TEDDY," JTOOEIt OF PERIL
Danger, Whether in Ocean's Depth*
or Airs Heights, Tempts Him.
Ex-President Roosevelt and his political poH
des are temporarily obscured in the public
rr.;nd •whenever Colonel "Teddy" and his im
pulses are spoken cf. for whether people are
with him or against him as a national leader
they are moved to delight and admiration la
spite of themselves by his rock:, ss moods of
daring and his remarkable physical couraga.
A few days ago, when he threw off his over
coat in St. Louis on a sudden decision to go
skyward for a new sensation, he showed that
same old unconquerable love of danger thAt
won the hearts of the plainsmen in his young
manhood and that made him "Our Teddy" to
the whole nation when the Spanish war brcke
out and he went down to court bullets in
Cuba.
And whether ho goes in for the mediaeval
sports of war and hunting or the modern ones
of submarining and aeroplaning the colonel
has the same unquenchable enthusiasm.
"By George! Fine! Fine! Fin. he cries, al
mest beside himself i:h delight over his swoop
through the air on Hoxsey*s biplane. "Wish I
could have stayed up an hour!"
Champagne spirits, not artificially produced,
are contagious, and his countrymen cannot help
| eUnc grateful to the man whose mere per
sonality banishes the blues; .the man whose
motto, if he had any. might easily be that
.r:.;.g couplet from The Lady of the Lake":
Or. If a rah be dangerous knows.
The danger's self is l^re aJsae.
And so strong a lure it scorns that in spite of
c:. almost unmeasured ambition to benefit his
fellow men be constantly rnahea headlong into
situations that may mean death and an end to
all his active fulness.
"Prom the beginning," he writes in his me
ir-oirs of the Cuban campaign, "I had deter
mined that if a war came somehow or other I
was going to the front."
Xot only to the front in the usual sense, but
to the very forefront of the firing line, as ha
showed during those tirst days of July, IS9S,
when the American forces advanced on San
tiago. The American troops were gathered
around the hills of San Juan waiting for the
■rder to charge. The Spaniards were firing on
Urn bl Roosevelt brought up his Rough Riders
to the front line and there found the regulars
waiting.
"Why aren't you advancing up the hill?"
asked the colonel, impatiently.
Baaae one aaid they had not yet got orders
to charge.
"Then break ycur line and let my men
through," he commanded.
I ■!.•-■ of Ma troopers wr^te to him later a
letter in ■fcftch he described what he rernera
.• • ■: : that famous charge up Kettle HBL
•Then you waved your hat," he wrote, "and
gave the command to lfc — gr. and we vent uj>
There is a passage in Roosevelt's own me
moirs which continues tUa scene, after they had
gained the summit cf the hill and were entirely
ex posed to the Spanish shot.
'"Suddenly," he writes, "above the cracking of
the carbines arose a peculiar drumming sound
ar. i sozne of the men cried: 'The Spanish ma
chine gruns!' -:r.::::r, I made out that it
came from the flat ground to the left, and jumped
to rr.y feet smiting my hand on my thigh and
shouting aloud with exultation, "It's the gat
lings, men. our gatlings!'"
It is not a wholly unrnmmai thing to be
bra once, to find <.::• 'm self in a dangerous situ
ation and to face it out with a noble show of
courage- Bat ffii^t people develop a remark
able cunning in never exposing themselves so
rashly again.
The colonel, however, b ifl never seemed to
cart about keeping out of danger. Seven years
lat^-r when, as . . it-nt. he had the re^ponsi
bilities of the nati in on his shoulders, he slipped
cut one August day from his home in Oystar
Bay to look at the submarine Plunger, which
was lying mysteriously on the waters of the
barber. He put out from shore in a little
boat, got aboard the submarine and announced
his intention cf going down in her.
