Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-07-28

let US be good sports"-which is to say, let US
be sportsmen and live up to sportsman's ideals!
And what is a sportsman? 1t is easy to say this:
The sportsman is the gentleman of the out-of-
doors But that does not comprehensivey de-
fine the sportsman because it is still more diff
cult to define the gentleman
Anyway whatever else he may be, the sports
man is the man who plays fair-with nature, with
wild animal life, with his companions, with him
self. He never wantonly defaces the fair face of
nature. He never poutes stream or lake. He
never cuts down tree that he does not need.
He buries or burns his camp rubbish. He cleans
up his camping place. And he is very sure that he
sets forest fire.
The sportsman plays fair with wild animal life.
He will not hunt out of season.. He will not kill
a female deer or elk He will not shoot a bird
except when flying. In angling he uses light
tackle to give the fish a fair chance. He will
use the fly rather than the worm for. trout. He
will put back the small trout-and handle it with
a wet hand He will use the single hook rather
than the gang hooks. He never takes from for
est, field, lake and stream more than he
And always he obeys the local game laws.
The sportsman is delight in camp and on the
trail. He takes pride in keeping up his end in
doing his full share efficiently, willingly and
cheerfully. In emergencies he is a volunteer.
He helps the tenderfoOt. Poor luck cannot ruffle
his temper spoil his outing. He gets fun out
of trouble and can take joke on himself. He
is good loser he grins and bears it when defeat
is his. he is good W1nner-Wnlch is harder
and wears his laurels modestly.
And the sportsman plays fair with himself,
which is perhaps the hardest thing of all. He
is not too proud to learn from his betters. If he
catches fish with a silver spoon" he owns up
to it. He does not blame his mstakes on
others or on his tackle He does not exhibit his
musky trophy and tell of his skill while all the
while his inner self is saying: "YOu know per-
fectly we'll the guide rigged your rod and tackle
padded you to the place. showed you the exact
spot to cast told you how to handle the fish,
netted it and landed it." In short, possibly the
crowning ideal of true sportsmanship is inde-
pendent achievement in sport or woodcraft.
Speaking of muskellunge, please recall those
immortal lines in Sir Izaak Walton's "COmpleat
Angler:
'we may say of angling as DR.. Boteler said
of Strawberries Doubtless God could have made
a better berry, but doubtless God never did,, and
so if [ might be judge, God never did make
more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than
angling"
Possibly DR.. Boteler right about straw
berries And probably Sir Izaak right about
the innocence Of angling, in spite of fish yarns"
which do most amazingly smack of rank perjury.
But when the model and pattern of all good
anglers doth speak of angling as "calm" and
"quiet" here is disciple who rises up to say
that Sir Izaak is no "Compleat Angler"-and il
this be treason, make the most of it!
For he rises to inquire How anyone
the words calm and quiet in connection with
a thirtypound musky? And how can any angler
be "compeat' who has not been fast to this tiger
of the inland seas?
Calm! Quiet! Oh, would that Sir Izaak were
back on earth. This is what would happen to
him. He'd be taken to a certain lake and given
a handmade split-bamboo casting rod, with null
tiplying reel, braided silk line and spoon hook
with pork rind Along toward evening he'd be
rowed past certain rushy point where the pick
ere weed and lilies grow, and there is deep
water on either side. And with good luck Sir
Izaak would thereupon find himself fast to