, 1885-01-25
WYOMING GAME.
An Account of the Large Game of
the Territory.
The Haunts Of Elk, Deer, Mountain
Sheep and Grizzlies.
The Resort of sportsmen from
England and the East.

Twenty odd years ago the mountains and
valleys and plains Of the region now known
as Wyoming tecmed with animal life. In
deed the region was such a f~avorite resort
for the Indians that several tribes had
long and savage wars for It's possession.
The brave and warlike Sioux, the crafty
Crows, the Shoshones and the Arapahoes
for many years waged almost unceasihg
wars for its exclusive control, while the
daring Nez Perces of the West and the
indominable Comanches Of the South
made yearly excursions to the region for
their winter supplies of buffalo robes and
meat. So long and stubborn were these
savage wars that finally a sort of compro-
mise was made whereby the region became
a mutual hunting ground during certain
seasons, and for a portion Of the year the
hereditary wars were suspended. Many
men are still alive who can remember the
time when immense herds OF buffalo
roamed over the plains of Wyoming, and
although the buffalo have almost disap-
peared the territory is still a fayorite re-
sort for the sportsmen Of two continents.
The march of empire has driven before
it the buffalo, those native cattle of the
plains, while the rolling prairies adjacent
to the North Platte and South Platte
rivers, just across the Eastern boundary of
Wyoming, are no longer the favorite re-
sort for the wonderful herds of antelope
that once made that region their home.
Driven back from the line of continental
traffic the game has retreated to the
mountains and the remote Ilateaus, and
the high valleys of the uplands.
In the Laramie mountains Of the south
east, the Medicine Bow, and Sierra
Madres of the south, the Sweetwater
range of Middle Wyoming, the Wind
river, Teton and Snake river ranges of the
west, the Shoshone mountains Of the
northwest, and the Big Horn mountains
of the north. the game has found safe re-
treats where only the occasional hunter,
the rifle of the cowboy, or parties of for
eign sportsmen modest them at uncertain
intervals. Along the upper waters of the
streams and on the mountain plateaus the
deer and antelope have made their homes;
back in the mountains the elk, king Of
western game, toss their monster antlers
in safe retreats; in the glens the grizzly
bear and the mountain lion have their
lairs, and high on perilous crags the
mountain sheep, the wariest of them all,
has almost inaccessible seclusion.
During the seasons when game may be
killed. the markets of Cheyenne have for
sale elk, venison, antelope, bear,
mountain sheep, grouse, ducks,
rabbits and other game killed in Wyom-
ing. The game laws are rigid, however,
and the seasons are short when it is law
full to kill game for any purpose except
the Individual use Of the hunter.
But little game is killed by the people
of Wyoming. The centers Of population
are more or less distant from the haunts of
game, and as the territory is not an agri-
cultural one the distribution Of ranches
is such that but few men can devote any
considerable time 10 hunting.
Parties of tenderfoot hunters. consist
ing usually Of Englishmen. visit Wyom-
ing nearly every summer and wantonly
kill elk and deer for their horns, or for
the doubtful eclat attending the narration
of their adventures and prowess while in
the west. These alleged hunters have en-
countered the opposition of Legislation
and the personal dislike of the plainsmen.
and their exploits will doubtless be more
legitimate in the future.
Elk are found in nearly all of the
mountains of Wyoming. They run in
bands or herds varying in number from
half a dozen to several hundred. They
are hunted in the fall and winter and are
comparatively easy to kill. Care must be
used in approaching them, however, and
the inexperienced hunter will just catch a
glimpse of spreading antlers and a ieeting
shadow of their forms as they disappear
in the woods The dexterity these ami
mails display in engineering their horns
among a labyrinth of trees is truly mar
velous- After the novice has failed for
the twentieth time to creep upon a band
of elk he will begin to have some appreci-
alton Of the hunters woodcrah and will
then be more successful in his efforts.
Both the black-taiied or mule deer and
the smaller white-talled deer are found IN
Wyoming These are invariably still