The sun., 1916-11-05

A WALK And TALK
WITH KIT CLARKE
Famous Eighty Year Young
Angler Says lie Feels,
Sporty Years Old"
THE sun FAvORITE PAPER
~ ALEXANDER MD. sropDARr.

~ ALEXANDER MD. sTODDART.
Kit Clarke, noted angler. who has
hshed with Presidents. SO years young
and feeling about 40 years old. invited
a Sun reporter yesterday to accompany
him on one Of his daily walks.
Meet me-" said the youthful angler,
"at the Brooklyn Public Library. Lin
den avenue branch. at . o'clock. and IL
you arrive first get q book and learn
something about fishing II I arrive first
I'll get a book and learn something
about fishing, too"
Mr.. Clarke lives in the Flatbush sec
tion OF Brooklyn. where as a young man
he hot rabbits. For years he has spent
three months Of the twelve in the out OF
doors. has made II a practice Of walking
daily, and at reaching the four score
mile post he IL merely pleasantly
fatigued after a two. three, four or five
mile walk az his inclination leads him.
Recently he walked fifteen miles in n
day.
The walk he likes best. because OF
its interesting associations. Is from Mill
Creek. F%latbush. over to Fort Hamilton.
fve miles from where he gets OF the
Flatbush avenue car line. No one who
sees the straight figure frequently on
Clarendon road. Kings Highway or on
the Bergen Beach or Canarsie road
would think of calling Mr.. Clarke old.
He enjoys smoking. and casually re-
marked In reply to a query IL he had n
certain limit that he smoked usually
from twelve to fifteen cigars a day. Yet
he Is no crank IN healtS and has no
fads. He says the natural condition Of
man Is to be In robust health. II is I'M
natural to be sick. land the man who
dies before he is TO-" he adds. kills
himself"
Mr.. Clarke IL a just a plain. common
sense man who keeps abreast OF what il
going on in the big world. fishes a little.
plays a game OF draw poker OCCASION
ally and reads much. books. magazines
and newspapers. In fact. although he
owns an early and many other editions
Of Izaak Walton and has a roonful Of
books on angling. one OF his pet hobbies
is to haunt old book stores and pick up
books on angling that he cares for.
Likes 70 Write for 1.-THE SUM-"
To recall the names Of fishermen he
has fshed with is to call the roll OF ia
nous anglers OF the other days. only
one OF whom Is now living. Charles Hal
lock. founder of Forest and Stream. now
living in Washington. n. c.
He fished with Grover Cleveland many
a time in Buzzards Bay. and among
his other angling intimates were Thad-
deus Norris. Seth Green. Fred Mather.
William G. Harris, George W. Sears
f"Sessmuk'), Alvah Cunning. Charles
r. Murphy ,not OF Fourteenth street.
but the maker OF the first spit bamboo
rod, Amos J. Cummings. Wallace Eu-
gene Blackford, Bashford Dean and
others.
Some Of these anglers left books for
the present generation to enjoy. Mr..
Clarke himself IL the author Of two.
"rhc Practical Angler" and Where the
Trout Hide" one o. them he wrote be-
cause he had to stay indoors one Janu-
cry recovering from pneumonia. lie II
averse TO writing any more books. al
Though he has scrapbooks filled with his
writings.
why should 7 write another book To
leave behind me-" he said to the writer.
aid rather write for THE NEW YoRK
StS than any publication on earth. Ny
friends meet me- a. ! go about. They
greet me heartily and say I've read your
stun. old boy. in last Sundays SIN.
IT'S great That's why ! don't want to
leave a book. Besides I've got twenty
years ahead Of me, and I'd rather have
me handclasps of the peopl. OF to-day
while I am here because they won't do
II after ! am ~creIrated. wonder II
there are any nice trout brooks in
heaven"
Fond Of Weaks With 4 On. Rod.
Mr.. Clarke likes weakhshing in Flat