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diff --git a/old/10445-8.txt b/old/10445-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c8a266b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10445-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11433 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, American Big Game in Its Haunts, by Various, +Edited by George Bird Grinnell + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + + + + +Title: American Big Game in Its Haunts + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 13, 2003 [eBook #10445] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BIG GAME IN ITS HAUNTS*** + + +E-text prepared by Thomas Hutchinson and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +American Big Game in Its Haunts + +The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club + +EDITOR + +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL + +1904 + + + + + +[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT +Founder of the Boone and Crockett Club] + + + + + +Contents + + +Theodore Roosevelt + +Wilderness Reserves + Theodore Roosevelt. + +The Zoology of North American Big Game + Arthur Erwin Brown. + +Big Game Shooting in Alaska: + + I. Bear Hunting on Kadiak Island + II. Bear Hunting on the Alaska Peninsula + III. My Big Bear of Shuyak + IV. The White Sheep of Kenai Peninsula. + V. Hunting the Giant Moose + James H. Kidder. + +The Kadiak Bear and his Home + W. Lord Smith. + +The Mountain Sheep and its Range + George Bird Grinnell. + +Preservation of the Wild Animals of North America + Henry Fairfield Osborn. + +Distribution of the Moose + Madison Grant. + +The Creating of Game Refuges + Alden Sampson. + +Temiskaming Moose + Paul J. Dashiell. + +Two Trophies from India + John H. Prentice. + + + + + + +Big-Game Refuges + +Forest Reserves of North America + + + + +Appendix + + +Forest Reserves as Game Preserves + E.W. Nelson. + +Constitution of the Boone and Crockett Club + +Rules of the Committee on Admission + +Former Officers of the Boone and Crockett Club + +Officers of the Boone and Crockett Club + +List of Members + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +Theodore Roosevelt + +President Roosevelt and Major Pitcher + +Tourists and Bears + +"Oom John" + +Prongbucks + +Mountain Sheep + +Deer on the Parade Ground + +Whiskey Jacks + +Wapiti in Deep Snow + +Old Ephraim + +Mountain Sheep at Close Quarters + +Magpies + +A Silhouette of Blacktail + +Black Bears at Hotel Garbage Heap + +Chambermaid and Bear + +Cook and Bear + +Bull Bison + +Trophies from Alaska + +Loaded Baidarka--Barabara--Base of Supplies, Alaska Peninsula + +The Hunter and his Home + +Baidarka + +Heads of Dall's Sheep + +My Best Head + +St. Paul, Kadiak Island + +Sunset in English Bay, Kadiak + +Sitkalidak Island from Kadiak + +A Kadiak Eagle + +Bear Paths, Kadiak Island + +Bear Paths, Kadiak Island + +_Merycodus osborni_ Matthew + +Yearling Moose + +Maine Moose; about 1890 + +Moose Killed 1892, with Unusual Development of Brow Antlers + +Alaska Moose Head, Showing Unusual Development of Antlers + +"Bierstadt" Head, Killed 1880 + +Probably Largest Known Alaska Moose Head + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +A Kahrigur Tiger + +Indian Leopard + +The New Buffalo Herd in the Yellowstone Park + +A Bit of Sheep Country + +Mountain Sheep at Rest + +Mule Deer at Fort Yellowstone + +NOTE.--The four last illustrations are from photographs taken by Major +John Pitcher, Superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park, +especially for this volume. + + + + +Preface + + +Although the Boone and Crockett Club has not appeared largely in the +public eye during recent years, its activities have not ceased. The +discovery of gold in Alaska, and the extraordinary rush of population to +that northern territory had the usual effect on the wild life there, and +proved very destructive to the natives and to the large mammals. A few +years ago it became evident that the Kadiak bear and certain newly +discovered forms of wild sheep and caribou were being destroyed by +wholesale, and were actually threatened with extermination, and through +the efforts of the Club, strongly backed by the Biological Survey of the +Department of Agriculture, a bill was passed regulating the taking of +Alaska large game, and especially the exportation of heads, horns, and +hides. The bill promises to afford sufficient protection to some of +these rare boreal forms, though for others it perhaps comes too late. +The enforcement of the law is in charge of the Treasury Department, and +permits for shooting and the export of trophies are issued by the Chief +of the Biological Survey. + +Although a local affair, yet of interest to the whole country, is the +remarkable success of the New York Zoological Park, controlled and +managed by the New York Zoological Society, brought into existence +largely through the efforts of Madison Grant, the present secretary of +the Club. The Society has also recently taken over the care of the New +York Aquarium. The Society is in a most flourishing condition, and +through its extensive collections exerts an important educational +influence in a field in which popular interest is constantly growing. + +Under the administration of President Roosevelt, the good work of +national forest preservation continues, and the time appears not far +distant when vast areas of the hitherto uncultivated West will prove +added sources of wealth to our country. + +The Club has for some time given much thoughtful attention to the +subject of game refuges--that is to say, areas where game shall be +absolutely free from interference or molestation, as it is to-day in the +Yellowstone Park--to be situated within the forest reserves; and as is +elsewhere shown, it has investigated a number of the forest reserves in +order to learn something of their suitability for game refuges. It +appears certain that only by means of such refuges can some forms of our +large mammals be preserved from extinction. The first step to be taken +to bring about the establishment of these safe breeding grounds is to +secure legislation transferring the Bureau of Forestry from the Land +Office to the Department of Agriculture. After this shall have been +accomplished, the question of establishing such game refuges may +properly come before the officials of the Government for action. + +Among the notable articles in the present volume, one of the most +important is Mr. Roosevelt's account of his visit to the Yellowstone +National Park in April, 1903. The Park is an object lesson, showing very +clearly what complete game protection will do to perpetuate species, and +Mr. Roosevelt's account of what may be seen there is so convincing that +all who read it, and appreciate the importance of preserving our large +mammals, must become advocates of the forest reserve game refuge system. + +Quite as interesting, in a different way, is Mr. Brown's contribution +to the definition and the history of our larger North American +mammals. To characterize these creatures in language "understanded of +the people" is not easy, but Mr. Brown has made clear the zoological +affinities of the species, and has pointed out their probable origin. + +This is the fourth of the Boone and Crockett Club's books, and the first +to be signed by a single member of the editorial committee, one name +which usually appears on the title page having been omitted for obvious +reasons. The preceding volume--Trail and Camp Fire--was published in +1897. + +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL. + +NEW YORK, April 2, 1904. + + + + +American Big Game in Its Haunts + +[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt] + +[Illustration: President Roosevelt and Major Pitcher] + + +FOUNDER OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB. + +It was at a dinner given to a few friends, who were also big-game +hunters, at his New York house, in December, 1887, that Theodore +Roosevelt first suggested the formation of the Boone and Crockett +Club. The association was to be made up of men using the rifle in +big-game hunting, who should meet from time to time to discuss subjects +of interest to hunters. The idea was received with enthusiasm, and the +purposes and plans of the club were outlined at this dinner. + +Mr. Roosevelt was then eight years out of college, and had already made +a local name for himself. Soon after graduation he had begun to display +that energy which is now so well known; he had entered the political +field, and been elected member of the New York Legislature, where he +served from 1882 to 1884. His honesty and courage made his term of +service one long battle, in which he fought with equal zeal the unworthy +measures championed by his own and the opposing political party. In 1886 +he had been an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of New York, being +defeated by Abram S. Hewitt. + +Up to the time of the formation of the Boone and Crockett Club, the +political affairs with which Mr. Roosevelt had concerned himself had +been of local importance, but none the less in the line of training for +more important work; but his activities were soon to have a wider range. + +In 1889 the President of the United States appointed him member of the +Civil Service Commission, where he served until 1895. In 1895 he was +appointed one of the Board of Police Commissioners of New York City, and +became President of the Board, serving here until 1897. In 1897 he was +appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and served for about a year, +resigning in 1898 to raise the First United States Volunteer +Cavalry. The service done by the regiment--popularly called Roosevelt's +Rough Riders--is sufficiently well known, and Mr. Roosevelt was promoted +to a Colonelcy for conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Las +Guasimas. At the close of the war with Spain, Mr. Roosevelt became +candidate for Governor of New York. He was elected, and served until +December 31, 1900. In that year he was elected Vice-President of the +United States on the ticket with Mr. McKinley, and on the death of +Mr. McKinley, succeeded to the Presidential chair. + +Of the Presidents of the United States not a few have been sportsmen, +and sportsmen of the best type. The love of Washington for gun and dog, +his interest in fisheries, and especially his fondness for horse and +hound, in the chase of the red fox, have furnished the theme for many a +writer; and recently Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Harrison have been more or +less celebrated in the newspapers, Mr. Harrison as a gunner, and Mr. +Cleveland for his angling, as well as his duck shooting proclivities. + +It is not too much to say, however, that the chair of the chief +magistrate has never been occupied by a sportsman whose range of +interests was so wide, and so actively manifested, as in the case of +Mr. Roosevelt. It is true that Mr. Harrison, Mr. Cleveland, and +Mr. McKinley did much in the way of setting aside forest reservations, +but chiefly from economic motives; because they believed that the +forests should be preserved, both for the timber that they might yield, +if wisely exploited, and for their value as storage reservoirs for the +waters of our rivers. + +The view taken by Mr. Roosevelt is quite different. To him the +economics of the case appeal with the same force that they might have +for any hard-headed, common sense business American; but beyond this, +and perhaps, if the secrets of his heart were known, more than this, +Mr. Roosevelt is influenced by a love of nature, which, though +considered sentimental by some, is, in fact, nothing more than a +far-sightedness, which looks toward the health, happiness, and general +well-being of the American race for the future. + +As a boy Mr. Roosevelt was fortunate in having a strong love for nature +and for outdoor life, and, as in the case of so many boys, this love +took the form of an interest in birds, which found its outlet in +studying and collecting them. He published, in 1877, a list of the +summer birds of the Adirondacks, in Franklin county, New York, and also +did more or less collecting of birds on Long Island. The result of all +this was the acquiring of some knowledge of the birds of eastern North +America, and, what was far more important, a knowledge of how to +observe, and an appreciation of the fact that observations, to be of any +scientific value, must be definite and precise. + +In the many hunting tales that we have had from his pen in recent years, +it is seen that these two pieces of most important instruction acquired +by the boy have always been remembered, and for this reason his books of +hunting and adventure have a real value--a worth not shared by many of +those published on similar subjects. His hunting adventures have not +been mere pleasure excursions. They have been of service to science. On +one of his hunts, perhaps his earliest trip after white goats, he +secured a second specimen of a certain tiny shrew, of which, up to that +time, only the type was known. Much more recently, during a declared +hunting trip in Colorado, he collected the best series of skins of the +American panther, with the measurements taken in the flesh, that has +ever been gathered from one locality by a single individual. + +Mr. Roosevelt's hunting experiences have been so wide as to have covered +almost every species of North American big game found within the +temperate zone. Except such Arctic forms as the white and the Alaska +bears, and the muskox, there is, perhaps, no species of North American +game that he has not killed; and his chapter on the mountain sheep, in +his book, "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," is confessedly the best +published account of that species. + +During the years that Mr. Roosevelt was actually engaged in the cattle +business in North Dakota, his everyday life led him constantly to the +haunts of big game, and, almost in spite of himself, gave him constant +hunting opportunities. Besides that, during dull seasons of the year, +he made trips to more or less distant localities in search of the +species of big game not found immediately about his ranch. His mode of +hunting and of traveling was quite different from that now in vogue +among big-game hunters. His knowledge of the West was early enough to +touch upon the time when each man was as good as his neighbor, and the +mere fact that a man was paid wages to perform certain acts for you did +not in any degree lower his position in the world, nor elevate yours. +In those days, if one started out with a companion, hired or otherwise, +to go to a certain place, or to do a certain piece of work, each man was +expected to perform his share of the labor. + +This fact Mr. Roosevelt recognized as soon as he went West, and, acting +upon it, he made for himself a position as a man, and not as a master, +which he has never lost; and it is precisely this democratic spirit +which to-day makes him perhaps the most popular man in the United States +at large. + +Starting off, then, on some trip of several hundred miles, with a +companion who might be guide, helper, cook, packer, or what +not--sometimes efficient, and the best companion that could be desired, +at others, perhaps, hopelessly lazy and worthless, and even with a stock +of liquor cached somewhere in the packs--Mr. Roosevelt helped to pack +the horses, to bring the wood, to carry the water, to cook the food, to +wrangle the stock, and generally to do the work of the camp, or of the +trail, so long as any of it remained undone. His energy was +indefatigable, and usually he infected his companion with his own +enthusiasm and industry, though at times he might have with him a man +whom nothing could move. It is largely to this energy and this +determination that he owes the good fortune that has usually attended +his hunting trips. + +As the years have gone on, fortunes have changed; and as duties of one +kind and another have more and more pressed upon him, Mr. Roosevelt has +done less and less hunting; yet his love for outdoor life is as keen as +ever, and as Vice-President of the United States, he made his +well-remembered trip to Colorado after mountain lions, while more +recently he hunted black bears in the Mississippi Valley, and still more +lately killed a wild boar in the Austin Corbin park in New Hampshire. + +Mr. Roosevelt's accession to the Presidential chair has been a great +thing for good sportsmanship in this country. Measures pertaining to +game and forest protection, and matters of sport generally, always have +had, and always will have, his cordial approval and co-operation. He is +heartily in favor of the forest reserves, and of the project for +establishing, within these reserves, game refuges, where no hunting +whatever shall be permitted. Aside from his love for nature, and his +wish to have certain limited areas remain in their natural condition, +absolutely untouched by the ax of the lumberman, and unimproved by the +work of the forester, is that broader sentiment in behalf of humanity in +the United States, which has led him to declare that such refuges should +be established for the benefit of the man of moderate means and the poor +man, whose opportunities to hunt and to see game are few and far +between. In a public speech he has said, in substance, that the rich and +the well-to-do could take care of themselves, buying land, fencing it, +and establishing parks and preserves of their own, where they might look +upon and take pleasure in their own game, but that such a course was not +within the power of the poor man, and that therefore the Government +might fitly intervene and establish refuges, such as indicated, for the +benefit and the pleasure of the whole people. + +In April, 1903, the President made a trip to the Yellowstone Park, and +there had an opportunity to see wild game in such a forest refuge, +living free and without fear of molestation. Long before this +Mr. Roosevelt had expressed his approval of the plan, but his own eyes +had never before seen precisely the results accomplished by such a +refuge. In 1903 he was able to contrast conditions in the Yellowstone +Park with those of former years when he had passed through it and had +hunted on its borders, and what he saw then more than ever confirmed his +previous conclusions. + +Although politics have taken up a large share of Mr. Roosevelt's life, +they represent only one of his many sides. He has won fame as a +historical writer by such books as "The Winning of the West," "Life of +Gouverneur Morris," "Life of Thomas Hart Benton," "The Naval War of +1812," "History of New York," "American Ideals and Other Essays," and +"Life of Cromwell." Besides these, he has written "The Strenuous Life," +and in somewhat lighter vein, his "Wilderness Hunter," "Hunting Trips of +a Ranchman," "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," and "The Rough Riders" +deal with sport, phases of nature and life in the wild country. For many +years he was on the editorial committee of the Boone and Crockett Club, +and edited its publications, "American Big Game Hunting," "Hunting in +Many Lands," and "Trail and Camp Fire." + +Mr. Roosevelt was the first president of the Boone and Crockett Club, +and continues actively interested in its work. He was succeeded in the +presidency of the Club by the late Gen. B.H. Bristow. + +[Illustration: Tourists and Bears] + + + + +Wilderness Reserves + + +The practical common sense of the American people has been in no way +made more evident during the last few years than by the creation and use +of a series of large land reserves--situated for the most part on the +great plains and among the mountains of the West--intended to keep the +forests from destruction, and therefore to conserve the water +supply. These reserves are created purely for economic purposes. The +semi-arid regions can only support a reasonable population under +conditions of the strictest economy and wisdom in the use of the water +supply, and in addition to their other economic uses the forests are +indispensably necessary for the preservation of the water supply and for +rendering possible its useful distribution throughout the proper +seasons. In addition, however, to the economic use of the wilderness by +preserving it for such purposes where it is unsuited for agricultural +uses, it is wise here and there to keep selected portions of it--of +course only those portions unfit for settlement--in a state of nature, +not merely for the sake of preserving the forests and the water, but for +the sake of preserving all its beauties and wonders unspoiled by greedy +and shortsighted vandalism. These beauties and wonders include animate +as well as inanimate objects. The wild creatures of the wilderness add +to it by their presence a charm which it can acquire in no other way. On +every ground it is well for our nation to preserve, not only for the +sake of this generation, but above all for the sake of those who come +after us, representatives of the stately and beautiful haunters of the +wilds which were once found throughout our great forests, over the vast +lonely plains, and on the high mountain ranges, but which are now on the +point of vanishing save where they are protected in natural breeding +grounds and nurseries. The work of preservation must be carried on in +such a way as to make it evident that we are working in the interest of +the people as a whole, not in the interest of any particular class; and +that the people benefited beyond all others are those who dwell nearest +to the regions in which the reserves are placed. The movement for the +preservation by the nation of sections of the wilderness as national +playgrounds is essentially a democratic movement in the interest of all +our people. + +[Illustration: "OOM JOHN."] + +On April 8, 1903, John Burroughs and I reached the Yellowstone Park and +were met by Major John Pitcher of the Regular Army, the Superintendent +of the Park. The Major and I forthwith took horses; he telling me that +he could show me a good deal of game while riding up to his house at the +Mammoth Hot Springs. Hardly had we left the little town of Gardiner and +gotten within the limits of the Park before we saw prong-buck. There +was a band of at least a hundred feeding some distance from the road. We +rode leisurely toward them. They were tame compared to their kindred in +unprotected places; that is, it was easy to ride within fair rifle range +of them; but they were not familiar in the sense that we afterwords +found the bighorn and the deer to be familiar. During the two hours +following my entry into the Park we rode around the plains and lower +slopes of the foothills in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Gardiner +and we saw several hundred--probably a thousand all told--of these +antelope. Major Pitcher informed me that all the prong-horns in the +Park wintered in this neighborhood. Toward the end of April or the +first of May they migrate back to their summering homes in the open +valleys along the Yellowstone and in the plains south of the Golden +Gate. While migrating they go over the mountains and through forests if +occasion demands. Although there are plenty of coyotes in the Park there +are no big wolves, and save for very infrequent poachers the only enemy +of the antelope, as indeed the only enemy of all the game, is the +cougar. + +Cougars, known in the Park as elsewhere through the West as "mountain +lions," are plentiful, having increased in numbers of recent years. +Except in the neighborhood of the Gardiner River, that is within a few +miles of Mammoth Hot Springs, I found them feeding on elk, which in the +Park far outnumber all other game put together, being so numerous that +the ravages of the cougars are of no real damage to the herds. But in +the neighborhood of the Mammoth Hot Springs the cougars are noxious +because of the antelope, mountain sheep and deer which they kill; and +the Superintendent has imported some hounds with which to hunt +them. These hounds are managed by Buffalo Jones, a famous old plainsman, +who is now in the Park taking care of the buffalo. On this first day of +my visit to the Park I came across the carcasses of a deer and of an +antelope which the cougars had killed. On the great plains cougars +rarely get antelope, but here the country is broken so that the big cats +can make their stalks under favorable circumstances. To deer and +mountain sheep the cougar is a most dangerous enemy--much more so than +the wolf. + +[Illustration: Prongbucks] + +The antelope we saw were usually in bands of from twenty to one hundred +and fifty, and they traveled strung out almost in single file, though +those in the rear would sometimes bunch up. I did not try to stalk them, +but got as near them as I could on horseback. The closest approach I was +able to make was to within about eighty yards on two which were by +themselves--I think a doe and a last year's fawn. As I was riding up to +them, although they looked suspiciously at me, one actually lay +down. When I was passing them at about eighty yards distance the big one +became nervous, gave a sudden jump, and away the two went at full speed. + +Why the prone bucks were so comparatively shy I do not know, for right +on the ground with them we came upon deer, and, in the immediate +neighborhood, mountain sheep, which were absurdly tame. The mountain +sheep were nineteen in number, for the most part does and yearlings with +a couple of three-year-old rams, but not a single big fellow--for the +big fellows at this season are off by themselves, singly or in little +bunches, high up in the mountains. The band I saw was tame to a degree +matched by but few domestic animals. + +They were feeding on the brink of a steep washout at the upper edge of +one of the benches on the mountain side just below where the abrupt +slope began. They were alongside a little gully with sheer walls. I rode +my horse to within forty yards of them, one of them occasionally looking +up and at once continuing to feed. Then they moved slowly off and +leisurely crossed the gully to the other side. I dismounted, walked +around the head of the gully, and moving cautiously, but in plain sight, +came closer and closer until I was within twenty yards, where I sat down +on a stone and spent certainly twenty minutes looking at them. They +paid hardly any attention whatever to my presence--certainly no more +than well-treated domestic creatures would pay. One of the rams rose on +his hind legs, leaning his fore-hoofs against a little pine tree, and +browsed the ends of the budding branches. The others grazed on the short +grass and herbage or lay down and rested--two of the yearlings several +times playfully butting at one another. Now and then one would glance in +my direction without the slightest sign of fear--barely even of +curiosity. I have no question whatever but that with a little patience +this particular band could be made to feed out of a man's hand. Major +Pitcher intends during the coming winter to feed them alfalfa--for game +animals of several kinds have become so plentiful in the neighborhood of +the Hot Springs, and the Major has grown so interested in them, that he +wishes to do something toward feeding them during the severe winter. +After I had looked at the sheep to my heart's content, I walked back to +my horse, my departure arousing as little interest as my advent. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP.] + +Soon after leaving them we began to come across black-tail deer, singly, +in twos and threes, and in small bunches of a dozen or so. They were +almost as tame as the mountain sheep, but not quite. That is, they +always looked alertly at me, and though if I stayed still they would +graze, they kept a watch over my movements and usually moved slowly off +when I got within less than forty yards of them. Up to that distance, +whether on foot or on horseback, they paid but little heed to me, and on +several occasions they allowed me to come much closer. Like the bighorn, +the black-tails at this time were grazing, not browsing; but I +occasionally saw them nibble some willow buds. During the winter they +had been browsing. As we got close to the Hot Springs we came across +several white-tail in an open, marshy meadow. + +They were not quite as tame as the black-tail, although without any +difficulty I walked up to within fifty yards of them. Handsome though +the black-tail is, the white-tail is the most beautiful of all deer when +in motion, because of the springy, bounding grace of its trot and +canter, and the way it carries its head and white flag aloft. + +Before reaching the Mammoth Hot Springs we also saw a number of ducks in +the little pools and on the Gardiner. Some of them were rather shy. +Others--probably those which, as Major Pitcher informed me, had spent +the winter there--were as tame as barnyard fowls. + +[Illustration: DEER ON THE PARADE GROUND.] + +Just before reaching the post the Major took me into the big field where +Buffalo Jones had some Texas and Flat Head Lake buffalo--bulls and +cows--which he was tending with solicitous care. The original stock of +buffalo in the Park have now been reduced to fifteen or twenty +individuals, and the intention is to try to mix them with the score of +buffalo which have been purchased out of the Flat Head Lake and Texas +Panhandle herds. The buffalo were put within a wire fence, which, when +it was built, was found to have included both black-tail and white-tail +deer. A bull elk was also put in with them at one time--he having met +with some accident which made the Major and Buffalo Jones bring him in +to doctor him. When he recovered his health he became very cross. Not +only would he attack men, but also buffalo, even the old and surly +master bull, thumping them savagely with his antlers if they did +anything to which he objected. When I reached the post and dismounted +at the Major's house, I supposed my experiences with wild beasts for the +day were ended; but this was an error. The quarters of the officers and +men and the various hotel buildings, stables, residences of the civilian +officials, etc., almost completely surround the big parade ground at the +post, near the middle of which stands the flag-pole, while the gun used +for morning and evening salutes is well off to one side. There are large +gaps between some of the buildings, and Major Pitcher informed me that +throughout the winter he had been leaving alfalfa on the parade grounds, +and that numbers of black-tail deer had been in the habit of visiting it +every day, sometimes as many as seventy being on the parade ground at +once. As springtime came on the numbers diminished. However, in +mid-afternoon, while I was writing in my room in Major Pitcher's house, +on looking out of the window I saw five deer on the parade ground. They +were as tame as so many Alderney cows, and when I walked out I got up to +within twenty yards of them without any difficulty. It was most amusing +to see them as the time approached for the sunset gun to be fired. The +notes of the trumpeter attracted their attention at once. They all +looked at him eagerly. One then resumed feeding, and paid no attention +whatever either to the bugle, the gun or the flag. The other four, +however, watched the preparations for firing the gun with an intent +gaze, and at the sound of the report gave two or three jumps; then +instantly wheeling, looked up at the flag as it came down. This they +seemed to regard as something rather more suspicious than the gun, and +they remained very much on the alert until the ceremony was over. Once +it was finished, they resumed feeding as if nothing had happened. Before +it was dark they trotted away from the parade ground back to the +mountains. + +The next day we rode off to the Yellowstone River, camping some miles +below Cottonwood Creek. It was a very pleasant camp. Major Pitcher, an +old friend, had a first-class pack train, so that we were as comfortable +as possible, and on such a trip there could be no pleasanter or more +interesting companion than John Burroughs--"Oom John," as we soon grew +to call him. Where our tents were pitched the bottom of the valley was +narrow, the mountains rising steep and cliff-broken on either +side. There were quite a number of black-tail in the valley, which were +tame and unsuspicious, although not nearly as much so as those in the +immediate neighborhood of the Mammoth Hot Springs. One mid-afternoon +three of them swam across the river a hundred yards above our camp. But +the characteristic animals of the region were the elk--the wapiti. They +were certainly more numerous than when I was last through the Park +twelve years before. + +[Illustration: WHISKEY JACKS.] + +In the summer the elk spread all over the interior of the Park. As +winter approaches they divide, some going north and others south. The +southern bands, which, at a guess, may possibly include ten thousand +individuals, winter out of the Park, for the most part in Jackson's +Hole--though of course here and there within the limits of the Park a +few elk may spend both winter and summer in an unusually favorable +location. It was the members of the northern band that I met. During +the winter time they are very stationary, each band staying within a +very few miles of the same place, and from their size and the open +nature of their habitat it is almost as easy to count them as if they +were cattle. From a spur of Bison Peak one day, Major Pitcher, the guide +Elwood Hofer, John Burroughs and I spent about four hours with the +glasses counting and estimating the different herds within sight. After +most careful work and cautious reduction of estimates in each case to +the minimum the truth would permit, we reckoned three thousand head of +elk, all lying or feeding and all in sight at the same time. An estimate +of some fifteen thousand for the number of elk in these northern bands +cannot be far wrong. These bands do not go out of the Park at all, but +winter just within its northern boundary. At the time when we saw them, +the snow had vanished from the bottom of the valleys and the lower +slopes of the mountains, but grew into continuous sheets further up +their sides. The elk were for the most part found up on the snow slopes, +occasionally singly or in small gangs--more often in bands of from fifty +to a couple of hundred. The larger bulls were highest up the mountains +and generally in small troops by themselves, although occasionally one +or two would be found associating with a big herd of cows, yearlings, +and two-year-olds. Many of the bulls had shed their antlers; many had +not. During the winter the elk had evidently done much browsing, but at +this time they were grazing almost exclusively, and seemed by preference +to seek out the patches of old grass which were last left bare by the +retreating snow. The bands moved about very little, and if one were +seen one day it was generally possible to find it within a few hundred +yards of the same spot the next day, and certainly not more than a mile +or two off. There were severe frosts at night, and occasionally light +flurries of snow; but the hardy beasts evidently cared nothing for any +but heavy storms, and seemed to prefer to lie in the snow rather than +upon the open ground. They fed at irregular hours throughout the day, +just like cattle; one band might be lying down while another was +feeding. While traveling they usually went almost in single +file. Evidently the winter had weakened them, and they were not in +condition for running; for on the one or two occasions when I wanted to +see them close up I ran right into them on horseback, both on level +plains and going up hill along the sides of rather steep mountains. One +band in particular I practically rounded up for John Burroughs--finally +getting them to stand in a huddle while he and I sat on our horses less +than fifty yards off. After they had run a little distance they opened +their mouths wide and showed evident signs of distress. + +[Illustration: WAPITI IN DEEP SNOW.] + +We came across a good many carcasses. Two, a bull and a cow, had died +from scab. Over half the remainder had evidently perished from cold or +starvation. The others, including a bull, three cows and a score of +yearlings, had been killed by cougars. In the Park the cougar is at +present their only animal foe. The cougars were preying on nothing but +elk in the Yellowstone Valley, and kept hanging about the neighborhood +of the big bands. Evidently they usually selected some outlying +yearling, stalked it as it lay or as it fed, and seized it by the head +and throat. The bull which they killed was in a little open valley by +himself, many miles from any other elk. The cougar which killed it, +judging from its tracks, was a very large male. As the elk were +evidently rather too numerous for the feed, I do not think the cougars +were doing any damage. + +[Illustration: OLD EPHRAIM.] + +Coyotes are plentiful, but the elk evidently have no dread of them. One +day I crawled up to within fifty yards of a band of elk lying down. A +coyote was walking about among them, and beyond an occasional look they +paid no heed to him. He did not venture to go within fifteen or twenty +paces of any one of them. In fact, except the cougar, I saw but one +living thing attempt to molest the elk. This was a golden eagle. We saw +several of these great birds. On one occasion we had ridden out to the +foot of a great sloping mountain side, dotted over with bands and +strings of elk amounting in the aggregate probably to a thousand +head. Most of the bands were above the snow line--some appearing away +back toward the ridge crests, and looking as small as mice. There was +one band well below the snow line, and toward this we rode. While the +elk were not shy or wary, in the sense that a hunter would use the +words, they were by no means as familiar as the deer; and this +particular band of elk, some twenty or thirty in all, watched us with +interest as we approached. When we were still half a mile off they +suddenly started to run toward us, evidently frightened by something. +They ran quartering, and when about four hundred yards away we saw that +an eagle was after them. Soon it swooped, and a yearling in the rear, +weakly, and probably frightened by the swoop, turned a complete +somersault, and when it recovered its feet, stood still. The great bird +followed the rest of the band across a little ridge, beyond which they +disappeared. Then it returned, soaring high in the heavens, and after +two or three wide circles, swooped down at the solitary yearling, its +legs hanging down. We halted at two hundred yards to see the end. But +the eagle could not quite make up its mind to attack. Twice it hovered +within a foot or two of the yearling's head--again flew off and again +returned. Finally the yearling trotted off after the rest of the band, +and the eagle returned to the upper air. Later we found the carcass of a +yearling, with two eagles, not to mention ravens and magpies, feeding on +it; but I could not tell whether they had themselves killed the yearling +or not. + +Here and there in the region where the elk were abundant we came upon +horses which for some reason had been left out through the winter. They +were much wilder than the elk. Evidently the Yellowstone Park is a +natural nursery and breeding ground of the elk, which here, as said +above, far outnumber all the other game put together. In the winter, if +they cannot get to open water, they eat snow; but in several places +where there had been springs which kept open all winter, we could see by +the tracks they had been regularly used by bands of elk. The men working +at the new road along the face of the cliffs beside the Yellowstone +River near Tower Falls informed me that in October enormous droves of +elk coming from the interior of the Park and traveling northward to the +lower lands had crossed the Yellowstone just above Tower Falls. Judging +by their description the elk had crossed by thousands in an +uninterrupted stream, the passage taking many hours. In fact nowadays +these Yellowstone elk are, with the exception of the Arctic caribou, the +only American game which at times travel in immense droves like the +buffalo of the old days. + +A couple of days after leaving Cottonwood Creek--where we had spent +several days--we camped at the Yellowstone Canon below Tower Falls. Here +we saw a second band of mountain sheep, numbering only eight--none of +them old rams. We were camped on the west side of the canon; the sheep +had their abode on the opposite side, where they had spent the +winter. It has recently been customary among some authorities, +especially the English hunters and naturalists who have written of the +Asiatic sheep, to speak as if sheep were naturally creatures of the +plains rather than mountain climbers. I know nothing of old world sheep, +but the Rocky Mountain bighorn is to the full as characteristic a +mountain animal, in every sense of the word, as the chamois, and, I +think, as the ibex. These sheep were well known to the road builders, +who had spent the winter in the locality. They told me they never went +back on the plains, but throughout the winter had spent their days and +nights on the top of the cliff and along its face. This cliff was an +alternation of sheer precipices and very steep inclines. When coated +with ice it would be difficult to imagine an uglier bit of climbing; but +throughout the winter, and even in the wildest storms, the sheep had +habitually gone down it to drink at the water below. When we first saw +them they were lying sunning themselves on the edge of the canyon, where +the rolling grassy country behind it broke off into the sheer +descent. It was mid-afternoon and they were under some pines. After a +while they got up and began to graze, and soon hopped unconcernedly down +the side of the cliff until they were half way to the bottom. They then +grazed along the sides, and spent some time licking at a place where +there was evidently a mineral deposit. Before dark they all lay down +again on a steeply inclined jutting spur midway between the top and +bottom of the canyon. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP AT CLOSE QUARTERS.] + +Next morning I thought I would like to see them close up, so I walked +down three or four miles below where the canyon ended, crossed the +stream, and came up the other side until I got on what was literally the +stamping ground of the sheep. Their tracks showed that they had spent +their time for many weeks, and probably for all the winter, within a +very narrow radius. For perhaps a mile and a half, or two miles at the +very outside, they had wandered to and fro on the summit of the canyon, +making what was almost a well-beaten path; always very near and usually +on the edge of the cliff, and hardly ever going more than a few yards +back into the grassy plain-and-hill country. Their tracks and dung +covered the ground. They had also evidently descended into the depths of +the canon wherever there was the slightest break or even lowering in the +upper line of basalt cliffs. Although mountain sheep often browse in +winter, I saw but few traces of browsing here; probably on the sheer +cliff side they always got some grazing. When I spied the band they +were lying not far from the spot in which they had lain the day before, +and in the same position on the brink of the canon. They saw me and +watched me with interest when I was two hundred yards off, but they let +me get up within forty yards and sit down on a large stone to look at +them, without running off. Most of them were lying down, but a couple +were feeding steadily throughout the time I watched them. Suddenly one +took the alarm and dashed straight over the cliff, the others all +following at once. I ran after them to the edge in time to see the last +yearling drop off the edge of the basalt cliff and stop short on the +sheer slope below, while the stones dislodged by his hoofs rattled down +the canon. They all looked up at me with great interest and then +strolled off to the edge of a jutting spur and lay down almost directly +underneath me and some fifty yards off. That evening on my return to +camp we watched the band make its way right down to the river bed, going +over places where it did not seem possible a four-footed creature could +pass. They halted to graze here and there, and down the worst places +they went very fast with great bounds. It was a marvelous exhibition of +climbing. + +After we had finished this horseback trip we went on sleds and skis to +the upper Geyser Basin and the Falls of the Yellowstone. Although it was +the third week in April, the snow was still several feet deep, and only +thoroughly trained snow horses could have taken the sleighs along, while +around the Yellowstone Falls it was possible to move only on +snowshoes. There was very little life in those woods. We saw an +occasional squirrel, rabbit or marten; and in the open meadows around +the hot waters there were geese and ducks, and now and then a +coyote. Around camp Clark's crows and Stellar's jays, and occasionally +magpies came to pick at the refuse; and of course they were accompanied +by the whiskey acks with their usual astounding familiarity. At Norris +Geyser Basin there was a perfect chorus of bird music from robins, +purple finches, uncos and mountain bluebirds. In the woods there were +mountain chickadees and nuthatches of various kinds, together with an +occasional woodpecker. In the northern country we had come across a very +few blue grouse and ruffed grouse, both as tame as possible. We had seen +a pigmy owl no larger than a robin sitting on top of a pine in broad +daylight, and uttering at short intervals a queer un-owllike cry. + +[Illustration: MAGPIES.] + +The birds that interested us most were the solitaires, and especially +the dippers or water-ousels. We were fortunate enough to hear the +solitaires sing not only when perched on trees, but on the wing, soaring +over a great canon. The dippers are to my mind well-nigh the most +attractive of all our birds. They stay through the winter in the +Yellowstone because the waters are in many places open. We heard them +singing cheerfully, their ringing melody having a certain suggestion of +the winter wren's. Usually they sang while perched on some rock on the +edge or in the middle of the stream; but sometimes on the wing. In the +open places the western meadow larks were also uttering their singular +beautiful songs. No bird escaped John Burroughs' eye; no bird note +escaped his ear. + +On the last day of my stay it was arranged that I should ride down from +Mammoth Hot Springs to the town of Gardiner, just outside the Park +limits, and there make an address at the laying of the corner stone of +the arch by which the main road is to enter the Park. Some three +thousand people had gathered to attend the ceremonies. A little over a +mile from Gardiner we came down out of the hills to the flat plain; from +the hills we could see the crowd gathered around the arch waiting for me +to come. We put spurs to our horses and cantered rapidly toward the +appointed place, and on the way we passed within forty yards of a score +of black-tails, which merely moved to one side and looked at us, and +within a hundred yards of half a dozen antelope. To any lover of nature +it could not help being a delightful thing to see the wild and timid +creatures of the wilderness rendered so tame; and their tameness in the +immediate neighborhood of Gardiner, on the very edge of the Park, spoke +volumes for the patriotic good sense of the citizens of Montana. Major +Pitcher informed me that both the Montana and Wyoming people were +co-operating with him in zealous fashion to preserve the game and put a +stop to poaching. For their attitude in this regard they deserve the +cordial thanks of all Americans interested in these great popular +playgrounds, where bits of the old wilderness scenery and the old +wilderness life are to be kept unspoiled for the benefit of our +children's children. Eastern people, and especially eastern sportsmen, +need to keep steadily in mind the fact that the westerners who live in +the neighborhood of the forest preserves are the men who in the last +resort will determine whether or not these preserves are to be +permanent. They cannot in the long run be kept as forest and game +reservations unless the settlers roundabout believe in them and heartily +support them; and the rights of these settlers must be carefully +safeguarded, and they must be shown that the movement is really in their +interest. The eastern sportsman who fails to recognize these facts can +do little but harm by advocacy of forest reserves. + +[Illustration: A SILHOUETTE OF BLACKTAIL.] + +It was in the interior of the Park, at the hotels beside the lake, the +falls, and the various geyser basins, that we would have seen the bears +had the season been late enough; but unfortunately the bears were still +for the most part hibernating. We saw two or three tracks, and found one +place where a bear had been feeding on a dead elk, but the animals +themselves had not yet begun to come about the hotels. Nor were the +hotels open. No visitors had previously entered the Park in the winter +or early spring--the scouts and other employees being the only ones who +occasionally traverse it. I was sorry not to see the bears, for the +effect of protection upon bear life in the Yellowstone has been one of +the phenomena of natural history. Not only have they grown to realize +that they are safe, but, being natural scavengers and foul feeders, they +have come to recognize the garbage heaps of the hotels as their special +sources of food supply. Throughout the summer months they come to all +the hotels in numbers, usually appearing in the late afternoon or +evening, and they have become as indifferent to the presence of men as +the deer themselves--some of them very much more indifferent. They have +now taken their place among the recognized sights of the Park, and the +tourists are nearly as much interested in them as in the geysers. + +[Illustration: BLACK BEARS AT HOTEL GARBAGE HEAP.] + +It was amusing to read the proclamations addressed to the tourists by +the Park management, in which they were solemnly warned that the bears +were really wild animals, and that they must on no account be either fed +or teased. It is curious to think that the descendants of the great +grizzlies which were the dread of the early explorers and hunters should +now be semi-domesticated creatures, boldly hanging around crowded hotels +for the sake of what they can pick up, and quite harmless so long as any +reasonable precaution is exercised. They are much safer, for instance, +than any ordinary bull or stallion, or even ram, and, in fact, there is +no danger from them at all unless they are encouraged to grow too +familiar or are in some way molested. Of course among the thousands of +tourists there is a percentage of thoughtless and foolish people; and +when such people go out in the afternoon to look at the bears feeding +they occasionally bring themselves into jeopardy by some senseless +act. The black bears and the cubs of the bigger bears can readily be +driven up trees, and some of the tourists occasionally do this. Most of +the animals never think of resenting it; but now and then one is run +across which has its feelings ruffled by the performance. In the summer +of 1902 the result proved disastrous to a too inquisitive tourist. He +was traveling with his wife, and at one of the hotels they went out +toward the garbage pile to see the bears feeding. The only bear in sight +was a large she, which, as it turned out, was in a bad temper because +another party of tourists a few minutes before had been chasing her cubs +up a tree. The man left his wife and walked toward the bear to see how +close he could get. When he was some distance off she charged him, +whereupon he bolted back toward his wife. The bear overtook him, knocked +him down and bit him severely. But the man's wife, without hesitation, +attacked the bear with that thoroughly feminine weapon, an umbrella, and +frightened her off. The man spent several weeks in the Park hospital +before he recovered. Perhaps the following telegram sent by the manager +of the Lake Hotel to Major Pitcher illustrates with sufficient clearness +the mutual relations of the bears, the tourists, and the guardians of +the public weal in the Park. The original was sent me by Major +Pitcher. It runs: + +"Lake. 7-27-'03. Major Pitcher, Yellowstone: As many as seventeen bears +in an evening appear on my garbage dump. To-night eight or ten. Campers +and people not of my hotel throw things at them to make them run away. I +cannot, unless there personally, control this. Do you think you could +detail a trooper to be there every evening from say six o'clock until +dark and make people remain behind danger line laid out by Warden Jones? +Otherwise I fear some accident. The arrest of one or two of these +campers might help. My own guests do pretty well as they are told. +James Barton Key. 9 A.M." + +Major Pitcher issued the order as requested. + +[Illustration: CHAMBERMAID AND BEAR.] + +At times the bears get so bold that they take to making inroads on the +kitchen. One completely terrorized a Chinese cook. It would drive him +off and then feast upon whatever was left behind. When a bear begins to +act in this way or to show surliness it is sometimes necessary to shoot +it. Other bears are tamed until they will feed out of the hand, and +will come at once if called. Not only have some of the soldiers and +scouts tamed bears in this fashion, but occasionally a chambermaid or +waiter girl at one of the hotels has thus developed a bear as a pet. + +The accompanying photographs not only show bears very close up, with men +standing by within a few yards of them, but they also show one bear +being fed from the piazza by a cook, and another standing beside a +particular friend, a chambermaid in one of the hotels. In these +photographs it will be seen that some are grizzlies and some black +bears. + +This whole episode of bear life in the Yellowstone is so extraordinary +that it will be well worth while for any man who has the right powers +and enough time, to make a complete study of the life and history of the +Yellowstone bears. Indeed, nothing better could be done by some one of +our outdoor fauna naturalists than to spend at least a year in the +Yellowstone, and to study the life habits of all the wild creatures +therein. A man able to do this, and to write down accurately and +interestingly what he had seen, would make a contribution of permanent +value to our nature literature. + +In May, after leaving the Yellowstone, I visited the Grand Canyon of the +Colorado, and spent three days camping in the Yosemite Park with John +Muir. It is hard to make comparisons among different kinds of scenery, +all of them very grand and very beautiful; yet personally to me the +Grand Canyon of the Colorado, strange and desolate, terrible and awful in +its sublimity, stands alone and unequaled. I very earnestly wish that +Congress would make it a national park, and I am sure that such course +would meet the approbation of the people of Arizona. As to the Yosemite +Valley, if the people of California desire it, as many of them certainly +do, it also should be taken by the National Government to be kept as a +national park, just as the surrounding country, including some of the +groves of giant trees, is now kept. + +[Illustration: COOK AND BEAR.] + +John Muir and I, with two packers and three pack mules, spent a +delightful three days in the Yosemite. The first night was clear, and we +lay in the open on beds of soft fir boughs among the giant sequoias. It +was like lying in a great and solemn cathedral, far vaster and more +beautiful than any built by hand of man. Just at nightfall I heard, +among other birds, thrushes which I think were Rocky Mountain +hermits--the appropriate choir for such a place of worship. Next day we +went by trail through the woods, seeing some deer--which were not +wild--as well as mountain quail and blue grouse. In the afternoon we +struck snow, and had considerable difficulty in breaking our own +trails. A snow storm came on toward evening, but we kept warm and +comfortable in a grove of the splendid silver firs--rightly named +magnificent, near the brink of the wonderful Yosemite Valley. Next day +we clambered down into it and at nightfall camped in its bottom, facing +the giant cliffs over which the waterfalls thundered. + +Surely our people do not understand even yet the rich heritage that is +theirs. There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the +Yosemite, its groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the +Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the three Tetons; and the +representatives of the people should see to it that they are preserved +for the people forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred. + +_Theodore Roosevelt_. + + + + +The Zoology of North American Big Game + + +Among the many questions asked of the naturalist by an inquiring public, +few come up more persistently than "What is the difference between a +bison and a buffalo; and which is the American animal?" + +The interest which so many people find in questions such as this must +serve as a justification for the present paper, which proposes no more +than to put into concise form what is known of the zoological relations +of the animals which come within the special interest of the Boone and +Crockett Club. In doing this, conclusions must, as a rule, be stated +with few of the facts upon which they rest, for to give more than the +plainest of these would be to far outrun the possible limits of space, +and would furthermore lead into technical details which to most readers +are obscure and wearisome. + +[Illustration: BULL BISON.] + +Anyone who consults Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary will be illuminated +by the definition of camelopard: "An Abyssinian animal taller than an +elephant, but not so thick," and even but a few years back all that was +considered necessary to answer the question, "what is a bison?" was to +state that it is a wild ox with a shaggy mane and a hump on its +shoulders, and the thing was done; but in our own time a satisfactory +answer must take account of its relationship to other beasts, for we +have come to believe that the differences between animals are simply the +blank spaces upon the chart of universal life, against which are traced +the resemblances, which, as we follow them back into remote periods of +geologic time, reveal to us definite lines of succession with structural +change, and these, correctly interpreted, are nothing less than actual +lines of blood relationship. To know what an animal is, therefore, we +must know something of its family tree. + +It is perhaps well to emphasize the need of correct interpretation, for +there are no bridges on the paths of palaeontology, and as we go back, +more than one great gap occurs between series of strata, marking periods +of intervening time which there is no means of measuring, but during +which we know that the progress of change in the animals then living +never ceased. When such a break is reached, the course of phylogeny is +like picking up an interrupted trail, with the additional complication +that the one we find is never quite like the one we left, and it is in +such conditions that the systematist must apply his knowledge of the +general progressive tendencies through the ages of change, to the +determination of the particular changes he should expect to find in the +special case before him, and so be enabled to recognize the footprints +he is in search of. The genius to do this has been given to few, but in +their hands the results have often been brilliant. + +Back in the very earliest Tertiary deposits, and in all certainty even +earlier, a group of comparatively small mammals was extensively spread +through America, and apparently less widely in Europe, characterized by +a primitive form of foot structure, each of which had five complete +digits, the whole sole being placed upon the ground, as in the animals +we call plantigrade. The grinding surfaces of their molar teeth were +also primitive, bearing none of the complicated, curved crests and +ridges possessed by present ruminants, but instead they had conical +cusps, usually not more than three to a tooth; this tritubercular style +of molar crown being about the earliest known in true mammals. + +In the opinion of many palaeontologists, the ancestors of the present +hoofed beasts, or ungulates, were contained among these +_Condylarthra_, as they were named by Prof. Cope. + +Of course, these early mammals are known to us only by their fossil and +mostly fragmentary skeletons, but it may be said that at least in the +ungulate line, the successive geological periods show steady structural +progression in certain directions. Of great importance are a decrease in +the number of functional digits; a gradual elevation of the heel, so +that their modern descendants walk on the tips of their toes, instead of +on the whole sole; a constant tendency to the development of deeply +grooved and interlocked joints in place of shallow bearing surfaces; and +to a complex pattern of the molar crowns instead of the simple type +mentioned. To this may be added as the most important factor of all in +survival, that these changes have progressed together with an increase +in the size of the brain and in the convolutions of its outer layer. + +The _Condylarthra_ seem to have gone out of existence before the +time of the middle Eocene, but before this they had become separated +into the two great divisions of odd-toed and even-toed ungulates, into +which all truly hoofed beasts now living fall. + +The first group (_Perissodactyla_) has always one or three toes +functionally developed, either the third, or third, second and fourth, +the two others having entirely disappeared, except for a remnant of the +fifth in the forefoot of tapirs. They have retained some at least of the +upper incisor teeth, and, except in some rhinoceroses, the canines are +also left; the molars and premolars are practically alike in all recent +species, and in all of which we know the soft parts, the stomach has but +one compartment, and there is an enormous caecum. It is probable that +they took rise earlier than their split-footed relations, and their +Tertiary remains are far more numerous, but their tendency is toward +disappearance, and among existing mammals they are represented only by +horses, asses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. + +Contrasted with these, _Artiodactyla_ have always an even number of +functional digits, the third and fourth reaching the ground +symmetrically, bearing the weight and forming the "split hoof;" the +second and fifth remain, in most cases, as mere vestiges, showing +externally as the accessory hoofs or dewclaws; in the hippopotamus alone +they are fully developed and the animal has a four-toed foot. In deer +and bovine animals the incisors and frequently the canines have +disappeared from the upper jaw, and the molars are unlike the premolars +in having two lobes instead of one. The stomach is always more or less +complex; at its extreme reaching the ruminant type with four +compartments, in association with which is a caecum reduced in size and +simple in form. Nearly all have horns or antlers, at least in one sex. + +Most split-hoofed animals are ruminants, but there is a small remnant, +probably of early types, which are not. The present ungulates may be +summed up in this way: + +Odd-toed: _(Perissodactyla)_-- + Horse, + Ass, + Rhinoceros, + Tapir. + +Even-toed: _(Artiodactyla)_-- + +Non-ruminants-- +Hippopotamus, +Swine, +Peccaries. + +Ruminants-- +Camels, Llamas, +Chevrotains, +Giraffe, +Antelopes, +Sheep, Goats, +Musk-ox, +Oxen, +Deer. + +The non-ruminant artiodactyls need not detain us long. Hippopotamuses +are little more than large pigs with four toes; they were never +American, though many species, some very small, are found in the +European Tertiary. The two existing species are African. + +In the western hemisphere swine are represented by the peccaries, +differing from them chiefly in having six less teeth, one less accessory +toe on the hind foot, and in a stomach of more complex character. +Peccaries also have the metapodial bones supporting the two functional +digits fused together at their upper ends, forming an imperfect "cannon +bone," which is a characteristic of practically all the ruminants, but +of no other hoofed beasts. One species only enters the United States +along the Mexican border. + +All non-ruminant ungulates have from four to six incisors in the upper +jaw; the canines are present, and sometimes, as in the wart hogs, reach +an extraordinary size. + +Coming now to the ruminants, all digits except the third and fourth have +disappeared from camels and llamas, and the nails on these are limited +to their upper surface without forming a hoof, the under side being a +broad pad, upon which they tread. No camel-like beasts have inhabited +North America since the Pliocene age. Chevrotains, or muis deer +(_Tragulidae_), are not deer in any true sense, as they have but +three compartments to the stomach; antlers are absent and in their place +large and protruding canine teeth are developed in the upper jaw, and +the lateral metacarpal bones are complete throughout their length, +instead of being represented by a mere remnant. They are the smallest of +ungulates, and inhabit only portions of the Indo-Malayan region. Camels +also have upper canines, and the outer, upper incisors as well. + +The giraffe is separated from all living ungulates by the primitive +character of its so-called "horns," which are not horns in the usual +sense, but simply bony prominences of the skull covered with hair. Some +of the earliest deer-like animals seem to have had simple or slightly +branched antlers which were not shed, and which there is reason to +believe were also hairy, and in these, as well as in other characters, +giraffes and the early deer may not have been far apart. The "okapi," +Sir Harry Johnston's late discovery in the Uganda forests, seems to have +come from the same ancestral stock, but the giraffe has no other +existing relatives. + +The true deer, to which we shall return, are readily enough +distinguished from the ox tribe and its allies by their solid and more +or less branched antlers, usually confined to males, and periodically +shed. + +So, through this rapid survey, we have dropped out of the hoofed beasts +all but the bovines and their near allies, and are thus far advanced +toward our definition of a bison, but from this point we shall not find +it easy to draw sharp distinctions, for while the _Bovidae_, as a +whole, are well enough distinguished from all other animals, their +characteristics are so much mixed among themselves that it is hardly +possible to find any one or more striking features peculiar to one +group, and for most of them recourse must be had to associations of a +number of lesser characters. + +Oxen, antelopes, sheep and goats agree in having hollow horns of +material similar to that of which hair and nails are formed, permanently +fixed upon the skull in all but one species; none of them have more than +the two middle digits functionally developed, one on each side of the +axis of the leg; none have the lower ends remaining of the meta-podial +bones belonging to the two accessory digits; and none have either +incisor or canine teeth in the upper jaw. + +From animals so constructed we may first take out goats and sheep, in +which the female horns are much smaller than those of males, and in some +species are even absent. In nearly all of them the horns are noticeably +compressed in section, either triangular or sub-triangular near the +base, and are directed sometimes outwardly from the head with a circular +sweep; at others with a backward curve, often spirally. The muzzle is +always hairy; there is no small accessory column on the inner side of +the upper molars, found always in oxen and in some antelopes; the tail +is short, and scent glands are present between the digits of some or all +the feet. + +Now, as to the perplexing animals popularly known as antelopes. No +definition could be framed which would include them all in one group, +for every subordinate character seems to be present in some and absent +in others, so that the most that can be done with this vast assemblage +is to arrange its contents in series of genera, which may or may not be +called sub-families, but which probably correspond in some degree to +their real affinities. We can only say of any one of them that it is an +antelope because it is not a sheep, nor a goat, nor an ox. They concern +us here only to be eliminated, for they are not American, our prong-buck +having a sub-family all to itself, as we shall see later, and the +so-called "white goat" being usually regarded as neither goat nor truly +antelope. + +Within the limits of the real bovine animals, four quite distinct types +may be made out, chiefly by the position of the horns upon the skull and +by the shape of the horns themselves. There are also differences in the +relations of the nasal and premaxillary bones, the development of the +neural spines of the vertebrae, and the hairy covering of the body. + +In the genus _Bos_ the horns are placed high up on the vertex of +the skull, which forms a marked transverse ridge from which the hinder +portion falls sharply away. The horns are nearly circular in section and +almost smooth; usually they curve outward, then upward and often inward +at the tip; the premaxillaries are long and generally reach to the +nasals, and the anterior dorsal vertebrae are without sharply elongated +spines, so that the line of the back is nearly straight. These, the true +oxen, as they are sometimes termed, now exist only in domesticated +breeds of cattle. + +In the gaur oxen (_Bibos_) the horns are situated as in _Bos_, +high up on the vertex, but are more elliptical in section; the +premaxillaries are short; the dorsal vertebrae, from the third to the +eleventh, bear elongated spines which produce a hump reaching nearly to +the middle of the back; the tail is shorter, and the hair is short all +over the body. The three species--gaur, gayal and banteng--inhabit +Indo-Malayan countries, and all of them are dark brown with white +stockings. + +The buffaloes (_Bubalus_) are large and clumsy animals with horns +more or less compressed or flattened at their bases, set low down on the +vertex, which does not show the high transverse ridge of true oxen and +gaurs. In old bulls of the African species the horns meet at their base +and completely cover the forehead. In the arni of India they are +enormously long. The dorsal spines are not much elongated, and there is +no distinct hump; the premaxillae are long enough to reach the +nasals. Hair is scanty all over the body, and old animals are almost +wholly bare. The small and interesting anoa of Celebes, and the tamarao +of Mindoro, are nearly related in all important respects to the Indian +buffalo, and the carabao, used for draught and burden in the +Philippines, belongs to a long domesticated race of the same animal. + +Finally, in the genus _Bison_ the horns are below the vertex as in +buffaloes, but are set far apart at the base, which is cylindrical; they +are short and their curve is forward, upward and inward; the anterior +dorsal and the last cervical vertebrae have long spines which bear a +distinct hump on the shoulders; the premaxillae are short and never +reach the nasals; there are fourteen, or occasionally fifteen, pairs of +ribs, all other oxen having but thirteen, and there is a heavy mane +about the neck and shoulders. The yak of central Asia is very bison-like +in some respects, but in others departs in the direction of oxen. + +So at last, group by group, we have gone through the ungulates, and the +bisons alone are left, and as the American animal has short, incurved +horns, set low down on the skull and far apart at the base; +premaxillaries falling short of the nasals; the last cervical and the +anterior dorsal vertebrae with spines; fourteen pairs of ribs, and a +mane covering the shoulders, we conclude that it is a bison, and as the +same characteristics with minor variations are shown by the European +species, often, but wrongly, called "aurochs," we say that these two +alone of existing _Bovidae_ are bisons, with the yak as a somewhat +questionable relative. + +In all essential respects the two bisons are very similar, but minute +comparison shows that the European species, _Bison bonasus_, has a +wider and flatter forehead, bearing longer and more slender horns, and +all the other distinctive features are less pronounced. In the American +species, _Bison bison_, the pelvis is less elevated, producing the +characteristic slope of the hindquarters. It is a coincidence that the +two regions originally inhabited by the bisons are those in which the +white races of men have to the greatest extent thrown their restless +energies into the struggle for existence, with the result that +extinction to nearly the same degree has overtaken these two near +cousins among oxen. A few wild members of the European species still +exist in the Caucasus, as a few of the American are left in British +America, but elsewhere both exist only under protection. + +The carefully kept statistics of the Bielowitza herd in Grodno, western +Russia, which includes nearly all but the few wild ones, shows that +between 1833 and 1857 they increased in number from 768 to 1,898, but +from this maximum the decrease has been constant, with trifling halts, +until in 1892 less than five hundred were left; so that even if the +Peace River bison are counted with the remnant of the American species, +it is probable that the survivors of each race are about equal in +number. + +It is true that the number of our own species has lately been placed as +high as a thousand, but even if these figures are correct, the seeds of +decay from internal causes, such as inbreeding and the degeneration of +restraint, are already sown, and the inevitable end of the race is not +far off. + +The Peace River, or woodland, bison has lately been separated as a +sub-species _(B. bison athabascae)_, distinguished from the +southern and better known form by superior size, a wider forehead, +longer, more slender and incurved horns, and by a thicker and softer +coat, which is also darker in color. Now, it is an interesting fact that +a fossil bison skull from the lower Pliocene of India resembles the +present European species, and in later geological times very similar +bisons closely allied to each other, if not identical, inhabited all +northern regions, including America. These were large animals with wide +skulls, and there is little doubt that from this circumpolar form came +both of the bisons now inhabiting Europe and America. Out of some half +dozen fossil bison which have been described from America, none earlier +than the latest Tertiary, _Bison latifrons_ from the Pleistocene +seems likely to have been the immediate ancestor of recent American +species, and as the one skull of the woodland bison which has been +examined resembles both _latifrons_ and the European species more +than the plains species does, it seems probable that these two more +nearly represent the primitive bison, of which the former inhabitant of +the prairies is a more modified descendant. + +The process of elimination has at last led to this outline definition of +a bison, but among the ungulates we have passed over, there are certain +others which concern us because they are American. + +Sheep and goats agree together and differ from oxen in being usually of +smaller size; the tail is shorter, the horns of females are much smaller +than those of males, they lack the accessory column on the inner side of +the upper molars, and the cannon bone is longer and more slender; but +when it comes to a comparison of the one with the other, it is by no +means always easy to tell the difference. It is true that the early +Greeks seem to have had a rough and ready rule under which mistakes were +not easy, for Aristotle tells us "Alcmaeon is mistaken when he says that +goats breathe through their ears," but the severely practical methods of +our own day leave us little but some very minute points of +difference. One of the best of these lies in the shape of the +basi-occipital bone, but naturally this can be observed only in the +prepared skull. The terms often employed to denote difference in the +horns can have only a general application, for they break down in +certain species in which the two groups approach each other. The +following table expresses some fairly definite points of separation: + + + SHEEP (_Ovis_). GOAT (_Capra_). + +1. Muzzle hairy except between 1. Muzzle entirely hairy. + and just above the + nostrils. + +2. Interdigital glands on all 2. Interdigital glands, when + the feet. present, only on fore feet. + +3. Suborbital gland and pit 3. Suborbital gland and pit + usually present. never present. + +4. No beard nor caprine 4. Male with a beard and + smell in male. caprine smell. + +5. Horns with coarse transverse 5. Horns with fine transverse + wrinkles; yellowish striations, or bold knobs + or brown; sub-triangular in front; blackish; in male + in male, spreading outward more compressed or angular, + and forward with a sweeping backward + circular sweep, points with a scythe-like curve or + turned outward and forward spirally, points turned upward + and backward. + + +These features are distinctive as between most sheep and most goats, but +the Barbary wild sheep (_Ovis tragelaphus_) has no suborbital gland +or pit, a goat-like peculiarity which it shares with the Himalayan +bharal (_Ovis nahura_), in which the horns resemble closely +those of a goat from the eastern Caucasus called tur (_Capra +cylindricornis_), which for its part has the horns somewhat +sheep-like and a very small beard. This same bharal has the goat-like +habit of raising itself upon its hind legs before butting. + +Both groups are a comparatively late development of the bovine stock, as +they do not certainly appear before the upper Pliocene of Europe and +Asia, and even at a later date their remains are not plentiful. Goats +appear to have been rather the earlier, but are entirely absent from +America. + +The number of distinct species of sheep in our fauna is a matter of too +much uncertainty to be treated with any sort of authority at this time. +Most of us grew up in the belief that there was but one, the well-known +mountain sheep (_Ovis canadensis_), but seven new species and +sub-species have been produced from the systematic mill within recent +years, six of them since 1897. It is no part of the purpose of the +present paper to dwell upon much vexed questions of specific +distinctness, and it will only be pointed out here that the ultimate +validity of most of these supposed forms will depend chiefly upon the +exactness of the conception of species which will replace among +zoologists the vague ideas of the present time. Whatever the conclusion +may be, it seems probable that some degree of distinction will be +accorded to, at least, one or two Alaskan forms. + +As sheep probably came into America from Asia during the Pleistocene, at +a time when Bering's Strait was closed by land, it might be expected +that those now found here would show relationship to the Kamtschatkan +species (_Ovis nivicola_); and such is indeed the case, while +furthermore, in the small size of the suborbital gland and pit, and in +comparative smoothness of the horns, both species approach the bharal of +Thibet and India, which in these respects is goat-like. + +When one considers the poverty of the new world in bovine ruminants, it +seems strange that three such anomalous forms should have fallen to its +share as the prong-horn, the white goat and the musk-ox, of none of +which have we the complete history; two of the number being entirely +isolated species, sometimes regarded as the types of separate families. + +The prong-horn is a curious compound. It resembles sheep in the minute +structure of its hair, in its hairy muzzle, and in having interdigital +glands on all its feet. Like goats, it has no sub-orbital gland nor +distinct pit. Like the chamois, it has a gland below and behind the ear, +the secretion of which has a caprine odor. It has also glands on the +rump. It is like the giraffe in total absence of the accessory hoofs, +even to the metapodials which support them. It differs from all hollow +horned ungulates in having deciduous horns with a fork or anterior +branch. There is not the least similarity, however, between these horns +and the bony deciduous antlers of deer, for, like those of all bovines, +they are composed of agglutinated hairs, set on a bony core projecting +from the frontal region of the skull. + +It is well known that these horn sheaths are at times shed and +reproduced, but the exact regularity with which the process takes place +is by no means certain, although such direct evidence as there is goes +to prove that it occurs annually in the autumn. Prong-bucks have shed +on eight occasions in the Zoological Gardens at Philadelphia, five times +by the same animal, which reached the gardens in October, 1899, and has +shed each year early in November, the last time on October 22, 1903,[1] +and the writer has seen one fine head killed about November 5 in a wild +state, on which the horn-sheaths were loose and ready to drop off. + +[Footnote 1: It is interesting to note that the first pair shed measured +7-1/4 inches, on the anterior curve; the second pair 9-1/2, and the last +three 11 inches each. The largest horns ever measured by the writer were +those of a buck killed late in November, 1892, near Marathon, Texas, and +were 15-3/4 inches in vertical height and 21 along the curve.] + +But few of these delicate animals have lived long enough in captivity to +permit study of the same individual through a course of years, and the +scarcity of observations made upon them in a wild state is +remarkable. That irregularity in the process would not be without +analogy, is shown by the case of the Indian sambur deer, of which there +is evidence from such authority as that king of sportsmen, Sir Samuel +Baker, and others, that the shedding does not always occur at the same +season, nor is it always annual in the same buck; and by Pore David's +deer, which has been known to shed twice in one year. + +When resemblances such as those of the prong-horn are so promiscuously +distributed, the task of fixing their values in estimating affinities is +not a light one, and in fact the most rational conclusion which we may +draw from them is that they point back to a distant and generalized +ancestor, who possessed them all, but that in the distribution of his +physical estate, so to speak, these heirlooms have not come down alike +to all descendants. There is again a complicating possibility that some +may be no more than adaptive or analogous characters, similarly produced +under like conditions of life, but quite independent of a common origin, +and it is seldom that we know enough of the history of development of +any species to conclude with certainty whether or not this has been the +case. At all events, the prong-buck is quite alone in the world at +present, and we know no fossils which unmistakably point to it, although +it has been supposed that some of the later Miocene species of +_Cosoryx_--small deer-like animals with non-deciduous horns, +probably covered with hair, and molars of somewhat bovine type--may have +been ancestral to it, but this is little more than a speculation. What +is certain is that _Antilocapra_ is now a completely isolated form, +fully entitled to rank as a family all by itself. + +In the musk-ox (_Ovibos moschatus_), or "sheep-ox," as the generic +name given by Blainville has it, we meet with another strange and lonely +form which has contributed its full share to the problems of systematic +zoology. Its remote and inaccessible range has greatly retarded +knowledge of its structure, and it is only within the last three years +that acquaintance has been made with its soft anatomy, and at the same +time with a maze of resemblances and differences toward other ruminants, +that perhaps more than equals the irregularities of the prong-buck. But +unlike that species, there is in the musk-ox no extreme modification, +such as a deciduous horn, to separate it distinctly from the rest of the +family. A recapitulation of these differences would be too minutely +technical for insertion here, and it must be enough to say that while it +cannot be assigned to either group, yet in the distribution of hair on +the muzzle, in the presence of a small suborbital gland, in shortness of +tail and the light color of its horns, it is sheep-like; in the absence +of interdigital glands, the shortness and stoutness of its cannon bones, +and in the presence of a small accessory inner column on the upper +molars, it is bovine. But in the coarse longitudinal striation of the +bases of its horns it differs from both. The shape of the horns is also +peculiar. Curving outward, downward and then sharply upward, with +broad, flattened bases meeting in the middle line, their outlines are +not unlike those of old bulls of the African buffalo. + +At the present time the musk-ox inhabits only arctic America, from +Greenland westward nearly to the Mackenzie River, but its range was +formerly circumpolar, and in Pleistocene times it inhabited Europe as +far south as Germany and France. The musk-ox of Greenland has lately +been set aside as a distinct species. The most we can say is that +_Ovibos_ is a unique form, standing perhaps somewhere between oxen +and sheep, and descended from an ancient ruminant type through an +ancestry of which we know nothing, for the only fossil remains which are +at all distinguishable from the existing genus, are yet closely similar +to it, and are no older than the Pleistocene of the central United +States; in earlier periods its history is a blank about which it is +useless to speculate. + +The last of our three anomalies, the white, or mountain goat +(_Oreamnos montanus_), is not as completely orphaned as the other +two, for it seems quite surely to be connected with a small and peculiar +series consisting of the European chamois and several species of +_Nemorhaedus_ inhabiting eastern Asia and Sumatra. These are often +called mountain antelopes, or goat antelopes. So little is yet known of +the soft anatomy of the white goat that we are much in the dark as to +its minute resemblances, but its glandular system is certainly +suggestive of the chamois, and many of its attitudes are strikingly +similar. In all the points in which it approaches goats it is like some, +at least, among antelopes, while in the elongated spines of the anterior +dorsal vertebrae, which support the hump, and in extreme shortness of +the cannon bone, it is far from goat-like. The goat idea, indeed, has +little more foundation than the suggestive resemblance of the profile +with its caprine beard. It is truly no goat at all, and should more +properly be regarded as an aberrant antelope, if anything could be +justly termed "aberrant" in an aggregation of animals, hardly any two of +which agree in all respects of structure. No American fossils seem to +point to _Oreamnos_, and as _Nemorhaedus_ extends to Japan and +eastern Siberia, it is probable that it was an Asiatic immigrant, not +earlier than the Pleistocene. + +From this intricate genealogical tangle one turns with relief to the +deer family, where the course of development lies reasonably plain. If +the rank of animals in the aristocracy of nature were to be fixed by the +remoteness of the period to which we know their ancestors, the deer +would out-rank their bovine cousins by a full half of the Miocene +period, and the study of fossils onward from this early beginning +presents few clearer lines of evidence supporting modern theories +respecting the development of species, than is shown in the increasing +size and complexity of the antlers in succeeding geological ages, from +the simple fork of the middle Miocene to those with three prongs of the +late Miocene, the four-pronged of the Pliocene, and finally to the +many-branched shapes of the Pleistocene and the present age. Now it is +further true that each one of these types is represented today in the +mature antlers of existing deer, from the small South American species +with a simple spike, up to the wapiti and red deer carrying six or eight +points, and still more significant is it that the whole story is +recapitulated in the growth of each individual of the higher races. The +earliest cervine animals known seem to have had no antlers at all, a +stage to which the fawn of the year corresponds; the subsequent normal +addition in the life-history, of a tine for each year of growth until +the mature antler is reached, answering with exactness to the stages of +advance shown in the development-history of the race. A year of +individual life is the symbol of a geological period of +progression. This is a marvelous record, of which we may +say--paraphrasing with Huxley the well-known saying of Voltaire--"if it +had not already existed, evolution must have been invented to explain." + +The least technical, and for the present purpose the most useful of the +characters distinguishing existing deer from all of the bovine stock, +lies in the antlers, which are solid, of bony substance, and are +annually shed. They are present in the males of all species except the +Chinese water deer, and the very divergent musk-deer, which probably +should not be regarded as a deer at all. They are normally absent from +all females except those of the genus _Rangifer_. Most deer have +canine teeth in the upper jaw, though they are absent in the moose, in +the distinctively American type and a few others. The cleaned skull +always shows a large vacuity in the outer wall in front of the orbit, +which prevents the lachrymal bone from reaching the nasals. No deer has +a gall bladder. There are many other distinctions, but as all have +exceptions they are of value only in combinations. + +The earliest known deer, belonging to the genus _Dremotherium_, or +_Amphitragulus_, from the middle Tertiary of France, were of small +size and had four toes, canine teeth and no antlers. Their successors +seem to have borne simple forked antlers or horns, probably covered with +hair, and permanently fixed on the skull. Very similar animals existed +in contemporaneous and later deposits in North America. From this point +the course of progress is tolerably clear as to deer in general, +although we are not sure of all the intermediate details--for it must +not be forgotten that a series of types exhibiting progressive +modifications in each succeeding geological period is quite as +conclusive in pointing out the genealogy of an existing group as if we +knew each individual term in the ancestral series of each of its +members. Thus we do not yet know whether the peculiar antler of the +distinctively American deer, of the genus _Mazama_, is derived from +an American source or took its origin in the old world, for the fossil +antlers known as _Anoglochis_, from the Pliocene of Europe, are +quite suggestive of the _Mazama_ style, but as nothing is known of +the other skeletal details of _Anoglochis_, any such connection +must at present be purely speculative, but the element of doubt in this +special case in no way disturbs the certainty of the general conclusion +that all our present _Cérvidae_ have come through distinct stages +in the successive periods, from the simple types of the middle Tertiary. + +The family is undoubtedly of old world origin, and for the most part +belongs to the northern hemisphere, South America being the only +continental area in which they are found south of the equator. + +The analytical habit of mind which finds vent in the subdivision of +species, is also exhibited in a tendency to break up large genera into a +number of small ones, but in the present group this practice has the +disadvantage of obscuring a broad distinction between the dominant types +inhabiting respectively the old world and the new. The former, +represented by the genus _Cervus_, has a brow-tine to the antlers; +has the posterior portion of the nasal chamber undivided by the vertical +plate of the vomer; and the upper ends only of the lateral metacarpals +remain, whereas in all these particulars the typical American deer are +exactly opposite. As there are objections to considering these +characters as of family value, arising from the intermediate position of +the circumpolar genera _Alces_ and _Rangifer_, as well as the +water deer and the roe, a broader meaning is given to classification by +retaining the comprehensive genera _Cervus_ and _Mazama_, and +recognizing the subordinate divisions only as sub-genera. + +The one representative of _Cervus_ inhabiting America is the +wapiti, or "elk" (_C. canadensis_), which is without doubt an +immigrant from Asia by way of Alaska, and it may be of interest to state +the grounds upon which this conclusion rests, as they afford an +excellent example of the way in which such results are reached. It is an +accepted truth in geographical distribution, that the portion of the +earth in which the greatest number of forms differentiated from one type +are to be found, is almost always the region in which that type had its +origin. Now, out of about a dozen species and sub-species of wapiti and +red deer to which names have been given, not less than eight are +Asiatic, so that Asia, and probably its central portion, is indicated as +the region in which the elaphine deer arose; in confirmation of which is +the further fact that the antler characteristic of these deer seems to +have originated from the same ancestral form as that which produced the +sikine and rusine types, which are also Asiatic. From this centre the +elaphines spread westward and eastward, resulting in Europe in the red +deer, which penetrated southward into north Africa at a time when there +was a land connection across the Mediterranean. In the opposite +direction, the nearer we get to Bering's Straits the closer is the +resemblance to the American wapiti, until the splendid species from the +Altai Mountains (_C. canadensis asiaticus_), and Luehdorf's deer +(_C. c. luehdorfi_) from Manchuria, are regarded only as sub-species +of the eastern American form, which they approach through _C. c. +occidentalis_ of Oregon and the northwestern Pacific Coast. + +This evidence is conclusive in itself, and is further confirmed by the +geological record, from which we know that the land connection between +Alaska and Kamtschatka was of Pliocene age, while we have no knowledge +of the wapiti in America until the succeeding period. + +While there is not the least doubt that the smaller American deer had an +origin identical with those of the old world, the exact point of their +separation is not so clear. Two possibilities are open to choice: +_Mazama_ may be supposed to have descended from the group to which +_Blastomeryx_ belonged, this being a late Miocene genus from +Nebraska, with cervine molars, but otherwise much like _Cosoryx,_ +which we have seen to be a possible ancestor of the prong-horn; or we +may prefer to believe that the differentiation took place earlier in +Europe or Asia, from ancestors common to both. But there is a serious +dilemma. If we choose the former view, we must conclude that the +deciduous antler was independently developed in each of the two +continents, and while it is quite probable that approximately similar +structures have at times arisen independently, it is not easy to believe +that an arrangement so minutely identical in form and function can have +been twice evolved. On the second supposition, we have to face the fact +that there is very little evidence from palaeontology of the former +presence of the American type in Eurasia. But, on the whole, the latter +hypothesis presents fewer difficulties and is probably the correct one; +in which case two migrations must have taken place, an earlier one of +the generalized type to which _Blastomeryx_ and _Cosoryx_ belonged, +and a later one of the direct ancestor of _Mazama_. There is +little difficulty in the assumption of these repeated migrations, +for evidence exists that during a great part of the last half +of the Tertiary this continent was connected by land to the +northwest with Asia, and to the northeast, through Greenland and +Iceland, with western Europe. + +The distinction between the two groups is well marked. All the +_Mazama_ type are without a true brow-tine to the antlers; the +lower ends of the lateral metacarpals only remain; the vertical plate of +the vomer extends downward and completely separates the hind part of the +nasal chamber into two compartments; and with hardly an exception they +have a large gland on the inside of the tarsus, or heel. The complete +development of these characters is exhibited in northern species, and it +has been beautifully shown that as we go southward there is a strong +tendency to diminished size; toward smaller antlers and reduction in the +number of tines; to smaller size, and finally complete loss of the +metatarsal gland on the outside of the hind leg; and to the assumption +of a uniform color throughout the year, instead of a seasonal change. + +The two styles of antler which we recognize in the North American deer +are too well known to require description. That characterizing the mule +deer (_Mazama hemionus_) and the Columbia black-tailed deer +(_M. columbiana_), seems never to have occurred in the east, nor +south much beyond the Mexican border, and these deer have varied little +except in size, although three subspecies have lately been set off from +the mule deer in the extreme southwest. + +The section represented by _M. virginiana,_ with antlers curving +forward and tines projecting from its hinder border, takes practically +the whole of America in its range, and under the law of variation which +has been stated, has proved a veritable gold mine to the makers of +names. At present it is utterly useless to attempt to determine which of +the forms described will stand the scrutiny of the future, and no more +will be attempted here than to state the present gross contents of +cervine literature. The sub-genus _Dorcelaphus_ contains all the +forms of the United States; of these, the deer belonging east of the +Missouri River, those from the great plains to the Pacific, those along +the Rio Grande in Texas and Mexico, those of Florida, and those again of +Sonora, are each rated as sub-species of _virginiana_; to which we +must add six more, ranging from Mexico to Bolivia. One full species, +_M. truei,_ has been described from Central America, and another +rather anomalous creature (_M. crookii_), resembling both +white-tail and mule deer, from New Mexico. + +The other sub-genera are _Blastoceros,_ with branched antlers and +no metatarsal gland; _Xenelaphus,_ smaller in size, with small, +simply forked antlers and no metatarsal gland; _Mazama_, containing +the so-called brockets, very small, with minute spike antlers, lacking +the metatarsal and sometimes the tarsal gland as well. The last three +sub-genera are South American and do not enter the United +States. Another genus, _Pudua_, from Chili, is much like the +brockets, but has exceedingly short cannon bones, and some of the tarsal +bones are united in a manner unlike other deer. In all, thirty specific +and sub-specific names are now carried on the roll of _Mazama_ and +its allies. + +Attention has already been directed to the parallelism between the +course of progress from simple to complex antlers in the development of +the deer tribe, and the like progress in the growth of each individual, +and to the further fact that all the stages are represented in the +mature antlers of existing species. But a curious result follows from a +study of the past distribution of deer in America. At a time when the +branched stage had been already reached in North America, the isthmus of +Panama was under water; deer were then absent from South America and the +earliest forms found fossil there had antlers of the type of +_M. virginiana_. The small species with simple antlers only made +their appearance in later periods, and it follows that they are +descended from those of complex type. This third parallel series, +therefore, instead of being direct as are the other two, is reversed, +and the degeneration of the antler, which we have seen taking place in +the southern deer, has followed backward on the line of previous +advance, or, in biological language, appears to be a true case of +retrogressive evolution--representing the fossil series, as it were, in +a mirror. + +The reindeer-caribou type, of the genus _Rangifer,_ agrees with +American deer in having the vertical plate of the vomer complete, and in +having the lower ends of the lateral metacarpals remaining, but, like +_Cervus,_ it has a brow-tine to the antlers. Of its early history +we know nothing, for the only related forms which have yet come to light +are of no great antiquity, being confined to the Pleistocene of Europe +as far south as France, and are not distinguishable from existing +species. Until recently it has been supposed that one species was found +in northern Europe and Asia, and two others, a northern and a southern, +in North America, but lately the last two have been subdivided, and the +present practice is to regard the Scandinavian reindeer (_Rangifer +tarandus_) as the type, with eight or nine other species or +sub-species, consisting of the two longest known American forms, the +northern, or barren-ground caribou (_R. arcticus_); the southern, or +woodland (_R. caribou_); the three inhabiting respectively +Spitzbergen, Greenland and Newfoundland, and still more lately four more +from British Columbia and Alaska. The differences between these are not +very profound, but they seem on the whole to represent two types: the +barren-ground, small of size, with long, slender antlers but little +palmated; and the woodland, larger, with shorter and more massive +antlers, usually with broad palms. There is some reason to believe that +both these types lived in Europe during the interglacial period, the +first-named being probably the earlier and confined to western Europe, +while the other extended into Asia. The present reindeer of Greenland +and Spitzbergen seem to agree most closely with the barren-ground, while +the southern forms are nearest to the woodland, and these are said to +also resemble the reindeer of Siberia. It is, therefore, not an +improbable conjecture that there were two migrations into America, one +of the barren-ground type from western Europe, by way of the Spitzbergen +land connection, and the other of the woodland, from Siberia, by way of +Alaska. + +Little more can be said, perhaps even less, of the other circumpolar +genus, _Alces_, known in America as "moose," and across the +Atlantic as "elk." It also is of mixed character in relation to the two +great divisions we have had in mind, but in a different way from +reindeer. + +Like American deer it has the lower ends of the lateral metacarpals +remaining, and the antlers are without a brow-tine, but like +_Cervus_ it has an incomplete vomer, and unlike deer in general, +the antlers are set laterally on the frontal bone, instead of more or +less vertically, and the nasal bones are excessively short. The animal +of northern Europe and Asia is usually considered to be distinct from +the American, and lately the Alaskan moose has been christened _Alces +gigas_, marked by greater size, relatively more massive skull, and +huge antlers. Of the antecedents of _Alces_, as in the case of the +reindeer, we are ignorant. The earlier Pleistocene of Europe has yielded +nearly related fossils,[2] and a peculiar and probably rather later form +comes from New Jersey and Kentucky. This last in some respects suggests +a resemblance to the wapiti, but it is unlikely that the similarity is +more than superficial, and as moose not distinguishable from the +existing species are found in the same formation, it is improbable that +_Cervalces_ bore to _AIces_ anything more than a collateral +relationship. + +[Footnote 2: The huge fossil known as "Irish elk" is really a fallow +deer and in no way nearly related to the moose.] + +Even to an uncritical eye, the differences between ungulates and +carnivores of to-day are many and obvious, but as we trace them back +into the past we follow on converging lines, and in our search for the +prototypes of the carnivora we are led to the _Creodonta_, +contemporary with _Condylarthra_, which we have seen giving origin +to hoofed beasts, but outlasting them into the succeeding age. These two +groups of generalized mammals approached each other so nearly in +structure, that it is even doubtful to which of them certain outlying +fossils should be referred, and the assumption is quite justified that +they had a common ancestor in the preceding period, of which no record +is yet known. + +The most evident points in which _Carnivora_ differ from +_Ungulata_ are their possession of at least four and frequently +five digits, which always bear claws and never hoofs; all but the sea +otter have six small incisor teeth in each jaw; the canines are large; +the molars never show flattened, curved crests after the ruminant +pattern, but are more or less tubercular, and one tooth in the hinder +part of each jaw becomes blade-like, for shearing off lumps of +flesh. This tooth is called the sectorial, or carnassial. + +Existing carnivores are conveniently divided into three sections: +_Arctoidea_--bears, raccoons, otters, skunks, weasels, etc.; +_Canoidea_--dogs, wolves and foxes; _Aeluroidea_--cats, +civets, ichneumons and hyaenas. + +It is highly probable that these three chief types have descended in as +many distinct lines from the _Creodonta_, and that they were +differentiated as early as the middle Eocene, but their exact degree of +affinity is uncertain; bears and dogs are certainly closer together than +either of them are to cats, and it is questionable if otters and +weasels--the _Mustelidae_, as they are termed--and raccoons are +really near of kin to bears. + +Seals are often regarded as belonging to this order, but their relation +to the rest of the carnivores is very doubtful. Many of their characters +are suggestive of _Arctoidea_, but it is an open question if their +ancestors were bear or otter-like animals which took to an aquatic life, +or whether they may not have had a long and independent descent. At all +events, doubt is cast upon the proposition that they are descended from +anything nearly like present land forms by the fact that seals of +already high development are known as early as the later Miocene. + +The difficulty so constantly met with in attempting to state concisely +the details of classification, is well shown in this order, for its +subdivisions rest less upon a few well defined characters than upon +complex associations of a number of lesser and more obscure ones, a +recapitulation of which would be tedious beyond the endurance of all but +practiced anatomists. For the present purposes it must be enough to say +that bears and dogs have forty-two teeth in the complete set, of which +four on each side above and below are premolars, and two above, with +three below, are molars, but these teeth in bears have flatter crowns +and more rounded tubercles than those of dogs, and the sectorial teeth +are much less blade-like, this style of tooth being better adapted to +their omnivorous food habits. Bears, furthermore, have five digits on +each foot and are plantigrade, while dogs have but four toes behind and +are digitigrade. These differences are less marked in some of the +smaller arctoids, which may have as few as thirty-two teeth, and come +very near to dogs in the extent of the digital surface which rests upon +the ground in walking. + +In distinction from these, _Aeluroidea_ never have more than two +true molars below, and the cusps of their teeth are much more sharply +edged, reaching in the sectorials the extreme of scissor-like +specialization. In all of them the claws are more or less retractile, +and they walk on the ends of their fingers and toes. + +Cats are distinguished from the remainder of this section by the +shortness of the skull, and reduction of the teeth to thirty, there +being but one true molar on each side, that of the upper jaw being so +minute that it is probably getting ready to disappear. + +Civets, genets, and ichneumons are small as compared with most cats; +they are fairly well distinguished by skull and tooth characters; their +claws are never fully retractile, and many have scent glands, as in the +civets. No member of this family is American. + +Hyaenas have the same dental formula as cats, but their teeth are +enormously strong and massive, in relation to their function of crushing +bone. + +No carnivore has teeth so admirably adapted to a diet of flesh as the +cat, and, in fact, it may be doubted if among all mammals, it has a +superior in structural fitness to its life habits in general. + +The _Felidae_ are an exceedingly uniform group, although they do +present minor differences; thus, some species have the orbits completely +encircled by bone, while in most of them these are more or less widely +open behind; in some the first upper premolar is absent, and some have a +round pupil, while in others it is elliptical or vertical, but if there +is a key to the apparently promiscuous distribution of these variations, +it has not yet been found, and no satisfactory sub-division of the genus +has been made, beyond setting aside the hunting-leopard or cheetah as +_Cynaelurus_, upon peculiarities of skull and teeth. + +True cats of the genus _Felis_ were in existence before the close +of the Miocene, and yet earlier related forms are known. Throughout the +greater part of the Tertiary the remarkable type known as sabre-toothed +cats were numerous and widely spread, and in South America they even +lasted so far into the Pleistocene that it is probably true that they +existed side by side with man. Some of them were as large as any +existing cat and had upper canines six inches or more in length. Cats +have no near relations upon the American continent, nor do they appear +to have ever had many except the sabre-tooths. Of present species some +fifty are known, inhabiting all of the greater geographical areas except +Australia. They are tropical and heat loving, but the short-tailed +lynxes are northern, while both the tiger and leopard in Asia, and puma +in America, range into sub-arctic temperatures, and it is a curious +anomaly that while Siberian tigers have gained the protection of a long, +warm coat of hair, pumas from British America differ very little in this +respect from those of warm regions. + +No other cat has so extensive a range as _Felis concolor_ and its +close allies, variously known as puma, cougar and mountain lion, which +extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from latitude fifty-five +or sixty north, to the extreme southern end of the continent. As far as +is known, it is a recent development, for no very similar remains appear +previous to post-tertiary deposits. + +Bears of the genus _Ursus_ are of no great antiquity in a +geological sense, for we have no knowledge of them earlier than the +Pliocene of Europe, and even later in America, but fossils becoming +gradually less bear-like and approximating toward the early type from +which dogs also probably sprung, go back to the early Tertiary +creodonts. + +Cats, as we have seen, are chiefly tropical, while bears, with two +exceptions, are northern, one species inhabiting the Chilian Andes, +while the brown bear of Europe extends into North Africa as far as the +Atlas Mountains. + +The family _Procyonidae_ contains the existing species which appear +to be nearest of kin to bears. These are all small and consist of the +well-known raccoon, the coatis, the ring-tailed bassaris and the +kinkajou, all differing from bears in varying details of tooth and other +structures. The curious little panda (_Aelurus fulgens_) from the +Himalayas, is very suggestive of raccoons, and as forms belonging to +this genus inhabited England in Pliocene times, it is possible that we +have pointed out to us here the origin of this, at present, strictly +American family; but, on the other hand, evidence is not wanting that +they have always been native to the soil and came from a dog-like stock. + +As we have already seen, bears have the same dental formula as dogs, but +as they are less carnivorous, their grinders have flatter surfaces and +the sectorials are less sharp; in fact they have very little of the true +sectorial character. It is unusual to find a full set of teeth in adult +bears, as some of the premolars invariably drop out. + +It is fully as true of bears as of any other group of large mammals, +that our views as to specific distinction are based upon data at present +utterly inadequate, for all the zoological museums of the world do not +contain sufficient material for exhaustive study and comparison. The +present writer has examined many of these collections and has no +hesitation in admitting that his ideas upon the subject are much less +definite than they were ten years ago. It does appear, though, that in +North America four quite distinct types can be made out. First of these +is the circumpolar species, _Ursus maritimus_, the white or polar +bear, which most of us grew up to regard as the very incarnation of +tenacious ferocity, but which, as it appears from the recitals of +late Arctic explorers, dies easily to a single shot, and does not +seem to afford much better sport than so much rabbit shooting. +The others are the great Kadiak bear (_U. middendorfi_); the +grizzly (_U. horribilis_), and the black or true American bear +(_U. americanus_). The extent to which the last three may +be subdivided remains uncertain, but the barren-ground bear +(_U. richardsoni_) is surely a valid species of the grizzly type. +The grizzlies and the big Alaska bears approach more nearly than +_americanus_ to the widespread brown bear (_U. arctos_) of +Europe and Asia, and the hypothesis is reasonable that they originated +from that form or its immediate ancestors, in which case we have the +interesting series of parallel modifications exhibited in the two +continents, for the large bear of Kamtschatka approaches very nearly to +those of Alaska, while further to the south in America, where the +conditions of life more nearly resemble those surrounding _arctos_, +these bears have in the grizzlies retained more of their original form. +Whether or not the large Pleistocene cave bear (_U. spelaeus_) was a +lineal ancestor is questionable, for in its later period, at least, it was +contemporary with the existing European species. The black bear, with its +litter-brother of brown color, seems to be a genuine product of the new +world. + +Many differential characters have been pointed out in the skulls and teeth +of bears, and to a less extent, in the claws; but while these undoubtedly +exist, the conclusions to be drawn from them are uncertain, for the +skulls of bears change greatly with age, and the constancy of these +variations, with the values which they should hold in classification, +we do not yet know. + + * * * * * + +It is not improbable that the reader may leave this brief survey with +the feeling that its admissions of ignorance exceed its affirmations of +certainty, and such is indeed the case, for the law of scientific +validity forbids the statement as fact, of that concerning which the +least element of doubt remains. But the real advance of zoological +knowledge must not thereby be discredited, for it is due to those who +have contributed to it to remember that little more than a generation +ago these problems of life seemed wrapped in hopeless obscurity, and the +methods of investigation which have led to practically all our present +gains, were then but new born, and with every passing year doubts are +dispelled, and theories turned into truths. There was no break in +physical evolution when mental processes began, nor will there be in the +evolution of knowledge as long as they continue to exist. + +_Arthur Erwin Brown_. + +[Illustration: TROPHIES FROM ALASKA.] + + + + +Big Game Shooting in Alaska + + +I. + +BEAR HUNTING ON KADIAK ISLAND + +Early in April, 1900, I made my first journey to Alaska for the purpose +of searching out for myself the best big-game shooting grounds which +were to be found in that territory. Few people who have not traveled in +that country have any idea of its vastness. Away from the beaten paths, +much of its 700,000 square miles is practically unknown, except to the +wandering prospector and the Indian hunter. Therefore, since I could +obtain but little definite information as to just where to go for the +best shooting, I determined to make the primary object of my journey to +locate the big-game districts of southern and western Alaska. + +My first two months were spent in the country adjacent to Fort +Wrangell. Here one may expect to find black bear, brown bear, goats, and +on almost all of the islands along the coast great numbers of the small +Sitka deer, while grizzlies may these are the black, the grizzly, and +the glacier or blue bear.[3] It is claimed that this last species has +never fallen to a white man's rifle. It is found on the glaciers from +the Lynn Canal to the northern range of the St. Elias Alps, and, as its +name implies, is of a bluish color. I should judge from the skins I have +seen that in size it is rather smaller than the black bear. What it +lives upon in its range of eternal ice and snow is entirely a subject of +surmise. + +[Footnote 3: The Polar bear is only found on the coast, and never below +61°. It is only found at this latitude when carried down on the ice in +Bering Sea.] + +[Illustration: THE HUNTER AND HIS GAME.] + +Of all the varieties of brown bears, the one which has probably +attracted most attention is the large bear of the Kadiak Islands. Before +starting upon my journey I had communicated with Dr. Merriam, Chief of +the Biological Survey, at Washington, and had learned from him all that +he could tell me of this great bear. Mr. Harriman, while on his +expedition to the Alaskan coast in 1899, had by great luck shot a +specimen, and in the second volume of "Big Game Shooting" in "The +Badminton Library," Mr. Clive Phillipps-Wolley writes of the largest +"grizzly" of which he has any trustworthy information as being shot on +Kadiak island by a Mr. J.C. Tolman. These were the only authentic +records I could find of bears of this species which had fallen to the +rifle of an amateur sportsman. + +After spending two months in southern Alaska, I determined to visit the +Kadiak Islands in pursuit of this bear. I reached my destination the +latter part of June, and three days later had started on my shooting +expedition with native hunters. Unfortunately I had come too late in the +season. The grass had shot up until it was shoulder high, making it most +difficult to see at any distance the game I was after. + +The result of this, my first hunt, was that I actually saw but three +bear, and got but one shot, which, I am ashamed to record, was a miss. +Tracks there were in plenty along the salmon streams, and some of these +were so large I concluded that as a sporting trophy a good example of +the Kadiak bear should equal, if not surpass, in value any other kind of +big game to be found on the North American continent. This opinion +received confirmation later when I saw the size of the skins brought in +by the natives to the two trading companies. + + * * * * * + +As I sailed away from Kadiak that fall morning I determined that my hunt +was not really over, but only interrupted by the long northern winter, +and that the next spring would find me once more in pursuit of this +great bear. + +It was not only with the hope of shooting a Kadiak bear that I decided +to make this second expedition, but I had become greatly interested in +the big brute, and although no naturalist myself, it was now to be my +aim to bring back to the scientists at Washington as much definite +material about him as possible. Therefore the objects of my second trip +were: + +Firstly, to obtain a specimen of bear from the Island of Kadiak; +secondly, to obtain specimens of the bears found on the Alaska +Peninsula; and, lastly, to obtain, if possible, a specimen of bear from +one of the other islands of the Kadiak group. With such material I +hoped that it could at least be decided definitely if all the bears of +the Kadiak Islands are of one species; if all the bears on the Alaska +Peninsula are of one species; and also if the Kadiak bear is found on +the mainland, for there are unquestionably many points of similarity +between the bears of the Kadiak Islands and those of the Alaska +Peninsula. It was also my plan, if I was successful in all these +objects, to spend the fall on the Kenai Peninsula in pursuit of the +white sheep and the moose. + +Generally I have made it a point to go alone on all big-game shooting +trips, but on this journey I was fortunate in having as companion an old +college friend, Robert P. Blake. + +My experience of the year before was of value in getting our outfit +together. At almost all points in Alaska most of the necessary +provisions can be bought, but I should rather advise one to take all but +the commonest necessities with him, for frequently the stocks at the +various trading posts run low. For this reason we took with us from +Seattle sufficient provisions to last us six months, and from time to +time, as necessity demanded, added to our stores. As the rain falls +almost daily in much of the coast country, we made it a point to supply +ourselves liberally with rubber boots and rain-proof clothing. + +On the 6th of March, 1901, we sailed from Seattle on one of the monthly +steamers, and arrived at Kadiak eleven days later. I shall not attempt +to describe this beautiful island, but shall merely say that Kadiak is +justly termed the "garden spot of Alaska." It has numerous deep bays +which cut into the land many miles. These bays in turn have arms which +branch out in all directions, and the country adjacent to these latter +is the natives' favorite hunting ground for bear. + +[Illustration: LOADED BAIDARKA--BARABARA--BASE OF SUPPLIES, ALASKA +PENINSULA.] + +In skin canoes (baidarkas) the Aleuts, paddling along the shore, keep a +sharp lookout on the nearby hillsides, where the bears feed upon the +young and tender grass. It was our plan to choose the most likely one of +these big bays as our shooting grounds, and hunt from a baidarka, +according to local custom. + +It may be well to explain here that the different localities of Alaska +are distinctly marked by the difference in the canoes which the natives +use. In the southern part, where large trees are readily obtained, you +find large dugouts capable of holding from five to twenty persons. At +Yakutat, where the timber is much smaller, the canoes, although still +dugouts, have decreased proportionately in size, but from Yakutat +westward the timber line becomes lower and lower, until the western half +of the island of Kadiak is reached, where the trees disappear +altogether, and the dugout gives place to the skin canoe or baidarka. I +have never seen them east of Prince William Sound, but from this point +on to the west they are in universal use among the Aleuts--a most +interesting race of people, and a most wonderful boat. + +The natives of Kadiak are locally called Aleuts, but the true Aleuts are +not found east of the Aleutian Islands. The cross between the Aleut and +white--principally Russian--is known as the "Creole." + +The natives whom I met on the Kadiak Islands seemed to show traces of +Japanese descent, for they resembled these people both in size and +features. I found them of docile disposition, remarkable hunters and +weather prophets, and most expert in handling their wonderful canoes, +with which I always associate them. + +The baidarka is made with a light frame of some strong elastic wood, +covered with seal or sea lion skin; not a nail is used in making the +frame, but all the various parts are tied firmly together with sinew or +stout twine. This allows a slight give, for the baidarka is expected to +yield to every wave, and in this lies its strength. There may be one, +two, or three round hatches, according to the size of the boat. In these +the occupants kneel, and, sitting on their heels, ply their +sharp-pointed paddles; all paddling at the same time on the same side, +and then all changing in unison to the other side at the will of the +bowman, who sets a rapid stroke. In rough water, kamlaykas--large shirts +made principally of stretched and dried bear gut--are worn, and these +are securely fastened around the hatches. In this way the Aleuts and the +interior of the baidarka remain perfectly dry, no matter how much the +sea breaks and passes over the skin deck. + +I had used the baidarka the year before, having made a trip with my +hunters almost around the island of Afognak, and believed it to be an +ideal boat to hunt from. It is very speedy, easily paddled, floats low +in the water, will hold much camp gear, and, when well handled, is most +seaworthy. So it was my purpose this year to again use one in skirting +the shores of the deep bays, and in looking for bears, which show +themselves in the early spring upon the mountain sides, or roam the +beach in search of kelp. + +The Kadiak bear finds no trouble in getting all the food he wants during +the berry season and during the run of the various kinds of salmon, +which lasts from June until October. At this period he fattens up, and +upon this fat he lives through his long winter sleep. When he wakes in +the spring he is weak and hardly able to move, so his first aim is to +recover the use of his legs. This he does by taking short walks when the +weather is pleasant, returning to his den every night. This light +exercise lasts for a week or so, when he sets out to feed upon the beach +kelp, which acts as a purge. He now lives upon roots, principally of the +salmon-berry bush, and later nibbles the young grass. + +These carry him along until the salmon arrive, when he becomes +exclusively a fish eater until the berries are ripe. I have been told by +the natives that just before he goes into his den he eats berries only, +and his stomach is now so filled with fat that he really eats but +little. + +The time when the bears go into their winter quarters depends upon the +severity of the season. Generally it is in early November, shortly +after the cold weather has set in. Most bears sleep uninterruptedly +until spring, but they are occasionally found wandering about in +mid-winter. My natives seemed to think that only those bears are +restless which have found uncomfortable quarters, and that they leave +their dens at this time of year solely for the purpose of finding better +ones. They generally choose for their dens caves high up on the mountain +sides among the rocks and in remote places where they are not likely to +be discovered. The same winter quarters are believed to be used year +after year. + +The male, or bull bear, is the first to come out in the spring. As soon +as he recovers the use of his muscles he leaves his den for good and +wanders aimlessly about until he comes upon the track of some female. He +now persistently follows her, and it is at this time that the rutting +season of the Kadiak bear begins, the period lasting generally from the +middle of April until July. + +In Eagle Harbor, on Kadiak Island, a native, three years ago, during the +month of January, saw a female bear which he killed near her den. He +then went into the cave and found two very small cubs whose eyes were +not yet open. This would lead to the belief that this species of bear +brings forth its young about the beginning of the new year. At birth the +cubs are very small, weighing but little more than a pound and a half, +and there are from one to four in a litter. Two, however, is the usual +number. The mother, although in a state of semi-torpor, suckles these +cubs in the den, and they remain with her all that year, hole up with +her the following winter, and continue to follow her until the second +fall, when they leave her and shift for themselves. + +For many years these bears have been so persistently hunted by the +natives, who are constantly patrolling the shores in their skin canoes, +that their knowledge of man and their senses of smell and hearing are +developed to an extreme degree. They have, however, like most bears, +but indifferent sight. They range in color from a light tawny lion to a +very dark brown; in fact, I have seen some bears that were almost +black. Many people have asked me about their size, and how they compare +in this respect with other bears. The Kadiak bear is naturally extremely +large. His head is very massive, and he stands high at the shoulders. +This latter characteristic is emphasized by a thick tuft of hair which +stands erect on the dorsal ridge just over the shoulders. The largest +bear of this kind which I shot measured 8 feet in a straight line from +his nose to the end of the vertebrae, and stood 51-1/2 inches in a +straight line at the shoulders, not including between 6 and 7 inches of +hair. + +Most people have an exaggerated idea of the number of bears on the +Kadiak Islands. Personally I believe that they are too few ever to make +shooting them popular. In fact, it was only by the hardest kind of +careful and constant work that I was finally successful in bagging my +first bear on Kadiak. When the salmon come it is not so difficult to get +a shot, but this lying in wait at night by a salmon stream cannot +compare with seeking out the game on the hills in the spring, and +stalking it in a sportsmanlike manner. + +It was more than a week after our landing at Kadiak before the weather +permitted me to go to Afognak, where my old hunters lived, to make our +final preparations. One winter storm after another came in quick +succession, but we did not mind the delay, for we had come early and did +not expect the bears would leave their dens before April. + +I decided to take with me on my hunt the same two natives whom I had had +the year before. My head man's name was Fedor Deerinhoff. He was about +forty years of age, and had been a noted sea otter and bear hunter. In +size he was rather larger than the average of his race, and absolutely +fearless. Many stories are told of his hand-to-hand encounters with +these big bears. I think the best one is of a time when he crawled into +a den on his hands and knees, and in the dark, and at close quarters, +shot three. He was unable to see, and the bears' heavy breathing was his +only guide in taking aim. + +Nikolai Pycoon, my other native, was younger and shorter in stature, and +had also a great reputation as a hunter, which later I found was fully +justified, and furthermore was considered the best baidarka man of +Afognak. He was a nice little fellow, always good natured, always keen, +always willing, and the only native whom I have ever met with a true +sense of gratitude. + +The year before I had made all arrangements to hire for this season a +small schooner, which was to take us to our various shooting grounds. I +was now much disappointed to find that the owner of this schooner had +decided not to charter her. We were, therefore, obliged to engage a very +indifferent sloop, but she was fortunately an excellent sea boat. Her +owner, Charles Payjaman, a Russian, went with us as my friend's +hunter. He was a fisherman and a trapper by profession, and had the +reputation of knowing these dangerous island waters well. His knowledge +of Russian we expected to be of great use to us in dealing with the +natives; Alaska was under Russian control for so many years that that +language is the natural local tongue. + +It was the first of April before we got our entire outfit together, and +it was not until four days later that the weather permitted us to hoist +our sail and start for the shooting grounds, of which it was of the +utmost importance that we should make good choice. All the natives +seemed to agree that Kiliuda Bay, some seventy-five miles below the town +of Kadiak, was the most likely place to find bear, and so we now headed +our boat in that direction. It was a most beautiful day for a start, +with the first faint traces of spring in the air. As we skirted the +shore that afternoon I sighted, through the glasses, on some low hills +in the distance, bear tracks in the snow. My Aleuts seemed to think that +the bears were probably near, having come down to the shore in search of +kelp. It promised a pretty fair chance for a shot, but there was +exceedingly bad water about, and no harbor for the sloop to lie, so +Payjaman and my natives advised me not to make the attempt. As one +should take no chances with Alaskan waters, I felt that this was wise, +and we reluctantly passed on. + +The next forenoon we put into a large bay, Eagle Harbor, to pick up a +local hunter who was to accompany us to Kiliuda Bay, for both my Aleuts +and the Russian were unacquainted with this locality. Ignati +Chowischpack, the native whose services we secured, was quite a +character, a man of much importance among the Aleuts of this district, +and one who had a thorough knowledge of the country chosen as a hunting +ground. + +We expected to remain at Eagle Harbor only part of the day, but +unfortunately were storm-bound here for a week. Several times we +attempted to leave, but each time had to put back, fearing that the +heavy seas we encountered outside would crush in the baidarka, which was +carried lashed to the sloop's deck. It was not until early on the +morning of April 12, just as the sun was topping the mountains, that we +finally reached Kiliuda Bay. + +Our hunting grounds now stretched before us as far as the eye could +see. We had by this time passed the tree area, and it was only here and +there in isolated spots that stunted cottonwoods bordered the salmon +streams and scattered patches of alders dotted the mountain sides. In +many places the land rolled gradually back from the shore until the +mountain bases were reached, while in other parts giant cliffs rose +directly from the water's edge, but with the glasses one could generally +command a grand view of this great irregular bay, with its long arms +cutting into the island in all directions. + +We made our permanent camp in a large barabara, a form of house so often +seen in western Alaska that it deserves a brief description. It is a +small, dome-shaped hut, with a frame generally made of driftwood, and +thatched with sods and the rank grass of the country. It has no windows, +but a large hole in the roof permits light to enter and serves also as +an outlet for the smoke from the fire, which is built on a rough hearth +in the middle of the barabara. These huts, their doors never locked, +offer shelter to anyone, and are frequently found in the most remote +places. The one which we now occupied was quite large, with ample space +to stow away our various belongings, and we made ourselves most +comfortable, while our Aleuts occupied the small banya, or Russian +bathhouse, which is also generally found by the side of the +barabara. This was to be the base of supplies from which my friend and I +were to hunt in different directions. + +The morning after reaching our shooting grounds I started with one of my +natives and the local hunter in the baidarka to get the lay of the +land. Blake and I agreed that it was wise to divide up the country, both +because we could thus cover a much greater territory, and our modes of +hunting differed materially. Although at the time I believed from what I +had heard that Payjaman was an excellent man, I preferred to hunt in a +more careful manner, as is the native custom, in which I had had some +experience the year before. I firmly believe that had Payjaman hunted +as carefully as my Aleuts did, my friend would have been more +successful. + +We spent our first day skirting the shores of the entire bay, paddling +up to its very head. Ignati pointed out to Fedor all the most likely +places, and explained the local eccentricities of the various winds--a +knowledge of these being of the first importance in bear hunting. I was +much pleased with the looks of the country, but at the same time was +disappointed to find that in the inner bays there was no trace of +spring, and that the snow lay deep even on the shores down to the high +water mark. Not a bear's track was to be seen, and it was evident that +we were on the grounds ahead of time. + +We stopped for tea and lunch about noon at the head of the bay. Near by +a long and narrow arm of water extended inland some three miles, and it +was the country lying adjacent to this and to the head of the bay that I +decided to choose as my hunting grounds. + +We had a hard time to reach camp that night, for a severe storm suddenly +burst upon us, and a fierce wind soon swept down from the hills, kicking +up a heavy sea which continually swept over the baidarka's deck, and +without kamlaykas on we surely should have swamped. It grew bitterly +cold, and a blinding snow storm made it impossible to see any distance +ahead, but Ignati knew these waters well, and safely, but half frozen, +we reached the main camp just at dark. + +Next day the storm continued, and it was impossible to venture out. My +friend and I passed the time playing piquet, and listening to our +natives, who talked earnestly together, going over many of their strange +and thrilling hunting experiences. We understood but little Russian and +Aleut, yet their expressive gestures made it quite possible to catch the +drift of what was being said. It seemed that Ignati had had a brother +killed a few years ago, while bear hunting in the small bay which lies +between Eagle Harbor and Kiliuda Bay. The man came upon a bear, which +he shot and badly wounded. Accompanied by a friend he followed up the +blood trail, which led into a thick patch of alders. Suddenly he came +upon a large unwounded male bear which charged him unprovoked, and at +such close quarters that he was unable to defend himself. Before his +companion, who was but a short distance away, could reach him, he was +killed. The bear frightfully mangled the body, holding it down with his +feet and using his teeth to tear it apart. + +Ignati at once started out to avenge his brother, and killed in quick +succession six bears, allowing their bodies to remain as a warning to +the other bears, not even removing their skins. + +During the past few years three men while hunting have been killed by +bears in the same vicinity as Ignati's brother, two instantly, and one +living but a short time. I think it is from these accidents that the +natives in this region have a superstitious dread of a "long-tailed +bear" which they declare roams the hills between Eagle Harbor and +Kiliuda Bay. + +The storm which began on the 13th continued until the 17th, and this was +but one of a series. Winter seemed to come back in all its fury, and I +believe that whatever bears had left their winter dens went back to them +for another sleep. It was not until the middle of May that the snow +began to disappear, and spring with its green grass came. + +All this time I was camped with my natives at the head of the bay, some +fifteen miles from our base of supplies. On the 23d of April we first +sighted tracks, but it was not until May 15 that I finally succeeded in +bagging my first bear. + +The tracks in the snow indicated that the bears began again to come out +of their winter dens the last week in April; and should one wish to make +a spring hunt on the Kadiak Islands, the first of May would, I should +judge, be a good time to arrive at the shooting grounds. + +When the wind was favorable, our mode of hunting was to leave camp +before daylight, and paddle in our baidarka up to the head of one of +these long bays, and, leaving our canoe here, trudge over the snow to +some commanding elevation, where we constantly used the glasses upon the +surrounding hillsides, hoping to see bear. We generally returned to camp +a little before noon, but in the afternoon returned to the lookout, +where we remained until it was too dark to see. + +When the wind was blowing into these valleys we did not hunt, for we +feared that whatever bears might be around would get our scent and +quickly leave. New bears might come, but none which had once scented us +would remain. For days at a time we were storm-bound, and unable to +hunt, or even leave our little tent, where frequently we were obliged to +remain under blankets both day and night to keep warm. + +On May 15, by 4 o'clock, I had finished a hurried breakfast, and with my +two Aleuts had left in the baidarka for our daily watching place. This +was a large mound lying in the center of a valley, some three miles from +where we were camped. On the right of the mound rose a gently sloping +hill with its sides sparsely covered with alders, and at right angles +and before it, extended a rugged mountain ridge with rocky sides +stretching all across our front, while to the left rose another towering +mountain ridge with steep and broken sides. All the surrounding hills +and much of the low country were covered with deep snow. The mountains +on three sides completely hemmed in the valley, and their snowy slopes +gave us an excellent chance to distinguish all tracks. Such were the +grounds which I had been watching for over a month whenever the wind was +favorable. + +The sun was just topping the long hill to our right as we reached our +elevated watching place. The glasses were at once in use, and soon an +exclamation from one of my natives told me that new tracks were +seen. There they were--two long unbroken lines leading down from the +mountain on our right, across the valley, and up and out of sight over +the ridge to our left. It seemed as if two bears had simply wandered +across our front, and crossed over the range of mountains into the bay +beyond. + +As soon as my hunters saw these tracks they turned to me, and, with +every confidence, said: "I guess catch." Now, it must be remembered that +these tracks led completely over the mountains to our left, and it was +the most beautiful bit of hunting on the part of my natives to know that +these bears would turn and swing back into the valley ahead. To follow +the tracks, which were well up in the heart of our shooting grounds, +would give our wind to all the bears that might be lurking there, and +this my hunters knew perfectly well, yet they never hesitated for one +moment, but started ahead with every confidence. + +We threaded our way through a mass of thick alders to the head of the +valley, and then climbing a steep mountain took our stand on a rocky +ridge which commanded a wide view ahead and to our left in the direction +in which the tracks led. We had only been in our new position half an +hour when Nikolai, my head hunter, gripped my arm and pointed high up on +the mountain in the direction in which we had been watching. There I +made out a small black speck, which to the naked eye appeared but a bit +of dark rock protruding through the snow. Taking the glasses I made out +a large bear slowly floundering ahead, and evidently coming +downward. His coat seemed very dark against the white background, and he +was unquestionably a bull of great size. Shortly after I had the +satisfaction of seeing a second bear, which the first was evidently +following. This was, without doubt, a female, by no means so large as +the first, and much lighter in color. The smaller bear was apparently +hungry, and it was interesting to watch her dig through the snow in +search of food. Soon she headed down the mountain side, paying +absolutely no attention to the big male, which slowly followed some +distance in the rear. Shortly she reached a rocky cliff which it seemed +impossible that such a clumsy animal could descend, and I almost +despaired of her making the attempt, but without a pause she wound in +and out, seemingly traversing the steepest and most difficult places in +the easiest manner, and headed for the valley below. When the bull +reached this cliff we lost sight of him; nor could we locate him again +with even the most careful use of the glasses. He had evidently chosen +this secure retreat to lie up in for the rest of the day. If I could +have killed the female without alarming him, and then waited on her +trail, I should undoubtedly have got another shot, as he followed her +after his rest. + +It was 8 o'clock when we first located the bears, and for nearly three +hours I had a chance to watch one or both of them through powerful +glasses. The sun had come up clear and strong, melting the crust upon +the snow, so that as soon as the female bear reached the steep mountain +side her downward path was not an easy one. At each step she would sink +up to her belly, and at times would slip and fall, turning somersault +after somersault; now and again she would be buried in the snow so deep +that it seemed impossible for her to go either ahead or backward. Then +she would roll over on her back, and, loosening her hold on the steep +hillside, would come tumbling and slipping down, turning over and over, +sideways and endways, until she caught herself by spreading out all four +legs. In this way she came with each step and turn nearer and +nearer. Finally she reached an open patch on the hillside, where she +began to feed, digging up the roots of the salmon-berry bushes at the +edge of the snow. If now I lost sight of her for a short time, it was +very difficult to pick her up again even with the glasses, so perfectly +did the light tawny yellows and browns of her coat blend in with the +dead grass of the place on which she was feeding. + +The wind had been blowing in our favor all the morning, and for once +continued true and steady. But how closely we watched the clouds, to +see that no change in its direction threatened us. + +We waited until the bear had left the snow and was quietly feeding +before we made a move, and then we slowly worked ahead and downward, +taking up a new position on a small ridge which was well to leeward, but +still on the opposite side of the valley from the bear. She seemed in an +excellent position for a stalk, and had I been alone I should have tried +it. But the Aleut mode of hunting is to study the direction in which +your game is working, and then take up a position which it will +naturally approach. + +Taking our stand, we waited, watching with much interest the great +ungainly creature as she kept nibbling the young grass and digging up +roots. At times she would seem to be heading in our direction, and then +again would turn and slowly feed away. Suddenly something seemed to +alarm her, for she made a dash of some fifty yards down the valley, and +then, seeming to recover her composure, began to feed again, all the +while working nearer and nearer. The bear was now well down in the +bottom of the valley, which was at this point covered with alders and +intersected by a small stream. There were open patches in the +underbrush, and it was my intention to shoot when she passed through one +of these, for the ground was covered with over a foot of snow, which +would offer a very tempting background. + +While all this was passing quickly through my mind, she suddenly made +another bolt down the valley, and, when directly opposite our position, +turned at right angles, crossed the brook, and came straight through the +alders into the open, not eighty yards away from us. As she made her +appearance I could not help being greatly impressed by the massive head +and high shoulders on which stood the pronounced tuft of hair. I had +most carefully seen to my sights long before, for I knew how much would +probably depend on my first shot. It surely seemed as if fortune was +with me that day, as at last I had a fair chance at the game I had come +so far to seek. Aiming with the greatest care for the lungs and heart, I +slowly pressed the trigger. The bear gave a deep, angry growl, and bit +for the wound,[4] which told me my bullet was well placed; but she kept +her feet and made a dash for the thicket. I was well above, and so +commanded a fairly clear view as she crashed through the leafless +alders. Twice more I fired, and each time with the most careful aim. At +the last shot she dropped with an angry moan. My hunters shook my hand, +and their faces told me how glad they were at my final success after so +many long weeks of persistent work. Including the time spent last year +and this year, this bear represented eighty-seven days of actual +hunting. + +[Footnote 4: When a bullet strikes a Kadiak bear, he will always bite +for the wound and utter a deep and angry growl; whereas of the eleven +bears which my friend and I shot on the Alaska peninsula, although they, +too, bit for the wound, not one uttered a sound.] + +I at once started down to look at the bear, when out upon the mountain +opposite the bull was seen. He had heard the shots and was now once +more but a moving black speck on the snow, but it will always be a +mystery to me how he could have heard the three reports of my small-bore +rifle so far away and against a strong wind. My natives suggested that +the shots must have echoed, and in this I think they were right; but +even then it shows how abnormally the sense of hearing has been +developed in these bears. + +I was sorry to find that the small-bore rifle did not give as great a +shock as I had expected, for my first two bullets had gone through the +bear's lungs and heart without knocking her off her feet. + +The bear was a female, as we had supposed, but judging from what my +natives said, only of medium size. She measured 6 feet 4 inches in a +straight line between the nose and the end of the vertebrae, and 44-5/8 +inches at the shoulders. The fur was in prime condition, and of an +average length of 4-1/2 inches, but over the shoulders the mane was two +inches longer. Unfortunately, as in many of the spring skins, there was +a large patch over the rump apparently much rubbed. The general belief +is that these worn patches are made by the bears sliding down hill on +their haunches on the snow; but my natives have a theory that this is +caused by the bears' pelt freezing to their dens and being torn off when +they wake from their winter's sleep. + +Although this female was not large for a Kadiak bear, as was proved by +one I shot later in the season, I was much pleased with my final +success, and our camp that night was quite a merry one. + +Shortly after killing this bear, Blake and I returned to the trading +post at Wood Island to prepare for a new hunt, this time to the Alaska +Peninsula. + + + + +II. + + +BEAR HUNTING ON THE ALASKA PENINSULA + +The year before I had chanced to meet an old pilot who had the +reputation of knowing every nook and corner of the Alaskan coast. He +told me several times of the great numbers of bears that he had often +seen in a certain bay on the Alaska Peninsula, and advised me most +strongly to try this place. We now determined to visit this bay in a +good sized schooner we had chartered from the North American Commercial +Company. + +There were numerous delays in getting started, but finally, on May 31, +we set sail, and in two days were landed at our new shooting +grounds. Rarely in modern days does it fall to the lot of amateurs to +meet with better sport than we had for the next month. + +The schooner landed us with our natives, two baidarkas, and all our +provisions, near the mouth of the harbor. Here we made our base of +supplies, and the next morning in our two canoes started with our +hunters to explore this wonderful bay. At high tide Chinitna Bay extends +inland some fifteen miles, but at low water is one vast bog of glacial +deposit. Rugged mountains rise on all sides, and at the base of these +mountains there are long meadows which extend out to the high water +mark. In these meadows during the month of June the bears come to feed +upon the young and tender salt grass. + +There was a long swell breaking on the beach as we left our base of +supplies, but we passed safely through the line of breakers to the +smooth waters beyond, and now headed for the upper bay. The two +baidarkas kept side by side, and Blake and I chatted together, but all +the while kept the glasses constantly fixed upon the hillsides. We had +hardly gone a mile before a small black bear was sighted; but the wind +was unfavorable, and he got our scent before we could land. This looked +decidedly encouraging, and we continued on in the best of spirits. About +mid-day we went on shore, lunched, and then basked in the sun until the +afternoon, when we again got into the baidarkas and paddled further up +the bay to a place where a wide meadow extends out from the base of the +mountains. Here Nikolai, my head hunter, went on shore with the +glasses, and raising himself cautiously above the bank, took a long look +at the country beyond. It was