For three hours and fifty minutes, with the
President shut in her airtight compartments,
the Plunger was put through her paces. Fifty
minutes of this time were spent under iratar,
fiivin?. swooping, hanging- in mid-water and
finally coming to the surface. One of the crew
said afterward:
"The President pulled the lever that controls [
the whole machinery and guided the boat him- ;
self. He was tickled to death with everything." '
Danger, in fact, seems to furnish him not only '
exhilaration but relaxation and rest. Tir- j
aith the long years of oSceholding, hia Presi
flency had no sooner ended than he made off j
for the beast haunted and fever-ridden jungles ,
of Africa.
"If I kill one lion md one elephant," eaid he
modestly before be left. "I will be satisfied."
Bat he rrought down throe iious the first j
*2 Lv sought out the king of beasts and with ;
cslj* « -fr irhot expended on each.
"It v.-us a marvellously successful trip," he j
F ;.:c ; . -t- c . heal h and opti-
KEW-TORK DAILY TRIBTTTST:. SUNDAY. OCTOBER 23. IMO.
SOMETIMES THE HELMSMAN GETS A
SHOT.
mism he stands in the public eye, one might
say, as the embodiment of the spirit that has
made this country what it Is to-day. Captious
critics say these adventures, especially his air
trip, prove that he acts too much on impulse to
be a safe pßot for the ship of state. They fail
to explain, however, that all the impulses he
acts upon seem to be honorable impulses, un
seliish impulses, healthy impulses. So far as
known, he has never offered a prize to any one
else to risk mortal injury- In all his advont
ures he risks his own neck like a red-blooded
American.
A GATHERING OF DUCK HUNTERS OFF THE YACHTS IN LLOYD'S HARBOR-
SHOOTING FROM THE DECK WHILE
UNDER WAf.
HE KXEW THE RATE.
I bn M. Love, secretary of the United Asso
ciation of Gas Fitters' Ilc-lpors, said the other
day in his Chicago office:
"A union, by keeping its finger on the labor
market's poise, can tell that market's condition
and act accordingly.
"In fact, a union has the expert knowledge of
the old man who went to a dentist's to have a
tooth drawn.
" 'It's a double tooth,' said the dentist, 'and
it will cost you 50 cents. But, with gas, it wfll
be $1 extra.'
•• 'A dollar extraT said the patient. Ify good
ness! WBl I have to take 1.150 feet?' ■
CHASING FOWL BY WIND
Shooting from Sailboats AHorccd on
Three Nearby Meres.
To any sportsman riding the double hobby of
boat sailing and wild fowl shooting the waters
of Long Island Sound offer opportunities for en
joyment in the fall of the year that cannot be
equalled elsewhere.
There nn be found in the game laws of the
State of New York, Article VII, Section SB. the
somewhat misleading lines: "Duck, geese, brant
and swan shall not be pursued by nor fired at
from a boat propelled otherwise than by hand,"
PICKING UP THE KILL.
To do this with the boat travelling at the rate cf
six or seven knots is no easy task.
which are later amended by these others. Ar
ticle XI, Section 171: "Sailboats may be used
on Long Island Sound, Gardiner and Peconlc
D.IJ a.
And tii tfcfs= wnerdment hundreds of hunting
yachtsrr.. n •'"">• in ■'■ f ted for most enjoyable
autumn trips, m v.iv h both sailing and shooting
can be deligßtmny combined. Trips, these,
where disappointment is unknown, for when the
bracing fall winds blow fresh and the boat leans
hard, cleaving through the green waters at a
speed that sends the spray flying in misty
PLUCKING A BLACK DUCK FOR DINNER.
clouds, there ran be no preat feeling of loss Just
because the bag happens to be small. The blood
runs warm with the exhilaration of the great
open air, and. game or no game, the hours glid«
by swiftly and happily.
There is hardly a prettier body of water ia
the world than Long Island Pound, and cruising
along the southern shore, where duck are most
plentiful, the sai'cr-pportsman passes in ever
changing succession great, steep sand clifT3,
dazzling silver beaches and pretty bdeta and
bays, the slopes of which, often thickly wooded,
shelve to the water's edge in a riot of flaming
autumn foliage — a kaU-idoscopic panorama upon
which the eye feasts without ever tirinp.
