Forest and Stream. 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1904, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
tkrms,ma year, io cts. a'copv. t NEW YORK, SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1904. \ 
No. 846^ Broadway, Nbw York. 
Six Months, $». J " * , 
THE WONDERFUL ORLOFF HANS. 
The silly season, by more or less common or uncom- 
mon consent, is loosely conceded to have its proper time 
and place in the uneasy days of midsummer. Then is the 
fortuitous juncture of insectivorous nights, sweltering 
temperatures, and perfervid thirst, which seem to vivify 
and bewray the harmless mental idiosyncrasies of a large 
part of mankind. Then is the season when the marvelous 
and the sensational are cherished. Then the peripatetic 
canards, the fatherless marvels of fakeland, the fancies 
opposed to facts, effects without causes, have their ram- 
pant innings. In the silly season, marvels exist without 
antecedents. The mind then of that standard of measure- 
ment, "the average person," seems to become more buoy- 
ant, more expansive, more receptive, more credulous, so 
that after all the silly season may denote a change of sup- 
ply and demand in new channels. 
The silly season may be considered as well begun with 
the advent of the sea serpent from the vaeue and shadowy 
places of the submarine depths ; and following close, with 
the quickened step and jostling of a circus procession, fol- 
lows the silly season parade in endless and brilliant 
variety. 
The present silly season may be said to eclipse its prede- 
cessors. It has been better sustained, and the climaxes 
are strong in force and pertinency. The most recent con- 
tributions bear the hallmark of originality and facial im- 
perturbability. Our staid and steady contemporary, the 
Brooklyn Eagle, in its issue of August 22, gravely re- 
counts that the editor of the Ca'zenovia Republican states 
that there is a canine suburban resident of his town- 
meaning thereby a dog fancier — who owns a beautiful and 
intelligent dog. In some inexplicable way the owner 
sallied forth without the dog. When the dog missed him, 
he hastily scurried from place to place in the town, which, 
according to his best judgment, his master was likely to 
frequent on a hot day. The story naively continues thus : 
"In the meantime, the gentleman had reached home, and, 
missing the dog, telephoned back to the house where the 
dog was patiently awaiting him. On being informed that 
the dog was there, he requested that the receiver be placed 
to the dog's ear." The owner thereupon whistled, and the 
dog forthwith hurried to his home in the suburbs in 
response to his master's whistle. 
But as an exhibition of canine intelligence, this is com- 
pletely eclipsed by the equine intelligence exhibited by 
Hans, a German horse of Berlin, whose marvelous intel- 
lect has won him many scare heads in the daily press. 
Hans, as to proper designation, is an Orloff stallion. He 
is alleged (by cablegram specials) to be "the cause of 
amazement among scientific men and psychologists." The 
distinction between a scientific man and a psychologist is 
not quite clear, but presumably the distinction is a nice 
one. Hans, the Orloff stallion, is credited with a knowl- 
edge of music and arithmetic, a knowledge of rhetoric, an 
ability to distinguish twelve colors, and "to restore har- 
mony in musical discord." Among those who have sur- 
veyed the equine prodigy and tested his mentality, the ac- 
counts state there were Dr. Studt, the Prussian Minister 
of Education; Prof. Georg Schweinfurth, the famous 
African traveler; Prof. Karl Stumpf, of the Berlin Uni- 
versity; Herr Schillings, the naturalist, and Ludwig 
Heck, Director of the Berlin Zoological Garden. The 
stupefied Studt, by the way, says Herr von Osten would 
have been burned as a wizard in the earlier ages of the 
world. This is what Hans does : 
"The horse communicates by a system of hoof-beats, 
representing the alphabet. Besides adding, subtracting, 
multiplying, and dividing sums, he does examples involv- 
ing several of these operations, finds square numbers, and 
not only simply repeats what is taught, but solves fresh 
problems put to him by examiners in the absence of his 
master, showing a grasp of the principles of arithmetic. 
