St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-03-05
BAD LANDS GAME BUroHER1NG
10000 Ell, Mule Deerai,d antelope Butch
cred by Hide Hunters annually.


N. Y. Sun
''When tell you that not less than 10000
elk, antelope, and mule deer are slaughtered
every winter in Minnesota, Montana, and
Wyoming alone,'' said Engineer William
Philips. late of the Northern Pacific railroad,
''you may readily believe that it viii not be
many wears before the race Of three OF the
noblest game animals on the American con-
tinent will be entirely extinct.
EEK, which formerly ranged from the
Middle states to the Pacific, are now never
found east Of the Missouri river. Twenty
five wears ago they were still plenty in Kan
sas and Nebraska, but the rapid advance of
! civilization in those states has driven them
into the dense and as etuninhabited regions
of Minnesota and the northern Territories.
II they were doomed to extinction by the ma
tural progress of civilization, or the effects Of
| legitimate hunting in those regions, they
woald be certain of long life tenure: but
the wholesale slaughter of elk, in all seasons,
that has been going on for the past fifteen
wears, has resulted in so thinning out their
ranks that the sportsman has now to seek the
! game in the most remote parts OF even the
comparatively unfrequented region to which
! they have been driven.
This indiscriminate and organized c.useds
against elk and its kin. the mule Geer and
| antelope, began about 1872, when some Fort
| Benton parties conceived the idea of tIadin e
| in their skins. These men fitted out hum ng
parties, and they spread through the country
| mentioned. The result was so satisfactory
that still larger parties, equipped with the
most approved and destructive weapons
were sent out, and the business has oesn in
creasing ever since.
| Elk travel in herds, and to the legit.m ste
| hunter there is 10 more noble and exciting
sport than elk hunting. When not hindered
by deep snow they make their way with
wonderful ease and rapidity through the
very worst of the bad lands of the region
they inhabit Mounted on feet broncho,
the hunter is frequently led to a chase fer
many miles before he is able to capture his
wary game. The natural gait of the elk is a
graceful swin cling trot, and as long as they
maitain that they never tire. It's one great
! object Of the hunter to follow so closely on
his pony as to break this trot into galiop.
This done. he is almost sure Of his elk for it
! soon tires and .ags. An elk will weigh from
! 300 to 500 pounds, and no member Of the
deer family has such delicate and finely flaw
ored flesh.
The greatest destruction to these game
animals is carried On by the hide hunters
| during the season of deep snow. In April
| the COW elks leave the bulls to themselves
and retire to the thickets and close timber.
have known one single hide hunter to kill in
one month in the snow, and that in the
month of April, thirty-fve COW elks.
This man was one of party of thirteen,
and each one of the others averaged as large
a number Their party killed over $50 COW
| elks, each one of which would have given
birth in a few weeks to calf. The elk
| brings forth its young about the first of June.
| These men were but very small number of
| the hide hunters operating in the region, and
! thousands of elk were slaughtered that
month. After the elk is killed its skin is
| stripped from the body, and the carcass left
| lying in the snow. have seen hundreds of
| dead elk along the Yellowstone. The aver
/ age price of an elk skin is So. The hide
hunters are equipped with repeating rifles,
| and even when the snow does not aid them
| in their butchery, they are able to frequently
| kill from six to twelve elk in herd before it
| gets out of range. The hunters are selected
| from the most worthless and unprincipled
| classes.
''The mule deer, which are also singled
| OUT Dy uneSe niue nunlerS3 range IrOuu IudHO
to Oregon. They are shyer than the elk, and
seek the higher portions of the bad lands.
| Quick of eye and scent, they are the better
able to elude the hunter. The female gives
birth to two young in the latter part OF May.
Hunting the mule deer requires all the skill
and cunning the hunter is able to bring to
his aid. The elk, once fired at or hearing
the sound of gun, will Immediately run,
and once chased will not stop until, they
cross running water, although the run may
be many miles distant. The mule deer,
however, has his regular runs, and may be
hunted in the same locality throughout the
season. Mule deer hides are not as valuable
as elk hides, but the animal is slaughtered
just as unscrupulously. The antelope is be-
ing exterminated in the same manner. Be-
sides the slaughter of the above named ami
mails, know that in the year 1882 more
than %, 900 buffaloes were killed for these
traders between the Yellowstone and the
headwaters of the Little Missouri.
elf the sportsmen of this country have
any desire to enjoy the sport of the great
West in the future, they should move at once
toward obtaining legislation that will give
some protection to game in those States and
Territories. In five years from now, at the
present rate of destruction, there will be
very few elk, buffalo, mule deer, or antelope
| left to hunts