at once quite evident that he had seen +something, and we all joined him, keeping well hidden from view. There, +out upon the marsh, could be seen two large bears feeding upon the young +grass. They seemed in an almost unapproachable position, and we lay and +watched them, hoping that they would move into a more advantageous +place. After an hour or so they fed back toward the trees, and soon +passed out of sight. + +We matched to see which part of the meadow each should watch, and it +fell to my lot to go further up the marsh. I had been only a short time +in this place when a new bear came into sight. We now made a most +beautiful stalk right across the open to within a hundred yards. All +this while a new dog, which I had bought at Kadiak and called Stereke, +had crawled with us flat on his stomach, trembling all over with +excitement as he watched the bear. I had plenty of time to take aim, and +was in no way excited, but missed clean at one hundred yards. At the +report of my rifle Stereke bit himself clear from Nikolai, who was +holding him, and at once made for the bear, which he tackled in a most +encouraging manner, nipping his heels, and then quickly getting out of +the way as the bear charged. But I found that one dog was not enough to +hold these bears, and this one got safely away. + +It was a dreary camp that night, for I had missed an easy shot without a +shadow of excuse. We pitched our small tent at the extreme edge of the +marsh behind a large mass of rocks. I turned in thoroughly depressed, +but awoke the next morning refreshed, and determined to retrieve my +careless shooting of the day before. A bad surf breaking on the beach +prevented our going further up the bay in our baidarkas, as we had +planned to do. We loafed in the sun until evening, while our natives +kept constant watch of the great meadow where we had seen the bears the +day before. We had just turned in, although at ten o'clock it was still +daylight, when one of the natives came running up to say that a bear was +in sight, so Blake, with three natives and Stereke, made the stalk. I +had a beautiful chance to watch it from the high rocks beside our +camp. The men were able to approach to within some fifty yards, and +Blake, with his first shot, hit, and with his third killed the bear +before it could get into the brush. Stereke, when loosed, acted in a +gallant manner, and tackled the bear savagely. + +Unfortunately no measurements were taken, but the bear appeared to be +somewhat smaller than the female I killed at Kiliuda Bay, and weighed, I +should judge, some 450 pounds. It appeared higher on the legs and less +massive than the Kadiak bear, and had a shorter mane, but was of much +the same tawny color on the back, although darker on the legs and belly. + +Two days later we set out from our camp behind the rocks and paddled a +short distance up the bay. + +Here we left the baidarkas and crossed a large meadow without sighting +bear. We then followed some miles the banks of a small stream. Leaving +my friend with his two men, I pushed ahead with my natives to +investigate the country beyond. But the underbrush was so dense it was +impossible to see more than a few yards ahead. We had gone some +distance, and Fedor and I had just crossed a deep stream on a rickety +fallen tree, while the other native was following, when I chanced to +look back and saw a small black bear just opposite. He must have smelt +us, and, wanting to see what sort of creature man was, had deliberately +followed up our tracks. Nikolai had my rifle on the other side of the +brook, so I snatched up Fedor's and twice tried to shoot; but the safety +bolt would not work, and when I had it adjusted the bear showed only one +shoulder beyond a tree. It was just drawing back when I pressed the +trigger. The bullet grazed the tree, was deflected, and a patch of hair +was all that I had for what promised the surest of shots. + +In the afternoon we made for a place which our hunters declared was a +sure find for bear; but unlike most "sure places," we sighted our game +even before we reached the ground. There they were, two large grizzled +brutes, feeding on the salt marsh grass like two cows. We made a most +exciting approach in our baidarkas, winding in and out, across the open, +up a small lagoon which cut into the meadow where the bears were +feeding. We got to within two hundred yards when they became suspicious, +but could not quite make us out. One now rose on his hind legs to get a +better view, and offered a beautiful chance, but I waited for my friend, +whose turn it was to have first shot, and he delayed, thinking that I +was not ready. The result was that the bears at once made for the woods, +and we both missed. + +Stereke again did his part well, catching one of the bears and tackling +him in a noble manner, turning him and doing his best to hold him, but +this was more than one dog could do, and the bear broke away and soon +reached cover. + +I am glad to record that with this day's miss ended some of the most +careless shooting I have ever done. + +This evening we made our camp on the beach on the other side of the +bay. I was up frequently during the night, for bears were constantly +moving about on the mountain side just behind our sleeping place, but +although I could distinctly hear them, the thick brush prevented my +getting a shot. + +In this latitude there is practically no night during the month of June, +and I can recall no more enchanting spot than where we were now camped. +Even my hard day's work would not bring sleep, and I lay with my +faithful dog at my feet and gazed on the vast mountains about us, their +summits capped with snow, while their sides were clothed in the dull +velvet browns of last year's herbage, through which the vivid greens of +a northern summer were rapidly forcing themselves. + +It was after five next morning when we left in our two baidarkas for the +extreme head of the bay, where there was another vast meadow. My friend +chose to hunt the right side of this marsh, while I took the left. + +On reaching our watching place I settled myself for the day in my fur +rug, and soon dozed off to finish my night's rest, while my men took +turns with the glasses. About ten o'clock a black bear was sighted a +long way off, but he soon wandered into the thicket which surrounded the +marsh on three sides. At twelve o'clock he appeared again, and we now +circled well to leeward and waited where two trails met at the edge of +the meadow, expecting the bear would work down one of them to us. It was +a long tiresome wait, for we were perched upon some tussocks through +which the water soon found its way. About five o'clock we returned to +our original watching place, where my friend joined me. + +The wind had been at a slant, and although we had worked safely around +the bear, he must have got the scent of Blake's party, although a long +way off, for my friend reported that the bear was coming in our +direction, as we had counted upon, when he suddenly threw up his head, +gave one whiff, and started for the woods. + +On Friday morning, June 7, we made a three o'clock start from where we +had passed the night on the beach. The sun was not over the mountains +for another hour, and there was that great charm which comes in the +early dawn of a summer's day. Blake in his baidarka, and I in mine, +paddled along, side by side, and pushed up to the extreme head of the +bay, where we came upon an old deserted Indian camp of the year before. +Numerous stretchers told of their success with bear; but the remains of +an old fire in the very heart of our shooting grounds warned us that in +this section the bears might have been disturbed; for the Alaskan bear +is very wary, and is quick to take alarm at any unusual scent. We came +back to our camp on the beach by ten o'clock, and had our first +substantial meal of the day; for we had now adopted the Aleutian habit +of taking simply a cup of tea and a piece of bread in order to make the +earliest of starts each morning. + +After our mid-day breakfast, we usually took a nap until afternoon; but +this day I was not sleepy, and so read for a while, then I loaded my +rifle, which I always kept within arm's reach, and was just settling my +rugs to turn in, when Stereke gave a sharp bark, and Blake shouted, +"Bear." Seizing my rifle I looked up, and walking toward us on the +beach, just 110 yards away, was a good sized bull bear. My dog at once +made for him, while Blake jumped for his rifle. The bear was just +turning when I fired. He bit for the wound, but uttered no sound, and +was just disappearing in the brush when I fired a hasty second; Blake +and I followed into the thick alders after the dog, which was savagely +attacking the bear. His barking told us where the bear was, and I +arrived just in time to see him make a determined charge at the dog, +which quickly avoided him, and just as quickly renewed the attack. + +I forced my way through the alders and got in two close shots, which +rolled him over. It appeared that my first shot had broken his shoulder, +as well as cut the lower portion of the heart; but this bear had gone +some fifty yards, and was still on his feet, when I came up and finished +him off. He was a fair sized bull, six feet two inches in a straight +line along the vertebrae, and stood exactly three feet at the +shoulders. He had evidently been fighting, for one ear was badly torn, +and his skin was much scarred with old and recent wounds. After +removing the pelt the carcass was thrown into the bay, so that there +might be no stench, which my natives declared would be enough to spoil +any future shooting in this locality. This same afternoon we moved our +camp to a new marsh, but the wind was changeable, and we saw nothing. + +The next morning we sighted a bear, which fed into the woods before we +had time to come up with him. Shortly after five o'clock the brute made +a second appearance, but as the wind had changed and now blew in the +wrong direction, a stalk could not be made without our scent being +carried into the woods, where many bears were apt to be. We made it a +great point never to make a stalk unless the wind was right, for we were +extremely anxious not to spoil the place by diffusing our scent, and +driving away whatever bears might be lurking near. Therefore, many times +we had a chance to watch bears at only a few hundred yards' distance. + +It was most interesting to see how careful these big animals were, and +how, from time to time, they would feel the wind with their noses, and +again stop feeding and listen. No two bears seemed to be built on quite +the same lines. Some were high at the shoulders and then sloped down +toward the rump and nose; and again, others were saddle-backed; still +others stood with their front feet directly under them, making a regular +curve at the shoulders; while others had the front legs wide apart, and +seemed to form a triangle, the apex of which was at the shoulders. + +Their range of color seemed to be from very dark, silver-tipped, to a +very light dirty yellow, but with dark legs and belly. + +This evening, just as we were having our tea, another bear made his +appearance. The first, which we had been watching, evidently heard him +coming through the woods, and as the second came out into the open the +former vanished. The new one was a dirty yellowish white, with very dark +belly and legs, which gave him a most comical appearance. + +The wind still continued unfavorable, and my friend and I passed an +extremely interesting evening with the glasses, for this watching game, +especially bear, gives me almost as much pleasure as making the actual +stalk. + +About ten o'clock the wind changed, and Blake went after the bear, but +unfortunately missed at about one hundred yards. + +The following day opened dull, and we spent the morning keeping a sharp +watch on the marsh. About ten o'clock a large bear was seen to come out +from the trees. The wind was wrong, and as the bear was in an +unapproachable position I had to sit with folded arms and watch him. I +used the glasses with much interest until shortly after four o'clock, +when he slowly fed into the brush. + +We had just finished supper when we saw another bear in a better +position, and I proceeded to make the stalk, going part of the way in +the baidarka, for the great meadow was intersected by a stream from +which small lagoons made off in all directions. The wind was very +baffling, and although we successfully reached a clump of brush in the +middle of the marsh, the bear for some time continued to graze in an +unapproachable spot. We had almost given up hope of getting a shot, +when he turned and fed slowly some fifty yards in a new direction, which +was up-wind. This was our chance. Quickly regaining the baidarka, we +paddled as noiselessly and rapidly as possible up the main stream of the +marsh to a small lagoon, which now at high tide had sufficient water to +float us. + +There was great charm in stalking game in this manner, although I was, +in a sense, but a passenger in my natives' hands. But it was fascinating +to watch their keenness and skill as they guided the frail craft round +the sharp turns, the noiseless use of the paddles, the light in their +eye as they constantly stood up in the canoe to keep a hidden gaze upon +the game ahead, watching its every movement as well as the local eddies +and currents in the light evening breeze. All was so in keeping with the +sombre leaden clouds overhead, and the grizzled sides of the ungainly +brute, blending in with the background of weather-beaten tree trunks and +the dull gray rocks. And so, silently and swiftly, stopping many times +when the bear's head was up, we approached nearer and nearer, until my +head man whispered, _Boudit_ (enough), and I knew that I was to +have a fair shot. Stealthily raising my head above the bank I saw the +bear feeding, only seventy-five yards away. Creeping cautiously out of +the boat I lay flat upon my stomach, rifle cocked and ready, waiting for +a good shot. Soon it came. The bear heard some sound in the forest, and +raised his head. Now was my chance, and the next second he dropped +without a sound; he struggled to rise, but I could see he was anchored +with a broken shoulder. My men were unable to restrain themselves any +longer, and as I shot for the second time, their rifles cracked just +after mine. We now rushed up to close quarters. The bear, shot through +the lungs, was breathing heavily and rapidly choking. + +Suddenly I heard a yap, and then, out over the marsh, came Stereke at +full speed. I had left him with my friend, as we thought we might have +to do some delicate stalking across the open. He had sighted the bear, +and watched our approach all a-tremble, and at the report of my rifle +there was no holding him. Over the ground he came in great bounds, and +arrived just in time to give the bear a couple of shakes before he +breathed his last. We carried the entire carcass to the baidarka, and +even the cartridge shells were taken away, to avoid tainting the place +with an unusual scent. + +The next day we returned to the main camp, for Fedor, who was ill, had +become very weak, and was in no condition to stand any hardships. We +left him at the main camp in care of Payjaman. He was greatly +depressed, and seemed to give way completely, frequently saying that he +never expected to see his home again. Knowing the Aleut's character so +well, I much feared that his mental state might work fatal results. Our +medicines were of the simplest, and there was but little we could +do. Fortunately he did recover, but it was not until two weeks later, +when our hunt was nearly over, that he began to get better. + +Three days afterward we were back again at our camp behind the rocks. We +had wanted rain for some time to wash out all scent. Then again bears +are supposed to move about more freely in such weather. Therefore we +were rather pleased when the wind changed, bringing a northwest storm +which continued all the next day. The lofty mountains were rapidly +losing the snow on their summits, and the night's rain had wrought +marvels in their appearance, seeming to bring out every shade of green +on their wooded slopes. One of our natives was kept constantly on the +lookout, and a dozen times a day both Blake and I would leave our books +and climb to the watching place for a view across the great meadow. By +this time we knew the bear trails and the most tempting feeding grounds, +and the surest approaches to the game when it had once come into the +open. Therefore when I was told this evening that a bear had been +sighted, I felt pretty sure of getting a shot. He had not come well out +into the open, and was clearly keeping near cover and working parallel +to the brush. If he continued in this direction he would soon be out of +sight. Our only chance was to make a quick approach, and Nikolai and I +were immediately under way, leaving my dog with my friend, who was to +loose him in case I got a shot. + +The wind was coming in great gusts across our front, and the corner +where the bear was feeding offered a dangerous place for eddies and +back-currents against the mountain side. In order to avoid these, we +kept just inside the woods. Nikolai going first showed the greatest +skill in knowing just how close to the wind we could go. We quickly +reached the place where we expected to sight the bear, but he was hidden +in the bed of the river, and it was some minutes before we could make +out the top of his head moving above the grass. Then noiselessly we +crawled up as the bear again fed slowly into view. He was now about 125 +yards away, and offered an excellent shot as he paused and raised his +head to scent the breeze; but Nikolai whispered, "No," and we worked +nearer, crawling forward when the bear's head was down, and lying flat +and close when his head was up. + +It is curious to note that often when game is being stalked it becomes +suspicious, although it cannot smell, hear, or see the stalker; +instinct, perhaps--call it what you will. And now this bear turned and +began moving slowly toward cover. For some time he was hidden from +view, and then, just before he would finally vanish from sight, he +paused a moment, offering a quartering shot. The lower half of his body +was concealed by the grass, but it was my last chance, and I took it, +aiming for the lungs and rather high in order to get a clear shot. I saw +as he bit for the wound that the bullet was well placed, and as he +turned and lumbered across our front, I fired two more deliberate shots, +one going through the fore leg and one breaking a hind leg. + +Nikolai also fired, giving the bear a slight skin wound, and hitting the +hind leg just above where one of my bullets had previously struck. As +the bear entered the brush we both ran up, my hunter going to the left +while I went a little below to head the bear off. We soon came upon him, +and Nikolai, getting the first sight, gave him another bullet through +the lungs with my heavy rifle, and in a few moments he rolled over dead. + +It was my thought always to keep a wounded bear from getting into the +brush, as the blood trail would have ruined future shooting. + +I think it important to point out that when my bullet struck this bear +he bit for the wound. As he did so he was turned from his original +direction, which would have carried him in one bound out of sight among +the trees, and instead turned and galloped across our front, thereby +giving me an opportunity to fire two more shots. It frequently happened +that bears were turned from their original direction to the sides upon +which they received the first bullet, and we always gave this matter +careful consideration when making an approach. + +My Aleuts were not permitted to shoot unless we were following up a +wounded bear in the thick brush; but I found it most difficult to keep +them to this rule. The large hole of the bullet from my .50-caliber which +Nikolai carried made it easy to distinguish his hits, and if a bear had +received the mortal wound from his rifle, I should not have kept the +skin. + +The pelt of this bear which we had just killed was in excellent +condition, and although he was not fat, he was of fair size, measuring 6 +feet 3-1/8 inches along the vertebrae. + +Great care was taken as usual to pick up the empty cartridge shells, and +we pulled up the bloody bits of grass, throwing them into a brook, into +which we put also the bear's carcass. + +The storm continued for several days, and was accompanied by an +unfavorable wind, which drew up into all our shooting grounds. We kept +quietly in camp, which was so situated that although we were just +opposite the great marsh, our scent was carried safely away. Then we +were most careful to have only small fires for our cooking, and we were +extremely particular to select dry wood, so that there would be as +little smoke as possible. + +All this while we kept a constant watch upon the meadow, but no bears +made their appearance. + +On the morning of the 19th, my friend and his hunter went up the shore +to investigate a small marsh lying a mile or so from camp. Here they saw +that the grass had been recently nibbled, and that there were fresh +signs about. They returned to this spot again that evening and sighted a +bear. The bear fed quickly up to within sixty-five yards, when Blake +rolled him over. This bear was not a large one, and was of the usual +tawny color. + +The next morning a bear was seen by my natives in the big meadow by our +camp, but he did not remain long enough for a stalk. At 9:30 he again +came out into the open, and Nikolai and I made a quick approach, but the +bear, although he was not alarmed, did not wait long enough for us to +get within range. We had skirted the marsh, keeping just inside of the +thicket, and now when the bear disappeared we settled ourselves for a +long wait should he again come into the open. We were well hidden from +view, and the wind blew slanting in our faces and across our front. I +had just begun to think that we should not get a shot until the bear +came out for his evening feed, when Nikolai caught my arm and pointed +ahead. There, slowly leaving the dense edge of the woods, was a new +bear, not so large as the first, but we could see at a glance that she +had a beautiful coat of a dark silver-tip color. + +Removing boots and stockings, and circling around, we came out about +seventy-five yards from where we had last seen the bear; but she had +moved a short distance ahead, and offered us a grand chance for a close +approach. Keeping behind a small point which made out into the open, we +were able to crawl up to within fifty yards, and then, waiting until the +bear's head was up, I gave her a quartering shot behind the +shoulders. She half fell, and bit for the wound, and as she slowly +started for the woods I gave her another shot which rolled her +over. This bear proved to be a female, the first we had shot upon the +mainland, probably the mate of the bear we had originally attempted to +stalk. The skin, although small, was the most beautiful I have ever +killed. + +Upon examining the internal effects of my shots, I was disappointed to +find that my first bullet, on coming in contact with one of the ribs, +had torn away from the metal jacket and had expanded to, such an extent +that it lost greatly in penetration. I had of late been forced to the +conclusion that the small-bore rifle I was using on such heavy game +lacked the stopping force I had credited it with, and that the bullets +were not of sufficient weight. + +The next morning I sent our men to the main camp for provisions, for we +now intended to give this marsh a rest, and go to the head of the bay. +They returned that evening, and reported that they had seen a bear on +the mountain side; they had stalked to within close range, and had made +an easy kill. They had but one rifle with them, and had taken turns, +Ivan having the first shot, while Nikolai finished the bear off. This +skin was a beautiful one, of light yellowish color, and although our men +wanted to present it to us, neither Blake nor I cared to bring it home +with the trophies we had shot. + +On June 23 we turned our baidarkas' bows to the upper bay, at the head +of which we ascended a small river that wound through a vast meadow +until the stream met the mountains. Here we unloaded our simple camp +gear, and while the men prepared breakfast, Blake and I ascended an +elevation which commanded an uninterrupted view of the grassy plain. No +bears were in sight, so we had time and undisturbed opportunity to enjoy +the beauty of the scene. We lay for some time basking in the sun, +talking of books and people, and of many subjects of common +interest. Now and then one would take the glasses and scan the outskirts +of the vast meadow which stretched before us. All at once Blake gave a +low exclamation and pointed to the west. I followed the direction of his +gaze, and saw four bears slowly leaving the woods. They were at some +distance, and we did not think we had time to reach them before they +would probably return to the underbrush for their mid-day sleep, so for +the present we let them go. + +After breakfast, as they were still In the same place, we attempted the +stalk, going most of the way in our baidarkas, winding in and out +through the meadow in the small lagoons which intersected it in all +directions. Every little while the men would ascend the banks with the +glasses, thus keeping a watchful eye upon the bears' movements. Taking +a time when they had fed into the underbrush, we made a quick circle to +leeward over the open, then reaching the edge of the thicket, we +approached cautiously to a selected watching place. We reached this +spot shortly after one o'clock. The bears had entered the woods, so we +settled ourselves for a long wait. It was Blake's turn to shoot, which +meant that he was to have an undisturbed first shot at the largest bear, +and after he had fired I could take what was left. + +Just before three o'clock three bears again made their appearance. Two +were yearlings which in the fall would leave their mother and shift for +themselves, and one much larger, which lay just at the edge of the +underbrush. Had these yearlings not been with the mother she would not +have come out so early in the afternoon, and, as it was, she kept in the +shadow of the alders, while the two smaller ones fed out some distance +from the woods. + +We now removed our boots, and, with Stereke well in hand, for he smelt +the bears and was tugging hard on his collar, noiselessly skirted the +woods, keeping some tall grass between the bears and ourselves. In this +way we approached to within one hundred yards. Twice one of the smaller +animals rose on his hind legs and looked in our direction; but the wind +was favorable, and we were well concealed, so they did not take alarm. + +My friend decided to shoot the mother, while I was to reserve my fire +until after his shot. I expected that at the report of his rifle the +bear I had chosen would pause a moment in surprise, and thus offer a +good standing shot. As my friend's rifle cracked, the bear I had +selected made a sudden dash for the woods, and I had to take him on the +run. At my first shot he turned a complete somersault, and then, quickly +springing up, again made a dash for cover. I fired a second time, and +rolled him over for good and all. Stereke was instantly slipped, and +made at once for my bear. By the time we had run up he was shaking and +biting his hindquarters in a most approved style. We at once put him +after the larger bear, which Blake had wounded, and his bark in the +thick alders told us he had located her. We all followed in and found +that the bear, although down, was still alive. Blake gave her a final +shot through the lungs. + +The third bear got away, but I believe it was wounded by Nikolai. The +one that Blake had killed was the largest female we got on the +Peninsula, measuring 6 feet 6 feet 6-1/2 inches along the vertebrae. + +It is interesting to note that the two yearlings differed greatly in +color. One was a grizzled brown, like the mother, while the other was +very much lighter, of a light dirty yellowish color. + +We had watched these bears for some hours in the morning, and I feel +positive that the mother had no cubs of this spring with her; yet on +examination milk was found in her breasts. My natives told me that +frequently yearling cubs continue to suckle, and surely we had positive +proof of this with the large female bear. + +On our way back to camp that night we saw two more bears on the other +side of the marsh, but they did not stay in the open sufficiently long +to allow us to come up. + +The mosquitoes had by this time become almost unbearable, and it was +late before they permitted us to get to sleep. About 3 A.M. it began to +rain, but I was so tired that I slept on, although my pillow and +blankets were soon well soaked. As the rain continued, we finally put up +our small tent; but everything had become thoroughly wet, and we passed +a most uncomfortable day. + +In the afternoon a black bear appeared not far from our camping +place. My friend went after this with his hunter, who made a most +wonderful stalk. The bear was in an almost unapproachable position, and +the two men appeared to be going directly down wind; but Ivan insisted +that there was a slight eddy in the breeze, and in this he must have +been correct, for he brought Blake up to within sixty yards, when my +friend killed the bear with a bullet through the brain. + +I think it is interesting to note that our shooting grounds were the +extreme western range of the black bear. A few years ago they were not +found in this locality, but it is quite evident that they are each year +working further and further to the westward. + +The next day the heavy rain still continued. The meadow was now one +vast bog, and the small lagoons were swollen into deep and rapid +streams. Everything was wet, and we passed an uncomfortable day. Our +two hunters were camped about fifty yards off under a big rock, and I +think must have had a pretty hard time of it, but all the while they +kept a sharp lookout. + +About one o'clock the men reported that a large bear had been seen some +distance off, but that it had remained in sight only a short time. We +expected this bear would again make his appearance in the afternoon, and +in this surmise we were correct, for he came out into the open three +hours later, when Nikolai and I with Stereke made the stalk. We circled +well to leeward, fording the many rapid streams with great +difficulty. The rain had melted the snow on the hills, and we frequently +had to wade almost up to our shoulders in this icy water. + +In crossing one of the lagoons Stereke was carried under some fallen +trees, and for a while I very much feared that my dog would be +drowned. The same thing almost happened to myself, for the swift current +twice carried me off my feet. + +The bear had fed well into the open, and it was impossible, even by the +most careful stalking, to get nearer than a small patch of tall grass +about 175 yards away. I put up my rifle to shoot, but found that the +front sight was most unsteady, for I was wet to the skin and shaking all +over with cold. Half expecting to miss, I pressed the trigger, and was +not greatly surprised to see my bullet splash in the marsh just over the +bear's head. He saw the bullet strike on the other side, and now came in +our direction, but Stereke, breaking loose from Nikolai, turned him. He +now raced across our front at about 125 yards, with the dog in close +pursuit. This gave me an excellent chance, and I fired three more +shots. At my last, I saw the bear bite for his shoulder, showing that my +bullet was well placed. He continued to dash ahead, when Nikolai fired, +also hitting him in the shoulder with the heavy rifle. He dropped, but +gamely tried to rise and face Stereke, who savagely attacked his +quarters. Nikolai now fired again, his bullet going in at the chest, +raking him the entire length, and lodging under the skin at the hind +knee joint. Unfortunately this bear fell in so much water that it was +impossible to take any other accurate measurement than the one along his +back. This was the largest bear we shot on the mainland, and the one +measurement that I was able to take was 6 feet 10 inches along the +vertebrae. + +[Illustration: THE HUNTER AND HIS HOME] + +On examining the internal effects of his wounds, I found that my bullet +had struck the shoulder blade and penetrated one lung, but had gone to +pieces on coming in contact with the bone. Although it would have +eventually proved a mortal wound, the shock at the time was not +sufficient to knock the bear off his feet. + +The next morning the storm broke, and we started back to our camp behind +the rocks, for the skins we had recently shot needed to be cleaned and +dried. We reached camp that afternoon, where I found my old hunter, +Fedor, who was now better, and had come to join us. He had arrived the +night before, and reported that he had seen three bears on the marsh. He +said he had watched them all the evening, and that the next morning two +more had made their appearance. He could no longer withstand this +temptation, and just before we had arrived had shot a small black bear +with an excellent skin. + +Two days after, a bear was reported in the meadow, and as it was my +friend's turn to shoot, he started with his hunter to make the stalk. It +was raining at the time, and I was almost tempted to lie among my +blankets; but my love of sport was too strong, and, armed with powerful +glasses, I joined the men on the rocks to watch the hunters. + +The bear had fed well out into the meadow not far from a small clump of +trees. In order to reach this clump of trees, Blake and Ivan were +obliged to wade quite a deep stream, and had removed their +clothes. Unfortunately my friend carelessly left his coat, in the pocket +of which were all the extra cartridges for his and Ivan's rifles. + +I saw them reach the clump of trees, and then turned the glasses on the +bear. At the first shot he sprang back in surprise, while Blake's bullet +went high. The bear now located the shot, and began a quick retreat to +the woods, when one of my friend's bullets struck him, rolling him over. +He instantly regained his feet, and continued making for cover, walking +slowly and looking back over his shoulder all the while. Blake now fired +another shot, and again the bear was apparently badly hit. He moved at +such a slow pace that I thought he had surely received a mortal wound. + +Entirely against orders, Ivan now shot three times in quick succession, +hitting the bear with one shot in the hind leg, his other two shots +being misses. Blake now rushed after the bear with his hunter following +some fifty yards behind, and approached to within ten steps, when he +fired his last cartridge, hitting the bear hard. The beast fell upon its +head, but once more regaining its feet, continued toward the woods. At +this point Ivan fired his last cartridge, but missed. The bear continued +for several steps, while the two hunters stood with empty rifles +watching. Suddenly, quick as a flash, he swung round upon his hind legs +and gave one spring after Blake, who, not understanding his Aleut's +shouts not to run, started across the marsh, with the bear in close +pursuit. At every step the bear was gaining, and Ivan, appreciating that +unless the bear's attention was distracted, my friend would soon be +pulled down, began waving his arms and shouting at the top of his voice, +in order to attract the bear's attention from Blake. The latter saw +that his hunter was standing firm, and, taking in the situation, +suddenly stopped. The bear charged to within a few feet of the two men; +but, when he saw their determined stand, paused, and, swinging his head +from side to side, watched them for some seconds, apparently undecided +whether to charge home or leave them. Then he turned, and, looking back +over his shoulder, made slowly for the woods. + +This bear while charging had his head stretched forward, ears flat, and +teeth clinched, with his lips drawn well back, and his eyes glaring. I +am convinced that it was only Ivan's great presence of mind which +prevented a most serious accident. + +It is a strange fact that a well placed bullet will knock the fight out +of such game; but if they are once thoroughly aroused it takes much more +lead to kill them. When they had got more cartridges my friend with two +natives proceeded to follow this bear up; but though they tracked him +some miles, he was never recovered. + +The Aleuts when they follow up a wounded bear in thick cover, strip to +the skin, for they claim in this way they are able to move with greater +freedom, and at the same time there are no clothes to catch in the brush +and make noise. They go slowly and are most cautious, for frequently +when a bear is wounded, if he thinks that he is being pursued, he will +swing around on his own trail and spring out from the side upon the +hunters. + +The next day I started with my two natives to visit a meadow well up the +bay. + +As we had but a day or two left before the schooner would come to take +us away, we headed in the only direction in which the wind was +favorable. We left camp about three o'clock in the afternoon, following +the shore with the wind quartering in our faces. We had gone but a mile +from camp when I caught an indistinct outline of a bear feeding on the +grass at the edge of the timber, about 125 yards away. I quickly fired, +missing through sheer carelessness. + +At the report the bear jumped sideways, unable to locate the sound, and +my next bullet struck just above his tail and ranged forward into the +lungs. Fedor now fired, missing, while I ran up with Nikolai, firing +another shot as I ran, which knocked the bear over. Stereke savagely +attacked the bear, biting and shaking him, and seeing that he was +breathing his last, I refrained from firing again, as the skin was +excellent. + +This bear had had an encounter with a porcupine. One of his paws was +filled with quills, and in skinning him we found that some quills had +worked well up the leg and lodged by the ankle joint, making a most +loathsome wound. + +This bear was almost as large as the one I had last shot at the head of +the bay, and his pelt made a grand trophy. I was much disgusted with +myself that afternoon for missing my first shot. It is not enough simply +to get your bear, but one should always endeavor to kill with the first +shot, otherwise much game will be lost, for the first is almost always +the easiest shot, hence one should kill or mortally wound at that +chance. + +This was the last bear that we shot on the Alaska Peninsula. I had been +fortunate in killing seven brown bears, while Blake had killed three +brown and one black, and our natives had killed one brown and one black +bear, making a total of thirteen between the 7th and 28th of June. + +The skulls of these brown bears we sent to Dr. Merriam, Chief of the +Biological Survey, at Washington, and they proved to be most interesting +from a scientific point of view, for from them the classification of the +bears of the Alaska Peninsula has been entirely changed, and it seems +that we were fortunate enough to bring out material enough to establish +a new species as well as a new sub-species. + +The teeth of these two kinds of bears show a marked and uniform +difference, proving conclusively that there is no interbreeding between +the species. I was told by Dr. Merriam that the idea which is so +commonly believed, that different species of bears interbreed like dogs, +is entirely wrong. + + + + +III. + + +MY BIG BEAR OF SHUYAK + +As I had been fortunate in shooting bears upon the Island of Kadiak and +the Alaska Peninsula, nothing remained but for me to obtain a specimen +from one of the outlying islands of the Kadiak group, to render my trip +in every way successful. + +I therefore determined to take my two natives and hunt from a baidarka +the deep bays of the Island of Afognak, while Blake, not yet having +obtained his bear from Kadiak, went back to hunt there. + +He had been extremely good to his men, and in settling with them on his +return from the Alaska Peninsula had good-naturedly paid the excessive +demands they made. The result was that his kindness was mistaken for +weakness, and just as he was about to leave his hunters struck for an +increase of pay. He sent them to the right-about, and fortunately +succeeded in filling their places. + +A sportsman in going into a new country owes it to those who follow to +resist firmly exorbitant demands and at the same time to be fair and +just in all his dealings. + +I have already described bear hunting in the spring, when we stalked our +game upon the snowy hillsides, and again on the Alaska Peninsula, where +we hunted across the open on foot, and also in the baidarka. I will now +speak of another form. + +Toward the end of June the red salmon begin to run. These go up only the +streams that have their sources in lakes. After the red salmon, come the +humpbacks, and after the humpbacks, the dog salmon. Both of these latter +in great numbers force their way up all the streams, and are the +favorite food of the bears, which come down from the mountains by deep, +well-defined trails to catch the fish in the shallow streams. When the +salmon have begun to run, the only practical way of hunting these bears +is by watching some likely spot on the bank of a stream. + +Early in July Blake and I parted, intending to meet again two weeks +later. My friend sailed away in a small schooner, while I left with my +two natives in the baidarka. In Fedor's place I had engaged a native by +the name of Lofka. We three paddled with a will, as we were anxious to +reach a deep bay on the north side of the Island of Afognak as soon as +possible. + +This was all familiar country to me, for I had spent over a month in +this locality the year before, and as we camped for the night I could +hardly realize that twelve months had gone by since I left this +beautiful spot. For the Island of Afognak, with its giant cliffs and +deep bays, is to my mind one of the most picturesque regions I have ever +seen. + +The next morning the wind was unfavorable, but in the afternoon we were +able to visit one of the salmon streams. The red salmon had come, but it +would be another week or more before the humpbacks would begin their +run. It was a bleak day, with the rain driving in our faces. We forced +our way up the banks of a stream for some miles, following well-defined +bear trails through the tall grass. Some large tracks were seen, but we +sighted no game. We returned to camp after ten o'clock that night, wet +to the skin and chilled through. The following day was a repetition of +this, only under worse weather conditions, if that were possible. + +I now decided to push on to a large bay on the northeast side of the +island. This is locally known as Seal Bay, and is supposed to be without +question the best hunting ground on Afognak. + +Unfortunately a heavy wind detained us in Paramonoff Bay for two +days. The morning after the storm broke we made a four o'clock start. +There was a strong favoring breeze, and we made a sail of one of the +blankets. The baidarka fairly flew, but it was rather ticklish work, as +the sea was quite rough. Early that afternoon we turned into the narrow +straits which lie between the islands of Afognak and Shuyak. Shuyak is +uninhabited, but some natives have hunting barabaras there. Formerly +this island contained great numbers of silver gray foxes. A few years +ago some white trappers visited it and put out poison. The result was +the extermination of all the foxes upon the island, for not only the +foxes that ate the poison died, but the others which ate the poisoned +carcasses. The hunters obtained but one skin, as the foxes died in +their holes or in the woods, and were not found until their pelts were +spoiled. This is a fair example of the great need for Alaskan game laws. + +At the present time Shuyak is rich in bear and in land otter, and I can +imagine no better place for a national game preserve. It has lakes and +salmon streams, and would be an ideal place to stock. + +The straits between Shuyak and Afognak are extremely dangerous, for the +great tides from Cook Inlet draw through this narrow passage. My nerve +was tested a bit as the baidarka swept by the shore, for had it once got +well started we should have been drawn into the rapids and then into a +long line of angry breakers beyond. At one point it seemed as if we were +heading right into these dangerous waters, and then abruptly turning at +a sharp angle, we glided around a point into a shallow bay. Circling +this shore we successfully passed inside the line of breakers and soon +met the long ground swell of the Pacific, while Seal Bay stretched for +many miles inland on the other side. + +It had been a long day, but as the wind was favorable we stopped only +for a cup of tea and then pushed on to the very head of the bay. Here, +at the mouth of a salmon stream, we came upon many fresh bear tracks, +and passed the night watching. As we had seen nothing by four o'clock in +the morning, we cautiously withdrew, and, going some distance down the +shore, camped in an old hunting barabara. It had been rather a long +stretch, when one considers that we had breakfasted a little over +twenty-four hours before. Watching a salmon stream by night is poor +sport, but it is the only kind of hunting that one can do at this time +of the year. + +I slept until seven o'clock, when the men called me, and after a cup of +tea we started for the salmon stream, which we followed up beyond where +we had watched it the night previous. We were very careful to wade so as +not to give our scent to any bears which might approach the stream from +below. There were many tracks and deep, well-used trails leading in all +directions, while every few yards we came upon places where the tall +grass was trampled down, showing where bears had been fishing. These +bear trails are quite a feature of the Alaskan country, and some of them +are two feet wide and over a foot deep, showing that they have been in +constant use for many years. + +That night we heard a bear pass within ten yards of us, but could not +see it. We returned to camp next morning at five o'clock, and I wrote up +my journal, for this night work is extremely confusing, and one +completely loses track of the days unless careful. + +My men came to me after their mid-day sleep with very cheerful +countenances, and assured me that there was no doubt but that I should +surely soon meet with success, for the palm of Nikolai's hand had been +itching, and he had dreamed of blood and a big dog fighting, while +Lofka's eyelid trembled. My hunters told me in all seriousness that +these signs never failed. + +In the afternoon we decided to watch a new place. We carried the +baidarka up a small stream and launched it in quite a large and +picturesque lake. We slowly paddled along the shores and watched near +the mouths of several salmon streams. By twelve o'clock we had not even +seen a track, so I decided to return to camp and get some much needed +sleep. The natives were to call me early the next morning, for I had +decided to return to Paramonoff Bay. + +I think this was the only time in my hunting life that I was +deliberately lazy; but, although my natives called me several times, I +slept right on until nine o'clock. I was strongly tempted when we got +under way to start back by continuing around the Island of Afognak; but +Nikolai was anxious to have me give Paramonoff Bay another trial. He +thought the run of the humpback salmon might have begun since we left, +and if this was so, we were likely to find some large bears near the +streams we had watched the week before. I had great confidence in his +judgment, and therefore decided to retrace our steps. + +We made a start about ten o'clock, but after a couple of hours' +paddling, when we had met a fair tide to help us on, I lit my pipe and +allowed my men to do all the work, while I lay back among my rugs half +dreaming in the charm of my surroundings. Myriads of gulls flew +overhead, uttering their shrill cries, while now and then the black +oyster-catchers with their long red bills would circle swiftly around +the baidarka, filling the air with their sharp whistles, and seemingly +much annoyed at our intrusion. Many different kinds of ducks rose before +us, and the ever-present eagles watched us from the lofty rocks. We soon +turned the rugged headland and were once more in the swift tide of +Shuyak Straits, where the water boiled and eddied about us as we sped +quickly on. + +Nikolai now pointed out one of his favorite hunting grounds for seals, +and asked if he might not try for one; so we turned into a big bay, and +he soon had the glasses in use. He at once sighted several lying on some +rocks, and we had just started in their direction when Nikolai suddenly +stopped paddling, again seized the glasses, and looked excitedly across +the straits to the Shuyak shore. Following the direction of his gaze I +saw upon the beach a black speck which my native at once pronounced to +be a bear. He was nosing around among some seaweed and turning over the +rocks in search of food. Each one of us now put all his strength into +every stroke in order to reach the other side before the bear could +wander off. We cautiously landed behind some big rocks, and quickly +removing our boots my hunter and I were soon on shore and noiselessly +peering through the brush to the place where we had last seen the bear; +but he had disappeared. + +The wind was favorable, and we knew that he had not been alarmed. It +took us some time to hit off his trail, for he had wandered in all +directions before leaving this place; but after it was once found, his +footprints in the thick moss made tracking easy, and we moved rapidly +on. We had not expected a long stalk, and our feet were badly punished +by the devil clubs which were here most abundant. We could see by the +tracks that the bear had not been alarmed, and knew that we should soon +come up with him. After a mile or so the trail led in the direction of a +low marsh where the coast line makes a big bend inward, so apparently we +had crossed a long point into a bay beyond. + +I at once felt sure that the bear was near, having probably come to this +beach to feed, and as Nikolai looked at me and smiled I knew he, too, +felt that we were on a warm trail. + +We had just begun to descend toward the shore when I thought I heard a +slight noise ahead. Keeping my eyes fixed in that direction, I +whispered to Nikolai, who was standing a few feet in front of me, +intently peering to the right. Suddenly I caught just a glimpse of a +tawny, brownish bit of color through the brush a short distance +ahead. Quickly raising my rifle I had just a chance for a snap shot, and +the next instant a large hear made a dash through some thick +underbrush. It was but an indistinct glimpse which I had had, and before +I could throw another cartridge into the barrel of my rifle the bear was +out of sight. Keeping my eyes moving at about the rate of speed I +judged he was going, I fired again through the trees, and at once a deep +and angry growl told me that my bullet had gone home. + +Then we raced ahead, my hunter going to the left while I entered the +thick brush into which the bear had disappeared. I had gone but a short +distance when I heard Nikolai shoot three times in rapid succession, and +as quickly as I could break through I hurried in his direction. It +seemed that as we separated, Nikolai had at once caught sight of the +bear slowly making away. He immediately fired but missed; at the report +of his rifle the bear turned and came toward him, but was too badly +wounded by my first two shots to be dangerous. At close range Nikolai +fired two more shots, and it was at this moment that I joined him. The +bear was down, but trying hard to get upon his feet, and evidently in an +angry mood, so I ran up close and gave him another shot, which again +knocked him over. + +Now for the first time I had a good view of the bear, which proved to be +a very large one. As my men declared that this was one of the largest +they had ever seen, I think we may safely place it as a fair example of +the Kadiak species. Unfortunately I had no scales with me, and could +not, therefore, take its weight; but the three of us were unable to +budge either end from the ground, and after removing the pelt the +carcass appeared to be as large as a fair sized ox. We had much +difficulty in skinning him, for he fell on his face, and it took us some +half hour even to turn him over; we were only able to do this by using +his legs as levers. It required over two hours to remove the pelt. +Then we had tea and shot the bear all over again many times, as we sat +chatting before the fire. + +It seemed that at the time when I had first caught sight of this bear, +Nikolai had just located the bear which we had originally seen and were +following, and it was a great piece of luck my taking this snap shot, +for the other bear was much smaller. + +We took the skin and skull with us, while I made arrangements with my +natives to return some months later and collect all the bones, for I +decided to present the entire skeleton to the National Museum. + +It was six o'clock when we again made a start. I had a deep sense of +satisfaction as I lay lazily back in the baidarka with the large skin at +my feet, only occasionally taking the paddle, for it had been a hard +trip, and I felt unlike exerting myself. We camped that night in a +hunting barabara which belonged to Nikolai, and was most picturesquely +situated on a small island. + +My natives were extremely fond of bear meat, and they sat long into the +night gorging themselves. Each one would dig into the kettle with his +fork, and bringing out a big chunk would crowd as much as possible into +his mouth, and holding it there with his teeth would cut off with his +hunting knife a liberal portion, which he would swallow after a munch or +two. + +I had tried to eat Kadiak bear before, but it has rather a bitter taste, +and this one was too tough to be appetizing. The flesh of the bears +which we had killed on the Alaska Peninsula was excellent and without +this strong gamy flavor.[5] + +[Footnote 5: The true Kadiak bear is found only on the Kadiak Islands +and not on the mainland.] + +The next morning we made an early start, for to save this large skin I +had decided to push on with all haste to the little settlement of +Afognak, where I had arranged to meet my friend some days later. It was +a beautiful morning, and once more we had a favoring breeze. Some forty +miles across Shelikoff Straits was the Alaskan shore. The rugged, +snow-clad mountains seemed to be softened when seen through the hazy +blue atmosphere. One white-capped peak boldly pierced a line of clouds +and stood forth against the pale blue of the sky beyond; while the great +Douglas Glacier, ever present, wound its way down, down to the very +sea. It was all grandly beautiful, and seemed In keeping with the day. + +We paddled steadily, stopping only once for tea, and at six o'clock that +evening were back at the little fishing hamlet of Malina Place. Here I +was asked to drink tea with a man whom my hunters told me had killed +many bears on these islands. + +This man said that at times there were no bears on Shuyak, and that +again they were there in great numbers, showing that they freely swim +from Afognak across the straits, which, at the narrowest point, are some +three miles wide. + +[Illustration: BAIDARKA.] + +While I was having tea in one of the barabaras I heard much shooting +outside, which announced the return of a sea otter party that had been +hunting for two months at Cape Douglas. It was a beautiful sight, this +fleet of twenty odd baidarkas, the paddles all rising and falling in +perfect time, and changing sides without a break. There is nothing more +graceful than one of these canoes when handled by expert Aleuts. These +natives had already come forty miles that day, and were now going to +stop only long enough for tea, and then push on to the little settlement +of Afognak Place, some twenty-five miles away, where most of them +lived. In one of the canoes I saw a small chap of thirteen years. He was +the chief's son, and already an expert in hunting and in handling the +baidarka. So is the Aleut hunter trained. + +As it had been a very warm day I feared that the skin might +spoil. Therefore I concluded to continue to Afognak Place without +camping for the night, and so we paddled on and on. As darkness came, +the mountains seemed to rise grander and more majestic from the water on +either side of us. At midnight we again stopped for tea, and while we +sat by the fire the host of baidarkas of the sea otter party silently +glided by like shadows. We joined them, for my men had much to tell of +their four months with the white hunter, and many questions were asked +on both sides. + +Some miles from Afognak the baidarkas drew up side by side in a long, +even line, our baidarka joining in. _Drasti_ and _Chemi_[6] +came to me from all sides, for I had from time to time met most of the +native hunters of this island, and they seemed to regard me as quite one +of them. + +[Footnote 6: Russian and Aleut for "How do you do?"] + +When all the straggling baidarkas had caught up and taken their places +in the line, the chief gave the word _Kedar_ ("Come on"), and we +all paddled forward, and just as the sun was rising above the hills we +reached our journey's end. + +Two days later my friend joined me. He also had been successful, and had +killed a good sized male bear in Little Uganuk Bay on Kadiak Island. + +Our bear hunt was now over, and we had been fortunate in accomplishing +all we had hoped for. + + + + +IV. + + +THE WHITE SHEEP OF KENAI PENINSULA + +The last of July Blake and I sailed from the Kadiak Islands, and one +week later were landed at the little settlement of Kenai, on the Kenai +Peninsula. + +The mountains of this region are unquestionably the finest big-game +shooting grounds in North America at the present day. Here one may +expect to find four different kinds of bears--black, two species of +brown, and the Alaska grizzly--the largest of moose, and the Kenai form +of the white sheep (_Ovis dalli_). + +These hills lie back from the coast some thirty miles, and may be +reached by one of several rivers. It takes a couple of days to ascend +some of these streams, but we determined to select a country more +difficult to enter, thinking it would be less often visited by the local +native hunters. We therefore chose the mountains lying adjacent to the +Kenai Lake--a district which it took from a week to ten days to reach. + +On August 14, shortly after noon, we started up the river which was to +lead us to our shooting grounds. One cannot oppose the great tides of +Cook Inlet, and all plans are based on them. Therefore we did not leave +until the flood, when we were carried up the stream some twelve +miles--the tide limit--where we camped. + +The next morning we were up at daylight, for at this point began the +hard river work. There was much brush on the banks, but our natives +proved themselves most expert in passing the line, for from now on until +we reached the lake our boats had to be towed against a swift current. + +That day we made about eight miles, and camped shortly after five +o'clock. It rained hard during the night, and the next morning broke +cloudy. The river for the first two days wound through the lowlands, but +from this point on the banks seemed higher and the current perceptibly +swifter, while breaking water showed the presence of rocks under the +surface. The country back from the stream began to be more rolling, and +as the river occasionally made some bold bend the Kenai Mountains could +be seen in the distance. + +Again it rained hard during the night and continued well on into the +next morning, so we made a late start, breaking camp at eight o'clock. +Spruce, alders, willows, and birch were the trees growing along the +banks, and we now passed through the country where the moose range +during the summer months. Already the days had become perceptibly +shorter, and there was also a feeling of fall in the air, for summer is +not long in this latitude. + +At this point in the river we encountered bad water, and all hands were +constantly wet, while the natives were in the glacial stream up to their +waists for hours at a time. Therefore we made but little progress. That +night there was a heavy frost, and the next morning dawned bright and +clear. The day was a repetition of the day before, and the natives were +again obliged to wade with the tow-line most of the way. But they were a +good-natured lot, and seemed to take their wetting as a matter of +course. About ten o'clock the next morning we reached the Kenai Rapids, +where the stream narrows and the water is extremely bad, for the current +is very swift and the channel full of rocks. We navigated this place +safely and came out into the smooth water beyond. Here we had tea and a +good rest, for we felt that the hardest part of this tiresome journey +was over. Above the rapids there are a few short stretches of less +troubled water where the oars can be used; but these are few and far +between, and one must count upon warping the boat from tide water to +within two miles of the lake--an estimated distance of between +thirty-five and forty miles. + +We had hardly got started the following day before it began to rain +heavily. We were soon wet to the skin and thoroughly chilled, but we +kept on until late in the afternoon, when we camped in a small Indian +cabin some three miles from the lake. + +It stormed hard during the night with such heavy wind that we much +feared that we should be unable to cross the lake the next day. In the +morning, however, the wind had gone down, and we made an early +start. Just before reaching the mouth of the river we sighted game for +the first time. A cow moose with her calf were seen on the bank. They +stood idly watching our boats for a short time, and then slowly ambled +off into the brush. + +Occasionally as the river had made some big bend we had been able to +sight the mountains which were to be our shooting grounds. Day by day +they had grown nearer and nearer, and finally, after one week of this +toilsome travel, we glided from the river to the crescent-shaped lake, +and they now rose close before us. + +This range of hills with their rough and broken sides compares favorably +in grandeur with the finest of Alaskan scenery. Half way up their slopes +was a well defined timber line, and then came the stunted vegetation +which the autumn frosts had softened into velvet browns in deep contrast +to the occasional berry patches now tinged a brilliant crimson; and +beyond, the great bleak, open tablelands of thick moss sloped gently +upward to the mountain bases; and above all, the lofty peaks of dull +gray rock towered in graceful curves until lost in the mist. Great banks +of snow lay in many of the highest passes, and over all the landscape +the sun shone faintly through leaden and sombre storm clouds. + +Such was my first near view of the Kenai Mountains, and, as I learned to +know them better, they seemed to grow more awe-inspiring and beautiful. + +When we reached Kenai Lake, Blake and I decided that it would probably +be the wisest plan to divide things up into two separate shooting +outfits. We could then push over the hills in different directions +until we came upon the sheep. Each would then make his own shooting +camp, and our natives would carry out the heads we might shoot to our +united base of supplies on the lake, and pack back needed provisions. + +At noon of August 22 Blake and outfit started for his shooting grounds +at the eastern end of the sheep range, and shortly after my outfit was +under way. My head man and the natives carried packs of some sixty +pounds, while I carried about fifty pounds besides my rifle, glasses, +and cartridges; even my dog Stereke had some thirty pounds of canned +goods in a pack saddle. + +Our first march led up the mountain over a fairly steep trail, a gale +accompanied by rain meeting us as we came out from the timber on to the +high mossy plateau. The wind swept down from the hills in great gusts, +and our small tent tugged and pulled at its stakes until I greatly +feared it would not stand the strain. It had moderated somewhat by the +next morning, and we made an early start. + +Our line of march, well above timber, led along the base of the summits +for some miles, then swinging to the left we laboriously climbed over +one range and dropped into the valley beyond. A strong wind made it hard +going, and sometimes turned us completely around as it struck slanting +upon the packs which we carried. During the day sheep were seen in the +distance, but we did not stop, for we were anxious to reach before dark +a place where Hunter--my head man--had usually made his hill camp. It +must be remembered that at such an altitude there is very little fuel, +and that good camping places are few and far between. + +The next morning we were up early, intending to take our first hunt, but +the small Killy River, on which we were now located, was much swollen by +the heavy rains, and could not be crossed. We devoted the forenoon to +bridging this stream, but during the afternoon a small bunch of sheep +was sighted low down on the mountains, and I started with Hunter to see +if it contained any good rams. We left camp about noon and reached the +sheep in a little over an hour. There was one ram which I shot for +meat, but unfortunately his head was smaller than I thought, and +valueless as a trophy. + +As sheep hunting in these hills is at best hard work, I decided to move +the camp as high up as we could find wood and water. The next morning as +we started on our first real hunt, we took the native with us, and after +selecting a spot at the edge of the timber line, left him to bring up +our camp to this place while my man and I continued over the mountains +in search of rams. The day was dull and the wind was fortunately light. + +After a stiff climb we came out upon a mossy tableland, intersected by +several deep gulches, down which tumbled rapid glacial streams from many +perpetual snow banks. Above this high plateau rose sharp and barren +mountains which seemed but glacial heaps of jagged boulders and slide +rock all covered with coarse black moss or lichen, which is the only +food of sheep during the winter months. + +It is generally supposed that when the heavy snows of winter set in the +sheep seek a lower level, but my guide insisted that they work higher +and higher up the mountain sides, where the winds have swept the snow +away, and they are able to get this coarse but nourishing food. + +The sky-line of these hills made a series of unbroken curves telling of +the mighty power of the glaciers which once held this entire country in +their crushing grasp. + +We passed over the great plateau, which even at this latitude was +sprinkled generously with beautiful small wild flowers. Crossing gulch +after gulch we continually worked higher and higher by a gradual and +easy ascent. + +We had been gone from camp but little over an hour, when, on approaching +a small knoll, I caught sight of the white coat of a sheep just beyond. +At once dropping upon my hands and knees I crawled up and carefully +peered over to the other side. We had unknowingly worked into the midst +of a big band of ewes, lambs, and small rams. I counted twenty-seven on +my left and twenty-five on my right, but among them all there was not a +head worth shooting. + +This was the first great band of white sheep I had seen, and I watched +them at this close range with much interest. Soon a tell-tale eddy in +the breeze gave them our scent, and they slowly moved away, not +hurriedly nor in great alarm, but reminding me much of tame sheep, or +deer in a park. Man was rather an unfamiliar animal to them, and his +scent brought but little dread. From this time until darkness hid them, +sheep were in plain view the entire day. In a short while I counted over +one hundred ewes and lambs. + +We worked over one range and around another with the great valley of the +river lying at our feet, while beyond were chain upon chain of bleak and +rugged mountains. Finally we came to a vast gulch supposed to be the +home of the large rams. My men had hunted in this section two years +before, and had never failed to find good heads here, but we now saw +nothing worth stalking. By degrees we worked to the top of the gulch, +and coming to the summit of the ridge paused, for at our feet was what +at first appeared but a perpendicular precipice of jagged rock falling +hundreds of feet. The clouds now lifted a bit and we could see below a +vast circular valley with green grass and rapid glacial streams. On all +sides it was hemmed in and guarded by mighty mountains with giant cliffs +and vast slides of broken rocks reaching from the bottom to the very +summits. Opposite was a great dull blue glacier from which the north +fork of the Killy River belched forth, while other smaller glaciers and +snow banks seemed kept in place only by granite barriers. + +We seated ourselves on the brink of this great cliff and the glasses +were at once in use. Soon Hunter saw rams, but they were so far below +that even with my powerful binoculars it was impossible to tell more +than that they carried larger heads than other sheep near them. + +It was impossible to descend the cliff at the point where we then were, +so we moved around, looking for a place where we might work down, and +finally found one where it was possible to descend some fifty yards to a +sort of shute. From where we were we could not see whether we should be +able to make a still further descent, and if we did go down that far it +would be an extremely difficult climb to get back, but we thought it +probable that there would be slide rock at the other end of this shute, +in which case the rest would be fairly easy. + +Moving with the greatest caution, we finally reached the shute, and +after a bit of bad climbing found the slide rock at the lower end as we +had expected; but it took us a good two hours to get low enough to tell +with the glasses how big were the horns the sheep carried. + +There were eight rams in all. A bunch of three small ones about half a +mile away, and just beyond them four with better heads, but still not +good enough to shoot, and apart from these, a short distance up the +mountain side, was a solitary ram which carried a really good head. The +bunch of three was unfortunately between us and the big sheep, and it +required careful stalking to get within distance of the one we +sought. We knew very well that if we suddenly alarmed the three, and +they rushed off, they, in turn, would alarm the four and also the big +ram. When we were still at some distance we showed ourselves to the +three, and they took the hint and wandered slowly up the mountain +side. The others, although they had not seen us, became suspicious, so +we remained crouched behind some rocks until they once more began to +feed. The big ram now came down from his solitary position and passed +from view behind a mass of boulders near the remaining sheep. + +The head of the ram which I had shot the day before was much smaller +than I had supposed at the time. In order to avoid this in future I had +asked Hunter to advise me in selecting only really good heads. My man, +who now had the glasses, declared that the big sheep had not joined the +bunch of four, and I must confess that I was also deceived. + +Although the four had become suspicious from seeing the three go slowly +up the cliff, still they had not made us out, and the wind remained +favorable. Lying close only long enough for them to get over their +uneasiness, we cautiously stalked up to within some two hundred +yards. Again we used the glasses most carefully, but could not see the +big ram. Suddenly the sheep became alarmed and started up the +mountain. I expected each second to see the large ram come out from +behind the boulders, and therefore withheld from shooting. But when he +did not appear I turned my attention to the four which had paused and +were looking down upon us from a rocky ridge nearly four hundred yards +above. As they stood in bold relief against the black crags, I saw that +one carried horns much larger than the others, and that it was the big +ram. My only chance was to take this long shot. We had been crossing a +snow bank at the time, and I settled myself, dug my heels well in, and +with elbows resting on my knees took a steady aim. I was fortunate in +judging the correct distance, for at the report of the rifle the big ram +dropped, gave a few spasmodic kicks, and the next minute came rolling +down the mountain side, tumbling over and over, and bringing with him a +great shower of broken rocks. I feared that his head and horns would be +ruined, but fortunately found them not only uninjured, but a most +beautiful trophy. The horns taped a good 34 inches along the curve and +13-1/2 inches around the butts. + +That night the weather changed, and thenceforth the mountains were +constantly enveloped in mist, while it rained almost daily. These were +most difficult conditions under which to hunt, for sheep have wonderful +vision and can see a hunter through the mist long before they can be +seen. + +I was anxious to bring out as trophies only the finest heads, and daily +refused chances which some might have gladly taken. If we could not +plainly see with the naked eye horns at 300 to 400 yards, we always let +the sheep pass, knowing that the head was small, but if at any time we +could make out that a sheep carried a full turn to his horns, we knew +that the head was well matured. If we saw a sheep facing us we could +always tell when the horns made a full turn, for then the tips curved +outward. + +A week after killing the big ram we again visited the great basin, but +found nothing, and cautiously moved a little higher to a sheltered +position. From here we carefully scanned the bottom of this large gulch, +and soon spied a bunch of ewes and lambs, and shortly afterward three +medium sized rams. When we first saw them one had become suspicious and +was looking intently in our direction, so we crouched low against the +rocks, keeping perfectly still until they once more began to feed. When +they had gradually worked over a slight knoll we made a quick approach, +cautiously stalking up to the ridge over which the sheep had gone. I had +expected to get a fair shot at two hundred yards or under, but when I +peered over nothing was in sight. I concluded they had not gone up the +mountain side, for their white coats against the black rocks would have +rendered them easily seen. I, therefore, started to walk boldly in the +direction in which we had seen them go, thinking they had probably taken +shelter from the gale behind some rocks. + +I had only gone some paces when we located them standing on a snow patch +which had made them indistinguishable. I sat down and tried to shoot +from my knees, but the wind was coming in such fierce gusts that I could +not hold my rifle steady, so I ran as hard as I could in their +direction, looking hastily about for some rock which would offer +shelter. + +The sheep made up the mountain side for some three hundred yards, when +they paused to look back. I had by this time found a sheltered position +behind a large boulder, and soon had one of the rams wounded, but, +although I fired several shots I seemed unable to knock him off his +feet. Fearing that I might lose him after all, I aimed for the second +ram, which was now on the move some distance further up the mountain, +and at my second shot he stopped. Climbing up to within one hundred and +fifty yards I found that both the sheep were badly wounded, and were +unable to go further, so I finished them off. What was my surprise to +find that the larger ram had seven bullets in him, while the smaller one +had three. + +These sheep would almost never flinch to the shot, and it was difficult +to tell when you had hit, unless in an immediately vital spot. + +The weather continued unfavorable for hill shooting until the third of +September, but that day opened bright and clear, and fearing lest the +good conditions might not last, we made an early start. Crossing the +high plateau we followed the valley of the Killy River, keeping well up +and skirting the bases of the mountain summits. As we trudged along, the +shrill cries of alarm of the whistling marmots were heard, and the +little fellows could be seen in all directions scampering for their +holes. Ptarmigan were also frequently met with, but not in such great +numbers as one would have supposed in a region where they had never been +hunted. On several occasions we found these birds on the highest summits +where there was nothing but rocks covered with black moss. It would have +been interesting to have shot one of them and learned upon what they +were then feeding, but it was just in the locality where we hoped to +find rams, and this was out of the question. That morning we traveled +some distance before we saw sheep, but having once reached their feeding +ground I had the satisfaction of watching more wild game than on any +previous day. + +The Kussiloff hills were dotted with scattered bands, and I counted in +one large flock forty-eight, while the long and narrow valley on both +sides of the stream was sprinkled with smaller bunches containing from +two or three to twenty. It was a beautiful sight, for every ewe had at +least one, and many of them two, lambs frolicking at her side. + +In addition to these sheep we saw three moose feeding in a small green +valley at the base of the opposite hills. The river was impassable for +some miles, and although they were hardly more than a mile away in a +straight line, they were quite unapproachable, so we sat and watched +them with much interest until they slowly fed into the timber. + +Shortly after noon we located some large sheep on a rocky knoll across +the Killy River just below where the stream gushes out from a mighty +glacier. They were a long way off, but with the glasses we could see +that one lying apart from the others was a ram, and we surmised that if +we could see his horns at such a distance even through the glasses he +probably carried a good head. + +Working down to the stream we finally found a point shallow enough to +wade. We now made a cautious and careful stalk to the place where we had +last located the sheep, but a bunch of ewes and a small ram were all +that we could see. + +Hunter and I were both much disgusted, for we had expected surely to +find a head that was up to our standard. + +It was well on in the afternoon when we started back to camp. We had +been going steadily over the broken hillsides since early morning, and +had met sheep at almost every turn. At the sight of us some would bound +up the steep mountain sides in great alarm, while several times at only +a couple of hundred yards others merely turned their heads in our +direction, and after observing us for a short time continued to +graze. Somehow these ewes seemed to understand that I had no intention +of molesting them. + +It is strange how the hope of seeing game keeps one from feeling tired, +but as we trudged homeward, a bit depressed that in all the great number +of sheep seen, there had not been one good head, and that our hard day +was all to no purpose, my man and I both began to feel pretty well +fagged out. + +Late in the afternoon we paused for a brief rest and a smoke, and here +Hunter sighted two lone rams in a gulch at the top of the mountain above +us. By this time we were both pretty well used up, but the glasses +showed that they carried good heads, and I determined to stalk them, +even if it meant passing the night on the hills. So we worked our way up +to the top of a ridge which commanded a view of the gulch in which the +sheep were grazing, but they had fed some distance away by the time we +reached the place where I had expected to shoot, and were at too long a +range to make my aim certain. If we had had plenty of time, we should +have worked up the ridge nearer, and this Hunter was still anxious for +me to do, but when I saw one of the sheep suddenly raise his head and +look intently in our direction I knew my only chance was to take the +long shot. T had seen what the .30-40 Winchester rifle would do in the +hills, and the question was one of holding. However, I could count on +several shots before they ran out of sight, and even at such a distance +I hoped to get one and possibly the pair. Both sheep carried good heads, +but I aimed at the one which stood broadside to me. Hunter, who had the +glasses, told me afterward that the ram with the more massive horns got +away, but I succeeded in wounding the other so that he was unable to +move. Knowing he would shortly die, and that I could find him the next +morning, we at once started at our best pace for camp. + +We only reached our tent at nine o'clock that night, both completely +fagged out. A cup of tea made us feel better, but it was late before I +could get to sleep. Such days are a bit too much for steady practice, +but if they end in success the trophy means all the more. + +The following day we were literally wind-bound, and not until the day +after could we set out for the wounded sheep, which we eventually found, +not fifty yards from where we had last seen him. It was a long and hard +climb to reach him, but he carried a very pretty head with massive horns +of over a full turn. I found that two shots of the seven which I had +fired had taken effect. + +Two days later the native arrived from the main camp with more +provisions, and brought an interesting letter from Blake. It seemed that +some Englishmen who had been hunting in these hills just before us had +driven the big rams to the other end of the range, where my friend had +been most fortunate in finding them. He strongly advised my leaving my +present camp and coming to the country which he had just left, having +got six excellent heads. This was the limit which we had decided upon as +the number of sheep that we each wanted. + +It was now apparently clear that I had been hunting at a great +disadvantage in my district. On receiving Blake's letter I at once +determined to retrace my steps to the main camp, go to the head of the +lake and follow up the trail which he had laid out upon the mountains. + +Therefore the next morning (September 7) we shouldered our packs and +went over the hills to our main camp. Instead of following the trail by +which we had come, we decided to push straight across country, hoping in +this way to reach our main camp in one march. Our change of route was +unfortunate, and this day I can easily put down as the hardest one I +ever passed in the mountains. + +In order to bring out all our belongings in one trip we had extra heavy +packs, and the country over which we marched was very trying. About noon +I spied sheep on one of the outlying hills, and as we came nearer I made +out through the glasses that this was a bunch of five rams, and that +three of them carried exceptionally good heads. My only chance was to +push ahead of my men, and this I did, but stalking sheep over a rough +country with a heavy pack on your back is very trying work, and I failed +to connect with these rams. + +About five o'clock in the afternoon we came down over the mountains on +to the high plateau above our main camp. We were all too used up to go +any further, or even put up our light tent, although it soon began to +rain. We made a rude camp in a patch of stunted hemlocks, and as I sat +before the fire having my tea, I chanced to look up on the hills before +me, and there was the bunch of five rams I had tried so hard to stalk +early in the afternoon. They were at no great distance, but it was +rapidly growing dark, and there was not time to get within range while +it would be light enough to shoot. So I sat and studied these sheep +through the glasses, determined to find them later, even if it took me a +month. + +One of them had a most beautiful head, with long and massive horns well +over the full turn. Another had a head which would have been equally +good if the left horn had not been slightly broken at the tip. The third +also had an excellent head, and although not up to the other two, his +horns made the full turn. The remaining two rams were smaller. I watched +them until darkness came on, and all this while they fed slowly back +toward the mountains on which my friend had been hunting the week +before. I am convinced that this bunch of sheep had been driven out of +these hills by Blake, and had been turned back again by me. + +It rained hard that night, and the next morning the clouds were so low +that it was impossible to go in search of the rams I had seen the +evening before. I, therefore, determined to push immediately to the +main camp, which we reached three hours later. We at once lunched, and, +putting our light outfit in one of the boats, rowed up to the head of +the lake. + +This range of hills is surrounded by a mighty glacier, and at the foot +of the glacier is a moraine some ten miles long extending down to Kenai +Lake. On one side of this moraine you can walk by skirting the shore +and using care, but on the other side the quicksands are deep and +dangerous. We camped for the night in a place which my friend had used +as his base of supplies. + +The next morning opened dull, and I felt the effects of my hard work and +did not greatly relish the idea of shouldering a fifty-pound pack. But +my time was now getting short. In two weeks the rutting season of the +moose would begin, and in the meantime I wanted four more fine specimens +of the white sheep. Any day we might expect a heavy fall of snow, for +the northern winter had already begun in the hills. + +We soon found the tracks of Blake's party, which led up the moraine, and +carried us over quicksand and through glacial streams, icy cold. +Finally we came to where Blake had started up the mountain side, and +with all due regard to my friend, his trail was not an easy one. About +noon it began to rain, but we pushed upward, although soon soaked to the +skin, and came out above timber just at dark. We were all fagged out and +shaking with cold by the time we reached Blake's old camp. + +The next morning broke dismally with the floodgates of the heavens open +and the rain coming down in torrents. I lay among my rugs and smoked one +pipe after another in order to keep down my appetite, for there was +little chance of making a fire to cook with. In fact, most of the day +was passed in this way, for all the wood had become thoroughly +water-soaked. + +Late in the afternoon we succeeded in getting a fire started and had a +square meal. While we were crouched around the blaze the natives saw +sheep on the hills just above us, but it was raining so hard that it was +impossible to tell if they were rams. In fact, when sheeps' coats are +saturated with water they do not show up plainly when seen at any +distance, and might easily be mistaken for wet rocks. + +The next day opened just as dismally, with the storm raging harder than +ever, but by eleven o'clock it began to let up, and we soon had our +things drying in the wind, for the clouds looked threatening, and we +feared the rain would begin again at any time. + +As we were short of provisions and depended almost entirely upon meat, +my head man and I started at once for the hills. The little stream by +our camp was swollen into a rushing torrent, and we were obliged to go +almost to its source--a miniature glacier--before we could wade it. +Climbing to the crest of the mountains on which we had seen the sheep +the evening before, and following just under the sky line, we soon saw a +large and two small rams feeding on a sheltered ledge before us. + +We much feared that they would get: our scent, but by circling well +around we succeeded in making a fair approach. I should have had an +excellent shot at the big ram had not one of the smaller ones given the +alarm. The gale was coming in such gusts that it was difficult to take a +steady aim, and at my first shot the bullet was carried to one side. I +fired again just as the sheep were passing from view, and succeeded in +breaking the leg of the big ram. Hunter and I now raced after him, but +the hillside was so broken that it was impossible to locate him, so my +man went to the valley below where he could get a good view and signal +to me. + +It is always well in hill shooting to have an understood code of signals +between your man and yourself. The one which I used and found most +satisfactory provided that if my man walked to the right or left it +meant that the game was in either of these directions; if he walked away +from the mountain, it was lower down; if he approached the mountain, it +was higher up. + +As Hunter, after reaching the valley and taking a look with the glasses, +began to walk away, I knew that the sheep was below me, and I suddenly +came close upon the three, which had taken shelter from the gale behind +a large rock. Very frequently sheep will remain behind with a wounded +companion; especially is this so when it is a large ram. Now, +unfortunately, one of the smaller rams got between me and the big one, +and as I did not want to kill the little fellow the big ram was soon out +of range. But he was too badly wounded to go far over such grounds, and +I soon stalked up near, when I fired, breaking another leg, and then ran +up and finished him off. This ram carried a very pretty head 13-1/2 +inches around the butts and 36-1/4 inches along the curve, but +unfortunately the left horn was slightly broken at the tip. It was +undoubtedly an old sheep, as his teeth, worn to the gums, and the ten +rings around his horns indicated. + +When a ram's constitution has been undermined by the rutting season, the +horns cease to grow, nor do they begin again until the spring of the +year with its green vegetation brings nourishing food, and this is the +cause of the rings, which, therefore, indicate the number of winters old +a sheep is. This was my head man's theory, and is, I believe, a correct +one, for in the smaller heads which I have examined these rings +coincided with the age of the sheep as told by the teeth. Up to five +years, the age of a sheep can always be determined by the incisor teeth; +a yearling has but two permanent incisors, a two-year-old four, a +three-year-old six, and a four-year-old or over eight teeth, or a full +set. + +[Illustration: HEADS OF DALL'S SHEEP +(The horns above are of the Stone's sheep)] + +It was unpleasantly cold upon the mountains this day, and as no other +sheep could be seen, we returned to camp by five o'clock. This was the +easiest day's shooting that I had had. + +As we sat by the camp-fire that evening, four sheep were seen on the +hills above us, two of which I recognized as the small rams that had +been with the one I had just killed. We felt quite certain that these +were the bunch of five rams which we had seen when we were packing out +from our first hill camp. In fact, this was the only good band of rams +which I saw during the entire hunt. If these were the same sheep, the +two newcomers carried good heads, for, as previously stated, I had +studied this lot carefully through the glasses. + +The next day, the thirteenth and Friday, opened dismally enough, but by +the time we had finished breakfast the mountains Were clear of clouds +and there was no wind to mar one's shooting. Such conditions were to be +taken advantage of, and Hunter and I were soon working up the ridge well +to leeward of the place where we had seen the sheep the night +before. Reaching the crest we scanned the grounds on all sides, and also +the rugged mountain tops about us. + +The white coats of these sheep against the dark background of black +moss-covered rocks render them easily seen, but we now failed to sight +any even on the distant hills. Therefore we pushed ahead, going +stealthily up wind and keeping a careful watch on all sides. We crossed +over the ridge and worked our way just below the sky-line on the other +side of the mountain from our camp, never supposing that the sheep would +work back, for they had seen our camp-fire on the night before. We +traveled nearly to the end of the ridge, and were just about to cross +and work down to a sheltered place where we expected to find our game, +when Hunter chanced to look back, and instantly motioned me to drop out +of sight. + +While we had been working around one side of the summit the sheep had +been working back on the other side, and we had passed them with the +mountain ridge between. Fortunately they were all feeding with their +heads away or they must have seen us as we came out on the sky-line. My +man had the glasses and assured me that there were two excellent +heads. We now felt quite certain that these were the sheep we knew so +well. + +We cautiously dropped out of sight and worked back, keeping the mountain +ridge between us. We were well above and had a favorable wind and the +entire day before us. It was the first and only time upon these hills +that the conditions had all been favorable for a fair stalk and good +shooting. Hunter did his part well, and brought me up to within one +hundred and twenty-five yards of the rams, which were almost directly +below us. They had stopped feeding and were lying down. Only one of the +smaller sheep was visible, and my man advised me to take a shot at him, +and then take the two large ones as they showed themselves. Aiming low, +I fired, and then as one of the big rams jumped up I fired again, +killing him instantly. The smaller one that I had first shot at went to +the left, while the one remaining large ram and the second smaller one +went to the right. The latter were instantly hidden from view, for the +mountain side was very rough and broken and covered with large slide +rock. I raced in the same direction, knowing well that they would work +up hill. But hurrying over such ground is rather dangerous work. + +Soon the two sheep came into view, offering a pretty quartering shot at +a little under a hundred yards. The old ram fell to my first bullet, and +I allowed the smaller one to go and grow up, and I hope offer good sport +to some persevering sportsman five years hence. + +While Hunter climbed down and skinned out the heads I turned in pursuit +of the one which I had first fired at, for we both thought he had been +hit, having seen hair fly. I soon located him in the distance, but he +showed no signs of a bad wound, and as his head was small I was truly +glad that my shot had only grazed him. Both the rams which I killed +carried excellent heads with unbroken points, and we were safely back in +camp with the trophies shortly after two o'clock that afternoon--an easy +and a pleasant day. + +The larger ram measured 13-1/4 inches around the base of the horns, and +37-7/8 inches along the outer curves. These were the longest horns of +the _Ovis dalli_ that I killed. The other ram measured 13 inches +around the horns and 34-1/2 inches along the outer curve. + +[Illustration: MY BEST HEAD] + +While we were having tea that afternoon, we chanced to look up on the +hills, and there, near the crest of the ridge, was one of the small rams +from the bunch we had stalked that morning. He offered a very easy +chance had I wanted his head. It is worthy of note that these sheep +seem to have no fear of the smell of blood or dead comrades, and on +several occasions I have observed them near the carcass of some ram +which I had shot. + +The next day opened perceptibly cooler, and the angry clouds overhead +told us to beware of a coming storm. As I now had seven heads, five of +which were very handsome trophies, I concluded to take Hunter's advice +and leave the high hills. + +Our sheep shooting for the year was now practically over. Had the +weather been fine it would have been an ideal trip; but with the +exception of the third and thirteenth of September every day passed upon +the mountains was not only disagreeable, but with conditions so +unfavorable that it had been almost impossible to stalk our game +properly, for when I had been once wet to the skin the cold wind from +the glaciers soon chilled me to such a degree that I was unable to +remain quietly in one place and allow the game to get in a favorable +position for a stalk. I had been obliged to keep constantly going, and +this frequently meant shooting at long range. With the exception of the +rams shot on the eleventh and thirteenth of September, I had killed +nothing under three hundred yards. Therefore much of the sport in +making a careful and proper stalk had been lost. + +My success with the white sheep had come only with the hardest kind of +work, but I now had five really fine heads--which I later increased to +six, my limit. I was quite satisfied with the measurements of these +horns along the curve, but had hoped to have shot at least one which +would tape over 14 inches around the butts, although this would be +extreme, for the horns of the white sheep do not grow so large as the +common Rocky Mountain variety. They are also much lighter in color. I +believe that large and perfect heads will be most difficult to find a +few years hence in this section, and the sportsman who has ambitions in +this direction would do well not to delay his trip too long; for this +range of hills is not over large, and unless these sheep have some +protection, it is only a question of time before they will be almost +entirely killed off. + + + + +V. + + +HUNTING THE GIANT MOOSE + +On September 17 we packed up and moved down the lake several miles, +where we made another base of supplies, for we were now going upon the +moose range. + +The rutting season of the moose begins on the Kenai Peninsula about the +15th of September, and lasts, roughly speaking, for one month. At this +time the bulls come from the remote places where they have passed the +summer and seek the cows, and the country which they now roam is +generally the high tablelands which lie at the base of the mountains +just below the timber line. We had timed our hunt to be in the moose +range during this season, for then the bulls are bold, and not so +difficult to find. + +Bull moose differ from the rest of the deer family in not getting +together a big band of cows, but pair off. The female remains with the +bull only a short time, and then slips away, and then the bulls roam the +forest in search of other partners. They are now very fearless, and if +they come upon a female accompanied by another bull, fight gallantly to +get possession of her. Their sense of smell is rather dulled at this +time, for I have often seen their tracks following the trail which my +native was constantly traveling. + +The calves are born in May or June, and are weaned during the rutting +season, for the bulls are very apt to drive them away from their +mothers. + +The antlers are hardly out of the velvet before the rutting season +begins. They are then a light yellowish color, but are later stained +dark brown by constant rubbing and scraping against bushes and tree +trunks. + +The moose of Alaska undoubtedly carry heads far grander than those found +in the East. In fact, the antlers of the Kenai Peninsula moose equal, if +they do not exceed in size, those from any other part of the world, and +it was my ambition to kill by still-hunting a good example of one of +these. + +Calling moose I have never looked upon as true sport, unless the hunter +does his own calling, and I am glad to see that many feel in the same +way about this mode of hunting. + +After we had made our base of supplies on the shore of the lake, we +shouldered our packs and climbed up through the forest for several +hours, until we came to the shore of a small lake, where we made +camp. The scrubby woods were very thick, and extended up the sides of +the mountains for some distance; then came a broad belt of thick alders, +and beyond that the high open tablelands, which rolled back to the base +of the sheep hills. In all directions deep game trails, traveled by the +moose for many years, wound through the forest. + +In the afternoon my man and I took our first hunt. Fresh tracks were +seen in the much-used runways, which were often worn two feet deep by +constant travel. Late in the afternoon I saw five sheep feeding on some +low hills at no great distance, and as there were no lambs among the +lot, we supposed that this was a band of rams, but we had not time to +reach them before dark. + +We were just about to return to camp when Hunter saw glistening in the +sun among the thick alders, just above the timber line, the massive +antlers of a moose. There was no time to be lost if we meant to come up +with him, and so my man and I raced the entire way through the woods, +and then up the steep ascent, but failed to reach him. + +When I started on this hunt I had a thorough understanding with Hunter +and my native that no one was to carry a rifle but myself, for I was +determined not to allow my natives to molest the game. Indians do not +like to wander through the forests without a gun, and my native had +lately borrowed a rifle from one of Blake's men, but I insisted upon his +leaving it at our base of supplies. + +That afternoon, as Hunter and I started from camp, we sent the native +back to the lake to bring us more provisions. He told us that he had no +sooner reached the shore than he had heard a splash in the water near +him, and looking up had seen a large moose swimming across to a neck of +land at no great distance. He described this moose as at times being +completely submerged by the weight of his antlers, and said that he had +apparently great difficulty in swimming. + +This temptation was too great for Lawroshka, and, as his rifle was at +hand, he pushed off in the boat, and coming up close to the moose, shot +him just as he was leaving the water. He offered to give me the head, +and seemed greatly surprised when I refused it, and told him I did not +wish to bring out any trophies which I had not shot myself. I was sorry +to learn that some men who have hunted in this region did not hesitate +to class among their trophies the heads which had been shot by their +men. + +I went to sleep that night with the expectation of a fair day and good +sport on the morrow, but woke next morning to find it raining +hard. Since reaching our hunting grounds on the 22d of August, we had +had only five pleasant days, and three of these were used up in marching +from one camp to another. It was now raining so hard that I determined +not to hunt, and turned in among my blankets with my pipe, but after a +time this failed to satisfy me, and by 11 o'clock Hunter and I decided +that even a thorough wetting was preferable to doing nothing. + +The five sheep which we had seen the evening before were still in view +from our camp. One bunch of three lay in a commanding position on an +open hillside, and were unapproachable, but the other two had left the +main mountain range and were feeding on one of the outlying foothills. +These offered an excellent chance, and Hunter and I started in their +direction. + +Nothing so thoroughly wets one as passing through thick underbrush which +is ladened with raindrops, and we were both soon drenched, but we were +now quite used to this discomfort, and had expected it. + +After coming out above timber, we reached the belt of alders through +which we were working upward, when one of the sheep appeared upon the +rugged sky-line some half mile above us. The glasses showed that he was +a young ram with a head not worth shooting, but as his mate followed, we +could see at a glance that his horns made the full turn, and were well +up to the standard that I had set. + +The smaller one soon wandered down the hill to our left, but the old +fellow was more wary, and kept to the rocky summit. We gradually worked +nearer and nearer as his head was turned, or as he slowly fed behind +some rocks. In this way we had almost reached a dip in the hillside +which would hide us from view until I could approach near enough for a +shot, when the ram suddenly appeared on the sky-line above. We both +crouched to the ground and kept perfectly still, while he stood in bold +relief against the clouds intently gazing in all directions. For almost +a half hour he never moved, except to slowly turn his head. It was +evident that he was restless, and missed his young companion which had +wandered away. Then he gradually moved off and sank behind a rock, and +as Hunter and I had seen his hindquarters disappear last, we knew he was +lying down, for a sheep goes down on his front knees first. This was +our chance, and we hastened to take advantage of it. In fact, Hunter had +crossed the last open and I was half way over, when the ram suddenly +appeared again on the crest of the hill, and by his side was his young +companion. Again I dropped to the ground, while the sheep gazed down at +me. I was almost tempted to take the shot, for the distance was now not +over 400 yards, and I had killed several sheep at this range. But hoping +that they had not made me out, I kept perfectly still. I could see +Hunter crouching behind a bush a short distance ahead, and soon he +beckoned. I now looked up only to find that the sheep had vanished. + +As I was wearing a dark green shooting suit, I do not think they quite +made me out, but their suspicions were aroused, and they headed for the +main range of mountains. In order to reach this they would be obliged to +cross nearly half a mile of open tableland. We hastened after them, and +soon saw the rams, as we had expected, heading for the other hills. We +yet hoped to stalk them when they had reached the level, for they had +not been greatly alarmed, and were going leisurely along, now and again +stopping to munch some of their favorite black moss from the rocks. On +reaching the last hill they seemed to change their minds, for after +gazing in all directions they lay down in an absolutely unapproachable +position. + +Hunter and I were caught on a bald hillside exposed to a biting north +wind, with no chance of a nearer approach without being seen. Finally, +as a last resort, we determined upon a drive. + +While I lay perfectly still, Hunter advanced boldly across the open in a +big circle, getting between the hill and the main range. When the rams' +attention was fixed on him, I cautiously worked back and around, taking +up a position which commanded the ridge over which the sheep had just +gone. When Hunter had got between them and the other mountains, he began +to approach. The rams now sprang to their feet, and evidently fully +realized their dangerous position. They came, as we had expected, to +the other end of the range from where I had taken my stand, but seemed +reluctant to go back further on the isolated foothills. + +It was too far for an accurate shot, and I waited, hoping for a better +chance. As Hunter now worked up over the summit, the sheep broke back +below him, and in another second would have had a clear field across the +flat to the main range. Running up as quickly as the nature of the +ground would permit, I lessened the distance some fifty yards, and, just +as they were about to disappear from view, I fired twice, carefully +aiming at the larger sheep, which I knew to be the big ram. + +There was a strong wind blowing, and accurate shooting at such a long +distance was out of the question, so I must regard it as an +exceptionally lucky shot which broke his leg. + +Hunter now signaled me to continue around the hill, and I soon came upon +the old fellow lying down. I seated myself well within range, intending +to catch my breath before shooting, when he suddenly sprang to his feet +and bounded down the hill. I fired and missed, and started in pursuit. +Although a sheep with a broken leg finds it hard to go up hill over +rough ground, it is surprising how fast they can go down hill or across +the open. + +When this ram came to the base of the mountain he started in a straight +line across the tableland, and led me a long chase before I ran him down +and shot him. He carried quite a pretty head, measuring 13-1/2 inches +around the butts and 32 inches along the curve. + +I had now reached the limit I had set on sheep, and although I saw some +later, I did not go after them. + +It stormed hard all that night, and we woke the next morning to another +wet and dismal day. I, therefore, determined to remain in camp, and was +mending my much-worn knickerbockers by the fire when a moose was sighted +on the mountain above timber, making for the thick belt of alders. He +was soon hidden from view, and as we could not see that he passed +through any of the open patches lower down, we hoped that he had chosen +this secure retreat to lay up in. + +The rain was coming down in torrents, but the bull carried a large and +massive pair of antlers, and as I did not want to allow a chance to go +by, Hunter and I were soon in pursuit. We circled well around in order +to get the wind, and then forced our way through the heavy underbrush +for some hours until we finally came to the belt of alders where we had +last seen him. I now climbed a tree at the edge of the timber, hoping +that from a lofty position I should be able to locate him, but met with +no success. + +It was now my intention to take a stand upon the hillside above timber, +hoping that the moose would show himself toward evening, but in our wet +clothes we were soon too chilled to remain inactive. As a last resort, +Hunter forced his way back into the alders, while I kept in the open +above. After going some distance my man turned to the right for the +purpose of driving him out in my direction, but our hard and +disagreeable hunt was to no purpose, and we returned to camp just before +dark, having passed a wetter and more uncomfortable day than any yet. + +Both Hunter and I thought this was the same bull which we had twice seen +before, as he carried rather an unusual head, and had come from the same +direction and to the same place. + +The next day it rained even harder, and the clouds were so low that we +could not see the mountain side, and therefore had no temptation to +leave camp. My patience was by this time nearly exhausted, for the +continual rain was very depressing, and detracted much from the pleasure +of being in such a grand game country. + +About noon I was sitting before the fire when Lawroshka went to the +lake, only some ten steps away, for a pail of water. Here he saw a bull +moose standing on the other side. He beckoned to me, and I seized my +rifle and cautiously approached the native. The moose offered an easy +shot at 250 yards, and my first bullet rolled him over. His head was +disappointing, but it is often difficult to tell the size of a moose's +antlers when they are half hidden in the trees. + +We woke next morning to the usual dismal surroundings, and remained in +camp all that day. Late that afternoon the fog lifted and we saw the +same large moose in his accustomed place among the alders, but it was +too late in the day to try for him. + +That night the wind veered to the west, and just as I was about to turn +in, the rain stopped and a few stars shone faintly in the heavens. The +weather had been so constantly bad that even these signs failed to cheer +me, and I had decided that we would break camp the next day no matter +what the conditions might be. But the morning (September 22) opened +bright and clear, with the first good frost in two weeks. We were most +anxious for a cold snap, for the leaves were still thick upon the trees, +which made it next to impossible to sec game in the woods at any +distance. + +After breakfast we shouldered our packs and were soon on the march, +expecting to reach our permanent quarters in the moose range before +noon, and have the afternoon to hunt. Bright days had been so rare with +us that we meant to make the most of this one. + +The heavy rains had flooded the woods, and the deep worn game trails +that we followed were half full of water, while the open meadows and +tundra that we occasionally crossed were but little better than +miniature lakes. We had made about half of our march and my pack had +just begun to grow doubly heavy from constant floundering around in the +mire, when we came out into a long and narrow meadow. There were a few +dwarf spruce at our end, but the rest of the small opening was free of +underbrush. + +Hunter was leading and I was close behind with Stereke at heel, while +the native was a few steps further back. I had noticed my dog a short +time before sniffing the air, and was therefore keeping a constant watch +on all sides, hoping that we might come upon game, but little expecting +it, when suddenly I caught sight of a large bull moose standing in the +middle of the opening. He was about 300 yards away, and almost directly +down wind. I do not see how he could have failed to get our scent, and +he must have been indifferent to us rather than alarmed. + +My first thought was of Stereke. I knew that he would break at the sight +of game, and realized for the hundredth time my mistake in bringing a +bear dog into the moose range. Quickly giving him to the native to hold, +I dropped my pack and was instantly working my way toward the moose. I +had got to within rather less than 200 yards when I saw the moose turn +his head and look in my direction. A nearer approach was impossible, so +I gave him at once two shots, and at the second he fell. + +My dog, having bitten himself free from the native, made for the moose, +and savagely attacked his haunches. Seeing that the bull was trying to +regain his feet, I gave him another shot, and running up drove off the +dog. + +Now, for the first time, I had a good chance to see my trophy. I knew +that it was a good head, but hardly expected such large and massive +antlers. They were malformed and turned in, or the spread would have +been considerably larger, but even then they went over sixty inches, +with forty-four well defined points. I am quite sure that this was the +same bull that we had seen so often among the alders, and which I had +twice before unsuccessfully stalked. + +Our march was delayed until we skinned out the head, cleaned the scalp, +and hung the meat in some near-by trees for future use. It was therefore +late that afternoon when we reached our new camp. We now settled +ourselves comfortably, for we meant to stay in these quarters for the +remainder of the hunt. + +The next week my friend Blake joined me, and we scoured the country +around this camp most diligently, but with no further success. Daily we +came upon cows and small bulls, but it seemed as if all the large males +had left the neighborhood. Stamp holes and unmistakable signs of the +rutting season were found everywhere, but with the most careful hunting +I was unable to get another shot. + +There were a few bull moose in the dense woods, but not a sufficient +number to warrant the hope of my getting another head such as I had +already shot. At this time of the year moose are such restless animals, +and are so constantly on the move that it is not difficult to +distinguish their presence. + +I had now hunted this entire range most thoroughly, and was reluctantly +forced to the conclusion that there were not sufficient signs to warrant +my remaining another month. I talked the matter over with my friend, and +told him that if he cared to wait until the next monthly steamer we +could combine our forces and start into a new country which we knew was +good; but Blake did not want to delay his departure so long, and as he +now decided to return to the coast, I made up my mind to go out with +him, take the steamer to Seattle, and thence go to British Columbia, +where I would finish my long hunt by a trip after Rocky Mountain sheep. + +Shortly after this we broke camp and started back to Cook Inlet, which +we reached October 2. A few days later the steamer arrived, and that +same night I was on my way from Alaska. + +Unfortunately, my hunting for the year was over, for on my arrival at +Seattle I found that I had been too much pulled down by the hard work +upon the hills to make it wise for me to go into British Columbia.[7] + +[Transcriber's Note: Footnote numbered in the text, but no associated +text.] + +_Jas. H. Kidder_. + + + + +The Kadiak Bear and his Home + + +In 1901 the opportunity came to me to make a trip to the island which +the Kadiak bear inhabits, and to become slightly acquainted with this +largest of all carnivora. My companion was A. W. Merriam, of Milton, +Mass. + +We were under great obligations to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of the +Biological Survey, Washington, who, before we left home, gave us +valuable information about the large game of Alaska. He told us of +investigations which might prove of scientific value, and helped us to +place our trip on a much broader base than a mere shooting expedition. +One of the pleasantest features of such a trip was to see how freely +information came in from all sides from those who could help in rounding +out our work. + +In order to find the Alaskan bears in their best pelage one must be on +the ground in April, and this made it necessary for us to sail from +Seattle April 1, on the Pacific Steam Whaling Company's boat, +Excelsior. Seattle proved a very good outfitting place, and before +sailing we had safely stowed away below, in waterproof canvas bags, the +provisions necessary to last us three months, in the most condensed and +evaporated form. + +Most of our fellow passengers were miners. One of them interested me +particularly. He was a Finn, one of the pioneer white hunters in the +Aleutian country, and his drawn face and stooping shoulders told the +tale of trails too long and packs too heavy. I passed much time with +him, and learned a good deal about the habits of the big, brown, barren +bear, and his methods of fighting when hard pressed. + +Our first Alaskan port was Hunter's Bay, Prince of Wales Island, +interesting because here is Clincon, one of the old settlements of the +Haida Indians, famed for their wonderful totem poles, which tell in +striking symbolic language the family histories of the tribe. There were +many good faces among these people, and we asked ourselves and others +the puzzling question, are they Aztecs, New Zealanders, or Japanese in +origin? Among these people families with the same totem pole may not +intermarry. An old man, the special wood carver of the tribe, does +wonderful work. + +An offshoot of the tribe inhabits Annette Island, under the kindly +governorship of an old priest named Duncan. At first he founded his +colony on the mainland, in British territory, but was there so hampered +by religious rules that, with almost all his followers, he moved to +Annette, where he is still beloved by the natives, to whom he has taught +right living and many valuable arts of civilization. + +We kept the inland route until Icy Straits took us away from Glacier +Bay, and out into the open ocean. Early the next morning Yakutat came +into view, and our boat was quickly surrounded by canoes filled with +Indians, their wives, and woven baskets. These natives, supposed to +belong to the Tlinkits, were distinctly less advanced than the Haida +Indians. + +In Yakutat we thought we were lucky in buying three Siwash bear dogs, +but were not long in discovering our mistake. One of the dogs was so +fierce we had to shoot him. Another was wild and ran away at the first +opportunity, and the "last of the Siwash," though found wanting in every +hunting instinct, had a kindly disposition and staid with us. We could +not bring ourselves to the shooting point. Finally we found a Creole, +who kept a store in a remote village on Kadiak Island, willing to take +him off our hands. + +The sight of the massive snow face of Mt. St. Elias, rising 18,002 feet +above the immense stretches of the Malaspina glacier, called to mind the +successful Abruzzi expedition, which reached the top of this mountain a +few years ago. Looking at the rough sides of the grand old mountain, +more impressive than any snow peak in Europe, one unconsciously plans an +attack, as the climbing instinct is aroused. + +Abruzzi has taken Mt. St. Elias out of the field of the mountain climber +looking for new peaks, but a glance at the map shows us Mt. Logan, +19,000 feet, backing up Mt. St. Elias from the north, and Mt. McKinley, +20,000 feet, the highest known peak we have, placed nearer the center of +the big peninsula. These should now claim the attention of some good +mountaineer, with time and money at his command. They demand both. + +We did not fail to inquire at Yakutat about that rare animal, the blue +or St. Elias bear, and were told that two or three skins were secured +every year. I was later much disappointed in being unable to return to +this coast early enough in the year to look up this bear, which has +never been killed by a white man, and as its skull has never been +brought in by the Indians, it remains practically unknown. + +The island of Kayak, the next calling place for boats, played a very +important part in the early history of Alaska. This is the first land +that Bering sighted, and where he landed after the memorable voyage of +his two boats, the St. Peter and St. Paul, from Kamtschatka. + +The early Russian adventurers of this part of the world have, it seems, +been lost sight of, and have not had justice done them. The names of the +Dane Bering, the Russians Shelikoff and Baranoff, should mean to us +something more than the name of a sea, strait or island. A man who +fitted out his expedition in Moscow, carried much of the building +material for his two boats across Siberia to the rough shores of +Kamtschatka, and sailed boldly eastward, deserves our warmest +admiration. Bering never reached home. He died on the return voyage, +and was buried on the small island of the Commander group which bears +his name. The story of the expedition is one of extreme hardship and of +splendid Russian courage. + +At Orca we were transferred to the Newport, with Captain Moore in +command, and, as on the Excelsior, everything was done for our comfort. +We looked with envious eyes on Montague Island as we passed it in Prince +William Sound, for we were told that the natives avoid fishing and +shooting here, claiming that the big Montague brown bear are larger and +fiercer than any others. + +Our boat made a brief call at Homer, in Cook Inlet, one of the starting +points for the famous Kenai shooting grounds. This inlet was named for +the renowned voyager, who hoped that it would furnish a water passage +for him to Hudson's Bay. + +The trees stop at Cook Inlet, there being only a few on the western +shore. To the south the wooded line intersects the Kadiak group of +islands, and we find the northeastern part of Kadiak, as well as the +whole of Wood and Afognak, except the central portion of the last, well +covered with spruce. + +The absence of forests makes it often possible to see for miles over the +country, and explains why the Barren Grounds of Alaska offer such +wonderful opportunities for bear hunting. There are bears all along the +southern coast of the peninsula, but in the timber there, as elsewhere, +the bears have all the best of it. + +On leaving Cook Inlet, we kept a southerly course through the gloomy +Barren Islands which mark the eastern boundary of the much-dreaded +Shelikoff Straits, and early one morning passed Afognak, and made Wood +Island landing, where we were most hospitably received by the North +American Fur Company's people. Wood Island, about 1-1/2 miles from Kadiak, +is small and well covered with spruce. It has some two hundred people, +for the most part natives, and under Russian rule was used for a huge +ice-storing plant. Kadiak Island, 100 miles by 30, is thickly studded +with mountains, and extremely picturesque, with the white covering of +early spring, as we found it, or when green with heavy grass dotted with +wild flowers in July. + +[Illustration: ST. PAUL, KADIAK ISLAND.] + +The Kadiak group looks as if it might have fallen out of Cook Inlet, and +one of the native legends tells us that once the Kadiak Islands were so +near the Alaskan shore that a mammoth sea otter, while trying to swim +through the narrow straits, got wedged between the rocks, and his +tremendous struggles to free himself pushed the islands out into their +present position. The sea otter and bear have always been most +intimately connected with the lives of the Kadiakers, and have exercised +a more important influence on their characters than any of their +surroundings except the sea. It is no wonder, then, that the natives +endowed these animals with a strength and size which easily takes them +into the realm of mythology. The sea otter being nearly extinct, the +bear is now made to shoulder all the large stories, and, strong as he +is, this is no light burden. + +The Kadiak coast line is roughly broken by deep bays, running inland +from a half mile to fifteen or twenty miles. Some are broad, others +narrow, but all are walled in by serrated, mountainous sides, much +resembling the fjords of Norway. The highest peaks are about 4,000 +feet. + +The portions of Kadiak Island uncovered by spruce and the barren lands +of the mainland, are not absolutely devoid of trees or bushes. Often +there is a considerable growth of cottonwood trees along the bottom +lands of the streams, and large patches of alder bushes are common, so +that when the leaves are well out, one's view of the bottoms and lower +hillsides is much obscured. The snowfall must be heavy on the upper +reaches of the mountains, as there are great white patches to be seen +well into the summer time. The climate is not what one would expect, +unless he should look at the map, and note the warm Kuro Siwo (Japan +current) sweeping along the southern Alaskan coast. Zero weather is +uncommon, and except for the great rainfall the island is a very +comfortable place of existence; existence, because that is the limit +reached by most of the people. The few connected with the mission and +the two fur companies are necessarily busy people, the latter especially +so on steamer days, but a deep, unbroken peacefulness permeates the +island and its people; it is a place so apart that outside happenings +awaken but little interest, and time is not weighed in the balance. Some +of the rare old Kadiak repose seems to have come down to the present +people from the time when Lisiansky first visited the island and found +the natives sitting on their mud houses, or on the shore, gazing into +space, with apparent satisfaction. + +[Illustration: SUNSET IN ENGLISH BAY, KADIAK.] + +On the other hand, if there is any sailing, fishing or shooting to be +done, you will find the Kadiakers keen enough, and in trying situations +they will command your respect, and will quite reverse your impression +of them, gathered in the village life. The Eskimo inhabitants of the old +times are gone, and the population is now made up of Russians, Creoles +(part Russian and part Aleut), and a handful of Americans. + +The natives are good-natured but not prepossessing in looks or +cleanly. They live in dwellings kept very hot, and both men and women +injure themselves by immoderate indulgence in the banya, a small Turkish +bath, often attached to the barabaras, or native huts. It is made like a +small barabara, except there is no smoke hole, has a similar frame, is +thatched with straw, and can be made air-tight. The necessary steam is +furnished by pouring water on stones previously heated very hot. + +The women are frail and many die of consumption. When once sick, they +appear to have no physical or mental resistance. They must be +attractive, however, as there is a considerable population of white men +here who have taken native wives. From a condition of comparative +wealth, eight or ten years ago, when fur was plenty and money came +easily, and was as promptly spent on all sorts of unnecessary luxuries, +these people are now rapidly coming down to salmon, codfish and +potatoes. When a native wants anything, he will sell whatever he owns +for it, even to his rifle or wife. They almost all belong to the Greek +Church, the Russians, when we bought Alaska, having reserved the right +to keep their priests in the country. + +The baidarka, the most valuable possession of the native in a country so +cut up by waterways that little traveling is done by land, deserves a +word. These are trusted in the roughest water more than any other +craft, except the largest. A trip from Kadiak to Seattle in a baidarka +is in fact on record. With a light framework of wood, covered, bottom +and deck, excepting the hatches, with the skin of the hair seal, it is +lighter than any other canoe, pliable, but very staunch, and works its +way over the waves more like a snake than a boat. The lines are such +that friction is done away with, and driven through the water by good +men, it is the most graceful craft afloat. It has a curious split prow, +so made for ease in lifting with one hand, and may have one, two, or +three hatches, according to its size. The paddles used are curiously +narrow and pointed. + +What still remains unexplained is the native one-sided method of +paddling; that is to say, in a two-hatch baidarka, both natives make six +or seven short strokes on one side together, and then change to the +other side. An absolutely straight course is thus impossible, but the +Aleut is a creature of habit, and smiles at all new suggestions. + +In the canoe is plenty of room for provisions and live stock. I speak of +the latter because a native will often carry his wife, children, and dog +inside a one-hatch baidarka while he paddles. + +Water is kept out of the hatches by the kamlaykas which the natives +wear. This is a long jacket made of bears' intestines, very light and +water tight, and when the neck and sleeve bands are made fast, and the +skirts secured about the hatch with a thong, man and canoe alike are dry +as a chip. + +In the early days, Shelikoff's severe rule in Kadiak actively encouraged +the hunting instinct, and the first Russian fur post was established at +St. Paul, named after one of Bering's boats, the present town of Kadiak, +by far the largest village of the island, and situated on the eastern +coast, opposite Wood Island. It is said that the Russians, after a few +very prosperous years of indiscriminate slaughter, recognized the great +importance of carrying on the fur industry in a systematic manner, in +order to prevent entire extinction of the game, and divided the lands +and waters into large districts. They made laws, with severe penalties +attached, and enforced them. Certain districts were hunted and trapped +over in certain years. Fur animals were killed only when in good +pelage, and the young were spared. In this way hunted sections always +had considerable intervals in which to recover from attacks. + +A solitary sea otter skin hanging up in the fur company's store, at the +end of the season, told us plainer than words that these animals, +formerly so plentiful east of Kadiak Island, and along the coast of +Cook's Inlet, were almost extinct. Two of our hunters were famous shots, +and they liked to talk of the good old days, when sea otter and bear +were plenty. One of them, Ivan, it is claimed, made $3,000 in one +day. The amount paid a native is $200 or more for each sea otter pelt. +They are much larger than a land otter, a good skin measuring six feet +in length and three feet in width when split and stretched. + +When fishing is allowed from schooners, the natives leave Kadiak for the +grounds early in May. Each schooner carries thirty or forty baidarkas +and twice as many men. Otters are often found at some distance from +shore, and can be seen only when the water is quiet. The natives prefer +the bow and arrow to the .40-65 Winchesters the company have given them, +even claiming that otter are scarce because they have been driven from +their old grounds by the noise of firearms. The bows, four feet long, +are very stout, and strongly reinforced with cords of sinew along the +back. The arrows, a little under a yard in length, are tipped with a +well-polished piece of whalebone. A sharp and barbed piece of whale's +tooth fits into a hole bored in the end of the bone, and a cord of +considerable length is tied to the detachable arrow head, the other end +of the cord being wound around and fastened to the middle of the shaft. + +The advantages of this arrow are obvious. When the game is struck, its +struggles disengage the arrow head, and the shaft being dragged by the +cord attached to its middle, soon tires the otter out. The seal spears, +used for the finishing coup, are made in the same way, and in addition +have attached to the long shaft a bladder, which continually draws the +animal to the surface. So expert are the natives, that, after shooting +several arrows, they gather them all up together in one hand as they +sweep by in a baidarka. The arrow is not sent straight to the mark, but +describes a considerable curve. Good bows are valued very highly, and on +an otter expedition will not be swapped even for a rifle. + +On a favorable morning the baidarkas leave the schooners, and, holding +their direction so as to describe a large fan, can view a good piece of +water. A paddle held high in air shows that game has been sighted, and a +large circle, perhaps a mile in circumference, is at once formed around +the otter, each baidarka trying to get in the first successful shot. To +the man who first hits home belongs the skin, but as an otter can stay +under water twenty minutes, and when rising for air exposes only his +nose, a long and exciting chase follows. + +Some natives patrol the small island shores, and during the winter make +a good harvest picking up dead otters which have washed ashore. This +happens in winter, because it is during severest weather that the otter +freezes his nose, which means death. The pelts from these frozen +animals, however, bring only a small price. + +In earlier days nets were spread beneath the water around rocks shown by +the hair rubbings to be resting places of otter. The method was often +successful, as the poor beast swam over the trap in gaining his rock, +but when leaving dove well below the surface, and was caught. This +barbarous custom, together with the netting of ducks in narrow +passageways, has, fortunately, long been a thing of the past. + +In Kadiak Village, we met a Captain Nelson, the first man down from the +north that spring, who had sledded from Nome to Katmai on Shelikoff +Straits in two months. At Katmai he was held up several days, his men +refusing to cross the straits until the local weather prophet, or +astronom, as he is called, gave his consent. Seven hours of hard +paddling carried them over the twenty-seven miles, the most treacherous +of Alaskan narrows. + +These astronoms are relics of an interesting type, who formerly held +firm sway over the natives. They are supposed to know much about the +weather from reading the sunrises, sunsets, stars, moon and tides, and +often sit on a hilltop for hours studying the weather conditions. They +are still absolutely relied upon to decide when sea otter parties may +start on a trip, and are looked up to and trusted as chiefs by the +people of the villages in which they live. + +At Wood Island we heard of Messrs. Kidder and Blake, two other sportsmen +from Boston, who had already left for their hunting grounds in Kaluda +Bay. + +The spring was backward, and the bears still in their dens, but Merriam +and I decided to take the North American Company's schooner Maksoutoff +on its spring voyage around the island, when it carries supplies and +collects furs from the natives. We were to sail as far as Kaguiac, a +small village on the south shore, and were here promised a 30-foot sloop +by the company. We added to our equipment two native baidarkas for +hunting and a bear dog belonging to an old Russian hunter, Walter +Matroken. Tchort (Russian for Devil) looked like a cross between a water +spaniel and a Newfoundland, and though old and poorly supplied with +teeth, many of which he had lost during his acquaintance with bears, he +proved a good companion, game in emergencies, and a splendid retriever. + +Our rifle and camera batteries were as follows: + +Merriam had a.45-70 and a.50-110 Winchester, both shooting half-jacketed +bullets. My rifles were a.30-40 Winchester, a double .577, and a +double .40-93-400, kindly lent me by Mr. S.D. Warren, of Boston, and on +which I relied. Besides the pocket cameras and a small Goerz, I carried +one camera with double lenses of 17-1/2-inch focus, and one with single +lense of 30-inch focus. The last two were, of course, intended for +animals at long range. + +Hoping to prove something in regard to the weight of the Kadiak bear, I +brought a pair of Fairbanks spring scales, weighing up to 300 pounds, +and some water-tight canvas bags for weighing blood and the viscera. + +We selected two good men as hunters for the trip, Vacille and Klampe. + +On the second day out from Wood Island a storm came on, and though the +Maksoutoff was staunch, we could not hold for our port, owing to the +exposed coast, where squalls come sweeping without warning from the +mountain tops, driving the snow down like smoke, the so-called +"wollies." It was wild and wintry enough when we turned into the +sheltered protection of Steragowan Harbor. + +A few mallards and a goose were here added to the ship's store next +morning from the flats, and the weather clearing, we made Kaguiac, and +found our sloop in good condition. In addition we took along an otter +boat, a large rowboat, from here, as our baidarkas proved rather +unseaworthy. Besides Mr. Heitman, the fur company's man, there was one +other white settler in Kaguiac named Walch, who came to Kadiak +twenty-seven years ago at the time of the first American military +occupation, and though he had served in many an exciting battle in the +Civil War, the Kadiak calm appealed to him. He married, settled down +among the natives contentedly, and has never moved since. This, +curiously, is the case of many men who come to the North, after leading +wandering and adventurous lives. + +Unfavorable winds at Kaguiac delayed our sailing, so we passed the time +in excursions after ptarmigans and mallards. We also secured here +another native, a strong, willing worker, who knew the coast. + +The weather cleared suddenly, the wind shifting from northeast to +northwest, and enabled us to make a run to our first good hunting ground +in Windy Bay, a large piece of water five miles long by three wide, and +surrounded by rock mountains covered with snow, the only bare ground to +be seen at this time being on the low foothills, and in the sunny +ravines. We made ourselves at home at the only good anchorage in a small +cove with high crags on two sides and a ravine running off toward the +east. + +The following morning--April 28--opened bright and calm, and we were +soon viewing the snow slopes with our glasses. Ivan, the new man, was +the first to call our attention to a streak on a distant mountain side, +and although perhaps 2-1/2 miles away, we could make out, even with the +naked eye, a deep furrow in the snow running down diagonally into the +valley below, undoubtedly a bear road. I took a five-cent piece from my +pocket, tossed for choice of shot, and lost to Merriam. + +Once on land, we found the going very bad, and often wallowed in the +snow mid-thigh deep. Then was the time for snowshoes, which we had been +told were unnecessary. Floundering along in this soft snow began to tell +a little on the keenness of the party, when Vacille and Ivan, who were +off on one side, suddenly waved, and hunting on to them we were shown +the bear far up the valley in some bushes. As he lay on his side in the +snow he looked much like a cord of wood, and very large. The wind came +quartering down the valley, and made a stalk difficult, so it was +thought best to wait, as the bear would probably come down nearer the +water in the evening. We watched nearly four hours, and during that time +the bear made perhaps 150 yards in all, crawling, rolling over, lapping +his paws, occasionally trying a somersault, and finally landing in a +patch of alders. + +As night was upon us, we decided to chance the situation, and approached +along a ridge on one side of the valley until almost above the bear. At +this point Tchort, the dog, caught the scent, broke away, and raced down +over the bluff out of sight. Almost immediately the bear appeared in +the open 200 yards away, legging as fast as he could in the snow, and +headed for the hillside. Merriam made a good shot behind the shoulder +with his fifty. The bear fell, caught his feet again, and was in and +over a small brook, leaving a bloody road behind him, which Tchort was +quick in following. The dog was soon nipping the bear's heels, and +giving him a good deal of trouble. Up the side of the hill they raced, +Merriam firing when the dog gave him opportunity. The bear, angry and +worried, suddenly whipped around and made for the dog, which in the soft +snow at such close quarters could not escape. But Tchort, a born +fighter, accepted the only chance and closed in. He disappeared +completely between the forelegs of the bear, and we felt that all was +over. To our great wonder in a few seconds he crawled out from beneath +the hindquarters of his enemy, and engaged him again. One more shot and +the bear lay quiet. The skin was a beauty--dark brown, with a little +silvering of gray over the shoulders, without any rubbed spots, such as +are common on bears only just out of their dens. Some brush was thrown +over the bear, and we rowed back to the sloop, well content. The next +day, which was foggy and rainy, was spent in getting off the skin, +measuring and weighing the animal piecemeal, and carrying all back to +the sloop. + +Contrary to expectation, the bear was found to be still covered with a +thin layer of fat, even after his long hibernation. Before weighing, our +men, who had killed some thirty bear among them, said that this one was +two-thirds as large as any they had seen. + +The measurements and weights were as follows: Height at shoulder, about +4 ft. Length in straight line from nose to root of tail, 6 ft. 8 in. +Total weight, 625 lbs. Weight of middle piece, 260 lbs. Weight of skull +(skin removed), 20 lbs. Weight of skin, 80 lbs. The right forearm +weighed 50 lbs., and the left 55. This supports the theory that a bear +is left-handed. Right hind-quarter, 60 lbs.; left hindquarter, 60 +pounds. The stomach was filled with short alder sticks, not much chewed, +and one small bird feather. Organic acids were present in the stomach, +but no free hydrochloric for digestion of flesh. + +It was a great satisfaction to see that none of the bear was wasted, +which fact brings up one very good trait of the Creole hunters. They +dislike to go after bear into a district situated far from the coast, +because in so rough a country it is almost impossible to get all the +meat out. They sell the skin, eat the meat, and make the intestines into +kamlaykas for baidarka work. + +April 30 a strong wind kept us from trying the head of the bay, and a +short trip was made up into a low lying valley, near the sloop, but +without results. + +Our men had already proved themselves good. Vacille was the best +waterman and a good cook; Klampe the best hunter, and Ivan a glutton for +all sorts of work. + +The underlying principle on which the Aleut hunter works was brought out +on our short bear hunt. After sighting the game, he waits until he is +sure of his wind, then takes a stand where the bear will pass close by, +and shows himself a monument of patience. Almost all the viewing is done +from the water, a small hill near the shore being occasionally used for +a lookout. They get up at daylight, and two men in a baidarka patrol +both sides of a big bay, watching carefully for bear tracks on the +mountain sides, as this is the surest indication of their presence. As +soon as the bears come from their dens they always make a climbing tour, +the natives claiming that this exercise is taken to strengthen +them. Personally I believe the Kadiak bear has very good reasons for +keeping on the move continually outside of his hibernating season. + +If the natives find no sign on their morning tour, they rest all day, +perhaps taking a Turkish bath in a banya, which is not infrequently +attached to the hunting barabara. Another trip of inspection is made +again in the afternoon at four or five o'clock, as the bear usually lies +up between nine and three. A bay is watched for several days in this +way, and if nothing is seen the natives return to their village, or hunt +the hair seal, which are still to be found in fair numbers, especially +on Afognak Island. + +When you are with these men you must either conduct the shooting trip on +your own lines or give yourself entirely into the native's hands, and do +as he thinks best. You must leave him alone, and not bother him with +many questions, and in any case you usually get _Nish naiou_ ("I +don't know") for answer. The native gives this reply without thinking; +it is so much easier. The most you can do is to cheer him on when luck +is bad, as he is easily discouraged and becomes homesick. + +During the bad weather that followed we had plenty of opportunity to use +our ingenuity in extracting information from our men on the subject of +bear. + +It seems that the Kadiak bear hibernates, as a rule, from December to +April, depending on the season somewhat, and the young are supposed to +be born in March in the dens. Although the skins are good in the late +fall, they are finest when the bear first comes out in early spring, as +it is then that the hide is thinnest and the hair longest. On the other +hand, in summer, when the hair is very thin, the hide becomes extremely +thick and heavy; this condition changing again as fall comes on. The +total amount of epidermis, in other words, does not vary so much as one +would suppose, and whether the hide or the hair is responsible for most +of the weight depends on the time of year. + +When the animal leaves his den he finds food scarce, and has to go on +the principle that a full stomach is better than an empty one, even if +the filling is made of alder twigs. It is not long, however, before +green grass begins to sprout along the small streams, low down, and +grass and the roots of the salmon berry bushes carry the bear along +until the fish run. + +The running of the salmon varies, and the bears make frequent +prospecting trips down the streams in order to be sure to be on hand for +the first run, which usually occurs during the latter part of +May. During the salmon season the bears have opportunity to fill +themselves full every night, and put on a tremendous weight of fat in +the late fall, when they become saucy and lazy, and more inclined to +show fight. Berries--especially the salmon berry--help out the fish diet +in summer time. As soon as salmon becomes their food the pelts +deteriorate, but unless living near a red salmon stream, with shallow +reaches, the bears do not get much fish diet until the second run early +in July, so that fair skins are sometimes obtained even up to June 15, +although by this time the hair is usually much faded in color. + +The bear makes a zigzag course down the salmon stream from one shallow +rapid to another, standing immovable while fishing, and throwing out his +catch with the left paw. The numerous fishing beds give a false idea of +the number of bear present in a district, as it takes but a few days for +a single bear to cover the sides of a stream for a long distance with +such places. One finds fish skeletons scattered all along a salmon +stream, and it is generally easy to tell whether a bear or eagle has +made the kill. An eagle usually carries the whole fish away with him, +leaving only scales behind. A bear, on the other hand, eats his fish +where he catches him, preferring the belly and back, and usually +discarding the skeleton, and always the under jaw. + +The Finn hunter whom I met on my way north, said he had seen an old cow +bear when fishing with her cubs, rush salmon in toward the shore and +scoop them out for the young. Generally they watch on a low bank, or in +the shallow water, while fishing. + +During the rutting season, supposed to be in June, the female travels +ahead, the male bringing up the rear to furnish protection from that +quarter. Then if one kills the female the male gives trouble, often +charging on sight. + +The Finn thought that, as a rule, the cow bear comes on at a gallop and +a bull rises on his hind legs when getting in close. When wounded the +bear usually strikes the injured spot, or if it is a cow and cubs, the +old one cuffs her young soundly, thinking them the cause of pain. The +nose is the main source of protection, as, like all bears, these are +followed to their very dens in the fall by the keenest of hunters, and +their only restful sleep is the long winter one. Fortunately some +excellent game laws for Alaska have been passed, and by making a close +season for several years, followed by severe restrictions, we may yet +hope that the perpetual preservation of this grand brown bear will be +assured on the Kadiak group, which, from its situation, fitly offers +him, when well guarded, his best chance of making a successful stand +against his enemies. + +[Illustration: SITKALIDAK ISLAND FROM KADIAK.] + +The fact that the natives make a profit from the bear skins, and that +his flesh furnishes them with food is not to be considered, as at the +present rate of extermination there will soon be no bear left for +discussion. + +The natives certainly could and should be helped out in their living, as +competition in the fur trade of late has so exterminated fur-bearing +animals that hunting and trapping bring them in little, and their diet +is indeed low. One of my hunters during last fall only secured one bear, +one silver gray fox, and two land otter. + +A good way to help out the food question, and compensate the native for +his loss of bear meat, would be to transport a goodly number of Sitka +deer to the three islands, and allow them to multiply. There has been a +Sitka deer on Wood Island for several years, and he has lived through +the winters without harm, as his footprints scattered over the island +testify. Afognak and Wood Island are especially suitable for such a +purpose, being well wooded and furnishing plenty of winter food for deer +in willows, alders and black birch. The clement winters make the plan +feasible, and it ought not to be an expensive experiment. + +[Illustration: A KADIAK EAGLE.] + +We had a very bad time of it on the night of April 30, which showed me +what I had long felt, that the dangers of Kadiak were not centered in +the bear, but in the tremendous wind blows and tide rips in its +fjords. A strong wind came on from the east, and fairly howled through +the ravine opposite our anchorage, catching our little sloop with full +force. We could not change our position, as we occupied the only +anchorage. Vacille, who had turned in, felt the anchor dragging, and we +found ourselves being blown out into the large bay, where we could not +have lived for any time in the big seas, and, should we continue to +drag, our only chance was to try to beach her on a sand shore some half +mile away. + +When the boat was not dragging she was wallowing in cross seas, and +being hammered by the otter boat, which was difficult to manage. The +anchors held firmly, much to our relief, and after a disagreeable night +of watching we beat back to our mooring at the head of the little +cove. The mountains being covered with fresh snow in the morning, there +was nothing to do but eat and sleep. + +The bear meat improved with age, and hours of boiling rid it of its +bitter flavor. The whole cabin--and its occupants--smelled of bear's +grease. The thermometer registered 30. + +On May 2, as the wind was unsuitable for bear hunting, we made a +photographing trip to a cliff across the bay, where two bald-headed +eagles had built their nest. Merriam and I had a very interesting stalk +with a camera. We landed near the cliff, and the eagles, becoming +disturbed, flew away. The men were sent out in the boat, and we kept in +hiding until signalled that the birds had quieted down. We gained the +top of the cliff, a mere knife edge in places, where we worked our way +along, straddling the rock. The birds had selected a splendid place, +straight up from the water, where they had built their nest firmly into +a bush on the side of the cliff. + +I stalked the eagle within about 75 feet and caught her with the camera, +as she was leaving her nest. The earth forming the center of the nest +was frozen and three eggs lay in a little hollow of hay on top. The big +birds circled about us all the time, but did not offer to +attack. Bald-headed eagles are very common on Kadiak, and are always +found about the salmon streams later, during the run, being good +fishermen. It seems they, of all the birds here, are the first to lay +their eggs, and their young are the last to leave the