"The stallion also forms little sentences, remembers 
them next day, and discriminates twelve colors and 
shades, giving their corresponding names. Moreover, he 
distinguishes musical tones, indicating where they are 
situated on the chromatic scale, and picks out discords, 
designating which tone to omit in order to restore 
harmony. 
"When the exercises are prolonged, the horse becomes 
nervous and inattentive, and mistakes become more 
frequent." 
It is not to be inferred that when a horse, which is not 
an Orloff stallion, paws the earth, he is performing stunts 
in the higher calculus. And yet what Orloff Hans has 
done, is doing, or may do, is no more than what many 
horses and dogs have done in like manner ; that is to say, 
in obedience to the commands of their masters. They 
perform certain acts in response to certain commands 
without any conception of a significance beyond the sim- 
ple act itself. 
But all these fakes are essential to the silly season's 
success. 
GETTING IT ALL. 
In the homely colloquialism of the day, one who re- 
ceives full measure of good or ill is said to "get all that 
is coming to him." If some of us do not get our share 
of the good things, it may be that we do not take the 
simple steps which would insure their "coming to us." 
We overlook the enjoyment of our privileges near to hand 
because our eyes are set, perhaps enviously, on the good 
fortune of other people whose opportunities are greater. 
Many of us may not go to Canada for salmon or moose, 
nor to the Rockies for elk or bear; nor sail our big yachts. 
But there is yet abundant recreation of a quiet sort, per- 
fectly practicable of our enjoyment if only we will make 
the most of it, and "get all that is coming to us " How 
one person does it is told in the paper on another page on 
"Camping Out." The reading of it ought to be an incite- 
ment to a whole navy of small river craft, a whole army 
of dwellers in tents on the banks of home rivers and 
the shores of near-by bays. The simple story of quiet 
vacations by "One of the Joneses" deserves to be put into 
tract form and distributed broadcast over the land, bear- 
ing its message of sane and profitable vacation making. 
Such outings, whether on the water, amid the hills, or 
just in the woods, are needed breaks in the routine of the 
year ; and even though they may be devoid of exciting epi- 
sodes, have their abiding influence on body, brain, and 
spirit. 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND THE PARK. 
There is much to be learned from the admirable article 
by President Roosevelt which we print this week. The 
paper is from "American Big Game in Its Haunts," the 
recently issued and fourth volume of the Book of the 
Boone and Crockett Club. The concluding part will fol- 
low in our next issue. 
The President's account of what he saw in the Yellow- 
stone Park in April, 1903, and in the other Wilderness 
Reserves visited a little later, is extremely interesting, 
and is told' with that charming freshness that always 
characterizes his writings on outdoor topics; but there 
is more in it than merely the charm of a delightful story 
of outdoor life among the wild creatures. Many descrip- 
tions of the natural conditions and of the wild life exist- 
ing in the Yellowstone National Park have been written 
before, but such an account writtten by the Chief Magis- 
trate of the Nation will be more widely read and will 
carry far more weight than one by a less conspicuous 
personage. It is surely well that we should have the testi- 
mony of so eminent an observer as to the conditions in 
the Park. These conditions have been brought about by 
absolute protection of the wild life in the Park for the 
last ten years. This absolute protection followed the 
enactment of an efficient law for the government of the 
reservation, and the detailing of wise and efficient 
officers of the Army as superintendents of the Park. In 
the last analysis it is to Congress that we must look for 
game protection over much of the still sparsely populated 
West, and though Congress is often slow to act — as in 
the case of the Yellowstone National Park it did not act 
until the Park herd of buffalo had been exterminated by 
poachers — it did move at last, and Mr. Roosevelt tells us 
of the results of this action. ■ 
If the benfits of complete protection in the Yellow- 
stone Park have been such as they are, similar absolute 
protection in other sections of the western mountains 
would be followed by similar results. If Congress should 
enact a law authorizing the establishment of game refuges 
in forest reserves, as we have so often urged, we might 
in a few years have a number of tracts of country where 
wild game would be as abundant and as tame as Mr. 
