The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-11-05
THE HIGHER
THE FEWER
There's Always Plenty of Room
At The Top
By
NANCY J. MIDGETT

more beautiful every day, while
the wild cherry trees in our back
yard have nearly lost all their
leaves in the big wind that pass
ed this way the week before last
Yes! fall is really here and the
thinning woods show it plainly
but in case we still don't believe
it, the news of hunting dates in
the papers will make it for Ger
tain. I sometimes wish that there
was a way of putting out the
news to the deer, bears, geese
and ducks that man and that in
fernal machine, the gun, is on the
way. Perhaps nature has taken
care of that in its own way. l
may be peculiar but I get much
more pleasure from watching the
ways of wild life and listening
to songs or cries of the wild birds
than 1 do from the sound of rifle
shot and gun fire and the sight
of limp, lifeless bodies that is
the aftermath. For another thing,
1 am no great meat eater and
cannot get worked up to a frenzy
over a baked duck or stewed
goose, however good the cooking.
For the many who do enjoy
the hunting and fishing vacation
there is certainly plenty of it
down this way. all along the
beaches, sounds and back in the
marsh lands and woods that
stretch from Currituck down to
and through the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore Park.
My first knowledge of Nation
al Parks in this country came
from letters and photos received
from my uncle, Alexander Beat
on, Scotty to most people, who
was a look out and fire guard in
Glacier National Park in Mon
tana, until a short time before
his death three or four years ago.
He was one of my mothers three
brothers who came 'thiS-a-way'
from Scotland in their very early
Gays, late teens or early tWenties,
I've forgotten which, and started
out in the States in North Dako-
ia I believe. When l got around
to growing up and took over
writing to them for my mother,
Uncle Duncan Beaton was in Los
Angeles, California where he
died and Uncle Jack in Alberta,
! Canada.
Now that they are all three
dead. I regret not having been
able to see them all and know
them a little other than from let
tiers and tales told My Uncle
Duncan I did see when I was
very young and l believe l men
toned in a previous column how
disguised he was when h e
couldn't run a single sweet pota-
to to earth in England.
Uncle Alec, who in looks is
very much like my elder brother
Alec, was quite a person from all
reports. In one letter he told me
that when he returned to his
/ lookout station after winter
broke, he found that some bears
had taken over the ground floor
quarters and returned more than
once after his return before he
could convince them that he was
the rightful owner. I see in the
map he sent me that his look out
was above Bowman lake and his
homestead down on the fork Of
Indian Creek.
He had many friends, among
them some of the wild life that
would come around to see if any
scraps were being put out and
quite few of the visitors who
came to the park returned again
and again and would ask for
Scotty.
To quote from an article in the
Kalispell paper: "Scotty is a
veteran fire guard of the park
and has just completed his 25th
season in that capacity. He has
hosts of friends among the regu-
lar park visitors, who esteem
as highly as the bears and other
/ big game their acquaintance
with Scotty-. Scotty is natu-
ralist who made his study at first
hand and he knows more about
the wilds of the park than any
other employee, and don't mind
"tellin We all ABBOTT it,.
Well, I don't think I would
very much care for bears in the
kitchen so maybe guns are nee
essary or some method of keep
ing the quantities of wild life in
check. It's a good thing we have
the Wildlife Resources controls
though or the gun happy"
would have this country side de-
nuded of all game as England
is now but for smaller wild life
such as foxes, rabbits etc. There
are still some deer there but I'M
der strict protection whereas the
forests, now many of them gone,
| ucad tO abound in daer bearS