nest. + +We secured some eagle eggs on these trips, of which we made several, and +found the cliff nests much the easier to approach, as it was very +difficult to get above nests built in trees. + +In connection with the eagle, the magpie should not be forgotten. Of +these black and white birds there were many about, and there seemed to +be a bond of sympathy between the widely separated species of +marauders. Bold enough we knew the smaller bird to be, but to believe +that he would actually steal an eagle's fish breakfast from under his +very nose one must sec the act. The eagle appeared to mind but little, +occasionally pecking the thief away when he became offensive. + +The magpie, on the other hand, seemed to have a warm feeling for his big +friend, and once at least we saw him flying about an eagle's nest and +warning the old birds of our approach with his harsh cry. + +One good day among many bad ones showed no more bear signs, so we soaped +the seams of the otter boat, which leaked badly, and set sail for Three +Saints Bay, named after Shelikoff's ship. This proved to be a narrow +piece of water running far inland, with snow-covered mountain sides, and +by far the most beautiful fjord on the island. + +There were no bear signs, however, and a favorable wind carried us +eastward toward Kaluda Bay, where Kidder and Blake were hunting. On our +way we stopped at Steragowan, an interesting little village, bought a +few stores, and secured some interesting stone lamps, and whale spears, +with throwing sticks. + +Once in Kaluda Bay, we found Kidder's and Blake's barabara where they +made headquarters, and their cook informed us that both sportsmen were +many miles up the bay after bear. + +Several years ago there was a flourishing colony of natives at the +entrance to Kaluda Bay, but now there are only two hunting barabaras, a +broken down chapel, and a good-sized graveyard. The village prospered +until one day a dead whale was reported not far from land. All the +inhabitants gorged themselves on the putrid blubber, and they died +almost to a man. + +The Kadiakers show a good deal of courage in whale hunting. With nothing +but their whale spears tipped with slate, two men will run close up to a +whale, drive two spears home with a throwing stick, and make off +again. The slate is believed in some way to poison the animal, and he +often dies within a short time. The natives go home, return in a few +days, and, if lucky, find the whale in the same bay. Whales are plenty, +and were sometimes annoying to us, playing too near our otter boat. On +one occasion we tried a shot at one that was paying us too much +attention, and persuaded the big chap to leave us in peace. + +Bad weather held us fast several days, but we finally made the southeast +corner of the island, and from there had good wind to Kadiak. On our way +we passed Uyak, one of the blue fox islands. Raising these animals for +their fur has become a regular business, and when furs are high it pays +well. The blue fox has been found to be the only one that multiplies +well in comparative captivity, and he thrives on salmon flesh. + +At Wood Island, news came to us through prospectors, of a bear in +English Bay, south of Kadiak village. This bay is well known as a good +bear ground, and at the end of the bay there are some huge iron cages +weighing tons which were used as bear traps, some years ago, by men +working for the Smithsonian Institution. + +We found bear tracks coming into the valley, down one mountain side, and +leading out over the opposite mountain, and were obliged to return to +Wood Island empty handed. + +Merriam now decided to return home on the next boat, and after a few +days I started off for the north side of Kadiak in an otter boat fitted +with sail, picking up on the way a white man, Jack Robinson, and a +native hunter, Vacille, at Ozinka, a small village on Spruce Island. My +men proved a good combination, but we were all obliged to work hard for +two months before a bear was finally secured. + +We tried bay after bay, and were often held up, and for days at a time +kept from good grounds by stormy weather and bad winds. The inability to +do anything for long periods made these months the most wearing I have +ever passed. Our little open boat went well only before the wind, but, +as somebody has said, the prevailing winds in Alaska are head winds, and +we spent many long hours at the oars. + +Although we had a good tent with us, we used, for the most part, the +native hunting barabara for shelter. These are fairly clean and +comfortable, and are found in every bay of any size. + +The natives inherit their hunting grounds, and are apparently scrupulous +in observing each other's rights. In fact, it is dangerous to invade +another man's trapping country, as one may spring a Klipse trap set for +fox and otter, and receive a dangerous gash from the blade that makes +these contrivances so deadly. + +On the way to the hunting grounds Vacille pointed out to us a cliff +where he once had an exciting bear hunt. + +There were two hunters, and they were fortunate enough to locate an +inhabited den in early spring. Two bears were killed through crevices in +the rocks, but the men suspected there was still one inside, and Vacille +crawled in to make sure. He found himself in a fair sized chamber with +a bear at the other end, and a lucky shot tumbled the animal at his +feet. + +This story brought up others of bear hunting with the lance. Before +firearms came into common use, boys were given lessons in fighting the +bear with the lance, and became very expert at it. Their method was to +approach a bear as closely as possible, without being seen, then show +themselves suddenly, and as the bear reared strike home. The lance was +held fast by the native, and the bear was often mortally wounded by +forcing the lance into himself in his struggles to reach his enemy. + +This class of native no longer exists on Kadiak, but it is said there is +one famous old Aleut near Iliamna Lake on the mainland who scorns any +but this method of hunting. + +High above the den where the three bears were killed was a scoop out of +the cliff called the shaman's barabara. Here, before Russian times, the +shamans or witches were buried, and here also were kept the masks used +in certain ceremonial rites. The Russians removed the mummies and masks +long ago. + +The shamans were considered oracles. It was claimed they could prevent a +whale from swimming out of a bay by dragging a bag of fat, extracted +from the dead body of a newly born infant, across the entrance. Their +instructions were unfailingly obeyed, as it was supposed they could +cause death as a punishment for their enemies. + +One evening at our first halting place beyond Ozinka, we found tracks in +the snow on one side of our valley, and early in the morning came upon a +two-year-old bear, not far from camp. The bear was grubbing about on the +hillside, and we took our position so that he crossed us under a hundred +yards. Unbeknown to me, and just as I was about to fire, my native gave +the caw of a raven to hold the bear up. He whipped around and faced us, +my bullet entering the brush on one side of him. Off he rushed into the +woods with the dog after him. I followed, and on coming out into a +clearing saw the dog being left far behind on the mountain side. Old +Tchort was not in condition. This was sad and illustrated the fact that +it is sometimes best to be alone. + +[Illustration: BEAR PATHS, KODIAK ISLAND.] + +We next tried Kaguiac Bay and here spent many days. Two bears had been +killed by the natives near the barabara where we camped, and there was +plenty of sign. + +Before sunrise we were watching from a good position, and it was +scarcely light when Vacille made out a big bear, two miles or more +away. He was traveling the snow arête of the mountain opposite, and +trying to find a good descent into our valley. One could see the huge +body and head plainly with the naked eye against the sky-line as he made +his way rapidly through the deep snow. Finally he found a place +somewhat bare of snow and gave us a splendid exhibition of rock +climbing. It took little time for him to get down into the alders, +where he apparently dropped asleep. To our astonishment he woke up about +10 o'clock and worked down toward the bottom land. We stalked him in the +woods and alders, which were very thick, within 300 yards, and here I +should have risked a shot at his hindquarters showing up brown against +the hillside, and seemingly as large as a horse. + +We chanced a nearer approach, though the wind was treacherous, and +coming up to a spot where we could have viewed him found the monster had +decamped. All attempts to locate him again were fruitless. + +The bear paths around this bay were a very interesting study. They are +hammered deep into the earth, and afford as good means of traveling as +the New Brunswick moose paths. + +Sometimes instead of a single road we have a double one, the bear using +one path for the legs of each side of his body. Again, on soft mossy +side hills, instead of paths we find single footprints which have been +used over and over, and made into huge saucers, it being the custom of +the bear to take long strides on the side hills, and to step into the +impressions made by other animals which had traveled ahead of it. + +The red salmon were beginning to run, and some fishermen in another part +of the bay supplied us, from time to time, from their nets. Especially +good were the salmon heads roasted. + +Bear sign failed, and Afognak Island, where Vacille shot and trapped, +had been so much talked about, that I determined to see it for myself, +and with a good wind we rowed across the straits and sailed twelve miles +into the island by Kofikoski Bay. + +[Illustration: BEAR PATHS, KODIAK ISLAND.] + +Scattered along up the bay were small islands, and these furnished us +with a good supply of gulls' eggs, which lasted many days. + +The Afognak coast is heavily wooded with spruce, while a large plateau +in the interior is almost barren, and gave good opportunity for using +the glasses. + +During several days at the head of Kofikoski Bay nothing was seen, so we +packed up and crossed a large piece of the island by portages and a +chain of lakes, where our Osgood boat was indispensable. The country +crossed was like a beautiful park of meadows, groves and lakes, and one +could scarcely believe it was uncultivated. + +The Red Salmon River of Seal Harbor, to which we were headed, could not +fail us, for bear could scoop out the salmon in armfuls below the lower +falls, so Vacille said, and he was honest, and now as keen as anything +while traveling his own hunting grounds. + +For a whole week a northeast storm blew directly toward the bay, and +kept us in camp. It was fishing weather, however, and my fly-rod, with a +Parmachenee belle, kept us well supplied with steelheads and speckled +trout, which were plentiful in the clear waters of a wandering trout +brook running through a meadow below the camp. + +A calm evening came finally, and we paddled down the last lake, some +three miles, to the famous pool. + +There were the salmon swarming below the fall, and many constantly in +the air on their upward journey, but the eagles perched high on the dark +spruces, closing in the swirling water, were all they had to fear. There +were no bears and no fresh bear signs. It was an ideal spot, this salmon +pool, but a feast for the eyes only, as the red salmon will not rise to +a fly. Even Tchort looked disconsolate on our track back to Ozinka. + +About July 10 there is usually a run of dog salmon, and not much later +another of humpbacks. The dog salmon grow to be about twice as large as +the red salmon, and often weigh 12 pounds. They are much more sluggish +than the red fish, and as they prefer the small shallow streams, become +an easy prey for the bear. The humpback fish are fatter and better +eating even than the red salmon, but are somewhat smaller. + +The red fish never ascend a stream which has not a lake on its upper +waters for spawning. The dog and humpback, on the contrary, are not so +particular, and are found almost everywhere. In September there is a run +of silver salmon, which, like the red salmon, will only swim a stream +with a lake at its head. They run up to 40 pounds, and the bears grow +fat on them before turning into winter quarters. The skeletons of this +big fish, cleaned by bear, are found along every small stream running +from the lakes. + +The large canneries, like the one at Karluk, on Karluk River, near the +western end of Kadiak, put up only the red salmon. They are not nearly +as good eating as the humpback or silver salmon, but are red, and this +color distinction the market demands. The catches at Karluk run up into +the tens of thousands, and one thinks of this with many misgivings, +remembering the fate of the sea otter and bear. Good hatcheries are +constantly busy, keeping up the supply, but it appears that though one +in every ten thousand of these fish is marked before being set free, so +far as known no marked fish have ever been captured. + +On our return to Kadiak Island, we found the streams still free of +salmon, and the vegetation had become so rank as to interfere a good +deal with traveling and sighting game. The whole party looked serious, +and the strain was beginning to tell, no game having been seen for seven +long weeks. This, with the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes, made time +pass heavily. + +Other places proving barren, we finally brought up at Wesnoi Leide, half +an hour's row from Ozinka, and found the dog fish just beginning to run +up stream, at the head of the bay. Better still, there were fresh bear +tracks. + +The wind was favorable, and we stationed ourselves the first evening on +a bluff overlooking a long meadow, on the lower part of the stream. +Hardly had we sat down, when Vacille said: "If that brown spot on the +hillside were not so large, I would take it for a bear." The brown spot +promptly walked into the woods, half a mile away. We were keen enough +again, but our watching proved fruitless, as nothing came down on the +meadow, showing that there was good fishing well up the stream. + +We rowed back to Ozinka, and left the country undisturbed, determined to +get well into the woods the following night, before the bear came down +to feed. + +The next evening we made an early start, and walking up the stream into +the woods found plenty of fresh tracks, and finally halted by some big +trees. The men placed themselves on some high limbs, where they could +watch, and I stood in deep grass, some six or eight feet from a +well-traveled path used by the bear in fishing the stream. The magpies +were calling all about, and seemed to be saying, _Midwit, midwit_, +Aleut for bear. The air was dead calm. Hardly were the men on their +perches, before they saw a bear walk into the brush on one side of the +valley. We waited quietly, in the midst of mosquitoes, but nothing came +in sight. It was already after 10 o'clock, and so dark that the men +gave up their watch, and came down to join me. Suddenly we heard a sharp +screech up the stream, and when it was repeated, Vacille said it must be +a young bear crying because its mother would not feed it fast +enough. Here Vacille did some good work. + +We walked rapidly up stream, through the thick brush, and before we had +gone 100 yards heard a large animal, just ahead, moving about in the +brush, and making a good deal of noise. I started ahead to get a view, +thinking we had disturbed the bear, but Vacille held me back. We walked +on noiselessly to a little bare point in the stream, and just then the +bear appeared, bent on fishing, thirty feet away. She lumbered down into +the stream, and when I fired fell into the water, the ball just missing +her shoulder. She was up again, and this time I shot hurriedly, and a +little behind the ribs. She ran, crossing up about forty feet away, and +a trial with the .30-40 scored, but made no impression. + +Tchort caught up with her just as she fell, after running a hundred feet +or more, and gave us to understand that he was the responsible party. We +tried immediately to capture the cub, which would have been a rare +prize, but had no success at all in the thicket. The old one, though of +considerable age, was not a large specimen, and, with the exception of +the head, the hair was in bad condition. Length about 6 feet 4 inches; +height at shoulder 44 inches; weight 500 pounds. The stomach was full of +salmon, gleaned from the fishing beds made all along the stream. The +Ozinka people did not enjoy my killing a bear just outside the village. + +I caught the boat about a week later, after a few pleasant days with +Kidder and Blake, who had turned up at Wood Island, after a very +successful hunt on the mainland. + +A word in regard to the Kadiak bear. Dr. Merriam has proved that he is +distinct from other bear. That he ever reached 2,000 pounds is doubtful +in my mind, but, by comparing measurements of skins, we can be sure he +comes up to 1,200, or a little over. Whether the Kadiak bear is bigger +than the big brown bear of the mainland is doubtful. At present the +growth of these bears is badly interfered with by the natives, and they +rarely reach the old bear age, when these brutes become massive in their +bony structure, and accumulate a vast amount of fat, just before denning +up. + +_W. Lord Smith_. + + + + +The Mountain Sheep and its Range + + +The mountain sheep is, in my estimation, the finest of all our American +big game. Many men have killed it and sheep heads are trophies almost as +common as moose heads, and yet among those who have hunted it most and +know it best, but little is really understood as to the life of the +mountain sheep, and many erroneous ideas prevail with regard to it. It +is generally supposed to be an animal found only among the tops of the +loftiest and most rugged mountains, and never to be seen on the lower +ground, and there are still people interested in big game who now and +then ask one confidentially whether there really is anything in the +story that the sheep throw themselves down from great heights, and, +striking on their horns, rebound to their feet without injury. + +Each one of us individually knows but little about the mountain sheep, +yet each who has hunted them has observed something of their ways, and +each can contribute some share to an accumulation of facts which some +time may be of assistance to the naturalist who shall write the life +history of this noble species. But unless that naturalist has already +been in the field and has there gathered much material, he is likely to +be hard put to it when the time comes for his story to be written, since +then there may be no mountain sheep to observe or to write of. The sheep +is not likely to be so happy in its biographer as was the buffalo, for +Dr. Allen's monograph on the American bison is a classic among North +American natural history works. + +The mountain sheep is an inhabitant of western America, and the books +tell us that it inhabits the Rocky Mountains from southern California to +Alaska. This is sufficiently vague, and I shall endeavor a little +further on to indicate a few places where this species may still be +found, though even so I am unable to assign their ranges to the various +forms that have been described. + +For this species seems to have become differentiated into several +species and sub-species, some of which are well marked, and all of which +we do not as yet know much about. These as described are the common +sheep of the Rocky Mountains _(Ovis canadensis_); the white sheep +of Alaska _(Ovis dalli)_, and its near relative, _O. dalli +kenaiensis_; the so-called black sheep of northern British Columbia +(_O. stonei_), described by Dr. Allen; Nelson's sheep of the +southwest (_O. nelsoni_) and _O. mexicanus_, both described by +Dr. Merriam. Besides these, Mr. Hornaday has described _Ovis +fannini_ of Yukon Territory, about which little is known, and +Dr. Merriam has given the sheep of the Missouri River bad lands +sub-specific rank under the title _O.c. auduboni_. Recently +Dr. Elliot has described the Lower California sheep as a sub-species of +the Rocky Mountain form under the name _O.c. cremnobates_. For +twenty-five years I heard of a black sheep-like animal in the central +range of the Rocky Mountains far to the north, said to be not only black +in color, but with black horns, something like those of an antelope, but +in shape and ringed like a female mountain sheep. From specimens +recently examined at the American Museum of Natural History, I now know +this to be the young female of _Ovis stonei_. That several species +of sheep should have been described within the last three or four years +shows, perhaps as well as anything, how very little we know about the +animals of this group. + +The sheep of the Rocky Mountains and of the bad lands +(_O. canadensis_ and _O. canadensis auduboni_) are those with +which we are most familiar. Both forms are called the Rocky Mountain +sheep, and from this it is commonly inferred that they are confined to +the mountains, and live solely among the rocks. In a measure this belief +is true today, but it was not invariably so in old times. As in Asia, +so in America, the wild sheep is an inhabitant of the high grass land +plateaus. It delights in the elevated prairies, but near these prairies +it must have rough or broken country to which it may retreat when +pursued by its enemies. Before the days of the railroad and the +settlements in the West, the sheep was often found on the prairie. It +was then abundant in many localities where to-day farmers have their +wheat fields, and to some extent shared the feeding ground of the +antelope and the buffalo. Many and many a time while riding over the +prairie, I have seen among the antelope that loped carelessly out of the +way of the wagon before which I was riding, a few sheep, which would +finally separate themselves from the antelope and run up to rising +ground, there to stand and call until we had come too near them, when +they would lope off and finally be seen climbing some steep butte or +bluff, and there pausing for a last look, would disappear. + +Those were the days when if a man had a deer, a sheep, an antelope, or +the bosse ribs of a buffalo cow on his pack or in his wagon, it did not +occur to him to shoot at the game among which he rode. I have seen sheep +feeding on the prairies with antelope, and in little groups by +themselves in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, and men whose +experience extends much further back than mine--men, too, whose life was +largely devoted to observing the wild animals among which they +lived--unite in telling me that they were commonly found in such +situations. Personally I never saw sheep among buffalo, but knowing as I +do the situations that both inhabited and the ways of life of each, I am +confident that sheep were often found with the buffalo, just as were +antelope. + +The country of northwestern Montana, where high prairie is broken now +and then by steep buttes rising to a height of several hundred feet, and +by little ranges of volcanic uplifts like the Sweet Grass Hills, the +Bear Paw Mountains, the Little Rockies, the Judith, and many others, was +a favorite locality for sheep, and so, no doubt, was the butte country +of western North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, this being roughly +the eastern limit of the species. In general it may be said that the +plains sheep preferred plateaus much like those inhabited by the mule +deer, a prairie country where there were rough broken hills or buttes, +to which they could retreat when disturbed. That this habit was taken +advantage of to destroy them will be shown further on. + +To-day, if one can climb above timber line in summer to the beautiful +green alpine meadows just below the frowning snow-clad peaks in regions +where sheep may still be found, his eye may yet be gladdened by the +sight of a little group resting on the soft grass far from any cover +that might shelter an enemy. If disturbed, the sheep get up +deliberately, take a long careful look, and walking slowly toward the +rocks, clamber out of harm's way. It will be labor wasted to follow +them. + +Such sights may be witnessed still in portions of Montana and British +Columbia, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado, where bald, rolling mountains, +showing little or no rock, are frequented by the sheep, which graze over +the uplands, descending at midday to the valleys to drink, and then +slowly working their way up the hills again to their illimitable +pastures. + +Of Dall's sheep, the white Alaskan form, we are told that its favorite +feeding grounds are bald hills and elevated plateaus, and although when +pursued and wounded it takes to precipitous cliffs, and perhaps even to +tall mountain peaks, the land of its choice appears to be not rough +rocks, but rather the level or rolling upland. + +The sheep formerly was a gentle, unsuspicious animal, curious and +confiding rather than shy; now it is noted in many regions for its +alertness, wariness, and ability to take care of itself. + +Richardson, in his "Fauni-Boreali Americana," says: "Mr. Drummond +informs me that in the retired part of the mountains, where hunters had +seldom penetrated, he found no difficulty in approaching the Rocky +Mountain sheep, which there exhibited the simplicity of character so +remarkable in the domestic species; but that where they had been often +fired at they were exceedingly wild, alarmed their companions on the +approach of danger by a hissing noise, and scaled the rocks with a speed +and agility that baffled pursuit." The mountain men of early days tell +precisely the same thing of the sheep. Fifty or sixty years ago they +were regarded as the gentlest and most unsuspicious animal of all the +prairie, excepting, of course, the buffalo. They did not understand that +the sound of a gun meant danger, and, when shot at, often merely jumped +about and stared, acting much as in later times the elk and the mule +deer acted. + +We may take it for granted that, before the coming of the white man, the +mountain sheep ranged over a very large portion of western America, from +the Arctic Ocean down into Mexico. Wherever the country was adapted to +them, there they were found. Absence of suitable food, and sometimes the +presence of animals not agreeable to them, may have left certain areas +without the sheep, but for the most part these animals no doubt existed +from the eastern limit of their range clear to the Pacific. There were +sheep on the plains and in the mountains; those inhabiting the plains +when alarmed sought shelter in the rough bad lands that border so many +rivers, or on the tall buttes that rise from the prairies, or in the +small volcanic uplifts which, in the north, stretch far out eastward +from the Rocky Mountains. + +While some hunters believe that the wild sheep were driven from their +former habitat on the plains and in the foothills by the advent of +civilized man, the opinion of the best naturalists is the reverse of +this. They believe that over the whole plains country, except in a few +localities where they still remain, the sheep have been exterminated, +and this is probably what has happened. Thus Dr. C. Hart Merriam writes +me: + +"I do not believe that the plains sheep have been driven to the +mountains at all, but that they have been exterminated over the greater +part of their former range. In other words, that the form or sub-species +inhabiting the plains (_auduboni_) is now extinct over the greater +part of its range, occurring only in the localities mentioned by you. +The sheep of the mountains always lived there, and, in my opinion, has +received no accession from the plains. In other words, to my mind it is +not a case of changed habit, but a case of extermination over large +areas. The same I believe to be true in the case of elk and many other +animals." + +That this is true of the elk--and within my own recollection--is +certainly the fact. In the early days of my western travel, elk were +reasonably abundant over the whole plains as far east as within 120 +miles of the city of Omaha on the Missouri River, north to the Canadian +boundary line--and far beyond--and south at least to the Indian +Territory. From all this great area as far west as the Rocky Mountains +they have disappeared, not by any emigration to other localities, but by +absolute extermination. + +A few years ago we knew but one species of mountain sheep, the common +bighorn of the West, but with the opening of new territories and their +invasion by white men, more and more specimens of the bighorn have come +into the hands of naturalists, with the result that a number of new +forms have been described covering territory from Alaska to Mexico. These +forms, with the localities from which the types have come, are as follows: + +_Ovis canadensis_, interior of western Canada. +(Mountains of Alberta.) + +_Ovis canadensis auduboni_, Bad Lands of South Dakota. +(Between the White and Cheyenne rivers.) + +_Ovis nelsoni_, Grapevine Mountains, +boundary between California and Nevada. +(Just south of Lat. 37 deg.) + +_Ovis mexicanus_, Lake Santa Maria, Chihuahua, Mexico. + +_Ovis stonei_, headwaters Stikine River +(Che-o-nee Mountains), British Columbia. + +_Ovis dalli_, mountains on Forty-Mile Creek, +west of Yukon River, Alaska. + +_Ovis dalli kenaiensis_, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska (1901). + +_Ovis canadensis cremnobates_, Lower California. + +The standing of _Ovis fannini_ has been in doubt ever since its +description, and recent specimens appear to throw still more doubt on +it. Those most familiar with our sheep do not now, I believe, +acknowledge it as a valid species. It comes from the mountains of the +Klondike River, near Dawson, Yukon Territory. + +What the relations of these different forms are to one another has not +yet been determined, but it may be conjectured that _Ovis canadensis, +O. nelsoni_, and _O. dalli_ differ most widely from one another; +while _O. stonei_ and _O. dalli_, with its forms, are close +together; and _O. canadensis_, and _O.c. auduboni_ are closely +related; as are also _O. nelsoni, O. mexicanus_, and _O.c. +cremnobates_. The sub-species _auduboni_ is the easternmost +member of the American sheep family, while the sheep of Chihuahua +and of Lower California are the most southern now known. + + +PRIMITIVE HUNTING. + +At many points in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas the Indians +were formerly great sheep hunters, and largely depended on this game for +their flesh food. That it was easily hunted in primitive times cannot be +doubted, and is easily comprehended when we remember the testimony of +white observers already quoted. In certain places in the foothills of +the mountains, or in more or less isolated ranges in Utah, Nevada, +Montana, and other sections, the Indians used to beat the mountains, +driving the sheep up to the summits, where concealed bowmen might kill +them. On the summits of certain ranges which formerly were great resorts +for sheep, I have found hiding places built of slabs of the trachyte +which forms the mountain, which were used by the Indians for this +purpose in part, as, later, they were also used by the scouting warrior +as shelters and lookout stations from which a wide extent of plain might +be viewed. The sheep on the prairie or on the foothills of such ranges, +if alarmed, would of course climb to the summit, and there would be shot +with stone-headed arrows. + +Mr. Muir has seen such shelters in Nevada, and he tells us also that the +Indians used to build corrals or pounds with diverging wings, somewhat +like those used for the capture of antelope and buffalo on the plains, +and that they drove the sheep into these corrals, about which, no doubt, +men, women, and children were secreted, ready to destroy the game. + +Certain tribes made a practice of building converging fences and driving +the sheep toward the angle of these fences, where hunters lay in wait to +kill them, as elsewhere mentioned by Mr. Hofer. In fact, sheep in those +old times shared with all the other animals of the prairie that tameness +to which I have often adverted in writing on this subject, and which now +seems so remarkable. + +The Bannocks and Sheep Eaters depended for their food very largely on +sheep. In fact, the Sheep Eaters are reported to have killed little +else, whence their name. Both these tribes hunted more or less in +disguise, and wore on the head and shoulders the skin and horns of a +mountain sheep's head, the skin often being drawn about the body, and +the position assumed a stooping one, so as to simulate the animal with a +considerable closeness. The legs, which were uncovered, were commonly +rubbed with white or gray clay, and certain precautions were used to +kill the human odor. + +A Cheyenne Indian told me of an interesting happening witnessed by his +grandfather very many years ago. A war party had set out to take horses +from the Shoshone. One morning just at sunrise the fifteen or sixteen +men were traveling along on foot in single file through a deep canon of +the mountains, when one of them spied on a ledge far above them the head +and shoulders of a great mountain sheep which seemed to be looking over +the valley. He pointed it out to his fellows, and as they walked along +they watched it. Presently it drew back, and a little later appeared +again further along the ledges, and stood there on the verge. As the +Indians watched, they suddenly saw shoot out from another ledge above +the sheep a mountain lion, which alighted on the sheep's neck, and both +animals fell whirling over the cliff and struck the slide rock +below. The fall was a long one, and the Cheyennes, feeling sure that the +sheep had been killed, either by the fall or by the lion, rushed forward +to secure the meat. When they reached the spot the lion was hobbling off +with a broken leg, and one of them shot it with his arrow, and when they +made ready to skin the sheep, they saw to their astonishment that it was +not a sheep, but a man wearing the skin and horns of a sheep. He had +been hunting, and his bow and arrows were wrapped in the skin close to +his breast. The fall had killed him. From the fashion of his hair and +his moccasins they knew that he was a Bannock. + +A reference to the hunting methods of the Sheep Eaters reminds one very +naturally of that pursued by the Blackfeet, when sheep were needed, for +their skins or for their flesh. These animals were abundant about the +many buttes which rise out of the prairie on the flanks of the Rocky +Mountains, in what is now Montana, and when disturbed retreated to the +heights for safety. + +Hugh Monroe, a typical mountain man of the old time, who reached Fort +Edmonton in the year 1813, and died in 1893, after eighty years spent +upon the prairie in close association with the Indians, has often told +me of the Blackfoot method of securing sheep when their skins were +needed for women's dresses. On such an occasion a large number of the +men would ride out from the camp to the neighborhood of one of these +buttes, and on their approach the sheep, which had been feeding on the +prairie, slowly retreated to the heights above. The Indians then spread +out, encircling the butte by a wide ring of horsemen, and sending three +or four young men to climb its heights, awaited results. When the men +sent up on the butte had reached its summit, they pursued the sheep over +its limited area, and drove them down to the prairie below, where the +mounted men chased and killed them. In this way large numbers of sheep +were procured. + +Of the hunting of the sheep by the Indians who inhabited the rough +mountains in and near what is now the Yellowstone National Park, +Mr. Hofer has said to me: + +"It is supposed that when the Sheep Eater Indians inhabited the +mountains about the Park they kept the sheep down pretty close, but +after they went away the sheep increased in that particular range of +country, the whole Absaroka range; that is to say, the country from +Clark Fork of the Yellowstone down to the Wind River drainage. + +"The greatest number of sheep in recent years was pretty well toward the +head of Gray Bull, Meeteetsee Creek and Stinking Water. In those old +times the Indians used to build rude fences on the sides of the +mountains, running down a hill, and these fences would draw together +toward the bottom, and where they came nearly together the Indians would +have a place to hide in. Fifteen years ago there was one such trap that +was still quite plainly visible. One fence follows down pretty near the +edge of a little ridge, draining steeply down from Crandle Creek divide +to Miller Creek. There was no pen at the bottom, and no cliff to run +them off, so that the Indians could not have killed them in that way, +but near where the fences came together there was a pile of dead limbs +and small rocks that looked to me as if it had been used by a person +lying in wait to shoot animals which were driven down this ridge; and it +was near enough to the place that they must pass to shoot them with +arrows. These Indians had arrows, and hunted with them; and up on top of +the ridges you will find old stumps that have been hacked down with +stone hatchets. Some of the tree trunks have been removed, but others +have been left there. I think that some Indians would go around the +sheep and start them off, and gradually drive them to the pass where the +hunter lay. I remember following along this ridge, and then on another +ridge that went on toward the Clark Fork ridge to quite a high little +peak, and on top of this peak was quite a large bed for a man to lie +in. He could watch there until the sheep should pass through, and then +he could come out and drive them on." + +AGENTS OF DESTRUCTION. + +The settling up of much of their former range, with pursuit by +skin-hunters, head-hunters, and meat-hunters, has had much to do with +the reduction in numbers of the mountain sheep, but more important than +these have been the ravages by diseases brought in to their range by the +domestic sheep, and then spread by the wild species among their wild +associates. For many years it has been known that the wild sheep of +certain portions of the Rocky Mountain region are afflicted with scab, a +disease which in recent years seems to have attacked the elk as +well. Testimony is abundant that wild sheep are killed by scab as +domestic sheep are. On a few occasions I have seen animals that appeared +to have died from this cause, but Mr. Hofer, to be quoted later, has had +a much broader experience. + +More sweeping and even more fatal has been the introduction among the +wild sheep of an anthrax, of which, however, very little is known. + +Aside from man, the most important enemies of the sheep in nature are +the mountain lion and eagles of two species. These last I believe to be +so destructive to newly born sheep and goats that I think it a duty to +kill them whenever possible. + +Dr. Edward L. Munson, at that time Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, but +whose services in more recent years have won him so much credit, and +such well deserved promotion, wrote me in 1897 the following interesting +paragraphs with relation to disease among sheep. He said: + +"The Bear Paw Mountains were full of mountain sheep a dozen years +ago. One was roped last summer, and this is the only representative +which has been seen or heard of there in ten years. The introduction of +tame sheep early in the '80's was followed by a most destructive +anthrax, which not only destroyed immense numbers of tame sheep, but +also exterminated the wild ones, which appeared to be especially +susceptible to this disease. In going through these mountains one often +finds the skeletons of a number huddled together, and the above is the +explanation given by some of the older settlers. The mountains are +small, and the wild sheep could not climb up out of the infected +zone. Immediate contact is, of course, not necessary in the propagation +of anthrax, and the bacilli and spores left on soil grazed over by an +infected band would readily infect another animal feeding over such a +country even a long time afterward. + +"I have also heard that the introduction of dog distemper played havoc +with wolves, coyotes, and Indian dogs, when it first came into the +country. This is the case with regard to any disease introduced into a +virgin human population, in which there is no immunity due to the +prevalence of such a disease for hundreds of years previously." + +Mr. Elwood Hofer, discussing this subject in conversation, says: + +"There are not a great many sheep in the Park now, anywhere; they have +died off from sickness--the scab. This is a fact known to everyone +living in the neighborhood of the Park. I have killed only one that had +the disease badly, but I used to see them every day, and pay no +attention to them. I did not hunt for them, for I did not want them in +that condition. I remember that once a man came out to Gardiner who did +not know that the sheep were sick. He saw some when he was hunting, and +rushed up in great excitement and killed three of them. They seemed to +be weak and were pretty nearly dead with scab before he saw them. +Sometimes they become so weak from this disease that they lie down and +die. + +"I first noticed sheep with the scab around the canyon by the +Yellowstone. I never saw any troubled with this disease around +Meeteetsee or Stinking Water. I have been there in winter, and hunted +them as late as November, and Col. Pickett used to kill some still +later. I never heard him speak of the scab." + +In spring and early summer, when the young sheep are small, the eagles +are constantly on the watch for them, and unquestionably capture many +lambs. I have been told by my friend, Mr. J.B. Monroe, who has several +times captured lambs alive, that when they heard the rope whistling as +he threw it toward them, they would run directly toward him, seeming to +fear some enemy from above. He believes that they took the sound of the +rope flying through the air for the sound of the eagle's wings. + +While, of course, the mountain lions cannot overtake the sheep in fair +chase, they lie in wait for them among the rocks, killing many, because +the sheep range on ground suitable for the lions to stalk them on; that +is to say, among the rocks on steep mountain sides, or at the edges of +canyons. + +A conversation had with Mr. Hofer a year or two since is so interesting +that I offer no apology for giving the gist of it here. It has to do +with the enemies of the sheep, especially the mountain lion, and with +some of the sheep's ways. In substance, Mr. Hofer said: + +"One day about the first of January I was in my cabin looking through +the window, and up through the Cinnabar Basin, over the snow-covered +mountains. As I was looking, I saw a dark patch disappear in the snow +and then rise out of it again. The snow was deep and fluffy. The animal +that I was watching would disappear in the snow with a plunge, and then +would come up with a jump. It made several wonderful flights. It was so +far off I could not tell what it was, and when I looked at it through +the glasses I saw that it was a big ram breaking a trail. I was watching +him closely and at first did not notice that others were with him. Soon, +however, I discovered that there were four or five other sheep following +him. + +"The big ram came down from the side of the mountain, and, to pass over +to the other mountain, he had to cross the valley. There were a number +of knolls or ridges in this valley, where the snow was not so deep as in +the hollows. The ram broke a trail to a knoll, and stopped and looked +back, and pretty soon I saw the rest of the sheep coming along. They +followed his trail and passed him while he was standing there looking +back, always looking up at the mountain. While he stood on this knoll +where the snow was not deep--for it had blown off--and the other sheep +had passed him, one of them took the lead to the next knoll, breaking +the trail, but here the snow was not so deep as that the ram had come +through. No sooner had the sheep got to this knoll than the old ram +started. He took the trail the others had made, and joined them at the +next knoll, and then plunging in, went on ahead and broke a fresh trail +to the next rise of ground. The ram did most of the trail-breaking, but +sometimes one of the others went ahead; there was always one in the +rear, on guard, as it were, until they had crossed the valley to a steep +ridge on the next mountain. As they went, they stopped every little +while and stood for some time looking back. + +"Knowing the habits of the animal, I felt sure that something had driven +them off the mountain. They looked back as if to see whether anything +was following, or perhaps to look again at what had frightened them. I +thought it was a mountain lion. Soon afterward I took my snowshoes and +went up that way and found the track of a mountain lion. From the size +of the track it seemed as if the animal must have been enormous. On +soft snow, though, tracks spread and look big, and besides that, these +cats commonly spread out their toes. There was no mistake about its +being a mountain lion, for I could see where the tail had struck the +soft snow and made holes in it. + +"Mountain lions were around there a good deal, and E. De Long, who had a +cabin a little further up in the valley, told me that three times in his +experience of hunting up there he had come on a place where a mountain +lion had just killed a sheep. In each case he found the sheep in nearly +the same place, and in each case the sheep was freshly killed, and he +dressed it and took it home. + +"This seemed to be a favorite place for the lions to kill sheep. They +are great hands to kill sheep in about the same place. Far up on the +Boulder--way up near the head--Col. Pickett and I found nineteen or +twenty skulls of sheep by one rock. There was a wonderful lot of +them. They had been killed at various times, and in a place where they +never could have been killed by snowslides. It was under a very high +rock, fifteen feet perpendicular on one side, and in the valley a game +trail passed close under this side. On the other side the rock was not +so high, but sloped off to the side of the hill. A lion could easily lie +there without being seen, but could himself see both ways. The game +trail was so close that he could jump right down on to it. The number of +skulls that we saw here was so remarkable that Col. Pickett and I +counted them; there were more than eighteen. + +"The skulls were most of them old--killed a good while before. None of +them had the shells of the horns. They were old skulls, and the oldest +were almost in fragments, very much weathered. It was the accumulation +of a number of years, probably ten or fifteen. To my mind it showed +clearly that this was a favorite place for lions to lie for mountain +sheep. I have known of something similar to that in Cinnabar Basin, +where I have seen a number of skulls scattered along the gulch. There +was a heavy trail there which led up to a valley where there is a pass +by which we used to wind down to the Yellowstone and Tom Miner Creek and +Trapper Creek. + +"Lions are quite bad along the Yellowstone here, and sometimes in a hard +winter they seem to be driven out of the mountains, and a considerable +number have been killed on Gardiner River and Reese Creek. + +"If mountain lions are after the sheep, the sheep leave the mountain +they are on and go to another; they will not stay there, and will not +return until something drives them back." + +SOME WAYS OF THE SHEEP. + +Mr. Hofer said: + +"In old times it was sometimes possible to get a 'stand' on sheep, and, +in my opinion, sheep often, even to-day, are the least suspicious of all +the mountain animals. A mountain sheep always seems to fear the thing +that he sees under him. If a man goes above him he does not seem to know +what to do. I could never understand why, when one is above him, he +stands and looks. I have sometimes been riding around in the mountains, +and have come on sheep right below me. I have often thrown stones at +them, and sometimes it was quite a while before I could get them to +start. Finally, however, they would run off. They acted as if they were +dazed. + +"On the other hand, when I carried the mail down in San Juan county, +Colorado, in the winter of 1875-'76, going across from Animas Forks by +way of the Grizzly Pass to Tellurium Fork, I was the only person in that +section of the country all through the winter, and yet, although the +sheep saw only me, and saw me every day, they always acted +wild. Sometimes a ram would see me and stand and look for a long time, +and then presently all along the mountain side I would see sheep running +as if they were alarmed. On the other hand, if I met any of them on top +of the mountain, they scarcely ever ran, they just stood and looked at +me. + +"Once, when on a hunting trip, I had my horses all picketed in sight, +just above the basin where we were camped. The boy that had the care of +the horses had been up to change the picketed animals, and when he came +in he said: 'There's a sheep up there close by the horses. He saw me and +was not afraid.' We went out of the tent and presently I could see the +sheep, a small one about four years old. We went up toward it, and I saw +the sheep moving about. It went out to a little flat place on the slide +rock, where the slide rock had pushed out a little further, making a +little low butte, or flat-topped table; it was loose rock, with +snow. Here the sheep lay down. + +"I went around to station my man where he could get a rest for his +rifle, and when I had done this, I went around above to make the sheep +get up to drive him out, so that the man could shoot him. After I got +well up the gulch, above him, the sheep could see me plainly, and I +could see his eyes. I hesitated about making him get up, thinking +perhaps it was somebody's tame sheep, but we were the first ones up +there that spring, and of course it was not a tame sheep. If we had not +been out of meat I would not have disturbed the animal. I walked toward +it to make it get up, but it would not, and still lay there. When I was +within thirty feet of it I took up a stone and threw it, and called at +him. The sheep stood up and looked at me. I said, 'Go on, now,' and he +started in the direction I wished him to take. When he came in sight, +the man fired two or three shots at him, but did not hurt him, and the +sheep again lay down in sight of camp. Afterward I fired at him about +300 yards up the side of the mountain, but I did not touch him. However, +he was disturbed by the shooting, and moved away. + +"It is often difficult to find a reason for the way sheep act. It is +possible that this young ram, which was in the Sunlight Mining District, +had seen many miners, and that they had not disturbed him, and that so +he had lost his fear of man. He was not at all afraid of horses, perhaps +because he was accustomed to seeing miners' horses; or he may have taken +them for elk. I do not see why our wind did not alarm him. At all +events, for some reason, this one showed no fear. + +"Along the Gardiner River, inside the northern boundary of the +Yellowstone Park, there are always a number of sheep in winter, and they +become very tame, having learned by experience that people passing to +and fro will not injure them. Men driving up the road from Mammoth Hot +Springs to Gardiner, constantly see these sheep, which manifest the +utmost indifference to those who are passing them. Sometimes they stand +close enough to the road for a driver to reach them with his whip. One +winter the surgeon at the post, driving along, came upon a sheep +standing in the road, and as it did not move, he had to stop his team +for it. He did not dare to drive his horse close up to it. Finally the +ram jumped out to one side of the road, and the surgeon drove on. He +said he could have touched it with his whip." + +One winter when Mr. Hofer made an extended snowshoe trip through the +Park, he passed very close to sheep. It appeared to him that they fear +man less along the wagon roads than when he is out on the benches and in +the mountains. They seem to care little for man, but if a mountain lion +appears in the neighborhood, the sheep are no longer seen. Just where +they go is uncertain, but it is believed that they cross the Yellowstone +River by swimming. + +In winter, and especially late in the winter, sheep frequent southern +and southwestern exposures, and spend much of their time there. I have +seen places on the St. Marys Lake, in northern Montana, where there were +cartloads of droppings, apparently the accumulation of many years, and +have seen the same thing in the cliffs along the Yellowstone River. On +the rocks here there were many beds among the cliffs and ledges. Often +such beds are behind a rock, not a high one, but one that the sheep +could look over. In places such as this the animals are very difficult +to detect. + +Although the wild sheep was formerly, to a considerable extent, an +inhabitant of the western edge of the prairies of the high dry plains, +it is so no longer. The settling of the country has made this +impossible, but long before its permanent occupancy the frequent passage +through it by hunters had resulted in the destruction of the sheep or +had driven it more or less permanently to those heights where, in times +of danger, it had always sought refuge. + +To the east of the principal range of the wild sheep in America to-day +there are still a few of its old haunts not in the mountains which are +so arid or so rough, or where the water is so bad that as yet they have +not to any great extent been invaded by the white man. Again to the +south and southwest, in portions of Arizona, Old Mexico, and Lower +California, there rise out of frightful deserts buttes and mountain +ranges inhabited by different forms of sheep. In that country water is +extremely scarce, and the few water holes that exist are visited by the +sheep only at long intervals. There are many men who believe that the +sheep do not drink at all, but it is chiefly at these water holes that +the sheep of the desert are killed. + +At the present day the chief haunts of the mountain sheep are the fresh +Alpine meadows lying close to timber line, and fenced in by tall peaks; +or the rounded grassy slopes which extend from timber line up to the +region of perpetual snows. Sitting on the point of some tall mountain +the observer may look down on the green meadows, interspersed perhaps +with little clumps of low willows which grow along the tiny watercourses +whose sources are the snow banks far up the mountain side, and if +patient in his watch and faithful in his search, he may detect with his +glasses at first one or two, and gradually more and more, until at +length perhaps ten, fifteen or thirty sheep may be counted, scattered +over a considerable area of country. Or, if he climbs higher yet, and +overlooks the rounded shoulders which stretch up from the passes toward +the highest pinnacles of all--he will very likely see far below him, +lying on the hill and commanding a view miles in extent in every +direction, a group of nine, ten or a dozen sheep peacefully resting in +the midday sun. Those that he sees will be almost all of them ewes and +young animals. Perhaps there may be a young ram or two whose horns have +already begun to curve backward, but for the most part they are females +and young. + +The question that the hunter is always asking himself is where are the +big rams? Now and then, to be sure, more by accident than by any wisdom +of his own, he stumbles on some monster of the rocks, but of the sheep +that he sees in his wanderings, not one in a hundred has a head so large +as to make him consider it a trophy worth possessing. It is commonly +declared that in summer the big rams are "back along the range," by +which it is meant that they are close to the summits of the tallest +peaks. It is probable that this is true, and that they gather by twos +and threes on these tall peaks, and, not moving about very much, escape +observation. + +During the spring, summer, and early fall the females and their young +keep together in small bands in the mountains, well up, close under what +is called the "rim rock," or the "reefs," where the grass is sweet and +tender, the going good, and where a refuge is within easy reach. While +hunting in such places in September and October, when the first snows +are falling, one is likely to find the trail of a band of sheep close up +beneath the rock. If the mountain is one long inhabited by sheep, they +have made a well-worn trail on the hillside, and the little band, while +traveling along this in a general way, scatters out on both sides +feeding on the grass heads that project above the snow, and often with +their noses pushing the light snow away to get at the grass beneath. I +have never seen them do this, nor have I seen them paw to get at the +grass, but the marks in the snow where they have fed showed clearly that +the snow was pushed aside by the muzzle. + +Like most other animals, wild and tame, sheep are very local in their +habits, and one little band will occupy the same basin in the mountains +all summer long, going to water by the same trail, feeding in the same +meadows and along the same hillsides, occupying the same beds stamped +out in the rough slide rock, or on the great rock masses which have +fallen down from the cliff above. Even if frightened from their chosen +home by the passage of a party of travelers, they will go no further +than to the tops of the rocks, and as soon as the cause of alarm is +removed will return once more to the valley. + +I saw a striking instance of this some years ago, when, with a +Geological Survey party, I visited a little basin on the head of one of +the forks of Stinking Water in Wyoming, where a few families of sheep +had their home. + +Our appearance alarmed the sheep, which ran a little way up the face of +the cliff, and then, stopping occasionally to look, clambered along more +deliberately. When we reached the head of the basin we found that there +was no way down on the other side, and that we must go back as we had +come. The afternoon was well advanced and the pack train started back +and camped only a mile or two down the valley, while I stopped among +some great rocks to watch the movements of the sheep. Though at first +not easy to see, the animals' presence was evident by their calling, and +at length several were detected almost at the top of the cliff, but +already making their way back into the valley. + +I was much interested in watching a ewe, which was coming down a steep +slope of slide rock. There was apparently no trail, or if there was +one, she did not use it, but picked her way down to the head of the +slope of slide rock, stood there for a few moments, and then, after +bleating once or twice, sprang well out into the air and alighted on the +slide rock, it seemed to me, twenty-five feet below where she had +been. A little cloud of dust arose and she appeared to be buried to her +knees in the slide rock. I could not see how it was possible for her to +have made this jump without breaking her slender legs, yet she repeated +it again and again, until she had come down about to my level and had +passed out of sight. Nor was this ewe the only one that was coming +down. From a number of points on the precipice round about I could hear +rocks rolling and sheep calling, and before very long eight or ten ewes +and four or five lambs had come together in the little basin, and +presently marched almost straight up to where I lay hid. There was meat +in the camp, and so no reason for shooting at these innocents. Later +when I returned to camp, one of the packers informed me that for an hour +or two before a yearling ram had been feeding in the meadow with the +pack animals, close to the camp. + +The sheep now commonly shows himself to be the keenest and wariest of +North American big game. Yet we may readily credit the stories told us +by older men of his former simplicity and innocence, since even to-day +we sometimes see these characteristics displayed. I remember riding up a +narrow valley walled in on both sides by vertical cliffs and at its head +by a rock wall which was partly broken down, and through which we hoped +to find a way into the next valley to the northward. As we rode along, +a mile or more from the cliff at the valley's head, I saw one or two +sheep passing over it, and a few minutes later was electrified by +hearing my companion say: "Oh, look at the sheep! Look at the sheep! +Look at the sheep!" And there, charging down the valley directly toward +us, came a bunch of thirty or forty sheep in a close body, running as if +something very terrifying were close behind them, and paying not the +slightest attention to the two horsemen before them. I rolled off my +horse and loaded my gun. The sheep came within twenty-five or thirty +steps and a little to one side, and passed us like the wind, but they +left behind one of their number, which kept us in fresh meat for several +days thereafter. + +The first shot I fired at this band gave me a surprise. I drew my sight +fine on the point of the breast of the leading animal and pulled the +trigger, but instead of the explosion which should have followed I heard +the hammer fall on the firing-pin. There was a slow hissing sound, a +little puff at the muzzle of the rifle, and I distinctly heard the +leaden ball fall to the ground just in front of me. In a moment I had +reloaded and had killed the sheep before it had passed far beyond me; +but for a few seconds I could not comprehend what had happened. Then it +came back to me that a few days before I had made from half a dozen +cartridges a weight to attach to a fish line for the purpose of sounding +the depth of a lake. Evidently a lubricating wad had been imperfect, +and dampness had reached the powder. + +Like others of our ungulates, wild sheep are great frequenters of +"licks"--places where the soil has been more or less impregnated with +saline solutions. These licks are visited frequently--perhaps +daily--during the summer months by sheep of all ages, and such points +are favorite watching places for men who need meat, and wish to secure +it as easily as possible. At a certain lick in northern Montana, shots +at sheep may be had almost any day by the man who is willing to watch +for them. In the summer of 1903 a bunch of nine especially good rams +visited a certain lick each day. The guide of a New York man who was +hunting there in June--of course in violation of the law--took him to +the lick. The first day nine rams came, and the New Yorker, after firing +many shots, frightened them all away. Perhaps he hit some of them, for +the next day only seven returned, of which three were killed. In British +Columbia I have seen twenty-five or thirty sheep working at a lick, from +which the earth had been eaten away, so that great hollows and ravines +were cut out in many directions from the central spring. + +Examination of such licks in cold--freezing--weather, seems to show that +the sheep do not then visit them. I have seen mule deer and sheep +nibbling the soil in company, and have seen white goats visit a lick +frequented also by sheep. + +Of Dall's sheep, Mr. Stone declares that it is rapidly growing scarcer, +and this statement is based not only on his own observation, but on +reports made to him by the Indians. Mr. Stone describes it as possessing +wonderful agility, endurance, and vitality, and gives many examples of +their ability to get about among most difficult rocks when wounded. He +adds: "From my experience with these animals, I believe they seek quite +as rugged a country in which to make their homes as does the Rocky +Mountain goat. They brave higher latitudes and live in regions in every +way more barren and forbidding." He reports the females with their lambs +as generally keeping to the high table lands far back in the +mountains. Among the specimens which he recently collected, broken jaw +bones reunited were so frequent among the females killed as to excite +comment. Notwithstanding Mr. Stone's gloomy view of the future of this +species, we may hope that the enforcement of the game laws in Alaska +will long preserve this beautiful animal. + +Our knowledge of the habits of the Lower California sheep inhabiting the +San Pedro Martir Mountains has been slight. Mr. Gould's admirable +account of a hunting trip for them--"To the Gulf of Cortez," published +in a preceding volume of the Club's book--will be remembered, and the +curious fact stated by his Indian guide that the sheep break holes in +the hard, prickly rinds of the venaga cactus with their horns, and then +eat out the inside. + +Recently, however, a series of thirteen specimens collected by Edmund +Heller were received by Dr. D.G. Elliot, and described, as already +stated, and he gives from Mr. Heller's note-book the following notes on +their habits: + +"Common about the cliffs, coming down occasionally to the water holes in +the valley. Most of the sheep observed were either solitary or in small +bands of three to a dozen. Only one adult ram was seen, all the others, +about thirty, being either ewes or lambs. The largest bunch seen +consisted of eleven, mostly ewes and a few young rams." The sheep, as a +rule, inhabit the middle line of cliffs where they are safe from attack +above and can watch the valley below for danger. Here about the middle +line of cliffs they were observed, and the greater number of tracks and +dust wallows, where they spend much of their time, were seen. A few were +seen on the level stretches of the mesas, and a considerable number of +tracks, but these were made by those traveling from one line of cliffs +to another. + +"They are constantly on guard, and very little of their time is given to +browsing. Their usual method is to feed about some high cliffs or rocks, +taking an occasional mouthful of brush, and then suddenly throwing up +the head and gazing and listening for a long time before again taking +food. They are not alarmed by scent, like deer or antelope, the +direction of the wind apparently making no difference in hunting them. A +small bunch of six were observed for a considerable time feeding. Their +method seemed to be much the same as individuals, except that when +danger was suspected by any member, he would give a few quick leaps, and +all the flock would scamper to some high rock and face about in various +directions, no two looking the same way. These maneuvers were often +performed, perhaps once every fifteen minutes. + +"Their chief enemy is the mountain lion, which hunts them on the cliffs, +apparently never about watering places. Lion tracks were not rare about +the sheep runs. They are extremely wary about coming down for water, and +take every precaution. Before leaving the cliffs to cross the valley to +water they usually select some high ridge and descend along this, gazing +constantly at the spring, usually halting ten or more minutes on every +prominent rocky point. When within a hundred yards or less of the water, +a long careful search is made, and a great deal of ear-work performed, +the head being turned first to one side and then to the other. When they +do at last satisfy themselves, they make a bolt and drink quickly, +stopping occasionally to listen and look for danger. + +"If, however, they should be surprised at the water they do not flee at +once, but gaze for some time at the intruder, and then go a short way +and take another look, and so on until at last they break into a steady +run for the cliffs. At least thirty sheep were observed at the water, +and none came before 9:30 A.M. or later than 2:30 P.M., most coming down +between 12:00 M. and 1:00 P.M. This habit has probably been established +to avoid lions, which are seldom about during the hottest part of the +day. A few ewes were seen with two lambs, but the greater number had +only one. Most of the young appeared about two months old. Their usual +gait was a short gallop, seldom a walk or trot." + +The great curving horns of the wild sheep have always exercised more or +less influence on people's imagination, and have given rise to various +fables. These horns are large in proportion to the animal, and so +peculiar that it has seemed necessary to account for them on the theory +that they had some marvelous purpose. The familiar tale that the horns +of the males were used as cushions on which the animal alighted when +leaping down from great heights is old. A more modern hypothesis which +promises to be much shorter lived is that advanced a year or two ago by +Mr. Geo. Wherry, of Cambridge, England, who suggested that "The form of +the horn and position of the ear enables the wild sheep to determine the +direction of sound when there is a mist or fog, the horn acting like an +admiralty megaphone when used as an ear trumpet, or like the topophone +(double ear trumpet, the bells of which turn opposite ways) used for a +fog-bound ship on British-American vessels to determine the direction of +sound signals." + +It is, of course, well understood, and, on the publication of +Mr. Wherry's hypothesis, was at once suggested, that there are many +species of wild sheep, and that the spiral of the horn of each species +is a different one. Moreover, within each species there are of course +different ages, and the spiral may differ with age and also at the same +age to some extent with the individual. In some cases, the ear perhaps +lies at the apex of a cone formed by the horn, but in others it does not +lie there. Moreover this hypothesis, like the other and older one, in +which the horns were said to act as the jumping cushion, takes no +account of the females and young, which in mists, fogs, and at other +times, need protection quite as much as the adult males. The old males +with large and perfect horns have to a large extent fulfilled the +function of their lives--reproduction--and their place is shortly to be +taken by younger animals growing up. Moreover they have reached the full +measure of strength and agility, and through years of experience have +come to a full knowledge of the many dangers to which their race is +exposed. It would seem extraordinary that nature should have cared so +well for them, and should have left the more defenseless females and +young unprotected from the dangers likely to come to them from enemies +which may make sounds in a fog. + +The old males with large and perfect horns have come to their full +fighting powers, and do fight fiercely at certain seasons of the +year. And it is believed by many people that the great development of +horns among the mountain sheep is merely a secondary sexual character +analogous to the antlers of the deer or the spurs of the cock. + +Most people who have hunted sheep much will believe that this species +depends for its safety chiefly on its nose and its eyes. And if the +observations of hunters in general could be gathered and collated, they +would probably agree that the female sheep are rather quicker to notice +danger than the males, though both are quick enough. + +PROTECTION. + +It is gratifying to note that the rapid disappearance of the mountain +sheep has made some impression on legislators in certain States where it +is native. Some of these have laws absolutely forbidding the killing of +mountain sheep; and while in certain places in all of such States and +Territories this law is perhaps lightly regarded, and not generally +observed, still, on the whole, its effect must be good, and we may hope +that gradually it will find general observance. The mountain sheep is so +superb an animal that it should be a matter of pride with every State +which has a stock of sheep within its borders to preserve that stock +most scrupulously. It is said that in Colorado, where sheep have long +been protected, they are noticeably increasing, and growing tamer. I +have been told of one stock and mining camp, near Silver Plume, where +there is a bunch of sheep absolutely protected by public sentiment, in +which the miners, and in fact the whole community, take great pride and +delight. + +It is fitting that on the statute books the mountain sheep should have +better protection than most species of our large game, since there is no +other species now existing in any numbers which is more exposed to +danger of extinction. Destroyed on its old ranges, it is found now only +in the roughest mountains, the bad lands, and the desert, and it is +sufficiently desirable as a trophy to be ardently pursued wherever +found. + +Several States have been wise enough absolutely to protect sheep; these +are North Dakota, California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado (until 1907), +Utah, New Mexico (until March 1, 1905), and Texas (until July, +1908). Three other States, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho, permit one +mountain sheep to be killed by the hunter during the open season of each +year. Oregon, which has a long season, from July 15 to November 1, puts +no limit on the number to be killed, while in Nevada there appears to be +no protection for the species. + +If these protective laws were enforced, sheep would increase, and once +more become delightful objects of the landscape, as they have in +portions of Colorado and in the National Park, where, as already stated, +they are so tame during certain seasons of the year that they will +hardly get out of the way. On the other hand, in many localities covered +by excellent laws, there are no means of enforcing them. Montana, which +perhaps has as many sheep as any State in the Union, does not, and +perhaps cannot, enforce her law, the sheep living in sections distant +from the localities where game wardens are found, and so difficult to +watch. In some cases where forest rangers are appointed game wardens, +they are without funds for the transportation of themselves and +prisoners over the one hundred or two hundred miles between the place of +arrest and the nearest Justice of the Peace, and cannot themselves be +expected to pay these expenses. In the summer of 1903 sheep were killed +in violation of law in the mountains of Montana, and also in the bad +lands of the Missouri River. + +On the other hand, in Colorado there are many places where the law +protecting the sheep is absolutely observed. Public opinion supports the +law, and those disposed to violate it dare not do so for fear of the +law. Near Silver Plume, already mentioned, a drive to see the wild sheep +come down to water is one of the regular sights offered to visitors, and +while there may be localities where sheep are killed in violation of the +law in Colorado, it is certain that there are many where the law is +respected. + +There are still a few places where sheep may be found to-day, living +somewhat as they used to live before the white men came into the western +country. Such places are the extremely rough bad lands of the Missouri +River, between the Little Rocky Mountains and the mouth of Milk River, +where, on account of the absence of water on the upper prairie and the +small areas of the bottoms of the Missouri River, there are as yet few +settlements. The bad lands are high and rough, scarcely to be traversed +except by a man on foot, and in their fastnesses the sheep--protected +formally by State law, but actually by the rugged country--are still +holding their own. They come down to the river at night to water, and +returning spend the day feeding on the uplands of the prairie, and +resting in beds pawed out of the dry earth of the washed bad lands, just +as their ancestors did. + +In old times this country abounded in buffalo, elk, deer of two species, +sheep, and antelope, and if set aside as a State park by Montana, it +would offer an admirable game refuge, and one still stocked with all its +old-time animals, except the elk and the buffalo. + + * * * * * + +RANGE. + +The present range of the different forms of mountain sheep extends from +Alaska and from the Pacific Ocean east to the Rocky Mountains--with a +tongue extending down the Missouri River as far as the Little +Missouri--south to Sonora and Lower California. The various forms from +north to south appear to be Dall's sheep, the saddleback sheep, Stone's +sheep, the common bighorn, with the Missouri River variety, existing to +the east, in the bad lands, and with Nelson's, the Mexican and the Lower +California sheep running southward into Mexico. + +Among the experienced hunters of both forms of Dall's sheep are +Messrs. Dali DeWeese, of Colorado, and A.J. Stone, Collector of Arctic +Mammals for the American Museum of Natural History. Mr. Stone gives two +distinct ranges for this sheep, (1) the Alaska Mountains and Kenai +Peninsula, and (2) the entire stretch of the Rocky Mountains north of +latitude 60 degrees to near the Arctic coast just at the McKenzie, +reaching thence west to the headwaters of the Noatak and Kowak rivers +that flow into Kotzebue Sound. + +Stone's sheep, which was described by Dr. Allen in 1897, came from the +head of the Stickine River, and two years after its description Dr. J.A. +Allen quotes Mr. A.J. Stone, the collector, as saying: "I traced the +_Ovis stonei_, or black sheep, throughout the mountainous country +of the headwaters of the Stickine, and south to the headwaters of the +Nass, but could find no reliable information of their occurrence further +south in this longitude. They are found throughout the Cassiar +Mountains, which extend north to 61 degrees north latitude and west to +134 degrees west longitude. How much further west they may be found I +have been unable to determine. Nor could I ascertain whether their range +extends from the Cassiar Mountains into the Rocky Mountains to the north +of Francis and Liard River. But the best information obtained led me to +believe that it does not. They are found in the Rocky Mountains to the +south as far as the headwaters of the Nelson and Peace rivers in +latitude 56 degrees, but I proved conclusively that in the main range of +the Rocky Mountains very few of them are found north of the Liard +River. Where this river sweeps south through the Rocky Mountains to +Hell's Gate, a few of these animals are founds as far north as Beaver +River, a tributary of the Liard. None, however, are found north of this, +and I am thoroughly convinced that this is the only place where these +animals may be found north of the Liard River. + +"I find that in the Cassiar Mountains and in the Rocky Mountains they +everywhere range above timber line, as they do in the mountains of +Stickine, the Cheonees, and the Etsezas. + +"Directly to the north of the Beaver River, and north of the Liard River +below the confluence of the Beaver, we first meet with _Ovis +dalli_." + +A Stony Indian once told me that in his country--the main range of the +Rocky Mountains--there were two sorts of sheep, one small, dark in +color, and with slender horns, which are seldom broken, and another sort +larger and pale in color, with heavy, thick horns that are often broken +at the point. He went on to say that these small black sheep are all +found north of Bow River, Alberta, and that on the south side of Bow +River the big sheep only occur. The country referred to all lies on the +eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The hunting ground of the Stonies +runs as far north as Peace River, and it is hardly to be doubted that +they know Stone's sheep. The Brewster Bros., of Banff, Alberta, inform +me that Stone's sheep is found on the head of Peace River. + +A dozen or fifteen years ago one of the greatest sheep ranges that was +at all accessible was in the mountains at the head of the Ashnola River, +in British Columbia, and on the head of the Methow, which rises in the +same mountains and flows south into Washington. This is a country very +rough and without roads, only to be traversed with a pack train. + +Mr. Lew Wilmot writes me that there are still quite a number of sheep +ranging from Mt. Chapacca, up through the Ashnola, and on the +headwaters of the Methow. Indeed, it is thought by some that sheep are +more numerous there now than they were a few years ago. In Dyche's +"Campfires of a Naturalist" a record is given of sheep in the Palmer +Lake region, at the east base of the Cascade range in Washington. + +The Rev. John McDougall, of Morley, Alberta, wrote me in 1899, in answer +to inquiries as to the mountain sheep inhabiting the country ranged over +by the Stony Indians, "that it is the opinion of these Indians that the +sheep which frequent the mountains from Montana northward as far as our +Indians hunt, are all of one kind, but that in localities they differ in +size, and somewhat in color. + +"They say that from the 49th parallel to the headwaters of the +Saskatchewan River, sheep are larger than those in the Selkirks and +coast ranges; and also that as they go north of the Saskatchewan the +sheep become smaller. As to color, they say that the more southerly and +western sheep are the lighter; and that as you pass north the sheep are +darker in color. These Stonies report mountain sheep as still to be +found in all of the mountain country they roam in. Their hunting ground +is about 400 miles long by 150 broad, and is principally confined to the +Rocky Mountain range." + +In an effort to establish something of the range of the mountain sheep, +during the very last years of the nineteenth century, I communicated +with a large number of gentlemen who were either resident in, or +travelers through, portions of the West now or formerly occupied by the +mountain sheep, and the results of these inquiries I give below: + +Prof. L.V. Pirsson, of Yale University, who has spent a number of years +in studying the geology of various portions of the northern Rocky +Mountains, wrote me with considerable fullness in 1896 concerning the +game situation in some of the front ranges of the Rockies, where sheep +were formerly very abundant. In the Crazy Mountains he says he saw no +sheep, and that while it was possible they might be there, they must +certainly be rare. In 1880 there were many sheep there. In the Castle +Mountains none were seen, nor reported, nor any traces seen. The same is +true of the Little Belt, Highwood, and Judith Mountains. He understood +that sheep were still present in the bad lands; immediately about the +mountains and east of them the country was too well settled for any game +to live. Earlier, however, in the summer of 1890, passing through the +Snowy Mountains, which lie north of the National Park, sheep were seen +on two occasions; a band of ten ewes and lambs on Sheep Mountain, and a +band of seven rams on the head of the stream known as the Buffalo Fork +of the Lamar River. In 1893 an old ram was killed on Black Butte, at the +extreme eastern end of the Judith Mountains, near Cone Butte, and it is +quite possible that this animal had strayed out of the bad lands on the +lower Musselshell, or on the Missouri. Even at that time there were said +to be no sheep on the Little Rockies, Bearpaws, or Sweetgrass Hills. + +All the ranges spoken of were formerly great sheep ranges, and on all of +them, many years ago, I saw sheep in considerable numbers. + +There are a very few sheep in the Wolf Mountains of Montana. + +There are still mountain sheep among the rough bad lands on both sides +of the Missouri River, between the mouth of the Musselshell and the +mouth of Big Dry. It is hard to estimate the number of these sheep, but +there must be many hundreds of them, and perhaps thousands. As recently +as August, 1900, Mr. S.C. Leady, a ranchman in this region, advised me +that he counted in one bunch, coming to water, forty-nine sheep. + +Mr. Leady further advised me that in his country, owing to the sparse +settlement, the game laws are not at all regarded, and sheep are hunted +at all times of the year. The settlers themselves advocate the +protection of the game, but there is really no one to enforce the +laws. Recent advices from this country show that the conditions there +are now somewhat improved. + +It is probable that in suitable localities in the Missouri River bad +lands sheep are still found in some numbers all the way from the mouth +of the Little Missouri to the mouth of the Judith River. + +Mr. O.C. Graetz, now, or recently, of Kipp, Montana, advised me, through +my friend, J.B. Monroe, that in 1894, in the Big Horn Mountains, Wyo., +on the head of the Little Horn River, in the rough and rolling country +he saw a band of eleven sheep. The same man tells me that also in 1894, +in Sweetwater county, in Wyoming, near the Sweetwater River, south of +South Pass, on a mountain known as Oregon Butte, he twice saw two +sheep. The country was rolling and high, with scattering timber, but not +much of it. In this country, and at that time, the sheep were not much +hunted. + +Mr. Elwood Hofer, one of the best known guides of the West, whose home +is in Gardiner, Park county, Mont., has very kindly furnished me with +information about the sheep on the borders of the Yellowstone National +Park. Writing in May, 1898, he says: "At this time sheep are not +numerous anywhere in this country, compared with what they were before +the railroad (Northern Pacific Railroad) was built in 1881. In summer +they are found in small bands all through the mountains, in and about +the National Park. I found them all along the divide, and out on the +spurs, between the Yellowstone and Stinking Water rivers, and on down +between the Yellowstone and Snake rivers, on one side, and the south +fork of Stinking Water River and the Wind River on the east. I found +sheep at the extreme headwaters of the Yellowstone, and of the Wind +River, and the Buffalo Fork of Snake River. There are sheep in the +Tetons, Gallatin-Madison range, and even on Mount Holmes. I have seen +them around Electric Peak, and so on north, along the west side of the +Yellowstone as far as the Bozeman Pass; but not lately, for I have not +been in those mountains for a number of years. All along the range from +the north side of the Park to within sight of Livingston there are a few +sheep. + +"On the Stinking Water, where I used to see bands of fifteen to twenty +sheep, now we only see from three to five. Of late years I have seen +very few large rams, and those only in the Park. Last summer +Mr. Archibald Rogers saw a large ram at the headwaters of Eagle Creek, +very close to the Park. In winter there are usually a few large rams in +the Gardiner Canyon. I hear that there are a few sheep out toward +Bozeman, on Mt. Blackmore, and the mountains near there. + +"I believe that some of the reasons for the scarcity of mountain sheep +in this country are these: First, the settlement of the plains country +close to the mountains, prevents their going to their winter ranges, and +so starves them; secondly, the same cause keeps them in the mountains, +where the mountain lions can get at them; and thirdly, the scab has +killed a good many. I do not think that the rifle has had much to do +with destroying the sheep." + +Sheep were formerly exceedingly abundant in all the bad lands along the +Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, and in the rough, broken country from +Powder River west to the Big Horn. The Little Missouri country was a +good sheep range, and also the broken country about Fort Laramie. In the +Black Hills of Dakota they were formerly abundant, and also along the +North Platte River, near the canons of the Platte, in the Caspar +Mountain, and in all the rough country down nearly to the forks of the +Platte. + +The easternmost locality which I have for the bighorn is the Birdwood +Creek in Nebraska. This lies just north of O'Fallon Station on the Union +Pacific Railroad and flows nearly due south into the North Platte +River. It is in the northwestern corner of Lincoln county, Nebraska, +just west of the meridian of 101 degrees. Here, in 1877, the late Major +Frank North, well known to all men familiar with the West between the +years 1860 and 1880, saw, but did not kill, a male mountain sheep. The +animal was only 100 yards from him, was plainly seen and certainly +recognized. Major North had no gun, and thought of killing the sheep +with his revolver, but his brother, Luther H. North, who was armed with +a rifle, was not far from him, and Major North dropped down out of sight +and motioned his brother to come to him, so that he might kill it. By +the time Luther had come up, the sheep had walked over a ridge and was +not seen again, but there is no doubt as to its identification. It had +probably come from Court House Rock in Scott's Bluff county, Nebraska, +where there were still a few sheep as recently as twenty-five years ago. + +These animals were also more or less abundant along the Little Missouri +River as late as the late '80's, and perhaps still later. This had +always been a favorite range for them, and in 1874 they were noticed and +reported on by Government expeditions which passed through the country, +and the hunters and trappers who about that time plied their trade along +that river found them abundant. Mr. Roosevelt has written much of +hunting them on that stream. + +The low bluffs of the Yellowstone River--in the days when that was a +hostile Indian country, and only the hunter who was particularly +reckless and daring ventured into it--were a favorite feeding ground for +sheep. They were reported very numerous by the first expeditions that +went up the river, and a few have been killed there within five or six +years, although the valley is given over to farming and the upper +prairie is covered with cattle. This used to be one of the greatest +sheep ranges in all the West; the wide flats of the river bottom, the +higher table lands above, and the worn bad lands between, furnishing +ideal sheep ground. The last killed there, so far as I know, were a ram +and two ewes, which were taken about forty miles below Rosebud Station, +on the river, in 1897 or 1898. + +Of Wyoming, Mr. Wm. Wells writes: "I have only been up here in +northwestern Wyoming for a year, but from what I have seen, sheep are +holding their own fairly well, and may be increasing in places. In 1897, +Mr. H.D. Shelden, of Detroit, Mich., and myself were hunting sheep just +west of the headwaters of Hobacks River. There was a sort of knife-edge +ridge running about fifteen miles north and south, the summit of which +was about 2,000 feet above a bench or table-land. The ridge was well +watered, and in some places the timber ran nearly up to the top of the +ridge. On this ridge there were about 100 sheep, divided into three +bands. Each band seemed to make its home in a cup-like hollow on the +east side of the ridge, about 500 feet below the crest, but the members +of the different bands seemed to visit back and forth, as the numbers +were not always the same. + +"We could take our horses up into either one of the three hollows, and +some of the sheep were so tame that we have several times been within +fifty yards in plain sight, and had the sheep pay very little attention +to us. In one instance two ewes and lambs went on ahead of us at a walk +for several hundred yards, often stopping to look back; and in another a +sheep, after looking at us, two horses and two dogs, across a canyon 200 +yards wide, pawed a bed in the slide rock and lay down. In another case +I drove about thirty head of ewes and lambs to within thirty-five yards +of Mr. Shelden, and when he rose up in plain sight, they stood and +looked at him. When he saw that there was no ram there, he yelled at +them, upon which they ran off about 400 yards, and then stood and looked +at us. + +"I do not think that these sheep had been hunted, until this time, for +several years. As nearly as I could tell, they ranged winter and summer +on nearly the same ground. At the top of the range, facing the east, +were overhanging ledges of rock, and under these the dung was two feet +or more deep. + +"Either during the winter or early spring the sheep had been down in the +timber on the east side of the ridge, as I found the remains of several, +in the winter coat, that had been killed by cougars." + +Mr. D.C. Nowlin, of Jackson, Wyo., was good enough to write me in 1898, +concerning the sheep in the general neighborhood of Jackson's Hole; that +is to say, in the ranges immediately south of the National Park, a +section not far from that just described. He says: "In certain ranges +near here sheep are comparatively plentiful, and are killed every +hunting season. + +"Occasionally a scabby ram is killed. I killed one here which showed +very plainly the ravages of scab, especially around the ears, and on the +neck and shoulders. Evidently the disease is identical with that so +common among domestic sheep, and I have heard more than one creditable +account of mountain sheep mingling temporarily with domestic flocks and +thus contracting the scab. I am confident that the same parasite which +is found upon scabby domestic sheep is responsible for the disease which +affects the bighorn. It is not difficult to account for the transmission +of the disease, as western sheep-men roam with their flocks at will, +from the peach belt to timber line, regardless alike of the legal or +inherent rights of man or beast. Partly through isolation, and partly +through moral suasion by our people, no domestic sheep have invaded +Jackson's Hole." + +Mr. Ira Dodge, of Cora, Wyo., in response to inquiries as to the sheep +in his section of the country, says: "Mountain sheep are, like most +other game, where you find them; but their feeding grounds are mainly +high table-lands, at the foot of, or near, high rocky peaks or +ranges. These table-lands occur at or near timber line, varying one or +two thousand feet either way. In this latitude timber line occurs at +about 11,500 feet. In all the ranges in this locality, namely, the Wind +River, Gros Ventre, and Uintah, water is found in abundance, and, as a +rule, there is plenty of timber. I think I have more often found sheep +in the timber, or below timber line, than at higher altitudes, although +sometimes I have located the finest rams far above the last scrubby +pine. + +"The largest bunch of sheep that I have seen was in the fall of 1893. I +estimated the band at 75 to 100. In that bunch there were no rams, and +they remained in sight for quite a long time; so that I had a good +opportunity to estimate them. + +"I do not profess to know where the majority of these sheep winter, but, +undoubtedly, a great number winter on the table-lands before mentioned, +where a rich growth of grass furnishes an abundance of feed. At this +altitude the wind blows so hard and continuously, and the snow is so +light and dry, that there would be no time during the whole winter when +the snow would lie on the ground long enough to starve sheep to death. +Several small bunches of sheep winter on the Big Gros Ventre +River. These, I think, are the same sheep that are found in summer time +on the Gros Ventre range. I have occasionally killed sheep that were +scabby, but I have no positive knowledge that this disease has killed +any number of sheep. In the fall of 1894 I discovered eleven large ram +skulls in one place, and since that time found four more near by. My +first impression was that the eleven were killed by a snowslide, as they +were at the foot of one of those places where snowslides occur, but +finding the other four within a mile, and in a place where a snowslide +could not have killed them, it rather dispelled my first theory. As +mountain sheep can travel over snow drifts nearly as well as a caribou, +I do not believe that they were stranded in a snowstorm and perished, +and no hunter would have killed so great a number and left such +magnificent heads. The scab theory is about the only solution left. The +sheep are not hunted very much here, and I believe their greatest enemy +is the mountain lion. + +"There is one isolated bunch of mountain sheep on the Colorado Desert, +situated in Fremont and Sweetwater counties, Wyo., which seems to be +holding its own against many range riders, meat and specimen hunters, as +well as coyotes. They are very light in color, much more so than their +cousins found higher up in the mountains, and locally they are called +ibex, or white goats. The country they live in is very similar to the +bad lands of Dakota, and I dare say that their long life on the plains +has created in them a distinct sub-species of the bighorn." + +The Colorado Desert is situated in Wyoming, between the Green River on +the west, and the Red Desert on the east. The sheep are seen mostly on +the breaks on Green River. They are sometimes chased by cowboys, but I +have never known of one being caught in that way. + +I am told that in some bad lands in the Red Desert, locally known as +Dobe Town, there is a herd of wild sheep, which are occasionally pursued +by range riders. Rarely one is roped. + +Mr. Fred E. White, of Jackson, Wyo., advised me in 1898 of the existence +of sheep in the mountains which drain into Gros Ventre Fork, the heads +of Green River and Buffalo Fork of Snake River. Mr. White was with the +Webb party, some years ago, when they secured a number of sheep. The +same correspondent calls attention to the very large number of sheep +which in 1888, and for a few years thereafter, ranged in the high +mountains between the waters of the Yellowstone and the Stinking +Water. This is one of the countries from which sheep have been pretty +nearly exterminated by hunters and prospectors. + +Within the past twenty or thirty years mountain sheep have become very +scarce in all of their old haunts in Wyoming and northern Colorado. This +does not seem to be particularly due to hunting, but the sheep seem to +be either moving away or dying out. Mr. W.H. Reed, in 1898, wrote me +from Laramie, Wyo., saying: "At present there are perhaps thirty head on +Sheep Mountain, twenty-two miles west of Laramie, Wyo.; on the west side +of Laramie Peak there are perhaps twenty head; on the east side of the +Peak twelve to fifteen head, and near the Platte Canon, at the head of +Medicine Bow River, there are fifteen. In 1894 I saw at the head of the +Green River, Hobacks River, and Gros Ventre River, between two and three +hundred mountain sheep. There are sheep scattered all through the Wind +River, and a very few in the Big Horn Mountains; but all are in small +bunches, and these widely separated. Some of the old localities where +they were very abundant in the early '70's, but now are never seen, are +Whalen Canon, Raw Hide Buttes, Hartville Mountains, thirty miles +northwest of Ft. Laramie, Elk Mountains, and the adjacent hills fifteen +miles east of Fort Steele, near old Fort Halleck. They seem to have +disappeared also from the bad lands along Green River, south of the +Union Pacific Railroad, from the Freezeout Hills, Platte Canyon, at the +mouth of Sweetwater River, from Brown's Canyon, forty miles northwest of +Rawlins, from the Seminole and Ferris Mountains, and from many other +places in the middle and northeastern part of Wyoming." + +In Colorado, the mountains surrounding North Park and west to the Utah +line, had many mountain sheep twenty-five years ago, but to-day old +hunters tell me that there are only two places where one is sure to find +sheep. These are Hahn's Peak and the Rabbit Ears, two peaks at the south +end of North Park. + +There were sheep in and about the Black Hills of Dakota as late as 1890, +for Mr. W.S. Phillips has kindly informed me that about June of that +year he saw three sheep on Mt. Inyan Kara. These were the only ones +actually seen during the summer, but they were frequently heard of from +cattle-men, and Mr. Phillips considers it beyond dispute that at that +time they ranged from Sundance, Inyan Kara and Bear Lodge Mountains--all +on the western and southwestern slope of the Black Hills, on and near +the Wyoming-Dakota line--on the east, westerly at least to Pumpkin +Buttes and Big Powder River, and in the edge of the bad lands of Wyoming +as far north as the Little Missouri Buttes, and south to the south fork +of the Cheyenne River, and the big bend of the north fork of the Platte, +and the head of Green River. This range is based on reports of reliable +range riders, who saw them in passing through the country. It is an +ideal sheep country--rough, varying from sage brush desert, out of which +rises an occasional pine ridge butte, to bad lands, and the mountains of +the Black Hills. There are patches of grassy, fairly good pasture +land. The country is well watered, and there are many springs hidden +under the hills which run but a short distance after they come out of +the ground and then sink. Timber occurs in patches and more or less open +groves on the pine ridges that run sometimes for several miles in a +continuous hill, at a height of from one to three or four hundred feet +above the plain. The region is a cattle country. + +In 1893 and '97 fresh heads and hides were seen at Pocotello, Idaho, and +at one or two other points west of there in the lava country along Snake +River and the Oregon short line. The sheep were probably killed in the +spurs and broken ranges that run out on the west flank of the main chain +of the Rockies toward the Blue Mountains of Oregon. + +Mr. William Wells, of Wells, Wyo., has very kindly given me the +following notes as to Colorado, where he formerly resided. He says: +"During 1890, '91, '92, there were a good many mountain sheep on the +headwaters of Roan Creek, a tributary of Grand River, in Colorado. Roan +Creek heads on the south side of the Roan or Book Plateau, and flows +south into Grand River. The elevation of Grand River at this point is +about 5,000 feet, and the elevation of the Book Plateau is about 8,500 +feet. The side of the plateau toward Grand River consists of cliffs from +2,000 to 3,000 feet high, and as the branches of Roan Creek head on top +of the plateau they form very deep box canyons as they cut their way to +the river. It is on these cliffs and in these canyons that the sheep were +found. I understand that there are some there yet, but I have not been +in that section since 1892. On all the cliffs are benches or terraces--a +cliff of 300 to 1,000 feet at the top, then a bench, then another cliff, +and so on to the bottom. The benches are well grassed, and there is more +or less timber, quaking asp, spruce and juniper in the side +canyons. There are plenty of springs along the cliffs, and as they face +the south, the winter range is good. The top of the plateau is an open +park country, and at that time was, and is yet, for that matter, full of +deer and bear, but I never saw any sheep on top, though they sometimes +come out on the upper edge of the cliffs. + +"There were, and I suppose are still, small bands of sheep on Dome and +Shingle Peaks, on the headwaters of White River, in northwestern +Colorado. + +"There was also a band of sheep on the Williams River Mountains which +lie between Bear River and the Williams Fork of Bear River, in +northwestern Colorado, but these sheep were killed off about 1894 or +'95. The Williams River Mountains are a low range of grass-covered +hills, well watered, with broken country and cliffs on the south side, +toward the Williams Fork. + +"It is also reported that there is a band of sheep in Grand River Canyon, +just above Glenwood Springs, Colo., and sheep are reported to be on the +increase in the Gunnison country, and other parts of southwestern +Colorado, as that State protects sheep." + +Mr. W.J. Dixon, of Cimarron, Kan., wrote me in May, 1898, as follows: +"In 1874 or '75 I killed sheep at the head of the north fork of the +Purgatoire, or Rio de las Animas, on the divide between the Spanish +Peaks and main range of the Rocky Mountains, southwest by west from the +South Peak. I was there also in November, 1892, and saw three or four +head at a distance, but did not go after them. They must be on the +increase there." + +In 1899 there was a bunch of sheep in east central Utah, about thirty +miles north of the station of Green River, on the Rio Grande Western +Railroad, and on the west side of the Green River. These were on the +ranch of ex-member of Congress, Hon. Clarence E. Allen, and were +carefully protected by the owners of the property. The ranch hands are +instructed not to kill or molest them in any manner, and to do nothing +that will alarm them. They come down occasionally to the lower ground, +attracted by the lucerne, as are also the deer, which sometimes prove +quite a nuisance by getting into the growing crops. The sheep spend most +of their time in the cliffs not far away. When first seen, about 1894, +there were but five sheep in the bunch, while in 1899 twenty were +counted. This information was very kindly sent to me by +Mr. C.H. Blanchard, at one time of Silver City, but more recently of +Salt Lake City, in Utah. + +Mr. W.H. Holabird, formerly of Eddy, New Mexico, but more recently of +Los Angeles, Cal., tells me that during the fall of 1896 a number of +splendid heads were brought into Eddy, N.M. He is told that mountain +sheep are quite numerous in the rugged ridge of the Guadeloupe +Mountains, bands of from five to twelve being frequently seen. As to +California, he reports: "We have a good many mountain sheep on the +isolated mountain spurs putting out from the main ranges into the +desert. I frequently hear of bands of two to ten, but our laws protect +them at all seasons." + +My friend, Mr. Herbert Brown, of Yuma, Ariz., so well known as an +enthusiastic and painstaking observer of natural history matters, has +kindly written me something as to the mountain sheep in that +Territory. He says: "Under the game law of Arizona the killing of +mountain sheep is absolutely prohibited, but that does not prevent their +being killed. It does, however, prevent their being killed for the +market, and it was killing for the market that threatened their +extermination. So far as I have ever been able to learn, these sheep +range, or did range, on all the mountains to the north, west, and south +of Tucson, within a hundred miles or so. I know of them in the +Superstition Mountains, about a hundred miles to the north; in the +Quijotoas Mountains, a like distance to the southwest, and in the +mountains intermediate; I have no positive proof of their existence in +the Santa Ritas, but about twenty-three years ago I saw a pair of old +and weather-beaten horns that had been picked up in that range near Agua +Caliente, that is about ten or twelve miles southwest of +Mt. Wrightson. I never saw any sheep in the range, nor do I know of any +one more fortunate than myself in that respect. In days gone by the +Santa Catalinas, the Rincon, and the Tucson Mountains were the most +prolific hunting grounds for the market men. So far as I can remember, +the first brought to the market here were subsequent to the coming of +the railroad in 1880. They were killed in the Tucson Mountains by the +'Logan boys,' well known hunters at that time. Later the Logans made a +strike in the mines and disappeared. For several years no sheep were +seen, but finally Mexicans began killing them in the Santa Catalinas, +and occasionally six or eight would be hung up in the market at the same +time. Later the Papago Indians in the southwest began killing them for +the market. These people, as did also the Mexicans, killed big and +little, and the animals, never abundant, were threatened with +extermination. Those killed by the Logans came from the Tucson +Mountains; those killed by the Mexicans from the Santa Catalinas, and +those killed by the Indians probably from the Baboquivari or Comobabi +ranges. I questioned the hunters repeatedly, but they never gave me a +satisfactory answer. + +"Although I never saw the sheep, I have repeatedly seen evidence of them +in both the ranges named. Inasmuch as I have not seen one in several +years past, I feel very confident that there are not many to see. Last +year I learned of a large ram being killed in the Superstition Mountains +which was alone when killed. About three years ago the head of a big ram +was brought to this city. It is said to have weighed seventy pounds. I +did not see it, nor did I learn where it came from. + +"The Superstition and the Santa Catalinas are the very essence of +ruggedness, but notwithstanding this I am constrained to believe that +the days of big game are nearly numbered in Arizona. The reasons for +this are readily apparent. The mountain ranges are more or less +mineralized. To this there is hardly an exception. There is no place so +wild and forbidding that the prospector will not enter it. If 'pay rock' +or 'pay dirt' is struck, then good-by solitude and big game. A second +cause is to be found in the cattle industry, which, as a rule, is very +profitable. One of the most successful cattle growers in the country +once told me that cattle in Arizona would breed up to 95 per cent. +These breeders during the dry season leave the mesas and climb to the +top of the very highest mountains, and, of course, the more cattle the +less game. A year ago I was in the Harshaw Mountains, and was told by a +young man named Sorrell that a bunch of wild cattle occupied a certain +peak, and that on a certain occasion he had seen a big mountain sheep +with the cattle. + +"So far as I know, I never saw or heard of a case of scab among wild +sheep." + +Later, but still in 1898, Mr. Brown wrote me that, according to +Mr. J. D. Thompson, mountain sheep are common in all the mountains +bordering the Gulf Coast in Sonora, and also in Lower California. +Mr. Thompson is operating mines in the Sierra Pinto, Sonora, 180 miles +southeast of Yuma. This range is about six miles long and 800 feet +high. The mule deer and sheep are killed according to necessity. Indians +do the killing. A mule deer is worth two dollars, Mexican money, and a +sheep but little more, although the former are much more abundant than +the latter. The last sheep taken to camp was traded off for a pair of +overalls. + +"It is reasonably certain that with sheep in southern Arizona and +southern Sonora, every mountain range between the two must be tenanted +by this species. + +"During the August feast days the Papago Indians living about Quitovac +generally have a Montezuma celebration, in which live deer are employed. +For this purpose several are caught. Subsequently they are killed and +eaten. They are taken by relays of men or horses, sometimes both." + +In northern Arizona sheep are still common. Dr. C. Hart Merriam in his +report on the San Francisco Mountain--"North American Fauna" +III.--recorded the San Francisco herd, of which he saw eight or nine +together. He also recorded their presence at the Grand Canyon, where they +are still fairly common, though very wary. + +Mr. A.W. Anthony, of California, wrote me in 1898 concerning sheep in +southern California, and I am glad to quote his letter almost in +full. He says: "In San Diego county, Cal., there are a few sheep along +the western edge of the Colorado Desert. So far as I know, these are all +in the first ranges above the desert, and do not extend above the piñon +belt. These barren hills are dry, broken and steep, with very little +water, and except for the stock men, who have herds grazing on the +western edge of the desert, they are very seldom disturbed. Along the +line of the old Carriso Creek stage road from Yuma to Los Angeles, +between Warner Pass and the mouth of Carriso Creek--where it reaches the +desert--are several water holes where sheep have, up to 1897, at least, +regularly watered during the dry season. + +"I have known of several being killed by stock men there during the past +few years, by watching for them about the water. As a rule, the country +is too dry, open and rough to make still-hunting successful. At the same +time I think they would have been killed off long since except for +reinforcements received from across the line in Lower California. + +"Up to 1894 a few sheep were found as far up the range as Mt. Baldy, Los +Angeles county, and they may still occur there, but I cannot be sure. +One or two of the larger ranges west of the Colorado River, in the +desert, were, two years ago, and probably are still, blessed with a few +sheep. I have known of two or three parties that went after them, but +they would not tell where they went; not far north of the Southern +Pacific Railroad, I think. + +"In Lower California sheep are still common in many places, but are +largely confined to the east side of the peninsula, mostly being found +in the low hills between the gulf and the main divide. A few reach the +top of San Pedro Martir--12,000 feet--but I learn from the Indians they +never were common in the higher ranges. The piñon belt and below seem to +be their habitat, and in very dry, barren ranges. I have known a few to +reach the Pacific, between 28 deg. n. lat. and 30 deg. n. lat.; but +they never seem at home on the western side of the peninsula. + +"Owing to their habitat, few whites care to bother them--it costs too +much in cash, and more in bodily discomfort; but the natives kill them +at all seasons; not enough, however, to threaten extermination unless +they receive help from the north. + +"I have no knowledge of any scab, or other disease, affecting the sheep, +either in southern or Lower California." + +For northern California, records of sheep are few. Dr. Merriam, Chief of +the Biological Survey, tells me that sheep formerly occurred on the +Siskiyou range, on the boundary between California and Oregon, and that +some years ago he saw an old ram that had been killed on these +mountains. On Mt. Shasta they were very common until recently. In the +High Sierra, south of the latitude of Mono Lake, a few still occur, but +there are extremely rare. + +In Oregon records are few. Dr. Merriam informs me that he has seen them +on Steen Mountain, in the southeastern part of the State, where they +were common a few years ago. Mr. Vernon Bailey, of the Biological +Survey, has seen them also in the Wallowa Mountains. The Biological +Survey also has records of their occurrence in the Blue Mountains, where +they used to be found both on Strawberry Butte and on what are called +the Greenhorn Mountains. The last positive record from that region is in +1895. In 1897 Mr. Vernon Bailey reported sheep from Silver and Abert +Lakes in the desert region east of the Cascade. They were formerly +numerous in the rocky regions about Silver Lake, and a few still +inhabited the ridges northeast of Abert Lake. + +In Nevada Mr. Bailey found sheep in the Toyabe range. + +Mr. Bailey found sheep in the Seven Devils Mountains, and he and +Dr. Merriam found them in the Salmon River, Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth +Mountains, all in Idaho. Mr. Bailey also found them in Texas in the +Guadaloupe Mountains and in most of the ranges thence south to the +boundary line in western Texas. + + * * * * * + +From what has already been said it will be seen that in inaccessible +places all over the western country, from the Arctic Ocean south to +Mexico, and at one or two points in the great plains, there still remain +stocks of mountain sheep. Once the most unsuspicious and gentle of all +our large game animals, they have become very shy, wary, and well able +to take care of themselves. In the Yellowstone Park, on the other hand, +they have reverted to their old time tameness, and no longer regard man +with fear. There, as is told on other pages of this volume, they are +more tame than the equally protected antelope, mule deer or elk. + +Should the Grand Canyon of the Colorado be set aside as a national park, +as it may be hoped it will be, the sheep found there will no doubt +increase, and become, as they now are in the Yellowstone Park, a most +interesting natural feature of the landscape. And in like manner, when +game refuges shall be established in the various forest reservations all +over the western country, this superb species will increase and do +well. Alert, quick-witted, strong, fleet and active, it is one of the +most beautiful and most imposing of North American animals. Equally at +home on the frozen snowbanks of the mountain top, or in the parched +deserts of the south, dwelling alike among the rocks, in the timber, or +on the prairie, the mountain sheep shows himself adaptable to all +conditions, and should surely have the best protection that we can give +him. + +I shall never forget a scene witnessed many years ago, long before +railroads penetrated the Northwest. I was floating down the Missouri +River in a mackinaw boat, the sun just topping the high bad land bluffs +to the east, when a splendid ram stepped out, upon a point far above the +water, and stood there outlined against the sky. Motionless, with head +thrown back, and in an attitude of attention, he calmly inspected the +vessel floating along below him; so beautiful an object amid his wild +surroundings, and with his background of brilliant sky, that no hand was +stretched out for the rifle, but the boat floated quietly on past him, +and out of sight. + +_George Bird Grinnell_. + + +[Illustration: _Merycodus osborni_ MATTHEW. +From the Middle Miocene of Colorado. Discovered and described by +Dr. W. D. Matthew. Mounted by Mr. Adam Hermann. Height at withers, 19 +inches. Length of antlers, 9 inches.] + + + + +Preservation of the Wild Animals of North America[8] + +[Footnote 8: Address before the Boone and Crockett Club, Washington, +January 23, 1904.] + +The National and Congressional movement for the preservation of the +Sequoia in California represents a growth of intelligent sentiment. It +is the same kind of sentiment which must he aroused, and aroused in +time, to bring about Government legislation if we are to preserve our +native animals. That which principally appeals to us in the Sequoia is +its antiquity as a race, and the fact that California is its last +refuge. + +As a special and perhaps somewhat novel argument for preservation, I +wish to remind you of the great antiquity of our game animals, and the +enormous period of time which it has taken nature to produce them. We +must have legislation, and we must have it in time. I recall the story +of the judge and jury who arrived in town and inquired about the +security of the prisoner, who was known to be a desperate character; +they were assured by the crowd that the prisoner was perfectly secure +because he was safely hanging to a neighboring tree. If our preservative +measures are not prompt, there will be no animals to legislate for. + +SENTIMENT AND SCIENCE. + +The sentiment which promises to save the Sequoia is due to the spread of +knowledge regarding this wonderful tree, largely through the efforts of +the Division of Forestry. In the official chronology of the United +States Geological Survey--which is no more nor less reliable than that +of other geological surveys, because all are alike mere approximations +to the truth--the Sequoia was a well developed race 10,000,000 of years +ago. It became one of a large family, including fourteen genera. The +master genus--the _Sequoia_--alone includes thirty extinct +species. It was distributed in past times through Canada, Alaska, +Greenland, British Columbia, across Siberia, and down into southern +Europe. The Ice Age, and perhaps competition with other trees more +successful in seeding down, are responsible for the fact that there are +now only two living species--the "red wood," or _Sequoia +sempervirens_, and the giant, or _Sequoia gigantea_. The last +refuge of the _gigantea_ is in ten isolated groves, in some of +which the tree is reproducing itself, while in others it has ceased to +reproduce. + +In the year 1900 forty mills and logging companies were engaged in +destroying these trees. + +All of us regard the destruction of the Parthenon by the Turks as a +great calamity; yet it would be possible, thanks to the laborious +studies which have chiefly emanated from Germany, for modern architects +to completely restore the Parthenon in its former grandeur; but it is +far beyond the power of all the naturalists of the world to restore one +of these Sequoias, which were large trees, over 100 feet in height, +spreading their leaves to the sun, before the Parthenon was even +conceived by the architects and sculptors of Greece. + +LIFE OF THE SEQUOIA AND HISTORY OF THOUGHT. + +In 1900 five hundred of the very large trees still remained, the highest +reaching from 320 to 325 feet. Their height, however, appeals to us less +than their extraordinary age, estimated by Hutchins at 3,600, or by John +Muir, who probably loves them more than any man living, at from 4,000 to +5,000 years. According to the actual count of Muir of 4,000 rings, by a +method which he has described to me, one of these trees was 1,000 years +old when Homer wrote the Iliad; 1,500 years of age when Aristotle was +foreshadowing his evolution theory and writing his history of animals; +2,000 years of age when Christ walked upon the earth; nearly 4,000 years +of age when the "Origin of Species" was written. Thus the life of one of +these trees spanned the whole period before the birth of Aristotle (384 +B.C.) and after the death of Darwin (A.D. 1882), the two greatest +natural philosophers who have lived. + +These trees are the noblest living things upon earth. I can imagine that +the American people are approaching a stage of general intelligence and +enlightened love of nature in which they will look back upon the +destruction of the Sequoia as a blot on the national escutcheon. + +VENERATION OF AGE. + +The veneration of age sentiment which should, and I believe actually +does, appeal to the American people when clearly presented to them even +more strongly than the commercial sentiment, is roused in equal strength +by an intelligent appreciation of the race longevity of the larger +animals which our ancestors found here in profusion, and of which but a +comparatively small number still survive. To the unthinking man a bison, +a wapiti, a deer, a pronghorn antelope, is a matter of hide and meat; to +the real nature lover, the true sportsman, the scientific student, each +of these types is a subject of intense admiration. From the mechanical +standpoint they represent an architecture more elaborate than that of +Westminster Abbey, and a history beside which human history is as of +yesterday. + +SLOW EVOLUTION OF MODERN MAMMALS. + +These animals were not made in a day, nor in a thousand years, nor in a +million years. As said the first Greek philosopher, Empedocles, who 560 +B.C. adumbrated the "survival of the fittest" theory of Darwin, they are +the result of ceaseless trials of nature. While the Sequoia was first +emerging from the Carboniferous, or Coal Period, the reptile-like +ancestors of these mammals, covered with scales and of egg-laying +habits, were crawling about and giving not the most remote prophecy of +their potential transformation through 10,000,000 of years into the +superb fauna of the northern hemisphere. + +The descendants of these reptiles were transformed into mammals. If we +had had the opportunity of studying the early mammals of the Rocky +Mountain region with a full appreciation of the possibilities of +evolution, we should have perceived that they were essentially of the +same stock and ancestral to our modern types. There were little camels +scarcely more than twelve inches high, little taller than cotton-tail +rabbits and smaller than the jackass rabbits; horses 15 inches high, +scarcely larger than, and very similar in build to, the little English +coursing hound known as the whippet; it is not improbable that we shall +find the miniature deer; there certainly existed ancestral wolves and +foxes of similarly small proportions. You have all read your Darwin +carefully enough to know that neither camels, horses, nor deer would +have evolved as they did except for the stimulus given to their limb and +speed development by the contemporaneous evolution of their enemies in +the dog family. + +THE MIDDLE STAGE OF EVOLUTION. + +A million and a half years later these same animals had attained a very +considerable size; the western country had become transformed by the +elevation of the plateaux into dry, grass-bearing uplands, where both +horses and deer of peculiarly American types were grazing. We have +recently secured some fresh light on the evolution of the American +deer. Besides the _Palaeryx_, which may be related to the true +American deer _Odocoileus_, we have found the complete skeleton of +a small animal named _Merycodus_, nineteen inches high, possessed +of a complete set of delicate antlers with the characteristic burr at +the base indicating the annual shedding of the horn, and a general +structure of skeleton which suggests our so-called pronghorn antelope, +_Antilocapra_, rather than our true American deer, _Odocoileus_. +This was in all probability a distinctively American type. +Its remains have been found in eastern Colorado in the geological +age known as Middle Miocene, which is estimated (_sub rosa_, like +all our other geological estimates), at about a million and a half years +of age. Our first thought as we study this small, strikingly graceful +animal, is wonder that such a high degree of specialization and +perfection was reached at so early a period; our second thought is the +reverence for age sentiment. + +THE AFRICAN PERIOD IN AMERICA. + +The conditions of environment were different from what they were before +or what they are now. These animals flourished during the period in +which western America must have closely resembled the eastern and +central portions of Africa at the present time. + +This inference is drawn from the fact that the predominant fauna of +America in the Middle and Upper Miocene Age and in the Pliocene was +closely analogous to the still extant fauna of Africa. It is true we had +no real antelopes in this country, in fact none of the bovines, and no +giraffes; but there was a camel which my colleague Matthew has surnamed +the "giraffe camel," extraordinarily similar to the giraffe. There were +no hippopotami, no hyraces. All these peculiarly African animals, of +African origin, I believe, found their way into Europe at least as far +as the Sivalik Hills of India, but never across the Bering Sea +Isthmus. The only truly African animal which reached America, and which +flourished here in an extraordinary manner, was the elephant, or rather +the mastodon, if we speak of the elephant in its Miocene stage of +evolution. However, the resemblance between America and Africa is +abundantly demonstrated by the presence of great herds of horses, of +rhinoceroses, both long and short limbed, of camels in great variety, +including the giraffe-like type which was capable of browsing on the +higher branches of trees, of small elephants, and of deer, which in +adaptation to somewhat arid conditions imitated the antelopes in general +structure. + +ELIMINATION BY THE GLACIAL PERIOD. + +The Glacial Period eliminated half of this fauna, whereas the equatorial +latitude of the fauna in Africa saved that fauna from the attack of the +Glacial Period, which was so fatally destructive to the animals in the +more northerly latitudes of America. The glaciers or at least the very +low temperature of the period eliminated especially all the African +aspects of our fauna. This destructive agency was almost as baneful and +effective as the mythical Noah's flood. When it passed off, there +survived comparatively few indigenous North American animals, but the +country was repopulated from the entire northern hemisphere, so that the +magnificent wild animals which our ancestors found here were partly +North American and partly Eurasiatic in origin. + +ELIMINATION BY MAN. + +Our animal fortune seemed to us so enormous that it never could be +spent. Like a young rake coming into a very large inheritance, we +attacked this noble fauna with characteristic American improvidence, and +with a rapidity compared with which the Glacial advance was eternally +slow; the East went first, and in fifty years we have brought about an +elimination in the West which promises to be even more radical than that +effected by the ice. We are now beginning to see the end of the North +American fauna; and if we do not move promptly, it will become a matter +of history and of museums. The bison is on the danger line; if it +survives the fatal effects of its natural sluggishness when abundantly +fed, it still runs the more insidious but equally great danger of +inbreeding, like the wild ox of Europe. The chances for the wapiti and +elk and the western mule and black-tail deer are brighter, provided that +we move promptly for their protection. The pronghorn is a wonderfully +clever and adaptive animal, crawling under barb-wire fences, and thus +avoiding one of the greatest enemies of Western life. Last summer I was +surprised beyond measure to see the large herds of twenty to forty +pronghorn antelopes still surviving on the Laramie plains, fenced in on +all sides by the wires of the great Four-Bar Ranch, part of which I +believe are stretched illegally. + +RECENT DISAPPEARANCE. + +I need not dwell on the astonishingly rapid diminution of our larger +animals in the last few years; it would be like "carrying coals to +Newcastle" to detail personal observations before this Club, which is +full of men of far greater experience and knowledge than myself. On the +White River Plateau Forest Reserve, which is destined to be the +Adirondacks of Colorado, with which many of you are familiar, the deer +disappeared in a period of four years. Comparatively few are left. + +The most thoroughly devastated country I know of is the Uintah Mountain +Forest Reserve, which borders between southwestern Wyoming and northern +Utah. I first went through this country in 1877. It was then a wild +natural region; even a comparatively few years ago it was bright with +game, and a perfect flower garden. It has felt the full force of the +sheep curse. I think any one of you who may visit this country now will +agree that this is not too strong a term, and I want to speak of the +sheep question from three standpoints: First, as of a great and +legitimate industry in itself; second, from the economic standpoint; +third, from the standpoint of wild animals. + +GENERAL RESULTS OF GRAZING. + +The formerly beautiful Uintah Mountain range presents a terrible example +of the effects of prolonged sheep herding. The under foliage is entirely +gone. The sheep annually eat off the grass tops and prevent seeding +down; they trample out of life what they do not eat; along the principal +valley routes even the sage brush is destroyed. Reforesting by the +upgrowth of young trees is still going on to a limited extent, but is in +danger. The water supply of the entire Bridger farming country, which is +dependent upon the Uintah Mountains as a natural reservoir, is rapidly +diminishing; the water comes in tremendous floods in the spring, and +begins to run short in the summer, when it is most needed. The +consequent effects upon both fish and wild animals are well known to +you. No other animal will feed after the sheep. It is no exaggeration to +say, therefore, that the sheep in this region are the enemies of every +living thing. + +BALANCE OF NATURE. + +Even the owner cannot much longer enjoy his range, because he is +operating against _the balance of nature_. The last stage of +destruction which these innocent animals bring about has not yet been +reached, but it is approaching; it is the stage in which there is _no +food left for the sheep themselves_. I do not know how many pounds +of food a sheep consumes in course of a year--it cannot be much less +than a ton--but say it is only half a ton, how many acres of dry western +mountain land are capable of producing half a ton a year when not +seeding down? As long as the consumption exceeds the production of the +soil, it is only a question of time when even the sheep will no longer +find subsistence. + +THE LAST STAGE TO BE SEEN IN THE ORIENT. + +While going through these mountains last summer and reflecting upon the +prodigious changes which the sheep have brought about in a few years, it +occurred to me that we must look to Oriental countries in order to see +the final results of sheep and goat grazing in semi-arid climates. I +have proposed as an historical thesis a subject which at first appears +somewhat humorous, namely, "The Influence of Sheep and Goats in +History." I am convinced that the country lying between Arabia and +Mesopotamia, which was formerly densely populated, full of beautiful +cities, and heavily wooded, has been transformed less by the action of +political causes than by the unrestricted browsing of sheep and +goats. This browsing destroyed first the undergrowth, then the forests, +the natural reservoirs of the country, then the grasses which held +together the soil, and finally resulted in the removal of the soil +itself. The country is now denuded of soil, the rocks are practically +bare; it supports only a few lions, hyaes, gazelles, and Bedouins. Even +if the trade routes and mines, on which Brooks Adams in his "New Empire" +dwells so strongly as factors of all civilization, were completely +restored, the population could not be restored nor the civilization, +because there is nothing in this country for people to live upon. The +same is true of North Africa, which, according to Gibbon, was once the +granary of the Roman Empire. In Greece to-day the goats are now +destroying the last vestiges of the forests. + +I venture the prediction that the sheep industry on naturally semi-arid +lands is doomed; that the future feeding of both sheep and cattle will +be on irrigated lands, and that the forests will be carefully guarded by +State and Nature as natural reservoirs. + +COMMERCIALISM AND IDEALISM. + +By contrast to the sheep question, which is a purely economic or +utilitarian one, and will settle itself, if we do not settle it by +legislation based on scientific observation, the preservation of the +Sequoia and of our large wild animals is one of pure sentiment, of +appreciation of the ideal side of life; we can live and make money +without either. We cannot even use the argument which has been so +forcibly used in the case of the birds, that the cutting down of these +trees or killing of these animals will upset the balance of nature. + +I believe in every part of the country--East, West, North, and South--we +Americans have reached a stage of civilization where if the matter were +at issue the majority vote would unquestionably be, _let us preserve +our wild animals._ + +We are generally considered a commercial people, and so we are; but we +are more than this, we are a people of ideas, and we value them. As +stated in the preamble of the Sequoia bill introduced on Dec. 8, 1903, +we must legislate for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and I may +add for the greatest happiness of the largest number, not only of the +present but of future generations. + +So far as my observation goes, preservation can only be absolutely +insured by national legislation. + +GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION BY ENGLAND, BELGIUM, GERMANY. + +The English, a naturally law-abiding people, seem to have a special +faculty for enforcing laws. By co-operation with the Belgian Government +they have taken effective and remarkably successful measures for the +protection of African game. As for Germany, in 1896 Mr. Gosselin, of +the British Embassy in Berlin, reported as follows for German East Africa: + +That the question of preserving big game in German East Africa has been +under the consideration of the local authorities for some time past, and +a regulation has been notified at Dar-es-Salaam which it is hoped will +do something toward checking the wanton destruction of elephants and +other indigenous animals. Under this regulation every hunter must take +out an animal license, for which the fee varies from 5 to 500 rupees, +the former being the ordinary fee for natives, the latter for elephant +and rhinoceros hunting, and for the members of sporting expeditions into +the interior. Licenses are not needed for the purpose of obtaining food, +nor for shooting game damaging cultivated land, nor for shooting apes, +beasts of prey, wild boars, reptiles, and all birds except ostriches and +cranes. Whatever the circumstances, the shooting is prohibited of all +young game--calves, foals, young elephants, either tuskless or having +tusks under three kilos, all female game if recognizable--except, of +course, those in the above category of unprotected animals. Further, in +the Moschi district of Kilima-Njaro, no one, whether possessing a +license or not, is allowed without the special permission of the +Governor to shoot antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, ostriches, and cranes. +Further, special permission must be obtained to hunt these with nets, by +kindling fires, or by big drives. Those who are not natives have also +to pay l00 rupees for the first elephant killed, and 250 for each +additional one, and 50 rupees for the first rhinoceros and 150 for each +succeeding one. Special game preserves are also to be established, and +Major von Wissmann, in a circular to the local officers, explains that +no shooting whatever will be allowed in these without special permission +from the Government. The reserves will be of interest to science as a +means of preserving from extirpation the rarer species, and the Governor +calls for suggestions as to the best places for them. They are to extend +in each direction at least ten hours' journey on foot. He further asks +for suggestions as to hippopotamus reserves, where injury would not be +done to plantations. Two districts are already notified as game +sanctuaries. Major von Wissmann further suggests that the station +authorities should endeavor to domesticate zebras (especially when +crossed with muscat and other asses and horses), ostriches, and hyaena +dogs crossed with European breeds. Mr. Gosselin remarks that the best +means of preventing the extermination of elephants would be to fix by +international agreement among all the Powers on the East African coast a +close time for elephants, and to render illegal the exportation or sale +of tusks under a certain age. + +In December, 1900, Viscount Cranborne in the House of Commons reported +as follows: + +* * * That regulations for the preservation of wild animals have been +in force for some time in the several African Protectorates administered +by the Foreign Office as well as in the Sudan. The obligations imposed +by the recent London Convention upon the signatory Powers will not +become operative until after the exchange of ratifications, which has +not yet taken place. In anticipation, however, steps have been taken to +revise the existing regulations in the British Protectorates so as to +bring them into strict harmony with the terms of the convention. The +game reserves now existing in the several Protectorates are: In (a) +British Central Africa, the elephant marsh reserve and the Shirwa +reserve; in (b) the East Africa Protectorate, the Kenia District; in (c) +Uganda, the Sugota game reserve in the northeast of the Protectorate; in +(d) Somaliland, a large district defined by an elaborate boundary line +described in the regulations. The regulations have the force of law in +the Protectorates, and offenders are dealt with in the Protectorate +Courts. It is in contemplation to charge special officers of the +Administrations with the duty of watching over the proper observance of +the regulations. Under the East African game regulations only the +officers permanently stationed at or near the Kenia reserve may be +specially authorized to kill game in the reserve. + +Other effective measures have been taken in the Soudan +district. Capt. Stanley Flower, Director of the Gizeh Zoological +Gardens, made a very full report, which is quoted in _Nature_ for +July 25, 1901, p. 318. + +STATE LAWS. + +The preservation of even a few of our wild animals is a very large +proposition; it is an undertaking the difficulty of which grows in +magnitude as one comes to study it in detail and gets on the ground. The +rapidly increasing legislation in the Western States is an indication of +rapidly growing sentiment. A still more encouraging sign is the strong +sympathy with the enforcement of the laws which we find around the +National Park in Wyoming and Montana especially. State laws should be +encouraged, but I am convinced that while effective in the East, they +will not be effective in the West _in time_, because of the +scattered population, the greater areas of country involved, the greater +difficulty of watching and controlling the killing, and the actual need +of game for food by settlers. + +When we study the operation of our State laws on the ground we find that +for various reasons they are not fully effective. A steady and in some +cases rapid diminution of animals is going on so far as I have observed +in Colorado and Wyoming; either the wardens strictly enforce the laws +with strangers and wink at the breaking of them by residents, or they +draw their salaries and do not enforce the laws at all.[9] + +[Footnote 9: Addendum.--There is no question as to the good intention of +State legislation. The chief difficulty in the enforcement of the law is +that officers appointed locally, and partly from political reasons, +shrink from applying the penalties of the law to their own friends and +neighbors, especially where the animals are apparently abundant and are +sought for food. The honest enforcement of the law renders the officer +unpopular, even if it does not expose him to personal danger. He is +regarded as interfering with long established rights and customs. The +above applies to conscientious officers. Many local game wardens, as in +the Colorado White River Plateau, for example, give absolutely no +attention to their duties, and are not even on the ground at the opening +of the season. In the Plateau in August, 1901, the laws were being +openly and flagrantly violated, not only by visitors, but by +residents. At the same time the National forest laws were being most +strictly and intelligently enforced. There is no question whatever that +the people of various States can be brought to understand that National +aid or co-operation in the protection of certain wild areas is as +advantageous to a locality as National irrigation and National forest +protection. It is to be sought as a boon and not as an infringement.] + +THE VARIOUS CAUSES OF ELIMINATION. + +The enemies of our wild animals are numerous and constantly +increasing. (1) There is first the general advance of what we call +civilization, the fencing up of country which principally cuts off the +winter feeding grounds. This was especially seen in the country south of +the National Park last winter. (2) The destruction of natural browsing +areas by cattle and sheep, and by fire. (3) The destruction of game by +sportsmen plays a comparatively small part in the total process of +elimination, yet in some cases it is very reckless, and especially bad +in its example. When I first rode into the best shooting country of +Colorado in 1901, there was a veritable cannonading going on, which +reminded me of the accounts of the battle of El Caney. The destruction +effected by one party in three days was tremendous. In riding over the +ground--for I was not myself shooting--I was constantly coming across +the carcasses of deer. (4) The summer and winter killing for food; this +is the principal and in a sense the most natural and legitimate cause, +although it is largely illegal. In this same area, which was more or +less characteristic and typical of the other areas, even of the +conditions surrounding the national reserve in the Big Horn region, the +destruction was, and is, going on principally during the winter when the +deer are seeking the winter ranges and when they are actually shot and +carted away in large numbers for food both for the ranchmen and for +neighboring towns. Making all allowances for exaggeration, I believe it +to be absolutely true that these deer were being killed by the +wagonload! The same is true of the pronghorn antelope in the Laramie +Plains district. The most forceful argument against this form of +destruction is that it is extremely short-lived and benefits +comparatively few people. This argument is now enforced by law and by +public sentiment in Maine and New York, where the wild animals, both +deer and moose, are actually increasing in number. + +Granted, therefore, that we have both National and State sentiment, and +that National legislation by co-operation with the States, if properly +understood, would receive popular support, the carrying out of this +legislation and making it fully effective will be a difficult matter. + +It can be done, and, in my judgment, by two measures. The first is +entirely familiar to you: certain or all of the forest reserves must be +made animal preserves; the forest rangers must be made game wardens, or +special wardens must be appointed. This is not so difficult, because +the necessary machinery is already at hand, and only requires adaptation +to this new purpose. It can probably be carried through by patience and +good judgment. Second, the matter of the preservation of the winter +supply of food and protection of animals while enjoying this supply is +the most difficult part of the whole problem, because it involves the +acquisition of land which has already been taken up by settlers and +which is not covered by the present forest reserve machinery, and which +I fear in many instances will require new legislation. + +Animals can change their habits during the summer, and have already done +so; the wapiti, buffalo, and even the pronghorn have totally changed +their normal ranges to avoid their new enemy; but in winter they are +forced by the heavy snows and by hunger right down into the enemy's +country. + +Thus we not only have the problem of making game preserves out of our +forest reserves, but we have the additional problem of enlarging the +area of forest reserves so as to provide for winter feeding. If this is +not done all the protection which is afforded during the summer will be +wholly futile. This condition does not prevail in the East, in Maine and +in the Adirondacks, where the winter and summer ranges are practically +similar. It is, therefore a new condition and a new problem. + +Greater difficulties have been overcome, however, and I have no doubt +that the members of this Club will be among the leaders in the +movement. The whole country now applauds the development and +preservation of the Yellowstone Park, which we owe largely to the +initiative of Phillips, Grinnell, and Rogers. Grant and La Farge were +pioneers in the New York Zoological Park movement. We know the work of +Merriam and Wadsworth, and we always know the sympathies of our honored +founder, member, and guest of this evening, Theodore Roosevelt. + +What the Club can do is to spread information and thoroughly enlighten +the people, who always act rightly when they understand. + +It must not be put on the minutes of the history of America, a country +which boasts of its popular education, that the _Sequoia_, a race +10,000,000 years old, sought its last refuge in the United States, with +individual trees older than the entire history and civilization of +Greece, that an appeal to the American people was unavailing, that the +finest grove was cut up for lumber, fencing, shingles, and boxes! It +must not be recorded that races of animals representing stocks 3,000,000 +years of age, mostly developed on the American continent, were +eliminated in the course of fifty years for hides and for food in a +country abounding in sheep and cattle. + +The total national investment in animal preservation will be less than +the cost of a single battleship. The end result will be that a hundred +years hence our descendants will be enjoying and blessing us for the +trees and animals, while, in the other case, there will be no vestige of +the battleship, because it will be entirely out of date in the warfare +of the future. + +_Henry Fairfield Osborn_. + + + + +Distribution of the Moose + +Republished by permission from the Seventh Annual Report of the Forest, +Fish and Game Commission of the State of New York. + +The Scandinavian elk, which is closely related to the American moose, +was known to classical antiquity as a strange and ungainly beast of the +far north; especially as an inhabitant of the great Teutoborgian Forest, +which spread across Germany from the Rhine to the Danube. The half +mythical character which has always clung to this animal is well +illustrated in the following quotation from Pliny's Natural History, +Book 8, chapter 16: + +"There is also the achlis, which is produced in the island of +Scandinavia. It has never been seen in this city, although we have had +descriptions of it from many persons; it is not unlike the elk, but has +no joints in the hind leg. Hence it never lies down, but reclines +against a tree while it sleeps; it can only be taken by previously +cutting into the tree, and thus laying a trap for it, as, otherwise, it +would escape through its swiftness. Its upper lip is so extremely large, +for which reason it is obliged to go backwards when grazing; otherwise +by moving onwards, the lip would get doubled up." Pliny's achlis and +elk were the same animal. + +The strange stiffness of joint and general ungainliness of the elk, +however, were matters of such general observation as to apparently have +become embodied in the German name _eland_, sufferer. Curiously +enough this name _eland_ was taken by the Dutch to South Africa, +and there applied to the largest and handsomest of the bovine antelopes, +_Oreas canna_. + +In mediaeval times there are many references in hunting tales to the elk, +notably in the passage in the Nibelungen Lied describing Siegfried's +great hunt on the upper Rhine, in which he killed an elk. Among the +animals slain by the hero is the "schelk," described as a powerful and +dangerous beast. This name has been a stumbling block to scholars for +years, and opinions vary as to whether it was a wild stallion--at all +times a savage animal--or a lone survivor of the Megaceros, or Irish +elk. In this connection it may be well to remark that the Irish elk and +the true elk were not closely related beyond the fact that both were +members of the deer family. The Irish elk, which was common in Europe +throughout the glacial and post-glacial periods, living down nearly or +quite to the historic period, was nothing more than a gigantic fallow +deer. + +The old world elk is still found in some of the large game preserves of +eastern Germany, where the Emperor, with his somewhat remarkable ideas +of sportsmanship, annually adds several to his list of slaughtered +game. They are comparatively abundant in Scandinavia, especially in +Norway, where they are preserved with great care. They still survive in +considerable numbers in Russia and Siberia as far east as Amurland. + +Without going into a detailed description of the anatomical differences +between the European elk and the American moose, it may be said that the +old world animal is much smaller in size and lighter in color. The +antlers are less elaborate and smaller in the European animal, and +correspond to the stage of development reached by the average +three-year-old bull of eastern Canada. There is a marked separation of +the main antler and the brow antlers. That this deterioration of both +body and antlers is due partly to long continued elimination of the best +bulls, and partly to inbreeding, is probable. We know that the decline +of the European red deer is due to these causes, and that a similar +process of deterioration is showing among the moose in certain outlying +districts in eastern North America. + +The type species of this group, known as _Alces machlis_, was long +considered by European naturalists uniform throughout its circumpolar +distribution, in the north of both hemispheres. The American view that +practically all animals in this country represent species distinct from +their European congeners is now generally accepted, and the name +_Alces americanus_ has been given to the American form. It would +appear, however, that the generic name _Alces_ must soon be +replaced by the earlier form _Paralces_. + +[Illustration: YEARLING MOOSE.] + +The comparatively slight divergence of the two types at the extreme east +and west limits of their range, namely, Norway and eastern Canada, would +indicate that the period of separation of the various members of the +genus is not, geologically speaking, of great antiquity. + +The name _moose_ is an Algonquin word, meaning a wood eater or +browser, and is most appropriate, since the animal is pre-eminently a +creature of the thick woods. The old world term elk was applied by the +English settlers, probably in Virginia, to the wapiti deer, an animal +very closely related to the red deer of Europe. In Canada the moose is +sometimes spoken of as the elk, and even in the Rocky Mountain region +one hears occasionally of the "flat-horned elk." We are fortunate in +possessing a native name for this animal, and to call it other than +moose can only create confusion. + +The range of the moose in North America extends from Nova Scotia in the +extreme east, throughout Canada and certain of the Northern United +States, to the limits of tree growth in the west and north of +Alaska. Throughout this vast extent of territory but two species are +recognized, the common moose, _Alces americanus_, and the Alaska +moose, _Alces gigas_, of the Kenai Peninsula. What the limits of +the range of the Alaska moose are, may not be known for some +years. Specimens obtained in the autumn of 1902 from the headwaters of +the Stikine River in British Columbia, appear to resemble closely, in +their large size and dark coloration, the moose of the Kenai Peninsula. +The antlers, however, are much smaller. These specimens also differ from +the eastern moose in the same manner as does the Kenai Peninsula animal, +except in the antlers, which approximate to those of the type species. + +I have no doubt that the moose on the mainland along Cook Inlet will +prove to be identical with those of the Kenai Peninsula itself, but how +far their range extends we have at present no means of knowing. It is +even possible that further exploration will bring to light other species +in the Northwestern Provinces and in Alaska. + +Taking up this range in detail, the Nova Scotia moose are to-day +distinctly smaller than their kin in Ontario, but are very numerous when +the settled character of the country is taken into consideration. I +have seen very few good antlers come from this district, and in my +opinion the race there is showing decided signs of deterioration. + +[Illustration: MAINE MOOSE; ABOUT 1890.] + +These remarks apply, but with less force, to New Brunswick and to Maine, +where the moose, though larger than the Nova Scotia animal, are +distinctly inferior to those of the region north of the Great +Lakes. This is probably due to killing off the big bulls, thus leaving +the breeding to be done by the smaller and weaker bulls; and, also, to +inbreeding. + +In Maine the moose originally abounded, but by the middle of the last +century they were so reduced in numbers as to be almost rare. Thanks to +very efficient game laws, backed by an intelligent public opinion, moose +have greatly increased during the last few days in Maine and also in New +Brunswick. Their habits have been modified, but as far as the number of +moose and deer are concerned, the protection of game in Maine has been a +brilliant example to the rest of the country. During the same period, +however, caribou have almost entirely disappeared. + +Moose were found by the first settlers in New Hampshire and Vermont, +appearing occasionally, as migrants only, in the Berkshire hills of +Massachusetts. In the State of New York the Catskills appear to have +been their extreme southern limit in the east; but they disappeared from +this district more than a century ago. In the Adirondacks, or the North +Woods, as they were formerly called, moose abounded among the hard wood +ridges and lakes. This was the great hunting country of the Six +Nations. Here, too, many of the Canadian Indians came for their winter +supply of moose meat and hides. The rival tribes fought over these +hunting grounds much in the same manner as the northern and southern +Indians warred for the control of Kentucky. + +Going westward in the United States we find no moose until we reach the +northern peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin, where moose were +once numerous. They are still abundant in northern Minnesota, where the +country is extremely well suited to their habits. Then there is a break, +caused by the great plains, until we reach the Rocky Mountains. They are +found along the mountains of western Montana and Idaho as far south as +the northwest corner of Wyoming in the neighborhood of the Yellowstone +Park, the Tetons and the Wind River Mountains being their southern limit +in this section.