BY WILLIAM S. THOMAS AUTHOR OF “HUNTING BIG GAME WITH GUN AND KODAK” WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The Knickerbocker Press 1913 Copyright , 1913 BY WILLIAM S. THOMAS The Knickerbocker Press, New York To MY WIFE WHO SHARED NONE OF THE PLEASURES OF THE TRAIL AND BORE ALL THE ANXIETIES FOR MY RETURN....

The matter here submitted has been accumulated upon several hunting trips in the wilderness, and many excursions from time to time into the woods and fields about home. The author has for some years kept more or less extensive field notes, and has taken numerous photographs of objects, scenes, or incidents by the way. Not all of the narrative is concerned with the chase, but all has to do with, or is in some way attributable to, the wanderlust that from boyhood days has cast its spell over the a

In the midst of the rustling and bustling on the pier, the creaking of the block and tackle, and the hoisting of the duffel, could be heard the loud, clear voice of the mate resounding in the evening twilight, “Heave to!” “That’s well,” and similar expressions, all preparatory to our departure for the far-away North, the land of glaciers, gold, and fish. In the crowd were many sorts and conditions of men—and not the least in evidence were the sturdy Norseman and the Scottish clansman,—some on pl

In the following spring, about the middle of May, we purchased an outfit at Valdez for a trip westward along the Alaskan peninsula. After being bottled up two days in the port of Valdez, we were anxious to get started. The steamer approached the narrow entrance to the harbor, with Fort Liscom, a Government post, on the left, and on the right glaciers and wooded foothills. As we neared the neck it looked as though the stopper was in the bottle and our exit barred by an island; but an abrupt curve

We arrived at Seldovia, on Cook’s Inlet, on the evening of August 28th. Between the steamer landing and the town, a creek, unbridged as yet, enters the bay, and except at ebb tide the passengers are compelled to cross the arm of the bay by rowboat. The tide being then at flood, it was necessary to get a dory before we could reach the village. One of the natives who hailed from the cannery nearby was the proud owner of an old dugout. We knew the water was quite shallow across the arm of the fiord

In the spring I had made all preparations for a trip to Newfoundland, and arrived at North Sidney to take the steamer Bruce for Port aux Basques. Walking into the offices of the company upon the dock to make arrangements for my passage, my attention was attracted to a little group of men. I learned that the Government doctor was vaccinating every passenger before allowing him to enter Newfoundland, because at this time Sidney had an epidemic of smallpox. One of the officers shouted to me: “Here

Having many times tried with indifferent success to photograph the rabbit in his native fields and woods, I cast about for a means of stalking him at close range, and had for some time cherished the idea of taking a hunt with my kodak in a good tracking snow. Thus intent, I jumped from a passenger coach one day in the late fall, equipped with an Eastman twelve-shooter and ammunition enough to make a big bag. I had left the station scarcely more than a couple of hundred yards behind along the pub

A coon hunt is always interesting to me. Just as soon as night approaches and you call old Stump, who has lost the tip of his tail in a battle royal, he pricks up his ears, begins to whine, and seems to know that the boys are out for a coon hunt. As you approach to loosen the snap that ties him to the kennel he begins to wag what is left of his tail and seems to say, “Boys, I’m happy to be with you to-night!” The wrinkles in his face twitch as the excitement grows. His face and head indicate tha

As soon as the first harbingers of spring arrive we take to the forest. Life is just awakening in the northern woods. The winter has been long and severe. Following the course of the creek we see large cakes of ice thrown topsy-turvy all over the meadow, where they have been carried by the spring freshet. In the gorge block after block is piled; they are lying in every conceivable position. The spring sun is busy undoing what the hard winter has accomplished. The cakes of crystal ice are fast lo

As I loiter along the banks of a sylvan stream about the first of April, looking for the return of some of the feathery tribe, there falls upon my ears a sound, hoarse and grating as described by ornithologists, but to my ears most pleasant, for it tells me that a fine bird, the belted kingfisher ( Ceryle alcyon ), has arrived for the season. With his crest plainly visible, in strong flight he is following the course of the winding creek. This highly original character is the only member of the

With the hope that it may be the means of increasing the love of nature, and thereby adding to the joys of life, this little book is given to the public. Laws for the preservation of birds and animals, more than any others, need behind them a sensitive public opinion. With this, the law itself is almost forgotten in its general observance, while without this support a breach of the law comes in time to take on something of virtue instead of crime. Whatever tends to spread the knowledge of nature

Paddle and Portage on the Hundred Trout Rivers of Lake Superior By Kirkland B. Alexander With over 40 Illustrations. 16mo. $1.25 net ( By mail $1.40 ) The land that lies to the north of Lake Superior, where the great god Naniboujou rules over mile upon mile of unreclaimed wilderness, has long been a favorite retreat of the fisher and camper, who finds in the hush of its gaunt forests and on the twinkling ripples of its inland lakes a secure haven from the busy din of the cities. In Kirkland B. A

By Charles Frederick Holder Author of “Life in the Open,” etc. 8vo. With 80 Full-page Illustrations. Net, $2.00 By mail, 2.20 Mr. Holder has fished in the deep sea of the Pacific and in the mountain streams that are hidden away in the high Sierras and Cascades, protected from the rude intrusions of the crowd and accessible only to the seasoned mountaineer. The tussles he has had with game fish, retold in the dramatic style of which Mr. Holder is the master, will thrill the most phlegmatic reader

Sketches of Sport on the Northern Cattle Plains Standard Library Edition. With numerous engravings from designs by Frost, Gifford, Beard, and Sandham. 8 o . $2.50. Alleghany Edition. Printed on high-grade Old Chester-Laid, containing many rare old Western views and portraits, secured and especially engraved for this edition. 8 o . Full buckram, gilt top. $5.00. Dakota Edition. 2 vols. Crown 8 o , with frontispieces. Cloth, gilt top, full gilt back. Each, $1.50. Sagamore Edition. 2 vols., with fr

With an Account of the Big Game of the United States and its Chase with Horse, Hound, and Rifle Standard Library Edition. With illustrations by Remington, Frost, Sandham, Eaton, Beard, and others. 8 o . $2.50. Alleghany Edition. Printed on high-grade Old Chester-Laid, containing many rare old Western views and portraits, secured and specially engraved for this edition. 8 o . Full buckram, gilt top, $5.00. “A book which breathes the spirit of the wilderness and presents a vivid picture of the pha

A Record of Personal Experience in the United States, Canada, and Old Mexico By William S. Thomas Author of Trails and Tramps in Alaska and Newfoundland Octavo, 240 pages. With 70 Illustrations from Original Photographs by the Author. Net, $2.00. By mail, $2.20 The author makes a sportsmanlike plea for the use of a camera rather than rifle in the quest of big game. The appeal cannot fail to reach the hearts of all those who are interested in preserving the life of wild animals rather than unmerc