The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1908-10-29

could get more time out OF day than
any other boy about the Saranac
Lakes.
why" exclaimed Arthur Com
stock, "he milks a COW and goes fish
ing before breakfast, gets his Latin
before school-time, and after school
splits a cord of wood, makes boat
paddle and gets enough berries for
support You never saw the beat of
it,"
Wills father is section-boss on
the railroad, with little time to spare,
and depends on Will to shorten his
day by as 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 to the season, but one day he
read in a book that ain every woods
scene good eye selects the spot of
typical beauty" A woods boy, too,
used to arching trees, sloping noun
tains and pure-eyed lakes, viii had
not thought to look for more than
deer-tracks among the lily-pads.
That afternoon he padded his
homemade canvas canoe to Bluff
Rock Island down the lake, and
looked back over his course between
the islands. "No wonder the Indians
called this the lake of the clustered
stars" the boy thought. "Wish 1
had a camera"
1t was in some such way as this
that most of the sixteen-year-old boys
desires originated. His father taught
him to use a shotgun, but deer
track led him to want a rifle-which
he got by selling berries.
The more he thought about 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 a
partridge potpie one night. he said
to his father: Can l get me a 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. ard
get some anise oil and try for a fox
If 1 were you"
So Will set line of traps up the
lake shore and through the woods to
the top of Ampersand Mountain; but
he. caught only minks, muskrats and
skunks; the foxes were 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 it just
as he had begun to shoot with rifle.
He put up mark-Gyp, the hound
and exposed plates, one at a time, OBJ
serving the focus, stops and time.
Then he went hunting with his cam
era. He ran foxes with his hound,
but Reynard being wise dweller of
rocky hills beyond camera range, only
photographed a rabbit.
"Gyp, as mere dog, Is trite sub
ject, but Gyp galloping on a fox-track
is picture of general interest That
was written by VIII on his first good
print, and he endevored to make
every subject story in itself.
In the course of time the inevitable
happened. Will saw the difference
between his own AKA plates and the
5x7, Sx10 and 11x14 taken with a
first-class lens and in his mind ne
wished for Ext of the finest quality.
With such one, he knew he could
get beautiful pictures. He did little
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
lens.
One day In July there was news
for the hunters and summer people
around Saranac Lake. Before day
light that morning the long-drawn,
quavering cry of a panther came
thrusting down Ampersand Mountain,
stirring the night echoes, startling
the campers and bringing back mem
ories of wilder days to the old-time
sportsman. Will Manning was on
Ampersand Pond that night with his
camera, waiting for a sunrise snap
shot at deer among the lily-pads
The cry was loud In his ears, so close
that the screamer's breath seemed to
lift the ripples OF the quiet pond. A
moment later VIII heard deer rush
from the water into the woods. Then
he knew what the screaming animal
was, AT daylight the yelling ceased.
Unarmed and alone, VIII was
frightened, too, for had he not heard
the tales woodsmen tell OF panthers
that hunted men? Long after the
sun rose, he started for his boat at
Ihe head of Lower Saranac. It was
characteristic of the lad that he care
fully tested his camera and carried II
ready for use all the way.
III come back, he thought, "just
as soon's get gun"
A mile down, the trail was little
muddy for dozen feet. Here was
the panther's track. Beside the big
paw-prints were those of a smaller
cat-the track of panther kitten,
which accounted for the mothers
screaming. The sunlight shone on
the tracks, and WILL hoping to pre-
serve likeness OF them. made three
exposures of plates. A little way be-
yond he cut across through the woods
ior Loon Bay, where he had left his