The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1908-10-29
WILL MANNING, MODERN SPORTSMAN
S-@-E
by RAYMOND -. SPEARS

VIII Manning, his schoolmates said.
could get more time out of day than
any other boy about the Saranac
Lakes.
Why" exclaimed Arthur Com
STOCK, he milks n COW and goes fish
ing before breakfast. gets his Latin
before school-time, and after school
splits cord of wood. makes a boat
paddle and gets enough berries for
supper! You never saw the beat OF
IT."
Wills father is a section-boss on
the railroad. with little time to spare.
5nd depends ON Will to shorten his
Gay by rs much time as the wood
pile or garden requires. Between
times VIII finds new pleasures of his
own choosing. For a long time he
preferred fishing or hunting accord
ing 10 the season, but one day he
read in book that ain every woods
scene good eye selects the spot OF
typical beaHty. A woods boy, too,
used to arching trees. sloping noun
taius and pure-eyed lakes, Will had
not thought to look for more than
deer-tracks among the llly-pads.
That afternoon he padded his
homemade canvas canoe to BLUM
Rock Island down the lake. and
looked back over his course between
the islands. No wonder the Indians
called this tho lake of the clustered
stars the boy thought Wish ]
had a camera
1t was in some such way as this
hat most of the sixteen-year-old boys
desires originated. His father taught
him to use 4 shotgun, but a deer
track led him to want a rife-which
he got by selling berries.
The more he thought about n cam
era the more he wanted one. Only
the week before, as he was going up
the Stony Creek ponds on camping
out expedition, alone. he saw a deer
among the lily-pads six rods. or less,
away. If he'd only had. camera,
Months later, in the fall. over
partridge potpie one night he said
10 his father: Can get me 4 cam
era?"
Yes. What are you going to get it
with?"
There's those traps you used to
use"
That's So, said the man. "Id1
get some anise oil and try. for a fox
II ! were you"
So VIII set line of traps up the
lake shore and through the woods to
the top OF Ampersand Mountain; but
he caught only mlnks. muskrats and
skunks; the foxes We're too shy. At
Christmas time he owned camera
that would do the kind OF work he
wanted OF 1t fairly we'll.
HIS learning"to take, develop and
print pictures was in keeping with his
setting traps. He went about 1t Just
as he had begun to shoot with rife.
He put up mark-Gyp, the hound
and exposed plates, onE at time, OBJ
serving the focus, stops and time.
Then he went hunting with his cam
era. He ran foxes with his hound,
Sdt Reynard being a wise dweller of
rocky hills beyond camera range, only
photographed rabbit
"Gyp, as a mere dog, is a irite SUBJ
ject, but Gyp galloping on fox-track
is picture of general interest" That
was written by Will on his first good
print, and he endevored to make
every subject story ir itself.
In the course of time the inevitable
happened. VIII saw the difference
between his own Aka plates and the
6x7, ski o. and 1ixl4 taken with
first-class lens; and in his mind he
wished for SKI of the finest quality.
With such a one, he knew he could
get beautiful pictures. He did a(Iittle
work for which he was paid, and
, cleared the cost of his camera and
materials in that way, but did not
earn enough to buy hundred-dollar
Alens.
One day in July there was news
for the hunters uesa summer people
I around Saranss rsfore day,