The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-29
Df Long Makes Public His Reply to the Presidents
 Magazine Attack
SAYS BIG WHITE WOLF OID
 KILL 4 YOUNG CARIBOU
President Declares the Thing to Be Impossible and Accuses Dr.. Long of Telling a False
 hood.

Stanford. Conn.,. May 2S.-Dr. William J. Long today made public a letter sent by him to President Roosevelt. The letter says In part:
 ITO His Excellency. Theodore Roose-
 velt. President of the United States: Dear Sir-The issue between you and me is no longer one of animals, but one of men, It Is not chiefly matter of natural history, but of truth and personal honor In a recent magazine article you deliberately attack me, as well as my book You have used the enormous in- 1uence of your official position to dis credit me as a man, to injure my reputa- ton and. incidentally. to make a poor man even poorer by destroying if possi- ble, the sale and influence of his works. In my book I have given the result of long years of watching animals in the wilderness with no other object than to study their habits, and so far as man ean to understand the mystery of their dumb life.
 Deliberate FaIsehood.
 "In every preface I have stated, and now repeat the statement. that every h. cident l have recorded from my own ob- servaton is true as far as an honest edu- cated man can see and understand the
 
 you chiefly deny. I have spoken the truth, and you accuse me of deliberate false hood and misrepresentation- As YIsrezi- dent of the United States you have gane out of your way publicly to injure the pfi- vate citizen who was attending strictly f3. his own busness as a man, to have be accused of falsehood another mlnd Y. W. ideals of truth and honor are ! o'clock high as your own. This is the wlpeople z sue between us. I meet it squareaal sehf SO must you. If I have spoken falsels We in book word of mine I have inte we tionally msed any child or man regard 2 ing animal life. I promise publicly Co re- tract every such word. and never to write another animal book. On the other hand, if l show to any dsinterested per son that you have accused me falsely you must publicly withdraw your action and apologize. As a man and as President, no other honorable course is open to you. You base your recent charges chiefly on the matter of a big white wolf killing a young caribou by a bite in the chest, de- scribed by me in Northern Trails.
 Furnishes Proof.
 You declare the thing to be mathe- nautical impossibilty and declare, by no possibility could wolf perform the feat "
 pr. Long declares he knows from ob- servatlon and from the testimony of ln- dians that wolves do sometimes kill in this way. and then quotes the signed and witnessed statement of $. J. Hapidan. an educated Sioux Indian. who states he saw horse which wolf had killed by tearing his chest. In addition to this. Dr. Long says he himself had seen a deer. which had been stricken In this manner by | wolf and further recites that his In- dian, Mayty Mitchell, of New Foundland. reiterates that the big white wolf fre- quently kills caribou in this manner.
 Continuing. pr. Long says:
 These are the facts underlying the in- cdent which you declare to be im- possible and false If this testimony Is not enough. l will fill 1t up to full scrip ture measure.
 "You cannot at this stage. Mir Roose- welt. take refuge behind the presidential office and maintain silence. You have for feited your right to that silence by break ing 1t by coming out in public to attack a private citizen. If your talk of a square deal is not all a sham, if your frequent moral preaching is not hypo- crisy, I call upon you as President, D man, to come out and admit the error, and injustice of your charge in the same open and public way in which you made 1t