■ Roosevelt found it in the Yellowstone Park. Of one 
thing, however, we may be sure: that is that until Con- 
gress understands that there is some general demand for 
the establishment of game refuges, it will be slow to act 
in the matter. **** 
It is time that all persons interested in the preservation 
of the natural things of this country should take an active 
interest in this matter. In the preface of the volume from 
which this article is taken, it is well said: "The Park 
is an object lesson showing very clearly what complete 
game protection will do to perpetuate species, and Mr. 
Roosevelt's account of what may be seen there is so con- 
vincing that all who read it and appreciate the importance 
of preserving our large mammals, must become advocates 
of the forest reserve game refuge system." 
CAMP-FIRE RULES. 
The camper should everywhere exercise the same ex- 
treme caution about camp-fires he would employ if he 
were building the fire in his own woods or his own fields. 
The more experienced the camper, the more careful he is. 
Only the foolish tyro makes light of caution herei! 
These rules, which we have printed before,' are repeated 
as an injunction anew on a subject which should have re- 
peated attention as the camping season rolls around. The 
observance of these rules will prevent disaster from camp- 
fires. They are extremely simple and easy of observance, 
though often disregarded. 
Never build a fire where its flame can communicate to 
grass or bush or branches of trees. 
Never build a fire where the sparks can be carried to 
brush or trees, or leaves or grass. 
Never build a fire without first noting the lay of the 
land with respect to controlling it after it is kindled. 
Never leave camp for the day with the fire to burn un- 
attended. Extinguish it thoroughly. 
Under no circumstances, when moving camp, leave, the 
fire to burn or smoulder. Put it out. 
To extinguish a fire built upon the ground where there 
is turf, the roots of trees or other vegetable matter in the 
soil, pour water upon it until the ground is thoroughly 
soaked; then dig around about and well outside the cir- 
cumference, throwing the earth in toward the center, and 
then wet it down again. 
Senator Patterson, of Colorado, has been to see the 
Southern Utes, to discuss the purchase by the Govern- 
ment of the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellers' ruins, which are 
on their reservation. He reports that the Indians refuse 
to negotiate. Having been cheated, swindled, buncoed, 
and robbed by his white brother for several centuries, the 
red man has at last become shy of land deals. The Utes 
absolutely refuse to treat with the Government for a sur- 
render of the cliff dwellings. They give as a reason that 
the Government has not kept its word nor fulfilled its 
promises made at the time of the last treaties, and until 
these promises are made good the tribe will enter into no 
new negotiations for parting with any of their land. It is 
humiliating for a nation of light and leading to be talked 
to in this blunt way by a lot of savages, but the cold 
facts of history, remote and recent, show the wisdom of 
the Utes in their hesitation to enter into new treaties 
with a people which does not regard its obligations. For 
the sake of fair play,- not less than that the interesting 
Mesa Verde ruins may come into our care and keeping as 
a national park, the Government should carry out the 
promises it has made to these Indians, and by fair and 
honest treating with them, create the confidence essential 
to their willingness to make the deal for the cliff ruins. 
* 
A man was scared by a snake, which another man 
killed. The snake was perfectly harmless, and could not 
have hurt the man; but because the man happened to be 
an artist at the Parker home, the circumstance became 
an event and was wired over the country. The snake 
was very likely a garter, but it went over the wires in 
special dispatches as a "big adder," from whose fangs the 
artist was saved only by the rare presence of mind and 
: prompt action of the bystanders. The press dispatch 
always paints the adder in vivid colors as an alarming 
creature. This is because the average reporter gets his 
notion of the snake from his assiduous study of the 
Scriptures, wherein of wine it is said that it "at last sting- 
eth like an adder," and of evil and violent men that 
"adder's poison is under their lips. If our contemporaries 
would study the Psalms and the Proverbs less and some 
simple natural history more, we should not so often read 
of the deadly adder. 
