FOREST AND STREAM. 
13 
July 4, 1908.] 
Mr. Cleveland on Outdoor Life. 
[ Perhaps no better sermons on the outdoor life 
-its charms and its importance to the rushing 
.merican public—have ever been written than 
jliose which came from the pen of ex-President 
leveland. In his book entitled, “The Mission 
f Sport and Outdoor Life,” published by the 
luting Publishing Company, he wrote: 
“I am sure that it is not necessary for me, at 
I lis late day, to dwell upon the fact that I am 
i n enthusiast in my devotion to hunting and 
i shing, as well as every other kind of outdoor 
j ecreation. I am so proud of this devotion that, 
lthough my sporting proclivities have at times 
ubjected me to criticism and petty forms of 
ersecution, I make no claim that my steadfast- 
ess should be looked upon as manifesting the 
ourage of martyrdom. On the contrary, I re- 
ard these criticisms and persecutions as noth- 
ig more serious than gnat stings suffered on 
he bank of a stream—vexations to be borne 
1 nth patience and afterward easily submerged in 
he memory of abundant delightful accompani- 
lents. Thus, when short fishing excursions, 
1 which I have sought relief from the wearing 
ibors and perplexities of official duty, have been 
I enounced in a mendacious newspaper as dis- 
! onest devices to cover scandalous revelry, I 
| iave been able to enjoy a sort of pleasurable 
i ontempt for the author of this accusation, while 
p ongratulating myself on the mental and physical 
estoration I had derived from these excursions. 
'>0, also, when people, more mistaken than 
nalicious, have wagged their heads in pitying 
ashion and deprecated my indulgence in hunt¬ 
ing and fishing frivolity while in high public 
ervice, I have found it easy to lament the 
neglect of these amiable persons to accumulate 
h or their delectation a fund of charming sport¬ 
ing reminiscence; while, at the same time, I 
adly reflected how their dispositions might have 
j >een sweetened and their lives made happier if 
hey had yielded something to the particular type 
of frivolity which they deplored. 
“I hope it may not be amiss for me to supple- 
nent these personal observations by the direct 
Confession that, so far as my attachment to out- 
loor sports may be considered a fault, I am, as 
•elated to this especial predicament of guilt, 
itterly incorrigible and shameless. Not many 
'ears ago, while residing in a non-sporting but 
lelightfully cultured and refined community, I 
tound that considerable indignation had been 
iroused among certain good neighbors and 
friends, because it had been said of me that I 
vas willing to associate in the field with any 
loafer who was the owner of a dog and gun. 
[ am sure that I did not in the least undervalue 
he extreme friendliness of those inclined to in- 
;ervene in my defence; and yet, at the risk of 
doing an apparently ungracious thing, I felt in¬ 
exorably constrained to check their kindly efforts 
,by promptly conceding that the charge was too 
nearly true to be denied. 
“There can be no doubt that certain men are 
endowed with a sort of inherent and spontan¬ 
eous instinct which leads them to hunting and 
fishing indulgence as the most alluring and satis¬ 
fying of all recreations. In this view, I believe 
it may be safely said that the true hunter or 
j fisherman is born, not made. I believe, too, that 
those who thus by instinct and birthright belong 
to the sporting fraternity and are actuated by 
i a genuine sporting spirit, are neither cruel, nor 
greedy and wasteful of the game and fish they 
pursue; and I am convinced that there can be 
no better conservators of the sensible and provi¬ 
dent protection of game and fish than those who 
are enthusiastic in their pursuit, but who, at the 
same time, are regulated and restrained by the 
sort of chivalric fairness and generosity felt 
and recognized by every true sportsman. 
“While it is most agreeable thus to consider 
hunting and fishing as constituting, for those 
especially endowed for their enjoyment, the most 
tempting of outdoor sports, it is easily apparent 
that there is a practical value to these sports as 
well as all other outdoor recreations, which rests 
upon a broader foundation. Though the delight¬ 
ful and passionate love for outdoor sports and 
recreation is not bestowed upon every one as a 
natural gift, they are so palpably related to 
health and vigor, and so inseparably connected 
with the work of life and comfort of existence, 
that it is happily ordained that a desire or a 
willingness for their enjoyment may be culti¬ 
vated to an extent sufficient to meet the require¬ 
ments of health and self-care. In other words, 
all but the absolutely indifferent can be made 
to realize that outdoor air and activity, intimacy 
with nature, and acquaintanceship with birds and 
animals and fish, are essential to physical and 
mental strength, under the exactions of an un- 
escapable decree. 