[10] The moose of the west are relatively small animals +with simple antlers, and have adapted themselves to mountain living in +striking contrast to their kin in the east. + +[Footnote 10: William Roland, an old-time mountaineer, states that he +once killed a moose about ten miles north of old Ft. Tetterman, in what +is now Wyoming.--EDITOR.] + +[Illustration: MOOSE KILLED 1892, WITH UNUSUAL DEVELOPMENT OF BROW +ANTLERS. UPPER OTTAWA RIVER. CANADA] + +North of the Canadian boundary we may start with the curious fact that +the great peninsula of Labrador, which seems in every way a suitable +locality for moose, has always been devoid of them. There is no record +of their ever appearing east of the Saguenay River, and this fact +accounts for their absence from Newfoundland, which received its fauna +from the north by way of Labrador, and not from the west by way of Cape +Breton. Newfoundland is well suited to the moose, and a number of +individuals have been turned loose there, without, as yet, any apparent +results. Systematic and persistent effort, however, in this direction +should be successful. + +South of the St. Lawrence River, the peninsula of Gaspé was once a +favorite range, but the moose were nearly killed off in the early '60's +by hide-hunters. Further west they are found in small numbers on both +banks of the St. Lawrence well back from the settlements, until on the +north shore we reach Trois Rivières, west of which they become more +numerous. + +The region of the upper Ottawa and Lake Kippewa has been in recent years +the best moose country in the east. The moose from this district average +much heavier and handsomer antlers than those of Maine and the Maritime +Provinces. However, the moose are now rapidly leaving this country and +pushing further north. Twenty-five years ago they first appeared, coming +from the south, probably from the Muskoka Lake country, into which they +may have migrated in turn from the Adirondacks. This northern movement +has been going on steadily within the personal knowledge of the +writer. Ten years ago the moose were practically all south and east of +Lake Kippewa, now they are nearly all north of that lake, and extend +nearly, if not quite, to the shores of James Bay. How far to the west of +that they have spread we do not know; but it is probable that they are +reoccupying the range lying between the shores of Lake Superior and +James Bay, which was long abandoned. Northwest of Lake Superior, +throughout Manitoba and far to the north, is a region heavily wooded and +studded with lakes, constituting a practically untouched moose country. + +No moose, of course, are found in the plains country of Assiniboia, +Saskatchewan, and Alberta; but east in Keewatin, and to the north in +Athabaska, northern British Columbia, and northwest into Alaska we have +an unbroken range, in which moose are scattered everywhere. They are +increasing wherever their ancient foe, the Indian, is dying off, and +where white hunters do not pursue too persistently. In this entire +region, from the Ottawa in the east to the Kenai Peninsula in the far +west, moose are retiring toward the north before the advance of +civilization, and are everywhere occupying new country. + +[Illustration: ALASKA MOOSE HEAD SHOWING UNUSUAL DEVELOPMENT OF +ANTLERS--KENAI PENINSULA. Kindness American Museum of Natural History, +New York.] + +Wary and keen, and with great muscular strength and hardihood, the moose +is pitting his acute senses against the encroaching rifleman in the +struggle for survival, and it is fair to believe that this superb member +of the deer family will continue to be an inhabitant of the forest long +after most other members of the group have disappeared. + +The moose of Maine and the Maritime Provinces occupy a relatively small +area, surrounded on all sides by settlements, which prevent the animals +from leaving the country when civilization encroaches. In this district +their habits have been greatly modified. They do not show the same fear +of the sound of rifle, of the smell of fire, or even of the scent of +human footsteps, as in the wilder portions of the country. In +consequence of this change of habit, it is difficult for a hunter, whose +experience is limited to Maine or the Maritime Provinces, to appreciate +how very shy and wary a moose can be. + +In the upper Ottawa country, when they first began to be hunted by +sportsmen, the writer remembers landing from his canoe on the bank of a +small stream, and walking around a marsh a few acres in extent to look +at the moose tracks. Fresh signs, made that morning, were everywhere in +evidence, and it had apparently been a favorite resort all summer. Snow +fell that night and remained continuously on the ground for two weeks, +when the writer again passed by this swamp and found that during the +interval it had not been visited by a single moose. The moccasin tracks +had been scented, and the moose had left the neighborhood. A moose with +a nose as sensitive as this would find existence unendurable in New +Brunswick or Maine. + +I have already referred to the relative size of the antlers of the moose +from different localities, and called attention to the inferiority of +the heads from the extreme east. Large heads have, however, come from +this section, and even now one hears of several heads being taken +annually in New Brunswick running to five feet and a little over in +spread. The test of the value of a moose head is the width of its +antlers between the extreme points. The antlers of a young individual +show but few points, but these are long and the webbing on the main +blade is narrow. The brow antlers usually show two points. As the moose +grows larger the palmation becomes wider, and the points more numerous +but shorter, until in a very old specimen the upper part of the antler +is merely scalloped along the edge, and the web is of great breadth. In +the older and finer specimens the brow antlers are more complex, and +show three points instead of two. + +[Illustration: "BIERSTADT" HEAD. KILLED 1880, BOUNDARY OF NEW BRUNSWICK +AND MAINE EXTREME SPREAD, 64! INCHES] + +A similar change takes place in the bell. This pendulous gland is long +and narrow in the young hull, but as he ages it shortens and widens, +becoming eventually a sort of dewlap under the throat. + +One of the best heads from Maine that I can recall, was in the +possession of the late Albert Bierstadt, a member of the Boone and +Crockett Club. The extreme spread of these antlers was 64-1/4 inches. This +bull was killed in New Brunswick, near the Maine line, some twenty years +ago; another famous Maine head was presented to President Cleveland +during his first term. Photographs of both of these heads appear +herewith. Many very handsome heads have been taken in the Ottawa +district, sometimes running well over five feet. It is safe to assume +that a little short of six feet is the extreme width of an eastern head. + +The moose of the Rocky Mountains are relatively smaller than the eastern +moose, and their antlers are seldom of imposing proportions. + +As we go north into British Columbia, through the headwaters of the +Peace and Liard rivers, the animal becomes very large in size, perhaps +larger than anywhere else in the world as far as his body is concerned, +and it is highly probable that somewhere in this neighborhood the range +of the giant Alaska moose begins. The species, however, does not show +great antler development in this locality, but for some reason the +antlers achieve their maximum development in the Kenai Peninsula. + +In the Kenai Peninsula and the country around Cook Inlet, Alaska, with +an unknown distribution to south and east, we find the distinct species +recently described as _Alces gigas_. The animal itself has great +bulk, but perhaps not more so than the animals of the Cassiar Mountains, +to which it is closely related. The antlers of these Alaska moose are +simply huge, running, on the average, very much larger and more complex +than even picked heads from the east. These antlers, in addition to +their size, have a certain peculiarity in the position of the brow +antlers, the plane of which is more often turned nearly at right angles +to the plane of the palmation of the main beam than in the eastern +moose. In a high percentage of the larger heads there is on one or both +antlers an additional and secondary palmation. In the arrangement and +development of the brow antlers, and in the complexity produced by this +doubling of the beam, a startling resemblance is shown to the extinct +_Cervalces_, a moose-like deer of the American Pleistocene, +possibly ancestral to the genus _Alces_. If this resemblance +indicates any close relationship, we have in the Alaska moose a survivor +of the archaic type from which the true moose and Scandinavian elk have +somewhat degenerated. The photographs of the Alaska moose shown +herewith have this double palmation. + +[Illustration: PROBABLY LARGEST KNOWN ALASKA MOOSE HEAD--KENAI +PENINSULA, 1899 EXTREME SPREAD, 78-1/2 INCHES--WEIGHT OF SKULL AND +ANTLERS, 93 LBS] + +Several heads from the Kenai Peninsula ranging over six feet are +authentic; a photograph of the largest moose head in the world is +published herewith. This head is in the possession of the Field +Columbian Museum at Chicago, and measures 78-1/2 inches spread. The +animal that bore it stood about seven feet at shoulders, but this height +is not infrequently equaled by eastern moose. The weight of the dried +skull and antlers was ninety-three pounds, the palmation being in places +2-1/8 inches thick. + +There are several large heads in the possession of American +taxidermists, which, if properly authenticated, would prove of +interest. No head, however, is of much value as a record unless its +history is well known, and unless it has been in the hands of +responsible persons. The measurements of antler spread can be considered +authentic only when the skull is intact. If the skull is split an almost +imperceptible paring of the skull bones at the joint would suffice to +drop the antlers either laterally out of their proper plane, or else +pitch the main beam backward. By either of these devices a couple of +inches can be gained on each side, making a difference of several inches +in the aggregate. But the possession of an unbroken skull is by no means +a guarantee of the exact size of the head when killed. + +Since large antlers, and especially so-called "record heads," of any +species of deer command a price among those who desire to pose as +sportsmen, and have not the strength or skill to hunt themselves, it has +become a regular business for dealers to buy up unusual heads. The +temptation to tamper with such a head and increase its size is very +great, and heads passing through the hands of such dealers must be +discarded as of little scientific value. A favorite device is to take a +green head, force the antlers apart with a board and a wedge every few +days during the winter. By spring the skull and antlers are dry and the +plank can be removed. The spread of antlers has meantime gained several +inches since the death of the animal that bore them. Such a device is +almost beyond detection. + +It is an exceedingly difficult matter to formulate a code of hunting +ethics, still harder to give them legal force; but public opinion should +condemn the kind of sportsmanship which puts a price on antlers. As +trophies of the chase, hard won through the endurance and skill of the +hunter, they are legitimate records of achievement. The higher the +trophy ranks in size and symmetry, the greater should be its value as an +evidence of patient and persistent chase. To slay a full grown bull +moose or wapiti in fair hunt is in these days an achievement, for there +is no royal road to success with the rifle, nor do the Happy Hunting +Grounds longer exist on this continent; but to kill them by proxy, or +buy the mounted heads for decorative purposes in a dining room, in +feeble imitation of the trophies of the baronial banquet hall, is not +only vulgar taste, but is helping along the extermination of these +ancient types. An animal like the moose or the wapiti represents a line +of unbroken descent of vast antiquity, and the destruction of the finest +members of the race to decorate a hallway cannot be too strongly +condemned. + +The writer desires to express his thanks for photographs and information +used in this article to Dr. J.A. Allen, of the American Museum of +Natural History, New York City; Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot, of the Field +Columbian Museum, Chicago; and to Mr. Andrew J. Stone, the explorer. + +_Madison Grant_. + + + + +The Creating of Game Refuges + +It was my pleasant task, during the past summer, to visit a portion of +the Forest Reserves of the United States for the purpose of studying +tracts which might be set aside as Game Refuges. To this end I was +commissioned by the Division of Biological Survey of the United States +Department of Agriculture as "Game Preserve Expert," a new title and a +new function. + +The general idea of the proposed plan for the creation of Game Refuges +is that the President shall be empowered to designate certain tracts, +wherein there may be no hunting at all, to be set aside as refuges and +breeding grounds, and the Biological Survey is accumulating information +to be of service in selecting such areas, when the time for creating +them shall arrive. The Forest Reserves of the United States are under +the care of the Department of the Interior, and not under the +Agricultural Department, where one would naturally expect them to +be. Their transfer to the Department of Agriculture has been agitated +more than once, and is still a result much to be desired. Although +acting in this mission as a representative of the Biological Survey +under the latter Department, I bore a circular letter from the Secretary +of the Interior, requesting the aid of the superintendents and +supervisors of the Forest Reserves. Through them I could always rely +upon the services of a competent ranger, who acted as guide. + +Arriving in California in March, I was somewhat more than six months +engaged in the work; in that time visiting seven reserves in California +and one in the State of Washington, involving a cruise of 1,220 miles in +the saddle and on foot, within the boundaries of the forest, besides 500 +miles by wagon and stage. Since the addition of an extra member to the +party is ever an added risk of impaired harmony, and since the practice +of any art involving skill is always a pleasure, I employed no packer +during the entire time of my absence, but did this work myself, assisted +on the off-side by Mr. Thurston, who accompanied me, and who helped in +every way within his power. May I take this opportunity to thank him for +aid of many sorts, and on all occasions, and for unflagging interest in +the problem which we had before us. California has long since ceased to +be a country where the use of the pack train is a customary means of +travel. It is now an old and long settled region where the frontier lies +neither to the east nor to the west, but has escaped to the vicinity of +timber line, nearly two miles straight up in the air. Comparatively few +people outside of the Sierra Club, that admirable open-air organization +of "the Coast," have occasion to visit it, and such trips as they make +are of brief duration. + +Since it is not desirable to visit the high Sierras before the first of +July, three full months were at my disposal for the study of the +reserves of southern California, a section of great interest, and of the +utmost importance to the State. In southern California one hears +frequent mention of the Pass of Tehachapi; it is the line of demarcation +between the great valley of central California, drained by the San +Joaquin River on the north, and of southern California proper, which +lies to the south. These two regions are of very different nature. In +the San Joaquin Valley lie the great wheat fields of California. South +of the Pass of Tehachapi, people are dependent upon irrigation. Here, +too, lie wheat fields and also rich vineyards, and the precious orchards +of oranges and lemons; further south the equally valuable walnut and +almond groves. + +The seven Forest Reserves of southern California may be regarded as one +almost continuous tract embracing about 4,000,000 acres, lying on either +side of the crest of the Coast Range; they are economically of enormous +importance to California, but not on account of their timber. In many +cases they are forest reserves without trees; for example, the little +Trabuco Canyon Reserve, which has but a handful of Coulter pines, and on +the northern slope a few scattered spruce. The western slope of the +foothills of the San Jacinto, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, Zaca Lake and +Pine Mountain, and Santa Ynez reserves, are clad only in chaparral, yet +the preservation of these hillsides from fire is of vital importance to +the people, since the mantle of vegetation protects, to a certain +degree, the sources of the streams from which the supply of water is +derived. In this country they believe that water is life; thus harking +back to the teaching of the Father of Philosophy, to Thales of Miletus, +who lived six hundred years before Christ: "The principle of all things +is water, all comes from water, and to water all returns." Such trees as +there are here possess unusual interest; approaching the crest of the +mountains one finds a scattered growth of pines--the Coulter, ponderosa, +Jeffrey's, the glorious sugar pine, the _Pinus contorta_, and +_Pinus flexilis_, the single leaf or nut pine, and, in scattered +tracts, the queer little knob-cone pine. Red and white firs are found, +the incense cedar, the Douglas spruce, the big cone spruce, and a number +of deciduous trees, mainly oaks of several varieties, with sycamore +along the lower creeks, and the alder tree, strikingly like the alder +bush of our eastern streams and pastures, but of Gargantuan proportions, +grown out of all recognition. Scattered representatives of other species +are found--the maple, cherry, dogwood, two varieties of sumac, the yerba +del pasmo (or bastard cedar), madroños, walnut, mesquite, mountain +mahogany, cottonwood, willow, ash, many varieties of bushes, also the +yucca, mescal, cactus, etc. I have given but a bald enumeration of +these; the forming of an acquaintance with so many new trees, shrubs, +and flowering herbs is of great interest, and increasingly so from day +to day, as one comes to live with them in the different reserves. The +pleasure to be derived is cumulative--each acquisition of knowledge +adding to the satisfaction of that which comes after--it is of a sort, +however, to be experienced in the presence of the thing itself; any +description at a distance must necessarily be shadowy and unreal, only +the dry bones of something which one sees there, a thing of beauty and +instinct with life. + +The characteristic feature of these southern forests is their open +nature; so far as the roughness of the mountains will permit, one may go +anywhere in the saddle without being hindered by underbrush. Outside of +their limits, however, and on many hillsides within the reserves, the +chaparral offers an impenetrable barrier; in some of them this growth +has captured the greater portion of their surface. The forests +themselves are often very beautiful; growing, as they do, openly, there +is constant sunlight during many months of the year, so that all the +ground is warm and vibrant with energy. As a natural consequence, great +individuality is shown in the tree forms, as different as possible from +the gloom and severe uniformity of the Oregon and Washington forests. +The former are dry, light, and cheerful; the latter, moist, dark, +silent, and somewhat forbidding. The northern forests of the Coast have +their attractive features, to be sure; they are fecund, solemn, and +majestic, but the prevailing note is not cheerfulness, as here in the +south. + +In a paper of the present proportions it is impossible to give, except +in outline, a report of the summer's work. I began at San Juan +Capistrano, one of the old mission towns with a beautiful ruin, lying +near the sea on the west of the Trabuco Canyon Reserve. My first cruise +was through a chaparral country on the slope overlooking the Pacific. I +learned here of few deer and of relentless warfare against such as +remain. After that, from Elsinore, strange echo of that sea-girt castle +in Shakespeare's Denmark, I cruised so as to have as well an +understanding of the eastern slope of this, the smallest of the Coast +reserves. From Trabuco Peak we could study the physical geography of the +northern half of its area. I saw here what I did not again come across +in California--a small flock of the band-tailed pigeon, a bird as large +as the mountain quail, very handsome, indeed, and one that now should be +protected by law. These, as well as the mountain quail, swallow whole +the acorns, which this season lay beneath the live oak trees in lavish +abundance; long thin acorns, quite different from ours. In the San +Jacinto Reserve I made a cruise through the southern half; much of this +section is clothed in scrub oak, with scattered deer throughout. In the +northern and more mountainous portions, on the contrary, one finds +himself in the open forest, the summer range of the deer. At the time of +our visit these were at a lower altitude, in the chaparral and among the +scrub oaks of the foothills. + +Going thence by rail north to Santa Barbara, I inspected the narrow +strip of the Santa Ynez Reserve, and the eastern and western sections of +the Zaca Lake and Pine Mountain Reserve. These are under the control of +different forest supervisors; they are both largely composed of +chaparral country, with scattered "pineries" on the mountains. The +hunting here is regulated, to a certain degree, by the problem of feed +and water for the stock used by the hunters in gaining access to the +ground. Many enter these tracts from the south, as well as from the +region adjacent to Santa Barbara, and the deer have a somewhat harassed +and chivied existence, although, owing to the impenetrable nature of the +chaparral outside of the pineries, there is a natural limit to the power +of the sportsman to accomplish their entire extermination. The present +control of hunters by the forest rangers is only tentative; naturally we +hope to have in an ever-increasing degree more scientific management +both of the deer and of those who illegally kill them. The sentiment of +the community is enlightened, and would strengthen the hands of the +Government in enforcing the law. At present a ranger can do little more +than maintain, so far as he can, his authority by threats--threats which +he has not the power to enforce. + +In the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Reserves one finds himself at last +in a forest country, with mountains which command respect, a section +full of superb feed for the deer, feed of many sorts, for the deer have +an attractive and varied bill of fare. Whole hillsides are found of +scrub oak, their chief stand-by, and of wild lilac or "deer brush," the +latter familiar to all readers of Muir as the Cleanothus, in those long +periods of Miltonic sweep and dignity in which he summons the clans of +the California herbs and shrubs; an enumeration as stately as the +Homeric catalogue of the ships, and, to such as lack technical knowledge +of botany, imposing respect rather by sonorous appeal to the ear than by +visual suggestion to the memory. That herbs should be marshalled in so +impressive an array fills one with admiration and with somewhat of awe +for these representatives of the vegetable kingdom. As Muir pronounces +their full-sounding titles, one feels that each is a noble in this +distinguished company. No one unprotected by a botany should have the +temerity to enter, amid these lists, alone. + +We visited this country in the season of flowers. Whole hillsides of +chámisal ("chamìz" or greasewood) bore their delicate, spirea-like, +cream-colored blossoms--when seen at a distance, like a hovering breath, +as unsubstantial as dew, or as the well-named bloom on a plum or black +Hamburg grape. The superb yucca flaunted its glorious white standards, +borne proudly aloft like those of the Roman legions, each twelve or +fifteen feet in height, supporting myriads of white bells. The Mexicans +call this the "Quixote"--a noble and fitting tribute to the knight of La +Mancha. The tender center of the plant, loved as food equally by man and +beast, is protected by many bristling bayonets, an ever-vigilant guard. +At an altitude of seven thousand or eight thousand feet, one passed +through acres of buckthorn, honey-fragrant, this also a favorite of the +deer, now visited by every bee and butterfly of the mountain side. It is +to be noted that as one ascends the mountains the butterflies increase +in numbers as well as the flowers which they so closely resemble, save +only the latter's stationary estate. + +One sees in its perfection of color the "Indian paint brush," with its +red of purest dye, and adjoining it solid fields of blue lupine--the +colors of Harvard and Yale, side by side, challenging birds and all +creatures of the air to a decision as to which of them bears itself the +more bravely. Here is a chestnut tree; but look not overhead for its +sheltering branches. This is a country of surprises, and if the alder +tree towers on high, the dwarf chestnut or chinkapin here delegates to +the mountains the pains of struggling toward the heavens, and, contented +with its lowly estate, freely offers to the various "small deer" of the +forest its horde of sweet, three-cornered nuts. + +Under the pines one catches a distant gleam of the snow plant, an +exquisite sharp note of color, of true Roman shade, such as Rossetti +loved to introduce into his pictures, shrill like the vibrant wood of +the flute. When a ray of the sun happens to strike this it gleams like a +flaming fiery sword, symbol of that which marked the entrance to +Paradise. One can circumvent this guard here, and when he is in these +hills he is not far removed from a country well worth protecting by all +possible ingenuity, a paradise open to all such as love pure air and +wholesome strong exercise. + +Much of the San Gabriel Reserve is rugged and well protected by nature +to be the home of the deer. San Bernardino, on the contrary, is the most +accessible of the southern reserves, with abundant feed for the horses +of those who visit it, well watered, and full of noble trees. So open is +the forest that in the hunting season much of it must be abandoned by +the deer, who are perfectly cognizant of their danger, and, with +somewhat of aid from man, are quite capable of taking care of +themselves. + +After visiting these southern reserves, I outfitted at Redstone Park, +above Visalia, in the San Joaquin Valley, and cruised through the +Sequoia National Park, among the big trees, at that time patrolled by +colored soldiers under the able command of Captain Young, an officer who +possesses the distinction of being the only negro graduate of West +Point, I believe, now holding a commission in the United States +Army. The impression produced by the giant Sequoias is one of increasing +effect as the time among them is extended. In their province the world +has nothing to offer more majestic and more satisfying than these trees; +one must live among them to come fully beneath their charm. + +Since the National Parks and military reservations are already game +refuges, it was of importance that I should see the Mt. Whitney Military +Reservation, and for this purpose I crossed the Sierra Reserve, through +broad tracts suitable for Game Refuges, thus acquiring familiarity with +a large and most interesting section of forest country. From the top of +Mt. Whitney, the highest bit of land in the United States, exclusive of +Alaska, one looks down two miles in altitude to Owen's Lake almost +directly beneath. I picked up, on the plateau of the summit, a bit of +obsidian Indian chipping, refutation in itself of the frequently +repeated statement that Indians do not climb high peaks. A month was +spent with great profit in and about the Sierra Reserve, and one might +go there many summers, ever learning something new. + +Having seen these southern reserves, and desiring to bring home with me +an impression of the northern woods, sharpened by immediate contrast, I +next visited that one which is the most to the northwest of them all, +the Olympic Reserve in Washington. Here, at the head of the Elwha +Valley, near Mt. Olympus, we lived among the glaciers. The forest +between the headwaters and the sea affords a superb contrast to +California; here are found fog and moisture, and super-abounding heavy +vegetation. In the thick shade grow giant ferns of tropic +luxuriance. The rhododendron thrives, its black glossy leaves a symbol +of richly nourished power. The devil's club flaunts aloft its bright +berries, and poisonously wounds whomsoever has the misfortune even to +touch its great prickly leaves, nearly as big as an elephant's ear; if +there be a malignant old rogue of the vegetable kingdom, this is he, +sharing with the wait-a-bit thorn of Africa an evil eminence. Many new +plants meet the eye, a wealth of berries--the Oregon grape, the salmon +berry, red or yellow, as big as the yolk of an egg, the salal berry, any +quantity of blueberries, huckleberries, both red and blue, sarvis +berries, bear berries, mountain ash berries (also loved of bears), +thimble berries, high bush cranberries, gooseberries--large and +insipid--currants, wild cherries, choke cherries; many of these friends +of old, others seen here for the first time, dainty picking in the +autumn for deer, bears, foxes, squirrels and many birds. What +particularly appealed to me was a wild apple, no larger than the eye of +a hawk, but quite able to survive in a fierce contest for life, and with +a pleasant, clean, sharp taste, very tonic to the palate, and with +diminutive rosy cheeks as tempting as a stout Baldwin--a fine, +courageous little product of the wild life, symbol of the energetic +quality of the Olympic air. I, for one, am a firm believer in the axiom +that a climate which will give the right "tang" to an apple will also +produce determined and energetic men; this whole region, spite of its +fogs, has a glorious future before it. Superb firs towered hundreds of +feet above our heads, and archaic-looking cedars, a thousand years old, +thrust their sturdy shoulders firmly against the storms and the +winds. But the valleys, the trees and the glaciers, were only the +_mise-en-scène_ of that which constituted primarily the reason of +my visiting this peninsula. Here is the only wild herd of elk of any +considerable size outside of the Yellowstone National Park, a most +beautiful elk now separated from the Rocky Mountain species. Besides +this herd there are only a few survivors of the once innumerable herds +of the Pacific Coast, one little bunch in California, and a few +scattered individuals in the mountains of Oregon and Washington. It is +excessively hard to form any correct estimate of how many remain; +probably there are at least a thousand, possibly several times that +number. At all events, there is a scattered herd large enough to insure +the existence of the species if they might now be protected. Unfortunately +the sentiment of the community in the vicinity of the Olympics is just +about what it was in Colorado in the seventies and in the early +eighties--almost complete apathy, so far as taking effective precaution +is concerned, to prevent the killing of these animals in violation of the +law. I saw one superb herd south of the headwaters of the Elwha, and was +informed that in the winter a large number come lower down into the valley +of that river; here and elsewhere the finest specimens are slaughtered by +head-hunters for the market, and by anyone, in fact, who may covet their +hides or meat or their "tusks," now unfortunately very valuable. + +Presumably, in so killing them, picked specimens are selected. Of course +the finest bulls may not thus be systematically eliminated without +causing the general deterioration of the herd. Nature's method of +progress is by the survival of the fittest. Man reverses this so soon +as cupidity makes him the foe of wild animals. The country here is an +excessively hard one to get about in with stock, owing to its very +rugged nature and to the scarcity of feed, so that there is slight +danger of the extermination of these elk by sportsmen during the open +season. In the winter, however, the hunters have them at their mercy. I +was assured by one very level-headed man that, in the winter of 1902-3, +two men killed seventeen elk from the Elwha herd. Since the individuals +who killed the elk are well known and are practically unmolested, the +immunity which they enjoy tempts others to similar violation of the +law. More recently still, during this last winter, the game warden of +Washington reports the finding of the carcasses of nineteen elk, killed +for their tusks. + +This country, with its splendid glaciers and mountains covered with +snow, presents quite the most beautiful scenery to be found within the +limits of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, and, before many +years, is destined to become a place of general resort for +travelers. For this to be accomplished, all that is needed is greater +facility of travel. It would be a thousand pities if we should tolerate +the extermination of the elk, which would afford delight to every one +who visited the Olympics, if only the herd might be preserved. One can +hardly blame the hunters for taking advantage of the laxity of public +sentiment. The State has it within its power easily to protect these +animals by the employment of two or three game detectives of the right +sort--keen, energetic men. These would soon break up the illicit traffic +and bring the offenders to justice. The people of the whole Pacific +seaboard, who are justly proud of their region, and of every trait +peculiarly its own, would bitterly lament the final disappearance of elk +from this whole countryside, yet the fact remains that hardly a voice +there, outside of the organization of the "Elks," is raised to protest +against these flagrant acts of vandalism which are taking place beneath +their very eyes. + +This visit to the northern forest was full of varied and commanding +interest, but the chief occupation of my summer, when all is said, was +with California. + +Deer are practically the only game to be considered in these southern +California reserves. There are mountain sheep to the east, in the +mountains of the Mojave and Colorado deserts, but they are almost +unmolested by the hunters of the seaboard country, and, except in rare +instances, are no longer found in the reserves. Occasionally odd ones +are seen, venturesome, determined individuals, on their travels, in the +energy of youthful maturity, tempted by curiosity, but these soon +realize that they are not secure where so many humans abound, and scurry +back to their desert fastnesses. As refuges are created and breeding +grounds established, sheep will return, and, it is hoped, make their +permanent home in the reserves. There are still enough of them in +scattered places for this purpose. I was told of one method of hunting +in the desert hills, sometimes resorted to by Indians and white men of +the baser sort, that seems hateful and unsportsmanlike. The springs at +which they drink are long distances apart. In some instances the alleged +sportsmen camp by these and watch them without intermission for three +days and nights, at the end of which period, when the sheep are +exhausted by thirst, the hunter has them at his mercy. This has nearly +as much to commend it to the self-respecting sportsman as the practice +of imitating the cry of the female moose to lure the bull to mad +recklessness and his undoing, a challenge hard for a courageous animal +to resist, a treacherous snare set before his feet. It would seem as if +a right-minded man would hesitate to take so base an advantage as by +either of these two methods of hunting. + +Antelope are nearly exterminated in southern California, and there is +but a single little bunch of elk--those in the San Joaquin Valley, sole +survivors of the vast herds which ranged throughout those lowlands when +Fremont came to the country in 1845. These elk are smaller than those of +the mountains, and bear a striking resemblance to the Scotch red deer, +so familiar to us in Landseer's pictures. For years they have been +protected by the generosity and wisdom of one man, now no longer young, +an altogether public-spirited and generous act. I was taken by the +manager of this ranch to see these elk as they came at night to feed in +the alfalfa fields, and again in the morning we followed their trail +into the foothills and had a capital view of seven superb bulls in their +wild estate, as pretty a sight as one might see in California. Who can +feel ought save commiseration for a man who, standing on London bridge, +could say, "Earth has not anything to show more fair"? + +Twice during the summer was I told of the presence in the mountains, by +men who thought they had seen them, of the mythical ibex. My informant, +in each instance a ranger, assured me that he had had a good look at the +animal, and was sure that it was not a mountain ram. The back-curving +horns he said were "as long as his forearm," one added instance of the +fact that a fish in the brook is worth two on the string--if a good +story be at stake! What my informant had seen, of course, was a ewe, or +young mountain ram before he had arrived at the age when the horns begin +to form their characteristic spiral. As for the great size of the horns, +the animal was running away, and every hunter is aware of the enormous +proportions which the antlers attain of an escaping elk or deer. How +they suddenly shrink when the beast is shot is another story. + +Incidentally, the refuges of southern California will include the +breeding places of the trout in the upper reaches of the streams, and +will afford protection to grouse, quail, and other birds, but primarily +their purpose is to prevent the extermination of big game. In California +this has gone as far as it is safe to go if we are to save the +remnant. Even the California grizzly has been killed off so relentlessly +that it was a question, when I was there, whether a single pair survived +which might possibly in that State preserve the species. The ranger who +knew the most about this was of the opinion that two or three were still +left alive. He had seen their tracks within a year.[11] There are, I +have been assured, others in Oregon. + +[Footnote 11: I have been informed since the above was written that he +saw the tracks of a single grizzly after I was there, toward the end of +July.] + +If I had my way, the first act in creating a game refuge should be to +insure the survival of the few that remain. These bears are pitifully +wary as compared with their former bold and domineering attitude; they +would gladly keep out of harm's way if only they might be allowed to do +so. It is time, it seems to me, to call a truce to man's hostility to +them, once a foe not to be despised. Now they are so completely +conquered that man owes it to himself not too relentlessly to pursue a +vanquished enemy. When we think of the enormous period of time, +involving millions of years, required to develop a creature of such +gigantic strength as the California grizzly, so splendidly equipped to +win his living and to maintain his unquestioned supremacy--the Sequoia +of the animal kingdom of America--and when we contemplate this creature +as the very embodiment of vitality in the wild life, we shall not +wantonly permit him to be exterminated, and thus deprive those who are +to come after us of seeing him alive, and of seeing him where his +presence adds a fine note of distinction to the landscape, a fitting +adjunct to the glacier-formed ravines of the Sierras. + +The domestic sheep, which were once the prey of the bears, no longer +range in these forests, and so far as the depredation of bears among +cattle is concerned, it is of so trifling a nature as practically not to +exist. It would seem that a nation of so vast wealth as ours could +afford to indulge in an occasional extravagance, such as keeping alive +these few remaining bears; of maintaining them at the public expense +simply for the gratification of curiosity, of a quite legitimate +curiosity on the part of those who love the wild life, and every last +vanishing trait that remains of its old, keen energy. So far as danger +to man is involved by their presence, the experience in the Yellowstone +National Park is that there is no such danger; when allowed to do so, +they draw their rations as meekly as a converted Apache; if they err at +all, it is on the side of exaggerated and rather pitiful humility. + +It is mainly with the deer, however, that we are concerned. It is out of +the question for any thinking man who takes the slightest interest in +these creatures to stand passively by and permit them to be +exterminated. To prevent such a catastrophe proper measures must be +taken. The hunting community increases with as great rapidity as that +with which game decreases. Where one man hunted twenty-five years ago, a +score hunt for big game to-day. Unfortunately it has become the +fashion. It is a diversion involving no danger and, for those that +understand it, but slight hardship. If people are to continue to have +this source of amusement, some well matured and concerted plan must be +devised to insure the continuance of game. Never in the past history of +the world has man held at his command the same potential control of wild +beasts as now, the same power to concentrate against them the forces of +science. Man's supremacy has advanced by leaps and bounds, while the +animal's power to escape remains unchanged; all the conditions for their +survival constantly become more difficult. Man has, in its perfection, +the rapid-firing rifle, which, with the use of smokeless powder, gives +him an enormous increase of effectiveness in its flat trajectory. This +is quite as great an element of its destructiveness as its more deadly +power and capacity for quick shooting, since it eliminates the necessity +for accurately gauging distance, one of the hardest things for the +amateur hunter to learn. If man so desires, he can command the aid of +dogs. By their power of scent he has wild animals at his mercy, and +unless he deliberately regulates the slaughter which he will permit, +their entire extermination would be a matter of only a few years. Only +at the end of the last year we were told of the celebration in the Tyrol +of the killing, by the Emperor of Austria, of his two thousandth +chamois. Eight years ago this same record was achieved by another +Austrian, a Grand Duke. This was in both instances, as I understand, by +the means of fair and square stalking, quite different from the methods +of the more degenerate battue. At a single shooting exhibition of this +latter sort by the Crown Prince of Germany at his estate in Schleswig, +on one day in December last, were killed two hundred and ten fallow +deer, three hundred and forty-one red deer, and on the day following, +eighty-seven large wild boar, one hundred and twenty-six small ones, +eighty-six fallow deer, and two hundred and one red deer. Any man, +private citizen as well as emperor or prince, has it within his power, +if he be possessed of the blood craze, to kill scores and hundreds of +every kind of game. By the facilities of rapid travel the hunter, with +the least possible sacrifice of time, is transported with whatever of +luxury a Pullman car can confer (luxury to him who likes it) to the +haunts and almost within the very sanctuaries of game. Where formerly +an expedition of months was required, now in a few days' time he is +carried to the most out-of-the-way places, to the barrens, the forests, +the peaks, the mountain glades--almost to the muskeg and the tundra. + +How far the rage for hunting has captured the community in this country +of the western seaboard it is surprising to learn. In the year 1902 +there were issued for the seven forest reserves south of the Pass of +Tehachapi, a tract three-quarters the size of Massachusetts, four +thousand permits to hunt. Inasmuch as one permit may admit more than a +single person to the privileges of hunting, it was estimated that at +least five thousand people bearing rifles entered the reserves. This +besides the enormous horde of the peaceably disposed who also seek +diversion here, and who naturally disturb the deer to a certain +extent. The supervisor of two reserves--the San Gabriel and San +Bernardino--embracing a tract less than half the size of Connecticut, +assured me that in 1902 sixty thousand persons entered within their +borders; in the summer of 1903 this number was estimated at no less than +ten thousand in excess of the previous year. In these two reserves the +number of permits for rifles and revolvers issued between June 1 and +December 31, increased from 1,900 in the year 1902, to 3,483 in 1903, +and as, in some cases, these were issued for two or more persons, the +supervisor estimates that at least 4,500 rifles were carried last summer +into these two reserves. He was of the opinion that two-thirds of these +were borne by hunters, the remainder as protection against bears and +other ferocious wild beasts, which exist only in imagination.[12] + +[Footnote 12: "Relative to the figures for game permits, and the reason +for the larger number issued for 1903 over 1902, I cannot myself +altogether explain the large increase. One reason, however, was that our +rainfall for the winter of 1902-3 was very large compared with that of +the five previous winters. As a result grass and feed were plentiful, +and attracted many more travelers and hunters, who figured that game +would be much more plentiful owing to the abundance of feed. I believe +that this was the principal reason why so many obtained permits. The +abundant rain made camping more pleasant, as it started up springs which +had been dry for several years. I believe that this very thing, however, +also tended to protect the game as it permitted them to scatter more +than for several years before, as water was more abundant. With all the +increase in guns and hunters I do not think that any more deer were +killed than during the summer of 1902." (Letter from Forest Supervisor, +Mr. Everett B. Thomas, Los Angeles, Feb. 13, 1904.) It is to be noted +that in the southern California reserves, on the ground of precaution +against forest fires, no shotguns may be carried into the reserves. As a +result quail have greatly increased in numbers.] + +It is to be borne in mind that all through this California country there +exists a race of hunters--active, determined men, who passionately love +this diversion. The people there have not been so long graduated as we +of the Atlantic Coast from the conditions of the frontier. The ozone of +a new country stirs more quickly the predatory instinct, never quite +dead in any virile race. The rifle slips easily from its scabbard, and +there in plain sight before them are the forest-clad mountains, a mile +above their heads, in the cool and vital air, ever beckoning the hunter +to be up and away. These people feel in their blood the call of the +wild. With a very considerable proportion of the people upon farms, and +still more in villages and small towns, the Fall hunt is the commanding +interest of the year. This is the one athletic contest into which they +enter heart and soul; it is foot-ball and yachting and polo and horse +racing combined. For a young man to go into the forest after deer and +to come back empty-handed, is to lose prestige to a certain extent among +his fellows. Oftentimes, when a beginner returns in this way +unsuccessful, he is so unmercifully chaffed by his companions that he +mentally records a vow not to be beaten a second time, and, when he +finds himself again in the forest for his annual hunt, with the +enthusiasm of youth, he would almost rather die than be defeated. + +How hard the conditions are for the hunter no one would believe who has +not himself seen the country. In many places the hills are covered with +an almost impenetrable chaparral of scrub oak, buckthorn, greasewood, +manzanita, and deer-brush, in which the wary deer have taken refuge. In +and through these, guided sometimes by the tracks of the deer, or +encouraged by the presence of such tracks even if he cannot follow them, +up steep mountains, exposed to the heat of the sun, in dust, over rocks, +and without water, toils the hunter, who accounts himself lucky if, by +tramping scores of miles through this sort of impediment, he succeeds, +after days of toil, in killing his deer. Perhaps he has been without +fresh meat for a week or a fortnight, and often on short commons; is it +to be wondered at that when a shot offers he avails himself of the +opportunity even if it be a doe that he fires at? How can the deer +withstand such concentration of fury? + +Dr. Bartlett, Forest Supervisor of the Trabuco and San Jacinto Reserves, +assured me that the number of licenses to hunt in those two reserves +issued annually exceeded, in his opinion, the entire number of deer +within their boundaries. + +Everyone now is ready to admit that the extermination of the herd of +buffalo in the seventies was permitted by a crude, short-sighted policy +on our part as a nation, and should we of the early twentieth century +allow the remaining deer, elk, mountain sheep, and antelope, the last of +the great bears, and the innumerable small creatures of the wild, to be +crowded off the face of the earth, we should be depriving our children +and our children's children of a satisfaction and of a source of +interest which they would keenly regret. It would be well if we bore in +mind that we stand in a sort of fiduciary relation to the people who are +to come after us, so far as the wild portion of our land is concerned, +those few remote tracts still untarnished by man's craze to convert +everything in the world, or beneath the surface of the earth, into +dollars for his own immediate profit. He has the same short-sighted +policy in his hunting. He is content to gratify the impulse of the hour +without thought of those who are to spend their lives here when we have +led our brief careers and have gone to a well merited oblivion, to reap +our reward-- + +Heads without names, no more remembered. + +Let us look this matter squarely in the face. We are the inheritors of +these domains. It is one of the most precious assets of posterity. Here, +year by year, in steadily increasing proportion, as wisdom more +prevails, will men take comfort; and as the comprehension of nature's +charms penetrates their minds will they find content. One chief +satisfaction that every American feels from the mere fact of his +nationality is the full assurance in his heart that any measure founded +on sound reason and prompted by generous impulse will receive, if not +immediate acceptance, at all events eventual recognition. In the end +justice will prevail. Thus, in this matter before us, it will naturally +take a few years for Congress to realize that a genuine demand exists +for the creation of these refuges in every State, East as well as West, +but the interest in wild creatures, and the desire for their protection, +if not a clamorous demand, is one almost universally felt. All men, +except a meager few of the dwarfed and strictly city-bred, partake of +this, and it is so much a sign of the times that no Sunday edition is +complete without its column devoted to wild creatures, their traits, +their habits, or their eccentricities. One could hardly name, outside of +money-making and politics, an interest which all men more generally +share. + +Every lad is a born naturalist, and the true wisdom, as all sensible +people know, is to carry unfatigued through life the boy's power of +enjoyment, his freshness of perception, his alertness and zest. Where +the child's capacity for close observation survives into manhood, +supplemented by man's power of sustained attention, we have the typical +temperament of the lover of the woods, the mountains, and the wild--of +the naturalist in the sense that Thoreau was a naturalist, and many +another whose memory is cherished. + +It is not impossible for a man to be deeply learned and still to lack +the power of awakening enthusiasm in others; as a matter of fact, to be +so heavily freighted with information that he forgets to nourish his own +finer faculties, his intuition, his sympathy, and his insight. One must +have lived for a time in the California mountains to realize how great +is the service to the men of his own and to succeeding generations of +him who more than any one else has illuminated the study of the Sierras +and of all our forest-clad mountains, our glacier-formed hills, valleys +and glades. Not by any means do all lovers of nature, however faithful +their purpose, come to its study with the endowment of John Muir. In him +we see the trained faculties of the close and accurate observer, joined +to the temperament of the poet--the capacity to think, to see and to +feel--and by the power of sustained and strong emotion to make us the +sharers of his joy. The beauty and the majesty of the forest to him +confer the same exaltation of mind, the same intellectual transport, +which the trained musician feels when listening to the celestial +harmonies of a great orchestra. In proportion as one conceives, or can +imagine, the fineness of the musical endowment of a Bach or Beethoven, +and in proportion as he can realize in his own mind the infinity of +training and preparation which has contributed to the development of +such a master musician--in such proportion may he comprehend and +appreciate the unusual qualities and achievements of a man like Muir. He +will realize to some degree--indistinctly to be sure, "seeing men as +trees walking"--the infinity of nice and accurate observation, the +discriminating choice of illustration, the infallible tact and unvarying +sureness with which he holds our interest, and the dominant poetic +insight into the nature of things, which are spread before the reader in +lavish abundance, in Muir's two books, "The Mountains of California" and +"Our National Parks." No other books, in this province, by living +author offer to the reader so rich a feast. Recognizing the fine +endowments of Thoreau, and how greatly all are his debtors, still we of +this generation are lucky in having one greater than he among us, if +wisdom of life and joyousness be the criterion of a sound and of a sane +philosophy. The time will come when this will be generally recognized. +The verdict of posterity is the right one, and the love of mankind is +given throughout the centuries to the men of insight, who possess the +rare mental endowment of sustained pleasure. Call it perpetual youth, or +joyousness, or what you like, the fact remains that the power of +sustained enthusiasm, lightness of heart and gaiety, with the faculty of +communicating to others that state of mind, is not one of the commonest +endowments of the human brain. It is one that confers great happiness to +others, and one to whose possessor we are under great obligation. +Compare the career of Thoreau, lonely, sad, and wedded to death--on the +one hand, with that of Muir, on the other--a lover of his kind, healthful, +inspiring to gaiety, superabounding in vitality. Naturalists of this type +of mind, and so faithful in perfecting the talents entrusted to them, do +not often appear in any age. + +In the designations of refuges for deer, various questions are to be +considered, such as abundance of food, proximity to water, suitable +shelter, an exposure to their liking, for they may be permitted to have +whims in a matter of this sort, just as fully as Indians or the +residents of the city, when they deign to honor the country by their +presence. The deer feel that they are entitled to a certain remote +absence from molestation; moderate hunting will not entirely discourage +them--a dash of excitement might prove rather entertaining to a young +buck with a little recklessness in his temperament--but unless a deer be +clad in bullet-proof boiler iron, there are ranges in the reserves of +southern California where he would never dare to show his face during +the open season--regular rifle ranges. Where very severely hunted, like +the road agent, they "take to the brush," that is, hide in the +chaparral. This is almost impenetrable. It is very largely composed of +scrub oak, buckthorn, chámisal or greasewood, with a scattered growth of +wild lilac, wild cherry, etc. So far as the deer make this their +permanent home, there is no fear of their extermination. They may be +hunted effectively only with the most extreme caution. Not one person in +a thousand ever attains to the level of a still-hunter whose +accomplishment guarantees him success under such conditions. There are +men of this sort, but these are artists in their pursuit, whose +attainments, like those of the professional generally, are beyond +comparison with those of the ordinary amateur. To hunt successfully in +the chaparral, requires a special genius. One must have exhaustless +patience, tact trained by a lifetime of this sort of work, perseverance +incapable of discouragement, the silence of an Indian, and in this +phrase--when we are dealing with the skill of one who can make progress +without sound through the tangles of the dry and stiff California +chaparral--is involved an exercise of skill comparable only to the +fineness of touch of a Joachim or a St. Gaudens. This sort of hunter +marks one end of the scale of perfection; near the other and more +familiar extreme is found the individual of whom this story is told. He +was an Englishman and had just returned from a trip into the jungle of +India after big game, where he was accompanied by a guide, most expert +in his profession. One of the sportsman's friends asked this man how his +employer shot while on the trip. His reply was a model of tact and +concise statement: "He shot divinely, but God was very merciful to the +animals." + +He who reads this brief account may naturally ask: What were the +practical results of your Western trip? Have you any ideas which may be +of value in the solution of this problem of Game Refuges? My primary +conception of the duties of a Game Expert, sent out by a Bureau of a +United States Department, was to approach this entire subject without +preconceived theories, with an open and unbiased mind; to see as many of +the various reserves as possible, under the guidance of the best men to +be had, and, increasing in this manner my knowledge by every available +means, to reserve the period of general consideration and of specific +recommendation until the whole preliminary reconnoissance should be +accomplished. The thing of prime importance is that the game expert +should see the reserves, and see them thoroughly. In a measure of such +scope what we desire is a well thought-out plan, based on knowledge of +the actual conditions, knowledge acquired in the field for the future +use of him who has acquired it. No report can transfer to the mind of +another an impression thus derived. + +I had been but a short time engaged in this campaign of education before +it seemed wise to abandon the limitations imposed by traveling in +wagons; these held one to the valleys and to the dusty ways of +men. After that emancipation I lived in the haunts of the deer, +traveling with a pack train, and cruising in about the same altitude +affected by that most thoroughbred of all the conifers, the sugar +pine. Trust the genius of that tree, the pine, of all those that grow on +any of the mountains of North America, of finest power, beauty, +individuality, and distinction, to select the most attractive altitude +for its home, the daintiest air, the air fullest of strong vitality and +determination, whether man or deer is to participate in the virtues of +the favored zone. Many a time I went far beyond the region of the sugar +pine, and not infrequently cruised beneath its lower limits. + +What that tree loves is a zone of about four thousand feet in width +extending from three to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. +The upper reaches of this belt are where the deer range during the open +season of the summer when they must be afforded protection. These were +traversed with care, and seen with as much thoroughness as +possible. More of the reserves might easily have been visited in other +States, had I been content to do this in a sketchy and cursory manner, +but my idea was to derive the greatest possible amount of instruction +for a definite specific purpose, and it seemed to me for the +accomplishment of this end to be essential that one should spend a +sufficiently long time in each forest to receive a strong impression of +its own peculiar and distinctive nature, to get an idea into one's head, +which would stick, of its individuality, and, if I may say so, of its +personal features and idiosyncrasies. Not until more than three months +had been spent in the faithful execution of this plan was the problem +studied from any other view than that refuges were to be created of +considerable size, and that their lines of demarcation would naturally +be formed by something easily grasped by the eye, either rivers or the +crests of mountain ranges. + +After the lapse of that time, looking at this from every point of view, +it became my opinion that the ideal solution was the creation of many +small refuges rather than the establishment of a few large ones. To be +effective, the size of these ranges should not be less than ten miles +square; if slightly larger, so much the better. Should, therefore, +these be of about four townships each, the best results would be +obtained. The bill for the creation of Game Refuges after it had passed +the Senate, and as amended by the Committee on Public Lands of the House +of Representatives, in the spring of 1903, read: + +"The President of the United States is hereby authorized to designate +such areas in the public Forest Reserves, _not exceeding one in each +State or Territory_, as should, in his opinion, be set aside for the +protection of game animals, birds, and fish, and be recognized as a +breeding place therefor." + +If this bill were to become law in its present form, the object for +which it was created would be largely defeated. One may easily overlook +the fact that an area corresponding to that of California would, on the +Atlantic Coast, extend from Newport, R. I., to Charleston, S. C. It +embraces communities and interests in many respects as widely separated +as those of New England and the Atlantic Southern States. Were one Game +Refuge only to be created in the State of California, unless it included +practically the whole of the reserves south of Tehachapi, protection +would not be afforded to the different species of large a constantly +increasing population, and an ever-increasing interest in big-game +hunting. The designation of one Game Refuge in the Sierra Reserve would +practically not reduce the slaughter of deer in this whole vast region +of southern California. Were the single Game Refuge, which might under +the law be designated, to be placed in southern California, even +although it embraced the entire area of the seven southern reserves, it +would not aid to any great extent in preventing the extinction of game +in the region of the Sierra Reserve, of the Stanislaus Reserve, or of +the great reserves which are doubtless soon to be created in the +northern half of the State. A bill so conceived would not fulfill the +purpose of its creation. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + +There are just as cogent reasons of a positive nature why many small +refuges are preferable to a few large ones. It is said that in the +vicinity of George Vanderbilt's game preserves at Biltmore, North +Carolina, deer, when started by dogs even fifteen or twenty miles away, +will seek shelter within the limits of that protected forest, knowing +perfectly well that once within its bounds they will not be +disturbed. The same may be observed in the vicinity of the Yellowstone +National Park; the bears, for instance, a canny folk, and shrewd to read +the signs of the times, seem to be well aware that they are not to be +disturbed near the hotels, and they show themselves at such places +without fear; at the same time that outside the Park (and when the early +snow is on the ground their tracks are often observed going both out and +in) these same beasts are very shy indeed. The hunter soon discovers +that it is with the greatest difficulty that one ever sees them at all +outside of the bounds of the Park. Bears, as well as deer, adapt +themselves to the exigencies of the situation; the grizzly, since the +white man stole from him and the Indian the whole face of the earth, has +become a night-ranging instead of a diurnal creature. The deer, we may +safely rest assured, makes quite as close a study of humans as man does +of the deer. It is a question of life and death with them that they +should understand him and his methods. Both the deer and the hunters +would profit by the widest possible distribution of these protected +areas. Each section of the State is entitled to the benefit to be +derived from their presence in its vicinity. Moreover, and I believe +that this is a consideration of no slight moment, the creation of many +small refuges, not too close together, would obviate one great +difficulty which threatens to wreck the entire scheme. There have +appeared signs of opposition in certain quarters to the creation in the +various reserves of game refuges by Federal power on the ground that +this would be to surrender to the Government at Washington authority +which should be solely exercised by the State. In a certain sense it is +the old issue of State rights. Where this feeling exists it is adhered +to with extraordinary tenacity, and it is as catching as the measles; +just so soon as one State takes this stand, another is liable to raise +the same issue. They are jealous of any power except their own which +would close from hunting to their citizens considerable portions of the +forest reserves within the confines of the State. Their claim is that by +an abuse of such delegated power, a President of the United States +might, if so inclined, shut out the citizens from hunting at all in the +forest reserves of their own State. This argument is not an easy one to +wave aside. Should, however, the size of the individual refuges be +limited to four townships each, and the minimum distance between such +refuges be defined, one grave objection to these refuges would be +overcome, and the citizens of the various States would cooperate with +Federal authority to accomplish that which the sentiment at home in many +instances is not at present sufficiently enlightened to demand, and +which by reason of party differences the State legislatures are +powerless to effect. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + +Having elaborated in one's mind the idea that a Game Refuge, in order to +be a success, should be about ten or twelve miles square, the question +arises, how near are these to be placed to one another? If they are +established at the beginning, not less than twenty or twenty-five miles +from each other, it seems to me that the exigencies of the situation +would be met. It is not our purpose, in creating them, seriously to +interfere with the privileges of hunters adjoining the forests where +they are established. On the contrary, all that is wished is to +preserve the present number of the deer, or to allow them slightly to +increase. The system of game refuges of the size indicated, would, I +believe, accomplish this end. In all probability, at the beginning of +the open season, the deer would be distributed with a considerable +degree of uniformity throughout the reserve, outside of the game refuges +as well as within. They would go, of course, where the food and +conditions suited them. As the hunting season opened, and the game, in a +double sense, become more lively, the deer would naturally seek shelter +where they could find it. Since this, with them, would be a question +literally of vital interest, their education would progress rapidly, +particularly that of the wary old bucks, experienced in danger which +they had survived in the past simply because their bump of caution was +well developed, these would soon realize that they were safe within the +bounds of a certain tract--that there the sound of the rifle was never +heard, that there far less frequently they ran across the hateful scent +of their enemies, and for some mysterious reason were left to their own +devices. When once this idea has found firm lodgment in the head of an +astute deer, the very first thing that he will do will be to get into an +asylum of this sort, and to stay there; if he has any business to +transact beyond its boundaries, exactly as an Indian would do in similar +circumstances, he will delegate the same to a young buck who is on his +promotion, and has his reputation to make, and who possesses the +untarnished courage of ignorance and youth. It seems to me that this +system of small refuges would have the merit of fairness both to the +hunters and to the deer, and it is respectfully submitted to the +legislators of the United States. This may seem one of the simplest of +solutions, and hardly worth a summer's cruise to discover. It may prove +that this is not the first occasion when the simplest solution is the +best. Because a thing is simple it is not always the case, however, +that it finds the most ready acceptance. If, in my humble capacity of +public service, I am the indirect means of this being accomplished, I +shall feel that my summer's work was not altogether in vain. + +_Alden Sampson_. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + + + + +Temiskaming Moose + +The accompanying photographs of moose were taken about the middle of +July, 1902, on the Montreal river, which flows from the Ontario side +into Lake Temiskaming. + +A number of snap shots were obtained during the three days' stay in this +vicinity, but the others were at longer range and the animals appear +very small in the negative. + +As is well known, during the hot summer months the moose are often to be +found feeding on the lily pads or cooling themselves in the water, being +driven from the bush where there are heat, mosquitoes and flies. + +Not having been shot at nor hunted, all the moose at this time seemed +rather easy to approach. Two of these pictures are of one bull, and the +other two of one cow, the two animals taken on different occasions. I +got three snaps of each before they were too far away. When first +sighted, each was standing nibbling at the lily pads, and the final +spurt in the canoe was made in each case while the animal stood with +head clear under the water, feeding at the bottom. The distance of each +of the first photographs taken was from 45 to 55 feet. + +_Paul J. Dashiell._ + +[Illustration: A KAHRIGUR TIGER.] + + + + +Two Trophies from India + +In the early part of March, 1898, my friend, Mr. E. Townsend Irvin, and +I arrived at the bungalow of Mr. Younghusband, who was Commissioner of +the Province of Raipur, in Central India. Mr. Younghusband very kindly +gave us a letter to his neighbor, the Rajah of Kahrigur, who furnished +us with shikaris, beaters, bullock carts, two ponies and an elephant. We +had varied success the first three weeks, killing a bear, several +nilghai, wild boar and deer. + +One afternoon our beaters stationed themselves on three sides of a rocky +hill and my friend and I were placed at the open end some two hundred +yards apart. The beaters had hardly begun to beat their tom toms and +yell, when a roar came from the brow of the hill, and presently a large +tiger came out from some bushes at the foot. He came cantering along in +a clumsy fashion over an open space, affording us an excellent shot, and +when he was broadside on we both fired, breaking his back. He could not +move his hind legs, but stood up on his front paws. Approaching closer, +we shot him in a vital spot. + +The natives consider the death of a tiger cause for general rejoicing, +and forming a triumphal procession amid a turmoil such as only Indian +beaters can make, they carried the dead tiger to camp. + +One morning word was brought to our camp, at a place called Bernara, +that a tiger had killed a buffalo, some seven miles away. The natives +had built a bamboo platform, called _machan_, in a tree by the +kill, and we stationed ourselves on this in the late afternoon. Contrary +to custom, the tiger did not come back to his kill until after the sun +had set. The night was cloudy and very dark, and although several times +we distinctly heard the tiger eating the buffalo, we could not see +it. At about midnight we were extremely stiff, and not hearing any +sound, we returned to our temporary camp; but on the advice of an old +shikari I returned with him to the _machan_ to wait until +daylight. Being tired, I fell asleep, but an hour before dawn the Hindu +woke me, as the clouds had cleared away and the moon was shining +brightly. I heard a munching sound, and could dimly discern a yellow +form by the buffalo, and taking a long aim I fired both barrels of my +rifle. I heard nothing except the scuttling off of the hyenas and +jackals that had been attracted by the dead buffalo, so I slept again +until daylight, when, to my surprise, I saw a dead leopard by the +buffalo. He had come to the kill after the tiger had finished his meal. + +_John H. Prentice_. + +[Illustration: INDIAN LEOPARD.] + + + + +Big-Game Refuges + +Since the inception of the Boone and Crockett Club its plans and +purposes have changed not a little. Originally organized for social +purposes, for the encouragement of big-game hunting, and the procuring +of the most effective weapons with which to secure the game, it has, +little by little, come to be devoted to the broader object of benefiting +this and succeeding generations by preserving a stock of large game. It +is still made up of enthusiastic riflemen, and their love of the chase +has not abated. But, since the Club's formation, an astonishing change +has come over natural conditions in the United States--a change which, +fifteen or twenty years ago, could not have been foreseen. The +extraordinary development of the whole Western country, with the +inevitable contraction of the range of all big game, and the absolute +reduction in the numbers of the game consequent on its destruction by +skin hunters, head hunters and tooth hunters, has obliged the Boone and +Crockett Club, in absolute self-defense, and in the hope that its +efforts may save some of the species threatened with extinction, to turn +its attention more and more to game protection. + +The Club was established in 1888. The buffalo had already been swept +away. Since that date two species of elk have practically disappeared +from the land, one being still represented by a few individuals which +for some years have been preserved from destruction by a California +cattle company; the other, found only in the Southwest, in territory now +included within the Black Mesa forest reservation, may be, perhaps, +without a single living representative. Over a vast extent of the +territory which the antelope once inhabited, it has ceased to exist; and +so speedy and so wholesale has been its disappearance that most of the +Western States, slow as they always are to interfere with the privileges +of their citizens to kill and destroy at will, have passed laws either +wholly protecting it or, at least, limiting the number to be killed in a +season to one, two or three. In 1888 no one could have conceived that +the diminution of the native large game of America would be what it has +proved to be within the past fifteen years. + +[Illustration: THE NEW BUFFALO HERD IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK] + +That the game stock may re-establish itself in certain localities, the +Club has advocated the establishment in the various forest reserves of +game refuges, where absolutely no hunting shall be permitted. + +Through the influence of William Hallett Phillips, a deceased member of +the Club, a few lines inserted in an act passed by Congress March 3, +1891, permitted the establishment of forest reserves, and Hon. John +W. Noble, then Secretary of the Interior, at once recommended the +application of the law to a number of forest tracts, which were +forthwith set aside by Presidential proclamation. Since then, more and +more forest reserves have been created, and, thanks to the wisdom and +courage of the Chief Magistrates of the Nation within the past twelve +years, we now have more than sixty millions of acres of such +reservations. These consist largely of rough, timbered mountain lands, +unfit for cultivation or settlement. They are of enormous value to the +arid West, as affording an unfailing water supply to much of that +region, and in a less degree they are valuable as timber reserves, from +which hereafter may be harvested crops which will greatly benefit the +country adjacent to them. + +In the first volume of the Boone and Crockett Club Books, it was said: +"In these reservations is to be found to-day every species of large game +known to the United States, and the proper protection of the +reservations means the perpetuating in full supply of all these +indigenous mammals. If this care is provided, no species of American +large game need ever become absolutely extinct; and intelligent effort +for game protection may well be directed toward securing, through +national legislation, the policing of forest preserves by timber and +game wardens."--American Big Game Hunting, p. 330. + +When these lines were written, Congressional action in this direction +was hoped for at an early day; but, except in the case of the +Yellowstone National Park, such action has not been taken. Meantime, +hunting in these forest reserves has gone on. In some of them game has +been almost exterminated. Two little bunches of buffalo which then had +their range within the reserves have been swept out of existence. + +It is obvious that effectively to protect the big game at large there +must be localities where hunting shall be absolutely forbidden. That any +species of big game will rapidly increase if absolutely protected is +perfectly well known; and in the Yellowstone Park we have ever before us +an object lesson, which shows precisely what effective protection of +game can do. + +It is little more than twenty years since the first efforts were made to +prevent the killing of game within that National Reservation, and only +about ten years since Congress provided an effective method for +preventing such killing. He must be dull indeed who does not realize +what that game refuge has done for a great territory, and of how much +actual money value its protection has been to the adjoining States of +Montana and Idaho, and especially of Wyoming. The visit of President +Roosevelt to the National Park last spring made these conditions plain +to the whole nation. At that time every newspaper in the land gave long +accounts of what the President saw and did there, and told of the hordes +of game that he viewed and counted. He saw nothing that he had not +before known of, nothing that was not well known to all the members of +the Boone and Crockett Club; but it was largely through the President's +visit, and the accounts of what he saw in the Yellowstone Park, that the +public has come to know what rigid protection can do and has done for +our great game. + +Since such a refuge can bring about such results, it is high time that +we had more of these refuges, in order that like results may follow in +different sections of the West, and for different species of wild game; +as well for the benefit of other localities and their residents, as for +that wider public which will hereafter visit them in ever increasing +numbers. + +A bill introduced at the last session of Congress authorized the +President, when in his judgment it should seem desirable, to set aside +portions of forest reserves as game refuges, where no hunting should be +allowed. The bill passed the Senate, but failed in the House, largely +through lack of time, yet some opposition was manifested to it by +members of Congress from the States in which the forest reserves are +located, who seemed to feel that such a law would in some way abridge +the rights and privileges of their constituents. This is a narrow view, +and one not justified by the experience of persons dwelling in the +vicinity of the Yellowstone National Park. + +If such members of Congress will consider, for example, the effect on +the State of Wyoming, of the protection of the Yellowstone Park, it +seems impossible to believe that they will oppose the measure. Each +non-resident sportsman going into Wyoming to hunt the game--much of +which spends the summer in the Yellowstone Park, and each autumn +overflows into the adjacent territory--pays to the State the sum of +forty dollars, and is obliged by law to hire a guide, for whose license +he must pay ten dollars additional; besides that, he hires guides, +saddle and pack animals, pays railroad and stage fare, and purchases +provisions to last him for his hunt. In other words, at a modest +calculation, each man who spends from two weeks to a month hunting in +Wyoming pays to the State and its citizens not less than one hundred and +fifty dollars. Statistics as to the number of hunters who visit Wyoming +are not accessible; but if we assume that they are only two hundred in +number, this means an actual contribution to the State of thirty +thousand dollars in cash. Besides this, the protection of the game in +such a refuge insures a never-failing supply of meat to the settlers +living in the adjacent country, and offers them work for themselves and +their horses at a time when, ranch work for the season being over, they +have no paying occupation. + +[Illustration: A BIT OF SHEEP COUNTRY] + +The value of a few skins taken by local hunters is very inconsiderable +when compared with such a substantial inflow of actual cash to the State +and the residents of the territory neighboring to such a +refuge. Moreover, it must be remembered that, failing to put in +operation some plan of this kind, which shall absolutely protect the +game and enable it to re-establish itself, the supply of meat and skins, +now naturally enough regarded as their own peculiar possession by the +settlers living where such a refuge might be established, will +inevitably grow less and less as time goes on; and, as it grows less, +the contributions to State and local resources from the non-resident tax +will also grow less. Thirty years ago the buffalo skinner declared that +the millions of buffalo could never be exterminated; yet the buffalo +disappeared, and after them one species of big game after another +vanished over much of the country. The future can be judged only by the +past. Thirty years ago there were elk all over the plains, from the +Missouri River westward to the Rocky Mountains; now there are no elk on +the plains, and, except in winter, when driven down from their summer +range by the snows, they are found only in the timbered mountains. What +has been so thoroughly accomplished will be sure to continue; and, +unless the suggested refuges shall be established, there will soon be no +game to protect--a real loss to the country. + +It has long been customary for Western men of a certain type to say that +Eastern sportsmen are trying to protect the game in order that they +themselves may kill it, the implication being that they wish to take it +away from those living near it, and who presumably have the greatest +right to it. Talk of this kind has no foundation in fact, as is shown by +the laws passed by the Western States, which often demand heavy license +fees from non-residents, and hedge about their hunting with other +restrictions. Many Eastern sportsmen desire to preserve the game, not +especially that they themselves may kill it, but that it shall be +preserved; if they desire to kill this game they must and do comply with +the laws established by the different States, and pay the license fees. + +A fundamental reason for the protection of game, and so for the +establishment of such game refuges, was given by President Roosevelt in +a speech made to the Club in the winter of 1903, when he expressed the +opinion that it was the duty of the Government to establish these +refuges and preserves for the benefit of the poor man, the man in +moderate circumstances. The very rich, who are able to buy land, may +establish and care for preserves of their own, but this is beyond the +means of the man of moderate means; and, unless the State and Federal +Governments establish such reservations, a time is at hand when the poor +man will have no place to go where he can find game to hunt. The +establishment of such refuges is for the benefit of the whole +public--not for any class--and is therefore a thoroughly democratic +proposition. + +There is no question as to the right of Congress to enact laws governing +the killing of game on the public domain, or within a forest reserve +where this domain lies within the boundaries of a Territory. Moreover, +it has been determined by the courts and otherwise that within a State +the Federal Government has, on a forest reserve, all the rights of an +individual proprietor, "supplemented with the power to make and enforce +its own laws for the assertion of those rights, and for the disposal and +full and complete management, control and protection of its lands." + +In January, 1902, the Hon. John F. Lacey, of Iowa, a member of this +Club, whose efforts in behalf of game protection are generally +recognized, and whose name is attached to the well-known Lacey Law, +received from Attorney-General Knox an opinion indicating that there is +reasonable ground for the view that the Government may legislate for the +protection of game on the forest reserves, whether these forest reserves +lie within the Territories or within the States. From this opinion the +following paragraphs are taken: + +"While Congress certainly may by law prohibit and punish the entry upon +or use of any part of those forest reserves for the purpose of the +killing, capture or pursuit of game, this would not be sufficient. There +are many persons now on those reserves by authority of law, and people +are expressly authorized to go there, and it would be necessary to go +further and to prohibit the killing, capture or pursuit of game, even +though the entry upon the reserve is not for that purpose. But, the +right to forbid intrusion for the purpose of killing, _per se_, and +without reference to any trespass on the property, is another. The first +may be forbidden as a trespass and for the protection of the property; +but when a person is lawfully there and not a trespasser or intruder, +the question is different. + +"But I am decidedly of opinion that Congress may forbid and punish the +killing of game on these reserves, no matter that the slayer is lawfully +there and is not a trespasser. If Congress may prohibit the use of these +reserves for any purpose, it may for another; and while Congress permits +persons to be there upon and use them for various purposes, it may fix +limits to such use and occupation, and prescribe the purpose and objects +for which they shall not be used, as for the killing, capture or pursuit +of specified kinds of game. Generally, any private owner may forbid, +upon his own land, any act that he chooses, although the act may be +lawful in itself; and certainly Congress, invested also with legislative +power, may do the same thing, just as it may prohibit the sale of +intoxicating liquors, though such sale is otherwise lawful. + +"After considerable attention to the whole subject, I have no hesitation +in expressing my opinion that Congress has ample power to forbid and +punish any and all kinds of trespass, upon or injury to, the forest +reserves, including the trespass of entering upon or using them for the +killing, capture or pursuit of game. + +"The exercise of these powers would not conflict with any State +authority. Most of the States have laws forbidding the killing, capture +or pursuit of different kinds of game during specified portions of the +year. This makes such killing, etc., lawful at other times, but only +lawful because not made unlawful. And it is lawful only when the State +has power to make it lawful, by either implication or direct enactment. +But, except in those cases already referred to, such as eminent domain, +service of process, etc., no State has power to authorize or make lawful +a trespass upon private property. So that, though Congress should +prohibit such killing, etc., upon its own lands, at all seasons of the +year, this would not conflict with any State authority or control. That +the preservation of game is part of the public policy of those States, +and for the benefit of their own people, is shown by their own +legislation, and they cannot complain if Congress upon its own lands +goes even further in that direction than the State, so long as the open +season of the State law is not interfered with in any place where such +law is paramount. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP AT REST] + +"It has always been the policy of the Government to invite and induce +the purchase and settlement of its public lands; and as the existence of +game thereon and in their localities adds to the desirability of the +lands, and is a well-known inducement to their purchase, it may well be +considered whether, for this purpose alone, and without reference to the +protection of the lands from trespass, Congress may not, on its own +lands, prohibit the killing of such game." + +In this opinion the Attorney-General further calls attention to the +difficulties of enforcing the State law, and suggests that it might be +well to give marshals and their deputies, and the superintendents, +supervisors, rangers, and other persons charged with the protection of +these forest reserves, power on the public lands, in certain cases +approaching "hot pursuit," to arrest without warrant. All who are +familiar with the conditions in the more sparsely settled States will +recognize the importance of some such provision. A matter of equal +importance, though as yet not generally recognized, is that of providing +funds for the expenses of forest officers making arrests. It is often +the fact that no justice of the peace resides within fifty or a hundred +miles of the place where the violation of the law occurs. The ranger +making the arrest is obliged to transport his prisoner for this +distance, and to provide him with transportation, food and lodging +during the journey and during the time that he may be obliged to wait +before bringing the prisoner arrested before a proper court. This may +often amount to more than the penalty, even if the officer making the +arrest secures a conviction; but, on the other hand, the individual +arrested may not be able to pay his fine, and may have to go to jail. In +this case the officer making the arrest is out of pocket just so much. +Under such circumstances, it is evident that few officers can afford to +take the risk of losing this time and money. + +In most States of the Union there exist considerable tracts of land, +mountainous, or at least barren and unfit for cultivation. Legislation +should be had in each State establishing public parks which might well +enough be stocked with game, which should there be absolutely +protected. Some efforts in this direction have been made, notably +Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. In many of the New +England States there are tracts absolutely barren, unoccupied and often +bordered by abandoned farms, which could be purchased by the State for a +very modest compensation; and it is well worth the while of the Boone +and Crockett Club to endeavor by all means in its power to secure the +establishment in the various States of parks which might be breeding +centers for game, great and small, on the same plan as the proposed +refuges hoped for within the forest reservations. Michigan, Wisconsin, +Minnesota, and practically all the States to the west of these, possess +such areas of unoccupied land, which might wisely be acquired by the +State and devoted to such excellent purposes. In Montana there is a long +stretch of the Missouri River, with a narrow, shifting bottom, bordered +on either side by miles of bad-lands, which would serve as such a State +park. Settlers on this stretch of river are few in number, for the +bottoms are not wide enough to harbor many homes, and, being constantly +cut out by the changes of the river's course, are so unstable as to be +of little value as farming lands. On the other hand, the new bottoms +constantly formed are soon thickly covered by willow brush, while the +extensive bad-lands on either side the stream furnish an admirable +refuge for deer, antelope, mountain sheep and bear, with which the +country is already stocked, and were in old times a great haunt for elk, +which might easily be reintroduced there. + +There is a tendency in this country to avoid trouble, and to do those +things which can be done most easily. From this it results that efforts +are constantly being made to introduce into regions from which game has +been exterminated various species of foreign game, which can be had, +more or less domesticated, from the preserves of Europe. Thus red deer +have been introduced in the Adirondack region, and it has been suggested +that chamois might be brought from Europe and turned loose in certain +localities in the United States, and there increase and furnish +shooting. To many men it seems less trouble to contribute money for such +a purpose as this than to buckle down and manufacture public sentiment +in behalf of the protection of native game. This is a great +mistake. From observations made in certain familiar localities, we know +definitely that, provided there is a breeding stock, our native game, +with absolute protection, will re-establish itself in an astonishingly +short period of time. It would be far better for us to concentrate our +efforts to renew the supply of our native game rather than to collect +subscriptions to bring to America foreign game, which may or may not do +well here, and may or may not furnish sport if it shall do well. + +[Illustration: MULE DEER AT FORT YELLOWSTONE] + + + + +Forest Reserves of North America + + +In the United States something over 100,000 square miles of the public +domain has been set aside and reserved from settlement for economic +purposes. This vast area includes reservations of four different kinds: +First, National Forest Reserves, aggregating some 63,000,000 acres, for +the conservation of the water supply of the arid and semi-arid West; +second, National Parks, of which there are seventeen, for the purpose of +preserving untouched places of natural grandeur and interest; third, +State Parks, for places of recreation and for conserving the water +supply; and fourth, military wood and timber reservations, to provide +Government fuel or other timber. Most military wood reserves were +originally established in connection with old forts. + +The forest reservations, as they are by far the largest, are also much +the most important of these reserved areas. + +Perhaps three-quarters of the population of the United States do not +know that over nearly one-half of the national territory within the +United States the rainfall is so slight or so unevenly distributed that +agriculture cannot be carried on except by means of irrigation. This +irrigation consists of taking water out of the streams and conducting it +by means of ditches which have a very gentle slope over the land which +it is proposed to irrigate. From the original ditch, smaller ditches are +taken out, running nearly parallel with each other, and from these +laterals other ditches, still smaller, and the seepage from all these +moistens a considerable area on which crops may be grown. This, very +roughly, is irrigation, a subject of incalculable interest to the +dwellers in the dry West. + +It is obvious that irrigation cannot be practiced without water, and +that every ditch which takes water from a stream lessens the volume of +that stream below where the ditch is taken out. It is conceivable that +so many ditches might be taken out of the stream, and so much of the +water lost by evaporation and seepage into the soil irrigated, that a +stream which, uninterfered with, was bank full and even flowing +throughout the summer, might, under such changed condition, become +absolutely dry on the lower reaches of its course. And this, in fact, is +what has happened with some streams in the West. Where this is the case, +the farmers who live on the lower stretches of the stream, being without +water to put on their land, can raise no crops. Nothing, therefore, is +more important to the agriculturists of the West than to preserve full +and as nearly equal as possible at all seasons the water supply in their +streams. + +This water is supplied by the annual rain or snow fall; but in the West +chiefly by snow. It falls deep on the high mountains, and, protected +there by the pine forests, accumulates all through the winter, and in +spring slowly melts. The deep layer of half-rotted pine needles, +branches, decayed wood and other vegetable matter which forms the forest +floor, receives this melting snow and holds much of it for a time, while +the surplus runs off over the surface of the ground, and by a thousand +tiny rivulets at last reaches some main stream which carries it toward +the sea. In the deep forest, however, the melting of this snow is very +gradual, and the water is given forth slowly and gradually to the +stream, and does not cause great floods. Moreover, the large portion of +it which is held by the humus, or forest floor, drains off still more +gradually and keeps the springs and sources of the brook full all +through the summer. + +Without protection from the warm spring sun, the snows of the winter +might melt in a week and cause tremendous torrents, the whole of the +melted snowfall rushing down the stream in a very short time. Without +the humus, or forest floor, to act as a soaked sponge which gradually +drains itself, the springs and sources of the brooks would go dry in +early summer, and the streams further down toward the cultivated plains +would be low and without sufficient water to irrigate all the farms +along its course. + +It was for the purpose of protecting the farmers of the West by insuring +the careful protection of the water supply of all streams that Congress +wisely passed the law providing for the establishing of the forest +reserves. It is for the benefit of these farmers and of those others who +shall establish themselves along these streams that the Presidents of +the United States for the last twelve or fourteen years have been +establishing forest reserves and have had expert foresters studying +different sections of the western country to learn where the water was +most needed and where it could best be had. + +It is gratifying to think that, while at first the establishment of +these forest reserves was very unpopular in certain sections of the +West, where their object was not in the least understood, they have--now +that the people have come to see what they mean--received universal +approval. It sometimes takes the public a long time to understand a +matter, but their common sense is sure at last to bring them to the +right side of any question. + +The list of reservations here given is brought down to December, 1903, +and is furnished by the U.S. Forester--a member of the Club. + +_Government Forest Reserves in the United States and Alaska_ + +ALASKA. Area in Acres + +Afognak Forest and Fish Culture Reserve 403,640 +The Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve 4,506,240 + +Total 4,909,880 + +ARIZONA. + +The Black Mesa Forest Reserve 1,658,880 +The Prescott Forest Reserve 423,680 +Grand Canyon Forest Reserve 1,851,520 +The San Francisco Mountains Forest Reserve 1,975,310 +The Santa Rita Forest Reserve 387,300 +The Santa Catalina Forest Reserve 155,520 +The Mount Graham Forest Reserve 118,600 +The Chiricahua Forest Reserve 169,600 + +Total 6,740,410 + +CALIFORNIA. Acres. + +The Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve 136,335 +The Stanislaus Forest Reserve 691,200 +Sierra Forest Reserve 4,096,000 +The Santa Barbara Forest Reserve 1,838,323 +San Bernardino Forest Reserve 737,280 +Timber Land Reserve San Gabriel 555,520 +The San Jacinto Forest Reserve 668,160 +Trabuco Canyon Forest Reserve 109,920 + --------- +Total 8,832,738 + +COLORADO. + +Battle Mesa Forest Reserve 853,000 +Timber Land Reserve, Pike's Peak 184,320 +Timber Land Reserve, Plum Creek 179,200 +The South Platte Forest Reserve 683,520 +The White River Forest Reserve 1,129,920 +The San Isabel Forest Reserve 77,980 + --------- +Total 3,107,940 + +IDAHO. + +The Bitter Root Forest Reserve (see note) 3,456,000 +The Priest River Forest Reserve (see note) 541,160 +The Pocatello Forest Reserve 49,920 + --------- +Total 4,047,080 + +MONTANA. + +The Yellowstone Forest Reserve (see note) 1,311,600 +The Bitter Root Forest Reserve (see note) 691,200 +The Gallatin Forest Reserve 40,320 +The Lewis and Clark Forest Reserve 4,670,720 +The Madison Forest Reserve 736,000 +The Little Belt Mountains Forest Reserve 501,000 +The Highwood Mountains Reserve 45,080 + --------- +Total 7,995,920 + +NEBRASKA. Acres. + +The Niobrara Forest Reserve 123,779 +The Dismal River Forest Reserve 85,123 + --------- +Total 208,902 + +NEW MEXICO. + +The Gila River Forest Reserve 2,327,040 +The Pecos River Forest Reserve 430,880 +The Lincoln Forest Reserve 500,000 + --------- +Total 3,257,920 + +OKLAHOMA TERRITORY. + +Wichita Forest Reserve 57,120 + +OREGON. + +Timber Land Reserve, Bull Run 142,080 +Cascade Range Forest Reserve 4,424,440 +Ashland Forest Reserve 18,560 + --------- +Total 4,585,080 + +SOUTH DAKOTA. + +The Black Hills Forest Reserve (see note) 1,165,240 + +UTAH. + +The Fish Lake Forest Reserve 67,840 +The Uintah Forest Reserve 875,520 +The Payson Forest Reserve 111,600 +The Logan Forest Reserve 182,080 +The Manti Forest Reserve 584,640 +The Aquarius Forest Reserve 639,000 + --------- +Total 2,460,680 + +WASHINGTON. + +The Priest River Forest Reserve (see note) 103,960 +The Mount Rainier Forest Reserve 2,027,520 +The Olympic Forest Reserve 1,466,880 +The Washington Forest Reserve 3,426,400 + --------- +Total 7,024,760 + +WYOMING. Acres. + +The Yellowstone Forest Reserve (see note) 7,017,600 +The Black Hills Forest Reserve (see note) 46,440 +The Big Horn Forest Reserve 1,216,960 +The Medicine Bow Forest Reserve 420,584 + ---------- +Total 8,701,584 + ---------- +Grand Total 63,095,254 + + +NOTE. + +Total of Bitter Root, in Idaho and Montana 4,147,200 +Total of Priest River, in Idaho and Washington 645,120 +Total of Black Hills, in S. Dakota and Wyoming 1,211,680 +Total of Yellowstone, in Wyoming and Montana 8,329,200 + + +_United States Military Wood and Timber Reservations_ + +Kansas-- Acres. + Fort Leavenworth 939 + +Montana-- + Fort Missoula 1,677 + +Nebraska-- + Fort Robinson 10,240 + +New Mexico-- + Fort Wingate 19,200 + +New York-- + Wooded Area of West Point Mil. Res., about 1,800 + +Oklahoma-- + Fort Sill 26,880 + +South Dakota-- + Fort Meade 5,280 + +Wyoming-- + Fort D.A. Russell 2,541 + ------ +Total 68,557 + + +_National Parks in the United States_ + +Montana and Wyoming-- Acres. + Yellowstone National Park 2,142,720 + +Arkansas-- + Hot Springs Reserve and National Park 912 + +District of Columbia-- + The National Zoological Park 170 + Rock Creek Park 1,606 + +Georgia and Tennessee-- + Chickamauga & Chattanooga Nat. Mil. Parks 6,195 + +Maryland-- + Antietam Battlefield and Nat. Mil. Park 43 + +California-- + Sequoia National Park 160,000 + General Grant National Park 2,560 + Yosemite National Park 967,680 + +Arizona-- + The Casa Grande Ruin (Exec. Order) 480 + +Tennessee-- + Shiloh National Military Park 3,000 + +Pennsylvania-- + Gettysburg National Military Park 877 + +Mississippi-- + Vicksburg National Military Park 1,233 + +Washington-- + The Mount Rainier National Park 207,360 + +Oregon-- + Crater Lake 159,360 + +Indian Territory-- + Sulphur Reservation and National Park 629 + +South Dakota-- + Wind Cave ........ + + ---------- + Total 3,654,825 + + +Forest Reserves of North America + +_State Parks, State Forest Reserves and Preserves, +State Forest Stations, and State Forest +Tracts in the United States_ + +CALIFORNIA. Acres. + +Yosemite Valley State Park 36,000 +The Big Basin Redwood Park, about 2,300 +Santa Monica Forest Station 20 +Chico Forest Station 29 +Mt. Hamilton Tract 2,500 + +KANSAS. + +Ogallah Forestry Station 160 +Dodge Forestry Station 160 + +MASSACHUSETTS. + +Blue Hills Reservation 4,858 +Beaver Brook Reservation 53 +Middlesex Fells Reservation 3,028 +Stony Brook Reservation 464 +Hemlock Gorge Reservation 23 +Hart's Hill Reservation 23 +Wachusett Mountain Reservation 1,380 +Greylock Reservation 3,724 +Goodwill Park 70 +Rocky Narrows 21 +Mount Anne Park 50 +Monument Mountain Reservation 260 + +MICHIGAN. + +Mackinac Island State Park 103 +Michigan Forest Reserve 57,000 + +MINNESOTA. + +Minnehaha Falls State Park, + or Minnesota State Park 51 +Itasca State Park 20,000 +St. Croix State Park, + or the Interstate Park at + the Dalles of the St. Croix 500 + +NEW YORK. Acres. + +The State Reservation at Niagara, or Niagara +Falls Park. (Area of Queen Victoria Niagara +Falls Park in Canada--730 Acres) 107 +Adirondack Forest Preserve 1,163,414 +Catskill Forest Preserve 82,330 +The St. Lawrence Reservation, + or International Park 181 + +PENNSYLVANIA. + +Twenty Reserves scattered 211,776 +The Hopkins Reserve 62,000 +Pike County Reservation 23,000 +McElhattan Reservation 8,000 + +WASHINGTON. + +Sanitarium Lake Reservation 193 + +WISCONSIN. + +The Interstate Park of the Dalles of the St. Croix + 600 + +WYOMING. + +The Big Horn Springs Reservation 640 + +Total 1,685,023 + + +_Canadian National Parks and Timber Reserves_ + +The Dominion of Canada has established a large +number of public parks and forests reserves, of which +a list has been very kindly furnished by the Dominion +Secretary of the Interior, as follows: + +BRITISH COLUMBIA. Acres. + +Long Lake Timber Reserve 76,800 +Yoho Park (a part of Rocky Mt. Park of Can) ....... +Glacier Forest Park 18,720 + +NORTHWEST TERRITORY. Acres. + +Rocky Mountain Park of Canada 2,880,000 +Foot Hills Timber Reserve 2,350,000 +Waterton Lakes Forest Park 34,000 +Cooking Lakes Timber Reserve 109,000 +Moose Mountain Timber Reserve 103,000 +Beaver Hills Timber Reserve 170,000 + +MANITOBA. + +Turtle Mountain Timber Reserve 75,000 +Spruce Woods Timber Reserve 190,000 +Riding Mountain Timber Reserve 1,215,000 +Duck Mountain Timber Reserve 840,000 +Lake Manitoba West Timber Reserve 159,460 + +ONTARIO. + +Algonquin Park 1,109,383 +Eastern Reserve 80,000 +Sibley Reserve 45,000 +Temagami Reserve 3,774,000 +Rondeau Park ........ +Missisaga Reserve 1,920,000 + +QUEBEC. + +Laurentides National Park 1,619,840 + ----------- +Total 16,769,203 + + +Besides these, there are two or three other reservations in Quebec and +New Brunswick and Manitoba that have not as yet been finally reserved, +but which are in contemplation. Many of the timber reserves are still to +be cut over under license. On the other hand, many of them find their +chief function as game preserves, as do also to still greater extent the +national parks. A large number of these parks and timber reserves are +clothed with beautiful and valuable forests, as yet untouched by the ax. + + + + +APPENDIX + +In order to be in a position to make intelligent recommendations, in +case legislation authorizing the setting aside of game refuges should be +had, the Boone and Crockett Club, in the year 1901, made some inquiry +into the game conditions on certain of the forest reservations and as to +the suitability as game refuges of these reserves. + +Among the reports was one on the Black Mesa Forest Reserve. Mr. Nelson +is a trained naturalist and hunter of wide experience, and possesses the +highest qualifications for investigating such a subject. He is, besides, +very familiar with the reservation reported on. His report is printed +here as giving precisely the information needed by any one who may have +occasion to deal with a forest reserve from this viewpoint, and it may +well serve as a model for others who may have occasion to report on the +reserves. The report was made to the Executive Committee of the Boone +and Crockett Club through the editor of this volume, and was printed in +_Forest and Stream_ about two years ago. It follows: + + + + +Forest Reserves as Game Preserves + + +THE BLACK MESA FOREST RESERVE OF ARIZONA +AND ITS AVAILABILITY AS A GAME PRESERVE. + +The Black Mesa Forest Reserve lies in central-eastern Arizona, and +contains 1,658,880 acres, is about 180 miles long in a northwesterly and +southeasterly direction and a direct continuation southeasterly from the +San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve. On the north it contains a part +of the Mogollon Mesa, which is covered with a magnificent open forest of +Arizona yellow pine (_Pinus ponderosa_) in which there is an +abundance of bunch grass and here and there are beautiful grassy +parks. To the southeast the reserve covers a large part of the White +Mountains, one of the largest areas of generally high elevation in +Arizona. The yellow pine forest, similar in character to that on the +Mogollon Mesa, is found over a large part of the reserve between 7,000 +and 8,500 feet altitude, and its general character is shown in the +accompanying view. + +The Black Mesa Reserve is irregular in outline. The large compact areas +at each end are joined by a long, narrow strip, very irregular in +outline and less than a township broad at various points. It lies along +the southern border of the Great Colorado Plateau, and covers the +southern and western borders of the basin of the Little Colorado +River. Taken as a whole, this reserve includes some of the wildest and +most attractive mountain scenery in the West. + +Owing to the wide separation of the two main areas of the reserve, and +certain differences in physical character, they will be described +separately, beginning with the northwestern and middle areas, which are +similar in character. + + + +THE NORTHWESTERN SECTION OP THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + +With the exception of an area in the extreme western part, which drains +into the Rio Verde, practically all of this portion of the reserve lies +along the upper border of the basin of the Little Colorado. It is a +continuation of the general easy slope which begins about 5,000 feet on +the river and extends back so gradually at first that it is frequently +almost imperceptible, but by degrees becomes more rolling and steeper +until the summit is reached at an altitude of from 6,000 to 9,000 +feet. The reserve occupies the upper portion of this slope, which has +more the form of a mountainous plateau country, scored by deep and +rugged canyons, than of a typical mountain range. From the summit of +this elevated divide, with the exception of the district draining into +the Rio Verde, the southern and western slope drops away abruptly +several thousand feet into Tonto Creek Basin. The top of the huge +escarpment thus formed faces south and west, and is known as the rim of +Tonto Basin, or, locally, "The Rim." From the summit of this gigantic +rocky declivity is obtained an inspiring view of the south, where range +after range of mountains lie spread out to the distant horizon. + +The rolling plateau country sloping toward the Little Colorado is +heavily scored with deep box canyons often hundreds of feet deep and +frequently inaccessible for long distances. Most of the permanent +surface water is found in these canyons, and the general drainage is +through them down to the lower plains bordering the river. The greater +part of this portion of the reserve is covered with yellow pine forests, +below which is a belt, varying greatly in width, of piñons, cedars and +junipers, interspersed with a more or less abundant growth of gramma +grass. This belt of scrubby conifers contains many open grassy areas, +and nearer the river gives way to continuous broad grassy +plains. Nowhere in this district, either among the yellow pines or in +the lower country, is there much surface water, and a large share of the +best watering places are occupied by sheep owners. + +The wild and rugged slopes of Tonto Basin, with their southerly +exposure, have a more arid character than the area just described. On +these slopes yellow pines soon give way to piñons, cedars and junipers, +and many scrubby oaks and various species of hardy bushes. The watering +places are scarce until the bottom of the basin is approached. Tonto +Basin and its slopes are also occupied by numerous sheep herds, +especially in winter. + +There are several small settlements of farmers, sheep and cattle growers +within the limits of the narrow strip connecting the larger parts of the +reserve, notably Show Low, Pinetop and Linden. The wagon road from +Holbrook, on the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad, to the military post at Camp +Apache, on the White Mountain Indian Reservation, passes through this +strip by way of Show Low. The old trails through Sunset Pass to Camp +Verde and across "The Rim" into Tonto Basin traverse the northern part +of the reserve, and are used by stockmen and others at short intervals, +except in midwinter. + +The climate of this section of the reserve is rather arid in summer, the +rainfall being much more uncertain than in the more elevated areas about +the San Francisco Mountains to the northwest and the White Mountains to +the southeast. The summers are usually hot and dry, the temperature +being modified, however, by the altitude. Rains sometimes occur during +July and August, but are more common in the autumn, when they are often +followed by abundant snowfall. During some seasons snow falls to a depth +of three or more feet on a level in the yellow pine forests, and remains +until spring. During other seasons, however, the snowfall is +insignificant, and much of the ground remains bare during the winter, +especially on southern exposures. As a matter of course, the lower slope +of the piñon belt and the grassy plains of the Little Colorado, both of +which lie outside of the reserve, have less and less snow, according to +the altitude, and it never remains for any very considerable time. On +the southern exposure, facing Tonto Basin, the snow is still less +permanent. The winter in the yellow pine belt extends from November to +April. + + + +LARGE GAME IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + + +Black-tailed deer, antelope, black and silver tipped bears and mountain +lions are the larger game animals which frequent the yellow pine forests +in summer. Wild turkeys are also common. + +The black-tailed deer are still common and generally distributed. In +winter the heavy snow drives them to a lower range in the piñon belt +toward the Little Colorado and also down the slope of Tonto Basin, both +of these areas lying outside the reserve. The Arizona white-tailed deer +is resident throughout the year in comparatively small numbers on the +brushy slopes of Tonto Basin, and sometimes strays up in summer into the +border of the pine forest. Antelope were once plentiful on the plains +of the Little Colorado, and in summer ranged through the open yellow +pine forest now included in the reserve. They still occur, in very +limited numbers, in this forest during the summer, and at the first +snowfall descend to the lower border of the piñon belt and adjacent +grassy plains. Both species of bears occur throughout the pine forests +in summer, often following sheep herds. As winter approaches and the +sheep are moved out of the higher ranges, many of the bears go over "The +Rim" to the slopes of Tonto Basin, where they find acorns, juniper +berries and other food, until cold weather causes them to hibernate. +The mountain lions are always most numerous on the rugged slopes of +Tonto Basin, especially during winter, when sheep and game have left the +elevated forest. + +From the foregoing notes it is apparent that the northwestern and middle +portions of the Black Mesa Reserve are without proper winter range for +game within its limits, and that the conditions are otherwise +unfavorable for their use as game preserves. + + + +THE SOUTHEASTERN SECTION OF THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + + +The southeastern portion of the reserve remains to be considered. The +map shows this to be a rectangular area, about thirty by fifty miles in +extent, lying between the White Mountain Indian Reservation and the +western border of New Mexico, and covering the adjacent parts of Apache +and Graham counties. It includes the eastern part of the White +Mountains, which culminate in Ord and Thomas peaks, rising respectively +to 10,266 feet and to 11,496 feet, on the White Mountain Indian +Reservation, just off the western border of the Forest Reserve. This +section of the reserve is strikingly more varied in physical conditions +than the northern portion, as will be shown by the following +description: + +The northwestern part of this section, next to the peaks just mentioned, +is an elevated mountainous plateau country forming the watershed between +the extreme headwaters of the Little Colorado on the north and the Black +and San Francisco rivers, tributaries of the Gila, on the south. The +divide between the heads of these streams is so low that in the midst of +the undulating country, where they rise, it is often difficult to +determine at first sight to which drainage some of the small tributaries +belong. This district is largely of volcanic formation, and beds of lava +cover large tracts, usually overlaid with soil, on which the forest +flourishes. + +The entire northern side of this section is bordered by the sloping +grassy plains of the Little Colorado, which at their upper border have +an elevation of 6,500 to 7,500 feet, and are covered here and there with +piñons, cedars and junipers, especially along the sides of the canyons +and similar slopes. At the upper border of this belt the general slope +becomes abruptly mountainous, and rises to 8,000 or 8,500 feet to a +broad bench-like summit, from which extends back the elevated plateau +country already mentioned. This outer slope of the plateau is covered +with a fine belt of yellow pine forests, similar in character to that +found in the northern part of the reserve. Owing to the more abrupt +character of the northerly slope of this belt, and its greater humidity, +the forest is more varied by firs and aspens, especially along the +canyons, than is the case further north. Here and there along the upper +tributaries of the Little Colorado, small valleys open out, which are +frequently wooded and contain beautiful mountain parks. + +The summit of the elevated plateau country about the headwaters of the +Little Colorado and Black rivers (which is known locally as the "Big +Mesa"), is an extended area of rolling grassy plain, entirely surrounded +by forests and varied irregularly by wooded ridges and points of +timber. This open plain extends in a long sweep from a point a few miles +south of Springerville westward for about fifteen miles along the top of +the divide to the bases of Ord and Thomas peaks. These elevated plains +are separated from those of the Little Colorado to the north by the belt +of forests already described as covering the abrupt northern wall of the +plateau. On the other sides of the "Big Mesa" an unbroken forest +extends away over the undulating mountainous country as far as the eye +can reach. The northerly slopes of the higher elevations in this section +are covered with spruce forest. + +The most varied and beautiful part of the entire Black Mesa Reserve lies +in the country extending southeasterly from Ord and Thomas peaks and +immediately south of the "Big Mesa." This is the extreme upper part of +the basin of Black River, which is formed by numerous little streams +rising from springs and wet meadows at an elevation of from 8,500 to +9,500 feet. The little meadows form attractive grassy openings in the +forest, covered in summer with a multitude of wild flowers and +surrounded by the varied foliage of different trees and shrubs. The +little streams flow down gently sloping courses, which gradually deepen +to form shallow side canyons leading into the main river. Black River is +a clear, sparkling trout stream at the bottom of a deep, rugged box +canyon, cut through a lava bed and forming a series of wildly picturesque +views. The sides of Black River Canyon and its small tributaries are well +forested. On the cool northerly slope the forest is made up of a heavy +growth of pines, firs, aspens and alder bushes, which give way on the +southerly slope, where the full force of the sun is felt, to a thin +growth of pines, grass and a little underbrush. + +At the head of Black River, between 8,000 and 9,000 feet, there are many +nearly level or gently sloping areas, sometimes of considerable extent. +These are covered with open yellow pine forests, with many white-barked +aspens scattered here and there, and an abundance of grasses and low +bushes. This was once a favorite summer country for elk, and I have +seen there many bushes and small saplings which had been twisted and +barked by bull elk while rubbing the velvet from their horns. + +Immediately south and east of Black River lies the Prieto Plateau, a +well wooded mountain mass rising steeply from Black River Canyon to a +broad summit about 9,000 feet in altitude. The northerly slopes of this +plateau, facing the river, are heavily forested with pines, firs, aspens +and brushy undergrowth, and are good elk country. The summit is cold and +damp, with areas of spruce thickets and attractive wet meadows scattered +here and there. Beyond the summit of the plateau, to the south and east, +the country descends abruptly several thousand feet, in a series of +rocky declivities and sharp spur-like ridges, to the canyon of Blue +River, a tributary of the San Francisco River. This slope, near the +summit, is overgrown with firs, aspens and pines, which give way as the +descent is made, to piñons, cedar and scrubby oak trees and a more or +less abundant growth of chaparral. Small streams and springs are found +in the larger canyons on this slope, while far below, at an altitude of +about 5,000 feet, lies Blue River. + +The country at the extreme head of Blue River forms a great mountain +amphitheater, with one side so near the upper course of Black River that +one can traverse the distance between the basins of the two streams in a +short ride. The descent into the drainage of Blue River is very abrupt, +and is known locally as the "breaks" of Blue River. The scenery of these +breaks nearly, if not quite, equals that on "The Rim" of Tonto Basin in +its wild magnificence. The vegetation on the breaks shows at a glance +the milder character of the climate, as compared with that of the more +elevated area about the head of Black River. In the midst of the +shrubbery growth on the breaks there is a fine growth of nutritious +grasses, which forms excellent winter forage. + +The entire southern part of the reserve lying beyond the Prieto Plateau +is an excessively broken mountainous country, with abrupt changes in +altitude from the hot canyons, where cottonwoods flourish, to the high +ridges, where pines and firs abound. + +The northeastern part of the section of the reserve under consideration +is cut off from the rest by the valley of Nutrioso Creek, a tributary of +the Little Colorado, and by the headwaters of the San Francisco +River. It is a limited district, mainly occupied by Escudilla Mountain, +rising to 10,691 feet, and its foothills. Escudilla Mountain slopes +abruptly to a long truncated summit, and is heavily forested from base +to summit by pines, aspens and spruces. On the south the foothills merge +into the generally mountainous area. On the north, at an altitude of +about 8,000 feet, they merge into the plains of the Little Colorado, +varied by grassy prairies and irregular belts of piñon timber. + +The upper parts of the Little Colorado and Black Rivers, above 7,500 +feet, are clear and cold, and well stocked with a native species of +small brook trout. + +Owing to the generally elevated character of the southeastern section of +the Black Mesa Reserve, containing three mountain peaks rising above +10,000 feet, the annual precipitation is decidedly greater than +elsewhere on the reserve. The summer rains are irregular in character, +being abundant in some seasons and very scanty in others; but there is +always enough rainfall about the extreme head of Black River to make +grass, although there is always much hot, dry weather between May and +October. The fall and winter storms are more certain than those of +summer, and the parts of the reserve lying above 8,000 feet are usually +buried in snow before spring--frequently with several feet of snow on a +level. The amount of snow increases steadily with increase of +altitude. Some of the winter storms are severe, and on one occasion, +while living at an altitude of 7,500 feet, I witnessed a storm during +which snow fell continuously for nearly two days. The weather was +perfectly calm at the time, and after the first day the pine trees +became so loaded that an almost continual succession of reports were +heard from the breaking of large branches. At the close of the storm +there was a measured depth of 26 inches of snow on a level at an +altitude of 7,500 feet. A thousand feet lower, on the plains of the +Little Colorado, a few miles to the north, only a foot of snow fell, +while at higher altitudes the amount was much greater than that +measured. + +The summer temperatures are never excessive in this section, and the +winters are mild, although at times reaching from 15 to 20 degrees below +zero. Above 7,500 feet, except on sheltered south slopes, snow +ordinarily remains on the ground from four to five months in sufficient +quantity to practically close this area from winter grazing. Cattle, and +the antelope which once frequented the "Big Mesa" in considerable +numbers, appeared to have premonitions of the coming of the first snow +in fall. On one occasion, while stopping at a ranch on the plains of the +Little Colorado, just below the border of the Big Mesa country, in +November, I was surprised to see hundreds of cattle in an almost endless +line coming down from the Mesa, intermingled with occasional bands of +antelope. They were following one of the main trails leading from the +mountain out on the plains of the Little Colorado. Although the sun was +shining at the time, there was a slight haziness in the atmosphere, and +the ranchmen assured me that this movement of the stock always foretold +the approach of a snowstorm. The following morning the plains around the +ranch where I was stopping were covered with six inches of snow, while +over a foot of snow covered the mountains. Bands of half-wild horses +ranging on the Big Mesa show more indifference to snow, as they can dig +down to the grass; but the depth of snow sometimes increases so rapidly +that the horses become "yarded," and their owners have much difficulty +in extricating them. + +The southerly slopes leading down from the divide to the lower altitudes +along the Black River and the breaks of the Blue, are sheltered from the +cold northerly winds of the Little Colorado Valley, while the greater +natural warmth of the situation aids in preventing any serious +accumulation of snow. As a result, this entire portion of the reserve +forms an ideal winter game range, with an abundance of grass and edible +bushes. The varied character of the country about the head of Black +River makes it an equally favorable summer range for game, and that this +conjunction of summer and winter ranges is appreciated by the game +animals is shown by the fact that this district is probably the best +game country in all Arizona. + + + +LARGE GAME IN THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF TUB BLACK MESA RESERVE. + +The large game found in this section of the reserve includes the elk, +black-tailed deer, Arizona white-tailed deer, black and silver-tipped +bears, mountain lions and wildcats, timber wolves and coyotes. + +Elk were formerly found over most of the pine and fir forested parts of +this section of the reserve, but were already becoming rather scarce in +1885, and, although they were still found there in 1897, it is now a +question whether any survive or not. If they still survive, they are +restricted to a limited area about the head of Black River from Ord Peak +to the Prieto Plateau. Black-tailed deer are still common, and their +summer range extends more or less generally over all of the forested +part of this section above 7,500 feet. In winter only a few stray +individuals remain within the reserve on the Little Colorado side, but a +number range out into the piñon country on the plains of the Little +Colorado. The country about the head of Black River is a favorite summer +range of this deer, but in winter they gradually retreat before the +heavy snowfalls to the sheltered canyons along Black River and the breaks +of the Blue. In September and October the old males keep by themselves +in parties of from four to ten and range through the glades of the +yellow pine forest. + +The Arizona white-tailed deer is not found on the part of the reserve +drained by the Little Colorado River, but is abundant in the basin of +Blue River, and ranges in summer up into the lower part of the yellow +pine forest along Black River. They retreat before the early snows to +the breaks of the Blue, where they are very numerous. During hunting +trips into their haunts in October and November, I have several times +seen herds of these deer numbering from thirty to forty, both before and +after the first snowfall. Antelope formerly ranged up in summer from the +plains of the Little Colorado over the grassy Big Mesa country and +through the surrounding open pine forest, retreating to the plains in +the autumn, but they are now nearly or quite exterminated in that +section. Bears of both species wander irregularly over most of the +reserve in summer, but are most numerous on the breaks of the Blue and +about the head of Black River. In autumn, previous to their hibernation, +they descend along the canyon of the Black River and among the breaks of +the Blue, where acorns and other food is abundant. + +Mountain lions also wander over all parts of the reserve, but are common +only in the rough country along the Blue. Wildcats are rather common and +widely distributed, but are far more numerous on the Black and the Blue +rivers. Timber wolves were once rather common, but are now nearly +extinct, owing to their persecution by owners of sheep and +cattle. Coyotes occur in this district occasionally in summer. Wild +turkeys are found more or less generally throughout this section of the +reserve, retreating in winter to the warmer country along the breaks of +the Blue and the canyon of Black River, where they sometimes gather in +very large flocks. + + + +NOTES ON SETTLEMENTS, ROADS AND OTHER MATTERS. + +The greater part of this section of the Black Mesa Reserve is unsettled, +but the northeastern corner, along Nutrioso Creek and the head of San +Francisco River, is traversed by a wagon road leading to +Springerville. Within the limits of the reservation on this road are two +small farming villages of Nutrióse and Alpine. The owners of the small +farms along the valleys of these streams also raise a limited number of +cattle and horses on the surrounding hills. A few claims are also held +at scattered points along the extreme northern edge of the reserve +between Springerville and Nutrioso. Between 1883 and 1895 several herds +of cattle were grazed on the head of Black River, and ranged in winter +down on the breaks of the Blue and the canyons of Black River; but I +understand that these ranges have since been abandoned by the cattle +men. For some years the sheep men have grazed their flocks in summer +over the Big Mesa country and through the surrounding open forest. In +addition to the damage done by the grazing of the sheep, the +carelessness of the herders in starting forest fires has resulted in +some destruction to the timber. Fortunately, the permanent settlers on +this section of the reserve are located in the northeastern corner, +which is the least suitable portion of the tract for game. In addition +to the wagon road from Springerville to Nutrioso another road has been +made from Springerville south across the Big Mesa to the head of Black +River. Trails run from Nutrioso and Springerville to the head of Blue +River and down it to the copper mining town of Clifton, but are little +used. At various times scattered settlers have located along the Blue, +and cultivated small garden patches. The first of these settlers were +killed by the Apaches, and I am unable to say whether these farms are +now occupied or not. In any case, the conditions along the tipper Blue +are entirely unsuited for successful farming. + +Perhaps the most serious menace to the successful preservation of game +on this tract is its proximity to the White Mountain Indian +Reservation. This reservation not only takes in some of the finest game +country immediately bordering the timber reserve, including Ord and +Thomas peaks, but is often visited by hunting parties of Indians. + +During spring and early summer, all of the yellow pine and fir country +in this section is subjected to a plague of tabano flies, which are +about the size of large horse-flies. These flies swarm in great numbers +and attack stock and game so viciously that, as a consequence, the +animals are frequently much reduced in flesh. The Apaches take advantage +of this plague to set fire to the forest and lie in wait for the game, +which has taken shelter in the smoke to rid itself from the flies. In +this way the Indians kill large numbers of breeding deer, and at the +same time destroy considerable areas of forest. While on a visit to this +district in the summer of 1899 Mr. Pinchot saw the smoke of five forest +fires at different places in the mountains, which had been set by +hunting parties of Indians for the purpose. The only method by which not +only the game but the forest along the western side of this reserve can +be successfully protected will be to have the western border of the +forest reserve extended to take in a belt eight to twelve miles wide of +the Indian reservation. This would include Ord and Thomas peaks, and +would serve efficiently to protect the country about the headwaters of +the rivers from these destructive inroads. + +The northern border of this section of the reserve is about one hundred +miles by wagon road from the nearest point on the Santa Fe Pacific +Railroad. Seven miles from its northern border is the town of +Springerville, with a few hundred inhabitants in its vicinity engaged in +farming, cattle and sheep growing. From Springerville north extends the +plains of the Little Colorado to St. Johns, the county seat of Apache +county, containing a few hundred people. To the south and east of the +reserve there are no towns for some distance, except a few small +settlements along the course of the San Francisco River in New Mexico, +which are far removed from the part of the reserve which is most +suitable for game. The fact that deer continue abundant in the district +about the head of Black River, although hunted at all seasons for many +years, and the continuance there of elk for so long, under the same +conditions, is good evidence of the favorable conditions existing in +that section for game. + +_E.W. Nelson_. + + + + +Constitution of the Boone and Crockett Club + +FOUNDED DECEMBER 1887. + +Article I. + +This Club shall be known as the Boone and Crockett Club. + +Article II. + +The objects of the Club shall be: + +1. To promote manly sport with the rifle. + +2. To promote travel and exploration in the wild and unknown, or but +partially known, portions of the country. + +3. To work for the preservation of the large game of this country, and, +so far as possible, to further legislation for that purpose, and to +assist in enforcing the existing laws. + +4. To promote inquiry into, and to record observations on, the habits +and natural history of the various wild animals. + +5. To bring about among the members the interchange of opinions and +ideas on hunting, travel and exploration; on the various kinds of +hunting rifles; on the haunts of game animals, etc. + +Article III. + +No one shall be eligible for regular membership who shall not have +killed with the rifle, in fair chase, by still-hunting or otherwise, at +least one individual of each of three of the various kinds of American +large game. + +Article IV. + +Under the head of American large game are included the following +animals: Black or brown bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, buffalo (bison), +mountain sheep, woodland caribou, barren-ground caribou, cougar, +musk-ox, white goat, elk (wapiti), prong-horn antelope, moose, Virginia +deer, mule deer, and Columbian black-tail deer. + +Article V. + +The term "fair chase" shall not be held to include killing bear or +cougar in traps, nor "fire hunting," nor "crusting" moose, elk or deer +in deep snow, nor "calling" moose, nor killing deer by any other method +than fair stalking or still-hunting, nor killing game from a boat while +it is swimming in the water, nor killing the female or young of any +ruminant, except the female of white goat or of musk-ox. + +Article VI. + +This Club shall consist of not more than one hundred regular members, +and of such associate and honorary members as may be elected by the +Executive Committee. Associate members shall be chosen from those who by +their furtherance of the objects of the Club, or general qualifications, +shall recommend themselves to the Executive Committee. Associate and +honorary members shall be exempt from dues and initiation fees, and +shall not be entitled to vote. + +Article VII. + +The officers of the Club shall be a President, five Vice-Presidents, a +Secretary, and a Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected annually. There +shall also be an Executive Committee, consisting of six members, holding +office for three years, the terms of two of whom shall expire each +year. The President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, shall be +_ex-officio_ members of the Executive Committee. + +Article VIII. + +The Executive Committee shall constitute the Committee on +Admissions. The Committee on Admissions may recommend for regular +membership by unanimous vote of its members present at any meeting, any +person who is qualified under the foregoing articles of this +Constitution. Candidates thus recommended shall be voted on by the Club +at large. Six blackballs shall exclude, and at least one-third of the +members must vote in the affirmative to elect. + +Article IX. + +The entrance fee for regular members shall be twenty-five dollars. The +annual dues of regular members shall be five dollars, and shall be +payable on February 1st of each year. Any member who shall fail to pay +his dues on or before August 1st, following, shall thereupon cease to be +a member of the Club. But the Executive Committee, in their discretion, +shall have power to reinstate such member. + +Article X. + +The use of steel traps; the making of "large bags"; the killing of game +while swimming in water, or helpless in deep snow; and the killing of +the females of any species of ruminant (except the musk-ox or white +goat), shall be deemed offenses. Any member who shall commit such +offenses may be suspended, or expelled from the Club by unanimous vote +of the Executive Committee. + +Article XI. + +The officers of the Club shall be elected for the ensuing year at the +annual meeting. + +Article XII. + +This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members +present at any annual meeting of the Club, provided that notice of the +proposed amendment shall have been mailed, by the Secretary, to each +member of the Club, at least two weeks before said meeting. + + + + +By-Laws Rules of the Committee on Admission + + +1. Candidates must be proposed and seconded in writing by two members of +the Club. + +2. Letters concerning each candidate must be addressed to the Executive +Committee by at least two members, other than the proposer and seconder. + +3. No candidate for regular membership shall be proposed or seconded by +any member of the Committee on Admissions. + +4. No person shall be elected to associate membership who is qualified +for regular membership, but withheld therefrom by reason of there being +no vacancy. + +Additional information as to the admission of members may be found in +Articles III, VI, VIII and IX of the Constitution. + + + + +Former Officers Boone and Crockett Club + +_President_. + +Theodore Roosevelt, 1888-1894. +Benjamin H. Bristow, 1895-1896. +W. Austin Wadsworth, 1897- + +_Vice-Presidents,_ + +Charles Deering, 1897- +Walter B. Devereux, 1897- +Howard Melville Hanna, 1897- +William D. Pickett, 1897- +Frank Thomson, 1897-1900. +Owen Wister, 1900-1902. +Archibald Rogers, 1903- + +_Secretary and Treasurer._ + +Archibald Rogers, 1888-1893. +George Bird Grinnell, 1894-1895. +C. Grant La Farge, 1896-1901. + +_Secretary_. + +Alden Sampson, 1902. +Madison Grant, 1903- + +_Treasurer._ + +C. Grant La Farge, 1902- + +_Executive Committee_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth, 1893-1896. +George Bird Grinnell, 1893. +Winthrop Chanler, 1893-1899, 1904- +Owen Wister, 1893-1896, 1903- +Charles F. Deering, 1893-1896. +Archibald Rogers, 1894-1902. +Lewis Rutherford Morris, 1897- +Henry L. Stimson, 1897-1899. +Madison Grant, 1897-1902. +Gifford Pinchot, 1900-1903. +Caspar Whitney, 1900-1903. +John Rogers, Jr., 1902- +Alden Sampson, 1903- +Arnold Hague, 1904- + +_Editorial Committee_. + +George Bird Grinnell, 1896- +Theodore Roosevelt, 1896- + + + Officers +of the Boone and Crockett Club + 1904 + + +_President_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth Geneseo, N.Y. + + +_Vice-Presidents_. + +Charles Deering Illinois. +Walter B. Devereux Colorado +Howard Melville Hanna Ohio. +William D. Pickett Wyoming. +Archibald Rogers New York. + + +_Secretary_. + +Madison Grant New York City. + + +_Treasurer_. + +C. Grant La Farge New York City. + + +_Executive Committee_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth, _ex-officio_, Chairman, +Madison Grant, _ex-officio_, +C. Grant La Farge, _ex-officio_, +Lewis Rutherford Morris, To serve until 1905. +John Rogers, Jr., +Alden Sampson, To serve until 1906. +Owen Wister, +Arnold Hague, To serve until 1907. +Winthrop Chanler, + + +_Editorial Committee_. + +George Bird Grinnell New York. +Theodore Roosevelt Washington, D.C. + + + + +List of Members +of the Boone and Crockett Club, 1904 + + +Regular Members. + +MAJOR HENRY T. ALLEN, Washington, D.C. +COL. GEORGE S. ANDERSON, Washington, D.C. +JAMES W. APPLETON, New York City. +GEN. THOMAS H. BARBER, New York City. +DANIEL M. BARRINGER, Philadelphia, Pa. +F. S. BILLINGS, Woodstock, Vt. +GEORGE BIRD, New York City. +GEORGE BLEISTEIN, Buffalo, N.Y. +W. J. BOARDMAN, Washington, D.C. +WILLIAM B. BOGERT, Chicago, Ill. +WILLIAM B. BRISTOW, New York City. +ARTHUR ERWIN BROWN, Philadelphia, Pa. +CAPT. WILLARD H. BROWNSON, Washington, D.C. +JOHN LAMBERT CADWALADER, New York City. +ROYAL PHELPS CARROLL, New York City. +WINTHROP CHANLER, New York City. +WILLIAM ASTOR CHANLER, New York City. +CHARLES P. CURTIS, JR., Boston, Mass. +FRANK C. CROCKER, Hill City, S.D. +DR. PAUL J. DASHIELL, Annapolis, Md. +E. W. DAVIS, New York City. +CHARLES STEWART DAVISON, New York City. +CHARLES DEERING, Chicago, Ill. +HORACE K. DEVEREUX, Colorado Springs, Col. +WALTER B. DEVEREUX New York City. +H. CASIMIR DE RHAM, Tuxedo, N.Y. +DR. WILLIAM K. DRAPER, New York City. +J. COLEMAN DRAYTON, New York City. +DR. DANIEL GIRAUD ELLIOT, Chicago, I11. +MAJOR ROBERT TEMPLE EMMET, Schenectady, N.Y. +MAXWELL EVARTS, New York City. +ROBERT MUNRO FERGUSON, New York City. +JOHN G. FOLLANSBEE, New York City. +JAMES T. GARDINER, New York City. +JOHN STERETT GITTINGS, Baltimore, Md. +GEORGE H. GOULD, Santa Barbara, Cal. +MADISON GRANT, New York City. +DE FOREST GRANT, New York City. +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL, New York City. +WILLIAM MILNE GRINNELL, New York City. +ARNOLD HAGUE, Washington, D.C. +HOWARD MELVILLE HANNA, Cleveland, Ohio. +JAMES HATHAWAY KIDDER, Boston, Mass. +DR. WALTER B. JAMES, New York City. +C. GRANT LA FARGE, New York City. +DR. ALEXANDER LAMBERT, New York City. +COL. OSMUN LATROBE, New York City. +GEORGE H. LYMAN, Boston, Mass. +FRANK LYMAN, Brooklyn, N.Y. +CHARLES B. MACDONALD, New York City. +HENRY MAY, Washington, D.C. +DR. JOHN K. MITCHELL, Philadelphia, Pa. +PIERPONT MORGAN, JR., New York City. +CHESTON MORRIS, JR., Springhouse, Pa. +DR. LEWIS RUTHERFORD MORRIS, New York City. +HENRY NORCROSS MUNN, New York City. +LYMAN NICHOLS, Boston, Mass. +THOMAS PATON, New York City. +HON. BOIES PENROSE, Washington, D.C. +DR. CHARLES B. PENROSE, Philadelphia, Pa. +R. A. F. PENROSE, JR., Philadelphia, Pa. +COL. WILLIAM D. PICKETT, Four Bear, Wyo. +HENRY CLAY PIERCE, New York City. +JOHN JAY PIERREPONT, Brooklyn, N.Y. +GIFFORD PINCHOT, Washington, D.C. +JOHN HILL PRENTICE, New York City. +HENRY S. PRITCHETT, Boston, Mass. +A. PHIMISTER PROCTOR, New York City. +PERCY RIVINGTON PYNE, New York City. +BENJAMIN W. RICHARDS, Philadelphia, Pa. +DOUGLAS ROBINSON, New York City. +ARCHIBALD ROGERS, Hyde Park, N.Y. +DR. JOHN ROGERS, JR., New York City. +HON. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Washington, D.C. +HON. ELIHU ROOT, New York City. +BRONSON RUMSEY, Buffalo, N.Y. +LAWRENCE D. RUMSEY, Buffalo, N.Y. +ALDEN SAMPSON, Haverford, Pa. +HON. WILLIAM CARY SANGER, Sangerfield, N.Y. +PHILIP SCHUYLER, Irvington, N.Y. +M. G. SECKENDORFF, Washington, D.C. +DR. J. L. SEWARD, Orange, N.J. +DR. A. DONALDSON SMITH, Philadelphia, Pa. +DR. WILLIAM LORD SMITH, Boston, Mass. +E. LE ROY STEWART, New York City. +HENRY L. STIMSON, New York City. +HON. BELLAMY STORER, Washington, D.C. +RUTHERFORD STUYVESANT, New York City. +LEWIS S. THOMPSON, Red Bank, N.J. +B. C. TILGHMAN, JR., Philadelphia, Pa. +HON. W. K. TOWNSEND, New Haven, Conn. +MAJOR W. AUSTIN WADSWORTH, Geneseo, N.Y. +SAMUEL D. WARREN, Boston, Mass. +JAMES SIBLEY WATSON, Rochester, N.Y. +CASPAR WHITNEY, New York City. +COL. ROGER D. WILLIAMS, Lexington, Ky. +FREDERIC WINTHROP, New York City. +ROBERT DUDLEY WINTHROP, New York City. +OWEN WISTER, Philadelphia, Pa. +J. WALTER WOOD, JR., Short Hills, N.J. + + +Associate Members. + +HON. TRUXTON BEALE, Washington, D.C. +WILLIAM L. BUCHANAN, Buffalo, N.Y. +D. H. BURNHAM. Chicago, Ill. +EDWARD NORTH BUXTON, Knighton, Essex, Eng. +MAJ. F. A. EDWARDS, U.S. Embassy, Rome, Italy. +A. P. GORDON-GUMMING, Washington, D.C. +BRIG.-GEN. A. W. GREELY, Washington, D.C. +MAJOR MOSES HARRIS, Washington, D.C. +HON. JOHN F. LACEY, Washington, D.C. +HON. HENRY CABOT LODGE, Washington, D.C. +A. P. LOW, Ottawa, Canada. +PROF. JOHN BACH MACMASTER, Philadelphia, Pa. +DR. C. HART MERRIAM, Washington, D.C. +HON. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, Washington, D.C. +PROF. HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN, New York City. +HON. GEORGE C. PERKINS, Washington, D.C. +MAJOR JOHN PITCHER, Washington, D.C. +HON. REDFIELD PROCTOR, Washington, D.C. +HON. W. WOODVILLE ROCKHILL, Washington, D.C. +JOHN E. ROOSEVELT, New York City. +HON. CARL SCHURZ, New York City. +F. C. SELOUS, Worpleston, Surrey, Eng. +T. S. VAN DYKE, Los Angeles, Cal. +HON. G. G. VEST, Washington, D.C. + + +Regular Members, Deceased. + +ALBERT BIERSTADT, New York City. +HON. BENJAMIN H. BRISTOW, New York City. +H. A. CAREY, Newport, R.I. +COL. RICHARD IRVING DODGE, Washington, D.C. +COL. H. C. McDOWELL, Lexington, Ky. +MAJOR J. C. MERRILL, Washington, D.C. +DR. WILLIAM H. MERRILL, New York City. +JAMES S. NORTON, Chicago, Ill. +WILLIAM HALLETT PHILLIPS, Washington, D.C. +N. P. ROGERS, New York City. +E. P. ROGERS, New York City. +ELLIOTT ROOSEVELT, New York City. +DR. J. WEST ROOSEVELT, New York City. +DEAN SAGE, Albany, N.Y. +HON. CHARLES F. SPRAGUE, Boston, Mass. +FRANK THOMSON, Philadelphia, Pa. +MAJ.-GEN. WILLIAM D. WHIPPLE, New York City. +CHARLES E. WHITEHEAD, New York City. + + +Honorary Members, Deceased. + +JUDGE JOHN DEAN CATON, Ottawa, Ill. +FRANCIS PARKMAN, Boston, Mass. +GEN. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, New York City. +GEN. PHILIP SHERIDAN, Washington, D.C. + + +Associate Members, Deceased. + +HON. EDWARD F. BEALE, Washington, D.C. +COL. JOHN MASON BROWN, Louisville, Ky. +MAJOR CAMPBELL BROWN, Spring Hill, Ky. +HON. WADE HAMPTON, Columbia, S.C. +MAj.-GEN. W. H. JACKSON, Nashville, Tenn. +CLARENCE KING, New York City. +HON. THOMAS B. REED, New York City. