The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
yaNDERBTLT'S PISGAH FOREST.



The Pi-gah forest has cost Vanderbilt some
thing like a quarter Of a million ~ dollars.
or about $3.50 per acre. He has bought it
in great or small tracts IA rapidly as possible.
and now his rangers are the only denizens
There are five of them. all picked men Of the
mountains. Of fine physique. good riders and
dead shots. one of them comes to meet the
pilgrims ID looks AT their permit, which il
a very important piece Of paper, This for
ester, whoN name is Kearns, il a type Of the
rangers. G~Ood-humOred. tall and strong. well
mounted. with repeating rifle slung al his
back. saddle bags and poncho. To him these
mountain wilds are like an open book. and
upgn HIM and his associates great
They must keep open the roads and
the trails, see that the boundary fence.
poachers. look after the game and the trout.
and always be- on the nlert for timber ~stealers.
Tho poachcrS would come from near and far
10 catch the trout. or rather 10 XIII them by
exploding dynamite cartridges in the deep
pools vhere Tie big fellows lurk. or to kill
Inc deer. the grouse tor pheasant, as they
II an incredible distance the trained ear Of
the ranger will hear the explosion OF dyna-
mite, and he tracks the offender unerringly,
even into other counties, and once into Ten
There are 2ei miles 81 trail in this forest.
the trails leading alongside each trout stream.
There are 10 miles Of road passable for wagon.
Trail and road are ALWAYS kept in readiness
against Mr.. NandeTbllt's coming. He Il, as
the rangers say liable To CONT anv time"
There are miles Of shooting maths, the latter IS
feet in width and cut out right and left from
the roads. When deer are driven they must
cross these paths, and by means Of the latter
alone can the hunter see them In time TO get a
shot.
by the streams is one Of the most noticed things.
Rarely l. the note Of n bird heard and schooner
still il any feathered thing seen SO perfect
- 10 40 = tho nAWr.R NlnF N laaR ans M Nn
seen only a few feet away. Numerous rs the
turkeys are. only one was flushed, and only
g very few pheasanis were seen; The sharp
the trails, and alongside the streams are the
footprints Of the wildcat. High overhead
the golden eagle II seen soaring. and Ranger
Kearns shows a mounted specimen which he
killed with a revolver a. II sat In n tree top
eight ards away
but a student. yet. a. stated, all things are kept
ready for him His pleasure Is the pleasure Of
Others On his last visit he only caught one
trout. nor did he fire a gun His wife was with
him She l. a good horse woman. and rode
a pony up and down the steepest trails. Under
protection native trout are rapidly re-stock-
ton In some Of the streams rainbow trout
from California have been placed, but these
lose their rich colors and have to be quickly
eaten to be palatable. while the trout of the
locality, properly dressed. keep vel. In, the
old days, before there was protection, there
were caught In two DAYS in this very foreSt
1850 trout. and mos Of this needless slaughter
waa pure waste
At Biltmure MIR Vanderbilt has an arbore-
tum. one of the largest in the world and the
pioneer in the United States This was for
merly under the direction Of Clifford P.nchot.
who il al present head forester Of the United
States; II j. now under the direction Of DR..
Schenck. rs forester. In this arboretum more
than 10000 trees and shrubs nave been plan ted.
pisgah Forest H. the complement of the ar
boretum. and IN these wild woods DR. Schenck
has a hodge, whore he spends much Of each
summer with his class In the latter are often
youths Of wealth and high social position who
wish 20 study forestrv-a study which the
United States sorely needs. since 50 many
millions are daily GevotinR themselves 20 the
task Of forest destruction and 40 few 10 con-
servatiOn