Evening star., 1907-08-20
YELLOW -NATURAL|STS
The President Again Attacks
Writers on Animals.
WILES OF NATURE FAKERS
Public Must Be Protected From Lit
erary Monsters.
HE SWINGS THE BIG STICK
Expert Opinion on Mountain Lions
and Bob Cats From the Might
est Hunter of Them All.
HE SWINGS THE BIG, STICK

In Everybodys Magazine for September
President Roosevelt returns to the attack
upon the nature takers" in an article with
that title published over a facsimile of his
autograph signature. An editorial note,
preceding a symposium gathered for the
magazine by Edward B. Clark, author of
the original article. Roosevelt and the Ma
ture Fakers." and containing the opinions
of nature authorities on the controversy,
explains that the President intended to take
no part in the controversy. The information
of the projected publication of the SYM
postum, however. led him to allow Every
body's Magazine to publish note on the
subject which he had intended to append
to forthcoming volume of his public pa
pers.
The President first refers to what he calls
spiritual predecessors of certain modern
writer's" and quotes Samuel Hearne.
Hudson bay explorer of the eighteenth CEN
tury. In an attack on misleading writer's on
the beaver and its habits. He goes on to
praise many writers on the subject and to
deprecate the fact that the modern nature
faker' deceves many persons. Then COM
Ing to Mr. Long. who was subject to severe
criticism In the earlier article. he says:
Long, the Most Reckless.
''Of all these nature takers the most
ieChIcSS anu ltdSl IeSpoHSiDle IS
but there are others who run him close In
the yellow journalism of the woods, as
John Burroughs has aptly called it. 1t
would take a volume merely to catalog the
comic absurdities with which the books of
these writer's are filled. There Is need
of discussing their theories; the point is
that their alleged facts are not facts at
all, but merely fancies. Their most striking
stories not merely distortions of facts
but pure Inventions. and not only they
inventions. but they are inventions by men
who know so little of the subject concern
ing which they write and who to ignorance
add such utter reckleSSneSS that they are
not even able to distinguish between what
Is possible. however wildly improbable, and
mechanical impossibiities. Be 1t remem-
bered that l am not speaking of ordinary
mistakes, of ordinary errors of observation,
of differences of Interpretation and opinion:
1 am dealing only with deliberate invention,
deliberate perversion of fact
Mr.. Roosevelt goes on to regret that these
writer's call their stories true, saying that
the sort of thing complained of would be, If
not altogether proper, at least far less OBJ
jectionable, If the writers would appear
frankly as writer's Of fiction. Then he says
that it Is not probable that some OF the
writers have even seen some of the animals
they describe, adding that they display great
ignorance of their physical structure and
especial ignorance concerning caribou anat-
omy, Mr.. Roosevelt says:
That Wolf Story.
Like the White Queen in Through the
Looking Glass these writer's can easily be-
lieve three impossible things before break
fast; and they do not mind in the least If
the impossibilities are mutually contra
dictory. Thus, one story relates how wolf
with one bite reaches the heart of bull
caribou, or a moose, or a horse-a feat
which, of course, has been mechanically i'm
possible of performance by any land carni-
vore since the death of the last saber-
toothed tiger. But the next story will
cheerfully describe a doubtful contest be-
tween the wolf and lynx or bulldog, in
which the latter survives twenty slashing
bites Now of course wolf that could bite
into the heart of a horse would swallow a
bulldog a lynx like a pill
I'm one story a wolf Is portrayed as guild
ing home some lost children in spirit of
thoughtful kindness; let the overtrustful in
dividual who has girded up his loins to be-
lieve this think of the way he would receive
the statement Of some small farmers boy
that when lost he was guided home by
coon, a 'possum or a woOdchuck.
Again one of these story-book wolves,
when starving. catches a red squirrel.
which he takes round as present to
propitiate bigger wolf. If any man seri-
ously thinks starving wolf would act in
this manner. let him study hounds when
feeding. even when they are not starving.
The animals are alternately portrayed as
dCtualeu Dy motives OF exalted numdnl-
tarianism and possessed Of demoniac
prowess and insight into motive In one
story the fisher figures in the latter ca
pacity. A fisher is a big marten. the size
when pursued by hunters on snOw-shoes,
kills buck by bite in the throat. and
leaves the carcass as bribe to the hunt
ers. hoping thereby to distract attention
from himself! Now. foxes are continually
hunted: they are far moro clever than
fishers. What rational man would pay
heed to a story that fox when hunted
killed a good-sized calf by a bite in the
throat. and left 1t as a bri.e to the hounds
and hunters. to persuade them to leave him
alone? One story Is just as possible as the
other.
I'm another story the salmon is the hero
The writer begins by blunders about the
young salmon which ten minutes visit to
any government fish hatchery would have
enabled him to avoid; and as a climax de-
scribes how the salmon. goes up a fall by
Hopping from ledge to ledge Of a cliff under
circumstances which make the feat about
probable as that the fish would use a
stepladder. AS soon as these writer's get
into the wilderness. they develop prefer
natural powers of observation. and, as Mr.
Shiras says. become themselves invisible
and odorless,' so that the shyest wild
on their part: in one recent story about a
beaver colony. the alternative to the above
proposition is that the beavers were both
blind and without sense of smell"
Mr.. Roosevelt refers to q story Of Mr.
Longs about wolf in Newfoundland. and
In foetnete quotes letter from George
Shiras. in which Mr. Shiras says that
where DR.. Long alleged that he was follow
ing wolves for weeks at time they were
practically extinct, quoting as evidence a
letter from his guide. which is also given in
the footnote. Mr.. Shiras remarks: "Such
audacity on the part Of DR.. Long is simply
astounding"
Woodcock Surgery.
After specific attacks upon a nun,her NJ
stories. Mr.. Roosevelt goes on to say:
"In one story a woodcock Is described as
making kind Of mud splint for its broken
leg: 1t seems q pity not to have added that
1t also made itself q crutch to use while the
splint was on Baltimore orfole Is de-
scribed making contrivance of twies
and strings whereby to attach It's nest un-
der circumstances which would imply the
mental ability and physical address of a
sailor making a hammock; and the story