or 189 o“but if a student of wild fowl 
habits he might have known of the book. 
Perhaps, however, the Biological Sur- 
vey takes the position ^aid to have been 
assumed in old days by the London Times 
— that no news had been published until 
it had appeared in the columns of the 
Times. 
Mr. Wetmore’s account used a few 
technical anatomical terms, but except 
for these words, and for its verbosity, 
does not differ markedly from the one 
published t?^cnty odd years ago. 
However,. he must be given credit for 
some original research. Thus (1) he 
fed captive birds some No. 6 shot through 
a funnel and singular to relate this diet 
after a time poisoned the birds; (2) he 
sifted the mud beneath the water about 
commonly used ducking blinds and found 
shot in the mud! 
We must all bow the head before sci- 
ence and even if these are days of 
strikes, high prices and — for some peo- 
ple — hard times, I am sure the taxpay- 
ers are glad to pay out their money to 
manufacture a pamphlet containing such 
nuggets of wisdom. 
Old Gunner, New Jersey. 
HENRY’S LAKE TODAY 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
A fter reading the fine article by Mr. 
Bannon in the September number of 
Forest and Stream, it occurred to me 
that possibly some of the aspects of the 
present conditions and attractions of 
that wonderland around Henry’s Lake 
might be of interest to your readers. 
The marvels of the Yellowstone Na- 
tional Park are attracting tourists from 
every part of the country and each year 
the number of people traveling in their 
own cars and camping as they go, is 
increasing tremendously. But there are 
very few who knov/ of the wonderful 
places for the sportsman and sightseer 
which lie just off the main traveled 
roads and which are as well worth seeing 
as the Park itself. 
Henry’s Lake is truly a paradise for 
the present day tourists just as it was 
a center for the big game hunter of ear- 
lier years. I thinle no other stream in 
the west can boast of the number, size 
and variety of trout as are found in the 
Madison River. No lakes in the coun- 
try can surpass the chain of Cliff Lakes 
in wildness, beauty, depth or game fish. 
No other section is richer in relics and 
traditions and reminders of the very ear- 
liest pioneers. So if tourists and travel- 
ers can become acquainted with these 
wonder places through the agency of a 
magazine such as yours, the pleasure of 
the trip can be increased many fold and 
our natural attractions will become as 
well known as those of other countries. 
Less than a score of years after Lewis 
and Clark had toiled up the Missouri 
River on their wonderful pilgrimage in- 
to an unknown country, and had stopped 
at the point where three rivers meet to 
form that greatest of natural highways, 
Andrew Henry left the trading post of 
the Missouri Fur Company at the Three 
Forks of the Missouri and with two com- 
panions as brave and hardy as himself. 
struck south along the river named by 
Captain Lewis, the Madison. Just where 
he was going he did net know, but he 
knew that any place was better than the 
hunting ground of the Blackfeet. It 
was a beautiful country he passed 
through. A valley many miles wide shut 
in on the east and west by towering 
mountain ranges; smooth, sloping mesas 
covered with rich grasses and dotted 
with herds of buffalo and antelope, and 
down the center of the valley flowing a 
wonderful stream. Where the river 
turned abruptly to the east and cut its 
way through a mighty range of moun- 
tains, he left the stream and crossing a 
low, rolling divide which separates the 
waters of the Atlantic from those of the 
Pacific, he came to a lake set like a gem 
among the surrounding mountains and 
meadows. 
And so, Henry’s Lake was discovered 
and named. And we, almost exactly a 
century later followed this same beauti- 
ful valley, crossed the same broad mesas. 
On the way to Henry’s Lake 
covered now with fertile fields and dotted 
with herds of white faced cattle; saw 
the river whose rippling surface and 
deep pools and hurrying rapids v/ere a 
constant invitation to stop and fish; 
looked at the same lofty peaks whose 
towering summits pierced a sky of in- 
comparable blue. And we came to the 
Lake. It was just the same as when 
Henry saw it a hundred years ago ex- 
cepting that now, the meadows around 
its southern and western shore are 
marked with stacks of hay made from 
the luscious grasses, and here and there 
may be seen a z’ancher’s cabin or hunter’s 
lodge along the shore of the lake. 
We drove into the yard of the famous 
Bower’s Ranch and were met by the own- 
er of that truly typical western moun- 
taineer’s home. He helped us to unload 
our car and conducted us to the cabin 
which had been reserved for our party. 
“And nov/,” said our host when we had 
made ourselves comfortable, “I reckon 
you are ready for something to eat. The 
bell will ring in about ten minutes." 
And such a dinner. Vegetables in pro- 
fusion of variety freshly gathered from 
the garden near the house; milk and 
cream ice cold from the milk house built 
over the mountain stream; great rain- 
bow trout baked to a turn and best of 
all, appetites sharpened and stimulated 
by a day of riding in the crisp mountain 
air. 
In the glow of such a sunset as can 
be seen only in the high altitudes of the 
Rockies, we follov/ed a trail through the 
pines and aspens down to the margin of 
the lake. Jack snipes darted from the 
little grass covered stream which tum- 
bled down the slope, and a mother grouse 
with her brood of almost full grown 
birds scurried into the trees at our pass- 
ing. As we came through the willow 
screen which borders the lake we could 
scarcely credit our senses at seeing such 
myriads of water-fowl. The lake, which 
at this point is shallow and full of moss, , 
was literally covered with ducks, of ap- 
parently every known variety, larger 
birds which we took to be loons, pelicans, 
and riding majestically on the water 
farther out, were two swans. Here and 
there in this shallower part of the lake 
were little islands, some covered with 
tules and rank grass, others having dense 
clumps of willows — ideal places for the 
duck hunter. Farther out the lake 
stretches in unbroken miles of deep 
water, the home of the largest and 
gamiest trout found in the west. 
“See that bunch ef pines off there to 
the north?’’ said Raymond Bov/ers. 
“That is Lavinger’s Island. He built a 
cabin there longer ago than anyone can 
remember and trapped and hunted on 
the lake. His idea was to protect himself 
from the Indians and I guess he was 
about right.” Later in our sojourn at 
Henry’s Lake we rowed across the mile 
of water smooth as glass and visited 
Lavinger’s Island. In the center of a 
grove of pines Centuries old and sur- 
rounded by a dense growth of aspens, 
willows, kinikinick, "wild raspberries and 
wild roses were the remains of the old 
trapper’s cabin. The logs were decayed 
and crumbling; the dirt roof had fallen 
in and large trees were gi’owing out of 
it; almost obliterated blazes on the pines 
showed where frames had been built on 
which to hang the deer or elk he had 
killed or to stretch the skins of beaver, 
otter or bear caught in his traps. The 
trail leading into this deeply hidden 
rendezvous was entirely overgrown and 
lost, but we found the remains of a 
corduroy road he had built to bring his 
ponies across from the mainland when 
the water of the lake was low. 
An hour spent in the museum at Sher- 
wood’s store half a mile from Bower’s 
Ranch showed us almost every species 
of animal and bird in this section of 
the west. The specimens had been 
mounted by Mr and Mrs. Sherwood and 
exhibited a high degree of skill in taxi- 
dermy as w'ell as showing years of in- 
cessant and careful work in collecting. 
A gi'oup of mountain goats, which the 
boy who was our guide informed us 
came from the Bitter Roots, made us 
think that here, perhaps, w'as the last 