In the bays of Peconic and Gardiner the out
look for a really good day's shooting is ever
present, for there are plenty of ducks there, and
if conditions are right a goodly number can be
counted on. A boat of shallow draft is indis
pensable to the safe and comfortable navigation
of these inland waters, however, so that owners
of keel j-achts visit by preference the bays of
Huntington and Smithtown, navigable by boats
drawing even seven feet to within a very short
distance off shore. These localities are also
chosen by those whose time is limited, because
their nearness to New York and neighborhood
permit of a week-end trip being taken by busi
ness men with the assurance of their getting
back in time to resume work on Monday.
Among these hunters there are many with
whom the shooting is but an incident of the
day's sailing. They will have their guns on deck
and take pot shots at any bird that m.iy come
their way. but they never go off their course to
exploit a likely hole, or even follow up the birds
after flushing them. They are yachtsmen first,
sportsmen after.
Others, instead, are keen after game. Duck
shooting is their object, and sailing only a
pleasant mrans of obtaining it. They lose no
time in getting to the best grounds, and are con
stantly on the alert for birds, scanning the
horizon with glasses, running down on a flock
the minute they sight it, and giving eager pur
suit aft<r flushing it Then, when the afternoon
wanes, they drop anchor near a likely spot and
go ashore for the evening flight, remaining
overnight and shooting over dc-coys in the morn
ing. They frequently put together quite re
spectable bags.
The boats most in use for those week-end
trips are of the cruising type, anywhere from
thirty to forty-five feet over all, and built for
comfort more than speed. It is a revelation to
go below decks in one of these tiny looking
craft and note what has been accomplished by
the ingenuity of our designers in taking ad
vantage of the limited space at their disposal.
Even the smallest of them is equipped with
sleeping accommodations for four or more,
washroom, galley, icebox and every imaginable
convenience. One can cruise in any one for
several days without having to go ashore for
anything.
Boats starting on ducking expeditions usually
leave harbor about noon, so as to be able to
reach their destination before darkness. They
generally follow the Long Island shore all the
way up. Ducks congregate here, off and around
the jutting points, at times in immense flocks
that can be picked up with the binoculars at a
great distance. The birds are pretty wary and
wild, as a rule, but one seldom fails to get a
few shots at them. Coots and old squaw pre
dominate in these large flocks, but one always
finds mingled with them either teal, black duck,
whistlers, mallard, ruddy duck, a rare canvas
back or some other of the better varic-tie-s. Of
course, coots cannot come under the heading of
game birds, but they afford good sport, and
any one having scruples about wanton killing
may like to hear that any fisherman will be glad;
to receive these birds in gift.
To be successful in shooting duck, either from
a large sailboat or from a dingy, there are re
quired skill, practice and knowledge of condi
tions and places. The location of the Qock3
varies according to wind and weather, and un
less you know just where to go in search of them
you will probably return empty handed.
Duck are most easy to approach on calm days,
so that sailboat shooting has its compensations,
a poor flight at morning generally indicating
good sport in daytime, and vice versa.
On sighting a flock one should sail up to
windward of it and then run down with the wind
astern. The birds arise against the wind and
one has a far better chance at them before tha
wind than trying to approach them close hauled,
In a strong breeze the task of picking up thf,
dead Is not an easy one and the sportsman wil£
save himself considerable annoyance by having]
with him a fairly large landing net attached to
a long, stout pole. With this contrivance a
bird can be taken from the water with the great
est facility, but without it the hunter will find
hia temper sorely tried in anything like a stiff
breeze.
When a boat is bowling along at six or seven
knots It causes considerable commotion ia
Continued on eisjtiUi pa;;;".
" For CONSTIPATION Try
Hratyadi Janos I
NATURAL APERIENT WATER. I
AfoiJ (Jnscrapaloas Drp^ists ]g
3