The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1907-06-20

and literally, and the Roosevelt garri-
son giving back no return fire. Let no
rank outsider presume to say why.
The Rev. Mr.. Long, who is entitled
to be called DR.. Long because he IS =
doctor Of philosophy from Heidelberg
is forty years old and full of fight, He
Is a native Of Massachusetts. a gradu-
ate of Harvard, a Congregational cler-
gyman and lifelong frequenter Of the
woods and the wilderness. For a few
years he was pastor Of a church at
Stamford, but he is not preaching at
present. He gave up his pulpit three
years ago because Of failing eyesight
Much outdoor exercise since then has
restored his optical vigor and his GEN
eral health, so that he is now a six foot
athlete, weighing about 175 pounds
and capable of writing, fighting or do
Ing any other strenuous work to the
! limit.
DR.. Long did not begin preaching in
early youth. He spent his time in
studying books until he was past thir-
ty-that is, the time he could snare
from the woods. -
Every year for the last thirty
years." he says, II have spent from
three to six weeks camping in the
wilderness, studying the truth of ami
NAL life, not as hunter, but as a
lover Of nature"
Frequenter of the Woods.
Twelve seasons he has spent in the
woods Of northern Maine, one in the
unknown interior of Newfoundland.
three in the Miramichi valley of New
Brunswick, two in the forests of Que
bee, one in northern Nova Scotia, three
in the Black forests Of Germany and
the others scattering. His purpose in
thus frequenting the woods, he SAYS. is
to observe the habits of wild animals
and birds, that having been his pas
sion from early childhood II used to
go into the woods" says Mr.. Long,
when I was four years old. I was
very much afraid of the woods, but
there was always something there
which fascinated me. When was
missing it was in the woods that I
would be sought"
It is Mr.. Longs custom to take long
trips alone into the big woods. Some
times he is accompanied by a guide
and sometimes in late years by his
wife and little daughter When it is
necessary to shoot animals for food he
does so, but not otherwise. One of
the points he makes in his controversy
with the president is that true nat
uralist never kills for the fun or sport
Of killing. He calls Mr.. Roosevelt a
hunter and not naturalist
The president asserts that Mr.. Long,
judging from his animal Stories has
not seen the wild things at all or has
seen them only specifically. Mr.. Long
makes the claim that a man can see
more deeply when he walks unarmed
into the woods and watches the wild
things quietly than when he goes
mounted and armed, with a pack Of
dogs, to seek and Stay. He therefore
sets up his thirty seasons in the big
woods and vast wildernesses of Maine
and the northern provinces and in the
famous Black forests against the pres
ident's elk shooting expeditions in Da-
kota, his mountain lion stalking in Col
orado and his bear batting in the Mis-
sissippi canebrakes. Having offered
these opposing exhibits, Mr.. Long asks
the public to decide "who's who' in
the big woods.
The president finds fault with the
preacher because in one Of the latter's
books there is a statement that once a
big lynx made him uncomfortable"
by following him for a long distance
in the northern woods when he was
unarmed. A lynx, says the president,
is no more to be feared than a back
yard tomcat, or words to that effect.
Thereupon the party of the other part
asks Mr.. Roosevelt if he ever saw one
Of the really truly big lynxes in the
Canadian forests, and in recalling the
lynx that made him uncomfortable he
adds:
81 realized that had the only pair
Of trousers within forty miles, and the
temperature was several degrees be-
low Zero"
Couldn't Swallow the Story.