci- 
mens, will be shown. A colony of beaver, as well as ot- 
ters and muskrats, will establish their residences on the 
shore of the lake, while" a dozen fat raccoons, half a 
hundred red and gray squirrels and as many hares and 
rabbits will occupy cages of wire mesh. 
The game bird exhibit, in charge of Verner de Guise, 
will be an extensive one, embracing specimens of pheasant, 
partridge, quail, turkey and all varieties of wild duck com- 
mon to Atlantic coast waters. In fact, the exhibit of ani- 
mal and bird life at the Garden this year promises to be 
one of the most interesting features of the show. 
Stop Spring Shooting. 
Watertown, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: There 
are two bills that we ought to, can and will succeed in 
passing this winter if every sportsman who is interested 
will work for their passage. It is of the utmost im- 
portance that you bring all the pressure possible to bear 
upon the representatives of your own county. Don't ex- 
pect some one else to do it. Do it yourself. Always have 
a few postals with you, ask each of your friends to write, 
see that they are properly addressed, and mail them your- 
self. You will be surprised at the number of votes you 
can get. 
Start a petition in your town and get all the names you 
can. Your representative is no mind reader, and if you 
fail to tell him what you want, don't kick if he votes 
against you. If it is not worth asking for, it is not worth 
having. If you want it, vote, and vote often, and you'll 
get it. Stop the spring shooting of wildfowl. Stop the 
sale of ruffed grouse, woodcock and quail at any time of 
the year in New York State, 
Have you voted? I have. W. H. Tallett. 
The Eastern Adirondack Winter. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The winter in the Adirondacks and -along Lake Cham- 
plain has been one of considerable severity and unfavor- 
able for game. In November there was an unprecedented 
fall of snow in the A'u Sable Valley, which was reported 
to have broken down the roofs of a hundred buildings, 
large and small, from Keene Valley to Au Sable Forks. 
At that time the snow was upward of four feet deep on a 
level, and since then it has been steadily gaining in depth. 
The broad part of Lake Champlain closed Jan. 30. nearly 
three weeks earlier than last year, so suddenly that at 
Westport and Essex a number of wild ducks were frozen 
in and perished. A dozen or more were found at points 
along the shore, caught in the ice, and two days later one 
was captured alive, but partly frozen, flopping along the 
ice, by a boy skating on Whallon's Bay. 
The great depth of snow makes it very difficult getting 
around in the woods at present, but so far no crust has 
formed, and deer are probably doing as well as could 
be expected. J- B. B. 
Mountain Lion Hunting in Colorado. 
Dr. E. L. Burnham, of Sanford, Me., and Mr. Everet 
C. Burnham, of Boston, his brother, have just returned 
from Colorado, whither they went some weeks ago to 
enjoy a lion hunt. 
They started off without the least idea of where to go, 
but inquiry in Denver led them to go to De Beque, Colo., 
a little station not very far west of Rifle, where Hon. 
Theo. Roosevelt has also been hunting lions. Here they 
secured the services of the Crandall boys, who were said 
to have good dogs. Unfortunately, just before the hunters 
reached De Beque the Crandalls lost their dogs, and a 
number of days were wasted trying to hunt lions with un- 
trained dogs. However, at the very last of their stay 
they succeeded in getting hold of a couple of good dogs, 
and in three days killed two lions. Of these, the larger 
was 7 feet long and weighed 150 pounds ; an animal very 
heavy for its length. We are promised further particulars 
Qf the hunt. " „ 
All communication! intended for Fokkst awd Stkeam should 
slwayt be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and 
not to any individual connected with the paper. 
Proprietors of fiBhins; resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them in Foksst and bTKKAu. 
Fishing Up and Down the Potomac. 
The Relation of Mendacity to Angling. 
This subject might well be treated as the celebrated 
chapter on the snakes in Iceland. No reptiles have been 
discovered in Iceland. But recalling a sentence around 
which Mayne Reid wrote one of his books, "Every truth is 
overshadowed by a sophism more like truth than truth it- 
self," and that more terse and homely saying that a "He 
well stuck to is as strong as the truth," it would seem that 
some effort should be made to set the public right on this 
important question. Of course "our withers are. un- 
wrung," and 
"The sting of falsehood loses half its pain. 
