FOREST AND STREAM 
211 
economically conserved, both naturally and arti¬ 
ficially. It does not necessarily die having once 
spawned. 
Of native northeastern salmonids there are no 
others of more than local importance excepting 
the lake trout, which is not generally highly 
esteemed as a game fish. It attains a large size, 
but requires a deep, cool lake. It is highly pis¬ 
civorous, requiring an abundance of food. 
Of foreign fishes only the brown trout has in 
any place become sufficiently established to per¬ 
mit intelligent opinions to be expressed regard¬ 
ing its desirability. It seems to endure warmer 
water than the brook trout and for that reason 
perhaps is suitable for restocking trout streams 
the modifications of which have made them un¬ 
inhabitable by the brook trout. It is stated to 
be highly predaceous and voracious and not as 
gamy as the brook trout, and for lakes suited 
to the landlocked salmon is not as desirable as 
that species. 
Of our western contingents the steelhead and 
rainbow trout have far more to commend them 
to the angler than the chinook salmon. These 
two species are much alike in their appearance 
and characteristics and differ in habits in their 
home waters only in the fact that the steelhead 
is an anadromous fish like the salmon, while the 
rainbow is a permanent inhabitant of fresh water. 
By some they are believed to be the same spe¬ 
cies, the steelhead being only the sea-run form 
of the rainbow trout. Whatever their relation¬ 
ship to each other, however, they surpass in 
every way the chinook as a stock for inland 
waters of the Eastern States. While the rain¬ 
bow trout has appeared to do better in the more 
southern latitudes, the steelhead has. become an 
important permanent fresh water inhabitant of 
colder northern waters, particularly in Lake Su¬ 
perior. This may be only an apparent difference 
due to fortuity, yet it should be taken into con¬ 
sideration. Both of these species excel the chi¬ 
nook in game qualities, both readily taking the 
artificial fly, and the death of neither is neces¬ 
sarily incident to the spawning period. The 
steelhead reaches as large a size as the chinook 
in some freshwaters, and there is probably no 
more active salmonid known. To land one, as 
a rule, requires the highest skill. It is claimed 
that neither is as piscivorous as the chinook. 
At one small lake where chinook, landlocked 
salmon and steelhead occur together, the writer 
was informed that the latter surpassed the others 
in gameness; the chinook was not held in high 
esteem; and of the three the landlocked salmon 
was the most suitable as a game fish for the 
general angler, as it is a ready biter and a free 
fighter, but not being of such a high and delicate 
nervous tension as the steelhead, was more easily 
caught. 
As a final summary of the best salmonids with 
which to stock lakes of the northeastern states, 
everything being considered, the following are 
recommended: Common trout ( Salvelinus fon- 
tinalis), landlocked salmon ( Salmo sebago), 
steelhead trout ( Salmo gairdneri). 
It is advised that intensive cultivation of one 
only of these be undertaken in any single body 
of water. Competition for the food supply is 
not conducive to the production of the best fish 
of largest size in greatest numbers, and it is 
not for the best interest of the fish or the angler 
to have too many kinds in one lake. To repeat, 
let it be a rule to as thoroughly as possible learn 
the conditions and suitability of the lake before 
a choice is made. The writer would add, in the 
way of a parting admonition, that Labradorians 
would provide a more reliable and beneficial veg¬ 
etable food supply by the cultivation of potatoes 
and turnips than by importing green bananas. 
T HE annual catch of polar bears is decreas¬ 
ing every year, because these animals are 
now being hunted about twice or three 
times as much as they were thirty or forty years 
ago, says Lorenz Hagenbeck in Zoological Society 
Bulletin. From Tromsoe, alone, sixty-one vessels 
outfitted for Spitzbergen and East Greenland in 
1913; and besides other things they have brought 
back seven live polar bears, 125 dead ones and 
200 reindeer. Counting the vessels leaving from 
Hammerfest, Wadsoe and a few less important 
towns also, about 100 vessels left Europe in 
1913 for the purpose of the capture of northern 
animals. Many of these vessels are provided 
now with motor-boats, so as to be able to pene¬ 
trate further into the ice. 
In former years there were two to three large 
tourists’ vessels leaving the port of Tromsoe 
for the purpose of hunting polar bears. Usually 
they were hired by rich Englishmen, Germans 
or Austrians, and brought back from forty to 
sixty polar bears shot within five or six weeks’ 
time. 
During the last few years the capture of polar 
bears near the east coast of Greenland has so 
greatly decreased that in 1913 only one vessel 
with tourists was sent there. The other vessels 
are lying idle, and it is not worth while to equip 
them. 
