The Montana plaindealer. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1906-1911, 1910-08-26

man of red-blood, yearning for the
open, must read with curiosity, ii
not envy, of the hunting holidays of
such notable personages as William
of Germany, and Theodore Roose-
welt.
know a score of sportsmen who
would blush or curse at the mere
suggestion of such sport" as that
which has engaged the Kaiser For
days, the papers were filled with big
worded accounts of the magnificent
drives of pheasants that were sent
before the well-delivered voleys of
the royal guns. 1t has been her
aided that His Majesty, the EN-
peror, bagged so many hundred
birds before luncheon; that a large
and enthusiastic gallery of citizens
looked on and vigorously applauded
the Kaiser's craftsmanship Six
fiunkies, armorers, masters of the
hounds or horse, loaded the wea-
pons and handed them to the royal
marksmen. A score of foresters,
woodmen, wardens of the forest,
beat through the thickets and drove
the doomed, failing birds to their
fate
When you were a boy before the
trick of your weapons or the sense
of your power were measured, have
you ever stolen upon a sitting rab-
bit and slain it? Have you ever, in
the eagerness for slaughter, pepper
ed the half-tame doves that ncsted
in your neighbor's grove? If so,
perhaps you have come to realize
the cowardice of mere killing, the
useless, pitiful, cheap vulgarity of
mere craftsmanship.
Later in life, have you sat, numb,
patient, hungry, keen-eyed in the
blinds waiting for the blue-blls to
swoop, in a dark, fast cloud, across
the water? Have you sat like that
for hours, with no comrade but your
dog, and watched the livid waters
and the leaden clouds, listened for
the whirr of wings and fronted the
icy gale that crooned amongst the
bare trees at the margin, and whip
ped and whistled among the reeds
Of the marsh2 Have you, when the
scouts, two of them, came quarter
ing suddenly above your head, fast
er than the wind and hurting with
it, have you had the generous in
spiration, then, to drop them "one
two without waiting for the on
coming flock? And as they swept
away, down wind, with a warning
note and a whizzing defiance, have
you felt that they were creatures
of the wind and Of the water, worth
your best skill, your coolest nerve,
your quickest witt And having
scored a double just as they dart
ed out OF range, and having sent
Ponto after them, you were not
were your
A truck load of game birds bag
ged with the connivance OF a regi- |
ment OF trucking game-kecpers is
not worth one feather clipped from |
the pinions Of a wild duck in full /
flight by the gun of a true sports
man A pitiful pile Of bruised and /
tattcred creatures: a day on a camp /
chair with a lazyback and a lunch .
table al elbow; an outing amongst /
pcrfumcd lackcys and ful-ome under
lings who load guns by the dozens
and drive hali-tamc, oycrfcd birds
up 10 the muzzlcsl This may be
sport for Kings, but for men who
know things, it is as poor am imi-
tation as dynamiting rivers or sciu-
ing for game fish.
should like TO have heard what
Theodore Roosevelt said, or thought
IF the bungling lout who trapped a
bear and tied it for him 10 shoot
The hunter-save the mark-who .
hought that Roosevelt was one OF .
hose "sportsmen" who measure
heir pleasure by the weight OF the
,ag and the ease Of conquest! Ii
Roosevelt, the President. was not in
suited by so gross an effort TO