Marble Hill press., 1921-07-21

let Us be good sports'-whCh II To- say. let Us
De srOrtsmcn and live up TO a sportsman's idcalsl
And what is n sportsman II Is easy to say this:
The sportsman Is the gentleman Of the cutof
doors. hut that does not comprehensiycly de
me the sportsman because IL IL still more DIM
cult 10 define the gentleman.
Anyway. whatever els, he may be. the sports
man Is the man who plays far--with nature, With
Wild animal life with his companions. With him.
self He never wantonly drfaces the fair face OF
nature. lie never pOutes stream or lake. lie
never cuts down tree that he do"s not need.
He hurics or burns his camp rubbish. lie cleans
up his camping place. And he Is very sure that he
sets no forest nre.
The sportsman plays fair with Wild animal life.
He Will not hunt out of season. lie will not XIII
q female deer or elk. lie viii not shoot bird
except when flying. In angling he uses light
tackle 10 give the hsh fair chance. He will
uss the hy rather than the worm for trout lie
will put back the small tTout-And handle IL with
wet hand lie will use the single hook rather
than the gang hooks. lie never takes from for.
est. field, lake and stream more than be can use.
And always he oheys the local game laws
The sportsman is delight In camp and on the
TRAN. lie takes pride In keeping up his end In
doing his full share efficiently. willingly and
chcerfully. In emergencies be is a volunteer
lie helps the tcnderfoot. Poor luck canno; ruiie
his temper spoil his outing. He gets fun out
OF trouble and can take Joke on himself lie
Is a good loser he rrius md bears It when defeat
is his. He Is a good wnncr-whlch is harder
and wears his aurels modcstly.
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 II he
catches fsh with a silver spoon" he owns-u mn
TO IT, He does not blame his own mistakes on
others on his tackle. lie does not exhibit his
musky trophy and tell OF his skill while all m,
while his inner self is saying: You know Der.
fcctly well the guide rlgged 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 sportsinanshp is Inde-
pendent achievement In sport or woodcraft
Speaking OF muskeunge, please recall those
Immortal lines In Sir Izaak walton's "Compleat
Angler:
I'VE may say OF angling. as DIR. Boteler said
OF strawberries Doubtless God could have made
better berry, but doubtless God never did and
so, II I might be Judge God never did make a
more calm. quiet, innocent recreation than
angling"
Possibly Or. Boteler right about straw
berries. And probably Sir Izaak was right about
the innocence Of angling, In spite OF "ish yarns"
which do most amazingly smack Of rank perjury.
But when the model and pattern OF all good
anglers doth speak Of angling calm" and
quiet" here is one disciple who rises up to say
that Sir Izaak is no 'Compieat Anger"--and u
this be treason, make the most of 1t
For he rises to inquire: How can anyone use
the words calm" and quiet" In connection with
a thirty-pound musky2 And how can any angler
be "compleat" who has not been fast to this tiger
Of the inland seasH
CaIml Quiet Oh would that Sir 1zaak were
back on earth. This is what would happen to
him. He'd be taken to a certain lake and given
n I'm nd made split bamboo casting rod, with mul-
tplying reel, braided silk line and spoon hook
with pork rind. Along toward evening he'd be
rowed past a certain rushy point where the pick.
erei weed and lilies grow, and there Is deep
water on either side. And with good iuck SIR
Ixank would tbereupon lnd himself fast to q