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BIG GAME IN ITS HAUNTS*** + + +******* This file should be named 10445-8.txt or 10445-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/4/10445 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + + + + +Title: American Big Game in Its Haunts + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 13, 2003 [eBook #10445] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BIG GAME IN ITS HAUNTS*** + + +E-text prepared by Thomas Hutchinson and Project Gutenberg Distributed +Proofreaders + + + +American Big Game in Its Haunts + +The Book of the Boone and Crockett Club + +EDITOR + +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL + +1904 + + + + + +[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT +Founder of the Boone and Crockett Club] + + + + + +Contents + + +Theodore Roosevelt + +Wilderness Reserves + Theodore Roosevelt. + +The Zoology of North American Big Game + Arthur Erwin Brown. + +Big Game Shooting in Alaska: + + I. Bear Hunting on Kadiak Island + II. Bear Hunting on the Alaska Peninsula + III. My Big Bear of Shuyak + IV. The White Sheep of Kenai Peninsula. + V. Hunting the Giant Moose + James H. Kidder. + +The Kadiak Bear and his Home + W. Lord Smith. + +The Mountain Sheep and its Range + George Bird Grinnell. + +Preservation of the Wild Animals of North America + Henry Fairfield Osborn. + +Distribution of the Moose + Madison Grant. + +The Creating of Game Refuges + Alden Sampson. + +Temiskaming Moose + Paul J. Dashiell. + +Two Trophies from India + John H. Prentice. + + + + + + +Big-Game Refuges + +Forest Reserves of North America + + + + +Appendix + + +Forest Reserves as Game Preserves + E.W. Nelson. + +Constitution of the Boone and Crockett Club + +Rules of the Committee on Admission + +Former Officers of the Boone and Crockett Club + +Officers of the Boone and Crockett Club + +List of Members + + + + +List of Illustrations + + +Theodore Roosevelt + +President Roosevelt and Major Pitcher + +Tourists and Bears + +"Oom John" + +Prongbucks + +Mountain Sheep + +Deer on the Parade Ground + +Whiskey Jacks + +Wapiti in Deep Snow + +Old Ephraim + +Mountain Sheep at Close Quarters + +Magpies + +A Silhouette of Blacktail + +Black Bears at Hotel Garbage Heap + +Chambermaid and Bear + +Cook and Bear + +Bull Bison + +Trophies from Alaska + +Loaded Baidarka--Barabara--Base of Supplies, Alaska Peninsula + +The Hunter and his Home + +Baidarka + +Heads of Dall's Sheep + +My Best Head + +St. Paul, Kadiak Island + +Sunset in English Bay, Kadiak + +Sitkalidak Island from Kadiak + +A Kadiak Eagle + +Bear Paths, Kadiak Island + +Bear Paths, Kadiak Island + +_Merycodus osborni_ Matthew + +Yearling Moose + +Maine Moose; about 1890 + +Moose Killed 1892, with Unusual Development of Brow Antlers + +Alaska Moose Head, Showing Unusual Development of Antlers + +"Bierstadt" Head, Killed 1880 + +Probably Largest Known Alaska Moose Head + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +Temiskaming Moose + +A Kahrigur Tiger + +Indian Leopard + +The New Buffalo Herd in the Yellowstone Park + +A Bit of Sheep Country + +Mountain Sheep at Rest + +Mule Deer at Fort Yellowstone + +NOTE.--The four last illustrations are from photographs taken by Major +John Pitcher, Superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park, +especially for this volume. + + + + +Preface + + +Although the Boone and Crockett Club has not appeared largely in the +public eye during recent years, its activities have not ceased. The +discovery of gold in Alaska, and the extraordinary rush of population to +that northern territory had the usual effect on the wild life there, and +proved very destructive to the natives and to the large mammals. A few +years ago it became evident that the Kadiak bear and certain newly +discovered forms of wild sheep and caribou were being destroyed by +wholesale, and were actually threatened with extermination, and through +the efforts of the Club, strongly backed by the Biological Survey of the +Department of Agriculture, a bill was passed regulating the taking of +Alaska large game, and especially the exportation of heads, horns, and +hides. The bill promises to afford sufficient protection to some of +these rare boreal forms, though for others it perhaps comes too late. +The enforcement of the law is in charge of the Treasury Department, and +permits for shooting and the export of trophies are issued by the Chief +of the Biological Survey. + +Although a local affair, yet of interest to the whole country, is the +remarkable success of the New York Zoological Park, controlled and +managed by the New York Zoological Society, brought into existence +largely through the efforts of Madison Grant, the present secretary of +the Club. The Society has also recently taken over the care of the New +York Aquarium. The Society is in a most flourishing condition, and +through its extensive collections exerts an important educational +influence in a field in which popular interest is constantly growing. + +Under the administration of President Roosevelt, the good work of +national forest preservation continues, and the time appears not far +distant when vast areas of the hitherto uncultivated West will prove +added sources of wealth to our country. + +The Club has for some time given much thoughtful attention to the +subject of game refuges--that is to say, areas where game shall be +absolutely free from interference or molestation, as it is to-day in the +Yellowstone Park--to be situated within the forest reserves; and as is +elsewhere shown, it has investigated a number of the forest reserves in +order to learn something of their suitability for game refuges. It +appears certain that only by means of such refuges can some forms of our +large mammals be preserved from extinction. The first step to be taken +to bring about the establishment of these safe breeding grounds is to +secure legislation transferring the Bureau of Forestry from the Land +Office to the Department of Agriculture. After this shall have been +accomplished, the question of establishing such game refuges may +properly come before the officials of the Government for action. + +Among the notable articles in the present volume, one of the most +important is Mr. Roosevelt's account of his visit to the Yellowstone +National Park in April, 1903. The Park is an object lesson, showing very +clearly what complete game protection will do to perpetuate species, and +Mr. Roosevelt's account of what may be seen there is so convincing that +all who read it, and appreciate the importance of preserving our large +mammals, must become advocates of the forest reserve game refuge system. + +Quite as interesting, in a different way, is Mr. Brown's contribution +to the definition and the history of our larger North American +mammals. To characterize these creatures in language "understanded of +the people" is not easy, but Mr. Brown has made clear the zoological +affinities of the species, and has pointed out their probable origin. + +This is the fourth of the Boone and Crockett Club's books, and the first +to be signed by a single member of the editorial committee, one name +which usually appears on the title page having been omitted for obvious +reasons. The preceding volume--Trail and Camp Fire--was published in +1897. + +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL. + +NEW YORK, April 2, 1904. + + + + +American Big Game in Its Haunts + +[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt] + +[Illustration: President Roosevelt and Major Pitcher] + + +FOUNDER OF THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB. + +It was at a dinner given to a few friends, who were also big-game +hunters, at his New York house, in December, 1887, that Theodore +Roosevelt first suggested the formation of the Boone and Crockett +Club. The association was to be made up of men using the rifle in +big-game hunting, who should meet from time to time to discuss subjects +of interest to hunters. The idea was received with enthusiasm, and the +purposes and plans of the club were outlined at this dinner. + +Mr. Roosevelt was then eight years out of college, and had already made +a local name for himself. Soon after graduation he had begun to display +that energy which is now so well known; he had entered the political +field, and been elected member of the New York Legislature, where he +served from 1882 to 1884. His honesty and courage made his term of +service one long battle, in which he fought with equal zeal the unworthy +measures championed by his own and the opposing political party. In 1886 +he had been an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of New York, being +defeated by Abram S. Hewitt. + +Up to the time of the formation of the Boone and Crockett Club, the +political affairs with which Mr. Roosevelt had concerned himself had +been of local importance, but none the less in the line of training for +more important work; but his activities were soon to have a wider range. + +In 1889 the President of the United States appointed him member of the +Civil Service Commission, where he served until 1895. In 1895 he was +appointed one of the Board of Police Commissioners of New York City, and +became President of the Board, serving here until 1897. In 1897 he was +appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and served for about a year, +resigning in 1898 to raise the First United States Volunteer +Cavalry. The service done by the regiment--popularly called Roosevelt's +Rough Riders--is sufficiently well known, and Mr. Roosevelt was promoted +to a Colonelcy for conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Las +Guasimas. At the close of the war with Spain, Mr. Roosevelt became +candidate for Governor of New York. He was elected, and served until +December 31, 1900. In that year he was elected Vice-President of the +United States on the ticket with Mr. McKinley, and on the death of +Mr. McKinley, succeeded to the Presidential chair. + +Of the Presidents of the United States not a few have been sportsmen, +and sportsmen of the best type. The love of Washington for gun and dog, +his interest in fisheries, and especially his fondness for horse and +hound, in the chase of the red fox, have furnished the theme for many a +writer; and recently Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Harrison have been more or +less celebrated in the newspapers, Mr. Harrison as a gunner, and Mr. +Cleveland for his angling, as well as his duck shooting proclivities. + +It is not too much to say, however, that the chair of the chief +magistrate has never been occupied by a sportsman whose range of +interests was so wide, and so actively manifested, as in the case of +Mr. Roosevelt. It is true that Mr. Harrison, Mr. Cleveland, and +Mr. McKinley did much in the way of setting aside forest reservations, +but chiefly from economic motives; because they believed that the +forests should be preserved, both for the timber that they might yield, +if wisely exploited, and for their value as storage reservoirs for the +waters of our rivers. + +The view taken by Mr. Roosevelt is quite different. To him the +economics of the case appeal with the same force that they might have +for any hard-headed, common sense business American; but beyond this, +and perhaps, if the secrets of his heart were known, more than this, +Mr. Roosevelt is influenced by a love of nature, which, though +considered sentimental by some, is, in fact, nothing more than a +far-sightedness, which looks toward the health, happiness, and general +well-being of the American race for the future. + +As a boy Mr. Roosevelt was fortunate in having a strong love for nature +and for outdoor life, and, as in the case of so many boys, this love +took the form of an interest in birds, which found its outlet in +studying and collecting them. He published, in 1877, a list of the +summer birds of the Adirondacks, in Franklin county, New York, and also +did more or less collecting of birds on Long Island. The result of all +this was the acquiring of some knowledge of the birds of eastern North +America, and, what was far more important, a knowledge of how to +observe, and an appreciation of the fact that observations, to be of any +scientific value, must be definite and precise. + +In the many hunting tales that we have had from his pen in recent years, +it is seen that these two pieces of most important instruction acquired +by the boy have always been remembered, and for this reason his books of +hunting and adventure have a real value--a worth not shared by many of +those published on similar subjects. His hunting adventures have not +been mere pleasure excursions. They have been of service to science. On +one of his hunts, perhaps his earliest trip after white goats, he +secured a second specimen of a certain tiny shrew, of which, up to that +time, only the type was known. Much more recently, during a declared +hunting trip in Colorado, he collected the best series of skins of the +American panther, with the measurements taken in the flesh, that has +ever been gathered from one locality by a single individual. + +Mr. Roosevelt's hunting experiences have been so wide as to have covered +almost every species of North American big game found within the +temperate zone. Except such Arctic forms as the white and the Alaska +bears, and the muskox, there is, perhaps, no species of North American +game that he has not killed; and his chapter on the mountain sheep, in +his book, "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," is confessedly the best +published account of that species. + +During the years that Mr. Roosevelt was actually engaged in the cattle +business in North Dakota, his everyday life led him constantly to the +haunts of big game, and, almost in spite of himself, gave him constant +hunting opportunities. Besides that, during dull seasons of the year, +he made trips to more or less distant localities in search of the +species of big game not found immediately about his ranch. His mode of +hunting and of traveling was quite different from that now in vogue +among big-game hunters. His knowledge of the West was early enough to +touch upon the time when each man was as good as his neighbor, and the +mere fact that a man was paid wages to perform certain acts for you did +not in any degree lower his position in the world, nor elevate yours. +In those days, if one started out with a companion, hired or otherwise, +to go to a certain place, or to do a certain piece of work, each man was +expected to perform his share of the labor. + +This fact Mr. Roosevelt recognized as soon as he went West, and, acting +upon it, he made for himself a position as a man, and not as a master, +which he has never lost; and it is precisely this democratic spirit +which to-day makes him perhaps the most popular man in the United States +at large. + +Starting off, then, on some trip of several hundred miles, with a +companion who might be guide, helper, cook, packer, or what +not--sometimes efficient, and the best companion that could be desired, +at others, perhaps, hopelessly lazy and worthless, and even with a stock +of liquor cached somewhere in the packs--Mr. Roosevelt helped to pack +the horses, to bring the wood, to carry the water, to cook the food, to +wrangle the stock, and generally to do the work of the camp, or of the +trail, so long as any of it remained undone. His energy was +indefatigable, and usually he infected his companion with his own +enthusiasm and industry, though at times he might have with him a man +whom nothing could move. It is largely to this energy and this +determination that he owes the good fortune that has usually attended +his hunting trips. + +As the years have gone on, fortunes have changed; and as duties of one +kind and another have more and more pressed upon him, Mr. Roosevelt has +done less and less hunting; yet his love for outdoor life is as keen as +ever, and as Vice-President of the United States, he made his +well-remembered trip to Colorado after mountain lions, while more +recently he hunted black bears in the Mississippi Valley, and still more +lately killed a wild boar in the Austin Corbin park in New Hampshire. + +Mr. Roosevelt's accession to the Presidential chair has been a great +thing for good sportsmanship in this country. Measures pertaining to +game and forest protection, and matters of sport generally, always have +had, and always will have, his cordial approval and co-operation. He is +heartily in favor of the forest reserves, and of the project for +establishing, within these reserves, game refuges, where no hunting +whatever shall be permitted. Aside from his love for nature, and his +wish to have certain limited areas remain in their natural condition, +absolutely untouched by the ax of the lumberman, and unimproved by the +work of the forester, is that broader sentiment in behalf of humanity in +the United States, which has led him to declare that such refuges should +be established for the benefit of the man of moderate means and the poor +man, whose opportunities to hunt and to see game are few and far +between. In a public speech he has said, in substance, that the rich and +the well-to-do could take care of themselves, buying land, fencing it, +and establishing parks and preserves of their own, where they might look +upon and take pleasure in their own game, but that such a course was not +within the power of the poor man, and that therefore the Government +might fitly intervene and establish refuges, such as indicated, for the +benefit and the pleasure of the whole people. + +In April, 1903, the President made a trip to the Yellowstone Park, and +there had an opportunity to see wild game in such a forest refuge, +living free and without fear of molestation. Long before this +Mr. Roosevelt had expressed his approval of the plan, but his own eyes +had never before seen precisely the results accomplished by such a +refuge. In 1903 he was able to contrast conditions in the Yellowstone +Park with those of former years when he had passed through it and had +hunted on its borders, and what he saw then more than ever confirmed his +previous conclusions. + +Although politics have taken up a large share of Mr. Roosevelt's life, +they represent only one of his many sides. He has won fame as a +historical writer by such books as "The Winning of the West," "Life of +Gouverneur Morris," "Life of Thomas Hart Benton," "The Naval War of +1812," "History of New York," "American Ideals and Other Essays," and +"Life of Cromwell." Besides these, he has written "The Strenuous Life," +and in somewhat lighter vein, his "Wilderness Hunter," "Hunting Trips of +a Ranchman," "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail," and "The Rough Riders" +deal with sport, phases of nature and life in the wild country. For many +years he was on the editorial committee of the Boone and Crockett Club, +and edited its publications, "American Big Game Hunting," "Hunting in +Many Lands," and "Trail and Camp Fire." + +Mr. Roosevelt was the first president of the Boone and Crockett Club, +and continues actively interested in its work. He was succeeded in the +presidency of the Club by the late Gen. B.H. Bristow. + +[Illustration: Tourists and Bears] + + + + +Wilderness Reserves + + +The practical common sense of the American people has been in no way +made more evident during the last few years than by the creation and use +of a series of large land reserves--situated for the most part on the +great plains and among the mountains of the West--intended to keep the +forests from destruction, and therefore to conserve the water +supply. These reserves are created purely for economic purposes. The +semi-arid regions can only support a reasonable population under +conditions of the strictest economy and wisdom in the use of the water +supply, and in addition to their other economic uses the forests are +indispensably necessary for the preservation of the water supply and for +rendering possible its useful distribution throughout the proper +seasons. In addition, however, to the economic use of the wilderness by +preserving it for such purposes where it is unsuited for agricultural +uses, it is wise here and there to keep selected portions of it--of +course only those portions unfit for settlement--in a state of nature, +not merely for the sake of preserving the forests and the water, but for +the sake of preserving all its beauties and wonders unspoiled by greedy +and shortsighted vandalism. These beauties and wonders include animate +as well as inanimate objects. The wild creatures of the wilderness add +to it by their presence a charm which it can acquire in no other way. On +every ground it is well for our nation to preserve, not only for the +sake of this generation, but above all for the sake of those who come +after us, representatives of the stately and beautiful haunters of the +wilds which were once found throughout our great forests, over the vast +lonely plains, and on the high mountain ranges, but which are now on the +point of vanishing save where they are protected in natural breeding +grounds and nurseries. The work of preservation must be carried on in +such a way as to make it evident that we are working in the interest of +the people as a whole, not in the interest of any particular class; and +that the people benefited beyond all others are those who dwell nearest +to the regions in which the reserves are placed. The movement for the +preservation by the nation of sections of the wilderness as national +playgrounds is essentially a democratic movement in the interest of all +our people. + +[Illustration: "OOM JOHN."] + +On April 8, 1903, John Burroughs and I reached the Yellowstone Park and +were met by Major John Pitcher of the Regular Army, the Superintendent +of the Park. The Major and I forthwith took horses; he telling me that +he could show me a good deal of game while riding up to his house at the +Mammoth Hot Springs. Hardly had we left the little town of Gardiner and +gotten within the limits of the Park before we saw prong-buck. There +was a band of at least a hundred feeding some distance from the road. We +rode leisurely toward them. They were tame compared to their kindred in +unprotected places; that is, it was easy to ride within fair rifle range +of them; but they were not familiar in the sense that we afterwords +found the bighorn and the deer to be familiar. During the two hours +following my entry into the Park we rode around the plains and lower +slopes of the foothills in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Gardiner +and we saw several hundred--probably a thousand all told--of these +antelope. Major Pitcher informed me that all the prong-horns in the +Park wintered in this neighborhood. Toward the end of April or the +first of May they migrate back to their summering homes in the open +valleys along the Yellowstone and in the plains south of the Golden +Gate. While migrating they go over the mountains and through forests if +occasion demands. Although there are plenty of coyotes in the Park there +are no big wolves, and save for very infrequent poachers the only enemy +of the antelope, as indeed the only enemy of all the game, is the +cougar. + +Cougars, known in the Park as elsewhere through the West as "mountain +lions," are plentiful, having increased in numbers of recent years. +Except in the neighborhood of the Gardiner River, that is within a few +miles of Mammoth Hot Springs, I found them feeding on elk, which in the +Park far outnumber all other game put together, being so numerous that +the ravages of the cougars are of no real damage to the herds. But in +the neighborhood of the Mammoth Hot Springs the cougars are noxious +because of the antelope, mountain sheep and deer which they kill; and +the Superintendent has imported some hounds with which to hunt +them. These hounds are managed by Buffalo Jones, a famous old plainsman, +who is now in the Park taking care of the buffalo. On this first day of +my visit to the Park I came across the carcasses of a deer and of an +antelope which the cougars had killed. On the great plains cougars +rarely get antelope, but here the country is broken so that the big cats +can make their stalks under favorable circumstances. To deer and +mountain sheep the cougar is a most dangerous enemy--much more so than +the wolf. + +[Illustration: Prongbucks] + +The antelope we saw were usually in bands of from twenty to one hundred +and fifty, and they traveled strung out almost in single file, though +those in the rear would sometimes bunch up. I did not try to stalk them, +but got as near them as I could on horseback. The closest approach I was +able to make was to within about eighty yards on two which were by +themselves--I think a doe and a last year's fawn. As I was riding up to +them, although they looked suspiciously at me, one actually lay +down. When I was passing them at about eighty yards distance the big one +became nervous, gave a sudden jump, and away the two went at full speed. + +Why the prone bucks were so comparatively shy I do not know, for right +on the ground with them we came upon deer, and, in the immediate +neighborhood, mountain sheep, which were absurdly tame. The mountain +sheep were nineteen in number, for the most part does and yearlings with +a couple of three-year-old rams, but not a single big fellow--for the +big fellows at this season are off by themselves, singly or in little +bunches, high up in the mountains. The band I saw was tame to a degree +matched by but few domestic animals. + +They were feeding on the brink of a steep washout at the upper edge of +one of the benches on the mountain side just below where the abrupt +slope began. They were alongside a little gully with sheer walls. I rode +my horse to within forty yards of them, one of them occasionally looking +up and at once continuing to feed. Then they moved slowly off and +leisurely crossed the gully to the other side. I dismounted, walked +around the head of the gully, and moving cautiously, but in plain sight, +came closer and closer until I was within twenty yards, where I sat down +on a stone and spent certainly twenty minutes looking at them. They +paid hardly any attention whatever to my presence--certainly no more +than well-treated domestic creatures would pay. One of the rams rose on +his hind legs, leaning his fore-hoofs against a little pine tree, and +browsed the ends of the budding branches. The others grazed on the short +grass and herbage or lay down and rested--two of the yearlings several +times playfully butting at one another. Now and then one would glance in +my direction without the slightest sign of fear--barely even of +curiosity. I have no question whatever but that with a little patience +this particular band could be made to feed out of a man's hand. Major +Pitcher intends during the coming winter to feed them alfalfa--for game +animals of several kinds have become so plentiful in the neighborhood of +the Hot Springs, and the Major has grown so interested in them, that he +wishes to do something toward feeding them during the severe winter. +After I had looked at the sheep to my heart's content, I walked back to +my horse, my departure arousing as little interest as my advent. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP.] + +Soon after leaving them we began to come across black-tail deer, singly, +in twos and threes, and in small bunches of a dozen or so. They were +almost as tame as the mountain sheep, but not quite. That is, they +always looked alertly at me, and though if I stayed still they would +graze, they kept a watch over my movements and usually moved slowly off +when I got within less than forty yards of them. Up to that distance, +whether on foot or on horseback, they paid but little heed to me, and on +several occasions they allowed me to come much closer. Like the bighorn, +the black-tails at this time were grazing, not browsing; but I +occasionally saw them nibble some willow buds. During the winter they +had been browsing. As we got close to the Hot Springs we came across +several white-tail in an open, marshy meadow. + +They were not quite as tame as the black-tail, although without any +difficulty I walked up to within fifty yards of them. Handsome though +the black-tail is, the white-tail is the most beautiful of all deer when +in motion, because of the springy, bounding grace of its trot and +canter, and the way it carries its head and white flag aloft. + +Before reaching the Mammoth Hot Springs we also saw a number of ducks in +the little pools and on the Gardiner. Some of them were rather shy. +Others--probably those which, as Major Pitcher informed me, had spent +the winter there--were as tame as barnyard fowls. + +[Illustration: DEER ON THE PARADE GROUND.] + +Just before reaching the post the Major took me into the big field where +Buffalo Jones had some Texas and Flat Head Lake buffalo--bulls and +cows--which he was tending with solicitous care. The original stock of +buffalo in the Park have now been reduced to fifteen or twenty +individuals, and the intention is to try to mix them with the score of +buffalo which have been purchased out of the Flat Head Lake and Texas +Panhandle herds. The buffalo were put within a wire fence, which, when +it was built, was found to have included both black-tail and white-tail +deer. A bull elk was also put in with them at one time--he having met +with some accident which made the Major and Buffalo Jones bring him in +to doctor him. When he recovered his health he became very cross. Not +only would he attack men, but also buffalo, even the old and surly +master bull, thumping them savagely with his antlers if they did +anything to which he objected. When I reached the post and dismounted +at the Major's house, I supposed my experiences with wild beasts for the +day were ended; but this was an error. The quarters of the officers and +men and the various hotel buildings, stables, residences of the civilian +officials, etc., almost completely surround the big parade ground at the +post, near the middle of which stands the flag-pole, while the gun used +for morning and evening salutes is well off to one side. There are large +gaps between some of the buildings, and Major Pitcher informed me that +throughout the winter he had been leaving alfalfa on the parade grounds, +and that numbers of black-tail deer had been in the habit of visiting it +every day, sometimes as many as seventy being on the parade ground at +once. As springtime came on the numbers diminished. However, in +mid-afternoon, while I was writing in my room in Major Pitcher's house, +on looking out of the window I saw five deer on the parade ground. They +were as tame as so many Alderney cows, and when I walked out I got up to +within twenty yards of them without any difficulty. It was most amusing +to see them as the time approached for the sunset gun to be fired. The +notes of the trumpeter attracted their attention at once. They all +looked at him eagerly. One then resumed feeding, and paid no attention +whatever either to the bugle, the gun or the flag. The other four, +however, watched the preparations for firing the gun with an intent +gaze, and at the sound of the report gave two or three jumps; then +instantly wheeling, looked up at the flag as it came down. This they +seemed to regard as something rather more suspicious than the gun, and +they remained very much on the alert until the ceremony was over. Once +it was finished, they resumed feeding as if nothing had happened. Before +it was dark they trotted away from the parade ground back to the +mountains. + +The next day we rode off to the Yellowstone River, camping some miles +below Cottonwood Creek. It was a very pleasant camp. Major Pitcher, an +old friend, had a first-class pack train, so that we were as comfortable +as possible, and on such a trip there could be no pleasanter or more +interesting companion than John Burroughs--"Oom John," as we soon grew +to call him. Where our tents were pitched the bottom of the valley was +narrow, the mountains rising steep and cliff-broken on either +side. There were quite a number of black-tail in the valley, which were +tame and unsuspicious, although not nearly as much so as those in the +immediate neighborhood of the Mammoth Hot Springs. One mid-afternoon +three of them swam across the river a hundred yards above our camp. But +the characteristic animals of the region were the elk--the wapiti. They +were certainly more numerous than when I was last through the Park +twelve years before. + +[Illustration: WHISKEY JACKS.] + +In the summer the elk spread all over the interior of the Park. As +winter approaches they divide, some going north and others south. The +southern bands, which, at a guess, may possibly include ten thousand +individuals, winter out of the Park, for the most part in Jackson's +Hole--though of course here and there within the limits of the Park a +few elk may spend both winter and summer in an unusually favorable +location. It was the members of the northern band that I met. During +the winter time they are very stationary, each band staying within a +very few miles of the same place, and from their size and the open +nature of their habitat it is almost as easy to count them as if they +were cattle. From a spur of Bison Peak one day, Major Pitcher, the guide +Elwood Hofer, John Burroughs and I spent about four hours with the +glasses counting and estimating the different herds within sight. After +most careful work and cautious reduction of estimates in each case to +the minimum the truth would permit, we reckoned three thousand head of +elk, all lying or feeding and all in sight at the same time. An estimate +of some fifteen thousand for the number of elk in these northern bands +cannot be far wrong. These bands do not go out of the Park at all, but +winter just within its northern boundary. At the time when we saw them, +the snow had vanished from the bottom of the valleys and the lower +slopes of the mountains, but grew into continuous sheets further up +their sides. The elk were for the most part found up on the snow slopes, +occasionally singly or in small gangs--more often in bands of from fifty +to a couple of hundred. The larger bulls were highest up the mountains +and generally in small troops by themselves, although occasionally one +or two would be found associating with a big herd of cows, yearlings, +and two-year-olds. Many of the bulls had shed their antlers; many had +not. During the winter the elk had evidently done much browsing, but at +this time they were grazing almost exclusively, and seemed by preference +to seek out the patches of old grass which were last left bare by the +retreating snow. The bands moved about very little, and if one were +seen one day it was generally possible to find it within a few hundred +yards of the same spot the next day, and certainly not more than a mile +or two off. There were severe frosts at night, and occasionally light +flurries of snow; but the hardy beasts evidently cared nothing for any +but heavy storms, and seemed to prefer to lie in the snow rather than +upon the open ground. They fed at irregular hours throughout the day, +just like cattle; one band might be lying down while another was +feeding. While traveling they usually went almost in single +file. Evidently the winter had weakened them, and they were not in +condition for running; for on the one or two occasions when I wanted to +see them close up I ran right into them on horseback, both on level +plains and going up hill along the sides of rather steep mountains. One +band in particular I practically rounded up for John Burroughs--finally +getting them to stand in a huddle while he and I sat on our horses less +than fifty yards off. After they had run a little distance they opened +their mouths wide and showed evident signs of distress. + +[Illustration: WAPITI IN DEEP SNOW.] + +We came across a good many carcasses. Two, a bull and a cow, had died +from scab. Over half the remainder had evidently perished from cold or +starvation. The others, including a bull, three cows and a score of +yearlings, had been killed by cougars. In the Park the cougar is at +present their only animal foe. The cougars were preying on nothing but +elk in the Yellowstone Valley, and kept hanging about the neighborhood +of the big bands. Evidently they usually selected some outlying +yearling, stalked it as it lay or as it fed, and seized it by the head +and throat. The bull which they killed was in a little open valley by +himself, many miles from any other elk. The cougar which killed it, +judging from its tracks, was a very large male. As the elk were +evidently rather too numerous for the feed, I do not think the cougars +were doing any damage. + +[Illustration: OLD EPHRAIM.] + +Coyotes are plentiful, but the elk evidently have no dread of them. One +day I crawled up to within fifty yards of a band of elk lying down. A +coyote was walking about among them, and beyond an occasional look they +paid no heed to him. He did not venture to go within fifteen or twenty +paces of any one of them. In fact, except the cougar, I saw but one +living thing attempt to molest the elk. This was a golden eagle. We saw +several of these great birds. On one occasion we had ridden out to the +foot of a great sloping mountain side, dotted over with bands and +strings of elk amounting in the aggregate probably to a thousand +head. Most of the bands were above the snow line--some appearing away +back toward the ridge crests, and looking as small as mice. There was +one band well below the snow line, and toward this we rode. While the +elk were not shy or wary, in the sense that a hunter would use the +words, they were by no means as familiar as the deer; and this +particular band of elk, some twenty or thirty in all, watched us with +interest as we approached. When we were still half a mile off they +suddenly started to run toward us, evidently frightened by something. +They ran quartering, and when about four hundred yards away we saw that +an eagle was after them. Soon it swooped, and a yearling in the rear, +weakly, and probably frightened by the swoop, turned a complete +somersault, and when it recovered its feet, stood still. The great bird +followed the rest of the band across a little ridge, beyond which they +disappeared. Then it returned, soaring high in the heavens, and after +two or three wide circles, swooped down at the solitary yearling, its +legs hanging down. We halted at two hundred yards to see the end. But +the eagle could not quite make up its mind to attack. Twice it hovered +within a foot or two of the yearling's head--again flew off and again +returned. Finally the yearling trotted off after the rest of the band, +and the eagle returned to the upper air. Later we found the carcass of a +yearling, with two eagles, not to mention ravens and magpies, feeding on +it; but I could not tell whether they had themselves killed the yearling +or not. + +Here and there in the region where the elk were abundant we came upon +horses which for some reason had been left out through the winter. They +were much wilder than the elk. Evidently the Yellowstone Park is a +natural nursery and breeding ground of the elk, which here, as said +above, far outnumber all the other game put together. In the winter, if +they cannot get to open water, they eat snow; but in several places +where there had been springs which kept open all winter, we could see by +the tracks they had been regularly used by bands of elk. The men working +at the new road along the face of the cliffs beside the Yellowstone +River near Tower Falls informed me that in October enormous droves of +elk coming from the interior of the Park and traveling northward to the +lower lands had crossed the Yellowstone just above Tower Falls. Judging +by their description the elk had crossed by thousands in an +uninterrupted stream, the passage taking many hours. In fact nowadays +these Yellowstone elk are, with the exception of the Arctic caribou, the +only American game which at times travel in immense droves like the +buffalo of the old days. + +A couple of days after leaving Cottonwood Creek--where we had spent +several days--we camped at the Yellowstone Canon below Tower Falls. Here +we saw a second band of mountain sheep, numbering only eight--none of +them old rams. We were camped on the west side of the canon; the sheep +had their abode on the opposite side, where they had spent the +winter. It has recently been customary among some authorities, +especially the English hunters and naturalists who have written of the +Asiatic sheep, to speak as if sheep were naturally creatures of the +plains rather than mountain climbers. I know nothing of old world sheep, +but the Rocky Mountain bighorn is to the full as characteristic a +mountain animal, in every sense of the word, as the chamois, and, I +think, as the ibex. These sheep were well known to the road builders, +who had spent the winter in the locality. They told me they never went +back on the plains, but throughout the winter had spent their days and +nights on the top of the cliff and along its face. This cliff was an +alternation of sheer precipices and very steep inclines. When coated +with ice it would be difficult to imagine an uglier bit of climbing; but +throughout the winter, and even in the wildest storms, the sheep had +habitually gone down it to drink at the water below. When we first saw +them they were lying sunning themselves on the edge of the canyon, where +the rolling grassy country behind it broke off into the sheer +descent. It was mid-afternoon and they were under some pines. After a +while they got up and began to graze, and soon hopped unconcernedly down +the side of the cliff until they were half way to the bottom. They then +grazed along the sides, and spent some time licking at a place where +there was evidently a mineral deposit. Before dark they all lay down +again on a steeply inclined jutting spur midway between the top and +bottom of the canyon. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP AT CLOSE QUARTERS.] + +Next morning I thought I would like to see them close up, so I walked +down three or four miles below where the canyon ended, crossed the +stream, and came up the other side until I got on what was literally the +stamping ground of the sheep. Their tracks showed that they had spent +their time for many weeks, and probably for all the winter, within a +very narrow radius. For perhaps a mile and a half, or two miles at the +very outside, they had wandered to and fro on the summit of the canyon, +making what was almost a well-beaten path; always very near and usually +on the edge of the cliff, and hardly ever going more than a few yards +back into the grassy plain-and-hill country. Their tracks and dung +covered the ground. They had also evidently descended into the depths of +the canon wherever there was the slightest break or even lowering in the +upper line of basalt cliffs. Although mountain sheep often browse in +winter, I saw but few traces of browsing here; probably on the sheer +cliff side they always got some grazing. When I spied the band they +were lying not far from the spot in which they had lain the day before, +and in the same position on the brink of the canon. They saw me and +watched me with interest when I was two hundred yards off, but they let +me get up within forty yards and sit down on a large stone to look at +them, without running off. Most of them were lying down, but a couple +were feeding steadily throughout the time I watched them. Suddenly one +took the alarm and dashed straight over the cliff, the others all +following at once. I ran after them to the edge in time to see the last +yearling drop off the edge of the basalt cliff and stop short on the +sheer slope below, while the stones dislodged by his hoofs rattled down +the canon. They all looked up at me with great interest and then +strolled off to the edge of a jutting spur and lay down almost directly +underneath me and some fifty yards off. That evening on my return to +camp we watched the band make its way right down to the river bed, going +over places where it did not seem possible a four-footed creature could +pass. They halted to graze here and there, and down the worst places +they went very fast with great bounds. It was a marvelous exhibition of +climbing. + +After we had finished this horseback trip we went on sleds and skis to +the upper Geyser Basin and the Falls of the Yellowstone. Although it was +the third week in April, the snow was still several feet deep, and only +thoroughly trained snow horses could have taken the sleighs along, while +around the Yellowstone Falls it was possible to move only on +snowshoes. There was very little life in those woods. We saw an +occasional squirrel, rabbit or marten; and in the open meadows around +the hot waters there were geese and ducks, and now and then a +coyote. Around camp Clark's crows and Stellar's jays, and occasionally +magpies came to pick at the refuse; and of course they were accompanied +by the whiskey acks with their usual astounding familiarity. At Norris +Geyser Basin there was a perfect chorus of bird music from robins, +purple finches, uncos and mountain bluebirds. In the woods there were +mountain chickadees and nuthatches of various kinds, together with an +occasional woodpecker. In the northern country we had come across a very +few blue grouse and ruffed grouse, both as tame as possible. We had seen +a pigmy owl no larger than a robin sitting on top of a pine in broad +daylight, and uttering at short intervals a queer un-owllike cry. + +[Illustration: MAGPIES.] + +The birds that interested us most were the solitaires, and especially +the dippers or water-ousels. We were fortunate enough to hear the +solitaires sing not only when perched on trees, but on the wing, soaring +over a great canon. The dippers are to my mind well-nigh the most +attractive of all our birds. They stay through the winter in the +Yellowstone because the waters are in many places open. We heard them +singing cheerfully, their ringing melody having a certain suggestion of +the winter wren's. Usually they sang while perched on some rock on the +edge or in the middle of the stream; but sometimes on the wing. In the +open places the western meadow larks were also uttering their singular +beautiful songs. No bird escaped John Burroughs' eye; no bird note +escaped his ear. + +On the last day of my stay it was arranged that I should ride down from +Mammoth Hot Springs to the town of Gardiner, just outside the Park +limits, and there make an address at the laying of the corner stone of +the arch by which the main road is to enter the Park. Some three +thousand people had gathered to attend the ceremonies. A little over a +mile from Gardiner we came down out of the hills to the flat plain; from +the hills we could see the crowd gathered around the arch waiting for me +to come. We put spurs to our horses and cantered rapidly toward the +appointed place, and on the way we passed within forty yards of a score +of black-tails, which merely moved to one side and looked at us, and +within a hundred yards of half a dozen antelope. To any lover of nature +it could not help being a delightful thing to see the wild and timid +creatures of the wilderness rendered so tame; and their tameness in the +immediate neighborhood of Gardiner, on the very edge of the Park, spoke +volumes for the patriotic good sense of the citizens of Montana. Major +Pitcher informed me that both the Montana and Wyoming people were +co-operating with him in zealous fashion to preserve the game and put a +stop to poaching. For their attitude in this regard they deserve the +cordial thanks of all Americans interested in these great popular +playgrounds, where bits of the old wilderness scenery and the old +wilderness life are to be kept unspoiled for the benefit of our +children's children. Eastern people, and especially eastern sportsmen, +need to keep steadily in mind the fact that the westerners who live in +the neighborhood of the forest preserves are the men who in the last +resort will determine whether or not these preserves are to be +permanent. They cannot in the long run be kept as forest and game +reservations unless the settlers roundabout believe in them and heartily +support them; and the rights of these settlers must be carefully +safeguarded, and they must be shown that the movement is really in their +interest. The eastern sportsman who fails to recognize these facts can +do little but harm by advocacy of forest reserves. + +[Illustration: A SILHOUETTE OF BLACKTAIL.] + +It was in the interior of the Park, at the hotels beside the lake, the +falls, and the various geyser basins, that we would have seen the bears +had the season been late enough; but unfortunately the bears were still +for the most part hibernating. We saw two or three tracks, and found one +place where a bear had been feeding on a dead elk, but the animals +themselves had not yet begun to come about the hotels. Nor were the +hotels open. No visitors had previously entered the Park in the winter +or early spring--the scouts and other employees being the only ones who +occasionally traverse it. I was sorry not to see the bears, for the +effect of protection upon bear life in the Yellowstone has been one of +the phenomena of natural history. Not only have they grown to realize +that they are safe, but, being natural scavengers and foul feeders, they +have come to recognize the garbage heaps of the hotels as their special +sources of food supply. Throughout the summer months they come to all +the hotels in numbers, usually appearing in the late afternoon or +evening, and they have become as indifferent to the presence of men as +the deer themselves--some of them very much more indifferent. They have +now taken their place among the recognized sights of the Park, and the +tourists are nearly as much interested in them as in the geysers. + +[Illustration: BLACK BEARS AT HOTEL GARBAGE HEAP.] + +It was amusing to read the proclamations addressed to the tourists by +the Park management, in which they were solemnly warned that the bears +were really wild animals, and that they must on no account be either fed +or teased. It is curious to think that the descendants of the great +grizzlies which were the dread of the early explorers and hunters should +now be semi-domesticated creatures, boldly hanging around crowded hotels +for the sake of what they can pick up, and quite harmless so long as any +reasonable precaution is exercised. They are much safer, for instance, +than any ordinary bull or stallion, or even ram, and, in fact, there is +no danger from them at all unless they are encouraged to grow too +familiar or are in some way molested. Of course among the thousands of +tourists there is a percentage of thoughtless and foolish people; and +when such people go out in the afternoon to look at the bears feeding +they occasionally bring themselves into jeopardy by some senseless +act. The black bears and the cubs of the bigger bears can readily be +driven up trees, and some of the tourists occasionally do this. Most of +the animals never think of resenting it; but now and then one is run +across which has its feelings ruffled by the performance. In the summer +of 1902 the result proved disastrous to a too inquisitive tourist. He +was traveling with his wife, and at one of the hotels they went out +toward the garbage pile to see the bears feeding. The only bear in sight +was a large she, which, as it turned out, was in a bad temper because +another party of tourists a few minutes before had been chasing her cubs +up a tree. The man left his wife and walked toward the bear to see how +close he could get. When he was some distance off she charged him, +whereupon he bolted back toward his wife. The bear overtook him, knocked +him down and bit him severely. But the man's wife, without hesitation, +attacked the bear with that thoroughly feminine weapon, an umbrella, and +frightened her off. The man spent several weeks in the Park hospital +before he recovered. Perhaps the following telegram sent by the manager +of the Lake Hotel to Major Pitcher illustrates with sufficient clearness +the mutual relations of the bears, the tourists, and the guardians of +the public weal in the Park. The original was sent me by Major +Pitcher. It runs: + +"Lake. 7-27-'03. Major Pitcher, Yellowstone: As many as seventeen bears +in an evening appear on my garbage dump. To-night eight or ten. Campers +and people not of my hotel throw things at them to make them run away. I +cannot, unless there personally, control this. Do you think you could +detail a trooper to be there every evening from say six o'clock until +dark and make people remain behind danger line laid out by Warden Jones? +Otherwise I fear some accident. The arrest of one or two of these +campers might help. My own guests do pretty well as they are told. +James Barton Key. 9 A.M." + +Major Pitcher issued the order as requested. + +[Illustration: CHAMBERMAID AND BEAR.] + +At times the bears get so bold that they take to making inroads on the +kitchen. One completely terrorized a Chinese cook. It would drive him +off and then feast upon whatever was left behind. When a bear begins to +act in this way or to show surliness it is sometimes necessary to shoot +it. Other bears are tamed until they will feed out of the hand, and +will come at once if called. Not only have some of the soldiers and +scouts tamed bears in this fashion, but occasionally a chambermaid or +waiter girl at one of the hotels has thus developed a bear as a pet. + +The accompanying photographs not only show bears very close up, with men +standing by within a few yards of them, but they also show one bear +being fed from the piazza by a cook, and another standing beside a +particular friend, a chambermaid in one of the hotels. In these +photographs it will be seen that some are grizzlies and some black +bears. + +This whole episode of bear life in the Yellowstone is so extraordinary +that it will be well worth while for any man who has the right powers +and enough time, to make a complete study of the life and history of the +Yellowstone bears. Indeed, nothing better could be done by some one of +our outdoor fauna naturalists than to spend at least a year in the +Yellowstone, and to study the life habits of all the wild creatures +therein. A man able to do this, and to write down accurately and +interestingly what he had seen, would make a contribution of permanent +value to our nature literature. + +In May, after leaving the Yellowstone, I visited the Grand Canyon of the +Colorado, and spent three days camping in the Yosemite Park with John +Muir. It is hard to make comparisons among different kinds of scenery, +all of them very grand and very beautiful; yet personally to me the +Grand Canyon of the Colorado, strange and desolate, terrible and awful in +its sublimity, stands alone and unequaled. I very earnestly wish that +Congress would make it a national park, and I am sure that such course +would meet the approbation of the people of Arizona. As to the Yosemite +Valley, if the people of California desire it, as many of them certainly +do, it also should be taken by the National Government to be kept as a +national park, just as the surrounding country, including some of the +groves of giant trees, is now kept. + +[Illustration: COOK AND BEAR.] + +John Muir and I, with two packers and three pack mules, spent a +delightful three days in the Yosemite. The first night was clear, and we +lay in the open on beds of soft fir boughs among the giant sequoias. It +was like lying in a great and solemn cathedral, far vaster and more +beautiful than any built by hand of man. Just at nightfall I heard, +among other birds, thrushes which I think were Rocky Mountain +hermits--the appropriate choir for such a place of worship. Next day we +went by trail through the woods, seeing some deer--which were not +wild--as well as mountain quail and blue grouse. In the afternoon we +struck snow, and had considerable difficulty in breaking our own +trails. A snow storm came on toward evening, but we kept warm and +comfortable in a grove of the splendid silver firs--rightly named +magnificent, near the brink of the wonderful Yosemite Valley. Next day +we clambered down into it and at nightfall camped in its bottom, facing +the giant cliffs over which the waterfalls thundered. + +Surely our people do not understand even yet the rich heritage that is +theirs. There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the +Yosemite, its groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the +Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the three Tetons; and the +representatives of the people should see to it that they are preserved +for the people forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred. + +_Theodore Roosevelt_. + + + + +The Zoology of North American Big Game + + +Among the many questions asked of the naturalist by an inquiring public, +few come up more persistently than "What is the difference between a +bison and a buffalo; and which is the American animal?" + +The interest which so many people find in questions such as this must +serve as a justification for the present paper, which proposes no more +than to put into concise form what is known of the zoological relations +of the animals which come within the special interest of the Boone and +Crockett Club. In doing this, conclusions must, as a rule, be stated +with few of the facts upon which they rest, for to give more than the +plainest of these would be to far outrun the possible limits of space, +and would furthermore lead into technical details which to most readers +are obscure and wearisome. + +[Illustration: BULL BISON.] + +Anyone who consults Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary will be illuminated +by the definition of camelopard: "An Abyssinian animal taller than an +elephant, but not so thick," and even but a few years back all that was +considered necessary to answer the question, "what is a bison?" was to +state that it is a wild ox with a shaggy mane and a hump on its +shoulders, and the thing was done; but in our own time a satisfactory +answer must take account of its relationship to other beasts, for we +have come to believe that the differences between animals are simply the +blank spaces upon the chart of universal life, against which are traced +the resemblances, which, as we follow them back into remote periods of +geologic time, reveal to us definite lines of succession with structural +change, and these, correctly interpreted, are nothing less than actual +lines of blood relationship. To know what an animal is, therefore, we +must know something of its family tree. + +It is perhaps well to emphasize the need of correct interpretation, for +there are no bridges on the paths of palaeontology, and as we go back, +more than one great gap occurs between series of strata, marking periods +of intervening time which there is no means of measuring, but during +which we know that the progress of change in the animals then living +never ceased. When such a break is reached, the course of phylogeny is +like picking up an interrupted trail, with the additional complication +that the one we find is never quite like the one we left, and it is in +such conditions that the systematist must apply his knowledge of the +general progressive tendencies through the ages of change, to the +determination of the particular changes he should expect to find in the +special case before him, and so be enabled to recognize the footprints +he is in search of. The genius to do this has been given to few, but in +their hands the results have often been brilliant. + +Back in the very earliest Tertiary deposits, and in all certainty even +earlier, a group of comparatively small mammals was extensively spread +through America, and apparently less widely in Europe, characterized by +a primitive form of foot structure, each of which had five complete +digits, the whole sole being placed upon the ground, as in the animals +we call plantigrade. The grinding surfaces of their molar teeth were +also primitive, bearing none of the complicated, curved crests and +ridges possessed by present ruminants, but instead they had conical +cusps, usually not more than three to a tooth; this tritubercular style +of molar crown being about the earliest known in true mammals. + +In the opinion of many palaeontologists, the ancestors of the present +hoofed beasts, or ungulates, were contained among these +_Condylarthra_, as they were named by Prof. Cope. + +Of course, these early mammals are known to us only by their fossil and +mostly fragmentary skeletons, but it may be said that at least in the +ungulate line, the successive geological periods show steady structural +progression in certain directions. Of great importance are a decrease in +the number of functional digits; a gradual elevation of the heel, so +that their modern descendants walk on the tips of their toes, instead of +on the whole sole; a constant tendency to the development of deeply +grooved and interlocked joints in place of shallow bearing surfaces; and +to a complex pattern of the molar crowns instead of the simple type +mentioned. To this may be added as the most important factor of all in +survival, that these changes have progressed together with an increase +in the size of the brain and in the convolutions of its outer layer. + +The _Condylarthra_ seem to have gone out of existence before the +time of the middle Eocene, but before this they had become separated +into the two great divisions of odd-toed and even-toed ungulates, into +which all truly hoofed beasts now living fall. + +The first group (_Perissodactyla_) has always one or three toes +functionally developed, either the third, or third, second and fourth, +the two others having entirely disappeared, except for a remnant of the +fifth in the forefoot of tapirs. They have retained some at least of the +upper incisor teeth, and, except in some rhinoceroses, the canines are +also left; the molars and premolars are practically alike in all recent +species, and in all of which we know the soft parts, the stomach has but +one compartment, and there is an enormous caecum. It is probable that +they took rise earlier than their split-footed relations, and their +Tertiary remains are far more numerous, but their tendency is toward +disappearance, and among existing mammals they are represented only by +horses, asses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. + +Contrasted with these, _Artiodactyla_ have always an even number of +functional digits, the third and fourth reaching the ground +symmetrically, bearing the weight and forming the "split hoof;" the +second and fifth remain, in most cases, as mere vestiges, showing +externally as the accessory hoofs or dewclaws; in the hippopotamus alone +they are fully developed and the animal has a four-toed foot. In deer +and bovine animals the incisors and frequently the canines have +disappeared from the upper jaw, and the molars are unlike the premolars +in having two lobes instead of one. The stomach is always more or less +complex; at its extreme reaching the ruminant type with four +compartments, in association with which is a caecum reduced in size and +simple in form. Nearly all have horns or antlers, at least in one sex. + +Most split-hoofed animals are ruminants, but there is a small remnant, +probably of early types, which are not. The present ungulates may be +summed up in this way: + +Odd-toed: _(Perissodactyla)_-- + Horse, + Ass, + Rhinoceros, + Tapir. + +Even-toed: _(Artiodactyla)_-- + +Non-ruminants-- +Hippopotamus, +Swine, +Peccaries. + +Ruminants-- +Camels, Llamas, +Chevrotains, +Giraffe, +Antelopes, +Sheep, Goats, +Musk-ox, +Oxen, +Deer. + +The non-ruminant artiodactyls need not detain us long. Hippopotamuses +are little more than large pigs with four toes; they were never +American, though many species, some very small, are found in the +European Tertiary. The two existing species are African. + +In the western hemisphere swine are represented by the peccaries, +differing from them chiefly in having six less teeth, one less accessory +toe on the hind foot, and in a stomach of more complex character. +Peccaries also have the metapodial bones supporting the two functional +digits fused together at their upper ends, forming an imperfect "cannon +bone," which is a characteristic of practically all the ruminants, but +of no other hoofed beasts. One species only enters the United States +along the Mexican border. + +All non-ruminant ungulates have from four to six incisors in the upper +jaw; the canines are present, and sometimes, as in the wart hogs, reach +an extraordinary size. + +Coming now to the ruminants, all digits except the third and fourth have +disappeared from camels and llamas, and the nails on these are limited +to their upper surface without forming a hoof, the under side being a +broad pad, upon which they tread. No camel-like beasts have inhabited +North America since the Pliocene age. Chevrotains, or muis deer +(_Tragulidae_), are not deer in any true sense, as they have but +three compartments to the stomach; antlers are absent and in their place +large and protruding canine teeth are developed in the upper jaw, and +the lateral metacarpal bones are complete throughout their length, +instead of being represented by a mere remnant. They are the smallest of +ungulates, and inhabit only portions of the Indo-Malayan region. Camels +also have upper canines, and the outer, upper incisors as well. + +The giraffe is separated from all living ungulates by the primitive +character of its so-called "horns," which are not horns in the usual +sense, but simply bony prominences of the skull covered with hair. Some +of the earliest deer-like animals seem to have had simple or slightly +branched antlers which were not shed, and which there is reason to +believe were also hairy, and in these, as well as in other characters, +giraffes and the early deer may not have been far apart. The "okapi," +Sir Harry Johnston's late discovery in the Uganda forests, seems to have +come from the same ancestral stock, but the giraffe has no other +existing relatives. + +The true deer, to which we shall return, are readily enough +distinguished from the ox tribe and its allies by their solid and more +or less branched antlers, usually confined to males, and periodically +shed. + +So, through this rapid survey, we have dropped out of the hoofed beasts +all but the bovines and their near allies, and are thus far advanced +toward our definition of a bison, but from this point we shall not find +it easy to draw sharp distinctions, for while the _Bovidae_, as a +whole, are well enough distinguished from all other animals, their +characteristics are so much mixed among themselves that it is hardly +possible to find any one or more striking features peculiar to one +group, and for most of them recourse must be had to associations of a +number of lesser characters. + +Oxen, antelopes, sheep and goats agree in having hollow horns of +material similar to that of which hair and nails are formed, permanently +fixed upon the skull in all but one species; none of them have more than +the two middle digits functionally developed, one on each side of the +axis of the leg; none have the lower ends remaining of the meta-podial +bones belonging to the two accessory digits; and none have either +incisor or canine teeth in the upper jaw. + +From animals so constructed we may first take out goats and sheep, in +which the female horns are much smaller than those of males, and in some +species are even absent. In nearly all of them the horns are noticeably +compressed in section, either triangular or sub-triangular near the +base, and are directed sometimes outwardly from the head with a circular +sweep; at others with a backward curve, often spirally. The muzzle is +always hairy; there is no small accessory column on the inner side of +the upper molars, found always in oxen and in some antelopes; the tail +is short, and scent glands are present between the digits of some or all +the feet. + +Now, as to the perplexing animals popularly known as antelopes. No +definition could be framed which would include them all in one group, +for every subordinate character seems to be present in some and absent +in others, so that the most that can be done with this vast assemblage +is to arrange its contents in series of genera, which may or may not be +called sub-families, but which probably correspond in some degree to +their real affinities. We can only say of any one of them that it is an +antelope because it is not a sheep, nor a goat, nor an ox. They concern +us here only to be eliminated, for they are not American, our prong-buck +having a sub-family all to itself, as we shall see later, and the +so-called "white goat" being usually regarded as neither goat nor truly +antelope. + +Within the limits of the real bovine animals, four quite distinct types +may be made out, chiefly by the position of the horns upon the skull and +by the shape of the horns themselves. There are also differences in the +relations of the nasal and premaxillary bones, the development of the +neural spines of the vertebrae, and the hairy covering of the body. + +In the genus _Bos_ the horns are placed high up on the vertex of +the skull, which forms a marked transverse ridge from which the hinder +portion falls sharply away. The horns are nearly circular in section and +almost smooth; usually they curve outward, then upward and often inward +at the tip; the premaxillaries are long and generally reach to the +nasals, and the anterior dorsal vertebrae are without sharply elongated +spines, so that the line of the back is nearly straight. These, the true +oxen, as they are sometimes termed, now exist only in domesticated +breeds of cattle. + +In the gaur oxen (_Bibos_) the horns are situated as in _Bos_, +high up on the vertex, but are more elliptical in section; the +premaxillaries are short; the dorsal vertebrae, from the third to the +eleventh, bear elongated spines which produce a hump reaching nearly to +the middle of the back; the tail is shorter, and the hair is short all +over the body. The three species--gaur, gayal and banteng--inhabit +Indo-Malayan countries, and all of them are dark brown with white +stockings. + +The buffaloes (_Bubalus_) are large and clumsy animals with horns +more or less compressed or flattened at their bases, set low down on the +vertex, which does not show the high transverse ridge of true oxen and +gaurs. In old bulls of the African species the horns meet at their base +and completely cover the forehead. In the arni of India they are +enormously long. The dorsal spines are not much elongated, and there is +no distinct hump; the premaxillae are long enough to reach the +nasals. Hair is scanty all over the body, and old animals are almost +wholly bare. The small and interesting anoa of Celebes, and the tamarao +of Mindoro, are nearly related in all important respects to the Indian +buffalo, and the carabao, used for draught and burden in the +Philippines, belongs to a long domesticated race of the same animal. + +Finally, in the genus _Bison_ the horns are below the vertex as in +buffaloes, but are set far apart at the base, which is cylindrical; they +are short and their curve is forward, upward and inward; the anterior +dorsal and the last cervical vertebrae have long spines which bear a +distinct hump on the shoulders; the premaxillae are short and never +reach the nasals; there are fourteen, or occasionally fifteen, pairs of +ribs, all other oxen having but thirteen, and there is a heavy mane +about the neck and shoulders. The yak of central Asia is very bison-like +in some respects, but in others departs in the direction of oxen. + +So at last, group by group, we have gone through the ungulates, and the +bisons alone are left, and as the American animal has short, incurved +horns, set low down on the skull and far apart at the base; +premaxillaries falling short of the nasals; the last cervical and the +anterior dorsal vertebrae with spines; fourteen pairs of ribs, and a +mane covering the shoulders, we conclude that it is a bison, and as the +same characteristics with minor variations are shown by the European +species, often, but wrongly, called "aurochs," we say that these two +alone of existing _Bovidae_ are bisons, with the yak as a somewhat +questionable relative. + +In all essential respects the two bisons are very similar, but minute +comparison shows that the European species, _Bison bonasus_, has a +wider and flatter forehead, bearing longer and more slender horns, and +all the other distinctive features are less pronounced. In the American +species, _Bison bison_, the pelvis is less elevated, producing the +characteristic slope of the hindquarters. It is a coincidence that the +two regions originally inhabited by the bisons are those in which the +white races of men have to the greatest extent thrown their restless +energies into the struggle for existence, with the result that +extinction to nearly the same degree has overtaken these two near +cousins among oxen. A few wild members of the European species still +exist in the Caucasus, as a few of the American are left in British +America, but elsewhere both exist only under protection. + +The carefully kept statistics of the Bielowitza herd in Grodno, western +Russia, which includes nearly all but the few wild ones, shows that +between 1833 and 1857 they increased in number from 768 to 1,898, but +from this maximum the decrease has been constant, with trifling halts, +until in 1892 less than five hundred were left; so that even if the +Peace River bison are counted with the remnant of the American species, +it is probable that the survivors of each race are about equal in +number. + +It is true that the number of our own species has lately been placed as +high as a thousand, but even if these figures are correct, the seeds of +decay from internal causes, such as inbreeding and the degeneration of +restraint, are already sown, and the inevitable end of the race is not +far off. + +The Peace River, or woodland, bison has lately been separated as a +sub-species _(B. bison athabascae)_, distinguished from the +southern and better known form by superior size, a wider forehead, +longer, more slender and incurved horns, and by a thicker and softer +coat, which is also darker in color. Now, it is an interesting fact that +a fossil bison skull from the lower Pliocene of India resembles the +present European species, and in later geological times very similar +bisons closely allied to each other, if not identical, inhabited all +northern regions, including America. These were large animals with wide +skulls, and there is little doubt that from this circumpolar form came +both of the bisons now inhabiting Europe and America. Out of some half +dozen fossil bison which have been described from America, none earlier +than the latest Tertiary, _Bison latifrons_ from the Pleistocene +seems likely to have been the immediate ancestor of recent American +species, and as the one skull of the woodland bison which has been +examined resembles both _latifrons_ and the European species more +than the plains species does, it seems probable that these two more +nearly represent the primitive bison, of which the former inhabitant of +the prairies is a more modified descendant. + +The process of elimination has at last led to this outline definition of +a bison, but among the ungulates we have passed over, there are certain +others which concern us because they are American. + +Sheep and goats agree together and differ from oxen in being usually of +smaller size; the tail is shorter, the horns of females are much smaller +than those of males, they lack the accessory column on the inner side of +the upper molars, and the cannon bone is longer and more slender; but +when it comes to a comparison of the one with the other, it is by no +means always easy to tell the difference. It is true that the early +Greeks seem to have had a rough and ready rule under which mistakes were +not easy, for Aristotle tells us "Alcmaeon is mistaken when he says that +goats breathe through their ears," but the severely practical methods of +our own day leave us little but some very minute points of +difference. One of the best of these lies in the shape of the +basi-occipital bone, but naturally this can be observed only in the +prepared skull. The terms often employed to denote difference in the +horns can have only a general application, for they break down in +certain species in which the two groups approach each other. The +following table expresses some fairly definite points of separation: + + + SHEEP (_Ovis_). GOAT (_Capra_). + +1. Muzzle hairy except between 1. Muzzle entirely hairy. + and just above the + nostrils. + +2. Interdigital glands on all 2. Interdigital glands, when + the feet. present, only on fore feet. + +3. Suborbital gland and pit 3. Suborbital gland and pit + usually present. never present. + +4. No beard nor caprine 4. Male with a beard and + smell in male. caprine smell. + +5. Horns with coarse transverse 5. Horns with fine transverse + wrinkles; yellowish striations, or bold knobs + or brown; sub-triangular in front; blackish; in male + in male, spreading outward more compressed or angular, + and forward with a sweeping backward + circular sweep, points with a scythe-like curve or + turned outward and forward spirally, points turned upward + and backward. + + +These features are distinctive as between most sheep and most goats, but +the Barbary wild sheep (_Ovis tragelaphus_) has no suborbital gland +or pit, a goat-like peculiarity which it shares with the Himalayan +bharal (_Ovis nahura_), in which the horns resemble closely +those of a goat from the eastern Caucasus called tur (_Capra +cylindricornis_), which for its part has the horns somewhat +sheep-like and a very small beard. This same bharal has the goat-like +habit of raising itself upon its hind legs before butting. + +Both groups are a comparatively late development of the bovine stock, as +they do not certainly appear before the upper Pliocene of Europe and +Asia, and even at a later date their remains are not plentiful. Goats +appear to have been rather the earlier, but are entirely absent from +America. + +The number of distinct species of sheep in our fauna is a matter of too +much uncertainty to be treated with any sort of authority at this time. +Most of us grew up in the belief that there was but one, the well-known +mountain sheep (_Ovis canadensis_), but seven new species and +sub-species have been produced from the systematic mill within recent +years, six of them since 1897. It is no part of the purpose of the +present paper to dwell upon much vexed questions of specific +distinctness, and it will only be pointed out here that the ultimate +validity of most of these supposed forms will depend chiefly upon the +exactness of the conception of species which will replace among +zoologists the vague ideas of the present time. Whatever the conclusion +may be, it seems probable that some degree of distinction will be +accorded to, at least, one or two Alaskan forms. + +As sheep probably came into America from Asia during the Pleistocene, at +a time when Bering's Strait was closed by land, it might be expected +that those now found here would show relationship to the Kamtschatkan +species (_Ovis nivicola_); and such is indeed the case, while +furthermore, in the small size of the suborbital gland and pit, and in +comparative smoothness of the horns, both species approach the bharal of +Thibet and India, which in these respects is goat-like. + +When one considers the poverty of the new world in bovine ruminants, it +seems strange that three such anomalous forms should have fallen to its +share as the prong-horn, the white goat and the musk-ox, of none of +which have we the complete history; two of the number being entirely +isolated species, sometimes regarded as the types of separate families. + +The prong-horn is a curious compound. It resembles sheep in the minute +structure of its hair, in its hairy muzzle, and in having interdigital +glands on all its feet. Like goats, it has no sub-orbital gland nor +distinct pit. Like the chamois, it has a gland below and behind the ear, +the secretion of which has a caprine odor. It has also glands on the +rump. It is like the giraffe in total absence of the accessory hoofs, +even to the metapodials which support them. It differs from all hollow +horned ungulates in having deciduous horns with a fork or anterior +branch. There is not the least similarity, however, between these horns +and the bony deciduous antlers of deer, for, like those of all bovines, +they are composed of agglutinated hairs, set on a bony core projecting +from the frontal region of the skull. + +It is well known that these horn sheaths are at times shed and +reproduced, but the exact regularity with which the process takes place +is by no means certain, although such direct evidence as there is goes +to prove that it occurs annually in the autumn. Prong-bucks have shed +on eight occasions in the Zoological Gardens at Philadelphia, five times +by the same animal, which reached the gardens in October, 1899, and has +shed each year early in November, the last time on October 22, 1903,[1] +and the writer has seen one fine head killed about November 5 in a wild +state, on which the horn-sheaths were loose and ready to drop off. + +[Footnote 1: It is interesting to note that the first pair shed measured +7-1/4 inches, on the anterior curve; the second pair 9-1/2, and the last +three 11 inches each. The largest horns ever measured by the writer were +those of a buck killed late in November, 1892, near Marathon, Texas, and +were 15-3/4 inches in vertical height and 21 along the curve.] + +But few of these delicate animals have lived long enough in captivity to +permit study of the same individual through a course of years, and the +scarcity of observations made upon them in a wild state is +remarkable. That irregularity in the process would not be without +analogy, is shown by the case of the Indian sambur deer, of which there +is evidence from such authority as that king of sportsmen, Sir Samuel +Baker, and others, that the shedding does not always occur at the same +season, nor is it always annual in the same buck; and by Pore David's +deer, which has been known to shed twice in one year. + +When resemblances such as those of the prong-horn are so promiscuously +distributed, the task of fixing their values in estimating affinities is +not a light one, and in fact the most rational conclusion which we may +draw from them is that they point back to a distant and generalized +ancestor, who possessed them all, but that in the distribution of his +physical estate, so to speak, these heirlooms have not come down alike +to all descendants. There is again a complicating possibility that some +may be no more than adaptive or analogous characters, similarly produced +under like conditions of life, but quite independent of a common origin, +and it is seldom that we know enough of the history of development of +any species to conclude with certainty whether or not this has been the +case. At all events, the prong-buck is quite alone in the world at +present, and we know no fossils which unmistakably point to it, although +it has been supposed that some of the later Miocene species of +_Cosoryx_--small deer-like animals with non-deciduous horns, +probably covered with hair, and molars of somewhat bovine type--may have +been ancestral to it, but this is little more than a speculation. What +is certain is that _Antilocapra_ is now a completely isolated form, +fully entitled to rank as a family all by itself. + +In the musk-ox (_Ovibos moschatus_), or "sheep-ox," as the generic +name given by Blainville has it, we meet with another strange and lonely +form which has contributed its full share to the problems of systematic +zoology. Its remote and inaccessible range has greatly retarded +knowledge of its structure, and it is only within the last three years +that acquaintance has been made with its soft anatomy, and at the same +time with a maze of resemblances and differences toward other ruminants, +that perhaps more than equals the irregularities of the prong-buck. But +unlike that species, there is in the musk-ox no extreme modification, +such as a deciduous horn, to separate it distinctly from the rest of the +family. A recapitulation of these differences would be too minutely +technical for insertion here, and it must be enough to say that while it +cannot be assigned to either group, yet in the distribution of hair on +the muzzle, in the presence of a small suborbital gland, in shortness of +tail and the light color of its horns, it is sheep-like; in the absence +of interdigital glands, the shortness and stoutness of its cannon bones, +and in the presence of a small accessory inner column on the upper +molars, it is bovine. But in the coarse longitudinal striation of the +bases of its horns it differs from both. The shape of the horns is also +peculiar. Curving outward, downward and then sharply upward, with +broad, flattened bases meeting in the middle line, their outlines are +not unlike those of old bulls of the African buffalo. + +At the present time the musk-ox inhabits only arctic America, from +Greenland westward nearly to the Mackenzie River, but its range was +formerly circumpolar, and in Pleistocene times it inhabited Europe as +far south as Germany and France. The musk-ox of Greenland has lately +been set aside as a distinct species. The most we can say is that +_Ovibos_ is a unique form, standing perhaps somewhere between oxen +and sheep, and descended from an ancient ruminant type through an +ancestry of which we know nothing, for the only fossil remains which are +at all distinguishable from the existing genus, are yet closely similar +to it, and are no older than the Pleistocene of the central United +States; in earlier periods its history is a blank about which it is +useless to speculate. + +The last of our three anomalies, the white, or mountain goat +(_Oreamnos montanus_), is not as completely orphaned as the other +two, for it seems quite surely to be connected with a small and peculiar +series consisting of the European chamois and several species of +_Nemorhaedus_ inhabiting eastern Asia and Sumatra. These are often +called mountain antelopes, or goat antelopes. So little is yet known of +the soft anatomy of the white goat that we are much in the dark as to +its minute resemblances, but its glandular system is certainly +suggestive of the chamois, and many of its attitudes are strikingly +similar. In all the points in which it approaches goats it is like some, +at least, among antelopes, while in the elongated spines of the anterior +dorsal vertebrae, which support the hump, and in extreme shortness of +the cannon bone, it is far from goat-like. The goat idea, indeed, has +little more foundation than the suggestive resemblance of the profile +with its caprine beard. It is truly no goat at all, and should more +properly be regarded as an aberrant antelope, if anything could be +justly termed "aberrant" in an aggregation of animals, hardly any two of +which agree in all respects of structure. No American fossils seem to +point to _Oreamnos_, and as _Nemorhaedus_ extends to Japan and +eastern Siberia, it is probable that it was an Asiatic immigrant, not +earlier than the Pleistocene. + +From this intricate genealogical tangle one turns with relief to the +deer family, where the course of development lies reasonably plain. If +the rank of animals in the aristocracy of nature were to be fixed by the +remoteness of the period to which we know their ancestors, the deer +would out-rank their bovine cousins by a full half of the Miocene +period, and the study of fossils onward from this early beginning +presents few clearer lines of evidence supporting modern theories +respecting the development of species, than is shown in the increasing +size and complexity of the antlers in succeeding geological ages, from +the simple fork of the middle Miocene to those with three prongs of the +late Miocene, the four-pronged of the Pliocene, and finally to the +many-branched shapes of the Pleistocene and the present age. Now it is +further true that each one of these types is represented today in the +mature antlers of existing deer, from the small South American species +with a simple spike, up to the wapiti and red deer carrying six or eight +points, and still more significant is it that the whole story is +recapitulated in the growth of each individual of the higher races. The +earliest cervine animals known seem to have had no antlers at all, a +stage to which the fawn of the year corresponds; the subsequent normal +addition in the life-history, of a tine for each year of growth until +the mature antler is reached, answering with exactness to the stages of +advance shown in the development-history of the race. A year of +individual life is the symbol of a geological period of +progression. This is a marvelous record, of which we may +say--paraphrasing with Huxley the well-known saying of Voltaire--"if it +had not already existed, evolution must have been invented to explain." + +The least technical, and for the present purpose the most useful of the +characters distinguishing existing deer from all of the bovine stock, +lies in the antlers, which are solid, of bony substance, and are +annually shed. They are present in the males of all species except the +Chinese water deer, and the very divergent musk-deer, which probably +should not be regarded as a deer at all. They are normally absent from +all females except those of the genus _Rangifer_. Most deer have +canine teeth in the upper jaw, though they are absent in the moose, in +the distinctively American type and a few others. The cleaned skull +always shows a large vacuity in the outer wall in front of the orbit, +which prevents the lachrymal bone from reaching the nasals. No deer has +a gall bladder. There are many other distinctions, but as all have +exceptions they are of value only in combinations. + +The earliest known deer, belonging to the genus _Dremotherium_, or +_Amphitragulus_, from the middle Tertiary of France, were of small +size and had four toes, canine teeth and no antlers. Their successors +seem to have borne simple forked antlers or horns, probably covered with +hair, and permanently fixed on the skull. Very similar animals existed +in contemporaneous and later deposits in North America. From this point +the course of progress is tolerably clear as to deer in general, +although we are not sure of all the intermediate details--for it must +not be forgotten that a series of types exhibiting progressive +modifications in each succeeding geological period is quite as +conclusive in pointing out the genealogy of an existing group as if we +knew each individual term in the ancestral series of each of its +members. Thus we do not yet know whether the peculiar antler of the +distinctively American deer, of the genus _Mazama_, is derived from +an American source or took its origin in the old world, for the fossil +antlers known as _Anoglochis_, from the Pliocene of Europe, are +quite suggestive of the _Mazama_ style, but as nothing is known of +the other skeletal details of _Anoglochis_, any such connection +must at present be purely speculative, but the element of doubt in this +special case in no way disturbs the certainty of the general conclusion +that all our present _Cervidae_ have come through distinct stages +in the successive periods, from the simple types of the middle Tertiary. + +The family is undoubtedly of old world origin, and for the most part +belongs to the northern hemisphere, South America being the only +continental area in which they are found south of the equator. + +The analytical habit of mind which finds vent in the subdivision of +species, is also exhibited in a tendency to break up large genera into a +number of small ones, but in the present group this practice has the +disadvantage of obscuring a broad distinction between the dominant types +inhabiting respectively the old world and the new. The former, +represented by the genus _Cervus_, has a brow-tine to the antlers; +has the posterior portion of the nasal chamber undivided by the vertical +plate of the vomer; and the upper ends only of the lateral metacarpals +remain, whereas in all these particulars the typical American deer are +exactly opposite. As there are objections to considering these +characters as of family value, arising from the intermediate position of +the circumpolar genera _Alces_ and _Rangifer_, as well as the +water deer and the roe, a broader meaning is given to classification by +retaining the comprehensive genera _Cervus_ and _Mazama_, and +recognizing the subordinate divisions only as sub-genera. + +The one representative of _Cervus_ inhabiting America is the +wapiti, or "elk" (_C. canadensis_), which is without doubt an +immigrant from Asia by way of Alaska, and it may be of interest to state +the grounds upon which this conclusion rests, as they afford an +excellent example of the way in which such results are reached. It is an +accepted truth in geographical distribution, that the portion of the +earth in which the greatest number of forms differentiated from one type +are to be found, is almost always the region in which that type had its +origin. Now, out of about a dozen species and sub-species of wapiti and +red deer to which names have been given, not less than eight are +Asiatic, so that Asia, and probably its central portion, is indicated as +the region in which the elaphine deer arose; in confirmation of which is +the further fact that the antler characteristic of these deer seems to +have originated from the same ancestral form as that which produced the +sikine and rusine types, which are also Asiatic. From this centre the +elaphines spread westward and eastward, resulting in Europe in the red +deer, which penetrated southward into north Africa at a time when there +was a land connection across the Mediterranean. In the opposite +direction, the nearer we get to Bering's Straits the closer is the +resemblance to the American wapiti, until the splendid species from the +Altai Mountains (_C. canadensis asiaticus_), and Luehdorf's deer +(_C. c. luehdorfi_) from Manchuria, are regarded only as sub-species +of the eastern American form, which they approach through _C. c. +occidentalis_ of Oregon and the northwestern Pacific Coast. + +This evidence is conclusive in itself, and is further confirmed by the +geological record, from which we know that the land connection between +Alaska and Kamtschatka was of Pliocene age, while we have no knowledge +of the wapiti in America until the succeeding period. + +While there is not the least doubt that the smaller American deer had an +origin identical with those of the old world, the exact point of their +separation is not so clear. Two possibilities are open to choice: +_Mazama_ may be supposed to have descended from the group to which +_Blastomeryx_ belonged, this being a late Miocene genus from +Nebraska, with cervine molars, but otherwise much like _Cosoryx,_ +which we have seen to be a possible ancestor of the prong-horn; or we +may prefer to believe that the differentiation took place earlier in +Europe or Asia, from ancestors common to both. But there is a serious +dilemma. If we choose the former view, we must conclude that the +deciduous antler was independently developed in each of the two +continents, and while it is quite probable that approximately similar +structures have at times arisen independently, it is not easy to believe +that an arrangement so minutely identical in form and function can have +been twice evolved. On the second supposition, we have to face the fact +that there is very little evidence from palaeontology of the former +presence of the American type in Eurasia. But, on the whole, the latter +hypothesis presents fewer difficulties and is probably the correct one; +in which case two migrations must have taken place, an earlier one of +the generalized type to which _Blastomeryx_ and _Cosoryx_ belonged, +and a later one of the direct ancestor of _Mazama_. There is +little difficulty in the assumption of these repeated migrations, +for evidence exists that during a great part of the last half +of the Tertiary this continent was connected by land to the +northwest with Asia, and to the northeast, through Greenland and +Iceland, with western Europe. + +The distinction between the two groups is well marked. All the +_Mazama_ type are without a true brow-tine to the antlers; the +lower ends of the lateral metacarpals only remain; the vertical plate of +the vomer extends downward and completely separates the hind part of the +nasal chamber into two compartments; and with hardly an exception they +have a large gland on the inside of the tarsus, or heel. The complete +development of these characters is exhibited in northern species, and it +has been beautifully shown that as we go southward there is a strong +tendency to diminished size; toward smaller antlers and reduction in the +number of tines; to smaller size, and finally complete loss of the +metatarsal gland on the outside of the hind leg; and to the assumption +of a uniform color throughout the year, instead of a seasonal change. + +The two styles of antler which we recognize in the North American deer +are too well known to require description. That characterizing the mule +deer (_Mazama hemionus_) and the Columbia black-tailed deer +(_M. columbiana_), seems never to have occurred in the east, nor +south much beyond the Mexican border, and these deer have varied little +except in size, although three subspecies have lately been set off from +the mule deer in the extreme southwest. + +The section represented by _M. virginiana,_ with antlers curving +forward and tines projecting from its hinder border, takes practically +the whole of America in its range, and under the law of variation which +has been stated, has proved a veritable gold mine to the makers of +names. At present it is utterly useless to attempt to determine which of +the forms described will stand the scrutiny of the future, and no more +will be attempted here than to state the present gross contents of +cervine literature. The sub-genus _Dorcelaphus_ contains all the +forms of the United States; of these, the deer belonging east of the +Missouri River, those from the great plains to the Pacific, those along +the Rio Grande in Texas and Mexico, those of Florida, and those again of +Sonora, are each rated as sub-species of _virginiana_; to which we +must add six more, ranging from Mexico to Bolivia. One full species, +_M. truei,_ has been described from Central America, and another +rather anomalous creature (_M. crookii_), resembling both +white-tail and mule deer, from New Mexico. + +The other sub-genera are _Blastoceros,_ with branched antlers and +no metatarsal gland; _Xenelaphus,_ smaller in size, with small, +simply forked antlers and no metatarsal gland; _Mazama_, containing +the so-called brockets, very small, with minute spike antlers, lacking +the metatarsal and sometimes the tarsal gland as well. The last three +sub-genera are South American and do not enter the United +States. Another genus, _Pudua_, from Chili, is much like the +brockets, but has exceedingly short cannon bones, and some of the tarsal +bones are united in a manner unlike other deer. In all, thirty specific +and sub-specific names are now carried on the roll of _Mazama_ and +its allies. + +Attention has already been directed to the parallelism between the +course of progress from simple to complex antlers in the development of +the deer tribe, and the like progress in the growth of each individual, +and to the further fact that all the stages are represented in the +mature antlers of existing species. But a curious result follows from a +study of the past distribution of deer in America. At a time when the +branched stage had been already reached in North America, the isthmus of +Panama was under water; deer were then absent from South America and the +earliest forms found fossil there had antlers of the type of +_M. virginiana_. The small species with simple antlers only made +their appearance in later periods, and it follows that they are +descended from those of complex type. This third parallel series, +therefore, instead of being direct as are the other two, is reversed, +and the degeneration of the antler, which we have seen taking place in +the southern deer, has followed backward on the line of previous +advance, or, in biological language, appears to be a true case of +retrogressive evolution--representing the fossil series, as it were, in +a mirror. + +The reindeer-caribou type, of the genus _Rangifer,_ agrees with +American deer in having the vertical plate of the vomer complete, and in +having the lower ends of the lateral metacarpals remaining, but, like +_Cervus,_ it has a brow-tine to the antlers. Of its early history +we know nothing, for the only related forms which have yet come to light +are of no great antiquity, being confined to the Pleistocene of Europe +as far south as France, and are not distinguishable from existing +species. Until recently it has been supposed that one species was found +in northern Europe and Asia, and two others, a northern and a southern, +in North America, but lately the last two have been subdivided, and the +present practice is to regard the Scandinavian reindeer (_Rangifer +tarandus_) as the type, with eight or nine other species or +sub-species, consisting of the two longest known American forms, the +northern, or barren-ground caribou (_R. arcticus_); the southern, or +woodland (_R. caribou_); the three inhabiting respectively +Spitzbergen, Greenland and Newfoundland, and still more lately four more +from British Columbia and Alaska. The differences between these are not +very profound, but they seem on the whole to represent two types: the +barren-ground, small of size, with long, slender antlers but little +palmated; and the woodland, larger, with shorter and more massive +antlers, usually with broad palms. There is some reason to believe that +both these types lived in Europe during the interglacial period, the +first-named being probably the earlier and confined to western Europe, +while the other extended into Asia. The present reindeer of Greenland +and Spitzbergen seem to agree most closely with the barren-ground, while +the southern forms are nearest to the woodland, and these are said to +also resemble the reindeer of Siberia. It is, therefore, not an +improbable conjecture that there were two migrations into America, one +of the barren-ground type from western Europe, by way of the Spitzbergen +land connection, and the other of the woodland, from Siberia, by way of +Alaska. + +Little more can be said, perhaps even less, of the other circumpolar +genus, _Alces_, known in America as "moose," and across the +Atlantic as "elk." It also is of mixed character in relation to the two +great divisions we have had in mind, but in a different way from +reindeer. + +Like American deer it has the lower ends of the lateral metacarpals +remaining, and the antlers are without a brow-tine, but like +_Cervus_ it has an incomplete vomer, and unlike deer in general, +the antlers are set laterally on the frontal bone, instead of more or +less vertically, and the nasal bones are excessively short. The animal +of northern Europe and Asia is usually considered to be distinct from +the American, and lately the Alaskan moose has been christened _Alces +gigas_, marked by greater size, relatively more massive skull, and +huge antlers. Of the antecedents of _Alces_, as in the case of the +reindeer, we are ignorant. The earlier Pleistocene of Europe has yielded +nearly related fossils,[2] and a peculiar and probably rather later form +comes from New Jersey and Kentucky. This last in some respects suggests +a resemblance to the wapiti, but it is unlikely that the similarity is +more than superficial, and as moose not distinguishable from the +existing species are found in the same formation, it is improbable that +_Cervalces_ bore to _AIces_ anything more than a collateral +relationship. + +[Footnote 2: The huge fossil known as "Irish elk" is really a fallow +deer and in no way nearly related to the moose.] + +Even to an uncritical eye, the differences between ungulates and +carnivores of to-day are many and obvious, but as we trace them back +into the past we follow on converging lines, and in our search for the +prototypes of the carnivora we are led to the _Creodonta_, +contemporary with _Condylarthra_, which we have seen giving origin +to hoofed beasts, but outlasting them into the succeeding age. These two +groups of generalized mammals approached each other so nearly in +structure, that it is even doubtful to which of them certain outlying +fossils should be referred, and the assumption is quite justified that +they had a common ancestor in the preceding period, of which no record +is yet known. + +The most evident points in which _Carnivora_ differ from +_Ungulata_ are their possession of at least four and frequently +five digits, which always bear claws and never hoofs; all but the sea +otter have six small incisor teeth in each jaw; the canines are large; +the molars never show flattened, curved crests after the ruminant +pattern, but are more or less tubercular, and one tooth in the hinder +part of each jaw becomes blade-like, for shearing off lumps of +flesh. This tooth is called the sectorial, or carnassial. + +Existing carnivores are conveniently divided into three sections: +_Arctoidea_--bears, raccoons, otters, skunks, weasels, etc.; +_Canoidea_--dogs, wolves and foxes; _Aeluroidea_--cats, +civets, ichneumons and hyaenas. + +It is highly probable that these three chief types have descended in as +many distinct lines from the _Creodonta_, and that they were +differentiated as early as the middle Eocene, but their exact degree of +affinity is uncertain; bears and dogs are certainly closer together than +either of them are to cats, and it is questionable if otters and +weasels--the _Mustelidae_, as they are termed--and raccoons are +really near of kin to bears. + +Seals are often regarded as belonging to this order, but their relation +to the rest of the carnivores is very doubtful. Many of their characters +are suggestive of _Arctoidea_, but it is an open question if their +ancestors were bear or otter-like animals which took to an aquatic life, +or whether they may not have had a long and independent descent. At all +events, doubt is cast upon the proposition that they are descended from +anything nearly like present land forms by the fact that seals of +already high development are known as early as the later Miocene. + +The difficulty so constantly met with in attempting to state concisely +the details of classification, is well shown in this order, for its +subdivisions rest less upon a few well defined characters than upon +complex associations of a number of lesser and more obscure ones, a +recapitulation of which would be tedious beyond the endurance of all but +practiced anatomists. For the present purposes it must be enough to say +that bears and dogs have forty-two teeth in the complete set, of which +four on each side above and below are premolars, and two above, with +three below, are molars, but these teeth in bears have flatter crowns +and more rounded tubercles than those of dogs, and the sectorial teeth +are much less blade-like, this style of tooth being better adapted to +their omnivorous food habits. Bears, furthermore, have five digits on +each foot and are plantigrade, while dogs have but four toes behind and +are digitigrade. These differences are less marked in some of the +smaller arctoids, which may have as few as thirty-two teeth, and come +very near to dogs in the extent of the digital surface which rests upon +the ground in walking. + +In distinction from these, _Aeluroidea_ never have more than two +true molars below, and the cusps of their teeth are much more sharply +edged, reaching in the sectorials the extreme of scissor-like +specialization. In all of them the claws are more or less retractile, +and they walk on the ends of their fingers and toes. + +Cats are distinguished from the remainder of this section by the +shortness of the skull, and reduction of the teeth to thirty, there +being but one true molar on each side, that of the upper jaw being so +minute that it is probably getting ready to disappear. + +Civets, genets, and ichneumons are small as compared with most cats; +they are fairly well distinguished by skull and tooth characters; their +claws are never fully retractile, and many have scent glands, as in the +civets. No member of this family is American. + +Hyaenas have the same dental formula as cats, but their teeth are +enormously strong and massive, in relation to their function of crushing +bone. + +No carnivore has teeth so admirably adapted to a diet of flesh as the +cat, and, in fact, it may be doubted if among all mammals, it has a +superior in structural fitness to its life habits in general. + +The _Felidae_ are an exceedingly uniform group, although they do +present minor differences; thus, some species have the orbits completely +encircled by bone, while in most of them these are more or less widely +open behind; in some the first upper premolar is absent, and some have a +round pupil, while in others it is elliptical or vertical, but if there +is a key to the apparently promiscuous distribution of these variations, +it has not yet been found, and no satisfactory sub-division of the genus +has been made, beyond setting aside the hunting-leopard or cheetah as +_Cynaelurus_, upon peculiarities of skull and teeth. + +True cats of the genus _Felis_ were in existence before the close +of the Miocene, and yet earlier related forms are known. Throughout the +greater part of the Tertiary the remarkable type known as sabre-toothed +cats were numerous and widely spread, and in South America they even +lasted so far into the Pleistocene that it is probably true that they +existed side by side with man. Some of them were as large as any +existing cat and had upper canines six inches or more in length. Cats +have no near relations upon the American continent, nor do they appear +to have ever had many except the sabre-tooths. Of present species some +fifty are known, inhabiting all of the greater geographical areas except +Australia. They are tropical and heat loving, but the short-tailed +lynxes are northern, while both the tiger and leopard in Asia, and puma +in America, range into sub-arctic temperatures, and it is a curious +anomaly that while Siberian tigers have gained the protection of a long, +warm coat of hair, pumas from British America differ very little in this +respect from those of warm regions. + +No other cat has so extensive a range as _Felis concolor_ and its +close allies, variously known as puma, cougar and mountain lion, which +extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from latitude fifty-five +or sixty north, to the extreme southern end of the continent. As far as +is known, it is a recent development, for no very similar remains appear +previous to post-tertiary deposits. + +Bears of the genus _Ursus_ are of no great antiquity in a +geological sense, for we have no knowledge of them earlier than the +Pliocene of Europe, and even later in America, but fossils becoming +gradually less bear-like and approximating toward the early type from +which dogs also probably sprung, go back to the early Tertiary +creodonts. + +Cats, as we have seen, are chiefly tropical, while bears, with two +exceptions, are northern, one species inhabiting the Chilian Andes, +while the brown bear of Europe extends into North Africa as far as the +Atlas Mountains. + +The family _Procyonidae_ contains the existing species which appear +to be nearest of kin to bears. These are all small and consist of the +well-known raccoon, the coatis, the ring-tailed bassaris and the +kinkajou, all differing from bears in varying details of tooth and other +structures. The curious little panda (_Aelurus fulgens_) from the +Himalayas, is very suggestive of raccoons, and as forms belonging to +this genus inhabited England in Pliocene times, it is possible that we +have pointed out to us here the origin of this, at present, strictly +American family; but, on the other hand, evidence is not wanting that +they have always been native to the soil and came from a dog-like stock. + +As we have already seen, bears have the same dental formula as dogs, but +as they are less carnivorous, their grinders have flatter surfaces and +the sectorials are less sharp; in fact they have very little of the true +sectorial character. It is unusual to find a full set of teeth in adult +bears, as some of the premolars invariably drop out. + +It is fully as true of bears as of any other group of large mammals, +that our views as to specific distinction are based upon data at present +utterly inadequate, for all the zoological museums of the world do not +contain sufficient material for exhaustive study and comparison. The +present writer has examined many of these collections and has no +hesitation in admitting that his ideas upon the subject are much less +definite than they were ten years ago. It does appear, though, that in +North America four quite distinct types can be made out. First of these +is the circumpolar species, _Ursus maritimus_, the white or polar +bear, which most of us grew up to regard as the very incarnation of +tenacious ferocity, but which, as it appears from the recitals of +late Arctic explorers, dies easily to a single shot, and does not +seem to afford much better sport than so much rabbit shooting. +The others are the great Kadiak bear (_U. middendorfi_); the +grizzly (_U. horribilis_), and the black or true American bear +(_U. americanus_). The extent to which the last three may +be subdivided remains uncertain, but the barren-ground bear +(_U. richardsoni_) is surely a valid species of the grizzly type. +The grizzlies and the big Alaska bears approach more nearly than +_americanus_ to the widespread brown bear (_U. arctos_) of +Europe and Asia, and the hypothesis is reasonable that they originated +from that form or its immediate ancestors, in which case we have the +interesting series of parallel modifications exhibited in the two +continents, for the large bear of Kamtschatka approaches very nearly to +those of Alaska, while further to the south in America, where the +conditions of life more nearly resemble those surrounding _arctos_, +these bears have in the grizzlies retained more of their original form. +Whether or not the large Pleistocene cave bear (_U. spelaeus_) was a +lineal ancestor is questionable, for in its later period, at least, it was +contemporary with the existing European species. The black bear, with its +litter-brother of brown color, seems to be a genuine product of the new +world. + +Many differential characters have been pointed out in the skulls and teeth +of bears, and to a less extent, in the claws; but while these undoubtedly +exist, the conclusions to be drawn from them are uncertain, for the +skulls of bears change greatly with age, and the constancy of these +variations, with the values which they should hold in classification, +we do not yet know. + + * * * * * + +It is not improbable that the reader may leave this brief survey with +the feeling that its admissions of ignorance exceed its affirmations of +certainty, and such is indeed the case, for the law of scientific +validity forbids the statement as fact, of that concerning which the +least element of doubt remains. But the real advance of zoological +knowledge must not thereby be discredited, for it is due to those who +have contributed to it to remember that little more than a generation +ago these problems of life seemed wrapped in hopeless obscurity, and the +methods of investigation which have led to practically all our present +gains, were then but new born, and with every passing year doubts are +dispelled, and theories turned into truths. There was no break in +physical evolution when mental processes began, nor will there be in the +evolution of knowledge as long as they continue to exist. + +_Arthur Erwin Brown_. + +[Illustration: TROPHIES FROM ALASKA.] + + + + +Big Game Shooting in Alaska + + +I. + +BEAR HUNTING ON KADIAK ISLAND + +Early in April, 1900, I made my first journey to Alaska for the purpose +of searching out for myself the best big-game shooting grounds which +were to be found in that territory. Few people who have not traveled in +that country have any idea of its vastness. Away from the beaten paths, +much of its 700,000 square miles is practically unknown, except to the +wandering prospector and the Indian hunter. Therefore, since I could +obtain but little definite information as to just where to go for the +best shooting, I determined to make the primary object of my journey to +locate the big-game districts of southern and western Alaska. + +My first two months were spent in the country adjacent to Fort +Wrangell. Here one may expect to find black bear, brown bear, goats, and +on almost all of the islands along the coast great numbers of the small +Sitka deer, while grizzlies may these are the black, the grizzly, and +the glacier or blue bear.[3] It is claimed that this last species has +never fallen to a white man's rifle. It is found on the glaciers from +the Lynn Canal to the northern range of the St. Elias Alps, and, as its +name implies, is of a bluish color. I should judge from the skins I have +seen that in size it is rather smaller than the black bear. What it +lives upon in its range of eternal ice and snow is entirely a subject of +surmise. + +[Footnote 3: The Polar bear is only found on the coast, and never below +61 deg.. It is only found at this latitude when carried down on the ice in +Bering Sea.] + +[Illustration: THE HUNTER AND HIS GAME.] + +Of all the varieties of brown bears, the one which has probably +attracted most attention is the large bear of the Kadiak Islands. Before +starting upon my journey I had communicated with Dr. Merriam, Chief of +the Biological Survey, at Washington, and had learned from him all that +he could tell me of this great bear. Mr. Harriman, while on his +expedition to the Alaskan coast in 1899, had by great luck shot a +specimen, and in the second volume of "Big Game Shooting" in "The +Badminton Library," Mr. Clive Phillipps-Wolley writes of the largest +"grizzly" of which he has any trustworthy information as being shot on +Kadiak island by a Mr. J.C. Tolman. These were the only authentic +records I could find of bears of this species which had fallen to the +rifle of an amateur sportsman. + +After spending two months in southern Alaska, I determined to visit the +Kadiak Islands in pursuit of this bear. I reached my destination the +latter part of June, and three days later had started on my shooting +expedition with native hunters. Unfortunately I had come too late in the +season. The grass had shot up until it was shoulder high, making it most +difficult to see at any distance the game I was after. + +The result of this, my first hunt, was that I actually saw but three +bear, and got but one shot, which, I am ashamed to record, was a miss. +Tracks there were in plenty along the salmon streams, and some of these +were so large I concluded that as a sporting trophy a good example of +the Kadiak bear should equal, if not surpass, in value any other kind of +big game to be found on the North American continent. This opinion +received confirmation later when I saw the size of the skins brought in +by the natives to the two trading companies. + + * * * * * + +As I sailed away from Kadiak that fall morning I determined that my hunt +was not really over, but only interrupted by the long northern winter, +and that the next spring would find me once more in pursuit of this +great bear. + +It was not only with the hope of shooting a Kadiak bear that I decided +to make this second expedition, but I had become greatly interested in +the big brute, and although no naturalist myself, it was now to be my +aim to bring back to the scientists at Washington as much definite +material about him as possible. Therefore the objects of my second trip +were: + +Firstly, to obtain a specimen of bear from the Island of Kadiak; +secondly, to obtain specimens of the bears found on the Alaska +Peninsula; and, lastly, to obtain, if possible, a specimen of bear from +one of the other islands of the Kadiak group. With such material I +hoped that it could at least be decided definitely if all the bears of +the Kadiak Islands are of one species; if all the bears on the Alaska +Peninsula are of one species; and also if the Kadiak bear is found on +the mainland, for there are unquestionably many points of similarity +between the bears of the Kadiak Islands and those of the Alaska +Peninsula. It was also my plan, if I was successful in all these +objects, to spend the fall on the Kenai Peninsula in pursuit of the +white sheep and the moose. + +Generally I have made it a point to go alone on all big-game shooting +trips, but on this journey I was fortunate in having as companion an old +college friend, Robert P. Blake. + +My experience of the year before was of value in getting our outfit +together. At almost all points in Alaska most of the necessary +provisions can be bought, but I should rather advise one to take all but +the commonest necessities with him, for frequently the stocks at the +various trading posts run low. For this reason we took with us from +Seattle sufficient provisions to last us six months, and from time to +time, as necessity demanded, added to our stores. As the rain falls +almost daily in much of the coast country, we made it a point to supply +ourselves liberally with rubber boots and rain-proof clothing. + +On the 6th of March, 1901, we sailed from Seattle on one of the monthly +steamers, and arrived at Kadiak eleven days later. I shall not attempt +to describe this beautiful island, but shall merely say that Kadiak is +justly termed the "garden spot of Alaska." It has numerous deep bays +which cut into the land many miles. These bays in turn have arms which +branch out in all directions, and the country adjacent to these latter +is the natives' favorite hunting ground for bear. + +[Illustration: LOADED BAIDARKA--BARABARA--BASE OF SUPPLIES, ALASKA +PENINSULA.] + +In skin canoes (baidarkas) the Aleuts, paddling along the shore, keep a +sharp lookout on the nearby hillsides, where the bears feed upon the +young and tender grass. It was our plan to choose the most likely one of +these big bays as our shooting grounds, and hunt from a baidarka, +according to local custom. + +It may be well to explain here that the different localities of Alaska +are distinctly marked by the difference in the canoes which the natives +use. In the southern part, where large trees are readily obtained, you +find large dugouts capable of holding from five to twenty persons. At +Yakutat, where the timber is much smaller, the canoes, although still +dugouts, have decreased proportionately in size, but from Yakutat +westward the timber line becomes lower and lower, until the western half +of the island of Kadiak is reached, where the trees disappear +altogether, and the dugout gives place to the skin canoe or baidarka. I +have never seen them east of Prince William Sound, but from this point +on to the west they are in universal use among the Aleuts--a most +interesting race of people, and a most wonderful boat. + +The natives of Kadiak are locally called Aleuts, but the true Aleuts are +not found east of the Aleutian Islands. The cross between the Aleut and +white--principally Russian--is known as the "Creole." + +The natives whom I met on the Kadiak Islands seemed to show traces of +Japanese descent, for they resembled these people both in size and +features. I found them of docile disposition, remarkable hunters and +weather prophets, and most expert in handling their wonderful canoes, +with which I always associate them. + +The baidarka is made with a light frame of some strong elastic wood, +covered with seal or sea lion skin; not a nail is used in making the +frame, but all the various parts are tied firmly together with sinew or +stout twine. This allows a slight give, for the baidarka is expected to +yield to every wave, and in this lies its strength. There may be one, +two, or three round hatches, according to the size of the boat. In these +the occupants kneel, and, sitting on their heels, ply their +sharp-pointed paddles; all paddling at the same time on the same side, +and then all changing in unison to the other side at the will of the +bowman, who sets a rapid stroke. In rough water, kamlaykas--large shirts +made principally of stretched and dried bear gut--are worn, and these +are securely fastened around the hatches. In this way the Aleuts and the +interior of the baidarka remain perfectly dry, no matter how much the +sea breaks and passes over the skin deck. + +I had used the baidarka the year before, having made a trip with my +hunters almost around the island of Afognak, and believed it to be an +ideal boat to hunt from. It is very speedy, easily paddled, floats low +in the water, will hold much camp gear, and, when well handled, is most +seaworthy. So it was my purpose this year to again use one in skirting +the shores of the deep bays, and in looking for bears, which show +themselves in the early spring upon the mountain sides, or roam the +beach in search of kelp. + +The Kadiak bear finds no trouble in getting all the food he wants during +the berry season and during the run of the various kinds of salmon, +which lasts from June until October. At this period he fattens up, and +upon this fat he lives through his long winter sleep. When he wakes in +the spring he is weak and hardly able to move, so his first aim is to +recover the use of his legs. This he does by taking short walks when the +weather is pleasant, returning to his den every night. This light +exercise lasts for a week or so, when he sets out to feed upon the beach +kelp, which acts as a purge. He now lives upon roots, principally of the +salmon-berry bush, and later nibbles the young grass. + +These carry him along until the salmon arrive, when he becomes +exclusively a fish eater until the berries are ripe. I have been told by +the natives that just before he goes into his den he eats berries only, +and his stomach is now so filled with fat that he really eats but +little. + +The time when the bears go into their winter quarters depends upon the +severity of the season. Generally it is in early November, shortly +after the cold weather has set in. Most bears sleep uninterruptedly +until spring, but they are occasionally found wandering about in +mid-winter. My natives seemed to think that only those bears are +restless which have found uncomfortable quarters, and that they leave +their dens at this time of year solely for the purpose of finding better +ones. They generally choose for their dens caves high up on the mountain +sides among the rocks and in remote places where they are not likely to +be discovered. The same winter quarters are believed to be used year +after year. + +The male, or bull bear, is the first to come out in the spring. As soon +as he recovers the use of his muscles he leaves his den for good and +wanders aimlessly about until he comes upon the track of some female. He +now persistently follows her, and it is at this time that the rutting +season of the Kadiak bear begins, the period lasting generally from the +middle of April until July. + +In Eagle Harbor, on Kadiak Island, a native, three years ago, during the +month of January, saw a female bear which he killed near her den. He +then went into the cave and found two very small cubs whose eyes were +not yet open. This would lead to the belief that this species of bear +brings forth its young about the beginning of the new year. At birth the +cubs are very small, weighing but little more than a pound and a half, +and there are from one to four in a litter. Two, however, is the usual +number. The mother, although in a state of semi-torpor, suckles these +cubs in the den, and they remain with her all that year, hole up with +her the following winter, and continue to follow her until the second +fall, when they leave her and shift for themselves. + +For many years these bears have been so persistently hunted by the +natives, who are constantly patrolling the shores in their skin canoes, +that their knowledge of man and their senses of smell and hearing are +developed to an extreme degree. They have, however, like most bears, +but indifferent sight. They range in color from a light tawny lion to a +very dark brown; in fact, I have seen some bears that were almost +black. Many people have asked me about their size, and how they compare +in this respect with other bears. The Kadiak bear is naturally extremely +large. His head is very massive, and he stands high at the shoulders. +This latter characteristic is emphasized by a thick tuft of hair which +stands erect on the dorsal ridge just over the shoulders. The largest +bear of this kind which I shot measured 8 feet in a straight line from +his nose to the end of the vertebrae, and stood 51-1/2 inches in a +straight line at the shoulders, not including between 6 and 7 inches of +hair. + +Most people have an exaggerated idea of the number of bears on the +Kadiak Islands. Personally I believe that they are too few ever to make +shooting them popular. In fact, it was only by the hardest kind of +careful and constant work that I was finally successful in bagging my +first bear on Kadiak. When the salmon come it is not so difficult to get +a shot, but this lying in wait at night by a salmon stream cannot +compare with seeking out the game on the hills in the spring, and +stalking it in a sportsmanlike manner. + +It was more than a week after our landing at Kadiak before the weather +permitted me to go to Afognak, where my old hunters lived, to make our +final preparations. One winter storm after another came in quick +succession, but we did not mind the delay, for we had come early and did +not expect the bears would leave their dens before April. + +I decided to take with me on my hunt the same two natives whom I had had +the year before. My head man's name was Fedor Deerinhoff. He was about +forty years of age, and had been a noted sea otter and bear hunter. In +size he was rather larger than the average of his race, and absolutely +fearless. Many stories are told of his hand-to-hand encounters with +these big bears. I think the best one is of a time when he crawled into +a den on his hands and knees, and in the dark, and at close quarters, +shot three. He was unable to see, and the bears' heavy breathing was his +only guide in taking aim. + +Nikolai Pycoon, my other native, was younger and shorter in stature, and +had also a great reputation as a hunter, which later I found was fully +justified, and furthermore was considered the best baidarka man of +Afognak. He was a nice little fellow, always good natured, always keen, +always willing, and the only native whom I have ever met with a true +sense of gratitude. + +The year before I had made all arrangements to hire for this season a +small schooner, which was to take us to our various shooting grounds. I +was now much disappointed to find that the owner of this schooner had +decided not to charter her. We were, therefore, obliged to engage a very +indifferent sloop, but she was fortunately an excellent sea boat. Her +owner, Charles Payjaman, a Russian, went with us as my friend's +hunter. He was a fisherman and a trapper by profession, and had the +reputation of knowing these dangerous island waters well. His knowledge +of Russian we expected to be of great use to us in dealing with the +natives; Alaska was under Russian control for so many years that that +language is the natural local tongue. + +It was the first of April before we got our entire outfit together, and +it was not until four days later that the weather permitted us to hoist +our sail and start for the shooting grounds, of which it was of the +utmost importance that we should make good choice. All the natives +seemed to agree that Kiliuda Bay, some seventy-five miles below the town +of Kadiak, was the most likely place to find bear, and so we now headed +our boat in that direction. It was a most beautiful day for a start, +with the first faint traces of spring in the air. As we skirted the +shore that afternoon I sighted, through the glasses, on some low hills +in the distance, bear tracks in the snow. My Aleuts seemed to think that +the bears were probably near, having come down to the shore in search of +kelp. It promised a pretty fair chance for a shot, but there was +exceedingly bad water about, and no harbor for the sloop to lie, so +Payjaman and my natives advised me not to make the attempt. As one +should take no chances with Alaskan waters, I felt that this was wise, +and we reluctantly passed on. + +The next forenoon we put into a large bay, Eagle Harbor, to pick up a +local hunter who was to accompany us to Kiliuda Bay, for both my Aleuts +and the Russian were unacquainted with this locality. Ignati +Chowischpack, the native whose services we secured, was quite a +character, a man of much importance among the Aleuts of this district, +and one who had a thorough knowledge of the country chosen as a hunting +ground. + +We expected to remain at Eagle Harbor only part of the day, but +unfortunately were storm-bound here for a week. Several times we +attempted to leave, but each time had to put back, fearing that the +heavy seas we encountered outside would crush in the baidarka, which was +carried lashed to the sloop's deck. It was not until early on the +morning of April 12, just as the sun was topping the mountains, that we +finally reached Kiliuda Bay. + +Our hunting grounds now stretched before us as far as the eye could +see. We had by this time passed the tree area, and it was only here and +there in isolated spots that stunted cottonwoods bordered the salmon +streams and scattered patches of alders dotted the mountain sides. In +many places the land rolled gradually back from the shore until the +mountain bases were reached, while in other parts giant cliffs rose +directly from the water's edge, but with the glasses one could generally +command a grand view of this great irregular bay, with its long arms +cutting into the island in all directions. + +We made our permanent camp in a large barabara, a form of house so often +seen in western Alaska that it deserves a brief description. It is a +small, dome-shaped hut, with a frame generally made of driftwood, and +thatched with sods and the rank grass of the country. It has no windows, +but a large hole in the roof permits light to enter and serves also as +an outlet for the smoke from the fire, which is built on a rough hearth +in the middle of the barabara. These huts, their doors never locked, +offer shelter to anyone, and are frequently found in the most remote +places. The one which we now occupied was quite large, with ample space +to stow away our various belongings, and we made ourselves most +comfortable, while our Aleuts occupied the small banya, or Russian +bathhouse, which is also generally found by the side of the +barabara. This was to be the base of supplies from which my friend and I +were to hunt in different directions. + +The morning after reaching our shooting grounds I started with one of my +natives and the local hunter in the baidarka to get the lay of the +land. Blake and I agreed that it was wise to divide up the country, both +because we could thus cover a much greater territory, and our modes of +hunting differed materially. Although at the time I believed from what I +had heard that Payjaman was an excellent man, I preferred to hunt in a +more careful manner, as is the native custom, in which I had had some +experience the year before. I firmly believe that had Payjaman hunted +as carefully as my Aleuts did, my friend would have been more +successful. + +We spent our first day skirting the shores of the entire bay, paddling +up to its very head. Ignati pointed out to Fedor all the most likely +places, and explained the local eccentricities of the various winds--a +knowledge of these being of the first importance in bear hunting. I was +much pleased with the looks of the country, but at the same time was +disappointed to find that in the inner bays there was no trace of +spring, and that the snow lay deep even on the shores down to the high +water mark. Not a bear's track was to be seen, and it was evident that +we were on the grounds ahead of time. + +We stopped for tea and lunch about noon at the head of the bay. Near by +a long and narrow arm of water extended inland some three miles, and it +was the country lying adjacent to this and to the head of the bay that I +decided to choose as my hunting grounds. + +We had a hard time to reach camp that night, for a severe storm suddenly +burst upon us, and a fierce wind soon swept down from the hills, kicking +up a heavy sea which continually swept over the baidarka's deck, and +without kamlaykas on we surely should have swamped. It grew bitterly +cold, and a blinding snow storm made it impossible to see any distance +ahead, but Ignati knew these waters well, and safely, but half frozen, +we reached the main camp just at dark. + +Next day the storm continued, and it was impossible to venture out. My +friend and I passed the time playing piquet, and listening to our +natives, who talked earnestly together, going over many of their strange +and thrilling hunting experiences. We understood but little Russian and +Aleut, yet their expressive gestures made it quite possible to catch the +drift of what was being said. It seemed that Ignati had had a brother +killed a few years ago, while bear hunting in the small bay which lies +between Eagle Harbor and Kiliuda Bay. The man came upon a bear, which +he shot and badly wounded. Accompanied by a friend he followed up the +blood trail, which led into a thick patch of alders. Suddenly he came +upon a large unwounded male bear which charged him unprovoked, and at +such close quarters that he was unable to defend himself. Before his +companion, who was but a short distance away, could reach him, he was +killed. The bear frightfully mangled the body, holding it down with his +feet and using his teeth to tear it apart. + +Ignati at once started out to avenge his brother, and killed in quick +succession six bears, allowing their bodies to remain as a warning to +the other bears, not even removing their skins. + +During the past few years three men while hunting have been killed by +bears in the same vicinity as Ignati's brother, two instantly, and one +living but a short time. I think it is from these accidents that the +natives in this region have a superstitious dread of a "long-tailed +bear" which they declare roams the hills between Eagle Harbor and +Kiliuda Bay. + +The storm which began on the 13th continued until the 17th, and this was +but one of a series. Winter seemed to come back in all its fury, and I +believe that whatever bears had left their winter dens went back to them +for another sleep. It was not until the middle of May that the snow +began to disappear, and spring with its green grass came. + +All this time I was camped with my natives at the head of the bay, some +fifteen miles from our base of supplies. On the 23d of April we first +sighted tracks, but it was not until May 15 that I finally succeeded in +bagging my first bear. + +The tracks in the snow indicated that the bears began again to come out +of their winter dens the last week in April; and should one wish to make +a spring hunt on the Kadiak Islands, the first of May would, I should +judge, be a good time to arrive at the shooting grounds. + +When the wind was favorable, our mode of hunting was to leave camp +before daylight, and paddle in our baidarka up to the head of one of +these long bays, and, leaving our canoe here, trudge over the snow to +some commanding elevation, where we constantly used the glasses upon the +surrounding hillsides, hoping to see bear. We generally returned to camp +a little before noon, but in the afternoon returned to the lookout, +where we remained until it was too dark to see. + +When the wind was blowing into these valleys we did not hunt, for we +feared that whatever bears might be around would get our scent and +quickly leave. New bears might come, but none which had once scented us +would remain. For days at a time we were storm-bound, and unable to +hunt, or even leave our little tent, where frequently we were obliged to +remain under blankets both day and night to keep warm. + +On May 15, by 4 o'clock, I had finished a hurried breakfast, and with my +two Aleuts had left in the baidarka for our daily watching place. This +was a large mound lying in the center of a valley, some three miles from +where we were camped. On the right of the mound rose a gently sloping +hill with its sides sparsely covered with alders, and at right angles +and before it, extended a rugged mountain ridge with rocky sides +stretching all across our front, while to the left rose another towering +mountain ridge with steep and broken sides. All the surrounding hills +and much of the low country were covered with deep snow. The mountains +on three sides completely hemmed in the valley, and their snowy slopes +gave us an excellent chance to distinguish all tracks. Such were the +grounds which I had been watching for over a month whenever the wind was +favorable. + +The sun was just topping the long hill to our right as we reached our +elevated watching place. The glasses were at once in use, and soon an +exclamation from one of my natives told me that new tracks were +seen. There they were--two long unbroken lines leading down from the +mountain on our right, across the valley, and up and out of sight over +the ridge to our left. It seemed as if two bears had simply wandered +across our front, and crossed over the range of mountains into the bay +beyond. + +As soon as my hunters saw these tracks they turned to me, and, with +every confidence, said: "I guess catch." Now, it must be remembered that +these tracks led completely over the mountains to our left, and it was +the most beautiful bit of hunting on the part of my natives to know that +these bears would turn and swing back into the valley ahead. To follow +the tracks, which were well up in the heart of our shooting grounds, +would give our wind to all the bears that might be lurking there, and +this my hunters knew perfectly well, yet they never hesitated for one +moment, but started ahead with every confidence. + +We threaded our way through a mass of thick alders to the head of the +valley, and then climbing a steep mountain took our stand on a rocky +ridge which commanded a wide view ahead and to our left in the direction +in which the tracks led. We had only been in our new position half an +hour when Nikolai, my head hunter, gripped my arm and pointed high up on +the mountain in the direction in which we had been watching. There I +made out a small black speck, which to the naked eye appeared but a bit +of dark rock protruding through the snow. Taking the glasses I made out +a large bear slowly floundering ahead, and evidently coming +downward. His coat seemed very dark against the white background, and he +was unquestionably a bull of great size. Shortly after I had the +satisfaction of seeing a second bear, which the first was evidently +following. This was, without doubt, a female, by no means so large as +the first, and much lighter in color. The smaller bear was apparently +hungry, and it was interesting to watch her dig through the snow in +search of food. Soon she headed down the mountain side, paying +absolutely no attention to the big male, which slowly followed some +distance in the rear. Shortly she reached a rocky cliff which it seemed +impossible that such a clumsy animal could descend, and I almost +despaired of her making the attempt, but without a pause she wound in +and out, seemingly traversing the steepest and most difficult places in +the easiest manner, and headed for the valley below. When the bull +reached this cliff we lost sight of him; nor could we locate him again +with even the most careful use of the glasses. He had evidently chosen +this secure retreat to lie up in for the rest of the day. If I could +have killed the female without alarming him, and then waited on her +trail, I should undoubtedly have got another shot, as he followed her +after his rest. + +It was 8 o'clock when we first located the bears, and for nearly three +hours I had a chance to watch one or both of them through powerful +glasses. The sun had come up clear and strong, melting the crust upon +the snow, so that as soon as the female bear reached the steep mountain +side her downward path was not an easy one. At each step she would sink +up to her belly, and at times would slip and fall, turning somersault +after somersault; now and again she would be buried in the snow so deep +that it seemed impossible for her to go either ahead or backward. Then +she would roll over on her back, and, loosening her hold on the steep +hillside, would come tumbling and slipping down, turning over and over, +sideways and endways, until she caught herself by spreading out all four +legs. In this way she came with each step and turn nearer and +nearer. Finally she reached an open patch on the hillside, where she +began to feed, digging up the roots of the salmon-berry bushes at the +edge of the snow. If now I lost sight of her for a short time, it was +very difficult to pick her up again even with the glasses, so perfectly +did the light tawny yellows and browns of her coat blend in with the +dead grass of the place on which she was feeding. + +The wind had been blowing in our favor all the morning, and for once +continued true and steady. But how closely we watched the clouds, to +see that no change in its direction threatened us. + +We waited until the bear had left the snow and was quietly feeding +before we made a move, and then we slowly worked ahead and downward, +taking up a new position on a small ridge which was well to leeward, but +still on the opposite side of the valley from the bear. She seemed in an +excellent position for a stalk, and had I been alone I should have tried +it. But the Aleut mode of hunting is to study the direction in which +your game is working, and then take up a position which it will +naturally approach. + +Taking our stand, we waited, watching with much interest the great +ungainly creature as she kept nibbling the young grass and digging up +roots. At times she would seem to be heading in our direction, and then +again would turn and slowly feed away. Suddenly something seemed to +alarm her, for she made a dash of some fifty yards down the valley, and +then, seeming to recover her composure, began to feed again, all the +while working nearer and nearer. The bear was now well down in the +bottom of the valley, which was at this point covered with alders and +intersected by a small stream. There were open patches in the +underbrush, and it was my intention to shoot when she passed through one +of these, for the ground was covered with over a foot of snow, which +would offer a very tempting background. + +While all this was passing quickly through my mind, she suddenly made +another bolt down the valley, and, when directly opposite our position, +turned at right angles, crossed the brook, and came straight through the +alders into the open, not eighty yards away from us. As she made her +appearance I could not help being greatly impressed by the massive head +and high shoulders on which stood the pronounced tuft of hair. I had +most carefully seen to my sights long before, for I knew how much would +probably depend on my first shot. It surely seemed as if fortune was +with me that day, as at last I had a fair chance at the game I had come +so far to seek. Aiming with the greatest care for the lungs and heart, I +slowly pressed the trigger. The bear gave a deep, angry growl, and bit +for the wound,[4] which told me my bullet was well placed; but she kept +her feet and made a dash for the thicket. I was well above, and so +commanded a fairly clear view as she crashed through the leafless +alders. Twice more I fired, and each time with the most careful aim. At +the last shot she dropped with an angry moan. My hunters shook my hand, +and their faces told me how glad they were at my final success after so +many long weeks of persistent work. Including the time spent last year +and this year, this bear represented eighty-seven days of actual +hunting. + +[Footnote 4: When a bullet strikes a Kadiak bear, he will always bite +for the wound and utter a deep and angry growl; whereas of the eleven +bears which my friend and I shot on the Alaska peninsula, although they, +too, bit for the wound, not one uttered a sound.] + +I at once started down to look at the bear, when out upon the mountain +opposite the bull was seen. He had heard the shots and was now once +more but a moving black speck on the snow, but it will always be a +mystery to me how he could have heard the three reports of my small-bore +rifle so far away and against a strong wind. My natives suggested that +the shots must have echoed, and in this I think they were right; but +even then it shows how abnormally the sense of hearing has been +developed in these bears. + +I was sorry to find that the small-bore rifle did not give as great a +shock as I had expected, for my first two bullets had gone through the +bear's lungs and heart without knocking her off her feet. + +The bear was a female, as we had supposed, but judging from what my +natives said, only of medium size. She measured 6 feet 4 inches in a +straight line between the nose and the end of the vertebrae, and 44-5/8 +inches at the shoulders. The fur was in prime condition, and of an +average length of 4-1/2 inches, but over the shoulders the mane was two +inches longer. Unfortunately, as in many of the spring skins, there was +a large patch over the rump apparently much rubbed. The general belief +is that these worn patches are made by the bears sliding down hill on +their haunches on the snow; but my natives have a theory that this is +caused by the bears' pelt freezing to their dens and being torn off when +they wake from their winter's sleep. + +Although this female was not large for a Kadiak bear, as was proved by +one I shot later in the season, I was much pleased with my final +success, and our camp that night was quite a merry one. + +Shortly after killing this bear, Blake and I returned to the trading +post at Wood Island to prepare for a new hunt, this time to the Alaska +Peninsula. + + + + +II. + + +BEAR HUNTING ON THE ALASKA PENINSULA + +The year before I had chanced to meet an old pilot who had the +reputation of knowing every nook and corner of the Alaskan coast. He +told me several times of the great numbers of bears that he had often +seen in a certain bay on the Alaska Peninsula, and advised me most +strongly to try this place. We now determined to visit this bay in a +good sized schooner we had chartered from the North American Commercial +Company. + +There were numerous delays in getting started, but finally, on May 31, +we set sail, and in two days were landed at our new shooting +grounds. Rarely in modern days does it fall to the lot of amateurs to +meet with better sport than we had for the next month. + +The schooner landed us with our natives, two baidarkas, and all our +provisions, near the mouth of the harbor. Here we made our base of +supplies, and the next morning in our two canoes started with our +hunters to explore this wonderful bay. At high tide Chinitna Bay extends +inland some fifteen miles, but at low water is one vast bog of glacial +deposit. Rugged mountains rise on all sides, and at the base of these +mountains there are long meadows which extend out to the high water +mark. In these meadows during the month of June the bears come to feed +upon the young and tender salt grass. + +There was a long swell breaking on the beach as we left our base of +supplies, but we passed safely through the line of breakers to the +smooth waters beyond, and now headed for the upper bay. The two +baidarkas kept side by side, and Blake and I chatted together, but all +the while kept the glasses constantly fixed upon the hillsides. We had +hardly gone a mile before a small black bear was sighted; but the wind +was unfavorable, and he got our scent before we could land. This looked +decidedly encouraging, and we continued on in the best of spirits. About +mid-day we went on shore, lunched, and then basked in the sun until the +afternoon, when we again got into the baidarkas and paddled further up +the bay to a place where a wide meadow extends out from the base of the +mountains. Here Nikolai, my head hunter, went on shore with the +glasses, and raising himself cautiously above the bank, took a long look +at the country beyond. It was at once quite evident that he had seen +something, and we all joined him, keeping well hidden from view. There, +out upon the marsh, could be seen two large bears feeding upon