BLAZE Magazine Special Edition 2006-2016 | Page 17

in The Wilderness Hunter. “The free, self-
reliant, adventurous life, with its rugged and
stalwart democracy; the wild surroundings,
the grand beauty of the scenery, the chance
to study the ways and habits of the woodland
creatures—all these unite to give to the
career of the wilderness hunter its peculiar
charm. The chase is among the best of all
national pastimes; it cultivates that vigorous
manliness for the lack of which in a nation,
as in an individual, the possession of no
other qualities can possibly atone.”
2
George Washington
It is commonly known that George
Washington had a keen interest in hunting
dogs and hunting in general, but it is less
known that the great general may have once
called a cease fire during the American
Revolutionary War to return a hunting
hound. In an anecdotal story often repeated
by dog breeders, American troops found
a small dog wandering between the lines
during the Battle of Germantown in 1777.
The canine was picked up and presented
to General Washington, who was told that
it probably belonged to the British General
William Howe. Washington’s advisers
suggested that he keep the dog as a trophy,
or to lower Howe’s morale, but Washington
instead ordered the dog to be washed and
cleaned. He then ordered a ceasefire and
formally returned the dog to Howe in the
middle of the battle.
Unfortunately for Washington, the Battle of
Germantown ended in a solid British victory,
but it did not detract from his show of
sportsmanship. Before and after his military
career, Washington was an avid waterfowler
and fox hunter. It is suspected that he owned
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several dozen hunting dogs throughout
his lifetime, although his time hunting
from horseback was cut short after a bad
fall later in his life.
3
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Born in Texas and raised in Kansas,
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a well-
known hunter and angler. As a young
boy, Eisenhower would often walk the
seven miles from his home to a local
creek to fish, and later discovered a
love for hunting birds. As Supreme
Commander of the Allied Forces in
Europe during WWII, Eisenhower
oversaw the liberation of France and
the invasion of Germany, yet the
general also made time to go on
a partridge hunt in North Africa.
A lull on the Italian front allowed
Eisenhower to take a rare day off,
which he spent roaming around
looking for birds with his chief-of-staff,
General Walter Smith.
“There are three (sports) that I like all for the
same reason—golf, fishing, and shooting—
because they take you into the fields,”
Eisenhower was quoted as saying once.
“They induce you to take at any one time
two to three hours, when you are thinking of
the bird or ball or the wily trout. Now, to my
mind, it is a very healthful, beneficial kind of
thing, and I do it whenever I get a chance.”
Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland hunted just about
everything and fished just about
everything. According to some sources,
the outdoors became an obsession to
him, which he wholeheartedly admitted
in his writings.
restrained by the sort of chivalric fairness
and generosity, felt and recognized by every
true sportsman.”
Whether it was camping, fishing, or hunting
a vast array of species, Cleveland was in his
element outside. According to some sources,
the president even assigned names to his
individual rifles.
4
“There can be no doubt that certain men
are endowed with a sort of inherent
and spontaneous instinct which leads
them to hunting and fishing indulgence
as the most alluring and satisfying of
all recreations,” he wrote in his book
Fishing and Shooting Sketches. “In this
view, I believe it may be safely said that
the true hunter or fisherman is born,
not made. I believe, too, that those
who thus by instinct and birthright
belong to the sporting fraternity and
are actuated by a genuine sporting
spirit, are neither cruel, nor greedy
and wasteful of the game and fish
they pursue; and I am convinced that
there can be no better conservator
the sensible and provident protection
of game and fish than those who are
enthusiastic in their pursuit, but who,
at the same time, are regulated and
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