If our own souls bear witness — we are true." 
The task will not be easy, for once the world has got 
hold of the wrong story it is marvelous "how hard it is to 
get it out." The harder in this, that many are so earnest 
and indifferent honest in making the charge of unre- 
liability against the angler; 
"Like one 
Who having unto truth, by telling of it. 
Made such a sinner of his memory. 
To credit his own lie." 
But we must with proper scorn repel the base insinua- 
tions of a jealous world ; expose the conspiracy which has 
so long existed to saddle on the innocent angler a 
vicarious atonement for which he gets no credit. 
Is it fair that the hands extended should be a reproach 
to generations of honest anglers? That no distinction 
should be made between the sheep and the goats? Let 
us throw off the hated yoke, assert our independence and 
denounce our detractors and our imitators ; these counter- 
feit presentments with simulated garments and weapons, 
whose unvarnished and unshamed tales of "men in buck- 
ram" and of sea serpents have brought disgrace unmerited 
upon a noble profession. 
It will no doubt come as a surprise to some, that this 
badge of reckless and false statement belongs to all the 
world, save only those who have been so long condemned 
to wear it. 
"How false are men, both in their heads and hearts, 
And there is falsehood in all trades and arts; 
Lawyers deceive their clients by false law. 
Priests by false gods keep all the world in awe." 
It is the old story repeated of the man in the asylum, 
who, when asked for an explanation of his presence be- 
hind the bars, said: "Owing to a difference of opinion; 
I said all the world was crazy, the world said I was; the 
majority ruled and here I am." 
The world says that anglers exaggerate and the truth 
is not in them; their wonderful stories are received with 
wagging heads, and with shouts of ribald laughter that 
sound "like the crackling of thorns under a pot," and 
no one thinks of confining his incredulity to the "quip 
modest" ; they go jump to the seventh times removed, be- 
yond which no man dares go without an if; but "see how 
plain a tale shall put them down." 
"All men are liars," said the prophet, but the qualifica- 
tion afterward made to the sweeping statement was evi- 
dently intended to except anglers. The legendary home 
of truth, as all know, is at the bottom of a well. Few 
are really aware that its symbol is a fish. In the Cata- 
combs of ancient Rome the fish is found frequently re- 
curring in inscriptions and outline, and antiquarians finding 
in its Greek name the anagram of the Saviour, assumed 
that it was used only as a monogram, and only recently 
determined that it stood also for the synonym truth. 
If truth is a fish and at the bottom of a well, certainly no- 
body has any show of securing it but your expert angler. 
"All men are liars," said the prophet. Lest the mis- 
called weaker sex who have been putting up so manly a 
fight for recognition should feel, as they so often must in 
reading the prophets, that they have been ignored, or 
should claim exemption under this form of expression, 
they are warned not to lay that "flattering unction" to 
their souls. So surely as every Darby has his Joan, so 
every Ananias hath his Sapphira, his equal in invention, 
in nerve, yea, in atonement. The Germans and Italians 
have both a proverb which says, "Take an eel by the 
tail and a woman at her word, and hold how you may, 
you have nothing at last." 
But what the prophet really wrote was, "I said in my 
haste all men are liars." He who has confessed haste has 
already confessed error, and anglers can afford to be 
magnanimous, but it is a pity that he did not except 
fishermen by name, as there can be no doubt was intended ; 
their case would have been something stronger. 
It will be easy enough to show that all the rest of the 
world is included in the original hasty expression, and 
but for anglers there had never been occasion to modi- 
fy it. 
Our history and our philosophy have been crystallized 
into so-called proverbs, that, handed down from remote 
ages, have found confirmation in the coincidences which 
prove that history repeats itself, and if a liberal appeal 
to old saws is made, it is because there is no better testi- 
mony, and that way even safety lies. 
A saying so old that its origin is lost has it that "Poets 
and painters have liberty to lie," and little liberty in this 
world goes begging. ^ . , , 
Another wise saw tells us. The official who cannot he 
may as well be out of the world," and you catch in this 
net a good part of Washington. 
"To lie Uke a trooper" is as old as the trooper, and 
would seem to make prevarication an accomplishment in- 
separable from the vocation. 
"^s a nail stieketh fast between the stqne« of a well, §Q 