the young +grass. They seemed in an almost unapproachable position, and we lay and +watched them, hoping that they would move into a more advantageous +place. After an hour or so they fed back toward the trees, and soon +passed out of sight. + +We matched to see which part of the meadow each should watch, and it +fell to my lot to go further up the marsh. I had been only a short time +in this place when a new bear came into sight. We now made a most +beautiful stalk right across the open to within a hundred yards. All +this while a new dog, which I had bought at Kadiak and called Stereke, +had crawled with us flat on his stomach, trembling all over with +excitement as he watched the bear. I had plenty of time to take aim, and +was in no way excited, but missed clean at one hundred yards. At the +report of my rifle Stereke bit himself clear from Nikolai, who was +holding him, and at once made for the bear, which he tackled in a most +encouraging manner, nipping his heels, and then quickly getting out of +the way as the bear charged. But I found that one dog was not enough to +hold these bears, and this one got safely away. + +It was a dreary camp that night, for I had missed an easy shot without a +shadow of excuse. We pitched our small tent at the extreme edge of the +marsh behind a large mass of rocks. I turned in thoroughly depressed, +but awoke the next morning refreshed, and determined to retrieve my +careless shooting of the day before. A bad surf breaking on the beach +prevented our going further up the bay in our baidarkas, as we had +planned to do. We loafed in the sun until evening, while our natives +kept constant watch of the great meadow where we had seen the bears the +day before. We had just turned in, although at ten o'clock it was still +daylight, when one of the natives came running up to say that a bear was +in sight, so Blake, with three natives and Stereke, made the stalk. I +had a beautiful chance to watch it from the high rocks beside our +camp. The men were able to approach to within some fifty yards, and +Blake, with his first shot, hit, and with his third killed the bear +before it could get into the brush. Stereke, when loosed, acted in a +gallant manner, and tackled the bear savagely. + +Unfortunately no measurements were taken, but the bear appeared to be +somewhat smaller than the female I killed at Kiliuda Bay, and weighed, I +should judge, some 450 pounds. It appeared higher on the legs and less +massive than the Kadiak bear, and had a shorter mane, but was of much +the same tawny color on the back, although darker on the legs and belly. + +Two days later we set out from our camp behind the rocks and paddled a +short distance up the bay. + +Here we left the baidarkas and crossed a large meadow without sighting +bear. We then followed some miles the banks of a small stream. Leaving +my friend with his two men, I pushed ahead with my natives to +investigate the country beyond. But the underbrush was so dense it was +impossible to see more than a few yards ahead. We had gone some +distance, and Fedor and I had just crossed a deep stream on a rickety +fallen tree, while the other native was following, when I chanced to +look back and saw a small black bear just opposite. He must have smelt +us, and, wanting to see what sort of creature man was, had deliberately +followed up our tracks. Nikolai had my rifle on the other side of the +brook, so I snatched up Fedor's and twice tried to shoot; but the safety +bolt would not work, and when I had it adjusted the bear showed only one +shoulder beyond a tree. It was just drawing back when I pressed the +trigger. The bullet grazed the tree, was deflected, and a patch of hair +was all that I had for what promised the surest of shots. + +In the afternoon we made for a place which our hunters declared was a +sure find for bear; but unlike most "sure places," we sighted our game +even before we reached the ground. There they were, two large grizzled +brutes, feeding on the salt marsh grass like two cows. We made a most +exciting approach in our baidarkas, winding in and out, across the open, +up a small lagoon which cut into the meadow where the bears were +feeding. We got to within two hundred yards when they became suspicious, +but could not quite make us out. One now rose on his hind legs to get a +better view, and offered a beautiful chance, but I waited for my friend, +whose turn it was to have first shot, and he delayed, thinking that I +was not ready. The result was that the bears at once made for the woods, +and we both missed. + +Stereke again did his part well, catching one of the bears and tackling +him in a noble manner, turning him and doing his best to hold him, but +this was more than one dog could do, and the bear broke away and soon +reached cover. + +I am glad to record that with this day's miss ended some of the most +careless shooting I have ever done. + +This evening we made our camp on the beach on the other side of the +bay. I was up frequently during the night, for bears were constantly +moving about on the mountain side just behind our sleeping place, but +although I could distinctly hear them, the thick brush prevented my +getting a shot. + +In this latitude there is practically no night during the month of June, +and I can recall no more enchanting spot than where we were now camped. +Even my hard day's work would not bring sleep, and I lay with my +faithful dog at my feet and gazed on the vast mountains about us, their +summits capped with snow, while their sides were clothed in the dull +velvet browns of last year's herbage, through which the vivid greens of +a northern summer were rapidly forcing themselves. + +It was after five next morning when we left in our two baidarkas for the +extreme head of the bay, where there was another vast meadow. My friend +chose to hunt the right side of this marsh, while I took the left. + +On reaching our watching place I settled myself for the day in my fur +rug, and soon dozed off to finish my night's rest, while my men took +turns with the glasses. About ten o'clock a black bear was sighted a +long way off, but he soon wandered into the thicket which surrounded the +marsh on three sides. At twelve o'clock he appeared again, and we now +circled well to leeward and waited where two trails met at the edge of +the meadow, expecting the bear would work down one of them to us. It was +a long tiresome wait, for we were perched upon some tussocks through +which the water soon found its way. About five o'clock we returned to +our original watching place, where my friend joined me. + +The wind had been at a slant, and although we had worked safely around +the bear, he must have got the scent of Blake's party, although a long +way off, for my friend reported that the bear was coming in our +direction, as we had counted upon, when he suddenly threw up his head, +gave one whiff, and started for the woods. + +On Friday morning, June 7, we made a three o'clock start from where we +had passed the night on the beach. The sun was not over the mountains +for another hour, and there was that great charm which comes in the +early dawn of a summer's day. Blake in his baidarka, and I in mine, +paddled along, side by side, and pushed up to the extreme head of the +bay, where we came upon an old deserted Indian camp of the year before. +Numerous stretchers told of their success with bear; but the remains of +an old fire in the very heart of our shooting grounds warned us that in +this section the bears might have been disturbed; for the Alaskan bear +is very wary, and is quick to take alarm at any unusual scent. We came +back to our camp on the beach by ten o'clock, and had our first +substantial meal of the day; for we had now adopted the Aleutian habit +of taking simply a cup of tea and a piece of bread in order to make the +earliest of starts each morning. + +After our mid-day breakfast, we usually took a nap until afternoon; but +this day I was not sleepy, and so read for a while, then I loaded my +rifle, which I always kept within arm's reach, and was just settling my +rugs to turn in, when Stereke gave a sharp bark, and Blake shouted, +"Bear." Seizing my rifle I looked up, and walking toward us on the +beach, just 110 yards away, was a good sized bull bear. My dog at once +made for him, while Blake jumped for his rifle. The bear was just +turning when I fired. He bit for the wound, but uttered no sound, and +was just disappearing in the brush when I fired a hasty second; Blake +and I followed into the thick alders after the dog, which was savagely +attacking the bear. His barking told us where the bear was, and I +arrived just in time to see him make a determined charge at the dog, +which quickly avoided him, and just as quickly renewed the attack. + +I forced my way through the alders and got in two close shots, which +rolled him over. It appeared that my first shot had broken his shoulder, +as well as cut the lower portion of the heart; but this bear had gone +some fifty yards, and was still on his feet, when I came up and finished +him off. He was a fair sized bull, six feet two inches in a straight +line along the vertebrae, and stood exactly three feet at the +shoulders. He had evidently been fighting, for one ear was badly torn, +and his skin was much scarred with old and recent wounds. After +removing the pelt the carcass was thrown into the bay, so that there +might be no stench, which my natives declared would be enough to spoil +any future shooting in this locality. This same afternoon we moved our +camp to a new marsh, but the wind was changeable, and we saw nothing. + +The next morning we sighted a bear, which fed into the woods before we +had time to come up with him. Shortly after five o'clock the brute made +a second appearance, but as the wind had changed and now blew in the +wrong direction, a stalk could not be made without our scent being +carried into the woods, where many bears were apt to be. We made it a +great point never to make a stalk unless the wind was right, for we were +extremely anxious not to spoil the place by diffusing our scent, and +driving away whatever bears might be lurking near. Therefore, many times +we had a chance to watch bears at only a few hundred yards' distance. + +It was most interesting to see how careful these big animals were, and +how, from time to time, they would feel the wind with their noses, and +again stop feeding and listen. No two bears seemed to be built on quite +the same lines. Some were high at the shoulders and then sloped down +toward the rump and nose; and again, others were saddle-backed; still +others stood with their front feet directly under them, making a regular +curve at the shoulders; while others had the front legs wide apart, and +seemed to form a triangle, the apex of which was at the shoulders. + +Their range of color seemed to be from very dark, silver-tipped, to a +very light dirty yellow, but with dark legs and belly. + +This evening, just as we were having our tea, another bear made his +appearance. The first, which we had been watching, evidently heard him +coming through the woods, and as the second came out into the open the +former vanished. The new one was a dirty yellowish white, with very dark +belly and legs, which gave him a most comical appearance. + +The wind still continued unfavorable, and my friend and I passed an +extremely interesting evening with the glasses, for this watching game, +especially bear, gives me almost as much pleasure as making the actual +stalk. + +About ten o'clock the wind changed, and Blake went after the bear, but +unfortunately missed at about one hundred yards. + +The following day opened dull, and we spent the morning keeping a sharp +watch on the marsh. About ten o'clock a large bear was seen to come out +from the trees. The wind was wrong, and as the bear was in an +unapproachable position I had to sit with folded arms and watch him. I +used the glasses with much interest until shortly after four o'clock, +when he slowly fed into the brush. + +We had just finished supper when we saw another bear in a better +position, and I proceeded to make the stalk, going part of the way in +the baidarka, for the great meadow was intersected by a stream from +which small lagoons made off in all directions. The wind was very +baffling, and although we successfully reached a clump of brush in the +middle of the marsh, the bear for some time continued to graze in an +unapproachable spot. We had almost given up hope of getting a shot, +when he turned and fed slowly some fifty yards in a new direction, which +was up-wind. This was our chance. Quickly regaining the baidarka, we +paddled as noiselessly and rapidly as possible up the main stream of the +marsh to a small lagoon, which now at high tide had sufficient water to +float us. + +There was great charm in stalking game in this manner, although I was, +in a sense, but a passenger in my natives' hands. But it was fascinating +to watch their keenness and skill as they guided the frail craft round +the sharp turns, the noiseless use of the paddles, the light in their +eye as they constantly stood up in the canoe to keep a hidden gaze upon +the game ahead, watching its every movement as well as the local eddies +and currents in the light evening breeze. All was so in keeping with the +sombre leaden clouds overhead, and the grizzled sides of the ungainly +brute, blending in with the background of weather-beaten tree trunks and +the dull gray rocks. And so, silently and swiftly, stopping many times +when the bear's head was up, we approached nearer and nearer, until my +head man whispered, _Boudit_ (enough), and I knew that I was to +have a fair shot. Stealthily raising my head above the bank I saw the +bear feeding, only seventy-five yards away. Creeping cautiously out of +the boat I lay flat upon my stomach, rifle cocked and ready, waiting for +a good shot. Soon it came. The bear heard some sound in the forest, and +raised his head. Now was my chance, and the next second he dropped +without a sound; he struggled to rise, but I could see he was anchored +with a broken shoulder. My men were unable to restrain themselves any +longer, and as I shot for the second time, their rifles cracked just +after mine. We now rushed up to close quarters. The bear, shot through +the lungs, was breathing heavily and rapidly choking. + +Suddenly I heard a yap, and then, out over the marsh, came Stereke at +full speed. I had left him with my friend, as we thought we might have +to do some delicate stalking across the open. He had sighted the bear, +and watched our approach all a-tremble, and at the report of my rifle +there was no holding him. Over the ground he came in great bounds, and +arrived just in time to give the bear a couple of shakes before he +breathed his last. We carried the entire carcass to the baidarka, and +even the cartridge shells were taken away, to avoid tainting the place +with an unusual scent. + +The next day we returned to the main camp, for Fedor, who was ill, had +become very weak, and was in no condition to stand any hardships. We +left him at the main camp in care of Payjaman. He was greatly +depressed, and seemed to give way completely, frequently saying that he +never expected to see his home again. Knowing the Aleut's character so +well, I much feared that his mental state might work fatal results. Our +medicines were of the simplest, and there was but little we could +do. Fortunately he did recover, but it was not until two weeks later, +when our hunt was nearly over, that he began to get better. + +Three days afterward we were back again at our camp behind the rocks. We +had wanted rain for some time to wash out all scent. Then again bears +are supposed to move about more freely in such weather. Therefore we +were rather pleased when the wind changed, bringing a northwest storm +which continued all the next day. The lofty mountains were rapidly +losing the snow on their summits, and the night's rain had wrought +marvels in their appearance, seeming to bring out every shade of green +on their wooded slopes. One of our natives was kept constantly on the +lookout, and a dozen times a day both Blake and I would leave our books +and climb to the watching place for a view across the great meadow. By +this time we knew the bear trails and the most tempting feeding grounds, +and the surest approaches to the game when it had once come into the +open. Therefore when I was told this evening that a bear had been +sighted, I felt pretty sure of getting a shot. He had not come well out +into the open, and was clearly keeping near cover and working parallel +to the brush. If he continued in this direction he would soon be out of +sight. Our only chance was to make a quick approach, and Nikolai and I +were immediately under way, leaving my dog with my friend, who was to +loose him in case I got a shot. + +The wind was coming in great gusts across our front, and the corner +where the bear was feeding offered a dangerous place for eddies and +back-currents against the mountain side. In order to avoid these, we +kept just inside the woods. Nikolai going first showed the greatest +skill in knowing just how close to the wind we could go. We quickly +reached the place where we expected to sight the bear, but he was hidden +in the bed of the river, and it was some minutes before we could make +out the top of his head moving above the grass. Then noiselessly we +crawled up as the bear again fed slowly into view. He was now about 125 +yards away, and offered an excellent shot as he paused and raised his +head to scent the breeze; but Nikolai whispered, "No," and we worked +nearer, crawling forward when the bear's head was down, and lying flat +and close when his head was up. + +It is curious to note that often when game is being stalked it becomes +suspicious, although it cannot smell, hear, or see the stalker; +instinct, perhaps--call it what you will. And now this bear turned and +began moving slowly toward cover. For some time he was hidden from +view, and then, just before he would finally vanish from sight, he +paused a moment, offering a quartering shot. The lower half of his body +was concealed by the grass, but it was my last chance, and I took it, +aiming for the lungs and rather high in order to get a clear shot. I saw +as he bit for the wound that the bullet was well placed, and as he +turned and lumbered across our front, I fired two more deliberate shots, +one going through the fore leg and one breaking a hind leg. + +Nikolai also fired, giving the bear a slight skin wound, and hitting the +hind leg just above where one of my bullets had previously struck. As +the bear entered the brush we both ran up, my hunter going to the left +while I went a little below to head the bear off. We soon came upon him, +and Nikolai, getting the first sight, gave him another bullet through +the lungs with my heavy rifle, and in a few moments he rolled over dead. + +It was my thought always to keep a wounded bear from getting into the +brush, as the blood trail would have ruined future shooting. + +I think it important to point out that when my bullet struck this bear +he bit for the wound. As he did so he was turned from his original +direction, which would have carried him in one bound out of sight among +the trees, and instead turned and galloped across our front, thereby +giving me an opportunity to fire two more shots. It frequently happened +that bears were turned from their original direction to the sides upon +which they received the first bullet, and we always gave this matter +careful consideration when making an approach. + +My Aleuts were not permitted to shoot unless we were following up a +wounded bear in the thick brush; but I found it most difficult to keep +them to this rule. The large hole of the bullet from my .50-caliber which +Nikolai carried made it easy to distinguish his hits, and if a bear had +received the mortal wound from his rifle, I should not have kept the +skin. + +The pelt of this bear which we had just killed was in excellent +condition, and although he was not fat, he was of fair size, measuring 6 +feet 3-1/8 inches along the vertebrae. + +Great care was taken as usual to pick up the empty cartridge shells, and +we pulled up the bloody bits of grass, throwing them into a brook, into +which we put also the bear's carcass. + +The storm continued for several days, and was accompanied by an +unfavorable wind, which drew up into all our shooting grounds. We kept +quietly in camp, which was so situated that although we were just +opposite the great marsh, our scent was carried safely away. Then we +were most careful to have only small fires for our cooking, and we were +extremely particular to select dry wood, so that there would be as +little smoke as possible. + +All this while we kept a constant watch upon the meadow, but no bears +made their appearance. + +On the morning of the 19th, my friend and his hunter went up the shore +to investigate a small marsh lying a mile or so from camp. Here they saw +that the grass had been recently nibbled, and that there were fresh +signs about. They returned to this spot again that evening and sighted a +bear. The bear fed quickly up to within sixty-five yards, when Blake +rolled him over. This bear was not a large one, and was of the usual +tawny color. + +The next morning a bear was seen by my natives in the big meadow by our +camp, but he did not remain long enough for a stalk. At 9:30 he again +came out into the open, and Nikolai and I made a quick approach, but the +bear, although he was not alarmed, did not wait long enough for us to +get within range. We had skirted the marsh, keeping just inside of the +thicket, and now when the bear disappeared we settled ourselves for a +long wait should he again come into the open. We were well hidden from +view, and the wind blew slanting in our faces and across our front. I +had just begun to think that we should not get a shot until the bear +came out for his evening feed, when Nikolai caught my arm and pointed +ahead. There, slowly leaving the dense edge of the woods, was a new +bear, not so large as the first, but we could see at a glance that she +had a beautiful coat of a dark silver-tip color. + +Removing boots and stockings, and circling around, we came out about +seventy-five yards from where we had last seen the bear; but she had +moved a short distance ahead, and offered us a grand chance for a close +approach. Keeping behind a small point which made out into the open, we +were able to crawl up to within fifty yards, and then, waiting until the +bear's head was up, I gave her a quartering shot behind the +shoulders. She half fell, and bit for the wound, and as she slowly +started for the woods I gave her another shot which rolled her +over. This bear proved to be a female, the first we had shot upon the +mainland, probably the mate of the bear we had originally attempted to +stalk. The skin, although small, was the most beautiful I have ever +killed. + +Upon examining the internal effects of my shots, I was disappointed to +find that my first bullet, on coming in contact with one of the ribs, +had torn away from the metal jacket and had expanded to, such an extent +that it lost greatly in penetration. I had of late been forced to the +conclusion that the small-bore rifle I was using on such heavy game +lacked the stopping force I had credited it with, and that the bullets +were not of sufficient weight. + +The next morning I sent our men to the main camp for provisions, for we +now intended to give this marsh a rest, and go to the head of the bay. +They returned that evening, and reported that they had seen a bear on +the mountain side; they had stalked to within close range, and had made +an easy kill. They had but one rifle with them, and had taken turns, +Ivan having the first shot, while Nikolai finished the bear off. This +skin was a beautiful one, of light yellowish color, and although our men +wanted to present it to us, neither Blake nor I cared to bring it home +with the trophies we had shot. + +On June 23 we turned our baidarkas' bows to the upper bay, at the head +of which we ascended a small river that wound through a vast meadow +until the stream met the mountains. Here we unloaded our simple camp +gear, and while the men prepared breakfast, Blake and I ascended an +elevation which commanded an uninterrupted view of the grassy plain. No +bears were in sight, so we had time and undisturbed opportunity to enjoy +the beauty of the scene. We lay for some time basking in the sun, +talking of books and people, and of many subjects of common +interest. Now and then one would take the glasses and scan the outskirts +of the vast meadow which stretched before us. All at once Blake gave a +low exclamation and pointed to the west. I followed the direction of his +gaze, and saw four bears slowly leaving the woods. They were at some +distance, and we did not think we had time to reach them before they +would probably return to the underbrush for their mid-day sleep, so for +the present we let them go. + +After breakfast, as they were still In the same place, we attempted the +stalk, going most of the way in our baidarkas, winding in and out +through the meadow in the small lagoons which intersected it in all +directions. Every little while the men would ascend the banks with the +glasses, thus keeping a watchful eye upon the bears' movements. Taking +a time when they had fed into the underbrush, we made a quick circle to +leeward over the open, then reaching the edge of the thicket, we +approached cautiously to a selected watching place. We reached this +spot shortly after one o'clock. The bears had entered the woods, so we +settled ourselves for a long wait. It was Blake's turn to shoot, which +meant that he was to have an undisturbed first shot at the largest bear, +and after he had fired I could take what was left. + +Just before three o'clock three bears again made their appearance. Two +were yearlings which in the fall would leave their mother and shift for +themselves, and one much larger, which lay just at the edge of the +underbrush. Had these yearlings not been with the mother she would not +have come out so early in the afternoon, and, as it was, she kept in the +shadow of the alders, while the two smaller ones fed out some distance +from the woods. + +We now removed our boots, and, with Stereke well in hand, for he smelt +the bears and was tugging hard on his collar, noiselessly skirted the +woods, keeping some tall grass between the bears and ourselves. In this +way we approached to within one hundred yards. Twice one of the smaller +animals rose on his hind legs and looked in our direction; but the wind +was favorable, and we were well concealed, so they did not take alarm. + +My friend decided to shoot the mother, while I was to reserve my fire +until after his shot. I expected that at the report of his rifle the +bear I had chosen would pause a moment in surprise, and thus offer a +good standing shot. As my friend's rifle cracked, the bear I had +selected made a sudden dash for the woods, and I had to take him on the +run. At my first shot he turned a complete somersault, and then, quickly +springing up, again made a dash for cover. I fired a second time, and +rolled him over for good and all. Stereke was instantly slipped, and +made at once for my bear. By the time we had run up he was shaking and +biting his hindquarters in a most approved style. We at once put him +after the larger bear, which Blake had wounded, and his bark in the +thick alders told us he had located her. We all followed in and found +that the bear, although down, was still alive. Blake gave her a final +shot through the lungs. + +The third bear got away, but I believe it was wounded by Nikolai. The +one that Blake had killed was the largest female we got on the +Peninsula, measuring 6 feet 6 feet 6-1/2 inches along the vertebrae. + +It is interesting to note that the two yearlings differed greatly in +color. One was a grizzled brown, like the mother, while the other was +very much lighter, of a light dirty yellowish color. + +We had watched these bears for some hours in the morning, and I feel +positive that the mother had no cubs of this spring with her; yet on +examination milk was found in her breasts. My natives told me that +frequently yearling cubs continue to suckle, and surely we had positive +proof of this with the large female bear. + +On our way back to camp that night we saw two more bears on the other +side of the marsh, but they did not stay in the open sufficiently long +to allow us to come up. + +The mosquitoes had by this time become almost unbearable, and it was +late before they permitted us to get to sleep. About 3 A.M. it began to +rain, but I was so tired that I slept on, although my pillow and +blankets were soon well soaked. As the rain continued, we finally put up +our small tent; but everything had become thoroughly wet, and we passed +a most uncomfortable day. + +In the afternoon a black bear appeared not far from our camping +place. My friend went after this with his hunter, who made a most +wonderful stalk. The bear was in an almost unapproachable position, and +the two men appeared to be going directly down wind; but Ivan insisted +that there was a slight eddy in the breeze, and in this he must have +been correct, for he brought Blake up to within sixty yards, when my +friend killed the bear with a bullet through the brain. + +I think it is interesting to note that our shooting grounds were the +extreme western range of the black bear. A few years ago they were not +found in this locality, but it is quite evident that they are each year +working further and further to the westward. + +The next day the heavy rain still continued. The meadow was now one +vast bog, and the small lagoons were swollen into deep and rapid +streams. Everything was wet, and we passed an uncomfortable day. Our +two hunters were camped about fifty yards off under a big rock, and I +think must have had a pretty hard time of it, but all the while they +kept a sharp lookout. + +About one o'clock the men reported that a large bear had been seen some +distance off, but that it had remained in sight only a short time. We +expected this bear would again make his appearance in the afternoon, and +in this surmise we were correct, for he came out into the open three +hours later, when Nikolai and I with Stereke made the stalk. We circled +well to leeward, fording the many rapid streams with great +difficulty. The rain had melted the snow on the hills, and we frequently +had to wade almost up to our shoulders in this icy water. + +In crossing one of the lagoons Stereke was carried under some fallen +trees, and for a while I very much feared that my dog would be +drowned. The same thing almost happened to myself, for the swift current +twice carried me off my feet. + +The bear had fed well into the open, and it was impossible, even by the +most careful stalking, to get nearer than a small patch of tall grass +about 175 yards away. I put up my rifle to shoot, but found that the +front sight was most unsteady, for I was wet to the skin and shaking all +over with cold. Half expecting to miss, I pressed the trigger, and was +not greatly surprised to see my bullet splash in the marsh just over the +bear's head. He saw the bullet strike on the other side, and now came in +our direction, but Stereke, breaking loose from Nikolai, turned him. He +now raced across our front at about 125 yards, with the dog in close +pursuit. This gave me an excellent chance, and I fired three more +shots. At my last, I saw the bear bite for his shoulder, showing that my +bullet was well placed. He continued to dash ahead, when Nikolai fired, +also hitting him in the shoulder with the heavy rifle. He dropped, but +gamely tried to rise and face Stereke, who savagely attacked his +quarters. Nikolai now fired again, his bullet going in at the chest, +raking him the entire length, and lodging under the skin at the hind +knee joint. Unfortunately this bear fell in so much water that it was +impossible to take any other accurate measurement than the one along his +back. This was the largest bear we shot on the mainland, and the one +measurement that I was able to take was 6 feet 10 inches along the +vertebrae. + +[Illustration: THE HUNTER AND HIS HOME] + +On examining the internal effects of his wounds, I found that my bullet +had struck the shoulder blade and penetrated one lung, but had gone to +pieces on coming in contact with the bone. Although it would have +eventually proved a mortal wound, the shock at the time was not +sufficient to knock the bear off his feet. + +The next morning the storm broke, and we started back to our camp behind +the rocks, for the skins we had recently shot needed to be cleaned and +dried. We reached camp that afternoon, where I found my old hunter, +Fedor, who was now better, and had come to join us. He had arrived the +night before, and reported that he had seen three bears on the marsh. He +said he had watched them all the evening, and that the next morning two +more had made their appearance. He could no longer withstand this +temptation, and just before we had arrived had shot a small black bear +with an excellent skin. + +Two days after, a bear was reported in the meadow, and as it was my +friend's turn to shoot, he started with his hunter to make the stalk. It +was raining at the time, and I was almost tempted to lie among my +blankets; but my love of sport was too strong, and, armed with powerful +glasses, I joined the men on the rocks to watch the hunters. + +The bear had fed well out into the meadow not far from a small clump of +trees. In order to reach this clump of trees, Blake and Ivan were +obliged to wade quite a deep stream, and had removed their +clothes. Unfortunately my friend carelessly left his coat, in the pocket +of which were all the extra cartridges for his and Ivan's rifles. + +I saw them reach the clump of trees, and then turned the glasses on the +bear. At the first shot he sprang back in surprise, while Blake's bullet +went high. The bear now located the shot, and began a quick retreat to +the woods, when one of my friend's bullets struck him, rolling him over. +He instantly regained his feet, and continued making for cover, walking +slowly and looking back over his shoulder all the while. Blake now fired +another shot, and again the bear was apparently badly hit. He moved at +such a slow pace that I thought he had surely received a mortal wound. + +Entirely against orders, Ivan now shot three times in quick succession, +hitting the bear with one shot in the hind leg, his other two shots +being misses. Blake now rushed after the bear with his hunter following +some fifty yards behind, and approached to within ten steps, when he +fired his last cartridge, hitting the bear hard. The beast fell upon its +head, but once more regaining its feet, continued toward the woods. At +this point Ivan fired his last cartridge, but missed. The bear continued +for several steps, while the two hunters stood with empty rifles +watching. Suddenly, quick as a flash, he swung round upon his hind legs +and gave one spring after Blake, who, not understanding his Aleut's +shouts not to run, started across the marsh, with the bear in close +pursuit. At every step the bear was gaining, and Ivan, appreciating that +unless the bear's attention was distracted, my friend would soon be +pulled down, began waving his arms and shouting at the top of his voice, +in order to attract the bear's attention from Blake. The latter saw +that his hunter was standing firm, and, taking in the situation, +suddenly stopped. The bear charged to within a few feet of the two men; +but, when he saw their determined stand, paused, and, swinging his head +from side to side, watched them for some seconds, apparently undecided +whether to charge home or leave them. Then he turned, and, looking back +over his shoulder, made slowly for the woods. + +This bear while charging had his head stretched forward, ears flat, and +teeth clinched, with his lips drawn well back, and his eyes glaring. I +am convinced that it was only Ivan's great presence of mind which +prevented a most serious accident. + +It is a strange fact that a well placed bullet will knock the fight out +of such game; but if they are once thoroughly aroused it takes much more +lead to kill them. When they had got more cartridges my friend with two +natives proceeded to follow this bear up; but though they tracked him +some miles, he was never recovered. + +The Aleuts when they follow up a wounded bear in thick cover, strip to +the skin, for they claim in this way they are able to move with greater +freedom, and at the same time there are no clothes to catch in the brush +and make noise. They go slowly and are most cautious, for frequently +when a bear is wounded, if he thinks that he is being pursued, he will +swing around on his own trail and spring out from the side upon the +hunters. + +The next day I started with my two natives to visit a meadow well up the +bay. + +As we had but a day or two left before the schooner would come to take +us away, we headed in the only direction in which the wind was +favorable. We left camp about three o'clock in the afternoon, following +the shore with the wind quartering in our faces. We had gone but a mile +from camp when I caught an indistinct outline of a bear feeding on the +grass at the edge of the timber, about 125 yards away. I quickly fired, +missing through sheer carelessness. + +At the report the bear jumped sideways, unable to locate the sound, and +my next bullet struck just above his tail and ranged forward into the +lungs. Fedor now fired, missing, while I ran up with Nikolai, firing +another shot as I ran, which knocked the bear over. Stereke savagely +attacked the bear, biting and shaking him, and seeing that he was +breathing his last, I refrained from firing again, as the skin was +excellent. + +This bear had had an encounter with a porcupine. One of his paws was +filled with quills, and in skinning him we found that some quills had +worked well up the leg and lodged by the ankle joint, making a most +loathsome wound. + +This bear was almost as large as the one I had last shot at the head of +the bay, and his pelt made a grand trophy. I was much disgusted with +myself that afternoon for missing my first shot. It is not enough simply +to get your bear, but one should always endeavor to kill with the first +shot, otherwise much game will be lost, for the first is almost always +the easiest shot, hence one should kill or mortally wound at that +chance. + +This was the last bear that we shot on the Alaska Peninsula. I had been +fortunate in killing seven brown bears, while Blake had killed three +brown and one black, and our natives had killed one brown and one black +bear, making a total of thirteen between the 7th and 28th of June. + +The skulls of these brown bears we sent to Dr. Merriam, Chief of the +Biological Survey, at Washington, and they proved to be most interesting +from a scientific point of view, for from them the classification of the +bears of the Alaska Peninsula has been entirely changed, and it seems +that we were fortunate enough to bring out material enough to establish +a new species as well as a new sub-species. + +The teeth of these two kinds of bears show a marked and uniform +difference, proving conclusively that there is no interbreeding between +the species. I was told by Dr. Merriam that the idea which is so +commonly believed, that different species of bears interbreed like dogs, +is entirely wrong. + + + + +III. + + +MY BIG BEAR OF SHUYAK + +As I had been fortunate in shooting bears upon the Island of Kadiak and +the Alaska Peninsula, nothing remained but for me to obtain a specimen +from one of the outlying islands of the Kadiak group, to render my trip +in every way successful. + +I therefore determined to take my two natives and hunt from a baidarka +the deep bays of the Island of Afognak, while Blake, not yet having +obtained his bear from Kadiak, went back to hunt there. + +He had been extremely good to his men, and in settling with them on his +return from the Alaska Peninsula had good-naturedly paid the excessive +demands they made. The result was that his kindness was mistaken for +weakness, and just as he was about to leave his hunters struck for an +increase of pay. He sent them to the right-about, and fortunately +succeeded in filling their places. + +A sportsman in going into a new country owes it to those who follow to +resist firmly exorbitant demands and at the same time to be fair and +just in all his dealings. + +I have already described bear hunting in the spring, when we stalked our +game upon the snowy hillsides, and again on the Alaska Peninsula, where +we hunted across the open on foot, and also in the baidarka. I will now +speak of another form. + +Toward the end of June the red salmon begin to run. These go up only the +streams that have their sources in lakes. After the red salmon, come the +humpbacks, and after the humpbacks, the dog salmon. Both of these latter +in great numbers force their way up all the streams, and are the +favorite food of the bears, which come down from the mountains by deep, +well-defined trails to catch the fish in the shallow streams. When the +salmon have begun to run, the only practical way of hunting these bears +is by watching some likely spot on the bank of a stream. + +Early in July Blake and I parted, intending to meet again two weeks +later. My friend sailed away in a small schooner, while I left with my +two natives in the baidarka. In Fedor's place I had engaged a native by +the name of Lofka. We three paddled with a will, as we were anxious to +reach a deep bay on the north side of the Island of Afognak as soon as +possible. + +This was all familiar country to me, for I had spent over a month in +this locality the year before, and as we camped for the night I could +hardly realize that twelve months had gone by since I left this +beautiful spot. For the Island of Afognak, with its giant cliffs and +deep bays, is to my mind one of the most picturesque regions I have ever +seen. + +The next morning the wind was unfavorable, but in the afternoon we were +able to visit one of the salmon streams. The red salmon had come, but it +would be another week or more before the humpbacks would begin their +run. It was a bleak day, with the rain driving in our faces. We forced +our way up the banks of a stream for some miles, following well-defined +bear trails through the tall grass. Some large tracks were seen, but we +sighted no game. We returned to camp after ten o'clock that night, wet +to the skin and chilled through. The following day was a repetition of +this, only under worse weather conditions, if that were possible. + +I now decided to push on to a large bay on the northeast side of the +island. This is locally known as Seal Bay, and is supposed to be without +question the best hunting ground on Afognak. + +Unfortunately a heavy wind detained us in Paramonoff Bay for two +days. The morning after the storm broke we made a four o'clock start. +There was a strong favoring breeze, and we made a sail of one of the +blankets. The baidarka fairly flew, but it was rather ticklish work, as +the sea was quite rough. Early that afternoon we turned into the narrow +straits which lie between the islands of Afognak and Shuyak. Shuyak is +uninhabited, but some natives have hunting barabaras there. Formerly +this island contained great numbers of silver gray foxes. A few years +ago some white trappers visited it and put out poison. The result was +the extermination of all the foxes upon the island, for not only the +foxes that ate the poison died, but the others which ate the poisoned +carcasses. The hunters obtained but one skin, as the foxes died in +their holes or in the woods, and were not found until their pelts were +spoiled. This is a fair example of the great need for Alaskan game laws. + +At the present time Shuyak is rich in bear and in land otter, and I can +imagine no better place for a national game preserve. It has lakes and +salmon streams, and would be an ideal place to stock. + +The straits between Shuyak and Afognak are extremely dangerous, for the +great tides from Cook Inlet draw through this narrow passage. My nerve +was tested a bit as the baidarka swept by the shore, for had it once got +well started we should have been drawn into the rapids and then into a +long line of angry breakers beyond. At one point it seemed as if we were +heading right into these dangerous waters, and then abruptly turning at +a sharp angle, we glided around a point into a shallow bay. Circling +this shore we successfully passed inside the line of breakers and soon +met the long ground swell of the Pacific, while Seal Bay stretched for +many miles inland on the other side. + +It had been a long day, but as the wind was favorable we stopped only +for a cup of tea and then pushed on to the very head of the bay. Here, +at the mouth of a salmon stream, we came upon many fresh bear tracks, +and passed the night watching. As we had seen nothing by four o'clock in +the morning, we cautiously withdrew, and, going some distance down the +shore, camped in an old hunting barabara. It had been rather a long +stretch, when one considers that we had breakfasted a little over +twenty-four hours before. Watching a salmon stream by night is poor +sport, but it is the only kind of hunting that one can do at this time +of the year. + +I slept until seven o'clock, when the men called me, and after a cup of +tea we started for the salmon stream, which we followed up beyond where +we had watched it the night previous. We were very careful to wade so as +not to give our scent to any bears which might approach the stream from +below. There were many tracks and deep, well-used trails leading in all +directions, while every few yards we came upon places where the tall +grass was trampled down, showing where bears had been fishing. These +bear trails are quite a feature of the Alaskan country, and some of them +are two feet wide and over a foot deep, showing that they have been in +constant use for many years. + +That night we heard a bear pass within ten yards of us, but could not +see it. We returned to camp next morning at five o'clock, and I wrote up +my journal, for this night work is extremely confusing, and one +completely loses track of the days unless careful. + +My men came to me after their mid-day sleep with very cheerful +countenances, and assured me that there was no doubt but that I should +surely soon meet with success, for the palm of Nikolai's hand had been +itching, and he had dreamed of blood and a big dog fighting, while +Lofka's eyelid trembled. My hunters told me in all seriousness that +these signs never failed. + +In the afternoon we decided to watch a new place. We carried the +baidarka up a small stream and launched it in quite a large and +picturesque lake. We slowly paddled along the shores and watched near +the mouths of several salmon streams. By twelve o'clock we had not even +seen a track, so I decided to return to camp and get some much needed +sleep. The natives were to call me early the next morning, for I had +decided to return to Paramonoff Bay. + +I think this was the only time in my hunting life that I was +deliberately lazy; but, although my natives called me several times, I +slept right on until nine o'clock. I was strongly tempted when we got +under way to start back by continuing around the Island of Afognak; but +Nikolai was anxious to have me give Paramonoff Bay another trial. He +thought the run of the humpback salmon might have begun since we left, +and if this was so, we were likely to find some large bears near the +streams we had watched the week before. I had great confidence in his +judgment, and therefore decided to retrace our steps. + +We made a start about ten o'clock, but after a couple of hours' +paddling, when we had met a fair tide to help us on, I lit my pipe and +allowed my men to do all the work, while I lay back among my rugs half +dreaming in the charm of my surroundings. Myriads of gulls flew +overhead, uttering their shrill cries, while now and then the black +oyster-catchers with their long red bills would circle swiftly around +the baidarka, filling the air with their sharp whistles, and seemingly +much annoyed at our intrusion. Many different kinds of ducks rose before +us, and the ever-present eagles watched us from the lofty rocks. We soon +turned the rugged headland and were once more in the swift tide of +Shuyak Straits, where the water boiled and eddied about us as we sped +quickly on. + +Nikolai now pointed out one of his favorite hunting grounds for seals, +and asked if he might not try for one; so we turned into a big bay, and +he soon had the glasses in use. He at once sighted several lying on some +rocks, and we had just started in their direction when Nikolai suddenly +stopped paddling, again seized the glasses, and looked excitedly across +the straits to the Shuyak shore. Following the direction of his gaze I +saw upon the beach a black speck which my native at once pronounced to +be a bear. He was nosing around among some seaweed and turning over the +rocks in search of food. Each one of us now put all his strength into +every stroke in order to reach the other side before the bear could +wander off. We cautiously landed behind some big rocks, and quickly +removing our boots my hunter and I were soon on shore and noiselessly +peering through the brush to the place where we had last seen the bear; +but he had disappeared. + +The wind was favorable, and we knew that he had not been alarmed. It +took us some time to hit off his trail, for he had wandered in all +directions before leaving this place; but after it was once found, his +footprints in the thick moss made tracking easy, and we moved rapidly +on. We had not expected a long stalk, and our feet were badly punished +by the devil clubs which were here most abundant. We could see by the +tracks that the bear had not been alarmed, and knew that we should soon +come up with him. After a mile or so the trail led in the direction of a +low marsh where the coast line makes a big bend inward, so apparently we +had crossed a long point into a bay beyond. + +I at once felt sure that the bear was near, having probably come to this +beach to feed, and as Nikolai looked at me and smiled I knew he, too, +felt that we were on a warm trail. + +We had just begun to descend toward the shore when I thought I heard a +slight noise ahead. Keeping my eyes fixed in that direction, I +whispered to Nikolai, who was standing a few feet in front of me, +intently peering to the right. Suddenly I caught just a glimpse of a +tawny, brownish bit of color through the brush a short distance +ahead. Quickly raising my rifle I had just a chance for a snap shot, and +the next instant a large hear made a dash through some thick +underbrush. It was but an indistinct glimpse which I had had, and before +I could throw another cartridge into the barrel of my rifle the bear was +out of sight. Keeping my eyes moving at about the rate of speed I +judged he was going, I fired again through the trees, and at once a deep +and angry growl told me that my bullet had gone home. + +Then we raced ahead, my hunter going to the left while I entered the +thick brush into which the bear had disappeared. I had gone but a short +distance when I heard Nikolai shoot three times in rapid succession, and +as quickly as I could break through I hurried in his direction. It +seemed that as we separated, Nikolai had at once caught sight of the +bear slowly making away. He immediately fired but missed; at the report +of his rifle the bear turned and came toward him, but was too badly +wounded by my first two shots to be dangerous. At close range Nikolai +fired two more shots, and it was at this moment that I joined him. The +bear was down, but trying hard to get upon his feet, and evidently in an +angry mood, so I ran up close and gave him another shot, which again +knocked him over. + +Now for the first time I had a good view of the bear, which proved to be +a very large one. As my men declared that this was one of the largest +they had ever seen, I think we may safely place it as a fair example of +the Kadiak species. Unfortunately I had no scales with me, and could +not, therefore, take its weight; but the three of us were unable to +budge either end from the ground, and after removing the pelt the +carcass appeared to be as large as a fair sized ox. We had much +difficulty in skinning him, for he fell on his face, and it took us some +half hour even to turn him over; we were only able to do this by using +his legs as levers. It required over two hours to remove the pelt. +Then we had tea and shot the bear all over again many times, as we sat +chatting before the fire. + +It seemed that at the time when I had first caught sight of this bear, +Nikolai had just located the bear which we had originally seen and were +following, and it was a great piece of luck my taking this snap shot, +for the other bear was much smaller. + +We took the skin and skull with us, while I made arrangements with my +natives to return some months later and collect all the bones, for I +decided to present the entire skeleton to the National Museum. + +It was six o'clock when we again made a start. I had a deep sense of +satisfaction as I lay lazily back in the baidarka with the large skin at +my feet, only occasionally taking the paddle, for it had been a hard +trip, and I felt unlike exerting myself. We camped that night in a +hunting barabara which belonged to Nikolai, and was most picturesquely +situated on a small island. + +My natives were extremely fond of bear meat, and they sat long into the +night gorging themselves. Each one would dig into the kettle with his +fork, and bringing out a big chunk would crowd as much as possible into +his mouth, and holding it there with his teeth would cut off with his +hunting knife a liberal portion, which he would swallow after a munch or +two. + +I had tried to eat Kadiak bear before, but it has rather a bitter taste, +and this one was too tough to be appetizing. The flesh of the bears +which we had killed on the Alaska Peninsula was excellent and without +this strong gamy flavor.[5] + +[Footnote 5: The true Kadiak bear is found only on the Kadiak Islands +and not on the mainland.] + +The next morning we made an early start, for to save this large skin I +had decided to push on with all haste to the little settlement of +Afognak, where I had arranged to meet my friend some days later. It was +a beautiful morning, and once more we had a favoring breeze. Some forty +miles across Shelikoff Straits was the Alaskan shore. The rugged, +snow-clad mountains seemed to be softened when seen through the hazy +blue atmosphere. One white-capped peak boldly pierced a line of clouds +and stood forth against the pale blue of the sky beyond; while the great +Douglas Glacier, ever present, wound its way down, down to the very +sea. It was all grandly beautiful, and seemed In keeping with the day. + +We paddled steadily, stopping only once for tea, and at six o'clock that +evening were back at the little fishing hamlet of Malina Place. Here I +was asked to drink tea with a man whom my hunters told me had killed +many bears on these islands. + +This man said that at times there were no bears on Shuyak, and that +again they were there in great numbers, showing that they freely swim +from Afognak across the straits, which, at the narrowest point, are some +three miles wide. + +[Illustration: BAIDARKA.] + +While I was having tea in one of the barabaras I heard much shooting +outside, which announced the return of a sea otter party that had been +hunting for two months at Cape Douglas. It was a beautiful sight, this +fleet of twenty odd baidarkas, the paddles all rising and falling in +perfect time, and changing sides without a break. There is nothing more +graceful than one of these canoes when handled by expert Aleuts. These +natives had already come forty miles that day, and were now going to +stop only long enough for tea, and then push on to the little settlement +of Afognak Place, some twenty-five miles away, where most of them +lived. In one of the canoes I saw a small chap of thirteen years. He was +the chief's son, and already an expert in hunting and in handling the +baidarka. So is the Aleut hunter trained. + +As it had been a very warm day I feared that the skin might +spoil. Therefore I concluded to continue to Afognak Place without +camping for the night, and so we paddled on and on. As darkness came, +the mountains seemed to rise grander and more majestic from the water on +either side of us. At midnight we again stopped for tea, and while we +sat by the fire the host of baidarkas of the sea otter party silently +glided by like shadows. We joined them, for my men had much to tell of +their four months with the white hunter, and many questions were asked +on both sides. + +Some miles from Afognak the baidarkas drew up side by side in a long, +even line, our baidarka joining in. _Drasti_ and _Chemi_[6] +came to me from all sides, for I had from time to time met most of the +native hunters of this island, and they seemed to regard me as quite one +of them. + +[Footnote 6: Russian and Aleut for "How do you do?"] + +When all the straggling baidarkas had caught up and taken their places +in the line, the chief gave the word _Kedar_ ("Come on"), and we +all paddled forward, and just as the sun was rising above the hills we +reached our journey's end. + +Two days later my friend joined me. He also had been successful, and had +killed a good sized male bear in Little Uganuk Bay on Kadiak Island. + +Our bear hunt was now over, and we had been fortunate in accomplishing +all we had hoped for. + + + + +IV. + + +THE WHITE SHEEP OF KENAI PENINSULA + +The last of July Blake and I sailed from the Kadiak Islands, and one +week later were landed at the little settlement of Kenai, on the Kenai +Peninsula. + +The mountains of this region are unquestionably the finest big-game +shooting grounds in North America at the present day. Here one may +expect to find four different kinds of bears--black, two species of +brown, and the Alaska grizzly--the largest of moose, and the Kenai form +of the white sheep (_Ovis dalli_). + +These hills lie back from the coast some thirty miles, and may be +reached by one of several rivers. It takes a couple of days to ascend +some of these streams, but we determined to select a country more +difficult to enter, thinking it would be less often visited by the local +native hunters. We therefore chose the mountains lying adjacent to the +Kenai Lake--a district which it took from a week to ten days to reach. + +On August 14, shortly after noon, we started up the river which was to +lead us to our shooting grounds. One cannot oppose the great tides of +Cook Inlet, and all plans are based on them. Therefore we did not leave +until the flood, when we were carried up the stream some twelve +miles--the tide limit--where we camped. + +The next morning we were up at daylight, for at this point began the +hard river work. There was much brush on the banks, but our natives +proved themselves most expert in passing the line, for from now on until +we reached the lake our boats had to be towed against a swift current. + +That day we made about eight miles, and camped shortly after five +o'clock. It rained hard during the night, and the next morning broke +cloudy. The river for the first two days wound through the lowlands, but +from this point on the banks seemed higher and the current perceptibly +swifter, while breaking water showed the presence of rocks under the +surface. The country back from the stream began to be more rolling, and +as the river occasionally made some bold bend the Kenai Mountains could +be seen in the distance. + +Again it rained hard during the night and continued well on into the +next morning, so we made a late start, breaking camp at eight o'clock. +Spruce, alders, willows, and birch were the trees growing along the +banks, and we now passed through the country where the moose range +during the summer months. Already the days had become perceptibly +shorter, and there was also a feeling of fall in the air, for summer is +not long in this latitude. + +At this point in the river we encountered bad water, and all hands were +constantly wet, while the natives were in the glacial stream up to their +waists for hours at a time. Therefore we made but little progress. That +night there was a heavy frost, and the next morning dawned bright and +clear. The day was a repetition of the day before, and the natives were +again obliged to wade with the tow-line most of the way. But they were a +good-natured lot, and seemed to take their wetting as a matter of +course. About ten o'clock the next morning we reached the Kenai Rapids, +where the stream narrows and the water is extremely bad, for the current +is very swift and the channel full of rocks. We navigated this place +safely and came out into the smooth water beyond. Here we had tea and a +good rest, for we felt that the hardest part of this tiresome journey +was over. Above the rapids there are a few short stretches of less +troubled water where the oars can be used; but these are few and far +between, and one must count upon warping the boat from tide water to +within two miles of the lake--an estimated distance of between +thirty-five and forty miles. + +We had hardly got started the following day before it began to rain +heavily. We were soon wet to the skin and thoroughly chilled, but we +kept on until late in the afternoon, when we camped in a small Indian +cabin some three miles from the lake. + +It stormed hard during the night with such heavy wind that we much +feared that we should be unable to cross the lake the next day. In the +morning, however, the wind had gone down, and we made an early +start. Just before reaching the mouth of the river we sighted game for +the first time. A cow moose with her calf were seen on the bank. They +stood idly watching our boats for a short time, and then slowly ambled +off into the brush. + +Occasionally as the river had made some big bend we had been able to +sight the mountains which were to be our shooting grounds. Day by day +they had grown nearer and nearer, and finally, after one week of this +toilsome travel, we glided from the river to the crescent-shaped lake, +and they now rose close before us. + +This range of hills with their rough and broken sides compares favorably +in grandeur with the finest of Alaskan scenery. Half way up their slopes +was a well defined timber line, and then came the stunted vegetation +which the autumn frosts had softened into velvet browns in deep contrast +to the occasional berry patches now tinged a brilliant crimson; and +beyond, the great bleak, open tablelands of thick moss sloped gently +upward to the mountain bases; and above all, the lofty peaks of dull +gray rock towered in graceful curves until lost in the mist. Great banks +of snow lay in many of the highest passes, and over all the landscape +the sun shone faintly through leaden and sombre storm clouds. + +Such was my first near view of the Kenai Mountains, and, as I learned to +know them better, they seemed to grow more awe-inspiring and beautiful. + +When we reached Kenai Lake, Blake and I decided that it would probably +be the wisest plan to divide things up into two separate shooting +outfits. We could then push over the hills in different directions +until we came upon the sheep. Each would then make his own shooting +camp, and our natives would carry out the heads we might shoot to our +united base of supplies on the lake, and pack back needed provisions. + +At noon of August 22 Blake and outfit started for his shooting grounds +at the eastern end of the sheep range, and shortly after my outfit was +under way. My head man and the natives carried packs of some sixty +pounds, while I carried about fifty pounds besides my rifle, glasses, +and cartridges; even my dog Stereke had some thirty pounds of canned +goods in a pack saddle. + +Our first march led up the mountain over a fairly steep trail, a gale +accompanied by rain meeting us as we came out from the timber on to the +high mossy plateau. The wind swept down from the hills in great gusts, +and our small tent tugged and pulled at its stakes until I greatly +feared it would not stand the strain. It had moderated somewhat by the +next morning, and we made an early start. + +Our line of march, well above timber, led along the base of the summits +for some miles, then swinging to the left we laboriously climbed over +one range and dropped into the valley beyond. A strong wind made it hard +going, and sometimes turned us completely around as it struck slanting +upon the packs which we carried. During the day sheep were seen in the +distance, but we did not stop, for we were anxious to reach before dark +a place where Hunter--my head man--had usually made his hill camp. It +must be remembered that at such an altitude there is very little fuel, +and that good camping places are few and far between. + +The next morning we were up early, intending to take our first hunt, but +the small Killy River, on which we were now located, was much swollen by +the heavy rains, and could not be crossed. We devoted the forenoon to +bridging this stream, but during the afternoon a small bunch of sheep +was sighted low down on the mountains, and I started with Hunter to see +if it contained any good rams. We left camp about noon and reached the +sheep in a little over an hour. There was one ram which I shot for +meat, but unfortunately his head was smaller than I thought, and +valueless as a trophy. + +As sheep hunting in these hills is at best hard work, I decided to move +the camp as high up as we could find wood and water. The next morning as +we started on our first real hunt, we took the native with us, and after +selecting a spot at the edge of the timber line, left him to bring up +our camp to this place while my man and I continued over the mountains +in search of rams. The day was dull and the wind was fortunately light. + +After a stiff climb we came out upon a mossy tableland, intersected by +several deep gulches, down which tumbled rapid glacial streams from many +perpetual snow banks. Above this high plateau rose sharp and barren +mountains which seemed but glacial heaps of jagged boulders and slide +rock all covered with coarse black moss or lichen, which is the only +food of sheep during the winter months. + +It is generally supposed that when the heavy snows of winter set in the +sheep seek a lower level, but my guide insisted that they work higher +and higher up the mountain sides, where the winds have swept the snow +away, and they are able to get this coarse but nourishing food. + +The sky-line of these hills made a series of unbroken curves telling of +the mighty power of the glaciers which once held this entire country in +their crushing grasp. + +We passed over the great plateau, which even at this latitude was +sprinkled generously with beautiful small wild flowers. Crossing gulch +after gulch we continually worked higher and higher by a gradual and +easy ascent. + +We had been gone from camp but little over an hour, when, on approaching +a small knoll, I caught sight of the white coat of a sheep just beyond. +At once dropping upon my hands and knees I crawled up and carefully +peered over to the other side. We had unknowingly worked into the midst +of a big band of ewes, lambs, and small rams. I counted twenty-seven on +my left and twenty-five on my right, but among them all there was not a +head worth shooting. + +This was the first great band of white sheep I had seen, and I watched +them at this close range with much interest. Soon a tell-tale eddy in +the breeze gave them our scent, and they slowly moved away, not +hurriedly nor in great alarm, but reminding me much of tame sheep, or +deer in a park. Man was rather an unfamiliar animal to them, and his +scent brought but little dread. From this time until darkness hid them, +sheep were in plain view the entire day. In a short while I counted over +one hundred ewes and lambs. + +We worked over one range and around another with the great valley of the +river lying at our feet, while beyond were chain upon chain of bleak and +rugged mountains. Finally we came to a vast gulch supposed to be the +home of the large rams. My men had hunted in this section two years +before, and had never failed to find good heads here, but we now saw +nothing worth stalking. By degrees we worked to the top of the gulch, +and coming to the summit of the ridge paused, for at our feet was what +at first appeared but a perpendicular precipice of jagged rock falling +hundreds of feet. The clouds now lifted a bit and we could see below a +vast circular valley with green grass and rapid glacial streams. On all +sides it was hemmed in and guarded by mighty mountains with giant cliffs +and vast slides of broken rocks reaching from the bottom to the very +summits. Opposite was a great dull blue glacier from which the north +fork of the Killy River belched forth, while other smaller glaciers and +snow banks seemed kept in place only by granite barriers. + +We seated ourselves on the brink of this great cliff and the glasses +were at once in use. Soon Hunter saw rams, but they were so far below +that even with my powerful binoculars it was impossible to tell more +than that they carried larger heads than other sheep near them. + +It was impossible to descend the cliff at the point where we then were, +so we moved around, looking for a place where we might work down, and +finally found one where it was possible to descend some fifty yards to a +sort of shute. From where we were we could not see whether we should be +able to make a still further descent, and if we did go down that far it +would be an extremely difficult climb to get back, but we thought it +probable that there would be slide rock at the other end of this shute, +in which case the rest would be fairly easy. + +Moving with the greatest caution, we finally reached the shute, and +after a bit of bad climbing found the slide rock at the lower end as we +had expected; but it took us a good two hours to get low enough to tell +with the glasses how big were the horns the sheep carried. + +There were eight rams in all. A bunch of three small ones about half a +mile away, and just beyond them four with better heads, but still not +good enough to shoot, and apart from these, a short distance up the +mountain side, was a solitary ram which carried a really good head. The +bunch of three was unfortunately between us and the big sheep, and it +required careful stalking to get within distance of the one we +sought. We knew very well that if we suddenly alarmed the three, and +they rushed off, they, in turn, would alarm the four and also the big +ram. When we were still at some distance we showed ourselves to the +three, and they took the hint and wandered slowly up the mountain +side. The others, although they had not seen us, became suspicious, so +we remained crouched behind some rocks until they once more began to +feed. The big ram now came down from his solitary position and passed +from view behind a mass of boulders near the remaining sheep. + +The head of the ram which I had shot the day before was much smaller +than I had supposed at the time. In order to avoid this in future I had +asked Hunter to advise me in selecting only really good heads. My man, +who now had the glasses, declared that the big sheep had not joined the +bunch of four, and I must confess that I was also deceived. + +Although the four had become suspicious from seeing the three go slowly +up the cliff, still they had not made us out, and the wind remained +favorable. Lying close only long enough for them to get over their +uneasiness, we cautiously stalked up to within some two hundred +yards. Again we used the glasses most carefully, but could not see the +big ram. Suddenly the sheep became alarmed and started up the +mountain. I expected each second to see the large ram come out from +behind the boulders, and therefore withheld from shooting. But when he +did not appear I turned my attention to the four which had paused and +were looking down upon us from a rocky ridge nearly four hundred yards +above. As they stood in bold relief against the black crags, I saw that +one carried horns much larger than the others, and that it was the big +ram. My only chance was to take this long shot. We had been crossing a +snow bank at the time, and I settled myself, dug my heels well in, and +with elbows resting on my knees took a steady aim. I was fortunate in +judging the correct distance, for at the report of the rifle the big ram +dropped, gave a few spasmodic kicks, and the next minute came rolling +down the mountain side, tumbling over and over, and bringing with him a +great shower of broken rocks. I feared that his head and horns would be +ruined, but fortunately found them not only uninjured, but a most +beautiful trophy. The horns taped a good 34 inches along the curve and +13-1/2 inches around the butts. + +That night the weather changed, and thenceforth the mountains were +constantly enveloped in mist, while it rained almost daily. These were +most difficult conditions under which to hunt, for sheep have wonderful +vision and can see a hunter through the mist long before they can be +seen. + +I was anxious to bring out as trophies only the finest heads, and daily +refused chances which some might have gladly taken. If we could not +plainly see with the naked eye horns at 300 to 400 yards, we always let +the sheep pass, knowing that the head was small, but if at any time we +could make out that a sheep carried a full turn to his horns, we knew +that the head was well matured. If we saw a sheep facing us we could +always tell when the horns made a full turn, for then the tips curved +outward. + +A week after killing the big ram we again visited the great basin, but +found nothing, and cautiously moved a little higher to a sheltered +position. From here we carefully scanned the bottom of this large gulch, +and soon spied a bunch of ewes and lambs, and shortly afterward three +medium sized rams. When we first saw them one had become suspicious and +was looking intently in our direction, so we crouched low against the +rocks, keeping perfectly still until they once more began to feed. When +they had gradually worked over a slight knoll we made a quick approach, +cautiously stalking up to the ridge over which the sheep had gone. I had +expected to get a fair shot at two hundred yards or under, but when I +peered over nothing was in sight. I concluded they had not gone up the +mountain side, for their white coats against the black rocks would have +rendered them easily seen. I, therefore, started to walk boldly in the +direction in which we had seen them go, thinking they had probably taken +shelter from the gale behind some rocks. + +I had only gone some paces when we located them standing on a snow patch +which had made them indistinguishable. I sat down and tried to shoot +from my knees, but the wind was coming in such fierce gusts that I could +not hold my rifle steady, so I ran as hard as I could in their +direction, looking hastily about for some rock which would offer +shelter. + +The sheep made up the mountain side for some three hundred yards, when +they paused to look back. I had by this time found a sheltered position +behind a large boulder, and soon had one of the rams wounded, but, +although I fired several shots I seemed unable to knock him off his +feet. Fearing that I might lose him after all, I aimed for the second +ram, which was now on the move some distance further up the mountain, +and at my second shot he stopped. Climbing up to within one hundred and +fifty yards I found that both the sheep were badly wounded, and were +unable to go further, so I finished them off. What was my surprise to +find that the larger ram had seven bullets in him, while the smaller one +had three. + +These sheep would almost never flinch to the shot, and it was difficult +to tell when you had hit, unless in an immediately vital spot. + +The weather continued unfavorable for hill shooting until the third of +September, but that day opened bright and clear, and fearing lest the +good conditions might not last, we made an early start. Crossing the +high plateau we followed the valley of the Killy River, keeping well up +and skirting the bases of the mountain summits. As we trudged along, the +shrill cries of alarm of the whistling marmots were heard, and the +little fellows could be seen in all directions scampering for their +holes. Ptarmigan were also frequently met with, but not in such great +numbers as one would have supposed in a region where they had never been +hunted. On several occasions we found these birds on the highest summits +where there was nothing but rocks covered with black moss. It would have +been interesting to have shot one of them and learned upon what they +were then feeding, but it was just in the locality where we hoped to +find rams, and this was out of the question. That morning we traveled +some distance before we saw sheep, but having once reached their feeding +ground I had the satisfaction of watching more wild game than on any +previous day. + +The Kussiloff hills were dotted with scattered bands, and I counted in +one large flock forty-eight, while the long and narrow valley on both +sides of the stream was sprinkled with smaller bunches containing from +two or three to twenty. It was a beautiful sight, for every ewe had at +least one, and many of them two, lambs frolicking at her side. + +In addition to these sheep we saw three moose feeding in a small green +valley at the base of the opposite hills. The river was impassable for +some miles, and although they were hardly more than a mile away in a +straight line, they were quite unapproachable, so we sat and watched +them with much interest until they slowly fed into the timber. + +Shortly after noon we located some large sheep on a rocky knoll across +the Killy River just below where the stream gushes out from a mighty +glacier. They were a long way off, but with the glasses we could see +that one lying apart from the others was a ram, and we surmised that if +we could see his horns at such a distance even through the glasses he +probably carried a good head. + +Working down to the stream we finally found a point shallow enough to +wade. We now made a cautious and careful stalk to the place where we had +last located the sheep, but a bunch of ewes and a small ram were all +that we could see. + +Hunter and I were both much disgusted, for we had expected surely to +find a head that was up to our standard. + +It was well on in the afternoon when we started back to camp. We had +been going steadily over the broken hillsides since early morning, and +had met sheep at almost every turn. At the sight of us some would bound +up the steep mountain sides in great alarm, while several times at only +a couple of hundred yards others merely turned their heads in our +direction, and after observing us for a short time continued to +graze. Somehow these ewes seemed to understand that I had no intention +of molesting them. + +It is strange how the hope of seeing game keeps one from feeling tired, +but as we trudged homeward, a bit depressed that in all the great number +of sheep seen, there had not been one good head, and that our hard day +was all to no purpose, my man and I both began to feel pretty well +fagged out. + +Late in the afternoon we paused for a brief rest and a smoke, and here +Hunter sighted two lone rams in a gulch at the top of the mountain above +us. By this time we were both pretty well used up, but the glasses +showed that they carried good heads, and I determined to stalk them, +even if it meant passing the night on the hills. So we worked our way up +to the top of a ridge which commanded a view of the gulch in which the +sheep were grazing, but they had fed some distance away by the time we +reached the place where I had expected to shoot, and were at too long a +range to make my aim certain. If we had had plenty of time, we should +have worked up the ridge nearer, and this Hunter was still anxious for +me to do, but when I saw one of the sheep suddenly raise his head and +look intently in our direction I knew my only chance was to take the +long shot. T had seen what the .30-40 Winchester rifle would do in the +hills, and the question was one of holding. However, I could count on +several shots before they ran out of sight, and even at such a distance +I hoped to get one and possibly the pair. Both sheep carried good heads, +but I aimed at the one which stood broadside to me. Hunter, who had the +glasses, told me afterward that the ram with the more massive horns got +away, but I succeeded in wounding the other so that he was unable to +move. Knowing he would shortly die, and that I could find him the next +morning, we at once started at our best pace for camp. + +We only reached our tent at nine o'clock that night, both completely +fagged out. A cup of tea made us feel better, but it was late before I +could get to sleep. Such days are a bit too much for steady practice, +but if they end in success the trophy means all the more. + +The following day we were literally wind-bound, and not until the day +after could we set out for the wounded sheep, which we eventually found, +not fifty yards from where we had last seen him. It was a long and hard +climb to reach him, but he carried a very pretty head with massive horns +of over a full turn. I found that two shots of the seven which I had +fired had taken effect. + +Two days later the native arrived from the main camp with more +provisions, and brought an interesting letter from Blake. It seemed that +some Englishmen who had been hunting in these hills just before us had +driven the big rams to the other end of the range, where my friend had +been most fortunate in finding them. He strongly advised my leaving my +present camp and coming to the country which he had just left, having +got six excellent heads. This was the limit which we had decided upon as +the number of sheep that we each wanted. + +It was now apparently clear that I had been hunting at a great +disadvantage in my district. On receiving Blake's letter I at once +determined to retrace my steps to the main camp, go to the head of the +lake and follow up the trail which he had laid out upon the mountains. + +Therefore the next morning (September 7) we shouldered our packs and +went over the hills to our main camp. Instead of following the trail by +which we had come, we decided to push straight across country, hoping in +this way to reach our main camp in one march. Our change of route was +unfortunate, and this day I can easily put down as the hardest one I +ever passed in the mountains. + +In order to bring out all our belongings in one trip we had extra heavy +packs, and the country over which we marched was very trying. About noon +I spied sheep on one of the outlying hills, and as we came nearer I made +out through the glasses that this was a bunch of five rams, and that +three of them carried exceptionally good heads. My only chance was to +push ahead of my men, and this I did, but stalking sheep over a rough +country with a heavy pack on your back is very trying work, and I failed +to connect with these rams. + +About five o'clock in the afternoon we came down over the mountains on +to the high plateau above our main camp. We were all too used up to go +any further, or even put up our light tent, although it soon began to +rain. We made a rude camp in a patch of stunted hemlocks, and as I sat +before the fire having my tea, I chanced to look up on the hills before +me, and there was the bunch of five rams I had tried so hard to stalk +early in the afternoon. They were at no great distance, but it was +rapidly growing dark, and there was not time to get within range while +it would be light enough to shoot. So I sat and studied these sheep +through the glasses, determined to find them later, even if it took me a +month. + +One of them had a most beautiful head, with long and massive horns well +over the full turn. Another had a head which would have been equally +good if the left horn had not been slightly broken at the tip. The third +also had an excellent head, and although not up to the other two, his +horns made the full turn. The remaining two rams were smaller. I watched +them until darkness came on, and all this while they fed slowly back +toward the mountains on which my friend had been hunting the week +before. I am convinced that this bunch of sheep had been driven out of +these hills by Blake, and had been turned back again by me. + +It rained hard that night, and the next morning the clouds were so low +that it was impossible to go in search of the rams I had seen the +evening before. I, therefore, determined to push immediately to the +main camp, which we reached three hours later. We at once lunched, and, +putting our light outfit in one of the boats, rowed up to the head of +the lake. + +This range of hills is surrounded by a mighty glacier, and at the foot +of the glacier is a moraine some ten miles long extending down to Kenai +Lake. On one side of this moraine you can walk by skirting the shore +and using care, but on the other side the quicksands are deep and +dangerous. We camped for the night in a place which my friend had used +as his base of supplies. + +The next morning opened dull, and I felt the effects of my hard work and +did not greatly relish the idea of shouldering a fifty-pound pack. But +my time was now getting short. In two weeks the rutting season of the +moose would begin, and in the meantime I wanted four more fine specimens +of the white sheep. Any day we might expect a heavy fall of snow, for +the northern winter had already begun in the hills. + +We soon found the tracks of Blake's party, which led up the moraine, and +carried us over quicksand and through glacial streams, icy cold. +Finally we came to where Blake had started up the mountain side, and +with all due regard to my friend, his trail was not an easy one. About +noon it began to rain, but we pushed upward, although soon soaked to the +skin, and came out above timber just at dark. We were all fagged out and +shaking with cold by the time we reached Blake's old camp. + +The next morning broke dismally with the floodgates of the heavens open +and the rain coming down in torrents. I lay among my rugs and smoked one +pipe after another in order to keep down my appetite, for there was +little chance of making a fire to cook with. In fact, most of the day +was passed in this way, for all the wood had become thoroughly +water-soaked. + +Late in the afternoon we succeeded in getting a fire started and had a +square meal. While we were crouched around the blaze the natives saw +sheep on the hills just above us, but it was raining so hard that it was +impossible to tell if they were rams. In fact, when sheeps' coats are +saturated with water they do not show up plainly when seen at any +distance, and might easily be mistaken for wet rocks. + +The next day opened just as dismally, with the storm raging harder than +ever, but by eleven o'clock it began to let up, and we soon had our +things drying in the wind, for the clouds looked threatening, and we +feared the rain would begin again at any time. + +As we were short of provisions and depended almost entirely upon meat, +my head man and I started at once for the hills. The little stream by +our camp was swollen into a rushing torrent, and we were obliged to go +almost to its source--a miniature glacier--before we could wade it. +Climbing to the crest of the mountains on which we had seen the sheep +the evening before, and following just under the sky line, we soon saw a +large and two small rams feeding on a sheltered ledge before us. + +We much feared that they would get: our scent, but by circling well +around we succeeded in making a fair approach. I should have had an +excellent shot at the big ram had not one of the smaller ones given the +alarm. The gale was coming in such gusts that it was difficult to take a +steady aim, and at my first shot the bullet was carried to one side. I +fired again just as the sheep were passing from view, and succeeded in +breaking the leg of the big ram. Hunter and I now raced after him, but +the hillside was so broken that it was impossible to locate him, so my +man went to the valley below where he could get a good view and signal +to me. + +It is always well in hill shooting to have an understood code of signals +between your man and yourself. The one which I used and found most +satisfactory provided that if my man walked to the right or left it +meant that the game was in either of these directions; if he walked away +from the mountain, it was lower down; if he approached the mountain, it +was higher up. + +As Hunter, after reaching the valley and taking a look with the glasses, +began to walk away, I knew that the sheep was below me, and I suddenly +came close upon the three, which had taken shelter from the gale behind +a large rock. Very frequently sheep will remain behind with a wounded +companion; especially is this so when it is a large ram. Now, +unfortunately, one of the smaller rams got between me and the big one, +and as I did not want to kill the little fellow the big ram was soon out +of range. But he was too badly wounded to go far over such grounds, and +I soon stalked up near, when I fired, breaking another leg, and then ran +up and finished him off. This ram carried a very pretty head 13-1/2 +inches around the butts and 36-1/4 inches along the curve, but +unfortunately the left horn was slightly broken at the tip. It was +undoubtedly an old sheep, as his teeth, worn to the gums, and the ten +rings around his horns indicated. + +When a ram's constitution has been undermined by the rutting season, the +horns cease to grow, nor do they begin again until the spring of the +year with its green vegetation brings nourishing food, and this is the +cause of the rings, which, therefore, indicate the number of winters old +a sheep is. This was my head man's theory, and is, I believe, a correct +one, for in the smaller heads which I have examined these rings +coincided with the age of the sheep as told by the teeth. Up to five +years, the age of a sheep can always be determined by the incisor teeth; +a yearling has but two permanent incisors, a two-year-old four, a +three-year-old six, and a four-year-old or over eight teeth, or a full +set. + +[Illustration: HEADS OF DALL'S SHEEP +(The horns above are of the Stone's sheep)] + +It was unpleasantly cold upon the mountains this day, and as no other +sheep could be seen, we returned to camp by five o'clock. This was the +easiest day's shooting that I had had. + +As we sat by the camp-fire that evening, four sheep were seen on the +hills above us, two of which I recognized as the small rams that had +been with the one I had just killed. We felt quite certain that these +were the bunch of five rams which we had seen when we were packing out +from our first hill camp. In fact, this was the only good band of rams +which I saw during the entire hunt. If these were the same sheep, the +two newcomers carried good heads, for, as previously stated, I had +studied this lot carefully through the glasses. + +The next day, the thirteenth and Friday, opened dismally enough, but by +the time we had finished breakfast the mountains Were clear of clouds +and there was no wind to mar one's shooting. Such conditions were to be +taken advantage of, and Hunter and I were soon working up the ridge well +to leeward of the place where we had seen the sheep the night +before. Reaching the crest we scanned the grounds on all sides, and also +the rugged mountain tops about us. + +The white coats of these sheep against the dark background of black +moss-covered rocks render them easily seen, but we now failed to sight +any even on the distant hills. Therefore we pushed ahead, going +stealthily up wind and keeping a careful watch on all sides. We crossed +over the ridge and worked our way just below the sky-line on the other +side of the mountain from our camp, never supposing that the sheep would +work back, for they had seen our camp-fire on the night before. We +traveled nearly to the end of the ridge, and were just about to cross +and work down to a sheltered place where we expected to find our game, +when Hunter chanced to look back, and instantly motioned me to drop out +of sight. + +While we had been working around one side of the summit the sheep had +been working back on the other side, and we had passed them with the +mountain ridge between. Fortunately they were all feeding with their +heads away or they must have seen us as we came out on the sky-line. My +man had the glasses and assured me that there were two excellent +heads. We now felt quite certain that these were the sheep we knew so +well. + +We cautiously dropped out of sight and worked back, keeping the mountain +ridge between us. We were well above and had a favorable wind and the +entire day before us. It was the first and only time upon these hills +that the conditions had all been favorable for a fair stalk and good +shooting. Hunter did his part well, and brought me up to within one +hundred and twenty-five yards of the rams, which were almost directly +below us. They had stopped feeding and were lying down. Only one of the +smaller sheep was visible, and my man advised me to take a shot at him, +and then take the two large ones as they showed themselves. Aiming low, +I fired, and then as one of the big rams jumped up I fired again, +killing him instantly. The smaller one that I had first shot at went to +the left, while the one remaining large ram and the second smaller one +went to the right. The latter were instantly hidden from view, for the +mountain side was very rough and broken and covered with large slide +rock. I raced in the same direction, knowing well that they would work +up hill. But hurrying over such ground is rather dangerous work. + +Soon the two sheep came into view, offering a pretty quartering shot at +a little under a hundred yards. The old ram fell to my first bullet, and +I allowed the smaller one to go and grow up, and I hope offer good sport +to some persevering sportsman five years hence. + +While Hunter climbed down and skinned out the heads I turned in pursuit +of the one which I had first fired at, for we both thought he had been +hit, having seen hair fly. I soon located him in the distance, but he +showed no signs of a bad wound, and as his head was small I was truly +glad that my shot had only grazed him. Both the rams which I killed +carried excellent heads with unbroken points, and we were safely back in +camp with the trophies shortly after two o'clock that afternoon--an easy +and a pleasant day. + +The larger ram measured 13-1/4 inches around the base of the horns, and +37-7/8 inches along the outer curves. These were the longest horns of +the _Ovis dalli_ that I killed. The other ram measured 13 inches +around the horns and 34-1/2 inches along the outer curve. + +[Illustration: MY BEST HEAD] + +While we were having tea that afternoon, we chanced to look up on the +hills, and there, near the crest of the ridge, was one of the small rams +from the bunch we had stalked that morning. He offered a very easy +chance had I wanted his head. It is worthy of note that these sheep +seem to have no fear of the smell of blood or dead comrades, and on +several occasions I have observed them near the carcass of some ram +which I had shot. + +The next day opened perceptibly cooler, and the angry clouds overhead +told us to beware of a coming storm. As I now had seven heads, five of +which were very handsome trophies, I concluded to take Hunter's advice +and leave the high hills. + +Our sheep shooting for the year was now practically over. Had the +weather been fine it would have been an ideal trip; but with the +exception of the third and thirteenth of September every day passed upon +the mountains was not only disagreeable, but with conditions so +unfavorable that it had been almost impossible to stalk our game +properly, for when I had been once wet to the skin the cold wind from +the glaciers soon chilled me to such a degree that I was unable to +remain quietly in one place and allow the game to get in a favorable +position for a stalk. I had been obliged to keep constantly going, and +this frequently meant shooting at long range. With the exception of the +rams shot on the eleventh and thirteenth of September, I had killed +nothing under three hundred yards. Therefore much of the sport in +making a careful and proper stalk had been lost. + +My success with the white sheep had come only with the hardest kind of +work, but I now had five really fine heads--which I later increased to +six, my limit. I was quite satisfied with the measurements of these +horns along the curve, but had hoped to have shot at least one which +would tape over 14 inches around the butts, although this would be +extreme, for the horns of the white sheep do not grow so large as the +common Rocky Mountain variety. They are also much lighter in color. I +believe that large and perfect heads will be most difficult to find a +few years hence in this section, and the sportsman who has ambitions in +this direction would do well not to delay his trip too long; for this +range of hills is not over large, and unless these sheep have some +protection, it is only a question of time before they will be almost +entirely killed off. + + + + +V. + + +HUNTING THE GIANT MOOSE + +On September 17 we packed up and moved down the lake several miles, +where we made another base of supplies, for we were now going upon the +moose range. + +The rutting season of the moose begins on the Kenai Peninsula about the +15th of September, and lasts, roughly speaking, for one month. At this +time the bulls come from the remote places where they have passed the +summer and seek the cows, and the country which they now roam is +generally the high tablelands which lie at the base of the mountains +just below the timber line. We had timed our hunt to be in the moose +range during this season, for then the bulls are bold, and not so +difficult to find. + +Bull moose differ from the rest of the deer family in not getting +together a big band of cows, but pair off. The female remains with the +bull only a short time, and then slips away, and then the bulls roam the +forest in search of other partners. They are now very fearless, and if +they come upon a female accompanied by another bull, fight gallantly to +get possession of her. Their sense of smell is rather dulled at this +time, for I have often seen their tracks following the trail which my +native was constantly traveling. + +The calves are born in May or June, and are weaned during the rutting +season, for the bulls are very apt to drive them away from their +mothers. + +The antlers are hardly out of the velvet before the rutting season +begins. They are then a light yellowish color, but are later stained +dark brown by constant rubbing and scraping against bushes and tree +trunks. + +The moose of Alaska undoubtedly carry heads far grander than those found +in the East. In fact, the antlers of the Kenai Peninsula moose equal, if +they do not exceed in size, those from any other part of the world, and +it was my ambition to kill by still-hunting a good example of one of +these. + +Calling moose I have never looked upon as true sport, unless the hunter +does his own calling, and I am glad to see that many feel in the same +way about this mode of hunting. + +After we had made our base of supplies on the shore of the lake, we +shouldered our packs and climbed up through the forest for several +hours, until we came to the shore of a small lake, where we made +camp. The scrubby woods were very thick, and extended up the sides of +the mountains for some distance; then came a broad belt of thick alders, +and beyond that the high open tablelands, which rolled back to the base +of the sheep hills. In all directions deep game trails, traveled by the +moose for many years, wound through the forest. + +In the afternoon my man and I took our first hunt. Fresh tracks were +seen in the much-used runways, which were often worn two feet deep by +constant travel. Late in the afternoon I saw five sheep feeding on some +low hills at no great distance, and as there were no lambs among the +lot, we supposed that this was a band of rams, but we had not time to +reach them before dark. + +We were just about to return to camp when Hunter saw glistening in the +sun among the thick alders, just above the timber line, the massive +antlers of a moose. There was no time to be lost if we meant to come up +with him, and so my man and I raced the entire way through the woods, +and then up the steep ascent, but failed to reach him. + +When I started on this hunt I had a thorough understanding with Hunter +and my native that no one was to carry a rifle but myself, for I was +determined not to allow my natives to molest the game. Indians do not +like to wander through the forests without a gun, and my native had +lately borrowed a rifle from one of Blake's men, but I insisted upon his +leaving it at our base of supplies. + +That afternoon, as Hunter and I started from camp, we sent the native +back to the lake to bring us more provisions. He told us that he had no +sooner reached the shore than he had heard a splash in the water near +him, and looking up had seen a large moose swimming across to a neck of +land at no great distance. He described this moose as at times being +completely submerged by the weight of his antlers, and said that he had +apparently great difficulty in swimming. + +This temptation was too great for Lawroshka, and, as his rifle was at +hand, he pushed off in the boat, and coming up close to the moose, shot +him just as he was leaving the water. He offered to give me the head, +and seemed greatly surprised when I refused it, and told him I did not +wish to bring out any trophies which I had not shot myself. I was sorry +to learn that some men who have hunted in this region did not hesitate +to class among their trophies the heads which had been shot by their +men. + +I went to sleep that night with the expectation of a fair day and good +sport on the morrow, but woke next morning to find it raining +hard. Since reaching our hunting grounds on the 22d of August, we had +had only five pleasant days, and three of these were used up in marching +from one camp to another. It was now raining so hard that I determined +not to hunt, and turned in among my blankets with my pipe, but after a +time this failed to satisfy me, and by 11 o'clock Hunter and I decided +that even a thorough wetting was preferable to doing nothing. + +The five sheep which we had seen the evening before were still in view +from our camp. One bunch of three lay in a commanding position on an +open hillside, and were unapproachable, but the other two had left the +main mountain range and were feeding on one of the outlying foothills. +These offered an excellent chance, and Hunter and I started in their +direction. + +Nothing so thoroughly wets one as passing through thick underbrush which +is ladened with raindrops, and we were both soon drenched, but we were +now quite used to this discomfort, and had expected it. + +After coming out above timber, we reached the belt of alders through +which we were working upward, when one of the sheep appeared upon the +rugged sky-line some half mile above us. The glasses showed that he was +a young ram with a head not worth shooting, but as his mate followed, we +could see at a glance that his horns made the full turn, and were well +up to the standard that I had set. + +The smaller one soon wandered down the hill to our left, but the old +fellow was more wary, and kept to the rocky summit. We gradually worked +nearer and nearer as his head was turned, or as he slowly fed behind +some rocks. In this way we had almost reached a dip in the hillside +which would hide us from view until I could approach near enough for a +shot, when the ram suddenly appeared on the sky-line above. We both +crouched to the ground and kept perfectly still, while he stood in bold +relief against the clouds intently gazing in all directions. For almost +a half hour he never moved, except to slowly turn his head. It was +evident that he was restless, and missed his young companion which had +wandered away. Then he gradually moved off and sank behind a rock, and +as Hunter and I had seen his hindquarters disappear last, we knew he was +lying down, for a sheep goes down on his front knees first. This was +our chance, and we hastened to take advantage of it. In fact, Hunter had +crossed the last open and I was half way over, when the ram suddenly +appeared again on the crest of the hill, and by his side was his young +companion. Again I dropped to the ground, while the sheep gazed down at +me. I was almost tempted to take the shot, for the distance was now not +over 400 yards, and I had killed several sheep at this range. But hoping +that they had not made me out, I kept perfectly still. I could see +Hunter crouching behind a bush a short distance ahead, and soon he +beckoned. I now looked up only to find that the sheep had vanished. + +As I was wearing a dark green shooting suit, I do not think they quite +made me out, but their suspicions were aroused, and they headed for the +main range of mountains. In order to reach this they would be obliged to +cross nearly half a mile of open tableland. We hastened after them, and +soon saw the rams, as we had expected, heading for the other hills. We +yet hoped to stalk them when they had reached the level, for they had +not been greatly alarmed, and were going leisurely along, now and again +stopping to munch some of their favorite black moss from the rocks. On +reaching the last hill they seemed to change their minds, for after +gazing in all directions they lay down in an absolutely unapproachable +position. + +Hunter and I were caught on a bald hillside exposed to a biting north +wind, with no chance of a nearer approach without being seen. Finally, +as a last resort, we determined upon a drive. + +While I lay perfectly still, Hunter advanced boldly across the open in a +big circle, getting between the hill and the main range. When the rams' +attention was fixed on him, I cautiously worked back and around, taking +up a position which commanded the ridge over which the sheep had just +gone. When Hunter had got between them and the other mountains, he began +to approach. The rams now sprang to their feet, and evidently fully +realized their dangerous position. They came, as we had expected, to +the other end of the range from where I had taken my stand, but seemed +reluctant to go back further on the isolated foothills. + +It was too far for an accurate shot, and I waited, hoping for a better +chance. As Hunter now worked up over the summit, the sheep broke back +below him, and in another second would have had a clear field across the +flat to the main range. Running up as quickly as the nature of the +ground would permit, I lessened the distance some fifty yards, and, just +as they were about to disappear from view, I fired twice, carefully +aiming at the larger sheep, which I knew to be the big ram. + +There was a strong wind blowing, and accurate shooting at such a long +distance was out of the question, so I must regard it as an +exceptionally lucky shot which broke his leg. + +Hunter now signaled me to continue around the hill, and I soon came upon +the old fellow lying down. I seated myself well within range, intending +to catch my breath before shooting, when he suddenly sprang to his feet +and bounded down the hill. I fired and missed, and started in pursuit. +Although a sheep with a broken leg finds it hard to go up hill over +rough ground, it is surprising how fast they can go down hill or across +the open. + +When this ram came to the base of the mountain he started in a straight +line across the tableland, and led me a long chase before I ran him down +and shot him. He carried quite a pretty head, measuring 13-1/2 inches +around the butts and 32 inches along the curve. + +I had now reached the limit I had set on sheep, and although I saw some +later, I did not go after them. + +It stormed hard all that night, and we woke the next morning to another +wet and dismal day. I, therefore, determined to remain in camp, and was +mending my much-worn knickerbockers by the fire when a moose was sighted +on the mountain above timber, making for the thick belt of alders. He +was soon hidden from view, and as we could not see that he passed +through any of the open patches lower down, we hoped that he had chosen +this secure retreat to lay up in. + +The rain was coming down in torrents, but the bull carried a large and +massive pair of antlers, and as I did not want to allow a chance to go +by, Hunter and I were soon in pursuit. We circled well around in order +to get the wind, and then forced our way through the heavy underbrush +for some hours until we finally came to the belt of alders where we had +last seen him. I now climbed a tree at the edge of the timber, hoping +that from a lofty position I should be able to locate him, but met with +no success. + +It was now my intention to take a stand upon the hillside above timber, +hoping that the moose would show himself toward evening, but in our wet +clothes we were soon too chilled to remain inactive. As a last resort, +Hunter forced his way back into the alders, while I kept in the open +above. After going some distance my man turned to the right for the +purpose of driving him out in my direction, but our hard and +disagreeable hunt was to no purpose, and we returned to camp just before +dark, having passed a wetter and more uncomfortable day than any yet. + +Both Hunter and I thought this was the same bull which we had twice seen +before, as he carried rather an unusual head, and had come from the same +direction and to the same place. + +The next day it rained even harder, and the clouds were so low that we +could not see the mountain side, and therefore had no temptation to +leave camp. My patience was by this time nearly exhausted, for the +continual rain was very depressing, and detracted much from the pleasure +of being in such a grand game country. + +About noon I was sitting before the fire when Lawroshka went to the +lake, only some ten steps away, for a pail of water. Here he saw a bull +moose standing on the other side. He beckoned to me, and I seized my +rifle and cautiously approached the native. The moose offered an easy +shot at 250 yards, and my first bullet rolled him over. His head was +disappointing, but it is often difficult to tell the size of a moose's +antlers when they are half hidden in the trees. + +We woke next morning to the usual dismal surroundings, and remained in +camp all that day. Late that afternoon the fog lifted and we saw the +same large moose in his accustomed place among the alders, but it was +too late in the day to try for him. + +That night the wind veered to the west, and just as I was about to turn +in, the rain stopped and a few stars shone faintly in the heavens. The +weather had been so constantly bad that even these signs failed to cheer +me, and I had decided that we would break camp the next day no matter +what the conditions might be. But the morning (September 22) opened +bright and clear, with the first good frost in two weeks. We were most +anxious for a cold snap, for the leaves were still thick upon the trees, +which made it next to impossible to sec game in the woods at any +distance. + +After breakfast we shouldered our packs and were soon on the march, +expecting to reach our permanent quarters in the moose range before +noon, and have the afternoon to hunt. Bright days had been so rare with +us that we meant to make the most of this one. + +The heavy rains had flooded the woods, and the deep worn game trails +that we followed were half full of water, while the open meadows and +tundra that we occasionally crossed were but little better than +miniature lakes. We had made about half of our march and my pack had +just begun to grow doubly heavy from constant floundering around in the +mire, when we came out into a long and narrow meadow. There were a few +dwarf spruce at our end, but the rest of the small opening was free of +underbrush. + +Hunter was leading and I was close behind with Stereke at heel, while +the native was a few steps further back. I had noticed my dog a short +time before sniffing the air, and was therefore keeping a constant watch +on all sides, hoping that we might come upon game, but little expecting +it, when suddenly I caught sight of a large bull moose standing in the +middle of the opening. He was about 300 yards away, and almost directly +down wind. I do not see how he could have failed to get our scent, and +he must have been indifferent to us rather than alarmed. + +My first thought was of Stereke. I knew that he would break at the sight +of game, and realized for the hundredth time my mistake in bringing a +bear dog into the moose range. Quickly giving him to the native to hold, +I dropped my pack and was instantly working my way toward the moose. I +had got to within rather less than 200 yards when I saw the moose turn +his head and look in my direction. A nearer approach was impossible, so +I gave him at once two shots, and at the second he fell. + +My dog, having bitten himself free from the native, made for the moose, +and savagely attacked his haunches. Seeing that the bull was trying to +regain his feet, I gave him another shot, and running up drove off the +dog. + +Now, for the first time, I had a good chance to see my trophy. I knew +that it was a good head, but hardly expected such large and massive +antlers. They were malformed and turned in, or the spread would have +been considerably larger, but even then they went over sixty inches, +with forty-four well defined points. I am quite sure that this was the +same bull that we had seen so often among the alders, and which I had +twice before unsuccessfully stalked. + +Our march was delayed until we skinned out the head, cleaned the scalp, +and hung the meat in some near-by trees for future use. It was therefore +late that afternoon when we reached our new camp. We now settled +ourselves comfortably, for we meant to stay in these quarters for the +remainder of the hunt. + +The next week my friend Blake joined me, and we scoured the country +around this camp most diligently, but with no further success. Daily we +came upon cows and small bulls, but it seemed as if all the large males +had left the neighborhood. Stamp holes and unmistakable signs of the +rutting season were found everywhere, but with the most careful hunting +I was unable to get another shot. + +There were a few bull moose in the dense woods, but not a sufficient +number to warrant the hope of my getting another head such as I had +already shot. At this time of the year moose are such restless animals, +and are so constantly on the move that it is not difficult to +distinguish their presence. + +I had now hunted this entire range most thoroughly, and was reluctantly +forced to the conclusion that there were not sufficient signs to warrant +my remaining another month. I talked the matter over with my friend, and +told him that if he cared to wait until the next monthly steamer we +could combine our forces and start into a new country which we knew was +good; but Blake did not want to delay his departure so long, and as he +now decided to return to the coast, I made up my mind to go out with +him, take the steamer to Seattle, and thence go to British Columbia, +where I would finish my long hunt by a trip after Rocky Mountain sheep. + +Shortly after this we broke camp and started back to Cook Inlet, which +we reached October 2. A few days later the steamer arrived, and that +same night I was on my way from Alaska. + +Unfortunately, my hunting for the year was over, for on my arrival at +Seattle I found that I had been too much pulled down by the hard work +upon the hills to make it wise for me to go into British Columbia.[7] + +[Transcriber's Note: Footnote numbered in the text, but no associated +text.] + +_Jas. H. Kidder_. + + + + +The Kadiak Bear and his Home + + +In 1901 the opportunity came to me to make a trip to the island which +the Kadiak bear inhabits, and to become slightly acquainted with this +largest of all carnivora. My companion was A. W. Merriam, of Milton, +Mass. + +We were under great obligations to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of the +Biological Survey, Washington, who, before we left home, gave us +valuable information about the large game of Alaska. He told us of +investigations which might prove of scientific value, and helped us to +place our trip on a much broader base than a mere shooting expedition. +One of the pleasantest features of such a trip was to see how freely +information came in from all sides from those who could help in rounding +out our work. + +In order to find the Alaskan bears in their best pelage one must be on +the ground in April, and this made it necessary for us to sail from +Seattle April 1, on the Pacific Steam Whaling Company's boat, +Excelsior. Seattle proved a very good outfitting place, and before +sailing we had safely stowed away below, in waterproof canvas bags, the +provisions necessary to last us three months, in the most condensed and +evaporated form. + +Most of our fellow passengers were miners. One of them interested me +particularly. He was a Finn, one of the pioneer white hunters in the +Aleutian country, and his drawn face and stooping shoulders told the +tale of trails too long and packs too heavy. I passed much time with +him, and learned a good deal about the habits of the big, brown, barren +bear, and his methods of fighting when hard pressed. + +Our first Alaskan port was Hunter's Bay, Prince of Wales Island, +interesting because here is Clincon, one of the old settlements of the +Haida Indians, famed for their wonderful totem poles, which tell in +striking symbolic language the family histories of the tribe. There were +many good faces among these people, and we asked ourselves and others +the puzzling question, are they Aztecs, New Zealanders, or Japanese in +origin? Among these people families with the same totem pole may not +intermarry. An old man, the special wood carver of the tribe, does +wonderful work. + +An offshoot of the tribe inhabits Annette Island, under the kindly +governorship of an old priest named Duncan. At first he founded his +colony on the mainland, in British territory, but was there so hampered +by religious rules that, with almost all his followers, he moved to +Annette, where he is still beloved by the natives, to whom he has taught +right living and many valuable arts of civilization. + +We kept the inland route until Icy Straits took us away from Glacier +Bay, and out into the open ocean. Early the next morning Yakutat came +into view, and our boat was quickly surrounded by canoes filled with +Indians, their wives, and woven baskets. These natives, supposed to +belong to the Tlinkits, were distinctly less advanced than the Haida +Indians. + +In Yakutat we thought we were lucky in buying three Siwash bear dogs, +but were not long in discovering our mistake. One of the dogs was so +fierce we had to shoot him. Another was wild and ran away at the first +opportunity, and the "last of the Siwash," though found wanting in every +hunting instinct, had a kindly disposition and staid with us. We could +not bring ourselves to the shooting point. Finally we found a Creole, +who kept a store in a remote village on Kadiak Island, willing to take +him off our hands. + +The sight of the massive snow face of Mt. St. Elias, rising 18,002 feet +above the immense stretches of the Malaspina glacier, called to mind the +successful Abruzzi expedition, which reached the top of this mountain a +few years ago. Looking at the rough sides of the grand old mountain, +more impressive than any snow peak in Europe, one unconsciously plans an +attack, as the climbing instinct is aroused. + +Abruzzi has taken Mt. St. Elias out of the field of the mountain climber +looking for new peaks, but a glance at the map shows us Mt. Logan, +19,000 feet, backing up Mt. St. Elias from the north, and Mt. McKinley, +20,000 feet, the highest known peak we have, placed nearer the center of +the big peninsula. These should now claim the attention of some good +mountaineer, with time and money at his command. They demand both. + +We did not fail to inquire at Yakutat about that rare animal, the blue +or St. Elias bear, and were told that two or three skins were secured +every year. I was later much disappointed in being unable to return to +this coast early enough in the year to look up this bear, which has +never been killed by a white man, and as its skull has never been +brought in by the Indians, it remains practically unknown. + +The island of Kayak, the next calling place for boats, played a very +important part in the early history of Alaska. This is the first land +that Bering sighted, and where he landed after the memorable voyage of +his two boats, the St. Peter and St. Paul, from Kamtschatka. + +The early Russian adventurers of this part of the world have, it seems, +been lost sight of, and have not had justice done them. The names of the +Dane Bering, the Russians Shelikoff and Baranoff, should mean to us +something more than the name of a sea, strait or island. A man who +fitted out his expedition in Moscow, carried much of the building +material for his two boats across Siberia to the rough shores of +Kamtschatka, and sailed boldly eastward, deserves our warmest +admiration. Bering never reached home. He died on the return voyage, +and was buried on the small island of the Commander group which bears +his name. The story of the expedition is one of extreme hardship and of +splendid Russian courage. + +At Orca we were transferred to the Newport, with Captain Moore in +command, and, as on the Excelsior, everything was done for our comfort. +We looked with envious eyes on Montague Island as we passed it in Prince +William Sound, for we were told that the natives avoid fishing and +shooting here, claiming that the big Montague brown bear are larger and +fiercer than any others. + +Our boat made a brief call at Homer, in Cook Inlet, one of the starting +points for the famous Kenai shooting grounds. This inlet was named for +the renowned voyager, who hoped that it would furnish a water passage +for him to Hudson's Bay. + +The trees stop at Cook Inlet, there being only a few on the western +shore. To the south the wooded line intersects the Kadiak group of +islands, and we find the northeastern part of Kadiak, as well as the +whole of Wood and Afognak, except the central portion of the last, well +covered with spruce. + +The absence of forests makes it often possible to see for miles over the +country, and explains why the Barren Grounds of Alaska offer such +wonderful opportunities for bear hunting. There are bears all along the +southern coast of the peninsula, but in the timber there, as elsewhere, +the bears have all the best of it. + +On leaving Cook Inlet, we kept a southerly course through the gloomy +Barren Islands which mark the eastern boundary of the much-dreaded +Shelikoff Straits, and early one morning passed Afognak, and made Wood +Island landing, where we were most hospitably received by the North +American Fur Company's people. Wood Island, about 1-1/2 miles from Kadiak, +is small and well covered with spruce. It has some two hundred people, +for the most part natives, and under Russian rule was used for a huge +ice-storing plant. Kadiak Island, 100 miles by 30, is thickly studded +with mountains, and extremely picturesque, with the white covering of +early spring, as we found it, or when green with heavy grass dotted with +wild flowers in July. + +[Illustration: ST. PAUL, KADIAK ISLAND.] + +The Kadiak group looks as if it might have fallen out of Cook Inlet, and +one of the native legends tells us that once the Kadiak Islands were so +near the Alaskan shore that a mammoth sea otter, while trying to swim +through the narrow straits, got wedged between the rocks, and his +tremendous struggles to free himself pushed the islands out into their +present position. The sea otter and bear have always been most +intimately connected with the lives of the Kadiakers, and have exercised +a more important influence on their characters than any of their +surroundings except the sea. It is no wonder, then, that the natives +endowed these animals with a strength and size which easily takes them +into the realm of mythology. The sea otter being nearly extinct, the +bear is now made to shoulder all the large stories, and, strong as he +is, this is no light burden. + +The Kadiak coast line is roughly broken by deep bays, running inland +from a half mile to fifteen or twenty miles. Some are broad, others +narrow, but all are walled in by serrated, mountainous sides, much +resembling the fjords of Norway. The highest peaks are about 4,000 +feet. + +The portions of Kadiak Island uncovered by spruce and the barren lands +of the mainland, are not absolutely devoid of trees or bushes. Often +there is a considerable growth of cottonwood trees along the bottom +lands of the streams, and large patches of alder bushes are common, so +that when the leaves are well out, one's view of the bottoms and lower +hillsides is much obscured. The snowfall must be heavy on the upper +reaches of the mountains, as there are great white patches to be seen +well into the summer time. The climate is not what one would expect, +unless he should look at the map, and note the warm Kuro Siwo (Japan +current) sweeping along the southern Alaskan coast. Zero weather is +uncommon, and except for the great rainfall the island is a very +comfortable place of existence; existence, because that is the limit +reached by most of the people. The few connected with the mission and +the two fur companies are necessarily busy people, the latter especially +so on steamer days, but a deep, unbroken peacefulness permeates the +island and its people; it is a place so apart that outside happenings +awaken but little interest, and time is not weighed in the balance. Some +of the rare old Kadiak repose seems to have come down to the present +people from the time when Lisiansky first visited the island and found +the natives sitting on their mud houses, or on the shore, gazing into +space, with apparent satisfaction. + +[Illustration: SUNSET IN ENGLISH BAY, KADIAK.] + +On the other hand, if there is any sailing, fishing or shooting to be +done, you will find the Kadiakers keen enough, and in trying situations +they will command your respect, and will quite reverse your impression +of them, gathered in the village life. The Eskimo inhabitants of the old +times are gone, and the population is now made up of Russians, Creoles +(part Russian and part Aleut), and a handful of Americans. + +The natives are good-natured but not prepossessing in looks or +cleanly. They live in dwellings kept very hot, and both men and women +injure themselves by immoderate indulgence in the banya, a small Turkish +bath, often attached to the barabaras, or native huts. It is made like a +small barabara, except there is no smoke hole, has a similar frame, is +thatched with straw, and can be made air-tight. The necessary steam is +furnished by pouring water on stones previously heated very hot. + +The women are frail and many die of consumption. When once sick, they +appear to have no physical or mental resistance. They must be +attractive, however, as there is a considerable population of white men +here who have taken native wives. From a condition of comparative +wealth, eight or ten years ago, when fur was plenty and money came +easily, and was as promptly spent on all sorts of unnecessary luxuries, +these people are now rapidly coming down to salmon, codfish and +potatoes. When a native wants anything, he will sell whatever he owns +for it, even to his rifle or wife. They almost all belong to the Greek +Church, the Russians, when we bought Alaska, having reserved the right +to keep their priests in the country. + +The baidarka, the most valuable possession of the native in a country so +cut up by waterways that little traveling is done by land, deserves a +word. These are trusted in the roughest water more than any other +craft, except the largest. A trip from Kadiak to Seattle in a baidarka +is in fact on record. With a light framework of wood, covered, bottom +and deck, excepting the hatches, with the skin of the hair seal, it is +lighter than any other canoe, pliable, but very staunch, and works its +way over the waves more like a snake than a boat. The lines are such +that friction is done away with, and driven through the water by good +men, it is the most graceful craft afloat. It has a curious split prow, +so made for ease in lifting with one hand, and may have one, two, or +three hatches, according to its size. The paddles used are curiously +narrow and pointed. + +What still remains unexplained is the native one-sided method of +paddling; that is to say, in a two-hatch baidarka, both natives make six +or seven short strokes on one side together, and then change to the +other side. An absolutely straight course is thus impossible, but the +Aleut is a creature of habit, and smiles at all new suggestions. + +In the canoe is plenty of room for provisions and live stock. I speak of +the latter because a native will often carry his wife, children, and dog +inside a one-hatch baidarka while he paddles. + +Water is kept out of the hatches by the kamlaykas which the natives +wear. This is a long jacket made of bears' intestines, very light and +water tight, and when the neck and sleeve bands are made fast, and the +skirts secured about the hatch with a thong, man and canoe alike are dry +as a chip. + +In the early days, Shelikoff's severe rule in Kadiak actively encouraged +the hunting instinct, and the first Russian fur post was established at +St. Paul, named after one of Bering's boats, the present town of Kadiak, +by far the largest village of the island, and situated on the eastern +coast, opposite Wood Island. It is said that the Russians, after a few +very prosperous years of indiscriminate slaughter, recognized the great +importance of carrying on the fur industry in a systematic manner, in +order to prevent entire extinction of the game, and divided the lands +and waters into large districts. They made laws, with severe penalties +attached, and enforced them. Certain districts were hunted and trapped +over in certain years. Fur animals were killed only when in good +pelage, and the young were spared. In this way hunted sections always +had considerable intervals in which to recover from attacks. + +A solitary sea otter skin hanging up in the fur company's store, at the +end of the season, told us plainer than words that these animals, +formerly so plentiful east of Kadiak Island, and along the coast of +Cook's Inlet, were almost extinct. Two of our hunters were famous shots, +and they liked to talk of the good old days, when sea otter and bear +were plenty. One of them, Ivan, it is claimed, made $3,000 in one +day. The amount paid a native is $200 or more for each sea otter pelt. +They are much larger than a land otter, a good skin measuring six feet +in length and three feet in width when split and stretched. + +When fishing is allowed from schooners, the natives leave Kadiak for the +grounds early in May. Each schooner carries thirty or forty baidarkas +and twice as many men. Otters are often found at some distance from +shore, and can be seen only when the water is quiet. The natives prefer +the bow and arrow to the .40-65 Winchesters the company have given them, +even claiming that otter are scarce because they have been driven from +their old grounds by the noise of firearms. The bows, four feet long, +are very stout, and strongly reinforced with cords of sinew along the +back. The arrows, a little under a yard in length, are tipped with a +well-polished piece of whalebone. A sharp and barbed piece of whale's +tooth fits into a hole bored in the end of the bone, and a cord of +considerable length is tied to the detachable arrow head, the other end +of the cord being wound around and fastened to the middle of the shaft. + +The advantages of this arrow are obvious. When the game is struck, its +struggles disengage the arrow head, and the shaft being dragged by the +cord attached to its middle, soon tires the otter out. The seal spears, +used for the finishing coup, are made in the same way, and in addition +have attached to the long shaft a bladder, which continually draws the +animal to the surface. So expert are the natives, that, after shooting +several arrows, they gather them all up together in one hand as they +sweep by in a baidarka. The arrow is not sent straight to the mark, but +describes a considerable curve. Good bows are valued very highly, and on +an otter expedition will not be swapped even for a rifle. + +On a favorable morning the baidarkas leave the schooners, and, holding +their direction so as to describe a large fan, can view a good piece of +water. A paddle held high in air shows that game has been sighted, and a +large circle, perhaps a mile in circumference, is at once formed around +the otter, each baidarka trying to get in the first successful shot. To +the man who first hits home belongs the skin, but as an otter can stay +under water twenty minutes, and when rising for air exposes only his +nose, a long and exciting chase follows. + +Some natives patrol the small island shores, and during the winter make +a good harvest picking up dead otters which have washed ashore. This +happens in winter, because it is during severest weather that the otter +freezes his nose, which means death. The pelts from these frozen +animals, however, bring only a small price. + +In earlier days nets were spread beneath the water around rocks shown by +the hair rubbings to be resting places of otter. The method was often +successful, as the poor beast swam over the trap in gaining his rock, +but when leaving dove well below the surface, and was caught. This +barbarous custom, together with the netting of ducks in narrow +passageways, has, fortunately, long been a thing of the past. + +In Kadiak Village, we met a Captain Nelson, the first man down from the +north that spring, who had sledded from Nome to Katmai on Shelikoff +Straits in two months. At Katmai he was held up several days, his men +refusing to cross the straits until the local weather prophet, or +astronom, as he is called, gave his consent. Seven hours of hard +paddling carried them over the twenty-seven miles, the most treacherous +of Alaskan narrows. + +These astronoms are relics of an interesting type, who formerly held +firm sway over the natives. They are supposed to know much about the +weather from reading the sunrises, sunsets, stars, moon and tides, and +often sit on a hilltop for hours studying the weather conditions. They +are still absolutely relied upon to decide when sea otter parties may +start on a trip, and are looked up to and trusted as chiefs by the +people of the villages in which they live. + +At Wood Island we heard of Messrs. Kidder and Blake, two other sportsmen +from Boston, who had already left for their hunting grounds in Kaluda +Bay. + +The spring was backward, and the bears still in their dens, but Merriam +and I decided to take the North American Company's schooner Maksoutoff +on its spring voyage around the island, when it carries supplies and +collects furs from the natives. We were to sail as far as Kaguiac, a +small village on the south shore, and were here promised a 30-foot sloop +by the company. We added to our equipment two native baidarkas for +hunting and a bear dog belonging to an old Russian hunter, Walter +Matroken. Tchort (Russian for Devil) looked like a cross between a water +spaniel and a Newfoundland, and though old and poorly supplied with +teeth, many of which he had lost during his acquaintance with bears, he +proved a good companion, game in emergencies, and a splendid retriever. + +Our rifle and camera batteries were as follows: + +Merriam had a.45-70 and a.50-110 Winchester, both shooting half-jacketed +bullets. My rifles were a.30-40 Winchester, a double .577, and a +double .40-93-400, kindly lent me by Mr. S.D. Warren, of Boston, and on +which I relied. Besides the pocket cameras and a small Goerz, I carried +one camera with double lenses of 17-1/2-inch focus, and one with single +lense of 30-inch focus. The last two were, of course, intended for +animals at long range. + +Hoping to prove something in regard to the weight of the Kadiak bear, I +brought a pair of Fairbanks spring scales, weighing up to 300 pounds, +and some water-tight canvas bags for weighing blood and the viscera. + +We selected two good men as hunters for the trip, Vacille and Klampe. + +On the second day out from Wood Island a storm came on, and though the +Maksoutoff was staunch, we could not hold for our port, owing to the +exposed coast, where squalls come sweeping without warning from the +mountain tops, driving the snow down like smoke, the so-called +"wollies." It was wild and wintry enough when we turned into the +sheltered protection of Steragowan Harbor. + +A few mallards and a goose were here added to the ship's store next +morning from the flats, and the weather clearing, we made Kaguiac, and +found our sloop in good condition. In addition we took along an otter +boat, a large rowboat, from here, as our baidarkas proved rather +unseaworthy. Besides Mr. Heitman, the fur company's man, there was one +other white settler in Kaguiac named Walch, who came to Kadiak +twenty-seven years ago at the time of the first American military +occupation, and though he had served in many an exciting battle in the +Civil War, the Kadiak calm appealed to him. He married, settled down +among the natives contentedly, and has never moved since. This, +curiously, is the case of many men who come to the North, after leading +wandering and adventurous lives. + +Unfavorable winds at Kaguiac delayed our sailing, so we passed the time +in excursions after ptarmigans and mallards. We also secured here +another native, a strong, willing worker, who knew the coast. + +The weather cleared suddenly, the wind shifting from northeast to +northwest, and enabled us to make a run to our first good hunting ground +in Windy Bay, a large piece of water five miles long by three wide, and +surrounded by rock mountains covered with snow, the only bare ground to +be seen at this time being on the low foothills, and in the sunny +ravines. We made ourselves at home at the only good anchorage in a small +cove with high crags on two sides and a ravine running off toward the +east. + +The following morning--April 28--opened bright and calm, and we were +soon viewing the snow slopes with our glasses. Ivan, the new man, was +the first to call our attention to a streak on a distant mountain side, +and although perhaps 2-1/2 miles away, we could make out, even with the +naked eye, a deep furrow in the snow running down diagonally into the +valley below, undoubtedly a bear road. I took a five-cent piece from my +pocket, tossed for choice of shot, and lost to Merriam. + +Once on land, we found the going very bad, and often wallowed in the +snow mid-thigh deep. Then was the time for snowshoes, which we had been +told were unnecessary. Floundering along in this soft snow began to tell +a little on the keenness of the party, when Vacille and Ivan, who were +off on one side, suddenly waved, and hunting on to them we were shown +the bear far up the valley in some bushes. As he lay on his side in the +snow he looked much like a cord of wood, and very large. The wind came +quartering down the valley, and made a stalk difficult, so it was +thought best to wait, as the bear would probably come down nearer the +water in the evening. We watched nearly four hours, and during that time +the bear made perhaps 150 yards in all, crawling, rolling over, lapping +his paws, occasionally trying a somersault, and finally landing in a +patch of alders. + +As night was upon us, we decided to chance the situation, and approached +along a ridge on one side of the valley until almost above the bear. At +this point Tchort, the dog, caught the scent, broke away, and raced down +over the bluff out of sight. Almost immediately the bear appeared in +the open 200 yards away, legging as fast as he could in the snow, and +headed for the hillside. Merriam made a good shot behind the shoulder +with his fifty. The bear fell, caught his feet again, and was in and +over a small brook, leaving a bloody road behind him, which Tchort was +quick in following. The dog was soon nipping the bear's heels, and +giving him a good deal of trouble. Up the side of the hill they raced, +Merriam firing when the dog gave him opportunity. The bear, angry and +worried, suddenly whipped around and made for the dog, which in the soft +snow at such close quarters could not escape. But Tchort, a born +fighter, accepted the only chance and closed in. He disappeared +completely between the forelegs of the bear, and we felt that all was +over. To our great wonder in a few seconds he crawled out from beneath +the hindquarters of his enemy, and engaged him again. One more shot and +the bear lay quiet. The skin was a beauty--dark brown, with a little +silvering of gray over the shoulders, without any rubbed spots, such as +are common on bears only just out of their dens. Some brush was thrown +over the bear, and we rowed back to the sloop, well content. The next +day, which was foggy and rainy, was spent in getting off the skin, +measuring and weighing the animal piecemeal, and carrying all back to +the sloop. + +Contrary to expectation, the bear was found to be still covered with a +thin layer of fat, even after his long hibernation. Before weighing, our +men, who had killed some thirty bear among them, said that this one was +two-thirds as large as any they had seen. + +The measurements and weights were as follows: Height at shoulder, about +4 ft. Length in straight line from nose to root of tail, 6 ft. 8 in. +Total weight, 625 lbs. Weight of middle piece, 260 lbs. Weight of skull +(skin removed), 20 lbs. Weight of skin, 80 lbs. The right forearm +weighed 50 lbs., and the left 55. This supports the theory that a bear +is left-handed. Right hind-quarter, 60 lbs.; left hindquarter, 60 +pounds. The stomach was filled with short alder sticks, not much chewed, +and one small bird feather. Organic acids were present in the stomach, +but no free hydrochloric for digestion of flesh. + +It was a great satisfaction to see that none of the bear was wasted, +which fact brings up one very good trait of the Creole hunters. They +dislike to go after bear into a district situated far from the coast, +because in so rough a country it is almost impossible to get all the +meat out. They sell the skin, eat the meat, and make the intestines into +kamlaykas for baidarka work. + +April 30 a strong wind kept us from trying the head of the bay, and a +short trip was made up into a low lying valley, near the sloop, but +without results. + +Our men had already proved themselves good. Vacille was the best +waterman and a good cook; Klampe the best hunter, and Ivan a glutton for +all sorts of work. + +The underlying principle on which the Aleut hunter works was brought out +on our short bear hunt. After sighting the game, he waits until he is +sure of his wind, then takes a stand where the bear will pass close by, +and shows himself a monument of patience. Almost all the viewing is done +from the water, a small hill near the shore being occasionally used for +a lookout. They get up at daylight, and two men in a baidarka patrol +both sides of a big bay, watching carefully for bear tracks on the +mountain sides, as this is the surest indication of their presence. As +soon as the bears come from their dens they always make a climbing tour, +the natives claiming that this exercise is taken to strengthen +them. Personally I believe the Kadiak bear has very good reasons for +keeping on the move continually outside of his hibernating season. + +If the natives find no sign on their morning tour, they rest all day, +perhaps taking a Turkish bath in a banya, which is not infrequently +attached to the hunting barabara. Another trip of inspection is made +again in the afternoon at four or five o'clock, as the bear usually lies +up between nine and three. A bay is watched for several days in this +way, and if nothing is seen the natives return to their village, or hunt +the hair seal, which are still to be found in fair numbers, especially +on Afognak Island. + +When you are with these men you must either conduct the shooting trip on +your own lines or give yourself entirely into the native's hands, and do +as he thinks best. You must leave him alone, and not bother him with +many questions, and in any case you usually get _Nish naiou_ ("I +don't know") for answer. The native gives this reply without thinking; +it is so much easier. The most you can do is to cheer him on when luck +is bad, as he is easily discouraged and becomes homesick. + +During the bad weather that followed we had plenty of opportunity to use +our ingenuity in extracting information from our men on the subject of +bear. + +It seems that the Kadiak bear hibernates, as a rule, from December to +April, depending on the season somewhat, and the young are supposed to +be born in March in the dens. Although the skins are good in the late +fall, they are finest when the bear first comes out in early spring, as +it is then that the hide is thinnest and the hair longest. On the other +hand, in summer, when the hair is very thin, the hide becomes extremely +thick and heavy; this condition changing again as fall comes on. The +total amount of epidermis, in other words, does not vary so much as one +would suppose, and whether the hide or the hair is responsible for most +of the weight depends on the time of year. + +When the animal leaves his den he finds food scarce, and has to go on +the principle that a full stomach is better than an empty one, even if +the filling is made of alder twigs. It is not long, however, before +green grass begins to sprout along the small streams, low down, and +grass and the roots of the salmon berry bushes carry the bear along +until the fish run. + +The running of the salmon varies, and the bears make frequent +prospecting trips down the streams in order to be sure to be on hand for +the first run, which usually occurs during the latter part of +May. During the salmon season the bears have opportunity to fill +themselves full every night, and put on a tremendous weight of fat in +the late fall, when they become saucy and lazy, and more inclined to +show fight. Berries--especially the salmon berry--help out the fish diet +in summer time. As soon as salmon becomes their food the pelts +deteriorate, but unless living near a red salmon stream, with shallow +reaches, the bears do not get much fish diet until the second run early +in July, so that fair skins are sometimes obtained even up to June 15, +although by this time the hair is usually much faded in color. + +The bear makes a zigzag course down the salmon stream from one shallow +rapid to another, standing immovable while fishing, and throwing out his +catch with the left paw. The numerous fishing beds give a false idea of +the number of bear present in a district, as it takes but a few days for +a single bear to cover the sides of a stream for a long distance with +such places. One finds fish skeletons scattered all along a salmon +stream, and it is generally easy to tell whether a bear or eagle has +made the kill. An eagle usually carries the whole fish away with him, +leaving only scales behind. A bear, on the other hand, eats his fish +where he catches him, preferring the belly and back, and usually +discarding the skeleton, and always the under jaw. + +The Finn hunter whom I met on my way north, said he had seen an old cow +bear when fishing with her cubs, rush salmon in toward the shore and +scoop them out for the young. Generally they watch on a low bank, or in +the shallow water, while fishing. + +During the rutting season, supposed to be in June, the female travels +ahead, the male bringing up the rear to furnish protection from that +quarter. Then if one kills the female the male gives trouble, often +charging on sight. + +The Finn thought that, as a rule, the cow bear comes on at a gallop and +a bull rises on his hind legs when getting in close. When wounded the +bear usually strikes the injured spot, or if it is a cow and cubs, the +old one cuffs her young soundly, thinking them the cause of pain. The +nose is the main source of protection, as, like all bears, these are +followed to their very dens in the fall by the keenest of hunters, and +their only restful sleep is the long winter one. Fortunately some +excellent game laws for Alaska have been passed, and by making a close +season for several years, followed by severe restrictions, we may yet +hope that the perpetual preservation of this grand brown bear will be +assured on the Kadiak group, which, from its situation, fitly offers +him, when well guarded, his best chance of making a successful stand +against his enemies. + +[Illustration: SITKALIDAK ISLAND FROM KADIAK.] + +The fact that the natives make a profit from the bear skins, and that +his flesh furnishes them with food is not to be considered, as at the +present rate of extermination there will soon be no bear left for +discussion. + +The natives certainly could and should be helped out in their living, as +competition in the fur trade of late has so exterminated fur-bearing +animals that hunting and trapping bring them in little, and their diet +is indeed low. One of my hunters during last fall only secured one bear, +one silver gray fox, and two land otter. + +A good way to help out the food question, and compensate the native for +his loss of bear meat, would be to transport a goodly number of Sitka +deer to the three islands, and allow them to multiply. There has been a +Sitka deer on Wood Island for several years, and he has lived through +the winters without harm, as his footprints scattered over the island +testify. Afognak and Wood Island are especially suitable for such a +purpose, being well wooded and furnishing plenty of winter food for deer +in willows, alders and black birch. The clement winters make the plan +feasible, and it ought not to be an expensive experiment. + +[Illustration: A KADIAK EAGLE.] + +We had a very bad time of it on the night of April 30, which showed me +what I had long felt, that the dangers of Kadiak were not centered in +the bear, but in the tremendous wind blows and tide rips in its +fjords. A strong wind came on from the east, and fairly howled through +the ravine opposite our anchorage, catching our little sloop with full +force. We could not change our position, as we occupied the only +anchorage. Vacille, who had turned in, felt the anchor dragging, and we +found ourselves being blown out into the large bay, where we could not +have lived for any time in the big seas, and, should we continue to +drag, our only chance was to try to beach her on a sand shore some half +mile away. + +When the boat was not dragging she was wallowing in cross seas, and +being hammered by the otter boat, which was difficult to manage. The +anchors held firmly, much to our relief, and after a disagreeable night +of watching we beat back to our mooring at the head of the little +cove. The mountains being covered with fresh snow in the morning, there +was nothing to do but eat and sleep. + +The bear meat improved with age, and hours of boiling rid it of its +bitter flavor. The whole cabin--and its occupants--smelled of bear's +grease. The thermometer registered 30. + +On May 2, as the wind was unsuitable for bear hunting, we made a +photographing trip to a cliff across the bay, where two bald-headed +eagles had built their nest. Merriam and I had a very interesting stalk +with a camera. We landed near the cliff, and the eagles, becoming +disturbed, flew away. The men were sent out in the boat, and we kept in +hiding until signalled that the birds had quieted down. We gained the +top of the cliff, a mere knife edge in places, where we worked our way +along, straddling the rock. The birds had selected a splendid place, +straight up from the water, where they had built their nest firmly into +a bush on the side of the cliff. + +I stalked the eagle within about 75 feet and caught her with the camera, +as she was leaving her nest. The earth forming the center of the nest +was frozen and three eggs lay in a little hollow of hay on top. The big +birds circled about us all the time, but did not offer to +attack. Bald-headed eagles are very common on Kadiak, and are always +found about the salmon streams later, during the run, being good +fishermen. It seems they, of all the birds here, are the first to lay +their eggs, and their young are the last to leave the nest. + +We secured some eagle eggs on these trips, of which we made several, and +found the cliff nests much the easier to approach, as it was very +difficult to get above nests