Two park visitors, who hiked to Van Trump Park from Longmire on July 17 returned to the museum in more or less of a breathless state and reported that they had seen two wolves in the high meadows of that sub-alpine park. The visitors - two girls who have visited the park each year for some time - had hiked to Van Trump in the hope of seeing mountain goat which are generally to be found at that place. They left the trail upon entering the meadow land of the park itself and continued on up along some cliffs to near the snowbanks. There, below them they could see a band of some twenty-five goat about half of which were kids. So interested were they in these animals that they failed to note the approach of two other animals from another direction and they did not see them until approximately fifty feet away, approaching warily across the snow. It was getting near dusk but the girls were not alarmed. Instead they were rather interested in these animals feeling that they would soon depart. Such, however, was not the case. Rocks were thrown but still the animals advanced in more or less of a menacing manner. Finally one withdrew but the other approached to within five feet before it halted its advance.

It is more likely that these animals were coyote, though, as wolves have occasionally been reported in recent years in the park, the presence of this more dangerous animal cannot be ignored. They were probably in pursuit of the mountain goat. At any rate the two girls had an interesting adventure. (C.F.B.)

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The other morning just before breakfast an uninvited guest dropped into our kitchen. This housebreaker was a large, hungry black bear. He didn't even knock on the door. Sniffing all around the refrigerator, he tested its weight to see if it could be overturned easily. That required too much effort, so he balanced himself with one paw on the kitchen table, reaching for the cupboard door. His inquisitive nose told him food was to be found in it. After fumbling over the closed doors of the cup board, and finding he could not get them open, he disgustedly ambled over to the kitchen door and left us, with a reproachful backward look for our lack of hospitality. A. A. Lindsay.

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The recession of the Nisqually Glacier was checked early in July to ascertain whether or not much ice had melted during the winter. From the results of these tabulations - made on July 9 - it was evident that the glacial recession of this "river of ice" was practically nil during the recent winter. Any recession that occurs during the year (September 1934-September 1935) will thus have occurred during the months of July, August and early September. (C.F.B.)

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Early this summer a motorist delivered a package to a ranger at Longmire. It contained a tiny fawn which had been picked up along the Paradise highway. The motorist said it had been abandoned by the roadside, since its mother was nowhere to be seen. The ranger put the carton with its wobbly contents into his car, and drove back to the spot where it had been found. There he made the little fellow comfortable and left it. Returning a little later, he found that the doe had returned to it and both the doe and the fawn seemed glad. So was the ranger. A. A. Lindsay.

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Two hikers in Van Trump Park report an interesting observation of a marmot family. A mother and two young were playing among some rocks above Mildred Point, the youngsters following their parent wherever she led. Soon the old one scampered upon a rock higher than the rest, and the young could not make the grade. But the mother lowered her tail over the edge and her offspring clambered up this natural ladder to join her on top of the rock. Thus ended this marmot tale. A. A. Lindsay.

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During the summer we received from Professor Slater of the College of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington the revised section of the Park Encyclopedia relative to the amphibians of Mt. Rainier National Park. Also during the summer we received from Miss Elizebeth E. Morse the revised section of the Park Encyclopedia relative to the fungi of this park. Both sections were submitted to these authorities for checking and revision. The Park Service is grateful for this fine spirit of cooperation which is widening our technical knowledge of the natural history of this region. (C.F.B.)

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The cover of this issue pictures Mt. Adams (12,307'), a sister volcanic peak of Mt. Rainier, as viewed from the slopes of Mt. Ararat in Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, Mt. Rainier National Park. Mt. Adams is approximately forty miles distant from the point where the photo was made. Indian Henry's Hunting Ground is one of the many beautiful sub-alpine meadows upon the slopes of Mt. Rainier and is visited regularly by hiking parties under the guidance of ranger naturalists during the summer months. (C.F.B.)

Dedicated to public service and the development of a greater appreciation of the National Parks by the people of the nation, the Naturalist Department of Mt. Rainier National Park has been materially aided by thoughtful donations from those whom it has served in the past. Books on natural history, on the human history of the Pacific Northwest, on Indian lore; interesting historical photographs or news clippings relative to the Park and magazines such as Nature, National Geographic, American Forests, Natural History, Bird Lore and the like have swelled our library and have facilitated a better presentation of the interesting features of this park to our visiting public through the various mediums at our command.

The Naturalist Department takes this opportunity to thank those who have contributed to the museum or the museum library since May 20, 1935. (C.F.B.)

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