The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1910-09-01

red deer of America at all four seasons and
the environment Of each season Is reproduced
perfectly. One group OF deer was secured IN
summer another In fall, another in winter and
another In spring. and 1t is possible in walking
about the groups to three of the animals. the
buck the doe and the young. as they appear at
the four seasons OF course the fawn Is seen In,
a variation OF sizes until it becomes lusty
yearling
This illustration of deer group from the
Field Museum of Natural History is given IN
order to show what may be expected in the Ma
tonal museum at Washington when the larger
mammals of the Roosevelt collection are placed
on exhibition. OF course instead of the American
red deer the visitor will elephants, lions, leop-
ards and several Of the many families OF ante
lopes which inhabit the African country. There
will be similar groups of the smaller animals
while for the purposes OF the student Of animal
life there will be In drawers and In cases
throughout the museum the skins and the skulls
of the smaller mammals which are invaluable
for purposes of comparison.
The trophies which former President Roose-
Welt has presented to the National museum are
not the only gifts of value which he has made to
the institution. Some years ago when the
colonel was hunting in Oklahoma, he secured
specimen of what at first was thought to be a
coyote. The colonel had, remembered that Wood
house hunter-naturalist of sixty years previous,
had obtained an animal in about the same part
of the country which II was held was neither a
wolf nor a coyote. but a sort of a connecting link
between the two, larger than the true coyote
and smaller than the true wolf.
Colonel Roosevelt knew that there some
dispute as to the validity of the account OF this
species He obtained an animal which was not
full grown but he concluded that 1t different
from either the coyote or the wolf and he thought
II might be OF the species or variety that Wood
house had obtained. He sent the animal to the
scientists in Washington and they became con-
ynced after study OF the Woodhouse and the
Roosevelt specimens that there no longer could
be any doubt of the existence of family inter.
mediate between the coyotes and the wolves.
The result was that an expedition was de-
spatched TO the scene of the Roosevelt hunting
and success crowned its efforts. The knowledge
which the former president had of the Wood
house specimen and the study which he gave the
specimen of his taking led to the estab
lishment of a scientific fact of considerable
value. There is now fine series of the inter
mediate wolves in the possession of the ma
tional authorities,
Nearly one hundred years ago an Engshman
claimed that the bear of the Gulf states Louisi
ana and Mississippi, was different species from
the ordinary black bear The matter was in dis
pute for years among the scientists. Finally
Theodore Roosevelt secured some specimens o
the Louisiana bear and sent them to Dr. c. Hart
Merriam then the chief of the biological survey
in Washington DR.. Merriam recently has beer
given charge Of the natural history foundation
made possible by the generosity OF Mrs. e. II
Hartman.
Or. Merriam took the Roosevelt bear speci
mems in hand, and after long anad panstakins
study proved that the ordinary black bear o
America and the bear OF the cane brakes are
different Species thus settling a point that haC
been In doubt for nearly century II was ths
Roosevelt interest In the study OF natural histor,
which led to the establishment of a fact of mo
ment to the scientific world