February, 1919 
73 
FOREST AND STREAM 
no camouflage concealing enemy machine gun nests, 
nor disguised snipers, could deceive him. He was 
shot finally by a German sharpshooter, but not until 
he had lead many a successful foray against the hid- 
den foes. Arrangements will be made for continu- 
ing his work with the Audubon Association as a 
memorial to him, if the necessary funds can be found. 
Mr. McMahon was a frequent and valued contri- 
butor to the natural history department of Forest 
AND Stream and has made many friends among its 
readers who will keenly miss their friend. 
THE NATURE WORSHIPPERS 
VJ^HAT real Sportsman is there whose very mind 
™ and body do not thrill to the Flying Wedge of 
geese, honking its way through the sky to its nesting 
place, far away? The whirring rise of the quail 
covey rings some deep, vibrating chord, stirring him 
as not even grand opera music stirs. No drum made 
by man throbs, to him, with such gripping beat as 
the drum of the ruffed grouse. 
The first flight of woodcock across the frosted full 
moon stirs his soul as with mystic thrill of solemn 
religion. And no fire worshipper in days gone by 
ever loved the miraculous flame as your sportsman, 
lying in dreams where the camp fires glow in wilder- 
ness of palm or pine or spired spruce, where the wild 
children, feathered or furred, or glistening with 
wondrous scales, whisper or ripple their night songs 
to the skies. 
If there be any ardent Nature Worshipper it is 
that genuine sportsman, lying in the reed-hidden 
boat, in the lagoon just back of the dunes where the 
great ocean booms, where, through the weaving 
mists of dawn the mystic rustle of wings come> while 
the glory-light rolls up, avant courier of the red ball 
of the sun, dyeing the world of waters and wild reed, 
sand and dune of ocean, with colors of flaming jewels 
where the wild duck throngs on his great migration. 
Your real sportsman is in fact a true Nature Wor- 
shipper, for his whole being, body and mind and 
soul ring and respond. 
He knows Nature, not alone with his head, but 
with his eyes and heart, his emotions and his in- 
stincts. And always he is a sane idealist. And 
that means he is a religious man too, in the funda- 
mental sense of that term. 
Creedless he may be and often is ; but his soul is 
alive. He is a Nature Worshipper. And for that 
reason. Nature tells him things she reveals to no 
other with like charm and convincing power. 
A WORD FOR THE CANOE 
D ARRING the raft, the canoe is probably the most 
^ ancient form of floating craft. Long before the 
mechanically complicated process of rowing with 
oars braced in oarlocks was discovered, the primitive 
savage threw his weight against a pole pushed into 
the river bed and found out that the log on which 
he stood went in the direction in which he wished 
it to go. It was probably a surprised aborigine who 
discovered that water also had sufficient resistance 
to a pole to move the craft, and in this humble man- 
ner the noble art of paddling may have been bom. 
From earliest days to the present there has been 
a fascination in the canoe, for the craft has held its 
ancient, simple form in the face of mechanical in- 
ventions which have been applied to other primitive 
articles. Its lightness, its facility of motion, the 
intimacy with Nature which one feels when sus- 
pended over a limpid pool, close to its surface, with- 
in reach of its substance, separated by only the mer- 
est shell of wood from the mobile water and yet held 
as safely and securely as though the craft were of 
staunchest steel — these things make for a love of 
canoeing and cruising that is inherent in mankind. 
The sport appeals to all ages. Probably the young- 
est canoeist of whom we have record was Moses of 
Biblical repute, who when a mere infant was set 
afloat by a discerning mother in a canoe of sorts, 
in which, so History tells us, he floated to a life of 
ease and luxury, even becoming the equal of kings. 
All good canoeists have experienced that sensation.. 
Good fortune still attends the lover of the sport of 
canoeing, for his are the treasures of health, sound 
sleep, good appetite and digestion, and a contented 
mind. 
It is a fact often noted among outdoor people that 
one never tires of canoeing. The pleasure of each 
summer’s cruise will be as great as the delight you 
felt at the conclusion of your first outing. It will 
never decrease, for the infinity of places to be visited 
— of streams to go up or down until they become 
known and loved highways — of camping wherever 
you will and for as long as you list — ^these com- 
ponent parts of the pleasure of canoeing give a sweet 
savor to memory and a piquant zest to anticipation. 
JOHNNY. GET YOUR GUN! 
IT IS generally recognized that the crow is not onljr 
^ an arch enemy of the farmer but is also a serious- 
menace to the breeding and propagation of game. 
The crow’s record is like its coat — about as black as 
black can be. In the interest of the conservation of 
grain and the protection of game and insectivorous 
birds, you are invited to take an active part during 
1919 in a National Crow Shoot, the chief purpose of 
which is to wage war against these pests, particu- 
larly in sections where they are numerous. 
It is estimated that every year insects cause a loss 
of millions of dollars to the farmers, truck raisers 
and fruit growers. The farmers are the producers^ 
and whatever loss they sustain aifects every con- 
sumer in the country. Song birds are the natural 
enemies of all insect life — song birds alone can keep- 
in check the ravages of insects. Crows destroy birds, 
birds destroy insects, insects destroy crops — there- 
fore, kill the crows and save the crops. 
It is certain that some concerted action on the part 
of farmers and sportsmen to reduce the number of 
these pests will conserve a large quantity of grain 
and thus prove an important factor in meeting 
America’s obligation to feed the world during these 
critical years, at the same time giving practical sup- 
port to the protection and propagation of game in 
this country. It is for this purpose that the National’ 
Crow Shoot, which is mentioned elsewhere in these- 
columns, will be conducted during 1919. 
AN INVITATION 
CEND us a postal card of fishing news or experience 
or incident. Our columns are always open, and 
their interest depends upon the number and diversity 
of communications which appear there. No other 
journal in this country begins to give the amount 
and variety of literature printed here from month 
to month. It is the ambition of those in conduct of 
Forest and Stream to increase its value and inter- 
est to the American sportsman. 