“Men may accumulate wealth in neglect of the 
law of recreation; but how infinitely much they 
will forfeit, in the deprivation of wholesome 
vigor, in the loss of the placid fitness for the 
quiet joys and comforts of advancing years, and 
in the displacement of contented age by the 
demon of querulous and premature decrepitude 1 
For the good God who loveth us 
He made and loveth all. 
“It seems to me that thoughtful men should 
not be accused of exaggerated fears when they 
deprecate the wealth-mad rush and struggle of , 
American life and the consequent neglect of out¬ 
door recreation, with the impairment of that 
mental and physical vigor absolutely essential 
to our national welfare, and so abundantly prom¬ 
ised to those who gratefully recognize, in 
nature’s adjustment to the wants of man, the 
care of ‘the good God’ who ‘made and loveth 
all.’ 
“Manifestly, if outdoor recreations are im¬ 
portant to the individual and to the nation, and 
if there is danger of their neglect, every instru¬ 
mentality should be heartily encouraged which 
aims to create and stimulate their indulgence in 
every form. 
“Fortunately, the field is broad and furnishes 
a choice for all except those wilfully at fault. 
The sky and sun above the head, the soil be¬ 
neath the feet, and outdoor air on every side 
are the indispensable requisites.” 
With delightful humor Mr. Cleveland explains 
the mystery of why the biggest fish always gets 
away: 
“Before leaving this branch of our subject 
especial reference should be made to one item 
more conspicuous, perhaps, than any other, 
among those comprised in the general charge 
of fishermen’s mendacity. It is constantly said 
that they greatly exaggerate the size of the fish 
that are lost. This accusation, though most 
frequently and flippantly made, is in point of 
fact based upon the most absurd arrogance and 
a love of slanderous assertion that passes under¬ 
standing. These are harsh words, but they are 
abundantly justified. 
“In the first place, all the presumptions are 
with the fisherman’s contention. It is perfectly 
plain that large fish are more apt to escape than 
small ones. Of course their weight and activity, 
combined with the increased trickiness and re¬ 
sourcefulness of age and experience, greatly in¬ 
crease their ability to tear out the hook, and 
enhance the danger that their antics will expose 
a fatal weakness in hook, leader, line, or rod. 
Another presumption which must be regretfully 
mentioned, arises from the fact that in many 
cases the encounter with a large fish causes such 
excitement and such distraction or perversion 
of judgment, on the part of the fisherman, as 
leads him to do the wrong thing or fail to do 
the right thing at the critical instant—thus ac¬ 
tually and effectively contributing to an escape 
which could not and would not have occurred 
except in favor of a large fish- 
“Beyond these presumptions we have the de¬ 
liberate and simple story of the fisherman him¬ 
self, giving with the utmost sincerity all the de¬ 
tails of his misfortune, and indicating the length 
of the fish he has lost, or giving in pounds his 
exact weight. Now, why should this statement 
be discredited? It is made by one who struggled 
with the escaped fish. Perhaps he saw it. This, 
however, is not important, for he certainly felt 
it on his rod, and he knows precisely how his 
rod behaves in the emergency of every conceiv¬ 
able strain.” 
Another mystery, incomprehensible to the man 
who is not a gunner, is likewise explained by 
Mr. Cleveland when he discourses on the pleas¬ 
ures—and the miseries—of duck shooting: 
“Suppose the discomforts willingly endured by 
duck hunters were required of employees in an 
industrial establishment. There would be one 
place where a condition of strike would be con¬ 
stant and chronic. If it be said that the grati¬ 
fication of bringing down ducks pays for all the 
suffering of their pursuit, the question obtrudes 
itself, how is this compensation forthcoming in 
the stress of bad luck or no luck, and how is it 
that the duck hunting propensity survives all 
conditions and all fortunes? 
“I am satisfied that there is but one way to 
account for the unyielding enthusiasm of those 
who hunt ducks and for their steady devotion 
to their favorite recreation: The duck hunter 
is born—not made.” 
Shooting in California. 
San Francisco, Cal., June 27.—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The fish commissioners report a 
large number of hunting licenses sold already 
this season. The county clerks all over the State 
are aiding the commission in the sale of licenses, 
and the license law, which is now starting its 
second year of operation, seems to be in favor 
with hunters generally. The costlier license for 
aliens is being enforced and the decision of the 
Alabama courts in a similar case is cited to the 
doubting ones. The language of this decision is 
very decisive. It says: “It is a legal and politi¬ 
cal axiom that protection and allegiance are 
reciprocal. Aliens, resident or sojourning here, 
do not owe the full measure of allegiance ex¬ 
acted from the citizen, nor can they enjoy the 
rights, privileges and immunities of citizenship.” 
A. P. B. 
