112 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
ti^EB. II, 1905. 
tainly in the showcase it looked as though it might 
do good work. 
But by far the most interesting exhibit of firearms was 
that of the U. S. Cartridge Co., a very complete his- 
torical collection from the ancient crossbow gun and the 
blunderbuss, down through the flijitlock period of the 
Revolution, through the Civil Wat, and so to the latest 
productions. Several individual specimens of great 
historic interest were shown, e. g., John Brown's rifle. 
Sitting Bull's, and the "Cookson Magazine Gun," said 
to have been made in 1586.* 
The true sportsman, "'in the love of nature holds 
communion with her visible forms." (And after all the 
discussion about sportsmen, "true" and otherwise, does 
not their knowledge and appreciation of nature afford 
a higher, better standard of classification than th,eir 
method of taking game?) Those who think a real 
sportsman goes into the woods merely to secure game 
and fish, that he thinks little and cares less for any- 
thing else, should recall the Adirondack experiences 
of Emerson and Alcott, and of the historian, Headley, 
and his ringing words and true: "I love nature and all 
things as God made them. * * * i love it, and I 
know it is better for me than the thronged city, aye, 
better for soul and body both. * * * j j^^ve been 
astonished at the remarks sometimes made to me on 
my jaunts in the woods, as if it were almost wicked to 
cast off the gravity of society, and wander like a child 
amid the beauty which God has spread out with such 
a lavish hand over the earth. Why, I should as soon 
think of feeling reproved for gazing on the _ mid- 
night heavens, gorgeous with stars, and fearful with its 
mysterious floating worlds. I beUeve that every man 
degenerates without frequent communion with nature. 
It is one of the open books of God, and more replete 
with instructions than anything ever penned by man." 
Again he says: "Nature and the Bible are in harmony 
— they both speak our language to the heart." And 
again, describing his feelings at Indian Pass, a scene 
of wonderful grandeur and beauty, he says: "How 
loudly God speaks to the heart, when it lies thus awe- 
struck and subdued in the presence of His works." So 
it was with keen and not unaccustomed enjoyment one 
looked upon the varied and beautiful exhibits of wood 
at St. Louis 
The company has lately published an illustrated 
describing this collection of over 700 pieces. 
catalogue fully 
Entering the Forest, Fish and Game Building, one of 
the first attractions to catch the eye was the Canadian 
arch and staircase near the center, built in rustic style 
and containing over 3,000 varieties of wood, all grown 
in Canada. There were also fine specimens of lumber 
—-undressed and finished — from various places, notably 
some highly polished "curly" maple, and other hard 
woods. The Northwest sent sections of pine and fir 
seven to nine feet in diameter, and one gigantic pine 
had been cut into eight logs sixteen feet long, the smallest 
of which was thirty inches through at the top end. 
The Washington State Building showed external braces 
of unspliced fir no feet long, and two feet square. 
The collection of woods from the Philippines was a 
cause of wonder and admiration. The variety, size and 
quality elicited much remark. One massive table was 
finished like mahogany, its top, about 6 feet by 12 feet, 
being made from a single plank. It impressed one with 
the value of our newly acquired possessions in the 
east. From here it was but little distance to the Filipino 
collection of mounted trophies. 
The variety was perhaps greater than in any other 
collection of the sort, but the specimens were mainly 
of small game — the deer were like our fawns in size, 
only the snakes were large. Some python skins were 
large enough to be unpleasantly suggestive. It is a 
relief to turn, even now, in thought, from these to the 
fine collections of trophies of the chase from 
Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. 
Bear, lion, moose, elk and deer were in abundance, as 
well as smaller game. Minnesota had a miniature 
forest, in which the game looked quite life-like. Canada 
and Alaska also had good showings, the latter many 
beautiful white bear skins. 
The Roosevelt cabin, in which our President once 
lived "a ranchman," and whence so many hunting trips 
were made, was a trophy in itself. The Maine building 
was a gem of its kind, built of logs, in approved size 
anu style, and embellished with a good collection of 
moose heads, deer heads, bear and other trophies of 
the hunter's skill. It also showed a large number of the 
very large brook trout, for which the .State is justly 
famed. The whole exhibit, building and contents, was 
characteristic, unique and attractive. Not less so were 
the fair hostesses in charge. 
In the Idaho exhibit in the Mining Building was seen 
a large pair of mountain sheep horns firmly embedded 
in a tree. They were nine feet from the ground, and the 
tree at that point was over two feet in diameter. It is 
supposed that about 135 years ago the horns were 
carried down a mountain side by an avalanche of snow 
and cast upon the young tree which afterward grew 
about them with the above result. 
The largest of all the trophies was a sulphur bottom 
(blue) whale in the U. S. Government Building. It 
is 78 feet long as mounted separate from the skeleton. 
This is 75 feet long, and the skull is 19% feet long in 
a straight line. It is said this species -of whale some- 
times attains a length of 89 feet, and is the largest 
animal now known or extinct. 
