The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-14
GAME iNslII YELLOWSTONE.
Buffalo Biz Pi d for he Preservation Of
The f3uffafoes ana.Eiks.


the Buftatoes and.Eiks.
wish to sincerely protest against one
or two measures for the Improvement
of tie Yellowstone Park, which, if
thought losslg carried out, are certain TO
be looked upon in the future as mann
moth mistakes. | refer particularly to
the idea OF supplying the park hotels
with game, which is now rather abund-
ant upon the mountains and in the
Valley of the Yellowstone. The In
dams have always looked upon the
Kissing springs and the strange recesses
of the park with awe, ami never harmed
beast or fowl that sought refuge within
its precincts They entertained similar
superstitions in regard TO the Black
Hills. and no buffaioes or elks were
SLAUGHTERED there until the whites came.
To-day the buffalo and elk have almost
entirely disappeared The buffalo Is
actually thing of the past in great
regions of the West, where, only "a few
Se,g-s since, gigantic herds were met
from day to day. Their slaughter has
been criminally large and useless, and
no hand is raised to stop the utter ex-
tinction which threatens them. Even
their bones have been raked up and
shipped East as new source of profit.
In ten years the new generation will
point to solitary specimens in travelling
menaeeries or geological gardens as
the rare survivors OF the nOblest OF
American wild beasts. 1t is difficult to
estimate the percentage of decrease in
their numbers, but certainly it should
be the duty of some one to check their
wholesale destruction, not on senti-
mental grounds simply, but for more
practical reasons. Forrexample, a large
class of settlers supply their tables with
venison the year round; They kill
when their needs demand it, and are
too conscious of the growing scarcely in
numbers to shoot oftener than is neces-
sary Buffalo meat is the main de-
pendence of many. A hunting expedi-
ton organized for the special purpose
of stretching game on the plains for the
COYOTES to pieR ALTERS niehtfall does not
find favor in the West as it did decade
or SO ago.
For many years past the different
animals have instinetively sought places
of refuge, and one of their safest re-
treats has been Yellowstone Park
Here, at least, they have been safe from
Indian hunters, and, up to the present
time, the whites have allowed them to
continue in comparative peace. Let "A
rifle report awaken the echoes on. the
hills and in the canyons, and the crea-
lures will soon vanish from sight Once
out OF, their stronghold, and upon the
open plains, their chances of escape are
few. For these and many other reasons,
in my opinion, the consideration of
measures for indiscriminate hIllting in
this spot should be deplored. say en-
courage the beasts to Stay so that in
after years. when more are to be found
Elsewhere, they may the interests
OF natural history, as veil Is crafty and
Instruct the curiosity. of ahe young.
They will not be fonnd hostile 90 sciyi-
lizing influences. | have to-day herd
of twentv-one head of buffaloes on my
Nebraska ranch which were captured
wild bat few months since. To-day
they roam about at will, and are fully
as tracfable. as the sscattle with which
they fningle.@ They are. easy TO APP
prbach, and appear remarkably sus-
ceptible to kindness.
By all means let the march of i'm
proyement go on in the region = of the
Yellowstone, but let the gunshot be
prohibited at the outset. Its effect will
be disastrous, and will rob the domains
of a great and noble charm. The park
Is rlcher ana Rrahdef imam any oChe1
natural garden in America. and if its
beauties are to be preserved at all they
should be preserved together Why
not centiIflIe to give the beasts the pro-
lection they have always known here.
and which has been denied them else
wherep And why should we now cease
to respect the Superstition Of great tribes
before MS. sanetioned by the faithful
observance of centuries, and which in.
sured for the splendid beasts of forest
and plain the safest home they even
knew.-W T. Cody (Bafaio BilD an