The Elbert County tribune., 1900-02-15
CARRIERS LIFE WORK.
coLLKcrEp MOUNTAINS FAUNA.
Rssvn A. the Log Cabin Naturalist, He
Devoted nis Entirs Time to His Chosen
wcrk-spscimsns to BE Moved to Dom

lowing very interesting account OF .ne
life and work Of the late Professor Eu-
win Carter.
Hunters and scientists in every part
of the world will deplore the death OF
Professor Edwin Carter. "the log cabin
naturalist" whose collection OF ROCKY
mountain fauna, at breckenridge, III
this state, is the only one exfant.
Professor Carter devoted his lie 10
the collection and preservation OF tyPes
of the animals and birds Of the hocky
mountain region-in fact. he sacrinceu
his life to his work. as his death, when
occurred recently. was caused by ar
senicnl poisoning, due to the handling
of poIsons In stuffing and mourning
bis thousands Of specimens.
In n humble log cabin at the loot OF
snow.capped mountain nnd coin-
mnndlng superb view of the entire
valley OF the Blue river Ia stored the
f,arter rollection, which has been VS.
fled by scientists from NIL parts OF the
world md BY mnny curious TOURISTS,
nnd which has been PRONOUNCED the
finest private collection OF fauna In ex-
istence. Thousands OF dollars nave
been offered for the rnrest specimens
which were secured by the indefatiga-
bic naturalist, but Professor Garter re-
fused to part with anything that ne
could not duplicate, his object being
to found a Rocky Mountain museum to
be located mt Denver. Now his dream
is to be realized after his death. as
John II. Campion, one OF the wealthiest
mIne-owners of Colorado, has taken up
the matter and has interested other
capltnl. SO the Carter collection Will
soon be removed from Breckenridge to
n suitable building In Denver
Professor Carter gave up wealth ana
fnme for the sake of science. He cnme
TO Colorado In the Pixies Peak gold
rush. being one of the first-comers In
Russell gulch, the Klondike. OF the
West, In 1850. In 1860 he Joined a
party bound for California gulch.
where Lendville now stands. He took
up d placer claim. which he finally
sold and then prospected over the
state OF Colorado with varying success.
finally locating at Black Hawk, where
he engaged as assistant to a furrfer.
In order to learn the rudiments of taxi
dermy. His curiosity and interest were
aroused by the pelts which he handled
and he determined to devote his life to
the gathering of all the specimens OF
birds and animals of the Rocky noun
tain regions. He went to breckenridge
In 1868 and then settled down to the
accomplishment of theone object which
he 'hnd In view He sold out his min
ing interests. which were considerable,
and, In spite of the fact that he was
deemed one OF the finest judges OF
placer ground in the state of Colorado,
he refused to locate and work valuable
claims, preferring to wander over the
mountain ranges. rifle in hand, study
ing the habits of animals and birds
/ ht.tt, 10 1ner Nahin such
specimens us he lacked. When his
cabin was filed with mounted speci-
mems md hundreds of carefully pre-
served pelts he built larger structure
and kept on with his work. Owing to
the fact that Colorado Is the sports
mems paradise and thousands of hunt
ers come to the state annually in quest
| of big game, many animals have be-
come entirely extinct In the last few
years. The birds Of the state. too,
have been ruthlessly slaughtered and
the wisdom of Professor Carter's early
start In his work is now apparent. as
there are hundreds Of specimens In the
log cabin hat cannot be duplicated.
| In order to secure enough money to
enable hime to pursue his life work,
Professor Carter sold many duplicate
specimens to naturalists in nll parts
of the world and most of the Rocky
mountain fauna in the great museums
| of this and other countries came from
| his cabin and were mounted by his
hand. He also purchased of other
| taxidermists and collectors specimens
that his collection lacked. and In this
way he made his exhibit well nigh
| perfect. He had marvellous knowl-
edge OF the habits of the birds and
animals Of the Rockies. and, as an in
stance OF the thoroughness which char
acterized his work, his collection of
ptarmigans includes one for most
every day of the year, thus enabling
students of natural history to note the
many changes which occur In the
birds plumage. His skill as taxi
dermist and his art in imparting life
like poses to stuffed animals equalled
his gifts of observation, and the
mounting of his specimens is said to
| be unexcelled. Professors of learned
societies in all parts of the world
| Travelled to visit the Carter museum,
In order to gain knowledge In the fast
disappearing fauna OF western Ameri-
en-. They were always treated with
distinguished courtesy by the modest,
| retiring naturalist. who seemed almost
part Of the grand, inspiring wilder
ness which he made his haunt. No In
formation was withheld. and CONVEX
sation with Professor Carter on his
favorite theme was regarded as equal
to course In text books of natuarl
history.
The museum at Breckenridge pre-
sents bewildering sight as the visitor
enters. Stuffed buffaloes and grizzlies,
brought down with Carter's own rife,
occupy the center of the room, while
around them on every side are life-like
mountain lions, strange-colored birds,
nests full of rare and beautiful eggs,
and piles OF valuable and skillfully
tanned pelts. The loft Is full Of skins
and plumage, and there is hardly a
foot of vacant space in the building, 80
closely are the valuable specimens
packed. Professor Carter was unable
to make an estimate of the number of
specimens he had gathered. but the to-
tai will mount into the tens of thou
sands. He was engaged in the work of
classification when he died, and this
work alone will require years of effort
on the part of the experts who will take
1t up.
Professor Carter was in every sense
n child Of nature. He never married.
and was shy and retiring. but his repu-
tntion for simple-hearted honesty was
such that he could not resist many DO
sitlons OF trust which were thrust upon
him. He faithfully discharged obliga-
tions as trustee of estates, and was re.
garded so much in the light of gen
eral benefactor that his death singu-
lnrly affected geart portion OF the
population OF the state Of Colorado.
The plans for the removal of the Car
ter museum to Denver Will be carried
out as soon as a fireproof building is
erected In the capital of the state,
Through the efforts of the wealthy men
who became interested in Professor