The Washington critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1889-1889, 1889-04-06
WANTED---A WOLVERINE.


hungry, raging efiice-seekers who go up
and down the corridors OF the Interior De-
partment seeking whom Of the present in
cumbents they may devour. is likely to be
valuable to him In his management OF q
geological garden full of wild animals.
In its present embryonic state, though, the
Geological Garden affords positive relaxa-
tion to the Secretary. There are as yet no
wild beasts In It, and when there are they
will not seize his hand and shake II half
of, nor will they pull his leg.
at is n beautiful country out there"
Secretary Noble said this morning. ~
have driven out there with the other mem
bers of the commission several times and
looked over the ground thoroughly, and
we were all very much impressed with its
beauty.
"No, don't know what portion Of the
tract we are instructed TO select the ground
for the Garden from. There are many
things to be considered. The primary con-
sideration will, OF course, be suitability for
the purpose for which II is to be used. Ac-
| feasibility is another thing to be consid-
| cred. Then, too, we must take into CON
sideration the ease with which the portion
| OF II selected can be transformed into a
Garden by the building of roads and foot
ways. All these things the commission IA
considering carefully, and you may be sure
the selections when made will be made ad-
yisedly. The members OF the commission
meet frequently and discuss the matter. but
1t is impossible to tell how soon we will ar
| rive ut final decision.
'Personally l am much Interested in the
project. But these things must be done
carefully and with deliberatiop. We will
have to be governed to a great extent, too,
in our selection of tract of land for the
Garden by the price the owners nut on their r
ground.
"Professor Langley of the Smithsonian
Institution will have perhaps the most to
do with the selection Of the animals that
will form the attraction when the Zoo is
started. You see, the Secretary Of the In
terror is an uncertain quantity. He may be
Secretary one day and somebody else Sec
retary the next. Then, too, he is sure to
be changed when the Administration
changes. The same may be said of the
District Commissioner who is n member of
the commission. Secretary Langley is
certainty, though, and It is but natural that
he should have the most to say about the
'Zoo.'
"Though we are at work at 1t, there Is
really not much to say about the project,
everything is so uncertain, yet 1t is posi-
BILE that the people who own the ground
out there may want so much money for Il
that we will not have any Zoo at all. But
you may be sure that the commission Is
going to do everything in its power to carry
the project to a successful aud satisfactory
outcome, and that, too, as fast as is practi-
cable.
''As told the other members OF the
commission when We were out there, the
country looks wild enough to furnish all
the animals we will need for small Zoo,
so that we won't have to buy any. But the
tract is a very, very beautiful one, and
quite wild for a Mace SO near the city.
s'Before we can do ANYTHING toward
starting the Zoo the land must be pur-
chased. This preliminary step is what Is
! epprossipg our attention now. and until
the purchase is made everything else must
be deferred.
Secretary Noble has already decided on
one of the animals he wants In the Zoo.
Few Washington people know what
| yU,t,ortra q. T,ha,, Lnou, thot ASt,y,t.-. :, q.
'A. :, So, -
caneu 'ne "oiVerine S.ace, uno tua' "icni
gan people are called wolverines. But
they have little or no idea why the State
was SO named or what the nick name means.
| nr, o.. =, 49,. !, A., 4.
| 40 A