Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1920-09-01
Free Mountains
BY Frederic J .FIaskin.

roam and hunt and fish without any re-
stretions save few that are necessary for
the common good.
No doubt tho national forests ere val
liable rs n cover for watersheds and in
| dispcnsable as timber reserve. but one is
inclined 10 think that perhaps their great
est service is in preserving the traditional
| American right to wander free over the
| fece Of the earth
TO man who has been taking his out
inus in the East IL Ii like an escape from
prison to come To the free mountains of
| the West. Go to the, Catskills or the
| Adirondacks or Poconos or the Southern
| Appalaehians or the swanplands Of the
| South, or any OF the other regions IN the
East where hunting and fishing ere good,
and the country il still open; you will find
everywhere the same conditions. The best
Of the lakes and streams and game covers.
the finest scenery ID oil owned and care
fully patrolled Without exception, private
clubs have the best Of IL. The next best
belongs To various resort companies end
! hotels whose rates you must ply In order
70 enjoy the privileges Of their lands.
| There is still some free hunting and fishing
| il is true, but even this requires the getting
Of permits, the observing Of various mctes
and bounds, the hiring Of guides, and
various other measures which cost much
money and rob the outing Of half its
| charm.
For the real charm Of getting out-of-
doors IL that Of getting back for q while to
pioneer existence in which one depends
upon his swn strength and resourcefulness
and enjoys the right Of doing what he
pleases and going wherever he wants.
cERE1ovrous SPORT.
Hunting and fishing in the East tend to
become more and more q sort Of formal
procedure. If you want to shoot ducks
you wire 10 an establishment on Back
Bay, You are met At the train, taken to
! the seaside, carried out in motorboat
| concealed in a sink box. Then the guide
| puts out the decoys and goes and chases
| the ducks in your direction. Your part
| consists merely IN rising up and pulling
| the trigger at the proper moment
/ So if you want to shoot deer you can ar
range the whole thing by wire and be
/ escorted into the presence of your VIC
| tim by couple Of lar<eys going under
| the name Of guides In either case il will
| cost you about sl5 or 500 day. And
/ unless your object is TO shed certain
amount Of blood in the most expeditions
| way possible you win feel that the thing
/ has been robbed Of its essential qualities.
| Freedom and sense Of adventure are the
best the out-of-doors can give, and these
/ are lacking.
/ Most men can no longer afford sport in
/ the East, even If they cared for it. The
/ American whose father spent his vacations
/ in the woods, where he developed muscle
/ and nerve, generally goes TO some seaside
resort where he wears new straw hat
eats popcorn, and firts with the cuties
This il not 20 IN the West Nearly
every man in this part Of the country still
rides horse and shoots a gun. The result
Is a higher average Of health which was
demonstrated by the draft, and also a
different social atmosphere, which IS hard
to define, but very noticeable. There Is
more goOd-nature and tolerance in the
West, and less Of the devil-take-the-hind-
most spirit which rules in the great
Eastern cities. The thing Is expressed in a
sentimental way by that widely
known poem, out Where the West Be
gins. An investigation would probably
establish the fact that the West, in the
traditional sense, begins with the region OF
the national forests.
a GREAT DOM AIN.
We have forgotten the exact area OF
them, but if YOU viii look at a map YOU
viii see that they cover very large por-
, ton of the Rocky Mountain States.
This whole domain is forever exempted
from private ownership, except in small
areas OF arabic land along streams, which
may be homesteaded Furthermore,
anyone may lease from the government for
a nominal sum the right TO build a summer
home on a national forest, but he may not
sell this establishment. Aside from sue h
leased and hOmesteaded portions, which
are only tiny patch on the whole, the
national forests are free TO all on exactly
the same terms You may travel and camp
wherever you please. You may fish and
hunt wherever you please. The only re-
strictions are that YOU must not cut the
timber, except such small amounts as you
need Tor camp purposes, that you must
use every precaution not TO start forest
fires, that YOU keep q clean camp and obey
the FISH and game laws.
The Forest Service is discharging its
trust as custodian OF these public play
grounds in way that deserves all possible
credit. 1t sells permits for the grazing Of
stock on the national forests, and il sells
timber under such restrictions that the
cutting will not injure the forests. Much
of the income derived from these sources Is
spent in the building of roads and trails to
make the wilderness accessible.
mere are only restricted areas IN the
national forests which can be reached BY
road. but trail can be made almost
anywhere. and these trails, which are
being rapidly extended, are a wonderful
boon to the summer wanderer. They are a
boon which will be a good deal more ap-
preciated in the future, when more people
seek the national forests every summer,
than they are now. For the tourists, as
vet, are only venturing timidly across
the edges Of the national forests
They congregate &C a few points ike
Colorado Springs and Glacier National
Park and heYellowstone, and if you go TO
these you may imagine that the mountains
are overrun with people, but YOU have no
idea of the immense stretches of country
over which YOU might ride without seeing
a man day.
THE BOON or GOOD TRAILS.
Yet all of this country is rapidly being
made accessible, and safely accessible, for
anyone who is able TO ride horse and
make his own camp. Without trail, any
but an experienced mountain man is soon