Since 1890 a number of bear hunters from 
Tromsoe and Hammerfest have established hunt¬ 
ing stations for the winter months on the Spitz¬ 
bergen Islands. They consist of wooden houses, 
located at a distance of 100 or 200 kilometers 
from each other, and there are either two or 
three men at each station. These men set traps, 
and also lay out poisoned meat or seal's bacon. 
One must reckon, however, that fully one-half 
of the animals killed through poison in this way 
are lost, as the polar bear has the habit of 
drawing near the water if it feels sick. Thus 
it happens that the sick animals are drowned or 
frozen fast in the broken ice. One company has 
bears during one year. 
As a check on this deadly commercial pursuit, 
during the past three years the Norwegian Gov- 
thus been able to . kill and secure ninety polar 
eminent has prohibited the killing of polar bears 
by poison on the Spitzbergen Islands. Unfortu¬ 
nately .however, as the land belongs to nobody, 
the hunters generally do not care for this, for 
there is no police authority on the spot to control 
them. 
During the last three years there have been 
comparatively few skins of polar bears at Trom¬ 
soe and Hammerfest, although those cities are 
the principal markets for them. As it is known 
with certainty that the polar bear wanders, it 
may be possible that it again exists at the old 
capture places, so that a larger number may be 
caught again, but it is very doubtful. One thing 
is sure, however, and that is that the polar bear 
is far less numerous now on the east coast of 
Greenland and Spitzbergen than was the case 
between i860 and 1880. 
FOLDING PLOW FOR FOREST FIRES. 
A collapsible plow for digging fire lines has 
been invented by a supervisor of the Forest Ser¬ 
vice in Oregon. It is claimed that this plow, 
which weighs only forty pounds, and may be 
folded up and carried on horseback, will run a 
protective line against forest fires faster than 
twenty men with shovels. 
MT. RAINIER 14,408 FEET HIGH. 
Exact Elevation of Washington’s Famous 
Mountain Determined by Engineers of 
United States Geological Survey. 
The height of the summit of Mount Rainier, 
Washington, has been determined by the United 
States Geological Survey to be 14,408 feet above 
mean sea level. This elevation now officially dis¬ 
places the former supposed height of the moun¬ 
tain of 14,363 feet and accords to Mount Rainier 
the distinction of being the second highest moun¬ 
tain peak in the United States, Mount Whitney, 
California, being the highest. The correct height 
of Rainier was determined by a party of top¬ 
ographic engineers of the Survey in connection 
with the mapping of the Mount Rainier National 
Park, which was completed last summer. The 
topographic survey of the park 'was begun irt 
1910 by F. E. Matthes, continued in 1911 by Mr. 
Matthes and George R. Davis, and finished in 
1913 by C. H. Birdseye, W. O. Tufts, O. G. 
Taylor, and S. E. Taylor. 
In the mapping of the summit of the mountain 
a terrific blizzard was encountered; in fact, two 
ascents of the upper portion of the mountain 
were necessary. The first ascent of the upper 
4,550 feet was begun at 5 o’clock a. m., August 
16, and dawn broke with every indication of 
developing into a beautiful day. On reaching 
the summit the men encountered a terrific 
gale, clouds enveloped the mountain, pre¬ 
venting observations, and by noon snow began 
to fall. A descent was attempted, but the party 
became hopelessly lost in a labyrinth of crevasses, 
the storm developing into a blizzard. To de¬ 
scend further was impossible; to remain was 
suicide. Consequently a return to the crater was 
ordered, and the men reached it after a two 
hours’ climb, utterly exhausted and nearly 
frozen. Here they soug J ht shelter in one of the 
steam caves, where, during the long night they 
were thoroughly steamed and half frozen in turn. 
Strenuous measures were employed by the men 
to keep from falling asleep and freezing to death. 
As it was, their fingers and ears were badly 
frozen. Finally, with a rising barometer, they 
succeeded in descending 9,000 feet to a temporary 
camp, making the descent in three hours. Here 
they recuperated and prepared for another as¬ 
cent, which was accomplished on August 20, the 
start being made at I o’clock in the morning. 
Good weather was encountered and the mapping 
of the entire summit was finished by 1 o’clock. 
“If anyone thinks that American glaciers are 
play glaciers, or that the weather which may be 
encountered at the summit of Mount Rainier in 
August is uniformly balmy and springlike,” said 
Mr. Birdseye, whose fingers and ears were bad¬ 
ly frosted, “let him climb Mount Rainier during 
one of its summer blizzards. The steam caves 
in the crater are not the pleasantest places ima¬ 
ginable to spend the night in, but had they not 
been there, not one of us would be alive to-day 
to tell the tale.” 