built in trees. + +In connection with the eagle, the magpie should not be forgotten. Of +these black and white birds there were many about, and there seemed to +be a bond of sympathy between the widely separated species of +marauders. Bold enough we knew the smaller bird to be, but to believe +that he would actually steal an eagle's fish breakfast from under his +very nose one must sec the act. The eagle appeared to mind but little, +occasionally pecking the thief away when he became offensive. + +The magpie, on the other hand, seemed to have a warm feeling for his big +friend, and once at least we saw him flying about an eagle's nest and +warning the old birds of our approach with his harsh cry. + +One good day among many bad ones showed no more bear signs, so we soaped +the seams of the otter boat, which leaked badly, and set sail for Three +Saints Bay, named after Shelikoff's ship. This proved to be a narrow +piece of water running far inland, with snow-covered mountain sides, and +by far the most beautiful fjord on the island. + +There were no bear signs, however, and a favorable wind carried us +eastward toward Kaluda Bay, where Kidder and Blake were hunting. On our +way we stopped at Steragowan, an interesting little village, bought a +few stores, and secured some interesting stone lamps, and whale spears, +with throwing sticks. + +Once in Kaluda Bay, we found Kidder's and Blake's barabara where they +made headquarters, and their cook informed us that both sportsmen were +many miles up the bay after bear. + +Several years ago there was a flourishing colony of natives at the +entrance to Kaluda Bay, but now there are only two hunting barabaras, a +broken down chapel, and a good-sized graveyard. The village prospered +until one day a dead whale was reported not far from land. All the +inhabitants gorged themselves on the putrid blubber, and they died +almost to a man. + +The Kadiakers show a good deal of courage in whale hunting. With nothing +but their whale spears tipped with slate, two men will run close up to a +whale, drive two spears home with a throwing stick, and make off +again. The slate is believed in some way to poison the animal, and he +often dies within a short time. The natives go home, return in a few +days, and, if lucky, find the whale in the same bay. Whales are plenty, +and were sometimes annoying to us, playing too near our otter boat. On +one occasion we tried a shot at one that was paying us too much +attention, and persuaded the big chap to leave us in peace. + +Bad weather held us fast several days, but we finally made the southeast +corner of the island, and from there had good wind to Kadiak. On our way +we passed Uyak, one of the blue fox islands. Raising these animals for +their fur has become a regular business, and when furs are high it pays +well. The blue fox has been found to be the only one that multiplies +well in comparative captivity, and he thrives on salmon flesh. + +At Wood Island, news came to us through prospectors, of a bear in +English Bay, south of Kadiak village. This bay is well known as a good +bear ground, and at the end of the bay there are some huge iron cages +weighing tons which were used as bear traps, some years ago, by men +working for the Smithsonian Institution. + +We found bear tracks coming into the valley, down one mountain side, and +leading out over the opposite mountain, and were obliged to return to +Wood Island empty handed. + +Merriam now decided to return home on the next boat, and after a few +days I started off for the north side of Kadiak in an otter boat fitted +with sail, picking up on the way a white man, Jack Robinson, and a +native hunter, Vacille, at Ozinka, a small village on Spruce Island. My +men proved a good combination, but we were all obliged to work hard for +two months before a bear was finally secured. + +We tried bay after bay, and were often held up, and for days at a time +kept from good grounds by stormy weather and bad winds. The inability to +do anything for long periods made these months the most wearing I have +ever passed. Our little open boat went well only before the wind, but, +as somebody has said, the prevailing winds in Alaska are head winds, and +we spent many long hours at the oars. + +Although we had a good tent with us, we used, for the most part, the +native hunting barabara for shelter. These are fairly clean and +comfortable, and are found in every bay of any size. + +The natives inherit their hunting grounds, and are apparently scrupulous +in observing each other's rights. In fact, it is dangerous to invade +another man's trapping country, as one may spring a Klipse trap set for +fox and otter, and receive a dangerous gash from the blade that makes +these contrivances so deadly. + +On the way to the hunting grounds Vacille pointed out to us a cliff +where he once had an exciting bear hunt. + +There were two hunters, and they were fortunate enough to locate an +inhabited den in early spring. Two bears were killed through crevices in +the rocks, but the men suspected there was still one inside, and Vacille +crawled in to make sure. He found himself in a fair sized chamber with +a bear at the other end, and a lucky shot tumbled the animal at his +feet. + +This story brought up others of bear hunting with the lance. Before +firearms came into common use, boys were given lessons in fighting the +bear with the lance, and became very expert at it. Their method was to +approach a bear as closely as possible, without being seen, then show +themselves suddenly, and as the bear reared strike home. The lance was +held fast by the native, and the bear was often mortally wounded by +forcing the lance into himself in his struggles to reach his enemy. + +This class of native no longer exists on Kadiak, but it is said there is +one famous old Aleut near Iliamna Lake on the mainland who scorns any +but this method of hunting. + +High above the den where the three bears were killed was a scoop out of +the cliff called the shaman's barabara. Here, before Russian times, the +shamans or witches were buried, and here also were kept the masks used +in certain ceremonial rites. The Russians removed the mummies and masks +long ago. + +The shamans were considered oracles. It was claimed they could prevent a +whale from swimming out of a bay by dragging a bag of fat, extracted +from the dead body of a newly born infant, across the entrance. Their +instructions were unfailingly obeyed, as it was supposed they could +cause death as a punishment for their enemies. + +One evening at our first halting place beyond Ozinka, we found tracks in +the snow on one side of our valley, and early in the morning came upon a +two-year-old bear, not far from camp. The bear was grubbing about on the +hillside, and we took our position so that he crossed us under a hundred +yards. Unbeknown to me, and just as I was about to fire, my native gave +the caw of a raven to hold the bear up. He whipped around and faced us, +my bullet entering the brush on one side of him. Off he rushed into the +woods with the dog after him. I followed, and on coming out into a +clearing saw the dog being left far behind on the mountain side. Old +Tchort was not in condition. This was sad and illustrated the fact that +it is sometimes best to be alone. + +[Illustration: BEAR PATHS, KODIAK ISLAND.] + +We next tried Kaguiac Bay and here spent many days. Two bears had been +killed by the natives near the barabara where we camped, and there was +plenty of sign. + +Before sunrise we were watching from a good position, and it was +scarcely light when Vacille made out a big bear, two miles or more +away. He was traveling the snow arete of the mountain opposite, and +trying to find a good descent into our valley. One could see the huge +body and head plainly with the naked eye against the sky-line as he made +his way rapidly through the deep snow. Finally he found a place +somewhat bare of snow and gave us a splendid exhibition of rock +climbing. It took little time for him to get down into the alders, +where he apparently dropped asleep. To our astonishment he woke up about +10 o'clock and worked down toward the bottom land. We stalked him in the +woods and alders, which were very thick, within 300 yards, and here I +should have risked a shot at his hindquarters showing up brown against +the hillside, and seemingly as large as a horse. + +We chanced a nearer approach, though the wind was treacherous, and +coming up to a spot where we could have viewed him found the monster had +decamped. All attempts to locate him again were fruitless. + +The bear paths around this bay were a very interesting study. They are +hammered deep into the earth, and afford as good means of traveling as +the New Brunswick moose paths. + +Sometimes instead of a single road we have a double one, the bear using +one path for the legs of each side of his body. Again, on soft mossy +side hills, instead of paths we find single footprints which have been +used over and over, and made into huge saucers, it being the custom of +the bear to take long strides on the side hills, and to step into the +impressions made by other animals which had traveled ahead of it. + +The red salmon were beginning to run, and some fishermen in another part +of the bay supplied us, from time to time, from their nets. Especially +good were the salmon heads roasted. + +Bear sign failed, and Afognak Island, where Vacille shot and trapped, +had been so much talked about, that I determined to see it for myself, +and with a good wind we rowed across the straits and sailed twelve miles +into the island by Kofikoski Bay. + +[Illustration: BEAR PATHS, KODIAK ISLAND.] + +Scattered along up the bay were small islands, and these furnished us +with a good supply of gulls' eggs, which lasted many days. + +The Afognak coast is heavily wooded with spruce, while a large plateau +in the interior is almost barren, and gave good opportunity for using +the glasses. + +During several days at the head of Kofikoski Bay nothing was seen, so we +packed up and crossed a large piece of the island by portages and a +chain of lakes, where our Osgood boat was indispensable. The country +crossed was like a beautiful park of meadows, groves and lakes, and one +could scarcely believe it was uncultivated. + +The Red Salmon River of Seal Harbor, to which we were headed, could not +fail us, for bear could scoop out the salmon in armfuls below the lower +falls, so Vacille said, and he was honest, and now as keen as anything +while traveling his own hunting grounds. + +For a whole week a northeast storm blew directly toward the bay, and +kept us in camp. It was fishing weather, however, and my fly-rod, with a +Parmachenee belle, kept us well supplied with steelheads and speckled +trout, which were plentiful in the clear waters of a wandering trout +brook running through a meadow below the camp. + +A calm evening came finally, and we paddled down the last lake, some +three miles, to the famous pool. + +There were the salmon swarming below the fall, and many constantly in +the air on their upward journey, but the eagles perched high on the dark +spruces, closing in the swirling water, were all they had to fear. There +were no bears and no fresh bear signs. It was an ideal spot, this salmon +pool, but a feast for the eyes only, as the red salmon will not rise to +a fly. Even Tchort looked disconsolate on our track back to Ozinka. + +About July 10 there is usually a run of dog salmon, and not much later +another of humpbacks. The dog salmon grow to be about twice as large as +the red salmon, and often weigh 12 pounds. They are much more sluggish +than the red fish, and as they prefer the small shallow streams, become +an easy prey for the bear. The humpback fish are fatter and better +eating even than the red salmon, but are somewhat smaller. + +The red fish never ascend a stream which has not a lake on its upper +waters for spawning. The dog and humpback, on the contrary, are not so +particular, and are found almost everywhere. In September there is a run +of silver salmon, which, like the red salmon, will only swim a stream +with a lake at its head. They run up to 40 pounds, and the bears grow +fat on them before turning into winter quarters. The skeletons of this +big fish, cleaned by bear, are found along every small stream running +from the lakes. + +The large canneries, like the one at Karluk, on Karluk River, near the +western end of Kadiak, put up only the red salmon. They are not nearly +as good eating as the humpback or silver salmon, but are red, and this +color distinction the market demands. The catches at Karluk run up into +the tens of thousands, and one thinks of this with many misgivings, +remembering the fate of the sea otter and bear. Good hatcheries are +constantly busy, keeping up the supply, but it appears that though one +in every ten thousand of these fish is marked before being set free, so +far as known no marked fish have ever been captured. + +On our return to Kadiak Island, we found the streams still free of +salmon, and the vegetation had become so rank as to interfere a good +deal with traveling and sighting game. The whole party looked serious, +and the strain was beginning to tell, no game having been seen for seven +long weeks. This, with the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes, made time +pass heavily. + +Other places proving barren, we finally brought up at Wesnoi Leide, half +an hour's row from Ozinka, and found the dog fish just beginning to run +up stream, at the head of the bay. Better still, there were fresh bear +tracks. + +The wind was favorable, and we stationed ourselves the first evening on +a bluff overlooking a long meadow, on the lower part of the stream. +Hardly had we sat down, when Vacille said: "If that brown spot on the +hillside were not so large, I would take it for a bear." The brown spot +promptly walked into the woods, half a mile away. We were keen enough +again, but our watching proved fruitless, as nothing came down on the +meadow, showing that there was good fishing well up the stream. + +We rowed back to Ozinka, and left the country undisturbed, determined to +get well into the woods the following night, before the bear came down +to feed. + +The next evening we made an early start, and walking up the stream into +the woods found plenty of fresh tracks, and finally halted by some big +trees. The men placed themselves on some high limbs, where they could +watch, and I stood in deep grass, some six or eight feet from a +well-traveled path used by the bear in fishing the stream. The magpies +were calling all about, and seemed to be saying, _Midwit, midwit_, +Aleut for bear. The air was dead calm. Hardly were the men on their +perches, before they saw a bear walk into the brush on one side of the +valley. We waited quietly, in the midst of mosquitoes, but nothing came +in sight. It was already after 10 o'clock, and so dark that the men +gave up their watch, and came down to join me. Suddenly we heard a sharp +screech up the stream, and when it was repeated, Vacille said it must be +a young bear crying because its mother would not feed it fast +enough. Here Vacille did some good work. + +We walked rapidly up stream, through the thick brush, and before we had +gone 100 yards heard a large animal, just ahead, moving about in the +brush, and making a good deal of noise. I started ahead to get a view, +thinking we had disturbed the bear, but Vacille held me back. We walked +on noiselessly to a little bare point in the stream, and just then the +bear appeared, bent on fishing, thirty feet away. She lumbered down into +the stream, and when I fired fell into the water, the ball just missing +her shoulder. She was up again, and this time I shot hurriedly, and a +little behind the ribs. She ran, crossing up about forty feet away, and +a trial with the .30-40 scored, but made no impression. + +Tchort caught up with her just as she fell, after running a hundred feet +or more, and gave us to understand that he was the responsible party. We +tried immediately to capture the cub, which would have been a rare +prize, but had no success at all in the thicket. The old one, though of +considerable age, was not a large specimen, and, with the exception of +the head, the hair was in bad condition. Length about 6 feet 4 inches; +height at shoulder 44 inches; weight 500 pounds. The stomach was full of +salmon, gleaned from the fishing beds made all along the stream. The +Ozinka people did not enjoy my killing a bear just outside the village. + +I caught the boat about a week later, after a few pleasant days with +Kidder and Blake, who had turned up at Wood Island, after a very +successful hunt on the mainland. + +A word in regard to the Kadiak bear. Dr. Merriam has proved that he is +distinct from other bear. That he ever reached 2,000 pounds is doubtful +in my mind, but, by comparing measurements of skins, we can be sure he +comes up to 1,200, or a little over. Whether the Kadiak bear is bigger +than the big brown bear of the mainland is doubtful. At present the +growth of these bears is badly interfered with by the natives, and they +rarely reach the old bear age, when these brutes become massive in their +bony structure, and accumulate a vast amount of fat, just before denning +up. + +_W. Lord Smith_. + + + + +The Mountain Sheep and its Range + + +The mountain sheep is, in my estimation, the finest of all our American +big game. Many men have killed it and sheep heads are trophies almost as +common as moose heads, and yet among those who have hunted it most and +know it best, but little is really understood as to the life of the +mountain sheep, and many erroneous ideas prevail with regard to it. It +is generally supposed to be an animal found only among the tops of the +loftiest and most rugged mountains, and never to be seen on the lower +ground, and there are still people interested in big game who now and +then ask one confidentially whether there really is anything in the +story that the sheep throw themselves down from great heights, and, +striking on their horns, rebound to their feet without injury. + +Each one of us individually knows but little about the mountain sheep, +yet each who has hunted them has observed something of their ways, and +each can contribute some share to an accumulation of facts which some +time may be of assistance to the naturalist who shall write the life +history of this noble species. But unless that naturalist has already +been in the field and has there gathered much material, he is likely to +be hard put to it when the time comes for his story to be written, since +then there may be no mountain sheep to observe or to write of. The sheep +is not likely to be so happy in its biographer as was the buffalo, for +Dr. Allen's monograph on the American bison is a classic among North +American natural history works. + +The mountain sheep is an inhabitant of western America, and the books +tell us that it inhabits the Rocky Mountains from southern California to +Alaska. This is sufficiently vague, and I shall endeavor a little +further on to indicate a few places where this species may still be +found, though even so I am unable to assign their ranges to the various +forms that have been described. + +For this species seems to have become differentiated into several +species and sub-species, some of which are well marked, and all of which +we do not as yet know much about. These as described are the common +sheep of the Rocky Mountains _(Ovis canadensis_); the white sheep +of Alaska _(Ovis dalli)_, and its near relative, _O. dalli +kenaiensis_; the so-called black sheep of northern British Columbia +(_O. stonei_), described by Dr. Allen; Nelson's sheep of the +southwest (_O. nelsoni_) and _O. mexicanus_, both described by +Dr. Merriam. Besides these, Mr. Hornaday has described _Ovis +fannini_ of Yukon Territory, about which little is known, and +Dr. Merriam has given the sheep of the Missouri River bad lands +sub-specific rank under the title _O.c. auduboni_. Recently +Dr. Elliot has described the Lower California sheep as a sub-species of +the Rocky Mountain form under the name _O.c. cremnobates_. For +twenty-five years I heard of a black sheep-like animal in the central +range of the Rocky Mountains far to the north, said to be not only black +in color, but with black horns, something like those of an antelope, but +in shape and ringed like a female mountain sheep. From specimens +recently examined at the American Museum of Natural History, I now know +this to be the young female of _Ovis stonei_. That several species +of sheep should have been described within the last three or four years +shows, perhaps as well as anything, how very little we know about the +animals of this group. + +The sheep of the Rocky Mountains and of the bad lands +(_O. canadensis_ and _O. canadensis auduboni_) are those with +which we are most familiar. Both forms are called the Rocky Mountain +sheep, and from this it is commonly inferred that they are confined to +the mountains, and live solely among the rocks. In a measure this belief +is true today, but it was not invariably so in old times. As in Asia, +so in America, the wild sheep is an inhabitant of the high grass land +plateaus. It delights in the elevated prairies, but near these prairies +it must have rough or broken country to which it may retreat when +pursued by its enemies. Before the days of the railroad and the +settlements in the West, the sheep was often found on the prairie. It +was then abundant in many localities where to-day farmers have their +wheat fields, and to some extent shared the feeding ground of the +antelope and the buffalo. Many and many a time while riding over the +prairie, I have seen among the antelope that loped carelessly out of the +way of the wagon before which I was riding, a few sheep, which would +finally separate themselves from the antelope and run up to rising +ground, there to stand and call until we had come too near them, when +they would lope off and finally be seen climbing some steep butte or +bluff, and there pausing for a last look, would disappear. + +Those were the days when if a man had a deer, a sheep, an antelope, or +the bosse ribs of a buffalo cow on his pack or in his wagon, it did not +occur to him to shoot at the game among which he rode. I have seen sheep +feeding on the prairies with antelope, and in little groups by +themselves in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, and men whose +experience extends much further back than mine--men, too, whose life was +largely devoted to observing the wild animals among which they +lived--unite in telling me that they were commonly found in such +situations. Personally I never saw sheep among buffalo, but knowing as I +do the situations that both inhabited and the ways of life of each, I am +confident that sheep were often found with the buffalo, just as were +antelope. + +The country of northwestern Montana, where high prairie is broken now +and then by steep buttes rising to a height of several hundred feet, and +by little ranges of volcanic uplifts like the Sweet Grass Hills, the +Bear Paw Mountains, the Little Rockies, the Judith, and many others, was +a favorite locality for sheep, and so, no doubt, was the butte country +of western North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska, this being roughly +the eastern limit of the species. In general it may be said that the +plains sheep preferred plateaus much like those inhabited by the mule +deer, a prairie country where there were rough broken hills or buttes, +to which they could retreat when disturbed. That this habit was taken +advantage of to destroy them will be shown further on. + +To-day, if one can climb above timber line in summer to the beautiful +green alpine meadows just below the frowning snow-clad peaks in regions +where sheep may still be found, his eye may yet be gladdened by the +sight of a little group resting on the soft grass far from any cover +that might shelter an enemy. If disturbed, the sheep get up +deliberately, take a long careful look, and walking slowly toward the +rocks, clamber out of harm's way. It will be labor wasted to follow +them. + +Such sights may be witnessed still in portions of Montana and British +Columbia, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado, where bald, rolling mountains, +showing little or no rock, are frequented by the sheep, which graze over +the uplands, descending at midday to the valleys to drink, and then +slowly working their way up the hills again to their illimitable +pastures. + +Of Dall's sheep, the white Alaskan form, we are told that its favorite +feeding grounds are bald hills and elevated plateaus, and although when +pursued and wounded it takes to precipitous cliffs, and perhaps even to +tall mountain peaks, the land of its choice appears to be not rough +rocks, but rather the level or rolling upland. + +The sheep formerly was a gentle, unsuspicious animal, curious and +confiding rather than shy; now it is noted in many regions for its +alertness, wariness, and ability to take care of itself. + +Richardson, in his "Fauni-Boreali Americana," says: "Mr. Drummond +informs me that in the retired part of the mountains, where hunters had +seldom penetrated, he found no difficulty in approaching the Rocky +Mountain sheep, which there exhibited the simplicity of character so +remarkable in the domestic species; but that where they had been often +fired at they were exceedingly wild, alarmed their companions on the +approach of danger by a hissing noise, and scaled the rocks with a speed +and agility that baffled pursuit." The mountain men of early days tell +precisely the same thing of the sheep. Fifty or sixty years ago they +were regarded as the gentlest and most unsuspicious animal of all the +prairie, excepting, of course, the buffalo. They did not understand that +the sound of a gun meant danger, and, when shot at, often merely jumped +about and stared, acting much as in later times the elk and the mule +deer acted. + +We may take it for granted that, before the coming of the white man, the +mountain sheep ranged over a very large portion of western America, from +the Arctic Ocean down into Mexico. Wherever the country was adapted to +them, there they were found. Absence of suitable food, and sometimes the +presence of animals not agreeable to them, may have left certain areas +without the sheep, but for the most part these animals no doubt existed +from the eastern limit of their range clear to the Pacific. There were +sheep on the plains and in the mountains; those inhabiting the plains +when alarmed sought shelter in the rough bad lands that border so many +rivers, or on the tall buttes that rise from the prairies, or in the +small volcanic uplifts which, in the north, stretch far out eastward +from the Rocky Mountains. + +While some hunters believe that the wild sheep were driven from their +former habitat on the plains and in the foothills by the advent of +civilized man, the opinion of the best naturalists is the reverse of +this. They believe that over the whole plains country, except in a few +localities where they still remain, the sheep have been exterminated, +and this is probably what has happened. Thus Dr. C. Hart Merriam writes +me: + +"I do not believe that the plains sheep have been driven to the +mountains at all, but that they have been exterminated over the greater +part of their former range. In other words, that the form or sub-species +inhabiting the plains (_auduboni_) is now extinct over the greater +part of its range, occurring only in the localities mentioned by you. +The sheep of the mountains always lived there, and, in my opinion, has +received no accession from the plains. In other words, to my mind it is +not a case of changed habit, but a case of extermination over large +areas. The same I believe to be true in the case of elk and many other +animals." + +That this is true of the elk--and within my own recollection--is +certainly the fact. In the early days of my western travel, elk were +reasonably abundant over the whole plains as far east as within 120 +miles of the city of Omaha on the Missouri River, north to the Canadian +boundary line--and far beyond--and south at least to the Indian +Territory. From all this great area as far west as the Rocky Mountains +they have disappeared, not by any emigration to other localities, but by +absolute extermination. + +A few years ago we knew but one species of mountain sheep, the common +bighorn of the West, but with the opening of new territories and their +invasion by white men, more and more specimens of the bighorn have come +into the hands of naturalists, with the result that a number of new +forms have been described covering territory from Alaska to Mexico. These +forms, with the localities from which the types have come, are as follows: + +_Ovis canadensis_, interior of western Canada. +(Mountains of Alberta.) + +_Ovis canadensis auduboni_, Bad Lands of South Dakota. +(Between the White and Cheyenne rivers.) + +_Ovis nelsoni_, Grapevine Mountains, +boundary between California and Nevada. +(Just south of Lat. 37 deg.) + +_Ovis mexicanus_, Lake Santa Maria, Chihuahua, Mexico. + +_Ovis stonei_, headwaters Stikine River +(Che-o-nee Mountains), British Columbia. + +_Ovis dalli_, mountains on Forty-Mile Creek, +west of Yukon River, Alaska. + +_Ovis dalli kenaiensis_, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska (1901). + +_Ovis canadensis cremnobates_, Lower California. + +The standing of _Ovis fannini_ has been in doubt ever since its +description, and recent specimens appear to throw still more doubt on +it. Those most familiar with our sheep do not now, I believe, +acknowledge it as a valid species. It comes from the mountains of the +Klondike River, near Dawson, Yukon Territory. + +What the relations of these different forms are to one another has not +yet been determined, but it may be conjectured that _Ovis canadensis, +O. nelsoni_, and _O. dalli_ differ most widely from one another; +while _O. stonei_ and _O. dalli_, with its forms, are close +together; and _O. canadensis_, and _O.c. auduboni_ are closely +related; as are also _O. nelsoni, O. mexicanus_, and _O.c. +cremnobates_. The sub-species _auduboni_ is the easternmost +member of the American sheep family, while the sheep of Chihuahua +and of Lower California are the most southern now known. + + +PRIMITIVE HUNTING. + +At many points in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas the Indians +were formerly great sheep hunters, and largely depended on this game for +their flesh food. That it was easily hunted in primitive times cannot be +doubted, and is easily comprehended when we remember the testimony of +white observers already quoted. In certain places in the foothills of +the mountains, or in more or less isolated ranges in Utah, Nevada, +Montana, and other sections, the Indians used to beat the mountains, +driving the sheep up to the summits, where concealed bowmen might kill +them. On the summits of certain ranges which formerly were great resorts +for sheep, I have found hiding places built of slabs of the trachyte +which forms the mountain, which were used by the Indians for this +purpose in part, as, later, they were also used by the scouting warrior +as shelters and lookout stations from which a wide extent of plain might +be viewed. The sheep on the prairie or on the foothills of such ranges, +if alarmed, would of course climb to the summit, and there would be shot +with stone-headed arrows. + +Mr. Muir has seen such shelters in Nevada, and he tells us also that the +Indians used to build corrals or pounds with diverging wings, somewhat +like those used for the capture of antelope and buffalo on the plains, +and that they drove the sheep into these corrals, about which, no doubt, +men, women, and children were secreted, ready to destroy the game. + +Certain tribes made a practice of building converging fences and driving +the sheep toward the angle of these fences, where hunters lay in wait to +kill them, as elsewhere mentioned by Mr. Hofer. In fact, sheep in those +old times shared with all the other animals of the prairie that tameness +to which I have often adverted in writing on this subject, and which now +seems so remarkable. + +The Bannocks and Sheep Eaters depended for their food very largely on +sheep. In fact, the Sheep Eaters are reported to have killed little +else, whence their name. Both these tribes hunted more or less in +disguise, and wore on the head and shoulders the skin and horns of a +mountain sheep's head, the skin often being drawn about the body, and +the position assumed a stooping one, so as to simulate the animal with a +considerable closeness. The legs, which were uncovered, were commonly +rubbed with white or gray clay, and certain precautions were used to +kill the human odor. + +A Cheyenne Indian told me of an interesting happening witnessed by his +grandfather very many years ago. A war party had set out to take horses +from the Shoshone. One morning just at sunrise the fifteen or sixteen +men were traveling along on foot in single file through a deep canon of +the mountains, when one of them spied on a ledge far above them the head +and shoulders of a great mountain sheep which seemed to be looking over +the valley. He pointed it out to his fellows, and as they walked along +they watched it. Presently it drew back, and a little later appeared +again further along the ledges, and stood there on the verge. As the +Indians watched, they suddenly saw shoot out from another ledge above +the sheep a mountain lion, which alighted on the sheep's neck, and both +animals fell whirling over the cliff and struck the slide rock +below. The fall was a long one, and the Cheyennes, feeling sure that the +sheep had been killed, either by the fall or by the lion, rushed forward +to secure the meat. When they reached the spot the lion was hobbling off +with a broken leg, and one of them shot it with his arrow, and when they +made ready to skin the sheep, they saw to their astonishment that it was +not a sheep, but a man wearing the skin and horns of a sheep. He had +been hunting, and his bow and arrows were wrapped in the skin close to +his breast. The fall had killed him. From the fashion of his hair and +his moccasins they knew that he was a Bannock. + +A reference to the hunting methods of the Sheep Eaters reminds one very +naturally of that pursued by the Blackfeet, when sheep were needed, for +their skins or for their flesh. These animals were abundant about the +many buttes which rise out of the prairie on the flanks of the Rocky +Mountains, in what is now Montana, and when disturbed retreated to the +heights for safety. + +Hugh Monroe, a typical mountain man of the old time, who reached Fort +Edmonton in the year 1813, and died in 1893, after eighty years spent +upon the prairie in close association with the Indians, has often told +me of the Blackfoot method of securing sheep when their skins were +needed for women's dresses. On such an occasion a large number of the +men would ride out from the camp to the neighborhood of one of these +buttes, and on their approach the sheep, which had been feeding on the +prairie, slowly retreated to the heights above. The Indians then spread +out, encircling the butte by a wide ring of horsemen, and sending three +or four young men to climb its heights, awaited results. When the men +sent up on the butte had reached its summit, they pursued the sheep over +its limited area, and drove them down to the prairie below, where the +mounted men chased and killed them. In this way large numbers of sheep +were procured. + +Of the hunting of the sheep by the Indians who inhabited the rough +mountains in and near what is now the Yellowstone National Park, +Mr. Hofer has said to me: + +"It is supposed that when the Sheep Eater Indians inhabited the +mountains about the Park they kept the sheep down pretty close, but +after they went away the sheep increased in that particular range of +country, the whole Absaroka range; that is to say, the country from +Clark Fork of the Yellowstone down to the Wind River drainage. + +"The greatest number of sheep in recent years was pretty well toward the +head of Gray Bull, Meeteetsee Creek and Stinking Water. In those old +times the Indians used to build rude fences on the sides of the +mountains, running down a hill, and these fences would draw together +toward the bottom, and where they came nearly together the Indians would +have a place to hide in. Fifteen years ago there was one such trap that +was still quite plainly visible. One fence follows down pretty near the +edge of a little ridge, draining steeply down from Crandle Creek divide +to Miller Creek. There was no pen at the bottom, and no cliff to run +them off, so that the Indians could not have killed them in that way, +but near where the fences came together there was a pile of dead limbs +and small rocks that looked to me as if it had been used by a person +lying in wait to shoot animals which were driven down this ridge; and it +was near enough to the place that they must pass to shoot them with +arrows. These Indians had arrows, and hunted with them; and up on top of +the ridges you will find old stumps that have been hacked down with +stone hatchets. Some of the tree trunks have been removed, but others +have been left there. I think that some Indians would go around the +sheep and start them off, and gradually drive them to the pass where the +hunter lay. I remember following along this ridge, and then on another +ridge that went on toward the Clark Fork ridge to quite a high little +peak, and on top of this peak was quite a large bed for a man to lie +in. He could watch there until the sheep should pass through, and then +he could come out and drive them on." + +AGENTS OF DESTRUCTION. + +The settling up of much of their former range, with pursuit by +skin-hunters, head-hunters, and meat-hunters, has had much to do with +the reduction in numbers of the mountain sheep, but more important than +these have been the ravages by diseases brought in to their range by the +domestic sheep, and then spread by the wild species among their wild +associates. For many years it has been known that the wild sheep of +certain portions of the Rocky Mountain region are afflicted with scab, a +disease which in recent years seems to have attacked the elk as +well. Testimony is abundant that wild sheep are killed by scab as +domestic sheep are. On a few occasions I have seen animals that appeared +to have died from this cause, but Mr. Hofer, to be quoted later, has had +a much broader experience. + +More sweeping and even more fatal has been the introduction among the +wild sheep of an anthrax, of which, however, very little is known. + +Aside from man, the most important enemies of the sheep in nature are +the mountain lion and eagles of two species. These last I believe to be +so destructive to newly born sheep and goats that I think it a duty to +kill them whenever possible. + +Dr. Edward L. Munson, at that time Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, but +whose services in more recent years have won him so much credit, and +such well deserved promotion, wrote me in 1897 the following interesting +paragraphs with relation to disease among sheep. He said: + +"The Bear Paw Mountains were full of mountain sheep a dozen years +ago. One was roped last summer, and this is the only representative +which has been seen or heard of there in ten years. The introduction of +tame sheep early in the '80's was followed by a most destructive +anthrax, which not only destroyed immense numbers of tame sheep, but +also exterminated the wild ones, which appeared to be especially +susceptible to this disease. In going through these mountains one often +finds the skeletons of a number huddled together, and the above is the +explanation given by some of the older settlers. The mountains are +small, and the wild sheep could not climb up out of the infected +zone. Immediate contact is, of course, not necessary in the propagation +of anthrax, and the bacilli and spores left on soil grazed over by an +infected band would readily infect another animal feeding over such a +country even a long time afterward. + +"I have also heard that the introduction of dog distemper played havoc +with wolves, coyotes, and Indian dogs, when it first came into the +country. This is the case with regard to any disease introduced into a +virgin human population, in which there is no immunity due to the +prevalence of such a disease for hundreds of years previously." + +Mr. Elwood Hofer, discussing this subject in conversation, says: + +"There are not a great many sheep in the Park now, anywhere; they have +died off from sickness--the scab. This is a fact known to everyone +living in the neighborhood of the Park. I have killed only one that had +the disease badly, but I used to see them every day, and pay no +attention to them. I did not hunt for them, for I did not want them in +that condition. I remember that once a man came out to Gardiner who did +not know that the sheep were sick. He saw some when he was hunting, and +rushed up in great excitement and killed three of them. They seemed to +be weak and were pretty nearly dead with scab before he saw them. +Sometimes they become so weak from this disease that they lie down and +die. + +"I first noticed sheep with the scab around the canyon by the +Yellowstone. I never saw any troubled with this disease around +Meeteetsee or Stinking Water. I have been there in winter, and hunted +them as late as November, and Col. Pickett used to kill some still +later. I never heard him speak of the scab." + +In spring and early summer, when the young sheep are small, the eagles +are constantly on the watch for them, and unquestionably capture many +lambs. I have been told by my friend, Mr. J.B. Monroe, who has several +times captured lambs alive, that when they heard the rope whistling as +he threw it toward them, they would run directly toward him, seeming to +fear some enemy from above. He believes that they took the sound of the +rope flying through the air for the sound of the eagle's wings. + +While, of course, the mountain lions cannot overtake the sheep in fair +chase, they lie in wait for them among the rocks, killing many, because +the sheep range on ground suitable for the lions to stalk them on; that +is to say, among the rocks on steep mountain sides, or at the edges of +canyons. + +A conversation had with Mr. Hofer a year or two since is so interesting +that I offer no apology for giving the gist of it here. It has to do +with the enemies of the sheep, especially the mountain lion, and with +some of the sheep's ways. In substance, Mr. Hofer said: + +"One day about the first of January I was in my cabin looking through +the window, and up through the Cinnabar Basin, over the snow-covered +mountains. As I was looking, I saw a dark patch disappear in the snow +and then rise out of it again. The snow was deep and fluffy. The animal +that I was watching would disappear in the snow with a plunge, and then +would come up with a jump. It made several wonderful flights. It was so +far off I could not tell what it was, and when I looked at it through +the glasses I saw that it was a big ram breaking a trail. I was watching +him closely and at first did not notice that others were with him. Soon, +however, I discovered that there were four or five other sheep following +him. + +"The big ram came down from the side of the mountain, and, to pass over +to the other mountain, he had to cross the valley. There were a number +of knolls or ridges in this valley, where the snow was not so deep as in +the hollows. The ram broke a trail to a knoll, and stopped and looked +back, and pretty soon I saw the rest of the sheep coming along. They +followed his trail and passed him while he was standing there looking +back, always looking up at the mountain. While he stood on this knoll +where the snow was not deep--for it had blown off--and the other sheep +had passed him, one of them took the lead to the next knoll, breaking +the trail, but here the snow was not so deep as that the ram had come +through. No sooner had the sheep got to this knoll than the old ram +started. He took the trail the others had made, and joined them at the +next knoll, and then plunging in, went on ahead and broke a fresh trail +to the next rise of ground. The ram did most of the trail-breaking, but +sometimes one of the others went ahead; there was always one in the +rear, on guard, as it were, until they had crossed the valley to a steep +ridge on the next mountain. As they went, they stopped every little +while and stood for some time looking back. + +"Knowing the habits of the animal, I felt sure that something had driven +them off the mountain. They looked back as if to see whether anything +was following, or perhaps to look again at what had frightened them. I +thought it was a mountain lion. Soon afterward I took my snowshoes and +went up that way and found the track of a mountain lion. From the size +of the track it seemed as if the animal must have been enormous. On +soft snow, though, tracks spread and look big, and besides that, these +cats commonly spread out their toes. There was no mistake about its +being a mountain lion, for I could see where the tail had struck the +soft snow and made holes in it. + +"Mountain lions were around there a good deal, and E. De Long, who had a +cabin a little further up in the valley, told me that three times in his +experience of hunting up there he had come on a place where a mountain +lion had just killed a sheep. In each case he found the sheep in nearly +the same place, and in each case the sheep was freshly killed, and he +dressed it and took it home. + +"This seemed to be a favorite place for the lions to kill sheep. They +are great hands to kill sheep in about the same place. Far up on the +Boulder--way up near the head--Col. Pickett and I found nineteen or +twenty skulls of sheep by one rock. There was a wonderful lot of +them. They had been killed at various times, and in a place where they +never could have been killed by snowslides. It was under a very high +rock, fifteen feet perpendicular on one side, and in the valley a game +trail passed close under this side. On the other side the rock was not +so high, but sloped off to the side of the hill. A lion could easily lie +there without being seen, but could himself see both ways. The game +trail was so close that he could jump right down on to it. The number of +skulls that we saw here was so remarkable that Col. Pickett and I +counted them; there were more than eighteen. + +"The skulls were most of them old--killed a good while before. None of +them had the shells of the horns. They were old skulls, and the oldest +were almost in fragments, very much weathered. It was the accumulation +of a number of years, probably ten or fifteen. To my mind it showed +clearly that this was a favorite place for lions to lie for mountain +sheep. I have known of something similar to that in Cinnabar Basin, +where I have seen a number of skulls scattered along the gulch. There +was a heavy trail there which led up to a valley where there is a pass +by which we used to wind down to the Yellowstone and Tom Miner Creek and +Trapper Creek. + +"Lions are quite bad along the Yellowstone here, and sometimes in a hard +winter they seem to be driven out of the mountains, and a considerable +number have been killed on Gardiner River and Reese Creek. + +"If mountain lions are after the sheep, the sheep leave the mountain +they are on and go to another; they will not stay there, and will not +return until something drives them back." + +SOME WAYS OF THE SHEEP. + +Mr. Hofer said: + +"In old times it was sometimes possible to get a 'stand' on sheep, and, +in my opinion, sheep often, even to-day, are the least suspicious of all +the mountain animals. A mountain sheep always seems to fear the thing +that he sees under him. If a man goes above him he does not seem to know +what to do. I could never understand why, when one is above him, he +stands and looks. I have sometimes been riding around in the mountains, +and have come on sheep right below me. I have often thrown stones at +them, and sometimes it was quite a while before I could get them to +start. Finally, however, they would run off. They acted as if they were +dazed. + +"On the other hand, when I carried the mail down in San Juan county, +Colorado, in the winter of 1875-'76, going across from Animas Forks by +way of the Grizzly Pass to Tellurium Fork, I was the only person in that +section of the country all through the winter, and yet, although the +sheep saw only me, and saw me every day, they always acted +wild. Sometimes a ram would see me and stand and look for a long time, +and then presently all along the mountain side I would see sheep running +as if they were alarmed. On the other hand, if I met any of them on top +of the mountain, they scarcely ever ran, they just stood and looked at +me. + +"Once, when on a hunting trip, I had my horses all picketed in sight, +just above the basin where we were camped. The boy that had the care of +the horses had been up to change the picketed animals, and when he came +in he said: 'There's a sheep up there close by the horses. He saw me and +was not afraid.' We went out of the tent and presently I could see the +sheep, a small one about four years old. We went up toward it, and I saw +the sheep moving about. It went out to a little flat place on the slide +rock, where the slide rock had pushed out a little further, making a +little low butte, or flat-topped table; it was loose rock, with +snow. Here the sheep lay down. + +"I went around to station my man where he could get a rest for his +rifle, and when I had done this, I went around above to make the sheep +get up to drive him out, so that the man could shoot him. After I got +well up the gulch, above him, the sheep could see me plainly, and I +could see his eyes. I hesitated about making him get up, thinking +perhaps it was somebody's tame sheep, but we were the first ones up +there that spring, and of course it was not a tame sheep. If we had not +been out of meat I would not have disturbed the animal. I walked toward +it to make it get up, but it would not, and still lay there. When I was +within thirty feet of it I took up a stone and threw it, and called at +him. The sheep stood up and looked at me. I said, 'Go on, now,' and he +started in the direction I wished him to take. When he came in sight, +the man fired two or three shots at him, but did not hurt him, and the +sheep again lay down in sight of camp. Afterward I fired at him about +300 yards up the side of the mountain, but I did not touch him. However, +he was disturbed by the shooting, and moved away. + +"It is often difficult to find a reason for the way sheep act. It is +possible that this young ram, which was in the Sunlight Mining District, +had seen many miners, and that they had not disturbed him, and that so +he had lost his fear of man. He was not at all afraid of horses, perhaps +because he was accustomed to seeing miners' horses; or he may have taken +them for elk. I do not see why our wind did not alarm him. At all +events, for some reason, this one showed no fear. + +"Along the Gardiner River, inside the northern boundary of the +Yellowstone Park, there are always a number of sheep in winter, and they +become very tame, having learned by experience that people passing to +and fro will not injure them. Men driving up the road from Mammoth Hot +Springs to Gardiner, constantly see these sheep, which manifest the +utmost indifference to those who are passing them. Sometimes they stand +close enough to the road for a driver to reach them with his whip. One +winter the surgeon at the post, driving along, came upon a sheep +standing in the road, and as it did not move, he had to stop his team +for it. He did not dare to drive his horse close up to it. Finally the +ram jumped out to one side of the road, and the surgeon drove on. He +said he could have touched it with his whip." + +One winter when Mr. Hofer made an extended snowshoe trip through the +Park, he passed very close to sheep. It appeared to him that they fear +man less along the wagon roads than when he is out on the benches and in +the mountains. They seem to care little for man, but if a mountain lion +appears in the neighborhood, the sheep are no longer seen. Just where +they go is uncertain, but it is believed that they cross the Yellowstone +River by swimming. + +In winter, and especially late in the winter, sheep frequent southern +and southwestern exposures, and spend much of their time there. I have +seen places on the St. Marys Lake, in northern Montana, where there were +cartloads of droppings, apparently the accumulation of many years, and +have seen the same thing in the cliffs along the Yellowstone River. On +the rocks here there were many beds among the cliffs and ledges. Often +such beds are behind a rock, not a high one, but one that the sheep +could look over. In places such as this the animals are very difficult +to detect. + +Although the wild sheep was formerly, to a considerable extent, an +inhabitant of the western edge of the prairies of the high dry plains, +it is so no longer. The settling of the country has made this +impossible, but long before its permanent occupancy the frequent passage +through it by hunters had resulted in the destruction of the sheep or +had driven it more or less permanently to those heights where, in times +of danger, it had always sought refuge. + +To the east of the principal range of the wild sheep in America to-day +there are still a few of its old haunts not in the mountains which are +so arid or so rough, or where the water is so bad that as yet they have +not to any great extent been invaded by the white man. Again to the +south and southwest, in portions of Arizona, Old Mexico, and Lower +California, there rise out of frightful deserts buttes and mountain +ranges inhabited by different forms of sheep. In that country water is +extremely scarce, and the few water holes that exist are visited by the +sheep only at long intervals. There are many men who believe that the +sheep do not drink at all, but it is chiefly at these water holes that +the sheep of the desert are killed. + +At the present day the chief haunts of the mountain sheep are the fresh +Alpine meadows lying close to timber line, and fenced in by tall peaks; +or the rounded grassy slopes which extend from timber line up to the +region of perpetual snows. Sitting on the point of some tall mountain +the observer may look down on the green meadows, interspersed perhaps +with little clumps of low willows which grow along the tiny watercourses +whose sources are the snow banks far up the mountain side, and if +patient in his watch and faithful in his search, he may detect with his +glasses at first one or two, and gradually more and more, until at +length perhaps ten, fifteen or thirty sheep may be counted, scattered +over a considerable area of country. Or, if he climbs higher yet, and +overlooks the rounded shoulders which stretch up from the passes toward +the highest pinnacles of all--he will very likely see far below him, +lying on the hill and commanding a view miles in extent in every +direction, a group of nine, ten or a dozen sheep peacefully resting in +the midday sun. Those that he sees will be almost all of them ewes and +young animals. Perhaps there may be a young ram or two whose horns have +already begun to curve backward, but for the most part they are females +and young. + +The question that the hunter is always asking himself is where are the +big rams? Now and then, to be sure, more by accident than by any wisdom +of his own, he stumbles on some monster of the rocks, but of the sheep +that he sees in his wanderings, not one in a hundred has a head so large +as to make him consider it a trophy worth possessing. It is commonly +declared that in summer the big rams are "back along the range," by +which it is meant that they are close to the summits of the tallest +peaks. It is probable that this is true, and that they gather by twos +and threes on these tall peaks, and, not moving about very much, escape +observation. + +During the spring, summer, and early fall the females and their young +keep together in small bands in the mountains, well up, close under what +is called the "rim rock," or the "reefs," where the grass is sweet and +tender, the going good, and where a refuge is within easy reach. While +hunting in such places in September and October, when the first snows +are falling, one is likely to find the trail of a band of sheep close up +beneath the rock. If the mountain is one long inhabited by sheep, they +have made a well-worn trail on the hillside, and the little band, while +traveling along this in a general way, scatters out on both sides +feeding on the grass heads that project above the snow, and often with +their noses pushing the light snow away to get at the grass beneath. I +have never seen them do this, nor have I seen them paw to get at the +grass, but the marks in the snow where they have fed showed clearly that +the snow was pushed aside by the muzzle. + +Like most other animals, wild and tame, sheep are very local in their +habits, and one little band will occupy the same basin in the mountains +all summer long, going to water by the same trail, feeding in the same +meadows and along the same hillsides, occupying the same beds stamped +out in the rough slide rock, or on the great rock masses which have +fallen down from the cliff above. Even if frightened from their chosen +home by the passage of a party of travelers, they will go no further +than to the tops of the rocks, and as soon as the cause of alarm is +removed will return once more to the valley. + +I saw a striking instance of this some years ago, when, with a +Geological Survey party, I visited a little basin on the head of one of +the forks of Stinking Water in Wyoming, where a few families of sheep +had their home. + +Our appearance alarmed the sheep, which ran a little way up the face of +the cliff, and then, stopping occasionally to look, clambered along more +deliberately. When we reached the head of the basin we found that there +was no way down on the other side, and that we must go back as we had +come. The afternoon was well advanced and the pack train started back +and camped only a mile or two down the valley, while I stopped among +some great rocks to watch the movements of the sheep. Though at first +not easy to see, the animals' presence was evident by their calling, and +at length several were detected almost at the top of the cliff, but +already making their way back into the valley. + +I was much interested in watching a ewe, which was coming down a steep +slope of slide rock. There was apparently no trail, or if there was +one, she did not use it, but picked her way down to the head of the +slope of slide rock, stood there for a few moments, and then, after +bleating once or twice, sprang well out into the air and alighted on the +slide rock, it seemed to me, twenty-five feet below where she had +been. A little cloud of dust arose and she appeared to be buried to her +knees in the slide rock. I could not see how it was possible for her to +have made this jump without breaking her slender legs, yet she repeated +it again and again, until she had come down about to my level and had +passed out of sight. Nor was this ewe the only one that was coming +down. From a number of points on the precipice round about I could hear +rocks rolling and sheep calling, and before very long eight or ten ewes +and four or five lambs had come together in the little basin, and +presently marched almost straight up to where I lay hid. There was meat +in the camp, and so no reason for shooting at these innocents. Later +when I returned to camp, one of the packers informed me that for an hour +or two before a yearling ram had been feeding in the meadow with the +pack animals, close to the camp. + +The sheep now commonly shows himself to be the keenest and wariest of +North American big game. Yet we may readily credit the stories told us +by older men of his former simplicity and innocence, since even to-day +we sometimes see these characteristics displayed. I remember riding up a +narrow valley walled in on both sides by vertical cliffs and at its head +by a rock wall which was partly broken down, and through which we hoped +to find a way into the next valley to the northward. As we rode along, +a mile or more from the cliff at the valley's head, I saw one or two +sheep passing over it, and a few minutes later was electrified by +hearing my companion say: "Oh, look at the sheep! Look at the sheep! +Look at the sheep!" And there, charging down the valley directly toward +us, came a bunch of thirty or forty sheep in a close body, running as if +something very terrifying were close behind them, and paying not the +slightest attention to the two horsemen before them. I rolled off my +horse and loaded my gun. The sheep came within twenty-five or thirty +steps and a little to one side, and passed us like the wind, but they +left behind one of their number, which kept us in fresh meat for several +days thereafter. + +The first shot I fired at this band gave me a surprise. I drew my sight +fine on the point of the breast of the leading animal and pulled the +trigger, but instead of the explosion which should have followed I heard +the hammer fall on the firing-pin. There was a slow hissing sound, a +little puff at the muzzle of the rifle, and I distinctly heard the +leaden ball fall to the ground just in front of me. In a moment I had +reloaded and had killed the sheep before it had passed far beyond me; +but for a few seconds I could not comprehend what had happened. Then it +came back to me that a few days before I had made from half a dozen +cartridges a weight to attach to a fish line for the purpose of sounding +the depth of a lake. Evidently a lubricating wad had been imperfect, +and dampness had reached the powder. + +Like others of our ungulates, wild sheep are great frequenters of +"licks"--places where the soil has been more or less impregnated with +saline solutions. These licks are visited frequently--perhaps +daily--during the summer months by sheep of all ages, and such points +are favorite watching places for men who need meat, and wish to secure +it as easily as possible. At a certain lick in northern Montana, shots +at sheep may be had almost any day by the man who is willing to watch +for them. In the summer of 1903 a bunch of nine especially good rams +visited a certain lick each day. The guide of a New York man who was +hunting there in June--of course in violation of the law--took him to +the lick. The first day nine rams came, and the New Yorker, after firing +many shots, frightened them all away. Perhaps he hit some of them, for +the next day only seven returned, of which three were killed. In British +Columbia I have seen twenty-five or thirty sheep working at a lick, from +which the earth had been eaten away, so that great hollows and ravines +were cut out in many directions from the central spring. + +Examination of such licks in cold--freezing--weather, seems to show that +the sheep do not then visit them. I have seen mule deer and sheep +nibbling the soil in company, and have seen white goats visit a lick +frequented also by sheep. + +Of Dall's sheep, Mr. Stone declares that it is rapidly growing scarcer, +and this statement is based not only on his own observation, but on +reports made to him by the Indians. Mr. Stone describes it as possessing +wonderful agility, endurance, and vitality, and gives many examples of +their ability to get about among most difficult rocks when wounded. He +adds: "From my experience with these animals, I believe they seek quite +as rugged a country in which to make their homes as does the Rocky +Mountain goat. They brave higher latitudes and live in regions in every +way more barren and forbidding." He reports the females with their lambs +as generally keeping to the high table lands far back in the +mountains. Among the specimens which he recently collected, broken jaw +bones reunited were so frequent among the females killed as to excite +comment. Notwithstanding Mr. Stone's gloomy view of the future of this +species, we may hope that the enforcement of the game laws in Alaska +will long preserve this beautiful animal. + +Our knowledge of the habits of the Lower California sheep inhabiting the +San Pedro Martir Mountains has been slight. Mr. Gould's admirable +account of a hunting trip for them--"To the Gulf of Cortez," published +in a preceding volume of the Club's book--will be remembered, and the +curious fact stated by his Indian guide that the sheep break holes in +the hard, prickly rinds of the venaga cactus with their horns, and then +eat out the inside. + +Recently, however, a series of thirteen specimens collected by Edmund +Heller were received by Dr. D.G. Elliot, and described, as already +stated, and he gives from Mr. Heller's note-book the following notes on +their habits: + +"Common about the cliffs, coming down occasionally to the water holes in +the valley. Most of the sheep observed were either solitary or in small +bands of three to a dozen. Only one adult ram was seen, all the others, +about thirty, being either ewes or lambs. The largest bunch seen +consisted of eleven, mostly ewes and a few young rams." The sheep, as a +rule, inhabit the middle line of cliffs where they are safe from attack +above and can watch the valley below for danger. Here about the middle +line of cliffs they were observed, and the greater number of tracks and +dust wallows, where they spend much of their time, were seen. A few were +seen on the level stretches of the mesas, and a considerable number of +tracks, but these were made by those traveling from one line of cliffs +to another. + +"They are constantly on guard, and very little of their time is given to +browsing. Their usual method is to feed about some high cliffs or rocks, +taking an occasional mouthful of brush, and then suddenly throwing up +the head and gazing and listening for a long time before again taking +food. They are not alarmed by scent, like deer or antelope, the +direction of the wind apparently making no difference in hunting them. A +small bunch of six were observed for a considerable time feeding. Their +method seemed to be much the same as individuals, except that when +danger was suspected by any member, he would give a few quick leaps, and +all the flock would scamper to some high rock and face about in various +directions, no two looking the same way. These maneuvers were often +performed, perhaps once every fifteen minutes. + +"Their chief enemy is the mountain lion, which hunts them on the cliffs, +apparently never about watering places. Lion tracks were not rare about +the sheep runs. They are extremely wary about coming down for water, and +take every precaution. Before leaving the cliffs to cross the valley to +water they usually select some high ridge and descend along this, gazing +constantly at the spring, usually halting ten or more minutes on every +prominent rocky point. When within a hundred yards or less of the water, +a long careful search is made, and a great deal of ear-work performed, +the head being turned first to one side and then to the other. When they +do at last satisfy themselves, they make a bolt and drink quickly, +stopping occasionally to listen and look for danger. + +"If, however, they should be surprised at the water they do not flee at +once, but gaze for some time at the intruder, and then go a short way +and take another look, and so on until at last they break into a steady +run for the cliffs. At least thirty sheep were observed at the water, +and none came before 9:30 A.M. or later than 2:30 P.M., most coming down +between 12:00 M. and 1:00 P.M. This habit has probably been established +to avoid lions, which are seldom about during the hottest part of the +day. A few ewes were seen with two lambs, but the greater number had +only one. Most of the young appeared about two months old. Their usual +gait was a short gallop, seldom a walk or trot." + +The great curving horns of the wild sheep have always exercised more or +less influence on people's imagination, and have given rise to various +fables. These horns are large in proportion to the animal, and so +peculiar that it has seemed necessary to account for them on the theory +that they had some marvelous purpose. The familiar tale that the horns +of the males were used as cushions on which the animal alighted when +leaping down from great heights is old. A more modern hypothesis which +promises to be much shorter lived is that advanced a year or two ago by +Mr. Geo. Wherry, of Cambridge, England, who suggested that "The form of +the horn and position of the ear enables the wild sheep to determine the +direction of sound when there is a mist or fog, the horn acting like an +admiralty megaphone when used as an ear trumpet, or like the topophone +(double ear trumpet, the bells of which turn opposite ways) used for a +fog-bound ship on British-American vessels to determine the direction of +sound signals." + +It is, of course, well understood, and, on the publication of +Mr. Wherry's hypothesis, was at once suggested, that there are many +species of wild sheep, and that the spiral of the horn of each species +is a different one. Moreover, within each species there are of course +different ages, and the spiral may differ with age and also at the same +age to some extent with the individual. In some cases, the ear perhaps +lies at the apex of a cone formed by the horn, but in others it does not +lie there. Moreover this hypothesis, like the other and older one, in +which the horns were said to act as the jumping cushion, takes no +account of the females and young, which in mists, fogs, and at other +times, need protection quite as much as the adult males. The old males +with large and perfect horns have to a large extent fulfilled the +function of their lives--reproduction--and their place is shortly to be +taken by younger animals growing up. Moreover they have reached the full +measure of strength and agility, and through years of experience have +come to a full knowledge of the many dangers to which their race is +exposed. It would seem extraordinary that nature should have cared so +well for them, and should have left the more defenseless females and +young unprotected from the dangers likely to come to them from enemies +which may make sounds in a fog. + +The old males with large and perfect horns have come to their full +fighting powers, and do fight fiercely at certain seasons of the +year. And it is believed by many people that the great development of +horns among the mountain sheep is merely a secondary sexual character +analogous to the antlers of the deer or the spurs of the cock. + +Most people who have hunted sheep much will believe that this species +depends for its safety chiefly on its nose and its eyes. And if the +observations of hunters in general could be gathered and collated, they +would probably agree that the female sheep are rather quicker to notice +danger than the males, though both are quick enough. + +PROTECTION. + +It is gratifying to note that the rapid disappearance of the mountain +sheep has made some impression on legislators in certain States where it +is native. Some of these have laws absolutely forbidding the killing of +mountain sheep; and while in certain places in all of such States and +Territories this law is perhaps lightly regarded, and not generally +observed, still, on the whole, its effect must be good, and we may hope +that gradually it will find general observance. The mountain sheep is so +superb an animal that it should be a matter of pride with every State +which has a stock of sheep within its borders to preserve that stock +most scrupulously. It is said that in Colorado, where sheep have long +been protected, they are noticeably increasing, and growing tamer. I +have been told of one stock and mining camp, near Silver Plume, where +there is a bunch of sheep absolutely protected by public sentiment, in +which the miners, and in fact the whole community, take great pride and +delight. + +It is fitting that on the statute books the mountain sheep should have +better protection than most species of our large game, since there is no +other species now existing in any numbers which is more exposed to +danger of extinction. Destroyed on its old ranges, it is found now only +in the roughest mountains, the bad lands, and the desert, and it is +sufficiently desirable as a trophy to be ardently pursued wherever +found. + +Several States have been wise enough absolutely to protect sheep; these +are North Dakota, California, Arizona, Montana, Colorado (until 1907), +Utah, New Mexico (until March 1, 1905), and Texas (until July, +1908). Three other States, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho, permit one +mountain sheep to be killed by the hunter during the open season of each +year. Oregon, which has a long season, from July 15 to November 1, puts +no limit on the number to be killed, while in Nevada there appears to be +no protection for the species. + +If these protective laws were enforced, sheep would increase, and once +more become delightful objects of the landscape, as they have in +portions of Colorado and in the National Park, where, as already stated, +they are so tame during certain seasons of the year that they will +hardly get out of the way. On the other hand, in many localities covered +by excellent laws, there are no means of enforcing them. Montana, which +perhaps has as many sheep as any State in the Union, does not, and +perhaps cannot, enforce her law, the sheep living in sections distant +from the localities where game wardens are found, and so difficult to +watch. In some cases where forest rangers are appointed game wardens, +they are without funds for the transportation of themselves and +prisoners over the one hundred or two hundred miles between the place of +arrest and the nearest Justice of the Peace, and cannot themselves be +expected to pay these expenses. In the summer of 1903 sheep were killed +in violation of law in the mountains of Montana, and also in the bad +lands of the Missouri River. + +On the other hand, in Colorado there are many places where the law +protecting the sheep is absolutely observed. Public opinion supports the +law, and those disposed to violate it dare not do so for fear of the +law. Near Silver Plume, already mentioned, a drive to see the wild sheep +come down to water is one of the regular sights offered to visitors, and +while there may be localities where sheep are killed in violation of the +law in Colorado, it is certain that there are many where the law is +respected. + +There are still a few places where sheep may be found to-day, living +somewhat as they used to live before the white men came into the western +country. Such places are the extremely rough bad lands of the Missouri +River, between the Little Rocky Mountains and the mouth of Milk River, +where, on account of the absence of water on the upper prairie and the +small areas of the bottoms of the Missouri River, there are as yet few +settlements. The bad lands are high and rough, scarcely to be traversed +except by a man on foot, and in their fastnesses the sheep--protected +formally by State law, but actually by the rugged country--are still +holding their own. They come down to the river at night to water, and +returning spend the day feeding on the uplands of the prairie, and +resting in beds pawed out of the dry earth of the washed bad lands, just +as their ancestors did. + +In old times this country abounded in buffalo, elk, deer of two species, +sheep, and antelope, and if set aside as a State park by Montana, it +would offer an admirable game refuge, and one still stocked with all its +old-time animals, except the elk and the buffalo. + + * * * * * + +RANGE. + +The present range of the different forms of mountain sheep extends from +Alaska and from the Pacific Ocean east to the Rocky Mountains--with a +tongue extending down the Missouri River as far as the Little +Missouri--south to Sonora and Lower California. The various forms from +north to south appear to be Dall's sheep, the saddleback sheep, Stone's +sheep, the common bighorn, with the Missouri River variety, existing to +the east, in the bad lands, and with Nelson's, the Mexican and the Lower +California sheep running southward into Mexico. + +Among the experienced hunters of both forms of Dall's sheep are +Messrs. Dali DeWeese, of Colorado, and A.J. Stone, Collector of Arctic +Mammals for the American Museum of Natural History. Mr. Stone gives two +distinct ranges for this sheep, (1) the Alaska Mountains and Kenai +Peninsula, and (2) the entire stretch of the Rocky Mountains north of +latitude 60 degrees to near the Arctic coast just at the McKenzie, +reaching thence west to the headwaters of the Noatak and Kowak rivers +that flow into Kotzebue Sound. + +Stone's sheep, which was described by Dr. Allen in 1897, came from the +head of the Stickine River, and two years after its description Dr. J.A. +Allen quotes Mr. A.J. Stone, the collector, as saying: "I traced the +_Ovis stonei_, or black sheep, throughout the mountainous country +of the headwaters of the Stickine, and south to the headwaters of the +Nass, but could find no reliable information of their occurrence further +south in this longitude. They are found throughout the Cassiar +Mountains, which extend north to 61 degrees north latitude and west to +134 degrees west longitude. How much further west they may be found I +have been unable to determine. Nor could I ascertain whether their range +extends from the Cassiar Mountains into the Rocky Mountains to the north +of Francis and Liard River. But the best information obtained led me to +believe that it does not. They are found in the Rocky Mountains to the +south as far as the headwaters of the Nelson and Peace rivers in +latitude 56 degrees, but I proved conclusively that in the main range of +the Rocky Mountains very few of them are found north of the Liard +River. Where this river sweeps south through the Rocky Mountains to +Hell's Gate, a few of these animals are founds as far north as Beaver +River, a tributary of the Liard. None, however, are found north of this, +and I am thoroughly convinced that this is the only place where these +animals may be found north of the Liard River. + +"I find that in the Cassiar Mountains and in the Rocky Mountains they +everywhere range above timber line, as they do in the mountains of +Stickine, the Cheonees, and the Etsezas. + +"Directly to the north of the Beaver River, and north of the Liard River +below the confluence of the Beaver, we first meet with _Ovis +dalli_." + +A Stony Indian once told me that in his country--the main range of the +Rocky Mountains--there were two sorts of sheep, one small, dark in +color, and with slender horns, which are seldom broken, and another sort +larger and pale in color, with heavy, thick horns that are often broken +at the point. He went on to say that these small black sheep are all +found north of Bow River, Alberta, and that on the south side of Bow +River the big sheep only occur. The country referred to all lies on the +eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The hunting ground of the Stonies +runs as far north as Peace River, and it is hardly to be doubted that +they know Stone's sheep. The Brewster Bros., of Banff, Alberta, inform +me that Stone's sheep is found on the head of Peace River. + +A dozen or fifteen years ago one of the greatest sheep ranges that was +at all accessible was in the mountains at the head of the Ashnola River, +in British Columbia, and on the head of the Methow, which rises in the +same mountains and flows south into Washington. This is a country very +rough and without roads, only to be traversed with a pack train. + +Mr. Lew Wilmot writes me that there are still quite a number of sheep +ranging from Mt. Chapacca, up through the Ashnola, and on the +headwaters of the Methow. Indeed, it is thought by some that sheep are +more numerous there now than they were a few years ago. In Dyche's +"Campfires of a Naturalist" a record is given of sheep in the Palmer +Lake region, at the east base of the Cascade range in Washington. + +The Rev. John McDougall, of Morley, Alberta, wrote me in 1899, in answer +to inquiries as to the mountain sheep inhabiting the country ranged over +by the Stony Indians, "that it is the opinion of these Indians that the +sheep which frequent the mountains from Montana northward as far as our +Indians hunt, are all of one kind, but that in localities they differ in +size, and somewhat in color. + +"They say that from the 49th parallel to the headwaters of the +Saskatchewan River, sheep are larger than those in the Selkirks and +coast ranges; and also that as they go north of the Saskatchewan the +sheep become smaller. As to color, they say that the more southerly and +western sheep are the lighter; and that as you pass north the sheep are +darker in color. These Stonies report mountain sheep as still to be +found in all of the mountain country they roam in. Their hunting ground +is about 400 miles long by 150 broad, and is principally confined to the +Rocky Mountain range." + +In an effort to establish something of the range of the mountain sheep, +during the very last years of the nineteenth century, I communicated +with a large number of gentlemen who were either resident in, or +travelers through, portions of the West now or formerly occupied by the +mountain sheep, and the results of these inquiries I give below: + +Prof. L.V. Pirsson, of Yale University, who has spent a number of years +in studying the geology of various portions of the northern Rocky +Mountains, wrote me with considerable fullness in 1896 concerning the +game situation in some of the front ranges of the Rockies, where sheep +were formerly very abundant. In the Crazy Mountains he says he saw no +sheep, and that while it was possible they might be there, they must +certainly be rare. In 1880 there were many sheep there. In the Castle +Mountains none were seen, nor reported, nor any traces seen. The same is +true of the Little Belt, Highwood, and Judith Mountains. He understood +that sheep were still present in the bad lands; immediately about the +mountains and east of them the country was too well settled for any game +to live. Earlier, however, in the summer of 1890, passing through the +Snowy Mountains, which lie north of the National Park, sheep were seen +on two occasions; a band of ten ewes and lambs on Sheep Mountain, and a +band of seven rams on the head of the stream known as the Buffalo Fork +of the Lamar River. In 1893 an old ram was killed on Black Butte, at the +extreme eastern end of the Judith Mountains, near Cone Butte, and it is +quite possible that this animal had strayed out of the bad lands on the +lower Musselshell, or on the Missouri. Even at that time there were said +to be no sheep on the Little Rockies, Bearpaws, or Sweetgrass Hills. + +All the ranges spoken of were formerly great sheep ranges, and on all of +them, many years ago, I saw sheep in considerable numbers. + +There are a very few sheep in the Wolf Mountains of Montana. + +There are still mountain sheep among the rough bad lands on both sides +of the Missouri River, between the mouth of the Musselshell and the +mouth of Big Dry. It is hard to estimate the number of these sheep, but +there must be many hundreds of them, and perhaps thousands. As recently +as August, 1900, Mr. S.C. Leady, a ranchman in this region, advised me +that he counted in one bunch, coming to water, forty-nine sheep. + +Mr. Leady further advised me that in his country, owing to the sparse +settlement, the game laws are not at all regarded, and sheep are hunted +at all times of the year. The settlers themselves advocate the +protection of the game, but there is really no one to enforce the +laws. Recent advices from this country show that the conditions there +are now somewhat improved. + +It is probable that in suitable localities in the Missouri River bad +lands sheep are still found in some numbers all the way from the mouth +of the Little Missouri to the mouth of the Judith River. + +Mr. O.C. Graetz, now, or recently, of Kipp, Montana, advised me, through +my friend, J.B. Monroe, that in 1894, in the Big Horn Mountains, Wyo., +on the head of the Little Horn River, in the rough and rolling country +he saw a band of eleven sheep. The same man tells me that also in 1894, +in Sweetwater county, in Wyoming, near the Sweetwater River, south of +South Pass, on a mountain known as Oregon Butte, he twice saw two +sheep. The country was rolling and high, with scattering timber, but not +much of it. In this country, and at that time, the sheep were not much +hunted. + +Mr. Elwood Hofer, one of the best known guides of the West, whose home +is in Gardiner, Park county, Mont., has very kindly furnished me with +information about the sheep on the borders of the Yellowstone National +Park. Writing in May, 1898, he says: "At this time sheep are not +numerous anywhere in this country, compared with what they were before +the railroad (Northern Pacific Railroad) was built in 1881. In summer +they are found in small bands all through the mountains, in and about +the National Park. I found them all along the divide, and out on the +spurs, between the Yellowstone and Stinking Water rivers, and on down +between the Yellowstone and Snake rivers, on one side, and the south +fork of Stinking Water River and the Wind River on the east. I found +sheep at the extreme headwaters of the Yellowstone, and of the Wind +River, and the Buffalo Fork of Snake River. There are sheep in the +Tetons, Gallatin-Madison range, and even on Mount Holmes. I have seen +them around Electric Peak, and so on north, along the west side of the +Yellowstone as far as the Bozeman Pass; but not lately, for I have not +been in those mountains for a number of years. All along the range from +the north side of the Park to within sight of Livingston there are a few +sheep. + +"On the Stinking Water, where I used to see bands of fifteen to twenty +sheep, now we only see from three to five. Of late years I have seen +very few large rams, and those only in the Park. Last summer +Mr. Archibald Rogers saw a large ram at the headwaters of Eagle Creek, +very close to the Park. In winter there are usually a few large rams in +the Gardiner Canyon. I hear that there are a few sheep out toward +Bozeman, on Mt. Blackmore, and the mountains near there. + +"I believe that some of the reasons for the scarcity of mountain sheep +in this country are these: First, the settlement of the plains country +close to the mountains, prevents their going to their winter ranges, and +so starves them; secondly, the same cause keeps them in the mountains, +where the mountain lions can get at them; and thirdly, the scab has +killed a good many. I do not think that the rifle has had much to do +with destroying the sheep." + +Sheep were formerly exceedingly abundant in all the bad lands along the +Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, and in the rough, broken country from +Powder River west to the Big Horn. The Little Missouri country was a +good sheep range, and also the broken country about Fort Laramie. In the +Black Hills of Dakota they were formerly abundant, and also along the +North Platte River, near the canons of the Platte, in the Caspar +Mountain, and in all the rough country down nearly to the forks of the +Platte. + +The easternmost locality which I have for the bighorn is the Birdwood +Creek in Nebraska. This lies just north of O'Fallon Station on the Union +Pacific Railroad and flows nearly due south into the North Platte +River. It is in the northwestern corner of Lincoln county, Nebraska, +just west of the meridian of 101 degrees. Here, in 1877, the late Major +Frank North, well known to all men familiar with the West between the +years 1860 and 1880, saw, but did not kill, a male mountain sheep. The +animal was only 100 yards from him, was plainly seen and certainly +recognized. Major North had no gun, and thought of killing the sheep +with his revolver, but his brother, Luther H. North, who was armed with +a rifle, was not far from him, and Major North dropped down out of sight +and motioned his brother to come to him, so that he might kill it. By +the time Luther had come up, the sheep had walked over a ridge and was +not seen again, but there is no doubt as to its identification. It had +probably come from Court House Rock in Scott's Bluff county, Nebraska, +where there were still a few sheep as recently as twenty-five years ago. + +These animals were also more or less abundant along the Little Missouri +River as late as the late '80's, and perhaps still later. This had +always been a favorite range for them, and in 1874 they were noticed and +reported on by Government expeditions which passed through the country, +and the hunters and trappers who about that time plied their trade along +that river found them abundant. Mr. Roosevelt has written much of +hunting them on that stream. + +The low bluffs of the Yellowstone River--in the days when that was a +hostile Indian country, and only the hunter who was particularly +reckless and daring ventured into it--were a favorite feeding ground for +sheep. They were reported very numerous by the first expeditions that +went up the river, and a few have been killed there within five or six +years, although the valley is given over to farming and the upper +prairie is covered with cattle. This used to be one of the greatest +sheep ranges in all the West; the wide flats of the river bottom, the +higher table lands above, and the worn bad lands between, furnishing +ideal sheep ground. The last killed there, so far as I know, were a ram +and two ewes, which were taken about forty miles below Rosebud Station, +on the river, in 1897 or 1898. + +Of Wyoming, Mr. Wm. Wells writes: "I have only been up here in +northwestern Wyoming for a year, but from what I have seen, sheep are +holding their own fairly well, and may be increasing in places. In 1897, +Mr. H.D. Shelden, of Detroit, Mich., and myself were hunting sheep just +west of the headwaters of Hobacks River. There was a sort of knife-edge +ridge running about fifteen miles north and south, the summit of which +was about 2,000 feet above a bench or table-land. The ridge was well +watered, and in some places the timber ran nearly up to the top of the +ridge. On this ridge there were about 100 sheep, divided into three +bands. Each band seemed to make its home in a cup-like hollow on the +east side of the ridge, about 500 feet below the crest, but the members +of the different bands seemed to visit back and forth, as the numbers +were not always the same. + +"We could take our horses up into either one of the three hollows, and +some of the sheep were so tame that we have several times been within +fifty yards in plain sight, and had the sheep pay very little attention +to us. In one instance two ewes and lambs went on ahead of us at a walk +for several hundred yards, often stopping to look back; and in another a +sheep, after looking at us, two horses and two dogs, across a canyon 200 +yards wide, pawed a bed in the slide rock and lay down. In another case +I drove about thirty head of ewes and lambs to within thirty-five yards +of Mr. Shelden, and when he rose up in plain sight, they stood and +looked at him. When he saw that there was no ram there, he yelled at +them, upon which they ran off about 400 yards, and then stood and looked +at us. + +"I do not think that these sheep had been hunted, until this time, for +several years. As nearly as I could tell, they ranged winter and summer +on nearly the same ground. At the top of the range, facing the east, +were overhanging ledges of rock, and under these the dung was two feet +or more deep. + +"Either during the winter or early spring the sheep had been down in the +timber on the east side of the ridge, as I found the remains of several, +in the winter coat, that had been killed by cougars." + +Mr. D.C. Nowlin, of Jackson, Wyo., was good enough to write me in 1898, +concerning the sheep in the general neighborhood of Jackson's Hole; that +is to say, in the ranges immediately south of the National Park, a +section not far from that just described. He says: "In certain ranges +near here sheep are comparatively plentiful, and are killed every +hunting season. + +"Occasionally a scabby ram is killed. I killed one here which showed +very plainly the ravages of scab, especially around the ears, and on the +neck and shoulders. Evidently the disease is identical with that so +common among domestic sheep, and I have heard more than one creditable +account of mountain sheep mingling temporarily with domestic flocks and +thus contracting the scab. I am confident that the same parasite which +is found upon scabby domestic sheep is responsible for the disease which +affects the bighorn. It is not difficult to account for the transmission +of the disease, as western sheep-men roam with their flocks at will, +from the peach belt to timber line, regardless alike of the legal or +inherent rights of man or beast. Partly through isolation, and partly +through moral suasion by our people, no domestic sheep have invaded +Jackson's Hole." + +Mr. Ira Dodge, of Cora, Wyo., in response to inquiries as to the sheep +in his section of the country, says: "Mountain sheep are, like most +other game, where you find them; but their feeding grounds are mainly +high table-lands, at the foot of, or near, high rocky peaks or +ranges. These table-lands occur at or near timber line, varying one or +two thousand feet either way. In this latitude timber line occurs at +about 11,500 feet. In all the ranges in this locality, namely, the Wind +River, Gros Ventre, and Uintah, water is found in abundance, and, as a +rule, there is plenty of timber. I think I have more often found sheep +in the timber, or below timber line, than at higher altitudes, although +sometimes I have located the finest rams far above the last scrubby +pine. + +"The largest bunch of sheep that I have seen was in the fall of 1893. I +estimated the band at 75 to 100. In that bunch there were no rams, and +they remained in sight for quite a long time; so that I had a good +opportunity to estimate them. + +"I do not profess to know where the majority of these sheep winter, but, +undoubtedly, a great number winter on the table-lands before mentioned, +where a rich growth of grass furnishes an abundance of feed. At this +altitude the wind blows so hard and continuously, and the snow is so +light and dry, that there would be no time during the whole winter when +the snow would lie on the ground long enough to starve sheep to death. +Several small bunches of sheep winter on the Big Gros Ventre +River. These, I think, are the same sheep that are found in summer time +on the Gros Ventre range. I have occasionally killed sheep that were +scabby, but I have no positive knowledge that this disease has killed +any number of sheep. In the fall of 1894 I discovered eleven large ram +skulls in one place, and since that time found four more near by. My +first impression was that the eleven were killed by a snowslide, as they +were at the foot of one of those places where snowslides occur, but +finding the other four within a mile, and in a place where a snowslide +could not have killed them, it rather dispelled my first theory. As +mountain sheep can travel over snow drifts nearly as well as a caribou, +I do not believe that they were stranded in a snowstorm and perished, +and no hunter would have killed so great a number and left such +magnificent heads. The scab theory is about the only solution left. The +sheep are not hunted very much here, and I believe their greatest enemy +is the mountain lion. + +"There is one isolated bunch of mountain sheep on the Colorado Desert, +situated in Fremont and Sweetwater counties, Wyo., which seems to be +holding its own against many range riders, meat and specimen hunters, as +well as coyotes. They are very light in color, much more so than their +cousins found higher up in the mountains, and locally they are called +ibex, or white goats. The country they live in is very similar to the +bad lands of Dakota, and I dare say that their long life on the plains +has created in them a distinct sub-species of the bighorn." + +The Colorado Desert is situated in Wyoming, between the Green River on +the west, and the Red Desert on the east. The sheep are seen mostly on +the breaks on Green River. They are sometimes chased by cowboys, but I +have never known of one being caught in that way. + +I am told that in some bad lands in the Red Desert, locally known as +Dobe Town, there is a herd of wild sheep, which are occasionally pursued +by range riders. Rarely one is roped. + +Mr. Fred E. White, of Jackson, Wyo., advised me in 1898 of the existence +of sheep in the mountains which drain into Gros Ventre Fork, the heads +of Green River and Buffalo Fork of Snake River. Mr. White was with the +Webb party, some years ago, when they secured a number of sheep. The +same correspondent calls attention to the very large number of sheep +which in 1888, and for a few years thereafter, ranged in the high +mountains between the waters of the Yellowstone and the Stinking +Water. This is one of the countries from which sheep have been pretty +nearly exterminated by hunters and prospectors. + +Within the past twenty or thirty years mountain sheep have become very +scarce in all of their old haunts in Wyoming and northern Colorado. This +does not seem to be particularly due to hunting, but the sheep seem to +be either moving away or dying out. Mr. W.H. Reed, in 1898, wrote me +from Laramie, Wyo., saying: "At present there are perhaps thirty head on +Sheep Mountain, twenty-two miles west of Laramie, Wyo.; on the west side +of Laramie Peak there are perhaps twenty head; on the east side of the +Peak twelve to fifteen head, and near the Platte Canon, at the head of +Medicine Bow River, there are fifteen. In 1894 I saw at the head of the +Green River, Hobacks River, and Gros Ventre River, between two and three +hundred mountain sheep. There are sheep scattered all through the Wind +River, and a very few in the Big Horn Mountains; but all are in small +bunches, and these widely separated. Some of the old localities where +they were very abundant in the early '70's, but now are never seen, are +Whalen Canon, Raw Hide Buttes, Hartville Mountains, thirty miles +northwest of Ft. Laramie, Elk Mountains, and the adjacent hills fifteen +miles east of Fort Steele, near old Fort Halleck. They seem to have +disappeared also from the bad lands along Green River, south of the +Union Pacific Railroad, from the Freezeout Hills, Platte Canyon, at the +mouth of Sweetwater River, from Brown's Canyon, forty miles northwest of +Rawlins, from the Seminole and Ferris Mountains, and from many other +places in the middle and northeastern part of Wyoming." + +In Colorado, the mountains surrounding North Park and west to the Utah +line, had many mountain sheep twenty-five years ago, but to-day old +hunters tell me that there are only two places where one is sure to find +sheep. These are Hahn's Peak and the Rabbit Ears, two peaks at the south +end of North Park. + +There were sheep in and about the Black Hills of Dakota as late as 1890, +for Mr. W.S. Phillips has kindly informed me that about June of that +year he saw three sheep on Mt. Inyan Kara. These were the only ones +actually seen during the summer, but they were frequently heard of from +cattle-men, and Mr. Phillips considers it beyond dispute that at that +time they ranged from Sundance, Inyan Kara and Bear Lodge Mountains--all +on the western and southwestern slope of the Black Hills, on and near +the Wyoming-Dakota line--on the east, westerly at least to Pumpkin +Buttes and Big Powder River, and in the edge of the bad lands of Wyoming +as far north as the Little Missouri Buttes, and south to the south fork +of the Cheyenne River, and the big bend of the north fork of the Platte, +and the head of Green River. This range is based on reports of reliable +range riders, who saw them in passing through the country. It is an +ideal sheep country--rough, varying from sage brush desert, out of which +rises an occasional pine ridge butte, to bad lands, and the mountains of +the Black Hills. There are patches of grassy, fairly good pasture +land. The country is well watered, and there are many springs hidden +under the hills which run but a short distance after they come out of +the ground and then sink. Timber occurs in patches and more or less open +groves on the pine ridges that run sometimes for several miles in a +continuous hill, at a height of from one to three or four hundred feet +above the plain. The region is a cattle country. + +In 1893 and '97 fresh heads and hides were seen at Pocotello, Idaho, and +at one or two other points west of there in the lava country along Snake +River and the Oregon short line. The sheep were probably killed in the +spurs and broken ranges that run out on the west flank of the main chain +of the Rockies toward the Blue Mountains of Oregon. + +Mr. William Wells, of Wells, Wyo., has very kindly given me the +following notes as to Colorado, where he formerly resided. He says: +"During 1890, '91, '92, there were a good many mountain sheep on the +headwaters of Roan Creek, a tributary of Grand River, in Colorado. Roan +Creek heads on the south side of the Roan or Book Plateau, and flows +south into Grand River. The elevation of Grand River at this point is +about 5,000 feet, and the elevation of the Book Plateau is about 8,500 +feet. The side of the plateau toward Grand River consists of cliffs from +2,000 to 3,000 feet high, and as the branches of Roan Creek head on top +of the plateau they form very deep box canyons as they cut their way to +the river. It is on these cliffs and in these canyons that the sheep were +found. I understand that there are some there yet, but I have not been +in that section since 1892. On all the cliffs are benches or terraces--a +cliff of 300 to 1,000 feet at the top, then a bench, then another cliff, +and so on to the bottom. The benches are well grassed, and there is more +or less timber, quaking asp, spruce and juniper in the side +canyons. There are plenty of springs along the cliffs, and as they face +the south, the winter range is good. The top of the plateau is an open +park country, and at that time was, and is yet, for that matter, full of +deer and bear, but I never saw any sheep on top, though they sometimes +come out on the upper edge of the cliffs. + +"There were, and I suppose are still, small bands of sheep on Dome and +Shingle Peaks, on the headwaters of White River, in northwestern +Colorado. + +"There was also a band of sheep on the Williams River Mountains which +lie between Bear River and the Williams Fork of Bear River, in +northwestern Colorado, but these sheep were killed off about 1894 or +'95. The Williams River Mountains are a low range of grass-covered +hills, well watered, with broken country and cliffs on the south side, +toward the Williams Fork. + +"It is also reported that there is a band of sheep in Grand River Canyon, +just above Glenwood Springs, Colo., and sheep are reported to be on the +increase in the Gunnison country, and other parts of southwestern +Colorado, as that State protects sheep." + +Mr. W.J. Dixon, of Cimarron, Kan., wrote me in May, 1898, as follows: +"In 1874 or '75 I killed sheep at the head of the north fork of the +Purgatoire, or Rio de las Animas, on the divide between the Spanish +Peaks and main range of the Rocky Mountains, southwest by west from the +South Peak. I was there also in November, 1892, and saw three or four +head at a distance, but did not go after them. They must be on the +increase there." + +In 1899 there was a bunch of sheep in east central Utah, about thirty +miles north of the station of Green River, on the Rio Grande Western +Railroad, and on the west side of the Green River. These were on the +ranch of ex-member of Congress, Hon. Clarence E. Allen, and were +carefully protected by the owners of the property. The ranch hands are +instructed not to kill or molest them in any manner, and to do nothing +that will alarm them. They come down occasionally to the lower ground, +attracted by the lucerne, as are also the deer, which sometimes prove +quite a nuisance by getting into the growing crops. The sheep spend most +of their time in the cliffs not far away. When first seen, about 1894, +there were but five sheep in the bunch, while in 1899 twenty were +counted. This information was very kindly sent to me by +Mr. C.H. Blanchard, at one time of Silver City, but more recently of +Salt Lake City, in Utah. + +Mr. W.H. Holabird, formerly of Eddy, New Mexico, but more recently of +Los Angeles, Cal., tells me that during the fall of 1896 a number of +splendid heads were brought into Eddy, N.M. He is told that mountain +sheep are quite numerous in the rugged ridge of the Guadeloupe +Mountains, bands of from five to twelve being frequently seen. As to +California, he reports: "We have a good many mountain sheep on the +isolated mountain spurs putting out from the main ranges into the +desert. I frequently hear of bands of two to ten, but our laws protect +them at all seasons." + +My friend, Mr. Herbert Brown, of Yuma, Ariz., so well known as an +enthusiastic and painstaking observer of natural history matters, has +kindly written me something as to the mountain sheep in that +Territory. He says: "Under the game law of Arizona the killing of +mountain sheep is absolutely prohibited, but that does not prevent their +being killed. It does, however, prevent their being killed for the +market, and it was killing for the market that threatened their +extermination. So far as I have ever been able to learn, these sheep +range, or did range, on all the mountains to the north, west, and south +of Tucson, within a hundred miles or so. I know of them in the +Superstition Mountains, about a hundred miles to the north; in the +Quijotoas Mountains, a like distance to the southwest, and in the +mountains intermediate; I have no positive proof of their existence in +the Santa Ritas, but about twenty-three years ago I saw a pair of old +and weather-beaten horns that had been picked up in that range near Agua +Caliente, that is about ten or twelve miles southwest of +Mt. Wrightson. I never saw any sheep in the range, nor do I know of any +one more fortunate than myself in that respect. In days gone by the +Santa Catalinas, the Rincon, and the Tucson Mountains were the most +prolific hunting grounds for the market men. So far as I can remember, +the first brought to the market here were subsequent to the coming of +the railroad in 1880. They were killed in the Tucson Mountains by the +'Logan boys,' well known hunters at that time. Later the Logans made a +strike in the mines and disappeared. For several years no sheep were +seen, but finally Mexicans began killing them in the Santa Catalinas, +and occasionally six or eight would be hung up in the market at the same +time. Later the Papago Indians in the southwest began killing them for +the market. These people, as did also the Mexicans, killed big and +little, and the animals, never abundant, were threatened with +extermination. Those killed by the Logans came from the Tucson +Mountains; those killed by the Mexicans from the Santa Catalinas, and +those killed by the Indians probably from the Baboquivari or Comobabi +ranges. I questioned the hunters repeatedly, but they never gave me a +satisfactory answer. + +"Although I never saw the sheep, I have repeatedly seen evidence of them +in both the ranges named. Inasmuch as I have not seen one in several +years past, I feel very confident that there are not many to see. Last +year I learned of a large ram being killed in the Superstition Mountains +which was alone when killed. About three years ago the head of a big ram +was brought to this city. It is said to have weighed seventy pounds. I +did not see it, nor did I learn where it came from. + +"The Superstition and the Santa Catalinas are the very essence of +ruggedness, but notwithstanding this I am constrained to believe that +the days of big game are nearly numbered in Arizona. The reasons for +this are readily apparent. The mountain ranges are more or less +mineralized. To this there is hardly an exception. There is no place so +wild and forbidding that the prospector will not enter it. If 'pay rock' +or 'pay dirt' is struck, then good-by solitude and big game. A second +cause is to be found in the cattle industry, which, as a rule, is very +profitable. One of the most successful cattle growers in the country +once told me that cattle in Arizona would breed up to 95 per cent. +These breeders during the dry season leave the mesas and climb to the +top of the very highest mountains, and, of course, the more cattle the +less game. A year ago I was in the Harshaw Mountains, and was told by a +young man named Sorrell that a bunch of wild cattle occupied a certain +peak, and that on a certain occasion he had seen a big mountain sheep +with the cattle. + +"So far as I know, I never saw or heard of a case of scab among wild +sheep." + +Later, but still in 1898, Mr. Brown wrote me that, according to +Mr. J. D. Thompson, mountain sheep are common in all the mountains +bordering the Gulf Coast in Sonora, and also in Lower California. +Mr. Thompson is operating mines in the Sierra Pinto, Sonora, 180 miles +southeast of Yuma. This range is about six miles long and 800 feet +high. The mule deer and sheep are killed according to necessity. Indians +do the killing. A mule deer is worth two dollars, Mexican money, and a +sheep but little more, although the former are much more abundant than +the latter. The last sheep taken to camp was traded off for a pair of +overalls. + +"It is reasonably certain that with sheep in southern Arizona and +southern Sonora, every mountain range between the two must be tenanted +by this species. + +"During the August feast days the Papago Indians living about Quitovac +generally have a Montezuma celebration, in which live deer are employed. +For this purpose several are caught. Subsequently they are killed and +eaten. They are taken by relays of men or horses, sometimes both." + +In northern Arizona sheep are still common. Dr. C. Hart Merriam in his +report on the San Francisco Mountain--"North American Fauna" +III.--recorded the San Francisco herd, of which he saw eight or nine +together. He also recorded their presence at the Grand Canyon, where they +are still fairly common, though very wary. + +Mr. A.W. Anthony, of California, wrote me in 1898 concerning sheep in +southern California, and I am glad to quote his letter almost in +full. He says: "In San Diego county, Cal., there are a few sheep along +the western edge of the Colorado Desert. So far as I know, these are all +in the first ranges above the desert, and do not extend above the pinon +belt. These barren hills are dry, broken and steep, with very little +water, and except for the stock men, who have herds grazing on the +western edge of the desert, they are very seldom disturbed. Along the +line of the old Carriso Creek stage road from Yuma to Los Angeles, +between Warner Pass and the mouth of Carriso Creek--where it reaches the +desert--are several water holes where sheep have, up to 1897, at least, +regularly watered during the dry season. + +"I have known of several being killed by stock men there during the past +few years, by watching for them about the water. As a rule, the country +is too dry, open and rough to make still-hunting successful. At the same +time I think they would have been killed off long since except for +reinforcements received from across the line in Lower California. + +"Up to 1894 a few sheep were found as far up the range as Mt. Baldy, Los +Angeles county, and they may still occur there, but I cannot be sure. +One or two of the larger ranges west of the Colorado River, in the +desert, were, two years ago, and probably are still, blessed with a few +sheep. I have known of two or three parties that went after them, but +they would not tell where they went; not far north of the Southern +Pacific Railroad, I think. + +"In Lower California sheep are still common in many places, but are +largely confined to the east side of the peninsula, mostly being found +in the low hills between the gulf and the main divide. A few reach the +top of San Pedro Martir--12,000 feet--but I learn from the Indians they +never were common in the higher ranges. The pinon belt and below seem to +be their habitat, and in very dry, barren ranges. I have known a few to +reach the Pacific, between 28 deg. n. lat. and 30 deg. n. lat.; but +they never seem at home on the western side of the peninsula. + +"Owing to their habitat, few whites care to bother them--it costs too +much in cash, and more in bodily discomfort; but the natives kill them +at all seasons; not enough, however, to threaten extermination unless +they receive help from the north. + +"I have no knowledge of any scab, or other disease, affecting the sheep, +either in southern or Lower California." + +For northern California, records of sheep are few. Dr. Merriam, Chief of +the Biological Survey, tells me that sheep formerly occurred on the +Siskiyou range, on the boundary between California and Oregon, and that +some years ago he saw an old ram that had been killed on these +mountains. On Mt. Shasta they were very common until recently. In the +High Sierra, south of the latitude of Mono Lake, a few still occur, but +there are extremely rare. + +In Oregon records are few. Dr. Merriam informs me that he has seen them +on Steen Mountain, in the southeastern part of the State, where they +were common a few years ago. Mr. Vernon Bailey, of the Biological +Survey, has seen them also in the Wallowa Mountains. The Biological +Survey also has records of their occurrence in the Blue Mountains, where +they used to be found both on Strawberry Butte and on what are called +the Greenhorn Mountains. The last positive record from that region is in +1895. In 1897 Mr. Vernon Bailey reported sheep from Silver and Abert +Lakes in the desert region east of the Cascade. They were formerly +numerous in the rocky regions about Silver Lake, and a few still +inhabited the ridges northeast of Abert Lake. + +In Nevada Mr. Bailey found sheep in the Toyabe range. + +Mr. Bailey found sheep in the Seven Devils Mountains, and he and +Dr. Merriam found them in the Salmon River, Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth +Mountains, all in Idaho. Mr. Bailey also found them in Texas in the +Guadaloupe Mountains and in most of the ranges thence south to the +boundary line in western Texas. + + * * * * * + +From what has already been said it will be seen that in inaccessible +places all over the western country, from the Arctic Ocean south to +Mexico, and at one or two points in the great plains, there still remain +stocks of mountain sheep. Once the most unsuspicious and gentle of all +our large game animals, they have become very shy, wary, and well able +to take care of themselves. In the Yellowstone Park, on the other hand, +they have reverted to their old time tameness, and no longer regard man +with fear. There, as is told on other pages of this volume, they are +more tame than the equally protected antelope, mule deer or elk. + +Should the Grand Canyon of the Colorado be set aside as a national park, +as it may be hoped it will be, the sheep found there will no doubt +increase, and become, as they now are in the Yellowstone Park, a most +interesting natural feature of the landscape. And in like manner, when +game refuges shall be established in the various forest reservations all +over the western country, this superb species will increase and do +well. Alert, quick-witted, strong, fleet and active, it is one of the +most beautiful and most imposing of North American animals. Equally at +home on the frozen snowbanks of the mountain top, or in the parched +deserts of the south, dwelling alike among the rocks, in the timber, or +on the prairie, the mountain sheep shows himself adaptable to all +conditions, and should surely have the best protection that we can give +him. + +I shall never forget a scene witnessed many years ago, long before +railroads penetrated the Northwest. I was floating down the Missouri +River in a mackinaw boat, the sun just topping the high bad land bluffs +to the east, when a splendid ram stepped out, upon a point far above the +water, and stood there outlined against the sky. Motionless, with head +thrown back, and in an attitude of attention, he calmly inspected the +vessel floating along below him; so beautiful an object amid his wild +surroundings, and with his background of brilliant sky, that no hand was +stretched out for the rifle, but the boat floated quietly on past him, +and out of sight. + +_George Bird Grinnell_. + + +[Illustration: _Merycodus osborni_ MATTHEW. +From the Middle Miocene of Colorado. Discovered and described by +Dr. W. D. Matthew. Mounted by Mr. Adam Hermann. Height at withers, 19 +inches. Length of antlers, 9 inches.] + + + + +Preservation of the Wild Animals of North America[8] + +[Footnote 8: Address before the Boone and Crockett Club, Washington, +January 23, 1904.] + +The National and Congressional movement for the preservation of the +Sequoia in California represents a growth of intelligent sentiment. It +is the same kind of sentiment which must he aroused, and aroused in +time, to bring about Government legislation if we are to preserve our +native animals. That which principally appeals to us in the Sequoia is +its antiquity as a race, and the fact that California is its last +refuge. + +As a special and perhaps somewhat novel argument for preservation, I +wish to remind you of the great antiquity of our game animals, and the +enormous period of time which it has taken nature to produce them. We +must have legislation, and we must have it in time. I recall the story +of the judge and jury who arrived in town and inquired about the +security of the prisoner, who was known to be a desperate character; +they were assured by the crowd that the prisoner was perfectly secure +because he was safely hanging to a neighboring tree. If our preservative +measures are not prompt, there will be no animals to legislate for. + +SENTIMENT AND SCIENCE. + +The sentiment which promises to save the Sequoia is due to the spread of +knowledge regarding this wonderful tree, largely through the efforts of +the Division of Forestry. In the official chronology of the United +States Geological Survey--which is no more nor less reliable than that +of other geological surveys, because all are alike mere approximations +to the truth--the Sequoia was a well developed race 10,000,000 of years +ago. It became one of a large family, including fourteen genera. The +master genus--the _Sequoia_--alone includes thirty extinct +species. It was distributed in past times through Canada, Alaska, +Greenland, British Columbia, across Siberia, and down into southern +Europe. The Ice Age, and perhaps competition with other trees more +successful in seeding down, are responsible for the fact that there are +now only two living species--the "red wood," or _Sequoia +sempervirens_, and the giant, or _Sequoia gigantea_. The last +refuge of the _gigantea_ is in ten isolated groves, in some of +which the tree is reproducing itself, while in others it has ceased to +reproduce. + +In the year 1900 forty mills and logging companies were engaged in +destroying these trees. + +All of us regard the destruction of the Parthenon by the Turks as a +great calamity; yet it would be possible, thanks to the laborious +studies which have chiefly emanated from Germany, for modern architects +to completely restore the Parthenon in its former grandeur; but it is +far beyond the power of all the naturalists of the world to restore one +of these Sequoias, which were large trees, over 100 feet in height, +spreading their leaves to the sun, before the Parthenon was even +conceived by the architects and sculptors of Greece. + +LIFE OF THE SEQUOIA AND HISTORY OF THOUGHT. + +In 1900 five hundred of the very large trees still remained, the highest +reaching from 320 to 325 feet. Their height, however, appeals to us less +than their extraordinary age, estimated by Hutchins at 3,600, or by John +Muir, who probably loves them more than any man living, at from 4,000 to +5,000 years. According to the actual count of Muir of 4,000 rings, by a +method which he has described to me, one of these trees was 1,000 years +old when Homer wrote the Iliad; 1,500 years of age when Aristotle was +foreshadowing his evolution theory and writing his history of animals; +2,000 years of age when Christ walked upon the earth; nearly 4,000 years +of age when the "Origin of Species" was written. Thus the life of one of +these trees spanned the whole period before the birth of Aristotle (384 +B.C.) and after the death of Darwin (A.D. 1882), the two greatest +natural philosophers who have lived. + +These trees are the noblest living things upon earth. I can imagine that +the American people are approaching a stage of general intelligence and +enlightened love of nature in which they will look back upon the +destruction of the Sequoia as a blot on the national escutcheon. + +VENERATION OF AGE. + +The veneration of age sentiment which should, and I believe actually +does, appeal to the American people when clearly presented to them even +more strongly than the commercial sentiment, is roused in equal strength +by an intelligent appreciation of the race longevity of the larger +animals which our ancestors found here in profusion, and of which but a +comparatively small number still survive. To the unthinking man a bison, +a wapiti, a deer, a pronghorn antelope, is a matter of hide and meat; to +the real nature lover, the true sportsman, the scientific student, each +of these types is a subject of intense admiration. From the mechanical +standpoint they represent an architecture more elaborate than that of +Westminster Abbey, and a history beside which human history is as of +yesterday. + +SLOW EVOLUTION OF MODERN MAMMALS. + +These animals were not made in a day, nor in a thousand years, nor in a +million years. As said the first Greek philosopher, Empedocles, who 560 +B.C. adumbrated the "survival of the fittest" theory of Darwin, they are +the result of ceaseless trials of nature. While the Sequoia was first +emerging from the Carboniferous, or Coal Period, the reptile-like +ancestors of these mammals, covered with scales and of egg-laying +habits, were crawling about and giving not the most remote prophecy of +their potential transformation through 10,000,000 of years into the +superb fauna of the northern hemisphere. + +The descendants of these reptiles were transformed into mammals. If we +had had the opportunity of studying the early mammals of the Rocky +Mountain region with a full appreciation of the possibilities of +evolution, we should have perceived that they were essentially of the +same stock and ancestral to our modern types. There were little camels +scarcely more than twelve inches high, little taller than cotton-tail +rabbits and smaller than the jackass rabbits; horses 15 inches high, +scarcely larger than, and very similar in build to, the little English +coursing hound known as the whippet; it is not improbable that we shall +find the miniature deer; there certainly existed ancestral wolves and +foxes of similarly small proportions. You have all read your Darwin +carefully enough to know that neither camels, horses, nor deer would +have evolved as they did except for the stimulus given to their limb and +speed development by the contemporaneous evolution of their enemies in +the dog family. + +THE MIDDLE STAGE OF EVOLUTION. + +A million and a half years later these same animals had attained a very +considerable size; the western country had become transformed by the +elevation of the plateaux into dry, grass-bearing uplands, where both +horses and deer of peculiarly American types were grazing. We have +recently secured some fresh light on the evolution of the American +deer. Besides the _Palaeryx_, which may be related to the true +American deer _Odocoileus_, we have found the complete skeleton of +a small animal named _Merycodus_, nineteen inches high, possessed +of a complete set of delicate antlers with the characteristic burr at +the base indicating the annual shedding of the horn, and a general +structure of skeleton which suggests our so-called pronghorn antelope, +_Antilocapra_, rather than our true American deer, _Odocoileus_. +This was in all probability a distinctively American type. +Its remains have been found in eastern Colorado in the geological +age known as Middle Miocene, which is estimated (_sub rosa_, like +all our other geological estimates), at about a million and a half years +of age. Our first thought as we study this small, strikingly graceful +animal, is wonder that such a high degree of specialization and +perfection was reached at so early a period; our second thought is the +reverence for age sentiment. + +THE AFRICAN PERIOD IN AMERICA. + +The conditions of environment were different from what they were before +or what they are now. These animals flourished during the period in +which western America must have closely resembled the eastern and +central portions of Africa at the present time. + +This inference is drawn from the fact that the predominant fauna of +America in the Middle and Upper Miocene Age and in the Pliocene was +closely analogous to the still extant fauna of Africa. It is true we had +no real antelopes in this country, in fact none of the bovines, and no +giraffes; but there was a camel which my colleague Matthew has surnamed +the "giraffe camel," extraordinarily similar to the giraffe. There were +no hippopotami, no hyraces. All these peculiarly African animals, of +African origin, I believe, found their way into Europe at least as far +as the Sivalik Hills of India, but never across the Bering Sea +Isthmus. The only truly African animal which reached America, and which +flourished here in an extraordinary manner, was the elephant, or rather +the mastodon, if we speak of the elephant in its Miocene stage of +evolution. However, the resemblance between America and Africa is +abundantly demonstrated by the presence of great herds of horses, of +rhinoceroses, both long and short limbed, of camels in great variety, +including the giraffe-like type which was capable of browsing on the +higher branches of trees, of small elephants, and of deer, which in +adaptation to somewhat arid conditions imitated the antelopes in general +structure. + +ELIMINATION BY THE GLACIAL PERIOD. + +The Glacial Period eliminated half of this fauna, whereas the equatorial +latitude of the fauna in Africa saved that fauna from the attack of the +Glacial Period, which was so fatally destructive to the animals in the +more northerly latitudes of America. The glaciers or at least the very +low temperature of the period eliminated especially all the African +aspects of our fauna. This destructive agency was almost as baneful and +effective as the mythical Noah's flood. When it passed off, there +survived comparatively few indigenous North American animals, but the +country was repopulated from the entire northern hemisphere, so that the +magnificent wild animals which our ancestors found here were partly +North American and partly Eurasiatic in origin. + +ELIMINATION BY MAN. + +Our animal fortune seemed to us so enormous that it never could be +spent. Like a young rake coming into a very large inheritance, we +attacked this noble fauna with characteristic American improvidence, and +with a rapidity compared with which the Glacial advance was eternally +slow; the East went first, and in fifty years we have brought about an +elimination in the West which promises to be even more radical than that +effected by the ice. We are now beginning to see the end of the North +American fauna; and if we do not move promptly, it will become a matter +of history and of museums. The bison is on the danger line; if it +survives the fatal effects of its natural sluggishness when abundantly +fed, it still runs the more insidious but equally great danger of +inbreeding, like the wild ox of Europe. The chances for the wapiti and +elk and the western mule and black-tail deer are brighter, provided that +we move promptly for their protection. The pronghorn is a wonderfully +clever and adaptive animal, crawling under barb-wire fences, and thus +avoiding one of the greatest enemies of Western life. Last summer I was +surprised beyond measure to see the large herds of twenty to forty +pronghorn antelopes still surviving on the Laramie plains, fenced in on +all sides by the wires of the great Four-Bar Ranch, part of which I +believe are stretched illegally. + +RECENT DISAPPEARANCE. + +I need not dwell on the astonishingly rapid diminution of our larger +animals in the last few years; it would be like "carrying coals to +Newcastle" to detail personal observations before this Club, which is +full of men of far greater experience and knowledge than myself. On the +White River Plateau Forest Reserve, which is destined to be the +Adirondacks of Colorado, with which many of you are familiar, the deer +disappeared in a period of four years. Comparatively few are left. + +The most thoroughly devastated country I know of is the Uintah Mountain +Forest Reserve, which borders between southwestern Wyoming and northern +Utah. I first went through this country in 1877. It was then a wild +natural region; even a comparatively few years ago it was bright with +game, and a perfect flower garden. It has felt the full force of the +sheep curse. I think any one of you who may visit this country now will +agree that this is not too strong a term, and I want to speak of the +sheep question from three standpoints: First, as of a great and +legitimate industry in itself; second, from the economic standpoint; +third, from the standpoint of wild animals. + +GENERAL RESULTS OF GRAZING. + +The formerly beautiful Uintah Mountain range presents a terrible example +of the effects of prolonged sheep herding. The under foliage is entirely +gone. The sheep annually eat off the grass tops and prevent seeding +down; they trample out of life what they do not eat; along the principal +valley routes even the sage brush is destroyed. Reforesting by the +upgrowth of young trees is still going on to a limited extent, but is in +danger. The water supply of the entire Bridger farming country, which is +dependent upon the Uintah Mountains as a natural reservoir, is rapidly +diminishing; the water comes in tremendous floods in the spring, and +begins to run short in the summer, when it is most needed. The +consequent effects upon both fish and wild animals are well known to +you. No other animal will feed after the sheep. It is no exaggeration to +say, therefore, that the sheep in this region are the enemies of every +living thing. + +BALANCE OF NATURE. + +Even the owner cannot much longer enjoy his range, because he is +operating against _the balance of nature_. The last stage of +destruction which these innocent animals bring about has not yet been +reached, but it is approaching; it is the stage in which there is _no +food left for the sheep themselves_. I do not know how many pounds +of food a sheep consumes in course of a year--it cannot be much less +than a ton--but say it is only half a ton, how many acres of dry western +mountain land are capable of producing half a ton a year when not +seeding down? As long as the consumption exceeds the production of the +soil, it is only a question of time when even the sheep will no longer +find subsistence. + +THE LAST STAGE TO BE SEEN IN THE ORIENT. + +While going through these mountains last summer and reflecting upon the +prodigious changes which the sheep have brought about in a few years, it +occurred to me that we must look to Oriental countries in order to see +the final results of sheep and goat grazing in semi-arid climates. I +have proposed as an historical thesis a subject which at first appears +somewhat humorous, namely, "The Influence of Sheep and Goats in +History." I am convinced that the country lying between Arabia and +Mesopotamia, which was formerly densely populated, full of beautiful +cities, and heavily wooded, has been transformed less by the action of +political causes than by the unrestricted browsing of sheep and +goats. This browsing destroyed first the undergrowth, then the forests, +the natural reservoirs of the country, then the grasses which held +together the soil, and finally resulted in the removal of the soil +itself. The country is now denuded of soil, the rocks are practically +bare; it supports only a few lions, hyaes, gazelles, and Bedouins. Even +if the trade routes and mines, on which Brooks Adams in his "New Empire" +dwells so strongly as factors of all civilization, were completely +restored, the population could not be restored nor the civilization, +because there is nothing in this country for people to live upon. The +same is true of North Africa, which, according to Gibbon, was once the +granary of the Roman Empire. In Greece to-day the goats are now +destroying the last vestiges of the forests. + +I venture the prediction that the sheep industry on naturally semi-arid +lands is doomed; that the future feeding of both sheep and cattle will +be on irrigated lands, and that the forests will be carefully guarded by +State and Nature as natural reservoirs. + +COMMERCIALISM AND IDEALISM. + +By contrast to the sheep question, which is a purely economic or +utilitarian one, and will settle itself, if we do not settle it by +legislation based on scientific observation, the preservation of the +Sequoia and of our large wild animals is one of pure sentiment, of +appreciation of the ideal side of life; we can live and make money +without either. We cannot even use the argument which has been so +forcibly used in the case of the birds, that the cutting down of these +trees or killing of these animals will upset the balance of nature. + +I believe in every part of the country--East, West, North, and South--we +Americans have reached a stage of civilization where if the matter were +at issue the majority vote would unquestionably be, _let us preserve +our wild animals._ + +We are generally considered a commercial people, and so we are; but we +are more than this, we are a people of ideas, and we value them. As +stated in the preamble of the Sequoia bill introduced on Dec. 8, 1903, +we must legislate for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and I may +add for the greatest happiness of the largest number, not only of the +present but of future generations. + +So far as my observation goes, preservation can only be absolutely +insured by national legislation. + +GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION BY ENGLAND, BELGIUM, GERMANY. + +The English, a naturally law-abiding people, seem to have a special +faculty for enforcing laws. By co-operation with the Belgian Government +they have taken effective and remarkably successful measures for the +protection of African game. As for Germany, in 1896 Mr. Gosselin, of +the British Embassy in Berlin, reported as follows for German East Africa: + +That the question of preserving big game in German East Africa has been +under the consideration of the local authorities for some time past, and +a regulation has been notified at Dar-es-Salaam which it is hoped will +do something toward checking the wanton destruction of elephants and +other indigenous animals. Under this regulation every hunter must take +out an animal license, for which the fee varies from 5 to 500 rupees, +the former being the ordinary fee for natives, the latter for elephant +and rhinoceros hunting, and for the members of sporting expeditions into +the interior. Licenses are not needed for the purpose of obtaining food, +nor for shooting game damaging cultivated land, nor for shooting apes, +beasts of prey, wild boars, reptiles, and all birds except ostriches and +cranes. Whatever the circumstances, the shooting is prohibited of all +young game--calves, foals, young elephants, either tuskless or having +tusks under three kilos, all female game if recognizable--except, of +course, those in the above category of unprotected animals. Further, in +the Moschi district of Kilima-Njaro, no one, whether possessing a +license or not, is allowed without the special permission of the +Governor to shoot antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, ostriches, and cranes. +Further, special permission must be obtained to hunt these with nets, by +kindling fires, or by big drives. Those who are not natives have also +to pay l00 rupees for the first elephant killed, and 250 for each +additional one, and 50 rupees for the first rhinoceros and 150 for each +succeeding one. Special game preserves are also to be established, and +Major von Wissmann, in a circular to the local officers, explains that +no shooting whatever will be allowed in these without special permission +from the Government. The reserves will be of interest to science as a +means of preserving from extirpation the rarer species, and the Governor +calls for suggestions as to the best places for them. They are to extend +in each direction at least ten hours' journey on foot. He further asks +for suggestions as to hippopotamus reserves, where injury would not be +done to plantations. Two districts are already notified as game +sanctuaries. Major von Wissmann further suggests that the station +authorities should endeavor to domesticate zebras (especially when +crossed with muscat and other asses and horses), ostriches, and hyaena +dogs crossed with European breeds. Mr. Gosselin remarks that the best +means of preventing the extermination of elephants would be to fix by +international agreement among all the Powers on the East African coast a +close time for elephants, and to render illegal the exportation or sale +of tusks under a certain age. + +In December, 1900, Viscount Cranborne in the House of Commons reported +as follows: + +* * * That regulations for the preservation of wild animals have been +in force for some time in the several African Protectorates administered +by the Foreign Office as well as in the Sudan. The obligations imposed +by the recent London Convention upon the signatory Powers will not +become operative until after the exchange of ratifications, which has +not yet taken place. In anticipation, however, steps have been taken to +revise the existing regulations in the British Protectorates so as to +bring them into strict harmony with the terms of the convention. The +game reserves now existing in the several Protectorates are: In (a) +British Central Africa, the elephant marsh reserve and the Shirwa +reserve; in (b) the East Africa Protectorate, the Kenia District; in (c) +Uganda, the Sugota game reserve in the northeast of the Protectorate; in +(d) Somaliland, a large district defined by an elaborate boundary line +described in the regulations. The regulations have the force of law in +the Protectorates, and offenders are dealt with in the Protectorate +Courts. It is in contemplation to charge special officers of the +Administrations with the duty of watching over the proper observance of +the regulations. Under the East African game regulations only the +officers permanently stationed at or near the Kenia reserve may be +specially authorized to kill game in the reserve. + +Other effective measures have been taken in the Soudan +district. Capt. Stanley Flower, Director of the Gizeh Zoological +Gardens, made a very full report, which is quoted in _Nature_ for +July 25, 1901, p. 318. + +STATE LAWS. + +The preservation of even a few of our wild animals is a very large +proposition; it is an undertaking the difficulty of which grows in +magnitude as one comes to study it in detail and gets on the ground. The +rapidly increasing legislation in the Western States is an indication of +rapidly growing sentiment. A still more encouraging sign is the strong +sympathy with the enforcement of the laws which we find around the +National Park in Wyoming and Montana especially. State laws should be +encouraged, but I am convinced that while effective in the East, they +will not be effective in the West _in time_, because of the +scattered population, the greater areas of country involved, the greater +difficulty of watching and controlling the killing, and the actual need +of game for food by settlers. + +When we study the operation of our State laws on the ground we find that +for various reasons they are not fully effective. A steady and in some +cases rapid diminution of animals is going on so far as I have observed +in Colorado and Wyoming; either the wardens strictly enforce the laws +with strangers and wink at the breaking of them by residents, or they +draw their salaries and do not enforce the laws at all.[9] + +[Footnote 9: Addendum.--There is no question as to the good intention of +State legislation. The chief difficulty in the enforcement of the law is +that officers appointed locally, and partly from political reasons, +shrink from applying the penalties of the law to their own friends and +neighbors, especially where the animals are apparently abundant and are +sought for food. The honest enforcement of the law renders the officer +unpopular, even if it does not expose him to personal danger. He is +regarded as interfering with long established rights and customs. The +above applies to conscientious officers. Many local game wardens, as in +the Colorado White River Plateau, for example, give absolutely no +attention to their duties, and are not even on the ground at the opening +of the season. In the Plateau in August, 1901, the laws were being +openly and flagrantly violated, not only by visitors, but by +residents. At the same time the National forest laws were being most +strictly and intelligently enforced. There is no question whatever that +the people of various States can be brought to understand that National +aid or co-operation in the protection of certain wild areas is as +advantageous to a locality as National irrigation and National forest +protection. It is to be sought as a boon and not as an infringement.] + +THE VARIOUS CAUSES OF ELIMINATION. + +The enemies of our wild animals are numerous and constantly +increasing. (1) There is first the general advance of what we call +civilization, the fencing up of country which principally cuts off the +winter feeding grounds. This was especially seen in the country south of +the National Park last winter. (2) The destruction of natural browsing +areas by cattle and sheep, and by fire. (3) The destruction of game by +sportsmen plays a comparatively small part in the total process of +elimination, yet in some cases it is very reckless, and especially bad +in its example. When I first rode into the best shooting country of +Colorado in 1901, there was a veritable cannonading going on, which +reminded me of the accounts of the battle of El Caney. The destruction +effected by one party in three days was tremendous. In riding over the +ground--for I was not myself shooting--I was constantly coming across +the carcasses of deer. (4) The summer and winter killing for food; this +is the principal and in a sense the most natural and legitimate cause, +although it is largely illegal. In this same area, which was more or +less characteristic and typical of the other areas, even of the +conditions surrounding the national reserve in the Big Horn region, the +destruction was, and is, going on principally during the winter when the +deer are seeking the winter ranges and when they are actually shot and +carted away in large numbers for food both for the ranchmen and for +neighboring towns. Making all allowances for exaggeration, I believe it +to be absolutely true that these deer were being killed by the +wagonload! The same is true of the pronghorn antelope in the Laramie +Plains district. The most forceful argument against this form of +destruction is that it is extremely short-lived and benefits +comparatively few people. This argument is now enforced by law and by +public sentiment in Maine and New York, where the wild animals, both +deer and moose, are actually increasing in number. + +Granted, therefore, that we have both National and State sentiment, and +that National legislation by co-operation with the States, if properly +understood, would receive popular support, the carrying out of this +legislation and making it fully effective will be a difficult matter. + +It can be done, and, in my judgment, by two measures. The first is +entirely familiar to you: certain or all of the forest reserves must be +made animal preserves; the forest rangers must be made game wardens, or +special wardens must be appointed. This is not so difficult, because +the necessary machinery is already at hand, and only requires adaptation +to this new purpose. It can probably be carried through by patience and +good judgment. Second, the matter of the preservation of the winter +supply of food and protection of animals while enjoying this supply is +the most difficult part of the whole problem, because it involves the +acquisition of land which has already been taken up by settlers and +which is not covered by the present forest reserve machinery, and which +I fear in many instances will require new legislation. + +Animals can change their habits during the summer, and have already done +so; the wapiti, buffalo, and even the pronghorn have totally changed +their normal ranges to avoid their new enemy; but in winter they are +forced by the heavy snows and by hunger right down into the enemy's +country. + +Thus we not only have the problem of making game preserves out of our +forest reserves, but we have the additional problem of enlarging the +area of forest reserves so as to provide for winter feeding. If this is +not done all the protection which is afforded during the summer will be +wholly futile. This condition does not prevail in the East, in Maine and +in the Adirondacks, where the winter and summer ranges are practically +similar. It is, therefore a new condition and a new problem. + +Greater difficulties have been overcome, however, and I have no doubt +that the members of this Club will be among the leaders in the +movement. The whole country now applauds the development and +preservation of the Yellowstone Park, which we owe largely to the +initiative of Phillips, Grinnell, and Rogers. Grant and La Farge were +pioneers in the New York Zoological Park movement. We know the work of +Merriam and Wadsworth, and we always know the sympathies of our honored +founder, member, and guest of this evening, Theodore Roosevelt. + +What the Club can do is to spread information and thoroughly enlighten +the people, who always act rightly when they understand. + +It must not be put on the minutes of the history of America, a country +which boasts of its popular education, that the _Sequoia_, a race +10,000,000 years old, sought its last refuge in the United States, with +individual trees older than the entire history and civilization of +Greece, that an appeal to the American people was unavailing, that the +finest grove was cut up for lumber, fencing, shingles, and boxes! It +must not be recorded that races of animals representing stocks 3,000,000 +years of age, mostly developed on the American continent, were +eliminated in the course of fifty years for hides and for food in a +country abounding in sheep and cattle. + +The total national investment in animal preservation will be less than +the cost of a single battleship. The end result will be that a hundred +years hence our descendants will be enjoying and blessing us for the +trees and animals, while, in the other case, there will be no vestige of +the battleship, because it will be entirely out of date in the warfare +of the future. + +_Henry Fairfield Osborn_. + + + + +Distribution of the Moose + +Republished by permission from the Seventh Annual Report of the Forest, +Fish and Game Commission of the State of New York. + +The Scandinavian elk, which is closely related to the American moose, +was known to classical antiquity as a strange and ungainly beast of the +far north; especially as an inhabitant of the great Teutoborgian Forest, +which spread across Germany from the Rhine to the Danube. The half +mythical character which has always clung to this animal is well +illustrated in the following quotation from Pliny's Natural History, +Book 8, chapter 16: + +"There is also the achlis, which is produced in the island of +Scandinavia. It has never been seen in this city, although we have had +descriptions of it from many persons; it is not unlike the elk, but has +no joints in the hind leg. Hence it never lies down, but reclines +against a tree while it sleeps; it can only be taken by previously +cutting into the tree, and thus laying a trap for it, as, otherwise, it +would escape through its swiftness. Its upper lip is so extremely large, +for which reason it is obliged to go backwards when grazing; otherwise +by moving onwards, the lip would get doubled up." Pliny's achlis and +elk were the same animal. + +The strange stiffness of joint and general ungainliness of the elk, +however, were matters of such general observation as to apparently have +become embodied in the German name _eland_, sufferer. Curiously +enough this name _eland_ was taken by the Dutch to South Africa, +and there applied to the largest and handsomest of the bovine antelopes, +_Oreas canna_. + +In mediaeval times there are many references in hunting tales to the elk, +notably in the passage in the Nibelungen Lied describing Siegfried's +great hunt on the upper Rhine, in which he killed an elk. Among the +animals slain by the hero is the "schelk," described as a powerful and +dangerous beast. This name has been a stumbling block to scholars for +years, and opinions vary as to whether it was a wild stallion--at all +times a savage animal--or a lone survivor of the Megaceros, or Irish +elk. In this connection it may be well to remark that the Irish elk and +the true elk were not closely related beyond the fact that both were +members of the deer family. The Irish elk, which was common in Europe +throughout the glacial and post-glacial periods, living down nearly or +quite to the historic period, was nothing more than a gigantic fallow +deer. + +The old world elk is still found in some of the large game preserves of +eastern Germany, where the Emperor, with his somewhat remarkable ideas +of sportsmanship, annually adds several to his list of slaughtered +game. They are comparatively abundant in Scandinavia, especially in +Norway, where they are preserved with great care. They still survive in +considerable numbers in Russia and Siberia as far east as Amurland. + +Without going into a detailed description of the anatomical differences +between the European elk and the American moose, it may be said that the +old world animal is much smaller in size and lighter in color. The +antlers are less elaborate and smaller in the European animal, and +correspond to the stage of development reached by the average +three-year-old bull of eastern Canada. There is a marked separation of +the main antler and the brow antlers. That this deterioration of both +body and antlers is due partly to long continued elimination of the best +bulls, and partly to inbreeding, is probable. We know that the decline +of the European red deer is due to these causes, and that a similar +process of deterioration is showing among the moose in certain outlying +districts in eastern North America. + +The type species of this group, known as _Alces machlis_, was long +considered by European naturalists uniform throughout its circumpolar +distribution, in the north of both hemispheres. The American view that +practically all animals in this country represent species distinct from +their European congeners is now generally accepted, and the name +_Alces americanus_ has been given to the American form. It would +appear, however, that the generic name _Alces_ must soon be +replaced by the earlier form _Paralces_. + +[Illustration: YEARLING MOOSE.] + +The comparatively slight divergence of the two types at the extreme east +and west limits of their range, namely, Norway and eastern Canada, would +indicate that the period of separation of the various members of the +genus is not, geologically speaking, of great antiquity. + +The name _moose_ is an Algonquin word, meaning a wood eater or +browser, and is most appropriate, since the animal is pre-eminently a +creature of the thick woods. The old world term elk was applied by the +English settlers, probably in Virginia, to the wapiti deer, an animal +very closely related to the red deer of Europe. In Canada the moose is +sometimes spoken of as the elk, and even in the Rocky Mountain region +one hears occasionally of the "flat-horned elk." We are fortunate in +possessing a native name for this animal, and to call it other than +moose can only create confusion. + +The range of the moose in North America extends from Nova Scotia in the +extreme east, throughout Canada and certain of the Northern United +States, to the limits of tree growth in the west and north of +Alaska. Throughout this vast extent of territory but two species are +recognized, the common moose, _Alces americanus_, and the Alaska +moose, _Alces gigas_, of the Kenai Peninsula. What the limits of +the range of the Alaska moose are, may not be known for some +years. Specimens obtained in the autumn of 1902 from the headwaters of +the Stikine River in British Columbia, appear to resemble closely, in +their large size and dark coloration, the moose of the Kenai Peninsula. +The antlers, however, are much smaller. These specimens also differ from +the eastern moose in the same manner as does the Kenai Peninsula animal, +except in the antlers, which approximate to those of the type species. + +I have no doubt that the moose on the mainland along Cook Inlet will +prove to be identical with those of the Kenai Peninsula itself, but how +far their range extends we have at present no means of knowing. It is +even possible that further exploration will bring to light other species +in the Northwestern Provinces and in Alaska. + +Taking up this range in detail, the Nova Scotia moose are to-day +distinctly smaller than their kin in Ontario, but are very numerous when +the settled character of the country is taken into consideration. I +have seen very few good antlers come from this district, and in my +opinion the race there is showing decided signs of deterioration. + +[Illustration: MAINE MOOSE; ABOUT 1890.] + +These remarks apply, but with less force, to New Brunswick and to Maine, +where the moose, though larger than the Nova Scotia animal, are +distinctly inferior to those of the region north of the Great +Lakes. This is probably due to killing off the big bulls, thus leaving +the breeding to be done by the smaller and weaker bulls; and, also, to +inbreeding. + +In Maine the moose originally abounded, but by the middle of the last +century they were so reduced in numbers as to be almost rare. Thanks to +very efficient game laws, backed by an intelligent public opinion, moose +have greatly increased during the last few days in Maine and also in New +Brunswick. Their habits have been modified, but as far as the number of +moose and deer are concerned, the protection of game in Maine has been a +brilliant example to the rest of the country. During the same period, +however, caribou have almost entirely disappeared. + +Moose were found by the first settlers in New Hampshire and Vermont, +appearing occasionally, as migrants only, in the Berkshire hills of +Massachusetts. In the State of New York the Catskills appear to have +been their extreme southern limit in the east; but they disappeared from +this district more than a century ago. In the Adirondacks, or the North +Woods, as they were formerly called, moose abounded among the hard wood +ridges and lakes. This was the great hunting country of the Six +Nations. Here, too, many of the Canadian Indians came for their winter +supply of moose meat and hides. The rival tribes fought over these +hunting grounds much in the same manner as the northern and southern +Indians warred for the control of Kentucky. + +Going westward in the United States we find no moose until we reach the +northern peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin, where moose were +once numerous. They are still abundant in northern Minnesota, where the +country is extremely well suited to their habits. Then there is a break, +caused by the great plains, until we reach the Rocky Mountains. They are +found along the mountains of western Montana and Idaho as far south as +the northwest corner of Wyoming in the neighborhood of the Yellowstone +Park, the Tetons and the Wind River Mountains being their southern limit +in this section.