Mount Rainier National Park had a birthday recently -- its thirty-third anniversary. For on March 2, 1899 the bill introduced into Congress by Senator Watson Squire was signed by President McKinley. And so this park came into being -- one of the first areas of its kind to be created, being preceded by Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant.

(C.F.B.)

"While making a trip across the east side of the park with Rangers Harold Hall and Carl Tice we came upon the evidence of a tragedy. In the snow we noticed the white outline of the form of a deer which, on examination, proved to be a yearling buck. The carcass still warm, was covered with about a half inch of snow as it was snowing hard at the time. There was no doubt as to the perpetrator of the act for all about were the tracks of the great cat, the Cougar. Reading the tracks we were able to ascertain that the Cougar had not made the kill without the deer using his chief weapon of defense -- speed -- to the utmost. They had come charging down the mountain side in great bounds but the buck was breaking through the drifts to a greater depth and he was overtaken and killed to satisfy the other's ravenous appetite. The cougar had torn a great hole in the buck's side and had eaten out is heart and lungs -- then had torn at all parts of the carcass until his hunger was satisfied."

--Assistant Chief Ranger Macy

Several requests have come in to the effect that the cover designs should be identified as to color as, it seems, children like to reproduce the bird or animal in color with crayons. This month's cover pictures a Varied Thrush. It is a beautiful bird with slate gray upper parts, blackish head except for a stripe on the side and over the eye of yellow brown. Throat and breast are yellow brown with the conspicuous black crescent and the wings are slate grey also except for banding and edging of yellow brown. It is one of the most beautifully marked of our common spring birds here on "The Mountain".

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