Of living wild animals the exhibit was meagre and 
disappointing. The Government bird cage was large, 
but the collection far inferior to that shown at the New 
York Zoological Park. Missouri showed live animals, 
such as panthers, wolves, bear and foxes, and a few 
ducks and turkeys and other birds, but the collection 
and the specimens were small. 
One felt like going to Hagenbeck's, on the Pike, for 
relief. These lions, tigers, bears and elephants were 
"the real thing." 
So were the Indians representing the various tribes 
which once roamed over the territory of Louisiana 
Purchase. Crow, Navajo, Pawnees and many others 
were in evidence. Some were making crude pottery, 
others beautiful rugs, and still others were silversmiths 
at their trade. In the U. S. Government Indian 
Schools Buildings were many beautiful specimens of 
Indian handiwork, and of Indian clerks to sell them. 
A young Crow, "White Eagle" (English name, Wm. 
Towns), had on a feather headdress reaching to the 
floor and a pair of gold bowed spectacles. On being 
told that the latter did not correspond with the former, 
he replied, "That 'is what civilization has done for me." 
Further conversation elicited the facts that he was well 
educated and had been a believer in Christ since nine 
years old. 
Contrasting the present condition of the Indians with 
their past, remembering what their past has been in 
the development of the great territory of "the pur- 
chase," and remembering the part which sportsmen-ex- 
plorers have had in that development, one aopreciates 
the sentiment inscribed on the U. S. Government Build- 
ing: "To the pioneers who first bra^ved the unknown, 
whose deeds developed the vast empire comprised in 
the Louisiana Purchase, this building is dedicated by 
a grateful people." Juvenal. 
A New Natural History, 
In these days of outdoor life and nature study there 
is a constantly increasing demand for a popular general 
natural history, but it has always been a difficult matter 
to satisfactorily answer any one who asks for such a 
work. Many natural histories, beautifully illustrated 
- and handsomely gotten up, have been published during 
the past few years, but very few have been written in 
such a way as to interest the public. Most of them have 
fairly bristled with the italics of Latin names, or with 
technical terms which demand constant reference to a 
dictionary, so that the average man finds it difficult, 
or impossible, to comprehend what the learned author 
no doubt thought he had made extremely simple. 
A very excellent natural history has just been written 
by Mr. Wm. T. Hornaday, well known as the Director 
of the New York Zoological Society's Park, and pub- 
lished by the Scribners. It is a work which will tend 
more to a knowledge of and interest in natural history 
than many much more scientific and pretentious works 
which appeal only to a limited class of readers. 
All human beings are interested in animals, and to 
most of us from early childhood a visit to the menagerie 
has seemed one of the most desirable of pleasures. 
We love to see things that move, and so zoological 
gardens and aquariums attract people of all ages. Next 
to seeing animals alive, the best thing is to read about 
them, especially if what we read is illustrated with 
good pictures. And for that reason a wide popularity 
may be predicted for any book that tells the story of 
animals simply, and pictures them attractively. Such 
a book is Mr. Hornaday's "American Natural History. 
A foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals 
of North America." It deals with the_ vertebrates, 
chiefly those of the new world, though, in discussing 
the great group of apes, or primates, Mr. Hornaday 
brings in some old world forms which are nearest to 
raan°and are necessary to connect American groups, 
links which have never existed or which no longer exist 
on this continent. . 1 
Science is knowledge set m order, but the general 
public— though glib enough in its use of the term 
science— has httle or no zoological knowledge which 
can be set in order. In an introduction of seven pages 
Mr Hornaday gives in the plainest and simplest lang- 
uage a great number of fundamental facts and of defi- 
nitions of ordinary terms used in zoology, and these 
terms and their meanings should be learned by every 
one who purposes to use this book. Besides _ these 
definitions, a few words are given on the intelligence 
of animals, warning people not to believe too much of 
what they are told by the popular nature writers, point- 
ine out that animals are not. civilized human beings, 
and that the so-called "surgical operations" attributed 
to birds, and the supposed "schools of the woods 
exist only in the imagination of fiction writers. He 
might also have added that to call the tiger treacherous 
"*TM^» Aniprican Natural History: A Foundation of Useful 
T^Sedee of th? Higher Animals of North America. By WUliam 
^ Hornfday Director of the New York Zoological Park; author 
of '^vvo Years in the Jungle," etc. Illustrated by 227 original 
drawings and 113 photographs; pp. 449. Pnce, 13.50. 
is as great a misuse of language as to call the dove 
gentle. He very truly says that there is no great harm 
in idealizing animals and making them act from human 
motives, so long as it is plainly told that the tale is 
a story — is fiction, but that where these wonderful acts 
of wild animals are given as facts with motives actually 
supplied by the author's imagination, that author is 
doing something that is wholly misleading and wrong. 
The plan of the present volume is excellent. In- 
stead of beginning with the lowest vertebrates — the 
fishes — and working up to the highest, Mr. Hornaday 
begins with the highest mammals — which to the average 
person of whatever age are the most familiar, and so 
the most interesting — and works down to the lowest. 