[10] The moose of the west are relatively small animals +with simple antlers, and have adapted themselves to mountain living in +striking contrast to their kin in the east. + +[Footnote 10: William Roland, an old-time mountaineer, states that he +once killed a moose about ten miles north of old Ft. Tetterman, in what +is now Wyoming.--EDITOR.] + +[Illustration: MOOSE KILLED 1892, WITH UNUSUAL DEVELOPMENT OF BROW +ANTLERS. UPPER OTTAWA RIVER. CANADA] + +North of the Canadian boundary we may start with the curious fact that +the great peninsula of Labrador, which seems in every way a suitable +locality for moose, has always been devoid of them. There is no record +of their ever appearing east of the Saguenay River, and this fact +accounts for their absence from Newfoundland, which received its fauna +from the north by way of Labrador, and not from the west by way of Cape +Breton. Newfoundland is well suited to the moose, and a number of +individuals have been turned loose there, without, as yet, any apparent +results. Systematic and persistent effort, however, in this direction +should be successful. + +South of the St. Lawrence River, the peninsula of Gaspe was once a +favorite range, but the moose were nearly killed off in the early '60's +by hide-hunters. Further west they are found in small numbers on both +banks of the St. Lawrence well back from the settlements, until on the +north shore we reach Trois Rivieres, west of which they become more +numerous. + +The region of the upper Ottawa and Lake Kippewa has been in recent years +the best moose country in the east. The moose from this district average +much heavier and handsomer antlers than those of Maine and the Maritime +Provinces. However, the moose are now rapidly leaving this country and +pushing further north. Twenty-five years ago they first appeared, coming +from the south, probably from the Muskoka Lake country, into which they +may have migrated in turn from the Adirondacks. This northern movement +has been going on steadily within the personal knowledge of the +writer. Ten years ago the moose were practically all south and east of +Lake Kippewa, now they are nearly all north of that lake, and extend +nearly, if not quite, to the shores of James Bay. How far to the west of +that they have spread we do not know; but it is probable that they are +reoccupying the range lying between the shores of Lake Superior and +James Bay, which was long abandoned. Northwest of Lake Superior, +throughout Manitoba and far to the north, is a region heavily wooded and +studded with lakes, constituting a practically untouched moose country. + +No moose, of course, are found in the plains country of Assiniboia, +Saskatchewan, and Alberta; but east in Keewatin, and to the north in +Athabaska, northern British Columbia, and northwest into Alaska we have +an unbroken range, in which moose are scattered everywhere. They are +increasing wherever their ancient foe, the Indian, is dying off, and +where white hunters do not pursue too persistently. In this entire +region, from the Ottawa in the east to the Kenai Peninsula in the far +west, moose are retiring toward the north before the advance of +civilization, and are everywhere occupying new country. + +[Illustration: ALASKA MOOSE HEAD SHOWING UNUSUAL DEVELOPMENT OF +ANTLERS--KENAI PENINSULA. Kindness American Museum of Natural History, +New York.] + +Wary and keen, and with great muscular strength and hardihood, the moose +is pitting his acute senses against the encroaching rifleman in the +struggle for survival, and it is fair to believe that this superb member +of the deer family will continue to be an inhabitant of the forest long +after most other members of the group have disappeared. + +The moose of Maine and the Maritime Provinces occupy a relatively small +area, surrounded on all sides by settlements, which prevent the animals +from leaving the country when civilization encroaches. In this district +their habits have been greatly modified. They do not show the same fear +of the sound of rifle, of the smell of fire, or even of the scent of +human footsteps, as in the wilder portions of the country. In +consequence of this change of habit, it is difficult for a hunter, whose +experience is limited to Maine or the Maritime Provinces, to appreciate +how very shy and wary a moose can be. + +In the upper Ottawa country, when they first began to be hunted by +sportsmen, the writer remembers landing from his canoe on the bank of a +small stream, and walking around a marsh a few acres in extent to look +at the moose tracks. Fresh signs, made that morning, were everywhere in +evidence, and it had apparently been a favorite resort all summer. Snow +fell that night and remained continuously on the ground for two weeks, +when the writer again passed by this swamp and found that during the +interval it had not been visited by a single moose. The moccasin tracks +had been scented, and the moose had left the neighborhood. A moose with +a nose as sensitive as this would find existence unendurable in New +Brunswick or Maine. + +I have already referred to the relative size of the antlers of the moose +from different localities, and called attention to the inferiority of +the heads from the extreme east. Large heads have, however, come from +this section, and even now one hears of several heads being taken +annually in New Brunswick running to five feet and a little over in +spread. The test of the value of a moose head is the width of its +antlers between the extreme points. The antlers of a young individual +show but few points, but these are long and the webbing on the main +blade is narrow. The brow antlers usually show two points. As the moose +grows larger the palmation becomes wider, and the points more numerous +but shorter, until in a very old specimen the upper part of the antler +is merely scalloped along the edge, and the web is of great breadth. In +the older and finer specimens the brow antlers are more complex, and +show three points instead of two. + +[Illustration: "BIERSTADT" HEAD. KILLED 1880, BOUNDARY OF NEW BRUNSWICK +AND MAINE EXTREME SPREAD, 64! INCHES] + +A similar change takes place in the bell. This pendulous gland is long +and narrow in the young hull, but as he ages it shortens and widens, +becoming eventually a sort of dewlap under the throat. + +One of the best heads from Maine that I can recall, was in the +possession of the late Albert Bierstadt, a member of the Boone and +Crockett Club. The extreme spread of these antlers was 64-1/4 inches. This +bull was killed in New Brunswick, near the Maine line, some twenty years +ago; another famous Maine head was presented to President Cleveland +during his first term. Photographs of both of these heads appear +herewith. Many very handsome heads have been taken in the Ottawa +district, sometimes running well over five feet. It is safe to assume +that a little short of six feet is the extreme width of an eastern head. + +The moose of the Rocky Mountains are relatively smaller than the eastern +moose, and their antlers are seldom of imposing proportions. + +As we go north into British Columbia, through the headwaters of the +Peace and Liard rivers, the animal becomes very large in size, perhaps +larger than anywhere else in the world as far as his body is concerned, +and it is highly probable that somewhere in this neighborhood the range +of the giant Alaska moose begins. The species, however, does not show +great antler development in this locality, but for some reason the +antlers achieve their maximum development in the Kenai Peninsula. + +In the Kenai Peninsula and the country around Cook Inlet, Alaska, with +an unknown distribution to south and east, we find the distinct species +recently described as _Alces gigas_. The animal itself has great +bulk, but perhaps not more so than the animals of the Cassiar Mountains, +to which it is closely related. The antlers of these Alaska moose are +simply huge, running, on the average, very much larger and more complex +than even picked heads from the east. These antlers, in addition to +their size, have a certain peculiarity in the position of the brow +antlers, the plane of which is more often turned nearly at right angles +to the plane of the palmation of the main beam than in the eastern +moose. In a high percentage of the larger heads there is on one or both +antlers an additional and secondary palmation. In the arrangement and +development of the brow antlers, and in the complexity produced by this +doubling of the beam, a startling resemblance is shown to the extinct +_Cervalces_, a moose-like deer of the American Pleistocene, +possibly ancestral to the genus _Alces_. If this resemblance +indicates any close relationship, we have in the Alaska moose a survivor +of the archaic type from which the true moose and Scandinavian elk have +somewhat degenerated. The photographs of the Alaska moose shown +herewith have this double palmation. + +[Illustration: PROBABLY LARGEST KNOWN ALASKA MOOSE HEAD--KENAI +PENINSULA, 1899 EXTREME SPREAD, 78-1/2 INCHES--WEIGHT OF SKULL AND +ANTLERS, 93 LBS] + +Several heads from the Kenai Peninsula ranging over six feet are +authentic; a photograph of the largest moose head in the world is +published herewith. This head is in the possession of the Field +Columbian Museum at Chicago, and measures 78-1/2 inches spread. The +animal that bore it stood about seven feet at shoulders, but this height +is not infrequently equaled by eastern moose. The weight of the dried +skull and antlers was ninety-three pounds, the palmation being in places +2-1/8 inches thick. + +There are several large heads in the possession of American +taxidermists, which, if properly authenticated, would prove of +interest. No head, however, is of much value as a record unless its +history is well known, and unless it has been in the hands of +responsible persons. The measurements of antler spread can be considered +authentic only when the skull is intact. If the skull is split an almost +imperceptible paring of the skull bones at the joint would suffice to +drop the antlers either laterally out of their proper plane, or else +pitch the main beam backward. By either of these devices a couple of +inches can be gained on each side, making a difference of several inches +in the aggregate. But the possession of an unbroken skull is by no means +a guarantee of the exact size of the head when killed. + +Since large antlers, and especially so-called "record heads," of any +species of deer command a price among those who desire to pose as +sportsmen, and have not the strength or skill to hunt themselves, it has +become a regular business for dealers to buy up unusual heads. The +temptation to tamper with such a head and increase its size is very +great, and heads passing through the hands of such dealers must be +discarded as of little scientific value. A favorite device is to take a +green head, force the antlers apart with a board and a wedge every few +days during the winter. By spring the skull and antlers are dry and the +plank can be removed. The spread of antlers has meantime gained several +inches since the death of the animal that bore them. Such a device is +almost beyond detection. + +It is an exceedingly difficult matter to formulate a code of hunting +ethics, still harder to give them legal force; but public opinion should +condemn the kind of sportsmanship which puts a price on antlers. As +trophies of the chase, hard won through the endurance and skill of the +hunter, they are legitimate records of achievement. The higher the +trophy ranks in size and symmetry, the greater should be its value as an +evidence of patient and persistent chase. To slay a full grown bull +moose or wapiti in fair hunt is in these days an achievement, for there +is no royal road to success with the rifle, nor do the Happy Hunting +Grounds longer exist on this continent; but to kill them by proxy, or +buy the mounted heads for decorative purposes in a dining room, in +feeble imitation of the trophies of the baronial banquet hall, is not +only vulgar taste, but is helping along the extermination of these +ancient types. An animal like the moose or the wapiti represents a line +of unbroken descent of vast antiquity, and the destruction of the finest +members of the race to decorate a hallway cannot be too strongly +condemned. + +The writer desires to express his thanks for photographs and information +used in this article to Dr. J.A. Allen, of the American Museum of +Natural History, New York City; Dr. Daniel Giraud Elliot, of the Field +Columbian Museum, Chicago; and to Mr. Andrew J. Stone, the explorer. + +_Madison Grant_. + + + + +The Creating of Game Refuges + +It was my pleasant task, during the past summer, to visit a portion of +the Forest Reserves of the United States for the purpose of studying +tracts which might be set aside as Game Refuges. To this end I was +commissioned by the Division of Biological Survey of the United States +Department of Agriculture as "Game Preserve Expert," a new title and a +new function. + +The general idea of the proposed plan for the creation of Game Refuges +is that the President shall be empowered to designate certain tracts, +wherein there may be no hunting at all, to be set aside as refuges and +breeding grounds, and the Biological Survey is accumulating information +to be of service in selecting such areas, when the time for creating +them shall arrive. The Forest Reserves of the United States are under +the care of the Department of the Interior, and not under the +Agricultural Department, where one would naturally expect them to +be. Their transfer to the Department of Agriculture has been agitated +more than once, and is still a result much to be desired. Although +acting in this mission as a representative of the Biological Survey +under the latter Department, I bore a circular letter from the Secretary +of the Interior, requesting the aid of the superintendents and +supervisors of the Forest Reserves. Through them I could always rely +upon the services of a competent ranger, who acted as guide. + +Arriving in California in March, I was somewhat more than six months +engaged in the work; in that time visiting seven reserves in California +and one in the State of Washington, involving a cruise of 1,220 miles in +the saddle and on foot, within the boundaries of the forest, besides 500 +miles by wagon and stage. Since the addition of an extra member to the +party is ever an added risk of impaired harmony, and since the practice +of any art involving skill is always a pleasure, I employed no packer +during the entire time of my absence, but did this work myself, assisted +on the off-side by Mr. Thurston, who accompanied me, and who helped in +every way within his power. May I take this opportunity to thank him for +aid of many sorts, and on all occasions, and for unflagging interest in +the problem which we had before us. California has long since ceased to +be a country where the use of the pack train is a customary means of +travel. It is now an old and long settled region where the frontier lies +neither to the east nor to the west, but has escaped to the vicinity of +timber line, nearly two miles straight up in the air. Comparatively few +people outside of the Sierra Club, that admirable open-air organization +of "the Coast," have occasion to visit it, and such trips as they make +are of brief duration. + +Since it is not desirable to visit the high Sierras before the first of +July, three full months were at my disposal for the study of the +reserves of southern California, a section of great interest, and of the +utmost importance to the State. In southern California one hears +frequent mention of the Pass of Tehachapi; it is the line of demarcation +between the great valley of central California, drained by the San +Joaquin River on the north, and of southern California proper, which +lies to the south. These two regions are of very different nature. In +the San Joaquin Valley lie the great wheat fields of California. South +of the Pass of Tehachapi, people are dependent upon irrigation. Here, +too, lie wheat fields and also rich vineyards, and the precious orchards +of oranges and lemons; further south the equally valuable walnut and +almond groves. + +The seven Forest Reserves of southern California may be regarded as one +almost continuous tract embracing about 4,000,000 acres, lying on either +side of the crest of the Coast Range; they are economically of enormous +importance to California, but not on account of their timber. In many +cases they are forest reserves without trees; for example, the little +Trabuco Canyon Reserve, which has but a handful of Coulter pines, and on +the northern slope a few scattered spruce. The western slope of the +foothills of the San Jacinto, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, Zaca Lake and +Pine Mountain, and Santa Ynez reserves, are clad only in chaparral, yet +the preservation of these hillsides from fire is of vital importance to +the people, since the mantle of vegetation protects, to a certain +degree, the sources of the streams from which the supply of water is +derived. In this country they believe that water is life; thus harking +back to the teaching of the Father of Philosophy, to Thales of Miletus, +who lived six hundred years before Christ: "The principle of all things +is water, all comes from water, and to water all returns." Such trees as +there are here possess unusual interest; approaching the crest of the +mountains one finds a scattered growth of pines--the Coulter, ponderosa, +Jeffrey's, the glorious sugar pine, the _Pinus contorta_, and +_Pinus flexilis_, the single leaf or nut pine, and, in scattered +tracts, the queer little knob-cone pine. Red and white firs are found, +the incense cedar, the Douglas spruce, the big cone spruce, and a number +of deciduous trees, mainly oaks of several varieties, with sycamore +along the lower creeks, and the alder tree, strikingly like the alder +bush of our eastern streams and pastures, but of Gargantuan proportions, +grown out of all recognition. Scattered representatives of other species +are found--the maple, cherry, dogwood, two varieties of sumac, the yerba +del pasmo (or bastard cedar), madronos, walnut, mesquite, mountain +mahogany, cottonwood, willow, ash, many varieties of bushes, also the +yucca, mescal, cactus, etc. I have given but a bald enumeration of +these; the forming of an acquaintance with so many new trees, shrubs, +and flowering herbs is of great interest, and increasingly so from day +to day, as one comes to live with them in the different reserves. The +pleasure to be derived is cumulative--each acquisition of knowledge +adding to the satisfaction of that which comes after--it is of a sort, +however, to be experienced in the presence of the thing itself; any +description at a distance must necessarily be shadowy and unreal, only +the dry bones of something which one sees there, a thing of beauty and +instinct with life. + +The characteristic feature of these southern forests is their open +nature; so far as the roughness of the mountains will permit, one may go +anywhere in the saddle without being hindered by underbrush. Outside of +their limits, however, and on many hillsides within the reserves, the +chaparral offers an impenetrable barrier; in some of them this growth +has captured the greater portion of their surface. The forests +themselves are often very beautiful; growing, as they do, openly, there +is constant sunlight during many months of the year, so that all the +ground is warm and vibrant with energy. As a natural consequence, great +individuality is shown in the tree forms, as different as possible from +the gloom and severe uniformity of the Oregon and Washington forests. +The former are dry, light, and cheerful; the latter, moist, dark, +silent, and somewhat forbidding. The northern forests of the Coast have +their attractive features, to be sure; they are fecund, solemn, and +majestic, but the prevailing note is not cheerfulness, as here in the +south. + +In a paper of the present proportions it is impossible to give, except +in outline, a report of the summer's work. I began at San Juan +Capistrano, one of the old mission towns with a beautiful ruin, lying +near the sea on the west of the Trabuco Canyon Reserve. My first cruise +was through a chaparral country on the slope overlooking the Pacific. I +learned here of few deer and of relentless warfare against such as +remain. After that, from Elsinore, strange echo of that sea-girt castle +in Shakespeare's Denmark, I cruised so as to have as well an +understanding of the eastern slope of this, the smallest of the Coast +reserves. From Trabuco Peak we could study the physical geography of the +northern half of its area. I saw here what I did not again come across +in California--a small flock of the band-tailed pigeon, a bird as large +as the mountain quail, very handsome, indeed, and one that now should be +protected by law. These, as well as the mountain quail, swallow whole +the acorns, which this season lay beneath the live oak trees in lavish +abundance; long thin acorns, quite different from ours. In the San +Jacinto Reserve I made a cruise through the southern half; much of this +section is clothed in scrub oak, with scattered deer throughout. In the +northern and more mountainous portions, on the contrary, one finds +himself in the open forest, the summer range of the deer. At the time of +our visit these were at a lower altitude, in the chaparral and among the +scrub oaks of the foothills. + +Going thence by rail north to Santa Barbara, I inspected the narrow +strip of the Santa Ynez Reserve, and the eastern and western sections of +the Zaca Lake and Pine Mountain Reserve. These are under the control of +different forest supervisors; they are both largely composed of +chaparral country, with scattered "pineries" on the mountains. The +hunting here is regulated, to a certain degree, by the problem of feed +and water for the stock used by the hunters in gaining access to the +ground. Many enter these tracts from the south, as well as from the +region adjacent to Santa Barbara, and the deer have a somewhat harassed +and chivied existence, although, owing to the impenetrable nature of the +chaparral outside of the pineries, there is a natural limit to the power +of the sportsman to accomplish their entire extermination. The present +control of hunters by the forest rangers is only tentative; naturally we +hope to have in an ever-increasing degree more scientific management +both of the deer and of those who illegally kill them. The sentiment of +the community is enlightened, and would strengthen the hands of the +Government in enforcing the law. At present a ranger can do little more +than maintain, so far as he can, his authority by threats--threats which +he has not the power to enforce. + +In the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Reserves one finds himself at last +in a forest country, with mountains which command respect, a section +full of superb feed for the deer, feed of many sorts, for the deer have +an attractive and varied bill of fare. Whole hillsides are found of +scrub oak, their chief stand-by, and of wild lilac or "deer brush," the +latter familiar to all readers of Muir as the Cleanothus, in those long +periods of Miltonic sweep and dignity in which he summons the clans of +the California herbs and shrubs; an enumeration as stately as the +Homeric catalogue of the ships, and, to such as lack technical knowledge +of botany, imposing respect rather by sonorous appeal to the ear than by +visual suggestion to the memory. That herbs should be marshalled in so +impressive an array fills one with admiration and with somewhat of awe +for these representatives of the vegetable kingdom. As Muir pronounces +their full-sounding titles, one feels that each is a noble in this +distinguished company. No one unprotected by a botany should have the +temerity to enter, amid these lists, alone. + +We visited this country in the season of flowers. Whole hillsides of +chamisal ("chamiz" or greasewood) bore their delicate, spirea-like, +cream-colored blossoms--when seen at a distance, like a hovering breath, +as unsubstantial as dew, or as the well-named bloom on a plum or black +Hamburg grape. The superb yucca flaunted its glorious white standards, +borne proudly aloft like those of the Roman legions, each twelve or +fifteen feet in height, supporting myriads of white bells. The Mexicans +call this the "Quixote"--a noble and fitting tribute to the knight of La +Mancha. The tender center of the plant, loved as food equally by man and +beast, is protected by many bristling bayonets, an ever-vigilant guard. +At an altitude of seven thousand or eight thousand feet, one passed +through acres of buckthorn, honey-fragrant, this also a favorite of the +deer, now visited by every bee and butterfly of the mountain side. It is +to be noted that as one ascends the mountains the butterflies increase +in numbers as well as the flowers which they so closely resemble, save +only the latter's stationary estate. + +One sees in its perfection of color the "Indian paint brush," with its +red of purest dye, and adjoining it solid fields of blue lupine--the +colors of Harvard and Yale, side by side, challenging birds and all +creatures of the air to a decision as to which of them bears itself the +more bravely. Here is a chestnut tree; but look not overhead for its +sheltering branches. This is a country of surprises, and if the alder +tree towers on high, the dwarf chestnut or chinkapin here delegates to +the mountains the pains of struggling toward the heavens, and, contented +with its lowly estate, freely offers to the various "small deer" of the +forest its horde of sweet, three-cornered nuts. + +Under the pines one catches a distant gleam of the snow plant, an +exquisite sharp note of color, of true Roman shade, such as Rossetti +loved to introduce into his pictures, shrill like the vibrant wood of +the flute. When a ray of the sun happens to strike this it gleams like a +flaming fiery sword, symbol of that which marked the entrance to +Paradise. One can circumvent this guard here, and when he is in these +hills he is not far removed from a country well worth protecting by all +possible ingenuity, a paradise open to all such as love pure air and +wholesome strong exercise. + +Much of the San Gabriel Reserve is rugged and well protected by nature +to be the home of the deer. San Bernardino, on the contrary, is the most +accessible of the southern reserves, with abundant feed for the horses +of those who visit it, well watered, and full of noble trees. So open is +the forest that in the hunting season much of it must be abandoned by +the deer, who are perfectly cognizant of their danger, and, with +somewhat of aid from man, are quite capable of taking care of +themselves. + +After visiting these southern reserves, I outfitted at Redstone Park, +above Visalia, in the San Joaquin Valley, and cruised through the +Sequoia National Park, among the big trees, at that time patrolled by +colored soldiers under the able command of Captain Young, an officer who +possesses the distinction of being the only negro graduate of West +Point, I believe, now holding a commission in the United States +Army. The impression produced by the giant Sequoias is one of increasing +effect as the time among them is extended. In their province the world +has nothing to offer more majestic and more satisfying than these trees; +one must live among them to come fully beneath their charm. + +Since the National Parks and military reservations are already game +refuges, it was of importance that I should see the Mt. Whitney Military +Reservation, and for this purpose I crossed the Sierra Reserve, through +broad tracts suitable for Game Refuges, thus acquiring familiarity with +a large and most interesting section of forest country. From the top of +Mt. Whitney, the highest bit of land in the United States, exclusive of +Alaska, one looks down two miles in altitude to Owen's Lake almost +directly beneath. I picked up, on the plateau of the summit, a bit of +obsidian Indian chipping, refutation in itself of the frequently +repeated statement that Indians do not climb high peaks. A month was +spent with great profit in and about the Sierra Reserve, and one might +go there many summers, ever learning something new. + +Having seen these southern reserves, and desiring to bring home with me +an impression of the northern woods, sharpened by immediate contrast, I +next visited that one which is the most to the northwest of them all, +the Olympic Reserve in Washington. Here, at the head of the Elwha +Valley, near Mt. Olympus, we lived among the glaciers. The forest +between the headwaters and the sea affords a superb contrast to +California; here are found fog and moisture, and super-abounding heavy +vegetation. In the thick shade grow giant ferns of tropic +luxuriance. The rhododendron thrives, its black glossy leaves a symbol +of richly nourished power. The devil's club flaunts aloft its bright +berries, and poisonously wounds whomsoever has the misfortune even to +touch its great prickly leaves, nearly as big as an elephant's ear; if +there be a malignant old rogue of the vegetable kingdom, this is he, +sharing with the wait-a-bit thorn of Africa an evil eminence. Many new +plants meet the eye, a wealth of berries--the Oregon grape, the salmon +berry, red or yellow, as big as the yolk of an egg, the salal berry, any +quantity of blueberries, huckleberries, both red and blue, sarvis +berries, bear berries, mountain ash berries (also loved of bears), +thimble berries, high bush cranberries, gooseberries--large and +insipid--currants, wild cherries, choke cherries; many of these friends +of old, others seen here for the first time, dainty picking in the +autumn for deer, bears, foxes, squirrels and many birds. What +particularly appealed to me was a wild apple, no larger than the eye of +a hawk, but quite able to survive in a fierce contest for life, and with +a pleasant, clean, sharp taste, very tonic to the palate, and with +diminutive rosy cheeks as tempting as a stout Baldwin--a fine, +courageous little product of the wild life, symbol of the energetic +quality of the Olympic air. I, for one, am a firm believer in the axiom +that a climate which will give the right "tang" to an apple will also +produce determined and energetic men; this whole region, spite of its +fogs, has a glorious future before it. Superb firs towered hundreds of +feet above our heads, and archaic-looking cedars, a thousand years old, +thrust their sturdy shoulders firmly against the storms and the +winds. But the valleys, the trees and the glaciers, were only the +_mise-en-scene_ of that which constituted primarily the reason of +my visiting this peninsula. Here is the only wild herd of elk of any +considerable size outside of the Yellowstone National Park, a most +beautiful elk now separated from the Rocky Mountain species. Besides +this herd there are only a few survivors of the once innumerable herds +of the Pacific Coast, one little bunch in California, and a few +scattered individuals in the mountains of Oregon and Washington. It is +excessively hard to form any correct estimate of how many remain; +probably there are at least a thousand, possibly several times that +number. At all events, there is a scattered herd large enough to insure +the existence of the species if they might now be protected. Unfortunately +the sentiment of the community in the vicinity of the Olympics is just +about what it was in Colorado in the seventies and in the early +eighties--almost complete apathy, so far as taking effective precaution +is concerned, to prevent the killing of these animals in violation of the +law. I saw one superb herd south of the headwaters of the Elwha, and was +informed that in the winter a large number come lower down into the valley +of that river; here and elsewhere the finest specimens are slaughtered by +head-hunters for the market, and by anyone, in fact, who may covet their +hides or meat or their "tusks," now unfortunately very valuable. + +Presumably, in so killing them, picked specimens are selected. Of course +the finest bulls may not thus be systematically eliminated without +causing the general deterioration of the herd. Nature's method of +progress is by the survival of the fittest. Man reverses this so soon +as cupidity makes him the foe of wild animals. The country here is an +excessively hard one to get about in with stock, owing to its very +rugged nature and to the scarcity of feed, so that there is slight +danger of the extermination of these elk by sportsmen during the open +season. In the winter, however, the hunters have them at their mercy. I +was assured by one very level-headed man that, in the winter of 1902-3, +two men killed seventeen elk from the Elwha herd. Since the individuals +who killed the elk are well known and are practically unmolested, the +immunity which they enjoy tempts others to similar violation of the +law. More recently still, during this last winter, the game warden of +Washington reports the finding of the carcasses of nineteen elk, killed +for their tusks. + +This country, with its splendid glaciers and mountains covered with +snow, presents quite the most beautiful scenery to be found within the +limits of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, and, before many +years, is destined to become a place of general resort for +travelers. For this to be accomplished, all that is needed is greater +facility of travel. It would be a thousand pities if we should tolerate +the extermination of the elk, which would afford delight to every one +who visited the Olympics, if only the herd might be preserved. One can +hardly blame the hunters for taking advantage of the laxity of public +sentiment. The State has it within its power easily to protect these +animals by the employment of two or three game detectives of the right +sort--keen, energetic men. These would soon break up the illicit traffic +and bring the offenders to justice. The people of the whole Pacific +seaboard, who are justly proud of their region, and of every trait +peculiarly its own, would bitterly lament the final disappearance of elk +from this whole countryside, yet the fact remains that hardly a voice +there, outside of the organization of the "Elks," is raised to protest +against these flagrant acts of vandalism which are taking place beneath +their very eyes. + +This visit to the northern forest was full of varied and commanding +interest, but the chief occupation of my summer, when all is said, was +with California. + +Deer are practically the only game to be considered in these southern +California reserves. There are mountain sheep to the east, in the +mountains of the Mojave and Colorado deserts, but they are almost +unmolested by the hunters of the seaboard country, and, except in rare +instances, are no longer found in the reserves. Occasionally odd ones +are seen, venturesome, determined individuals, on their travels, in the +energy of youthful maturity, tempted by curiosity, but these soon +realize that they are not secure where so many humans abound, and scurry +back to their desert fastnesses. As refuges are created and breeding +grounds established, sheep will return, and, it is hoped, make their +permanent home in the reserves. There are still enough of them in +scattered places for this purpose. I was told of one method of hunting +in the desert hills, sometimes resorted to by Indians and white men of +the baser sort, that seems hateful and unsportsmanlike. The springs at +which they drink are long distances apart. In some instances the alleged +sportsmen camp by these and watch them without intermission for three +days and nights, at the end of which period, when the sheep are +exhausted by thirst, the hunter has them at his mercy. This has nearly +as much to commend it to the self-respecting sportsman as the practice +of imitating the cry of the female moose to lure the bull to mad +recklessness and his undoing, a challenge hard for a courageous animal +to resist, a treacherous snare set before his feet. It would seem as if +a right-minded man would hesitate to take so base an advantage as by +either of these two methods of hunting. + +Antelope are nearly exterminated in southern California, and there is +but a single little bunch of elk--those in the San Joaquin Valley, sole +survivors of the vast herds which ranged throughout those lowlands when +Fremont came to the country in 1845. These elk are smaller than those of +the mountains, and bear a striking resemblance to the Scotch red deer, +so familiar to us in Landseer's pictures. For years they have been +protected by the generosity and wisdom of one man, now no longer young, +an altogether public-spirited and generous act. I was taken by the +manager of this ranch to see these elk as they came at night to feed in +the alfalfa fields, and again in the morning we followed their trail +into the foothills and had a capital view of seven superb bulls in their +wild estate, as pretty a sight as one might see in California. Who can +feel ought save commiseration for a man who, standing on London bridge, +could say, "Earth has not anything to show more fair"? + +Twice during the summer was I told of the presence in the mountains, by +men who thought they had seen them, of the mythical ibex. My informant, +in each instance a ranger, assured me that he had had a good look at the +animal, and was sure that it was not a mountain ram. The back-curving +horns he said were "as long as his forearm," one added instance of the +fact that a fish in the brook is worth two on the string--if a good +story be at stake! What my informant had seen, of course, was a ewe, or +young mountain ram before he had arrived at the age when the horns begin +to form their characteristic spiral. As for the great size of the horns, +the animal was running away, and every hunter is aware of the enormous +proportions which the antlers attain of an escaping elk or deer. How +they suddenly shrink when the beast is shot is another story. + +Incidentally, the refuges of southern California will include the +breeding places of the trout in the upper reaches of the streams, and +will afford protection to grouse, quail, and other birds, but primarily +their purpose is to prevent the extermination of big game. In California +this has gone as far as it is safe to go if we are to save the +remnant. Even the California grizzly has been killed off so relentlessly +that it was a question, when I was there, whether a single pair survived +which might possibly in that State preserve the species. The ranger who +knew the most about this was of the opinion that two or three were still +left alive. He had seen their tracks within a year.[11] There are, I +have been assured, others in Oregon. + +[Footnote 11: I have been informed since the above was written that he +saw the tracks of a single grizzly after I was there, toward the end of +July.] + +If I had my way, the first act in creating a game refuge should be to +insure the survival of the few that remain. These bears are pitifully +wary as compared with their former bold and domineering attitude; they +would gladly keep out of harm's way if only they might be allowed to do +so. It is time, it seems to me, to call a truce to man's hostility to +them, once a foe not to be despised. Now they are so completely +conquered that man owes it to himself not too relentlessly to pursue a +vanquished enemy. When we think of the enormous period of time, +involving millions of years, required to develop a creature of such +gigantic strength as the California grizzly, so splendidly equipped to +win his living and to maintain his unquestioned supremacy--the Sequoia +of the animal kingdom of America--and when we contemplate this creature +as the very embodiment of vitality in the wild life, we shall not +wantonly permit him to be exterminated, and thus deprive those who are +to come after us of seeing him alive, and of seeing him where his +presence adds a fine note of distinction to the landscape, a fitting +adjunct to the glacier-formed ravines of the Sierras. + +The domestic sheep, which were once the prey of the bears, no longer +range in these forests, and so far as the depredation of bears among +cattle is concerned, it is of so trifling a nature as practically not to +exist. It would seem that a nation of so vast wealth as ours could +afford to indulge in an occasional extravagance, such as keeping alive +these few remaining bears; of maintaining them at the public expense +simply for the gratification of curiosity, of a quite legitimate +curiosity on the part of those who love the wild life, and every last +vanishing trait that remains of its old, keen energy. So far as danger +to man is involved by their presence, the experience in the Yellowstone +National Park is that there is no such danger; when allowed to do so, +they draw their rations as meekly as a converted Apache; if they err at +all, it is on the side of exaggerated and rather pitiful humility. + +It is mainly with the deer, however, that we are concerned. It is out of +the question for any thinking man who takes the slightest interest in +these creatures to stand passively by and permit them to be +exterminated. To prevent such a catastrophe proper measures must be +taken. The hunting community increases with as great rapidity as that +with which game decreases. Where one man hunted twenty-five years ago, a +score hunt for big game to-day. Unfortunately it has become the +fashion. It is a diversion involving no danger and, for those that +understand it, but slight hardship. If people are to continue to have +this source of amusement, some well matured and concerted plan must be +devised to insure the continuance of game. Never in the past history of +the world has man held at his command the same potential control of wild +beasts as now, the same power to concentrate against them the forces of +science. Man's supremacy has advanced by leaps and bounds, while the +animal's power to escape remains unchanged; all the conditions for their +survival constantly become more difficult. Man has, in its perfection, +the rapid-firing rifle, which, with the use of smokeless powder, gives +him an enormous increase of effectiveness in its flat trajectory. This +is quite as great an element of its destructiveness as its more deadly +power and capacity for quick shooting, since it eliminates the necessity +for accurately gauging distance, one of the hardest things for the +amateur hunter to learn. If man so desires, he can command the aid of +dogs. By their power of scent he has wild animals at his mercy, and +unless he deliberately regulates the slaughter which he will permit, +their entire extermination would be a matter of only a few years. Only +at the end of the last year we were told of the celebration in the Tyrol +of the killing, by the Emperor of Austria, of his two thousandth +chamois. Eight years ago this same record was achieved by another +Austrian, a Grand Duke. This was in both instances, as I understand, by +the means of fair and square stalking, quite different from the methods +of the more degenerate battue. At a single shooting exhibition of this +latter sort by the Crown Prince of Germany at his estate in Schleswig, +on one day in December last, were killed two hundred and ten fallow +deer, three hundred and forty-one red deer, and on the day following, +eighty-seven large wild boar, one hundred and twenty-six small ones, +eighty-six fallow deer, and two hundred and one red deer. Any man, +private citizen as well as emperor or prince, has it within his power, +if he be possessed of the blood craze, to kill scores and hundreds of +every kind of game. By the facilities of rapid travel the hunter, with +the least possible sacrifice of time, is transported with whatever of +luxury a Pullman car can confer (luxury to him who likes it) to the +haunts and almost within the very sanctuaries of game. Where formerly +an expedition of months was required, now in a few days' time he is +carried to the most out-of-the-way places, to the barrens, the forests, +the peaks, the mountain glades--almost to the muskeg and the tundra. + +How far the rage for hunting has captured the community in this country +of the western seaboard it is surprising to learn. In the year 1902 +there were issued for the seven forest reserves south of the Pass of +Tehachapi, a tract three-quarters the size of Massachusetts, four +thousand permits to hunt. Inasmuch as one permit may admit more than a +single person to the privileges of hunting, it was estimated that at +least five thousand people bearing rifles entered the reserves. This +besides the enormous horde of the peaceably disposed who also seek +diversion here, and who naturally disturb the deer to a certain +extent. The supervisor of two reserves--the San Gabriel and San +Bernardino--embracing a tract less than half the size of Connecticut, +assured me that in 1902 sixty thousand persons entered within their +borders; in the summer of 1903 this number was estimated at no less than +ten thousand in excess of the previous year. In these two reserves the +number of permits for rifles and revolvers issued between June 1 and +December 31, increased from 1,900 in the year 1902, to 3,483 in 1903, +and as, in some cases, these were issued for two or more persons, the +supervisor estimates that at least 4,500 rifles were carried last summer +into these two reserves. He was of the opinion that two-thirds of these +were borne by hunters, the remainder as protection against bears and +other ferocious wild beasts, which exist only in imagination.[12] + +[Footnote 12: "Relative to the figures for game permits, and the reason +for the larger number issued for 1903 over 1902, I cannot myself +altogether explain the large increase. One reason, however, was that our +rainfall for the winter of 1902-3 was very large compared with that of +the five previous winters. As a result grass and feed were plentiful, +and attracted many more travelers and hunters, who figured that game +would be much more plentiful owing to the abundance of feed. I believe +that this was the principal reason why so many obtained permits. The +abundant rain made camping more pleasant, as it started up springs which +had been dry for several years. I believe that this very thing, however, +also tended to protect the game as it permitted them to scatter more +than for several years before, as water was more abundant. With all the +increase in guns and hunters I do not think that any more deer were +killed than during the summer of 1902." (Letter from Forest Supervisor, +Mr. Everett B. Thomas, Los Angeles, Feb. 13, 1904.) It is to be noted +that in the southern California reserves, on the ground of precaution +against forest fires, no shotguns may be carried into the reserves. As a +result quail have greatly increased in numbers.] + +It is to be borne in mind that all through this California country there +exists a race of hunters--active, determined men, who passionately love +this diversion. The people there have not been so long graduated as we +of the Atlantic Coast from the conditions of the frontier. The ozone of +a new country stirs more quickly the predatory instinct, never quite +dead in any virile race. The rifle slips easily from its scabbard, and +there in plain sight before them are the forest-clad mountains, a mile +above their heads, in the cool and vital air, ever beckoning the hunter +to be up and away. These people feel in their blood the call of the +wild. With a very considerable proportion of the people upon farms, and +still more in villages and small towns, the Fall hunt is the commanding +interest of the year. This is the one athletic contest into which they +enter heart and soul; it is foot-ball and yachting and polo and horse +racing combined. For a young man to go into the forest after deer and +to come back empty-handed, is to lose prestige to a certain extent among +his fellows. Oftentimes, when a beginner returns in this way +unsuccessful, he is so unmercifully chaffed by his companions that he +mentally records a vow not to be beaten a second time, and, when he +finds himself again in the forest for his annual hunt, with the +enthusiasm of youth, he would almost rather die than be defeated. + +How hard the conditions are for the hunter no one would believe who has +not himself seen the country. In many places the hills are covered with +an almost impenetrable chaparral of scrub oak, buckthorn, greasewood, +manzanita, and deer-brush, in which the wary deer have taken refuge. In +and through these, guided sometimes by the tracks of the deer, or +encouraged by the presence of such tracks even if he cannot follow them, +up steep mountains, exposed to the heat of the sun, in dust, over rocks, +and without water, toils the hunter, who accounts himself lucky if, by +tramping scores of miles through this sort of impediment, he succeeds, +after days of toil, in killing his deer. Perhaps he has been without +fresh meat for a week or a fortnight, and often on short commons; is it +to be wondered at that when a shot offers he avails himself of the +opportunity even if it be a doe that he fires at? How can the deer +withstand such concentration of fury? + +Dr. Bartlett, Forest Supervisor of the Trabuco and San Jacinto Reserves, +assured me that the number of licenses to hunt in those two reserves +issued annually exceeded, in his opinion, the entire number of deer +within their boundaries. + +Everyone now is ready to admit that the extermination of the herd of +buffalo in the seventies was permitted by a crude, short-sighted policy +on our part as a nation, and should we of the early twentieth century +allow the remaining deer, elk, mountain sheep, and antelope, the last of +the great bears, and the innumerable small creatures of the wild, to be +crowded off the face of the earth, we should be depriving our children +and our children's children of a satisfaction and of a source of +interest which they would keenly regret. It would be well if we bore in +mind that we stand in a sort of fiduciary relation to the people who are +to come after us, so far as the wild portion of our land is concerned, +those few remote tracts still untarnished by man's craze to convert +everything in the world, or beneath the surface of the earth, into +dollars for his own immediate profit. He has the same short-sighted +policy in his hunting. He is content to gratify the impulse of the hour +without thought of those who are to spend their lives here when we have +led our brief careers and have gone to a well merited oblivion, to reap +our reward-- + +Heads without names, no more remembered. + +Let us look this matter squarely in the face. We are the inheritors of +these domains. It is one of the most precious assets of posterity. Here, +year by year, in steadily increasing proportion, as wisdom more +prevails, will men take comfort; and as the comprehension of nature's +charms penetrates their minds will they find content. One chief +satisfaction that every American feels from the mere fact of his +nationality is the full assurance in his heart that any measure founded +on sound reason and prompted by generous impulse will receive, if not +immediate acceptance, at all events eventual recognition. In the end +justice will prevail. Thus, in this matter before us, it will naturally +take a few years for Congress to realize that a genuine demand exists +for the creation of these refuges in every State, East as well as West, +but the interest in wild creatures, and the desire for their protection, +if not a clamorous demand, is one almost universally felt. All men, +except a meager few of the dwarfed and strictly city-bred, partake of +this, and it is so much a sign of the times that no Sunday edition is +complete without its column devoted to wild creatures, their traits, +their habits, or their eccentricities. One could hardly name, outside of +money-making and politics, an interest which all men more generally +share. + +Every lad is a born naturalist, and the true wisdom, as all sensible +people know, is to carry unfatigued through life the boy's power of +enjoyment, his freshness of perception, his alertness and zest. Where +the child's capacity for close observation survives into manhood, +supplemented by man's power of sustained attention, we have the typical +temperament of the lover of the woods, the mountains, and the wild--of +the naturalist in the sense that Thoreau was a naturalist, and many +another whose memory is cherished. + +It is not impossible for a man to be deeply learned and still to lack +the power of awakening enthusiasm in others; as a matter of fact, to be +so heavily freighted with information that he forgets to nourish his own +finer faculties, his intuition, his sympathy, and his insight. One must +have lived for a time in the California mountains to realize how great +is the service to the men of his own and to succeeding generations of +him who more than any one else has illuminated the study of the Sierras +and of all our forest-clad mountains, our glacier-formed hills, valleys +and glades. Not by any means do all lovers of nature, however faithful +their purpose, come to its study with the endowment of John Muir. In him +we see the trained faculties of the close and accurate observer, joined +to the temperament of the poet--the capacity to think, to see and to +feel--and by the power of sustained and strong emotion to make us the +sharers of his joy. The beauty and the majesty of the forest to him +confer the same exaltation of mind, the same intellectual transport, +which the trained musician feels when listening to the celestial +harmonies of a great orchestra. In proportion as one conceives, or can +imagine, the fineness of the musical endowment of a Bach or Beethoven, +and in proportion as he can realize in his own mind the infinity of +training and preparation which has contributed to the development of +such a master musician--in such proportion may he comprehend and +appreciate the unusual qualities and achievements of a man like Muir. He +will realize to some degree--indistinctly to be sure, "seeing men as +trees walking"--the infinity of nice and accurate observation, the +discriminating choice of illustration, the infallible tact and unvarying +sureness with which he holds our interest, and the dominant poetic +insight into the nature of things, which are spread before the reader in +lavish abundance, in Muir's two books, "The Mountains of California" and +"Our National Parks." No other books, in this province, by living +author offer to the reader so rich a feast. Recognizing the fine +endowments of Thoreau, and how greatly all are his debtors, still we of +this generation are lucky in having one greater than he among us, if +wisdom of life and joyousness be the criterion of a sound and of a sane +philosophy. The time will come when this will be generally recognized. +The verdict of posterity is the right one, and the love of mankind is +given throughout the centuries to the men of insight, who possess the +rare mental endowment of sustained pleasure. Call it perpetual youth, or +joyousness, or what you like, the fact remains that the power of +sustained enthusiasm, lightness of heart and gaiety, with the faculty of +communicating to others that state of mind, is not one of the commonest +endowments of the human brain. It is one that confers great happiness to +others, and one to whose possessor we are under great obligation. +Compare the career of Thoreau, lonely, sad, and wedded to death--on the +one hand, with that of Muir, on the other--a lover of his kind, healthful, +inspiring to gaiety, superabounding in vitality. Naturalists of this type +of mind, and so faithful in perfecting the talents entrusted to them, do +not often appear in any age. + +In the designations of refuges for deer, various questions are to be +considered, such as abundance of food, proximity to water, suitable +shelter, an exposure to their liking, for they may be permitted to have +whims in a matter of this sort, just as fully as Indians or the +residents of the city, when they deign to honor the country by their +presence. The deer feel that they are entitled to a certain remote +absence from molestation; moderate hunting will not entirely discourage +them--a dash of excitement might prove rather entertaining to a young +buck with a little recklessness in his temperament--but unless a deer be +clad in bullet-proof boiler iron, there are ranges in the reserves of +southern California where he would never dare to show his face during +the open season--regular rifle ranges. Where very severely hunted, like +the road agent, they "take to the brush," that is, hide in the +chaparral. This is almost impenetrable. It is very largely composed of +scrub oak, buckthorn, chamisal or greasewood, with a scattered growth of +wild lilac, wild cherry, etc. So far as the deer make this their +permanent home, there is no fear of their extermination. They may be +hunted effectively only with the most extreme caution. Not one person in +a thousand ever attains to the level of a still-hunter whose +accomplishment guarantees him success under such conditions. There are +men of this sort, but these are artists in their pursuit, whose +attainments, like those of the professional generally, are beyond +comparison with those of the ordinary amateur. To hunt successfully in +the chaparral, requires a special genius. One must have exhaustless +patience, tact trained by a lifetime of this sort of work, perseverance +incapable of discouragement, the silence of an Indian, and in this +phrase--when we are dealing with the skill of one who can make progress +without sound through the tangles of the dry and stiff California +chaparral--is involved an exercise of skill comparable only to the +fineness of touch of a Joachim or a St. Gaudens. This sort of hunter +marks one end of the scale of perfection; near the other and more +familiar extreme is found the individual of whom this story is told. He +was an Englishman and had just returned from a trip into the jungle of +India after big game, where he was accompanied by a guide, most expert +in his profession. One of the sportsman's friends asked this man how his +employer shot while on the trip. His reply was a model of tact and +concise statement: "He shot divinely, but God was very merciful to the +animals." + +He who reads this brief account may naturally ask: What were the +practical results of your Western trip? Have you any ideas which may be +of value in the solution of this problem of Game Refuges? My primary +conception of the duties of a Game Expert, sent out by a Bureau of a +United States Department, was to approach this entire subject without +preconceived theories, with an open and unbiased mind; to see as many of +the various reserves as possible, under the guidance of the best men to +be had, and, increasing in this manner my knowledge by every available +means, to reserve the period of general consideration and of specific +recommendation until the whole preliminary reconnoissance should be +accomplished. The thing of prime importance is that the game expert +should see the reserves, and see them thoroughly. In a measure of such +scope what we desire is a well thought-out plan, based on knowledge of +the actual conditions, knowledge acquired in the field for the future +use of him who has acquired it. No report can transfer to the mind of +another an impression thus derived. + +I had been but a short time engaged in this campaign of education before +it seemed wise to abandon the limitations imposed by traveling in +wagons; these held one to the valleys and to the dusty ways of +men. After that emancipation I lived in the haunts of the deer, +traveling with a pack train, and cruising in about the same altitude +affected by that most thoroughbred of all the conifers, the sugar +pine. Trust the genius of that tree, the pine, of all those that grow on +any of the mountains of North America, of finest power, beauty, +individuality, and distinction, to select the most attractive altitude +for its home, the daintiest air, the air fullest of strong vitality and +determination, whether man or deer is to participate in the virtues of +the favored zone. Many a time I went far beyond the region of the sugar +pine, and not infrequently cruised beneath its lower limits. + +What that tree loves is a zone of about four thousand feet in width +extending from three to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. +The upper reaches of this belt are where the deer range during the open +season of the summer when they must be afforded protection. These were +traversed with care, and seen with as much thoroughness as +possible. More of the reserves might easily have been visited in other +States, had I been content to do this in a sketchy and cursory manner, +but my idea was to derive the greatest possible amount of instruction +for a definite specific purpose, and it seemed to me for the +accomplishment of this end to be essential that one should spend a +sufficiently long time in each forest to receive a strong impression of +its own peculiar and distinctive nature, to get an idea into one's head, +which would stick, of its individuality, and, if I may say so, of its +personal features and idiosyncrasies. Not until more than three months +had been spent in the faithful execution of this plan was the problem +studied from any other view than that refuges were to be created of +considerable size, and that their lines of demarcation would naturally +be formed by something easily grasped by the eye, either rivers or the +crests of mountain ranges. + +After the lapse of that time, looking at this from every point of view, +it became my opinion that the ideal solution was the creation of many +small refuges rather than the establishment of a few large ones. To be +effective, the size of these ranges should not be less than ten miles +square; if slightly larger, so much the better. Should, therefore, +these be of about four townships each, the best results would be +obtained. The bill for the creation of Game Refuges after it had passed +the Senate, and as amended by the Committee on Public Lands of the House +of Representatives, in the spring of 1903, read: + +"The President of the United States is hereby authorized to designate +such areas in the public Forest Reserves, _not exceeding one in each +State or Territory_, as should, in his opinion, be set aside for the +protection of game animals, birds, and fish, and be recognized as a +breeding place therefor." + +If this bill were to become law in its present form, the object for +which it was created would be largely defeated. One may easily overlook +the fact that an area corresponding to that of California would, on the +Atlantic Coast, extend from Newport, R. I., to Charleston, S. C. It +embraces communities and interests in many respects as widely separated +as those of New England and the Atlantic Southern States. Were one Game +Refuge only to be created in the State of California, unless it included +practically the whole of the reserves south of Tehachapi, protection +would not be afforded to the different species of large a constantly +increasing population, and an ever-increasing interest in big-game +hunting. The designation of one Game Refuge in the Sierra Reserve would +practically not reduce the slaughter of deer in this whole vast region +of southern California. Were the single Game Refuge, which might under +the law be designated, to be placed in southern California, even +although it embraced the entire area of the seven southern reserves, it +would not aid to any great extent in preventing the extinction of game +in the region of the Sierra Reserve, of the Stanislaus Reserve, or of +the great reserves which are doubtless soon to be created in the +northern half of the State. A bill so conceived would not fulfill the +purpose of its creation. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + +There are just as cogent reasons of a positive nature why many small +refuges are preferable to a few large ones. It is said that in the +vicinity of George Vanderbilt's game preserves at Biltmore, North +Carolina, deer, when started by dogs even fifteen or twenty miles away, +will seek shelter within the limits of that protected forest, knowing +perfectly well that once within its bounds they will not be +disturbed. The same may be observed in the vicinity of the Yellowstone +National Park; the bears, for instance, a canny folk, and shrewd to read +the signs of the times, seem to be well aware that they are not to be +disturbed near the hotels, and they show themselves at such places +without fear; at the same time that outside the Park (and when the early +snow is on the ground their tracks are often observed going both out and +in) these same beasts are very shy indeed. The hunter soon discovers +that it is with the greatest difficulty that one ever sees them at all +outside of the bounds of the Park. Bears, as well as deer, adapt +themselves to the exigencies of the situation; the grizzly, since the +white man stole from him and the Indian the whole face of the earth, has +become a night-ranging instead of a diurnal creature. The deer, we may +safely rest assured, makes quite as close a study of humans as man does +of the deer. It is a question of life and death with them that they +should understand him and his methods. Both the deer and the hunters +would profit by the widest possible distribution of these protected +areas. Each section of the State is entitled to the benefit to be +derived from their presence in its vicinity. Moreover, and I believe +that this is a consideration of no slight moment, the creation of many +small refuges, not too close together, would obviate one great +difficulty which threatens to wreck the entire scheme. There have +appeared signs of opposition in certain quarters to the creation in the +various reserves of game refuges by Federal power on the ground that +this would be to surrender to the Government at Washington authority +which should be solely exercised by the State. In a certain sense it is +the old issue of State rights. Where this feeling exists it is adhered +to with extraordinary tenacity, and it is as catching as the measles; +just so soon as one State takes this stand, another is liable to raise +the same issue. They are jealous of any power except their own which +would close from hunting to their citizens considerable portions of the +forest reserves within the confines of the State. Their claim is that by +an abuse of such delegated power, a President of the United States +might, if so inclined, shut out the citizens from hunting at all in the +forest reserves of their own State. This argument is not an easy one to +wave aside. Should, however, the size of the individual refuges be +limited to four townships each, and the minimum distance between such +refuges be defined, one grave objection to these refuges would be +overcome, and the citizens of the various States would cooperate with +Federal authority to accomplish that which the sentiment at home in many +instances is not at present sufficiently enlightened to demand, and +which by reason of party differences the State legislatures are +powerless to effect. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + +Having elaborated in one's mind the idea that a Game Refuge, in order to +be a success, should be about ten or twelve miles square, the question +arises, how near are these to be placed to one another? If they are +established at the beginning, not less than twenty or twenty-five miles +from each other, it seems to me that the exigencies of the situation +would be met. It is not our purpose, in creating them, seriously to +interfere with the privileges of hunters adjoining the forests where +they are established. On the contrary, all that is wished is to +preserve the present number of the deer, or to allow them slightly to +increase. The system of game refuges of the size indicated, would, I +believe, accomplish this end. In all probability, at the beginning of +the open season, the deer would be distributed with a considerable +degree of uniformity throughout the reserve, outside of the game refuges +as well as within. They would go, of course, where the food and +conditions suited them. As the hunting season opened, and the game, in a +double sense, become more lively, the deer would naturally seek shelter +where they could find it. Since this, with them, would be a question +literally of vital interest, their education would progress rapidly, +particularly that of the wary old bucks, experienced in danger which +they had survived in the past simply because their bump of caution was +well developed, these would soon realize that they were safe within the +bounds of a certain tract--that there the sound of the rifle was never +heard, that there far less frequently they ran across the hateful scent +of their enemies, and for some mysterious reason were left to their own +devices. When once this idea has found firm lodgment in the head of an +astute deer, the very first thing that he will do will be to get into an +asylum of this sort, and to stay there; if he has any business to +transact beyond its boundaries, exactly as an Indian would do in similar +circumstances, he will delegate the same to a young buck who is on his +promotion, and has his reputation to make, and who possesses the +untarnished courage of ignorance and youth. It seems to me that this +system of small refuges would have the merit of fairness both to the +hunters and to the deer, and it is respectfully submitted to the +legislators of the United States. This may seem one of the simplest of +solutions, and hardly worth a summer's cruise to discover. It may prove +that this is not the first occasion when the simplest solution is the +best. Because a thing is simple it is not always the case, however, +that it finds the most ready acceptance. If, in my humble capacity of +public service, I am the indirect means of this being accomplished, I +shall feel that my summer's work was not altogether in vain. + +_Alden Sampson_. + +[Illustration: TEMISKAMING MOOSE.] + + + + +Temiskaming Moose + +The accompanying photographs of moose were taken about the middle of +July, 1902, on the Montreal river, which flows from the Ontario side +into Lake Temiskaming. + +A number of snap shots were obtained during the three days' stay in this +vicinity, but the others were at longer range and the animals appear +very small in the negative. + +As is well known, during the hot summer months the moose are often to be +found feeding on the lily pads or cooling themselves in the water, being +driven from the bush where there are heat, mosquitoes and flies. + +Not having been shot at nor hunted, all the moose at this time seemed +rather easy to approach. Two of these pictures are of one bull, and the +other two of one cow, the two animals taken on different occasions. I +got three snaps of each before they were too far away. When first +sighted, each was standing nibbling at the lily pads, and the final +spurt in the canoe was made in each case while the animal stood with +head clear under the water, feeding at the bottom. The distance of each +of the first photographs taken was from 45 to 55 feet. + +_Paul J. Dashiell._ + +[Illustration: A KAHRIGUR TIGER.] + + + + +Two Trophies from India + +In the early part of March, 1898, my friend, Mr. E. Townsend Irvin, and +I arrived at the bungalow of Mr. Younghusband, who was Commissioner of +the Province of Raipur, in Central India. Mr. Younghusband very kindly +gave us a letter to his neighbor, the Rajah of Kahrigur, who furnished +us with shikaris, beaters, bullock carts, two ponies and an elephant. We +had varied success the first three weeks, killing a bear, several +nilghai, wild boar and deer. + +One afternoon our beaters stationed themselves on three sides of a rocky +hill and my friend and I were placed at the open end some two hundred +yards apart. The beaters had hardly begun to beat their tom toms and +yell, when a roar came from the brow of the hill, and presently a large +tiger came out from some bushes at the foot. He came cantering along in +a clumsy fashion over an open space, affording us an excellent shot, and +when he was broadside on we both fired, breaking his back. He could not +move his hind legs, but stood up on his front paws. Approaching closer, +we shot him in a vital spot. + +The natives consider the death of a tiger cause for general rejoicing, +and forming a triumphal procession amid a turmoil such as only Indian +beaters can make, they carried the dead tiger to camp. + +One morning word was brought to our camp, at a place called Bernara, +that a tiger had killed a buffalo, some seven miles away. The natives +had built a bamboo platform, called _machan_, in a tree by the +kill, and we stationed ourselves on this in the late afternoon. Contrary +to custom, the tiger did not come back to his kill until after the sun +had set. The night was cloudy and very dark, and although several times +we distinctly heard the tiger eating the buffalo, we could not see +it. At about midnight we were extremely stiff, and not hearing any +sound, we returned to our temporary camp; but on the advice of an old +shikari I returned with him to the _machan_ to wait until +daylight. Being tired, I fell asleep, but an hour before dawn the Hindu +woke me, as the clouds had cleared away and the moon was shining +brightly. I heard a munching sound, and could dimly discern a yellow +form by the buffalo, and taking a long aim I fired both barrels of my +rifle. I heard nothing except the scuttling off of the hyenas and +jackals that had been attracted by the dead buffalo, so I slept again +until daylight, when, to my surprise, I saw a dead leopard by the +buffalo. He had come to the kill after the tiger had finished his meal. + +_John H. Prentice_. + +[Illustration: INDIAN LEOPARD.] + + + + +Big-Game Refuges + +Since the inception of the Boone and Crockett Club its plans and +purposes have changed not a little. Originally organized for social +purposes, for the encouragement of big-game hunting, and the procuring +of the most effective weapons with which to secure the game, it has, +little by little, come to be devoted to the broader object of benefiting +this and succeeding generations by preserving a stock of large game. It +is still made up of enthusiastic riflemen, and their love of the chase +has not abated. But, since the Club's formation, an astonishing change +has come over natural conditions in the United States--a change which, +fifteen or twenty years ago, could not have been foreseen. The +extraordinary development of the whole Western country, with the +inevitable contraction of the range of all big game, and the absolute +reduction in the numbers of the game consequent on its destruction by +skin hunters, head hunters and tooth hunters, has obliged the Boone and +Crockett Club, in absolute self-defense, and in the hope that its +efforts may save some of the species threatened with extinction, to turn +its attention more and more to game protection. + +The Club was established in 1888. The buffalo had already been swept +away. Since that date two species of elk have practically disappeared +from the land, one being still represented by a few individuals which +for some years have been preserved from destruction by a California +cattle company; the other, found only in the Southwest, in territory now +included within the Black Mesa forest reservation, may be, perhaps, +without a single living representative. Over a vast extent of the +territory which the antelope once inhabited, it has ceased to exist; and +so speedy and so wholesale has been its disappearance that most of the +Western States, slow as they always are to interfere with the privileges +of their citizens to kill and destroy at will, have passed laws either +wholly protecting it or, at least, limiting the number to be killed in a +season to one, two or three. In 1888 no one could have conceived that +the diminution of the native large game of America would be what it has +proved to be within the past fifteen years. + +[Illustration: THE NEW BUFFALO HERD IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK] + +That the game stock may re-establish itself in certain localities, the +Club has advocated the establishment in the various forest reserves of +game refuges, where absolutely no hunting shall be permitted. + +Through the influence of William Hallett Phillips, a deceased member of +the Club, a few lines inserted in an act passed by Congress March 3, +1891, permitted the establishment of forest reserves, and Hon. John +W. Noble, then Secretary of the Interior, at once recommended the +application of the law to a number of forest tracts, which were +forthwith set aside by Presidential proclamation. Since then, more and +more forest reserves have been created, and, thanks to the wisdom and +courage of the Chief Magistrates of the Nation within the past twelve +years, we now have more than sixty millions of acres of such +reservations. These consist largely of rough, timbered mountain lands, +unfit for cultivation or settlement. They are of enormous value to the +arid West, as affording an unfailing water supply to much of that +region, and in a less degree they are valuable as timber reserves, from +which hereafter may be harvested crops which will greatly benefit the +country adjacent to them. + +In the first volume of the Boone and Crockett Club Books, it was said: +"In these reservations is to be found to-day every species of large game +known to the United States, and the proper protection of the +reservations means the perpetuating in full supply of all these +indigenous mammals. If this care is provided, no species of American +large game need ever become absolutely extinct; and intelligent effort +for game protection may well be directed toward securing, through +national legislation, the policing of forest preserves by timber and +game wardens."--American Big Game Hunting, p. 330. + +When these lines were written, Congressional action in this direction +was hoped for at an early day; but, except in the case of the +Yellowstone National Park, such action has not been taken. Meantime, +hunting in these forest reserves has gone on. In some of them game has +been almost exterminated. Two little bunches of buffalo which then had +their range within the reserves have been swept out of existence. + +It is obvious that effectively to protect the big game at large there +must be localities where hunting shall be absolutely forbidden. That any +species of big game will rapidly increase if absolutely protected is +perfectly well known; and in the Yellowstone Park we have ever before us +an object lesson, which shows precisely what effective protection of +game can do. + +It is little more than twenty years since the first efforts were made to +prevent the killing of game within that National Reservation, and only +about ten years since Congress provided an effective method for +preventing such killing. He must be dull indeed who does not realize +what that game refuge has done for a great territory, and of how much +actual money value its protection has been to the adjoining States of +Montana and Idaho, and especially of Wyoming. The visit of President +Roosevelt to the National Park last spring made these conditions plain +to the whole nation. At that time every newspaper in the land gave long +accounts of what the President saw and did there, and told of the hordes +of game that he viewed and counted. He saw nothing that he had not +before known of, nothing that was not well known to all the members of +the Boone and Crockett Club; but it was largely through the President's +visit, and the accounts of what he saw in the Yellowstone Park, that the +public has come to know what rigid protection can do and has done for +our great game. + +Since such a refuge can bring about such results, it is high time that +we had more of these refuges, in order that like results may follow in +different sections of the West, and for different species of wild game; +as well for the benefit of other localities and their residents, as for +that wider public which will hereafter visit them in ever increasing +numbers. + +A bill introduced at the last session of Congress authorized the +President, when in his judgment it should seem desirable, to set aside +portions of forest reserves as game refuges, where no hunting should be +allowed. The bill passed the Senate, but failed in the House, largely +through lack of time, yet some opposition was manifested to it by +members of Congress from the States in which the forest reserves are +located, who seemed to feel that such a law would in some way abridge +the rights and privileges of their constituents. This is a narrow view, +and one not justified by the experience of persons dwelling in the +vicinity of the Yellowstone National Park. + +If such members of Congress will consider, for example, the effect on +the State of Wyoming, of the protection of the Yellowstone Park, it +seems impossible to believe that they will oppose the measure. Each +non-resident sportsman going into Wyoming to hunt the game--much of +which spends the summer in the Yellowstone Park, and each autumn +overflows into the adjacent territory--pays to the State the sum of +forty dollars, and is obliged by law to hire a guide, for whose license +he must pay ten dollars additional; besides that, he hires guides, +saddle and pack animals, pays railroad and stage fare, and purchases +provisions to last him for his hunt. In other words, at a modest +calculation, each man who spends from two weeks to a month hunting in +Wyoming pays to the State and its citizens not less than one hundred and +fifty dollars. Statistics as to the number of hunters who visit Wyoming +are not accessible; but if we assume that they are only two hundred in +number, this means an actual contribution to the State of thirty +thousand dollars in cash. Besides this, the protection of the game in +such a refuge insures a never-failing supply of meat to the settlers +living in the adjacent country, and offers them work for themselves and +their horses at a time when, ranch work for the season being over, they +have no paying occupation. + +[Illustration: A BIT OF SHEEP COUNTRY] + +The value of a few skins taken by local hunters is very inconsiderable +when compared with such a substantial inflow of actual cash to the State +and the residents of the territory neighboring to such a +refuge. Moreover, it must be remembered that, failing to put in +operation some plan of this kind, which shall absolutely protect the +game and enable it to re-establish itself, the supply of meat and skins, +now naturally enough regarded as their own peculiar possession by the +settlers living where such a refuge might be established, will +inevitably grow less and less as time goes on; and, as it grows less, +the contributions to State and local resources from the non-resident tax +will also grow less. Thirty years ago the buffalo skinner declared that +the millions of buffalo could never be exterminated; yet the buffalo +disappeared, and after them one species of big game after another +vanished over much of the country. The future can be judged only by the +past. Thirty years ago there were elk all over the plains, from the +Missouri River westward to the Rocky Mountains; now there are no elk on +the plains, and, except in winter, when driven down from their summer +range by the snows, they are found only in the timbered mountains. What +has been so thoroughly accomplished will be sure to continue; and, +unless the suggested refuges shall be established, there will soon be no +game to protect--a real loss to the country. + +It has long been customary for Western men of a certain type to say that +Eastern sportsmen are trying to protect the game in order that they +themselves may kill it, the implication being that they wish to take it +away from those living near it, and who presumably have the greatest +right to it. Talk of this kind has no foundation in fact, as is shown by +the laws passed by the Western States, which often demand heavy license +fees from non-residents, and hedge about their hunting with other +restrictions. Many Eastern sportsmen desire to preserve the game, not +especially that they themselves may kill it, but that it shall be +preserved; if they desire to kill this game they must and do comply with +the laws established by the different States, and pay the license fees. + +A fundamental reason for the protection of game, and so for the +establishment of such game refuges, was given by President Roosevelt in +a speech made to the Club in the winter of 1903, when he expressed the +opinion that it was the duty of the Government to establish these +refuges and preserves for the benefit of the poor man, the man in +moderate circumstances. The very rich, who are able to buy land, may +establish and care for preserves of their own, but this is beyond the +means of the man of moderate means; and, unless the State and Federal +Governments establish such reservations, a time is at hand when the poor +man will have no place to go where he can find game to hunt. The +establishment of such refuges is for the benefit of the whole +public--not for any class--and is therefore a thoroughly democratic +proposition. + +There is no question as to the right of Congress to enact laws governing +the killing of game on the public domain, or within a forest reserve +where this domain lies within the boundaries of a Territory. Moreover, +it has been determined by the courts and otherwise that within a State +the Federal Government has, on a forest reserve, all the rights of an +individual proprietor, "supplemented with the power to make and enforce +its own laws for the assertion of those rights, and for the disposal and +full and complete management, control and protection of its lands." + +In January, 1902, the Hon. John F. Lacey, of Iowa, a member of this +Club, whose efforts in behalf of game protection are generally +recognized, and whose name is attached to the well-known Lacey Law, +received from Attorney-General Knox an opinion indicating that there is +reasonable ground for the view that the Government may legislate for the +protection of game on the forest reserves, whether these forest reserves +lie within the Territories or within the States. From this opinion the +following paragraphs are taken: + +"While Congress certainly may by law prohibit and punish the entry upon +or use of any part of those forest reserves for the purpose of the +killing, capture or pursuit of game, this would not be sufficient. There +are many persons now on those reserves by authority of law, and people +are expressly authorized to go there, and it would be necessary to go +further and to prohibit the killing, capture or pursuit of game, even +though the entry upon the reserve is not for that purpose. But, the +right to forbid intrusion for the purpose of killing, _per se_, and +without reference to any trespass on the property, is another. The first +may be forbidden as a trespass and for the protection of the property; +but when a person is lawfully there and not a trespasser or intruder, +the question is different. + +"But I am decidedly of opinion that Congress may forbid and punish the +killing of game on these reserves, no matter that the slayer is lawfully +there and is not a trespasser. If Congress may prohibit the use of these +reserves for any purpose, it may for another; and while Congress permits +persons to be there upon and use them for various purposes, it may fix +limits to such use and occupation, and prescribe the purpose and objects +for which they shall not be used, as for the killing, capture or pursuit +of specified kinds of game. Generally, any private owner may forbid, +upon his own land, any act that he chooses, although the act may be +lawful in itself; and certainly Congress, invested also with legislative +power, may do the same thing, just as it may prohibit the sale of +intoxicating liquors, though such sale is otherwise lawful. + +"After considerable attention to the whole subject, I have no hesitation +in expressing my opinion that Congress has ample power to forbid and +punish any and all kinds of trespass, upon or injury to, the forest +reserves, including the trespass of entering upon or using them for the +killing, capture or pursuit of game. + +"The exercise of these powers would not conflict with any State +authority. Most of the States have laws forbidding the killing, capture +or pursuit of different kinds of game during specified portions of the +year. This makes such killing, etc., lawful at other times, but only +lawful because not made unlawful. And it is lawful only when the State +has power to make it lawful, by either implication or direct enactment. +But, except in those cases already referred to, such as eminent domain, +service of process, etc., no State has power to authorize or make lawful +a trespass upon private property. So that, though Congress should +prohibit such killing, etc., upon its own lands, at all seasons of the +year, this would not conflict with any State authority or control. That +the preservation of game is part of the public policy of those States, +and for the benefit of their own people, is shown by their own +legislation, and they cannot complain if Congress upon its own lands +goes even further in that direction than the State, so long as the open +season of the State law is not interfered with in any place where such +law is paramount. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN SHEEP AT REST] + +"It has always been the policy of the Government to invite and induce +the purchase and settlement of its public lands; and as the existence of +game thereon and in their localities adds to the desirability of the +lands, and is a well-known inducement to their purchase, it may well be +considered whether, for this purpose alone, and without reference to the +protection of the lands from trespass, Congress may not, on its own +lands, prohibit the killing of such game." + +In this opinion the Attorney-General further calls attention to the +difficulties of enforcing the State law, and suggests that it might be +well to give marshals and their deputies, and the superintendents, +supervisors, rangers, and other persons charged with the protection of +these forest reserves, power on the public lands, in certain cases +approaching "hot pursuit," to arrest without warrant. All who are +familiar with the conditions in the more sparsely settled States will +recognize the importance of some such provision. A matter of equal +importance, though as yet not generally recognized, is that of providing +funds for the expenses of forest officers making arrests. It is often +the fact that no justice of the peace resides within fifty or a hundred +miles of the place where the violation of the law occurs. The ranger +making the arrest is obliged to transport his prisoner for this +distance, and to provide him with transportation, food and lodging +during the journey and during the time that he may be obliged to wait +before bringing the prisoner arrested before a proper court. This may +often amount to more than the penalty, even if the officer making the +arrest secures a conviction; but, on the other hand, the individual +arrested may not be able to pay his fine, and may have to go to jail. In +this case the officer making the arrest is out of pocket just so much. +Under such circumstances, it is evident that few officers can afford to +take the risk of losing this time and money. + +In most States of the Union there exist considerable tracts of land, +mountainous, or at least barren and unfit for cultivation. Legislation +should be had in each State establishing public parks which might well +enough be stocked with game, which should there be absolutely +protected. Some efforts in this direction have been made, notably +Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. In many of the New +England States there are tracts absolutely barren, unoccupied and often +bordered by abandoned farms, which could be purchased by the State for a +very modest compensation; and it is well worth the while of the Boone +and Crockett Club to endeavor by all means in its power to secure the +establishment in the various States of parks which might be breeding +centers for game, great and small, on the same plan as the proposed +refuges hoped for within the forest reservations. Michigan, Wisconsin, +Minnesota, and practically all the States to the west of these, possess +such areas of unoccupied land, which might wisely be acquired by the +State and devoted to such excellent purposes. In Montana there is a long +stretch of the Missouri River, with a narrow, shifting bottom, bordered +on either side by miles of bad-lands, which would serve as such a State +park. Settlers on this stretch of river are few in number, for the +bottoms are not wide enough to harbor many homes, and, being constantly +cut out by the changes of the river's course, are so unstable as to be +of little value as farming lands. On the other hand, the new bottoms +constantly formed are soon thickly covered by willow brush, while the +extensive bad-lands on either side the stream furnish an admirable +refuge for deer, antelope, mountain sheep and bear, with which the +country is already stocked, and were in old times a great haunt for elk, +which might easily be reintroduced there. + +There is a tendency in this country to avoid trouble, and to do those +things which can be done most easily. From this it results that efforts +are constantly being made to introduce into regions from which game has +been exterminated various species of foreign game, which can be had, +more or less domesticated, from the preserves of Europe. Thus red deer +have been introduced in the Adirondack region, and it has been suggested +that chamois might be brought from Europe and turned loose in certain +localities in the United States, and there increase and furnish +shooting. To many men it seems less trouble to contribute money for such +a purpose as this than to buckle down and manufacture public sentiment +in behalf of the protection of native game. This is a great +mistake. From observations made in certain familiar localities, we know +definitely that, provided there is a breeding stock, our native game, +with absolute protection, will re-establish itself in an astonishingly +short period of time. It would be far better for us to concentrate our +efforts to renew the supply of our native game rather than to collect +subscriptions to bring to America foreign game, which may or may not do +well here, and may or may not furnish sport if it shall do well. + +[Illustration: MULE DEER AT FORT YELLOWSTONE] + + + + +Forest Reserves of North America + + +In the United States something over 100,000 square miles of the public +domain has been set aside and reserved from settlement for economic +purposes. This vast area includes reservations of four different kinds: +First, National Forest Reserves, aggregating some 63,000,000 acres, for +the conservation of the water supply of the arid and semi-arid West; +second, National Parks, of which there are seventeen, for the purpose of +preserving untouched places of natural grandeur and interest; third, +State Parks, for places of recreation and for conserving the water +supply; and fourth, military wood and timber reservations, to provide +Government fuel or other timber. Most military wood reserves were +originally established in connection with old forts. + +The forest reservations, as they are by far the largest, are also much +the most important of these reserved areas. + +Perhaps three-quarters of the population of the United States do not +know that over nearly one-half of the national territory within the +United States the rainfall is so slight or so unevenly distributed that +agriculture cannot be carried on except by means of irrigation. This +irrigation consists of taking water out of the streams and conducting it +by means of ditches which have a very gentle slope over the land which +it is proposed to irrigate. From the original ditch, smaller ditches are +taken out, running nearly parallel with each other, and from these +laterals other ditches, still smaller, and the seepage from all these +moistens a considerable area on which crops may be grown. This, very +roughly, is irrigation, a subject of incalculable interest to the +dwellers in the dry West. + +It is obvious that irrigation cannot be practiced without water, and +that every ditch which takes water from a stream lessens the volume of +that stream below where the ditch is taken out. It is conceivable that +so many ditches might be taken out of the stream, and so much of the +water lost by evaporation and seepage into the soil irrigated, that a +stream which, uninterfered with, was bank full and even flowing +throughout the summer, might, under such changed condition, become +absolutely dry on the lower reaches of its course. And this, in fact, is +what has happened with some streams in the West. Where this is the case, +the farmers who live on the lower stretches of the stream, being without +water to put on their land, can raise no crops. Nothing, therefore, is +more important to the agriculturists of the West than to preserve full +and as nearly equal as possible at all seasons the water supply in their +streams. + +This water is supplied by the annual rain or snow fall; but in the West +chiefly by snow. It falls deep on the high mountains, and, protected +there by the pine forests, accumulates all through the winter, and in +spring slowly melts. The deep layer of half-rotted pine needles, +branches, decayed wood and other vegetable matter which forms the forest +floor, receives this melting snow and holds much of it for a time, while +the surplus runs off over the surface of the ground, and by a thousand +tiny rivulets at last reaches some main stream which carries it toward +the sea. In the deep forest, however, the melting of this snow is very +gradual, and the water is given forth slowly and gradually to the +stream, and does not cause great floods. Moreover, the large portion of +it which is held by the humus, or forest floor, drains off still more +gradually and keeps the springs and sources of the brook full all +through the summer. + +Without protection from the warm spring sun, the snows of the winter +might melt in a week and cause tremendous torrents, the whole of the +melted snowfall rushing down the stream in a very short time. Without +the humus, or forest floor, to act as a soaked sponge which gradually +drains itself, the springs and sources of the brooks would go dry in +early summer, and the streams further down toward the cultivated plains +would be low and without sufficient water to irrigate all the farms +along its course. + +It was for the purpose of protecting the farmers of the West by insuring +the careful protection of the water supply of all streams that Congress +wisely passed the law providing for the establishing of the forest +reserves. It is for the benefit of these farmers and of those others who +shall establish themselves along these streams that the Presidents of +the United States for the last twelve or fourteen years have been +establishing forest reserves and have had expert foresters studying +different sections of the western country to learn where the water was +most needed and where it could best be had. + +It is gratifying to think that, while at first the establishment of +these forest reserves was very unpopular in certain sections of the +West, where their object was not in the least understood, they have--now +that the people have come to see what they mean--received universal +approval. It sometimes takes the public a long time to understand a +matter, but their common sense is sure at last to bring them to the +right side of any question. + +The list of reservations here given is brought down to December, 1903, +and is furnished by the U.S. Forester--a member of the Club. + +_Government Forest Reserves in the United States and Alaska_ + +ALASKA. Area in Acres + +Afognak Forest and Fish Culture Reserve 403,640 +The Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve 4,506,240 + +Total 4,909,880 + +ARIZONA. + +The Black Mesa Forest Reserve 1,658,880 +The Prescott Forest Reserve 423,680 +Grand Canyon Forest Reserve 1,851,520 +The San Francisco Mountains Forest Reserve 1,975,310 +The Santa Rita Forest Reserve 387,300 +The Santa Catalina Forest Reserve 155,520 +The Mount Graham Forest Reserve 118,600 +The Chiricahua Forest Reserve 169,600 + +Total 6,740,410 + +CALIFORNIA. Acres. + +The Lake Tahoe Forest Reserve 136,335 +The Stanislaus Forest Reserve 691,200 +Sierra Forest Reserve 4,096,000 +The Santa Barbara Forest Reserve 1,838,323 +San Bernardino Forest Reserve 737,280 +Timber Land Reserve San Gabriel 555,520 +The San Jacinto Forest Reserve 668,160 +Trabuco Canyon Forest Reserve 109,920 + --------- +Total 8,832,738 + +COLORADO. + +Battle Mesa Forest Reserve 853,000 +Timber Land Reserve, Pike's Peak 184,320 +Timber Land Reserve, Plum Creek 179,200 +The South Platte Forest Reserve 683,520 +The White River Forest Reserve 1,129,920 +The San Isabel Forest Reserve 77,980 + --------- +Total 3,107,940 + +IDAHO. + +The Bitter Root Forest Reserve (see note) 3,456,000 +The Priest River Forest Reserve (see note) 541,160 +The Pocatello Forest Reserve 49,920 + --------- +Total 4,047,080 + +MONTANA. + +The Yellowstone Forest Reserve (see note) 1,311,600 +The Bitter Root Forest Reserve (see note) 691,200 +The Gallatin Forest Reserve 40,320 +The Lewis and Clark Forest Reserve 4,670,720 +The Madison Forest Reserve 736,000 +The Little Belt Mountains Forest Reserve 501,000 +The Highwood Mountains Reserve 45,080 + --------- +Total 7,995,920 + +NEBRASKA. Acres. + +The Niobrara Forest Reserve 123,779 +The Dismal River Forest Reserve 85,123 + --------- +Total 208,902 + +NEW MEXICO. + +The Gila River Forest Reserve 2,327,040 +The Pecos River Forest Reserve 430,880 +The Lincoln Forest Reserve 500,000 + --------- +Total 3,257,920 + +OKLAHOMA TERRITORY. + +Wichita Forest Reserve 57,120 + +OREGON. + +Timber Land Reserve, Bull Run 142,080 +Cascade Range Forest Reserve 4,424,440 +Ashland Forest Reserve 18,560 + --------- +Total 4,585,080 + +SOUTH DAKOTA. + +The Black Hills Forest Reserve (see note) 1,165,240 + +UTAH. + +The Fish Lake Forest Reserve 67,840 +The Uintah Forest Reserve 875,520 +The Payson Forest Reserve 111,600 +The Logan Forest Reserve 182,080 +The Manti Forest Reserve 584,640 +The Aquarius Forest Reserve 639,000 + --------- +Total 2,460,680 + +WASHINGTON. + +The Priest River Forest Reserve (see note) 103,960 +The Mount Rainier Forest Reserve 2,027,520 +The Olympic Forest Reserve 1,466,880 +The Washington Forest Reserve 3,426,400 + --------- +Total 7,024,760 + +WYOMING. Acres. + +The Yellowstone Forest Reserve (see note) 7,017,600 +The Black Hills Forest Reserve (see note) 46,440 +The Big Horn Forest Reserve 1,216,960 +The Medicine Bow Forest Reserve 420,584 + ---------- +Total 8,701,584 + ---------- +Grand Total 63,095,254 + + +NOTE. + +Total of Bitter Root, in Idaho and Montana 4,147,200 +Total of Priest River, in Idaho and Washington 645,120 +Total of Black Hills, in S. Dakota and Wyoming 1,211,680 +Total of Yellowstone, in Wyoming and Montana 8,329,200 + + +_United States Military Wood and Timber Reservations_ + +Kansas-- Acres. + Fort Leavenworth 939 + +Montana-- + Fort Missoula 1,677 + +Nebraska-- + Fort Robinson 10,240 + +New Mexico-- + Fort Wingate 19,200 + +New York-- + Wooded Area of West Point Mil. Res., about 1,800 + +Oklahoma-- + Fort Sill 26,880 + +South Dakota-- + Fort Meade 5,280 + +Wyoming-- + Fort D.A. Russell 2,541 + ------ +Total 68,557 + + +_National Parks in the United States_ + +Montana and Wyoming-- Acres. + Yellowstone National Park 2,142,720 + +Arkansas-- + Hot Springs Reserve and National Park 912 + +District of Columbia-- + The National Zoological Park 170 + Rock Creek Park 1,606 + +Georgia and Tennessee-- + Chickamauga & Chattanooga Nat. Mil. Parks 6,195 + +Maryland-- + Antietam Battlefield and Nat. Mil. Park 43 + +California-- + Sequoia National Park 160,000 + General Grant National Park 2,560 + Yosemite National Park 967,680 + +Arizona-- + The Casa Grande Ruin (Exec. Order) 480 + +Tennessee-- + Shiloh National Military Park 3,000 + +Pennsylvania-- + Gettysburg National Military Park 877 + +Mississippi-- + Vicksburg National Military Park 1,233 + +Washington-- + The Mount Rainier National Park 207,360 + +Oregon-- + Crater Lake 159,360 + +Indian Territory-- + Sulphur Reservation and National Park 629 + +South Dakota-- + Wind Cave ........ + + ---------- + Total 3,654,825 + + +Forest Reserves of North America + +_State Parks, State Forest Reserves and Preserves, +State Forest Stations, and State Forest +Tracts in the United States_ + +CALIFORNIA. Acres. + +Yosemite Valley State Park 36,000 +The Big Basin Redwood Park, about 2,300 +Santa Monica Forest Station 20 +Chico Forest Station 29 +Mt. Hamilton Tract 2,500 + +KANSAS. + +Ogallah Forestry Station 160 +Dodge Forestry Station 160 + +MASSACHUSETTS. + +Blue Hills Reservation 4,858 +Beaver Brook Reservation 53 +Middlesex Fells Reservation 3,028 +Stony Brook Reservation 464 +Hemlock Gorge Reservation 23 +Hart's Hill Reservation 23 +Wachusett Mountain Reservation 1,380 +Greylock Reservation 3,724 +Goodwill Park 70 +Rocky Narrows 21 +Mount Anne Park 50 +Monument Mountain Reservation 260 + +MICHIGAN. + +Mackinac Island State Park 103 +Michigan Forest Reserve 57,000 + +MINNESOTA. + +Minnehaha Falls State Park, + or Minnesota State Park 51 +Itasca State Park 20,000 +St. Croix State Park, + or the Interstate Park at + the Dalles of the St. Croix 500 + +NEW YORK. Acres. + +The State Reservation at Niagara, or Niagara +Falls Park. (Area of Queen Victoria Niagara +Falls Park in Canada--730 Acres) 107 +Adirondack Forest Preserve 1,163,414 +Catskill Forest Preserve 82,330 +The St. Lawrence Reservation, + or International Park 181 + +PENNSYLVANIA. + +Twenty Reserves scattered 211,776 +The Hopkins Reserve 62,000 +Pike County Reservation 23,000 +McElhattan Reservation 8,000 + +WASHINGTON. + +Sanitarium Lake Reservation 193 + +WISCONSIN. + +The Interstate Park of the Dalles of the St. Croix + 600 + +WYOMING. + +The Big Horn Springs Reservation 640 + +Total 1,685,023 + + +_Canadian National Parks and Timber Reserves_ + +The Dominion of Canada has established a large +number of public parks and forests reserves, of which +a list has been very kindly furnished by the Dominion +Secretary of the Interior, as follows: + +BRITISH COLUMBIA. Acres. + +Long Lake Timber Reserve 76,800 +Yoho Park (a part of Rocky Mt. Park of Can) ....... +Glacier Forest Park 18,720 + +NORTHWEST TERRITORY. Acres. + +Rocky Mountain Park of Canada 2,880,000 +Foot Hills Timber Reserve 2,350,000 +Waterton Lakes Forest Park 34,000 +Cooking Lakes Timber Reserve 109,000 +Moose Mountain Timber Reserve 103,000 +Beaver Hills Timber Reserve 170,000 + +MANITOBA. + +Turtle Mountain Timber Reserve 75,000 +Spruce Woods Timber Reserve 190,000 +Riding Mountain Timber Reserve 1,215,000 +Duck Mountain Timber Reserve 840,000 +Lake Manitoba West Timber Reserve 159,460 + +ONTARIO. + +Algonquin Park 1,109,383 +Eastern Reserve 80,000 +Sibley Reserve 45,000 +Temagami Reserve 3,774,000 +Rondeau Park ........ +Missisaga Reserve 1,920,000 + +QUEBEC. + +Laurentides National Park 1,619,840 + ----------- +Total 16,769,203 + + +Besides these, there are two or three other reservations in Quebec and +New Brunswick and Manitoba that have not as yet been finally reserved, +but which are in contemplation. Many of the timber reserves are still to +be cut over under license. On the other hand, many of them find their +chief function as game preserves, as do also to still greater extent the +national parks. A large number of these parks and timber reserves are +clothed with beautiful and valuable forests, as yet untouched by the ax. + + + + +APPENDIX + +In order to be in a position to make intelligent recommendations, in +case legislation authorizing the setting aside of game refuges should be +had, the Boone and Crockett Club, in the year 1901, made some inquiry +into the game conditions on certain of the forest reservations and as to +the suitability as game refuges of these reserves. + +Among the reports was one on the Black Mesa Forest Reserve. Mr. Nelson +is a trained naturalist and hunter of wide experience, and possesses the +highest qualifications for investigating such a subject. He is, besides, +very familiar with the reservation reported on. His report is printed +here as giving precisely the information needed by any one who may have +occasion to deal with a forest reserve from this viewpoint, and it may +well serve as a model for others who may have occasion to report on the +reserves. The report was made to the Executive Committee of the Boone +and Crockett Club through the editor of this volume, and was printed in +_Forest and Stream_ about two years ago. It follows: + + + + +Forest Reserves as Game Preserves + + +THE BLACK MESA FOREST RESERVE OF ARIZONA +AND ITS AVAILABILITY AS A GAME PRESERVE. + +The Black Mesa Forest Reserve lies in central-eastern Arizona, and +contains 1,658,880 acres, is about 180 miles long in a northwesterly and +southeasterly direction and a direct continuation southeasterly from the +San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve. On the north it contains a part +of the Mogollon Mesa, which is covered with a magnificent open forest of +Arizona yellow pine (_Pinus ponderosa_) in which there is an +abundance of bunch grass and here and there are beautiful grassy +parks. To the southeast the reserve covers a large part of the White +Mountains, one of the largest areas of generally high elevation in +Arizona. The yellow pine forest, similar in character to that on the +Mogollon Mesa, is found over a large part of the reserve between 7,000 +and 8,500 feet altitude, and its general character is shown in the +accompanying view. + +The Black Mesa Reserve is irregular in outline. The large compact areas +at each end are joined by a long, narrow strip, very irregular in +outline and less than a township broad at various points. It lies along +the southern border of the Great Colorado Plateau, and covers the +southern and western borders of the basin of the Little Colorado +River. Taken as a whole, this reserve includes some of the wildest and +most attractive mountain scenery in the West. + +Owing to the wide separation of the two main areas of the reserve, and +certain differences in physical character, they will be described +separately, beginning with the northwestern and middle areas, which are +similar in character. + + + +THE NORTHWESTERN SECTION OP THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + +With the exception of an area in the extreme western part, which drains +into the Rio Verde, practically all of this portion of the reserve lies +along the upper border of the basin of the Little Colorado. It is a +continuation of the general easy slope which begins about 5,000 feet on +the river and extends back so gradually at first that it is frequently +almost imperceptible, but by degrees becomes more rolling and steeper +until the summit is reached at an altitude of from 6,000 to 9,000 +feet. The reserve occupies the upper portion of this slope, which has +more the form of a mountainous plateau country, scored by deep and +rugged canyons, than of a typical mountain range. From the summit of +this elevated divide, with the exception of the district draining into +the Rio Verde, the southern and western slope drops away abruptly +several thousand feet into Tonto Creek Basin. The top of the huge +escarpment thus formed faces south and west, and is known as the rim of +Tonto Basin, or, locally, "The Rim." From the summit of this gigantic +rocky declivity is obtained an inspiring view of the south, where range +after range of mountains lie spread out to the distant horizon. + +The rolling plateau country sloping toward the Little Colorado is +heavily scored with deep box canyons often hundreds of feet deep and +frequently inaccessible for long distances. Most of the permanent +surface water is found in these canyons, and the general drainage is +through them down to the lower plains bordering the river. The greater +part of this portion of the reserve is covered with yellow pine forests, +below which is a belt, varying greatly in width, of pinons, cedars and +junipers, interspersed with a more or less abundant growth of gramma +grass. This belt of scrubby conifers contains many open grassy areas, +and nearer the river gives way to continuous broad grassy +plains. Nowhere in this district, either among the yellow pines or in +the lower country, is there much surface water, and a large share of the +best watering places are occupied by sheep owners. + +The wild and rugged slopes of Tonto Basin, with their southerly +exposure, have a more arid character than the area just described. On +these slopes yellow pines soon give way to pinons, cedars and junipers, +and many scrubby oaks and various species of hardy bushes. The watering +places are scarce until the bottom of the basin is approached. Tonto +Basin and its slopes are also occupied by numerous sheep herds, +especially in winter. + +There are several small settlements of farmers, sheep and cattle growers +within the limits of the narrow strip connecting the larger parts of the +reserve, notably Show Low, Pinetop and Linden. The wagon road from +Holbrook, on the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad, to the military post at Camp +Apache, on the White Mountain Indian Reservation, passes through this +strip by way of Show Low. The old trails through Sunset Pass to Camp +Verde and across "The Rim" into Tonto Basin traverse the northern part +of the reserve, and are used by stockmen and others at short intervals, +except in midwinter. + +The climate of this section of the reserve is rather arid in summer, the +rainfall being much more uncertain than in the more elevated areas about +the San Francisco Mountains to the northwest and the White Mountains to +the southeast. The summers are usually hot and dry, the temperature +being modified, however, by the altitude. Rains sometimes occur during +July and August, but are more common in the autumn, when they are often +followed by abundant snowfall. During some seasons snow falls to a depth +of three or more feet on a level in the yellow pine forests, and remains +until spring. During other seasons, however, the snowfall is +insignificant, and much of the ground remains bare during the winter, +especially on southern exposures. As a matter of course, the lower slope +of the pinon belt and the grassy plains of the Little Colorado, both of +which lie outside of the reserve, have less and less snow, according to +the altitude, and it never remains for any very considerable time. On +the southern exposure, facing Tonto Basin, the snow is still less +permanent. The winter in the yellow pine belt extends from November to +April. + + + +LARGE GAME IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + + +Black-tailed deer, antelope, black and silver tipped bears and mountain +lions are the larger game animals which frequent the yellow pine forests +in summer. Wild turkeys are also common. + +The black-tailed deer are still common and generally distributed. In +winter the heavy snow drives them to a lower range in the pinon belt +toward the Little Colorado and also down the slope of Tonto Basin, both +of these areas lying outside the reserve. The Arizona white-tailed deer +is resident throughout the year in comparatively small numbers on the +brushy slopes of Tonto Basin, and sometimes strays up in summer into the +border of the pine forest. Antelope were once plentiful on the plains +of the Little Colorado, and in summer ranged through the open yellow +pine forest now included in the reserve. They still occur, in very +limited numbers, in this forest during the summer, and at the first +snowfall descend to the lower border of the pinon belt and adjacent +grassy plains. Both species of bears occur throughout the pine forests +in summer, often following sheep herds. As winter approaches and the +sheep are moved out of the higher ranges, many of the bears go over "The +Rim" to the slopes of Tonto Basin, where they find acorns, juniper +berries and other food, until cold weather causes them to hibernate. +The mountain lions are always most numerous on the rugged slopes of +Tonto Basin, especially during winter, when sheep and game have left the +elevated forest. + +From the foregoing notes it is apparent that the northwestern and middle +portions of the Black Mesa Reserve are without proper winter range for +game within its limits, and that the conditions are otherwise +unfavorable for their use as game preserves. + + + +THE SOUTHEASTERN SECTION OF THE BLACK MESA RESERVE. + + +The southeastern portion of the reserve remains to be considered. The +map shows this to be a rectangular area, about thirty by fifty miles in +extent, lying between the White Mountain Indian Reservation and the +western border of New Mexico, and covering the adjacent parts of Apache +and Graham counties. It includes the eastern part of the White +Mountains, which culminate in Ord and Thomas peaks, rising respectively +to 10,266 feet and to 11,496 feet, on the White Mountain Indian +Reservation, just off the western border of the Forest Reserve. This +section of the reserve is strikingly more varied in physical conditions +than the northern portion, as will be shown by the following +description: + +The northwestern part of this section, next to the peaks just mentioned, +is an elevated mountainous plateau country forming the watershed between +the extreme headwaters of the Little Colorado on the north and the Black +and San Francisco rivers, tributaries of the Gila, on the south. The +divide between the heads of these streams is so low that in the midst of +the undulating country, where they rise, it is often difficult to +determine at first sight to which drainage some of the small tributaries +belong. This district is largely of volcanic formation, and beds of lava +cover large tracts, usually overlaid with soil, on which the forest +flourishes. + +The entire northern side of this section is bordered by the sloping +grassy plains of the Little Colorado, which at their upper border have +an elevation of 6,500 to 7,500 feet, and are covered here and there with +pinons, cedars and junipers, especially along the sides of the canyons +and similar slopes. At the upper border of this belt the general slope +becomes abruptly mountainous, and rises to 8,000 or 8,500 feet to a +broad bench-like summit, from which extends back the elevated plateau +country already mentioned. This outer slope of the plateau is covered +with a fine belt of yellow pine forests, similar in character to that +found in the northern part of the reserve. Owing to the more abrupt +character of the northerly slope of this belt, and its greater humidity, +the forest is more varied by firs and aspens, especially along the +canyons, than is the case further north. Here and there along the upper +tributaries of the Little Colorado, small valleys open out, which are +frequently wooded and contain beautiful mountain parks. + +The summit of the elevated plateau country about the headwaters of the +Little Colorado and Black rivers (which is known locally as the "Big +Mesa"), is an extended area of rolling grassy plain, entirely surrounded +by forests and varied irregularly by wooded ridges and points of +timber. This open plain extends in a long sweep from a point a few miles +south of Springerville westward for about fifteen miles along the top of +the divide to the bases of Ord and Thomas peaks. These elevated plains +are separated from those of the Little Colorado to the north by the belt +of forests already described as covering the abrupt northern wall of the +plateau. On the other sides of the "Big Mesa" an unbroken forest +extends away over the undulating mountainous country as far as the eye +can reach. The northerly slopes of the higher elevations in this section +are covered with spruce forest. + +The most varied and beautiful part of the entire Black Mesa Reserve lies +in the country extending southeasterly from Ord and Thomas peaks and +immediately south of the "Big Mesa." This is the extreme upper part of +the basin of Black River, which is formed by numerous little streams +rising from springs and wet meadows at an elevation of from 8,500 to +9,500 feet. The little meadows form attractive grassy openings in the +forest, covered in summer with a multitude of wild flowers and +surrounded by the varied foliage of different trees and shrubs. The +little streams flow down gently sloping courses, which gradually deepen +to form shallow side canyons leading into the main river. Black River is +a clear, sparkling trout stream at the bottom of a deep, rugged box +canyon, cut through a lava bed and forming a series of wildly picturesque +views. The sides of Black River Canyon and its small tributaries are well +forested. On the cool northerly slope the forest is made up of a heavy +growth of pines, firs, aspens and alder bushes, which give way on the +southerly slope, where the full force of the sun is felt, to a thin +growth of pines, grass and a little underbrush. + +At the head of Black River, between 8,000 and 9,000 feet, there are many +nearly level or gently sloping areas, sometimes of considerable extent. +These are covered with open yellow pine forests, with many white-barked +aspens scattered here and there, and an abundance of grasses and low +bushes. This was once a favorite summer country for elk, and I have +seen there many bushes and small saplings which had been twisted and +barked by bull elk while rubbing the velvet from their horns. + +Immediately south and east of Black River lies the Prieto Plateau, a +well wooded mountain mass rising steeply from Black River Canyon to a +broad summit about 9,000 feet in altitude. The northerly slopes of this +plateau, facing the river, are heavily forested with pines, firs, aspens +and brushy undergrowth, and are good elk country. The summit is cold and +damp, with areas of spruce thickets and attractive wet meadows scattered +here and there. Beyond the summit of the plateau, to the south and east, +the country descends abruptly several thousand feet, in a series of +rocky declivities and sharp spur-like ridges, to the canyon of Blue +River, a tributary of the San Francisco River. This slope, near the +summit, is overgrown with firs, aspens and pines, which give way as the +descent is made, to pinons, cedar and scrubby oak trees and a more or +less abundant growth of chaparral. Small streams and springs are found +in the larger canyons on this slope, while far below, at an altitude of +about 5,000 feet, lies Blue River. + +The country at the extreme head of Blue River forms a great mountain +amphitheater, with one side so near the upper course of Black River that +one can traverse the distance between the basins of the two streams in a +short ride. The descent into the drainage of Blue River is very abrupt, +and is known locally as the "breaks" of Blue River. The scenery of these +breaks nearly, if not quite, equals that on "The Rim" of Tonto Basin in +its wild magnificence. The vegetation on the breaks shows at a glance +the milder character of the climate, as compared with that of the more +elevated area about the head of Black River. In the midst of the +shrubbery growth on the breaks there is a fine growth of nutritious +grasses, which forms excellent winter forage. + +The entire southern part of the reserve lying beyond the Prieto Plateau +is an excessively broken mountainous country, with abrupt changes in +altitude from the hot canyons, where cottonwoods flourish, to the high +ridges, where pines and firs abound. + +The northeastern part of the section of the reserve under consideration +is cut off from the rest by the valley of Nutrioso Creek, a tributary of +the Little Colorado, and by the headwaters of the San Francisco +River. It is a limited district, mainly occupied by Escudilla Mountain, +rising to 10,691 feet, and its foothills. Escudilla Mountain slopes +abruptly to a long truncated summit, and is heavily forested from base +to summit by pines, aspens and spruces. On the south the foothills merge +into the generally mountainous area. On the north, at an altitude of +about 8,000 feet, they merge into the plains of the Little Colorado, +varied by grassy prairies and irregular belts of pinon timber. + +The upper parts of the Little Colorado and Black Rivers, above 7,500 +feet, are clear and cold, and well stocked with a native species of +small brook trout. + +Owing to the generally elevated character of the southeastern section of +the Black Mesa Reserve, containing three mountain peaks rising above +10,000 feet, the annual precipitation is decidedly greater than +elsewhere on the reserve. The summer rains are irregular in character, +being abundant in some seasons and very scanty in others; but there is +always enough rainfall about the extreme head of Black River to make +grass, although there is always much hot, dry weather between May and +October. The fall and winter storms are more certain than those of +summer, and the parts of the reserve lying above 8,000 feet are usually +buried in snow before spring--frequently with several feet of snow on a +level. The amount of snow increases steadily with increase of +altitude. Some of the winter storms are severe, and on one occasion, +while living at an altitude of 7,500 feet, I witnessed a storm during +which snow fell continuously for nearly two days. The weather was +perfectly calm at the time, and after the first day the pine trees +became so loaded that an almost continual succession of reports were +heard from the breaking of large branches. At the close of the storm +there was a measured depth of 26 inches of snow on a level at an +altitude of 7,500 feet. A thousand feet lower, on the plains of the +Little Colorado, a few miles to the north, only a foot of snow fell, +while at higher altitudes the amount was much greater than that +measured. + +The summer temperatures are never excessive in this section, and the +winters are mild, although at times reaching from 15 to 20 degrees below +zero. Above 7,500 feet, except on sheltered south slopes, snow +ordinarily remains on the ground from four to five months in sufficient +quantity to practically close this area from winter grazing. Cattle, and +the antelope which once frequented the "Big Mesa" in considerable +numbers, appeared to have premonitions of the coming of the first snow +in fall. On one occasion, while stopping at a ranch on the plains of the +Little Colorado, just below the border of the Big Mesa country, in +November, I was surprised to see hundreds of cattle in an almost endless +line coming down from the Mesa, intermingled with occasional bands of +antelope. They were following one of the main trails leading from the +mountain out on the plains of the Little Colorado. Although the sun was +shining at the time, there was a slight haziness in the atmosphere, and +the ranchmen assured me that this movement of the stock always foretold +the approach of a snowstorm. The following morning the plains around the +ranch where I was stopping were covered with six inches of snow, while +over a foot of snow covered the mountains. Bands of half-wild horses +ranging on the Big Mesa show more indifference to snow, as they can dig +down to the grass; but the depth of snow sometimes increases so rapidly +that the horses become "yarded," and their owners have much difficulty +in extricating them. + +The southerly slopes leading down from the divide to the lower altitudes +along the Black River and the breaks of the Blue, are sheltered from the +cold northerly winds of the Little Colorado Valley, while the greater +natural warmth of the situation aids in preventing any serious +accumulation of snow. As a result, this entire portion of the reserve +forms an ideal winter game range, with an abundance of grass and edible +bushes. The varied character of the country about the head of Black +River makes it an equally favorable summer range for game, and that this +conjunction of summer and winter ranges is appreciated by the game +animals is shown by the fact that this district is probably the best +game country in all Arizona. + + + +LARGE GAME IN THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF TUB BLACK MESA RESERVE. + +The large game found in this section of the reserve includes the elk, +black-tailed deer, Arizona white-tailed deer, black and silver-tipped +bears, mountain lions and wildcats, timber wolves and coyotes. + +Elk were formerly found over most of the pine and fir forested parts of +this section of the reserve, but were already becoming rather scarce in +1885, and, although they were still found there in 1897, it is now a +question whether any survive or not. If they still survive, they are +restricted to a limited area about the head of Black River from Ord Peak +to the Prieto Plateau. Black-tailed deer are still common, and their +summer range extends more or less generally over all of the forested +part of this section above 7,500 feet. In winter only a few stray +individuals remain within the reserve on the Little Colorado side, but a +number range out into the pinon country on the plains of the Little +Colorado. The country about the head of Black River is a favorite summer +range of this deer, but in winter they gradually retreat before the +heavy snowfalls to the sheltered canyons along Black River and the breaks +of the Blue. In September and October the old males keep by themselves +in parties of from four to ten and range through the glades of the +yellow pine forest. + +The Arizona white-tailed deer is not found on the part of the reserve +drained by the Little Colorado River, but is abundant in the basin of +Blue River, and ranges in summer up into the lower part of the yellow +pine forest along Black River. They retreat before the early snows to +the breaks of the Blue, where they are very numerous. During hunting +trips into their haunts in October and November, I have several times +seen herds of these deer numbering from thirty to forty, both before and +after the first snowfall. Antelope formerly ranged up in summer from the +plains of the Little Colorado over the grassy Big Mesa country and +through the surrounding open pine forest, retreating to the plains in +the autumn, but they are now nearly or quite exterminated in that +section. Bears of both species wander irregularly over most of the +reserve in summer, but are most numerous on the breaks of the Blue and +about the head of Black River. In autumn, previous to their hibernation, +they descend along the canyon of the Black River and among the breaks of +the Blue, where acorns and other food is abundant. + +Mountain lions also wander over all parts of the reserve, but are common +only in the rough country along the Blue. Wildcats are rather common and +widely distributed, but are far more numerous on the Black and the Blue +rivers. Timber wolves were once rather common, but are now nearly +extinct, owing to their persecution by owners of sheep and +cattle. Coyotes occur in this district occasionally in summer. Wild +turkeys are found more or less generally throughout this section of the +reserve, retreating in winter to the warmer country along the breaks of +the Blue and the canyon of Black River, where they sometimes gather in +very large flocks. + + + +NOTES ON SETTLEMENTS, ROADS AND OTHER MATTERS. + +The greater part of this section of the Black Mesa Reserve is unsettled, +but the northeastern corner, along Nutrioso Creek and the head of San +Francisco River, is traversed by a wagon road leading to +Springerville. Within the limits of the reservation on this road are two +small farming villages of Nutriose and Alpine. The owners of the small +farms along the valleys of these streams also raise a limited number of +cattle and horses on the surrounding hills. A few claims are also held +at scattered points along the extreme northern edge of the reserve +between Springerville and Nutrioso. Between 1883 and 1895 several herds +of cattle were grazed on the head of Black River, and ranged in winter +down on the breaks of the Blue and the canyons of Black River; but I +understand that these ranges have since been abandoned by the cattle +men. For some years the sheep men have grazed their flocks in summer +over the Big Mesa country and through the surrounding open forest. In +addition to the damage done by the grazing of the sheep, the +carelessness of the herders in starting forest fires has resulted in +some destruction to the timber. Fortunately, the permanent settlers on +this section of the reserve are located in the northeastern corner, +which is the least suitable portion of the tract for game. In addition +to the wagon road from Springerville to Nutrioso another road has been +made from Springerville south across the Big Mesa to the head of Black +River. Trails run from Nutrioso and Springerville to the head of Blue +River and down it to the copper mining town of Clifton, but are little +used. At various times scattered settlers have located along the Blue, +and cultivated small garden patches. The first of these settlers were +killed by the Apaches, and I am unable to say whether these farms are +now occupied or not. In any case, the conditions along the tipper Blue +are entirely unsuited for successful farming. + +Perhaps the most serious menace to the successful preservation of game +on this tract is its proximity to the White Mountain Indian +Reservation. This reservation not only takes in some of the finest game +country immediately bordering the timber reserve, including Ord and +Thomas peaks, but is often visited by hunting parties of Indians. + +During spring and early summer, all of the yellow pine and fir country +in this section is subjected to a plague of tabano flies, which are +about the size of large horse-flies. These flies swarm in great numbers +and attack stock and game so viciously that, as a consequence, the +animals are frequently much reduced in flesh. The Apaches take advantage +of this plague to set fire to the forest and lie in wait for the game, +which has taken shelter in the smoke to rid itself from the flies. In +this way the Indians kill large numbers of breeding deer, and at the +same time destroy considerable areas of forest. While on a visit to this +district in the summer of 1899 Mr. Pinchot saw the smoke of five forest +fires at different places in the mountains, which had been set by +hunting parties of Indians for the purpose. The only method by which not +only the game but the forest along the western side of this reserve can +be successfully protected will be to have the western border of the +forest reserve extended to take in a belt eight to twelve miles wide of +the Indian reservation. This would include Ord and Thomas peaks, and +would serve efficiently to protect the country about the headwaters of +the rivers from these destructive inroads. + +The northern border of this section of the reserve is about one hundred +miles by wagon road from the nearest point on the Santa Fe Pacific +Railroad. Seven miles from its northern border is the town of +Springerville, with a few hundred inhabitants in its vicinity engaged in +farming, cattle and sheep growing. From Springerville north extends the +plains of the Little Colorado to St. Johns, the county seat of Apache +county, containing a few hundred people. To the south and east of the +reserve there are no towns for some distance, except a few small +settlements along the course of the San Francisco River in New Mexico, +which are far removed from the part of the reserve which is most +suitable for game. The fact that deer continue abundant in the district +about the head of Black River, although hunted at all seasons for many +years, and the continuance there of elk for so long, under the same +conditions, is good evidence of the favorable conditions existing in +that section for game. + +_E.W. Nelson_. + + + + +Constitution of the Boone and Crockett Club + +FOUNDED DECEMBER 1887. + +Article I. + +This Club shall be known as the Boone and Crockett Club. + +Article II. + +The objects of the Club shall be: + +1. To promote manly sport with the rifle. + +2. To promote travel and exploration in the wild and unknown, or but +partially known, portions of the country. + +3. To work for the preservation of the large game of this country, and, +so far as possible, to further legislation for that purpose, and to +assist in enforcing the existing laws. + +4. To promote inquiry into, and to record observations on, the habits +and natural history of the various wild animals. + +5. To bring about among the members the interchange of opinions and +ideas on hunting, travel and exploration; on the various kinds of +hunting rifles; on the haunts of game animals, etc. + +Article III. + +No one shall be eligible for regular membership who shall not have +killed with the rifle, in fair chase, by still-hunting or otherwise, at +least one individual of each of three of the various kinds of American +large game. + +Article IV. + +Under the head of American large game are included the following +animals: Black or brown bear, grizzly bear, polar bear, buffalo (bison), +mountain sheep, woodland caribou, barren-ground caribou, cougar, +musk-ox, white goat, elk (wapiti), prong-horn antelope, moose, Virginia +deer, mule deer, and Columbian black-tail deer. + +Article V. + +The term "fair chase" shall not be held to include killing bear or +cougar in traps, nor "fire hunting," nor "crusting" moose, elk or deer +in deep snow, nor "calling" moose, nor killing deer by any other method +than fair stalking or still-hunting, nor killing game from a boat while +it is swimming in the water, nor killing the female or young of any +ruminant, except the female of white goat or of musk-ox. + +Article VI. + +This Club shall consist of not more than one hundred regular members, +and of such associate and honorary members as may be elected by the +Executive Committee. Associate members shall be chosen from those who by +their furtherance of the objects of the Club, or general qualifications, +shall recommend themselves to the Executive Committee. Associate and +honorary members shall be exempt from dues and initiation fees, and +shall not be entitled to vote. + +Article VII. + +The officers of the Club shall be a President, five Vice-Presidents, a +Secretary, and a Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected annually. There +shall also be an Executive Committee, consisting of six members, holding +office for three years, the terms of two of whom shall expire each +year. The President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, shall be +_ex-officio_ members of the Executive Committee. + +Article VIII. + +The Executive Committee shall constitute the Committee on +Admissions. The Committee on Admissions may recommend for regular +membership by unanimous vote of its members present at any meeting, any +person who is qualified under the foregoing articles of this +Constitution. Candidates thus recommended shall be voted on by the Club +at large. Six blackballs shall exclude, and at least one-third of the +members must vote in the affirmative to elect. + +Article IX. + +The entrance fee for regular members shall be twenty-five dollars. The +annual dues of regular members shall be five dollars, and shall be +payable on February 1st of each year. Any member who shall fail to pay +his dues on or before August 1st, following, shall thereupon cease to be +a member of the Club. But the Executive Committee, in their discretion, +shall have power to reinstate such member. + +Article X. + +The use of steel traps; the making of "large bags"; the killing of game +while swimming in water, or helpless in deep snow; and the killing of +the females of any species of ruminant (except the musk-ox or white +goat), shall be deemed offenses. Any member who shall commit such +offenses may be suspended, or expelled from the Club by unanimous vote +of the Executive Committee. + +Article XI. + +The officers of the Club shall be elected for the ensuing year at the +annual meeting. + +Article XII. + +This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members +present at any annual meeting of the Club, provided that notice of the +proposed amendment shall have been mailed, by the Secretary, to each +member of the Club, at least two weeks before said meeting. + + + + +By-Laws Rules of the Committee on Admission + + +1. Candidates must be proposed and seconded in writing by two members of +the Club. + +2. Letters concerning each candidate must be addressed to the Executive +Committee by at least two members, other than the proposer and seconder. + +3. No candidate for regular membership shall be proposed or seconded by +any member of the Committee on Admissions. + +4. No person shall be elected to associate membership who is qualified +for regular membership, but withheld therefrom by reason of there being +no vacancy. + +Additional information as to the admission of members may be found in +Articles III, VI, VIII and IX of the Constitution. + + + + +Former Officers Boone and Crockett Club + +_President_. + +Theodore Roosevelt, 1888-1894. +Benjamin H. Bristow, 1895-1896. +W. Austin Wadsworth, 1897- + +_Vice-Presidents,_ + +Charles Deering, 1897- +Walter B. Devereux, 1897- +Howard Melville Hanna, 1897- +William D. Pickett, 1897- +Frank Thomson, 1897-1900. +Owen Wister, 1900-1902. +Archibald Rogers, 1903- + +_Secretary and Treasurer._ + +Archibald Rogers, 1888-1893. +George Bird Grinnell, 1894-1895. +C. Grant La Farge, 1896-1901. + +_Secretary_. + +Alden Sampson, 1902. +Madison Grant, 1903- + +_Treasurer._ + +C. Grant La Farge, 1902- + +_Executive Committee_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth, 1893-1896. +George Bird Grinnell, 1893. +Winthrop Chanler, 1893-1899, 1904- +Owen Wister, 1893-1896, 1903- +Charles F. Deering, 1893-1896. +Archibald Rogers, 1894-1902. +Lewis Rutherford Morris, 1897- +Henry L. Stimson, 1897-1899. +Madison Grant, 1897-1902. +Gifford Pinchot, 1900-1903. +Caspar Whitney, 1900-1903. +John Rogers, Jr., 1902- +Alden Sampson, 1903- +Arnold Hague, 1904- + +_Editorial Committee_. + +George Bird Grinnell, 1896- +Theodore Roosevelt, 1896- + + + Officers +of the Boone and Crockett Club + 1904 + + +_President_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth Geneseo, N.Y. + + +_Vice-Presidents_. + +Charles Deering Illinois. +Walter B. Devereux Colorado +Howard Melville Hanna Ohio. +William D. Pickett Wyoming. +Archibald Rogers New York. + + +_Secretary_. + +Madison Grant New York City. + + +_Treasurer_. + +C. Grant La Farge New York City. + + +_Executive Committee_. + +W. Austin Wadsworth, _ex-officio_, Chairman, +Madison Grant, _ex-officio_, +C. Grant La Farge, _ex-officio_, +Lewis Rutherford Morris, To serve until 1905. +John Rogers, Jr., +Alden Sampson, To serve until 1906. +Owen Wister, +Arnold Hague, To serve until 1907. +Winthrop Chanler, + + +_Editorial Committee_. + +George Bird Grinnell New York. +Theodore Roosevelt Washington, D.C. + + + + +List of Members +of the Boone and Crockett Club, 1904 + + +Regular Members. + +MAJOR HENRY T. ALLEN, Washington, D.C. +COL. GEORGE S. ANDERSON, Washington, D.C. +JAMES W. APPLETON, New York City. +GEN. THOMAS H. BARBER, New York City. +DANIEL M. BARRINGER, Philadelphia, Pa. +F. S. BILLINGS, Woodstock, Vt. +GEORGE BIRD, New York City. +GEORGE BLEISTEIN, Buffalo, N.Y. +W. J. BOARDMAN, Washington, D.C. +WILLIAM B. BOGERT, Chicago, Ill. +WILLIAM B. BRISTOW, New York City. +ARTHUR ERWIN BROWN, Philadelphia, Pa. +CAPT. WILLARD H. BROWNSON, Washington, D.C. +JOHN LAMBERT CADWALADER, New York City. +ROYAL PHELPS CARROLL, New York City. +WINTHROP CHANLER, New York City. +WILLIAM ASTOR CHANLER, New York City. +CHARLES P. CURTIS, JR., Boston, Mass. +FRANK C. CROCKER, Hill City, S.D. +DR. PAUL J. DASHIELL, Annapolis, Md. +E. W. DAVIS, New York City. +CHARLES STEWART DAVISON, New York City. +CHARLES DEERING, Chicago, Ill. +HORACE K. DEVEREUX, Colorado Springs, Col. +WALTER B. DEVEREUX New York City. +H. CASIMIR DE RHAM, Tuxedo, N.Y. +DR. WILLIAM K. DRAPER, New York City. +J. COLEMAN DRAYTON, New York City. +DR. DANIEL GIRAUD ELLIOT, Chicago, I11. +MAJOR ROBERT TEMPLE EMMET, Schenectady, N.Y. +MAXWELL EVARTS, New York City. +ROBERT MUNRO FERGUSON, New York City. +JOHN G. FOLLANSBEE, New York City. +JAMES T. GARDINER, New York City. +JOHN STERETT GITTINGS, Baltimore, Md. +GEORGE H. GOULD, Santa Barbara, Cal. +MADISON GRANT, New York City. +DE FOREST GRANT, New York City. +GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL, New York City. +WILLIAM MILNE GRINNELL, New York City. +ARNOLD HAGUE, Washington, D.C. +HOWARD MELVILLE HANNA, Cleveland, Ohio. +JAMES HATHAWAY KIDDER, Boston, Mass. +DR. WALTER B. JAMES, New York City. +C. GRANT LA FARGE, New York City. +DR. ALEXANDER LAMBERT, New York City. +COL. OSMUN LATROBE, New York City. +GEORGE H. LYMAN, Boston, Mass. +FRANK LYMAN, Brooklyn, N.Y. +CHARLES B. MACDONALD, New York City. +HENRY MAY, Washington, D.C. +DR. JOHN K. MITCHELL, Philadelphia, Pa. +PIERPONT MORGAN, JR., New York City. +CHESTON MORRIS, JR., Springhouse, Pa. +DR. LEWIS RUTHERFORD MORRIS, New York City. +HENRY NORCROSS MUNN, New York City. +LYMAN NICHOLS, Boston, Mass. +THOMAS PATON, New York City. +HON. BOIES PENROSE, Washington, D.C. +DR. CHARLES B. PENROSE, Philadelphia, Pa. +R. A. F. PENROSE, JR., Philadelphia, Pa. +COL. WILLIAM D. PICKETT, Four Bear, Wyo. +HENRY CLAY PIERCE, New York City. +JOHN JAY PIERREPONT, Brooklyn, N.Y. +GIFFORD PINCHOT, Washington, D.C. +JOHN HILL PRENTICE, New York City. +HENRY S. PRITCHETT, Boston, Mass. +A. PHIMISTER PROCTOR, New York City. +PERCY RIVINGTON PYNE, New York City. +BENJAMIN W. RICHARDS, Philadelphia, Pa. +DOUGLAS ROBINSON, New York City. +ARCHIBALD ROGERS, Hyde Park, N.Y. +DR. JOHN ROGERS, JR., New York City. +HON. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Washington, D.C. +HON. ELIHU ROOT, New York City. +BRONSON RUMSEY, Buffalo, N.Y. +LAWRENCE D. RUMSEY, Buffalo, N.Y. +ALDEN SAMPSON, Haverford, Pa. +HON. WILLIAM CARY SANGER, Sangerfield, N.Y. +PHILIP SCHUYLER, Irvington, N.Y. +M. G. SECKENDORFF, Washington, D.C. +DR. J. L. SEWARD, Orange, N.J. +DR. A. DONALDSON SMITH, Philadelphia, Pa. +DR. WILLIAM LORD SMITH, Boston, Mass. +E. LE ROY STEWART, New York City. +HENRY L. STIMSON, New York City. +HON. BELLAMY STORER, Washington, D.C. +RUTHERFORD STUYVESANT, New York City. +LEWIS S. THOMPSON, Red Bank, N.J. +B. C. TILGHMAN, JR., Philadelphia, Pa. +HON. W. K. TOWNSEND, New Haven, Conn. +MAJOR W. AUSTIN WADSWORTH, Geneseo, N.Y. +SAMUEL D. WARREN, Boston, Mass. +JAMES SIBLEY WATSON, Rochester, N.Y. +CASPAR WHITNEY, New York City. +COL. ROGER D. WILLIAMS, Lexington, Ky. +FREDERIC WINTHROP, New York City. +ROBERT DUDLEY WINTHROP, New York City. +OWEN WISTER, Philadelphia, Pa. +J. WALTER WOOD, JR., Short Hills, N.J. + + +Associate Members. + +HON. TRUXTON BEALE, Washington, D.C. +WILLIAM L. BUCHANAN, Buffalo, N.Y. +D. H. BURNHAM. Chicago, Ill. +EDWARD NORTH BUXTON, Knighton, Essex, Eng. +MAJ. F. A. EDWARDS, U.S. Embassy, Rome, Italy. +A. P. GORDON-GUMMING, Washington, D.C. +BRIG.-GEN. A. W. GREELY, Washington, D.C. +MAJOR MOSES HARRIS, Washington, D.C. +HON. JOHN F. LACEY, Washington, D.C. +HON. HENRY CABOT LODGE, Washington, D.C. +A. P. LOW, Ottawa, Canada. +PROF. JOHN BACH MACMASTER, Philadelphia, Pa. +DR. C. HART MERRIAM, Washington, D.C. +HON. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, Washington, D.C. +PROF. HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN, New York City. +HON. GEORGE C. PERKINS, Washington, D.C. +MAJOR JOHN PITCHER, Washington, D.C. +HON. REDFIELD PROCTOR, Washington, D.C. +HON. W. WOODVILLE ROCKHILL, Washington, D.C. +JOHN E. ROOSEVELT, New York City. +HON. CARL SCHURZ, New York City. +F. C. SELOUS, Worpleston, Surrey, Eng. +T. S. VAN DYKE, Los Angeles, Cal. +HON. G. G. VEST, Washington, D.C. + + +Regular Members, Deceased. + +ALBERT BIERSTADT, New York City. +HON. BENJAMIN H. BRISTOW, New York City. +H. A. CAREY, Newport, R.I. +COL. RICHARD IRVING DODGE, Washington, D.C. +COL. H. C. McDOWELL, Lexington, Ky. +MAJOR J. C. MERRILL, Washington, D.C. +DR. WILLIAM H. MERRILL, New York City. +JAMES S. NORTON, Chicago, Ill. +WILLIAM HALLETT PHILLIPS, Washington, D.C. +N. P. ROGERS, New York City. +E. P. ROGERS, New York City. +ELLIOTT ROOSEVELT, New York City. +DR. J. WEST ROOSEVELT, New York City. +DEAN SAGE, Albany, N.Y. +HON. CHARLES F. SPRAGUE, Boston, Mass. +FRANK THOMSON, Philadelphia, Pa. +MAJ.-GEN. WILLIAM D. WHIPPLE, New York City. +CHARLES E. WHITEHEAD, New York City. + + +Honorary Members, Deceased. + +JUDGE JOHN DEAN CATON, Ottawa, Ill. +FRANCIS PARKMAN, Boston, Mass. +GEN. WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, New York City. +GEN. PHILIP SHERIDAN, Washington, D.C. + + +Associate Members, Deceased. + +HON. EDWARD F. BEALE, Washington, D.C. +COL. JOHN MASON BROWN, Louisville, Ky. +MAJOR CAMPBELL BROWN, Spring Hill, Ky. +HON. WADE HAMPTON, Columbia, S.C. +MAj.-GEN. W. H. JACKSON, Nashville, Tenn. +CLARENCE KING, New York City. +HON. THOMAS B. REED, New York City. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMERICAN BIG GAME IN ITS HAUNTS*** + + +******* This file should be named 10445.txt or 10445.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/4/10445 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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