He put aside the. gun and the rod long ago, finding 
greater enjoyment in seeking and observing wild life. 
* His love of trees and shrubs resulted in the enrichment 
of his home grounds with wild forms of plant life 
carefully transported from the banks of far away rivers 
where his canoe often floated. He knew them both by 
\ sight and by the book. 
I Prosperous enough for the comfort of his family, he 
played truant from business only to betake himself to 
j the woods and streams. He was a naturalist uncon¬ 
sciously. Whether with Mayor the biologist in the 
Everglades, with Chapman the ornithologist, on Mount 
Orizaba, or with Frederick Vreeland exploring a thou¬ 
sand miles of the great wilderness of the Peace River, 
he was always the cheerful and efficient comrade who 
made easy the hard places, through an innate under¬ 
standing of the ways of Nature not unlike that of the 
aborigine. 
Several explorers, Roy Andrews among them, sought 
his advice on the essentials of camp equipment. Vree¬ 
land writes ‘I have never known a man with a keener 
appreciation of the beauties of Nature. When we 
passed through a growth of untouched firs and spruces, 
he would linger to revel in the beauty of it. With a 
commission from the National Museum to procure cer¬ 
tain mammals and birds, his collection was small be¬ 
cause of his aversion to killing. He would spend hours 
watching birds through his field glass.” 
Another friend writes: “Patterson was the guide 
and inspiration of scores of boys in all the clean and 
best things of life in the open.” 
It is to be regretted that while giving freely of his 
knowledge of Nature to those with whom lie associated, 
he had little inclination to write about what he knew 
so well. We lingered with him by many campfires in 
the enjoyment of his wood lore and his companionship. 
Competent and courageous among men in the great 
outdoors, he was in equal degree generous and tender 
with old and young in daily life. Half a dozen strong 
men have each acclaimed him as “my most intimate 
personal friend.” 
. He died too young but his spirit will live long in the 
lives of many, especially the boys who came under his 
influence. C. H. T. 
OUTDOOR BOOKS 
S O many books appear every year on such a variety 
of subjects that one is at a loss to choose which 
will interest most, but the current of thought among 
people of to-day turns toward those books which tend 
1 to build up a happy frame of mind and a healthy body 
—toward the great outdoors and the recreation to be 
found in the silent places away from the fret and care 
of every-day life. Those who cannot find the time to 
' undertake physical journeys to the land of heart’s de¬ 
sire can turn their thoughts toward it and find rest and 
j consolation by reading the accounts of their more for¬ 
tunate fellows. 
To the youth of the land the appeal is in a sense 
stronger as young men are more in sympathy with 
the ways of the open and to them come bright visions 
in anticipation of the years to come when they too 
may travel and see strange sights and countries new. 
T here is a strange delight in contemplating a new 
book on an outdoor subject, whether it treats of big- 
^ame hunting, fishing, motor-camping or of the wild 
life around us. Life forever renews itself and genius 
blooms in unexpected places. Maybe the book we hold 
is.a second Treasure Island or another Walden. The 
j Victorian Age will some day be eclipsed by another 
more glorious. There is no limit to experience. 
A man is known by the books he has around him no 
less than by the company he keeps. If the books on 
the shelves treat of the outdoors the character of their 
owner is generally clean and wholesome. If a growing 
boy is. surrounded by literature of this nature it will 
help him to build a strong and rugged character and 
will cultivate in him a love for outdoor pursuits that 
will bring durable satisfaction throughout his life. 
A DECOY EXHIBITION 
T HE First Annual Exhibition of Duck and Shore 
Bird Decoys for the Championship of Suffolk 
County, Long Island, will be held in the new 
Mmary Building at Bellport, N. Y., under the auspices 
ot I he Howell’s Point Anti-Duskers Society. 
There will be cash prizes for professional makers and 
a snver cup for amateurs. Each exhibitor may enter as 
many species as he wishes, but only a male and female 
of each. Impartial judges will decide on the merits of 
the examples, judging them on points. Competitors 
will receive one point for each decoy entered. Com¬ 
petition is open to all and there is no entrance fee as 
one of the officers has agreed to assume the expense. 
the show will last from August 27th to 31st 1923 
and the entries close August 25th, 1923. 
Entries will be carefuliy returned to the exhibtors at 
the termination of the show and the interest of every 
exhibitor will be safeguarded and a fair award guar¬ 
anteed. Many interesting exhibits for this unique com¬ 
petition have already been promised. 
Those who would like to participate in the event 
by sending entries of decoys, loaning suitable pictures 
or mounted specimens of water game-birds will kindly 
communicate with Mr. Paul Bigelow, Secretary and 
iieasurer, 39 and 41 Cortlandt St., New York City. 
DOG-RACING DERBY 
T HE dog-racing derby rises in popularity, and the 
event which originated in Alaska has now spread 
o\er the Dominion of Canada and in numerous 
northern States, where the snow permits the running 
of this sport. This is the sixth year of the two hundred 
mile course non-stop derby of the Pas Dog Derby Asso¬ 
ciation, Billy Grayson, veteran musher of the north 
country, driving C. B. Morgan’s entry, finishing at The 
Pas, Manitoba, coveiing the two hundred mile course 
in 26 hours and 52 minutes. Also it was the third con¬ 
secutive win for Morgan s team and he now retains 
permanent possession of the Burns cup. Last year, 
Billy Grayson, driving the Moran team, won in 24 hours 
and 51 minutes. 
Almost at the same time that Billy Grayson was win- 
ning the two hundred non-stop derby, jean Lebel, driv¬ 
ing a team of huskies, was leading the field in the first 
heat of the Quebec course of thirty-six miles from 
Quebec to Lorette and return. And the same day that 
the veteran musher of the north was on his way to The 
Pas, the American Dog Derby, at Ashton, Idaho, was 
run off. In this derby, Smoky Gaston, veteran of 
Northern trails, led Bud Kent, last year’s champion, 
the leading dogs nose to nose. During the last few 
yards. Gaston, punctuating his shouts at his leader with 
rifle-like cracks of his blacksnake, lunged his team into 
the traces in a spurt that carried it over the finish four¬ 
teen seconds ahead. 
The unusual thing .about this American Dog Derby 
was that Lydia Hutchinson, a girl musher, was fifth 
and came in ahead of four men. 
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