He thus starts his readers with something that they 
enjoy, and leads them along with increasing interest 
to other things, in which at first they might have felt 
no interest, but which increasing information leads 
them to wish to know about. 
The body of the book opens with a chapter on the 
orders of mammals, explained by a chart indicating the 
relative importance of the different orders. The graphic 
method here used is effective. Then follows the order 
of primates, with a startling picture of a gorilla, and 
two or three capital ones of chimpanzees and orangs. 
The carnivora, cats, dogs, weasels, and bears, come 
next with excellent illustrations, ^yith an introduction 
to each group, giving its chief characteristics, and with 
a descriptive account of each species telling in simple 
language the important points about its range, colors 
and habits. 
Next come the seals in three divisions — the eared 
seals, or sea lions, the seals proper and the walruses. 
The group is of very great interest and of some com- 
mercial importance, and one about which not very 
much is known to the general public. In the account 
of the fur seal Mr. Hornaday gives a description by 
years of the condition of the fur seals of the Pribilof 
Islands since Alaska passed into the hands of the 
United States. He shows how by pelagic sealing, in 
which both mother and young are killed during the 
breeding season, the vast numbers of inhabitants of 
these summer homes of the fur seal have been now 
reduced to less than 200,000. Another species that_ is 
constantly growing less in number is the Pacific 
walrus. . 
The moles, shrews, bats and rodents follow in that 
order, and after them comes the great order of hoofed 
animals, which contains our buffalo, muskox, sheep, 
deer and many of the other , game animals which we have 
in such plenty in America. To this last group Mr. Horna- 
day gives much attention. 
The whales and porpoises, the sea cows, the edentates, 
including the armadillos, anteaters and sloths and, 
finally, the order of diggers, with the marsupials and 
the monotremes, end the list of the mammalia. 
Children and adults alike will rejoice in Mr. Horna- 
day's pages describing the birds, for they are full of 
interest and information, and of beautiful illustration. 
The camera and the best artists have united to furnish 
the whole volume with pictures • that are quite irre- 
sistible. Of hardly less interest and usefulness are the 
parts of the work which speak of the reptiles and am- 
phibians and fishes, though, after all, we can hardly 
expect as much interest to be found in these lower and 
far less known groups as is taken in the birds and the 
mammals. 
A useful and practical bit of information is given on 
pages 353 to 355, where the author writes of snake 
poisons and their treatment and gives much informa- 
tion which, simply and directly told as it is, may well 
save many a life. 
An especially wise step toward ease of reading, and 
so toward popularity, has been taken in this book; for 
all the Latin names of the animals, commonly so great 
a stumbling block to the reader, are printedrfs foot 
notes at the bottom of the page. They thus do not 
occur in the text to interrupt the thought, and yet the 
reference which each English name carries to the Latin 
name at the foot of the column enables the seeker 
after information to look up that Latin name, which 
is so divided and so accented that it may be pronounced, 
even though the reader is quite guiltless of any knowl- 
edge of Latin. 
Very full information is given above about the 
game animals and birds, and the book should find a 
place in every sportsman's library. We believe that 
it will do much good, and it deserves a wide public, 
among children as well as adults. 
The Story of Monarch. 
"Wyndgoul," Cos Cob, Conn., Jan. 31. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: I inclose copy of a letter that I recently sent 
to Allen Kelly without getting reply. Will you oblige me 
by giving it the same publicity as you did the attack on 
me. Ernest Thompson Seton. 
"Wyndgoul," Cos Cob, Conn., Jan. 19. — -My Dear Kelly: 
Upon my return from England, after three months' ab- 
sence, I learn with surprise that someone thinks that in 
writing the story of Monarch I am trespassing on your 
claim. 
I can scarcely believe that this idea originated with 
you; in case, however, you have any feeling in ihe mat- 
ter, I hope it will disappear .when I. act on the suggestion 
of cur mutual friend. Dr. Morris, and remind you of one 
or two important facts. . 
First, I met Monarch on the 27th of August, 1899, many 
weeks before I knew you, and at the same time I met 
Louis Ohnimus, who was in charge of . the menagerie at 
Golden Gate, and from him learned much about the big, 
grizzly. I Spent the month of September of that year on a 
hear hunt around Mount Tallac, in company with Lou 
Ohnimus and Clark Summerfield, and there gathered 
many bear incidents. Later, J. S. Mackenzie, Jr., of 
Bakersfield, supplied others. I had the tale alL planned 
and partly written when first I met you at Los Angeles, 
October g, 1.899. I then told you I was writing a bear 
story with Monarch as the basis, and I read you part of 
my story across the table that night when you and Mrs. 
Kelly dined with Mrs. Seton and myself at Van Nu/s 
Hotel. This written, part, is now before me; it occupies 
pp. 138 to 160 of my California Journal. You gave me 
some additional information, and told me I was iree to 
