The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-11

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ing q season Of rest; for II i the big game,
with their horns and hides, which constitute
the chief ambition of every hunter, anxious
to have a chance e. them before they are
entirely gone from the face OF the earth
In this spirit Of ambition the expedition Il
COchetopa passed BY multltIdeS 81 small
fry which, under other circumstances, would
have filled the hunters heart with JOY and
hi, bag with the dainti $. Of market de!ica-
cies. Let US, Thereof return - oar mu'-
tnrs The n0'e boo, # this II 1leS. ve1tlr
Contains this summary q the game
Beaver !, mink >, FOX !, wcE !. its-
/ lops l. deer white tails Is. elk 50, bear .. y
Il Will be noticed that three prominent
| Rocky mountain animals are missing from
| the list viz: the mountain slsep, tbs
mountain goat and the mountain lion
| icougarsl. The mountain sheep. or biz
! horn, IS probably the hardest game IN the
| Rockies TO hunt, formerly they existed n
| great numbers and could be seen on the
! bluffs while drifting down the Arkansas
river. aud were 50 tame as 70 stand and
! face tire intruder as he idled past IL his boat,
hut the settlement OF the country has driven
EN- to the tops of fat-headed mountains
aud made them exceedingly tiInid. A band
Of them still inhabit such mountain in tbs
SanGre &c Chris % range, and the daily
sight Of their habitat from the window
where | write presa ,es future trip to their
headquarters. The tradition floats among
the people of the ranches that whel hard
pressed they will dash headlong down a
prscipice, catching on their big horns. One
cannot tell how much truth there is in the
popular legend. At any rate, they are now
as shy as once they were gentle, and to
secure a specimen requires an all-day's
rough climbing, head for scrambling over
glddy precIpices, and quick craftsmanship.
Their meat IS considered the greatest
delicacy around a camp fire.
THE MOUNTAIN GOAT SCARCE.
One can see a mountain goat in any of
the natural history museums, but scarcely
anywhere else, nowadays. Some one has
said that lit Il the most stupid animal that
ever came out of the ark, but anyhow it
has the faculty of making itself scarce on
the tops Of inaccessible peaks, and one can
scramble up such breath-consuming pin
nacle, l4,0OO feet up in the heavens, only to
see the tail Of one, and to see that getting
away at a very lively rate. Having very
natural dis tate to the species, from the free
dom allowed its domesticated brother
In our city parks, no attempt was
made to see one-Or its disappearing
rail. The mountain lion, which has big
name, but co wardly nature frequents the
plains rather than tue mountains, having in
the former place more chance to make its
subtle jump upon the back of young colt
or yearling calf. 1t some times attacks a
man, but not when he is on the lookout, as
one has to be at all times, day and night.
IN this dark, mysterious country. These
three animals were the only notable de-
ficiencies in the list Of game, and not a sign
of any of them was seen in one of the wild
est portions the Rockies.
The beaver is one of the most interesting
of animals TO a denizen of the east. They
used to be trapped by the hundreds by the
old trappers when their skins brought SO
apiece at every trading post on the frontier
but silk having usurped their place in the
commerce OF the world this curious, pouch
tailed animal has had time to recuper-
ate, and is now busy with his old trade of
banking up the snow streams for his fishing
pond. This one was shot by accident,
coming out in the early dawn to inspect
his dam, a vast structure some feet high,
of logs and sand, and extending Is feet in
length across the creek. 1t is imp 0ssible to
believe that their little teeth can cut down
the poplars 5 or 6 inches in circumference,
and then cut then into regular sizes, but
the ocular evidence of trees cut down near
the camp every night, and the pieces which
they had skinned floating down the stream
every day, was irrefragiblo proof of their
nocturnal industry. More specimens could
have been secured by watching the dam,
for always they go into the water and
make their h lies under the banks where
they lay IN wait for the trout as they come
down; but there was no desire in the camp
to slaughter for the sake of killing 80 the busy
dam-bullders were lett alone in their fancied
security. The presence of the beaver brought
out the usual ca mp fire story of one tn 1t
was kept at Bents' Fort. This animal was
caught while young and became perfectly
docle, being great favorite Of the families
at the fort. The little fellow could never
be cured of his instinct TO build dams. He
actually undertook to dam the Arkan.
sas river, and worked flor months
all night long, returning to the
fort every morning as the men arose.
de cut down qui a number of large trees,
but life proved too short for the compile ion
Of his plans. While around the fort be was
constantly turning over every kind of vessel
that contained water, and collecting sticks
to head 1t off as it flowed away One night,
by oversight, he was left in the warehouse,
and turning over a ten-gallon tank of
molasses he met his doom in the sickly
mass. being found in the morning gas ping
for lie. He was tenderly buried in the
presence OF large circle of his former
friends.
THE FISH DESTROYER.
The minks were disposed of as being the
inveterate enemy and destroyer of every
string of fish that was left for a moment
unguarded. They prowled along the banks
OF the creek, when they were not swimming
down 1t with their young in their mouths
and woe to the unlucky fisherm n who left
his mornings catch for moment in the
willows! The wolf. or coyote, as it is more
commonly known in the west, is a denizen
OF the plains more than Of the mountain
nights, as in the latter place he has formid-
able rival in the grizzly for every carcass of
elk or deer. While on the prairies prowl-
ing around the ranches by night and utter
ing his dismal bark on wakeful ears, he has
undisputed rights over every weakli1g cow
and this dry season there are hundreds
perishing on every side that is nearing its
last hour. While the uneartbly barking of
the coyote is heard down on the lowlands
every night, only one was seen and killed
in the mountains during this four weeks
trip.
The antelope, once the feet footed beauty
of the Rocky mountain parks, has now be-
| come exceedingly scarce. If he cannot be
| made to pause-and it is rare nowadays to
have him do SOTO inspect your red ban
dana floating on stick, conf z up to the
hidden huuter out of his sheer curiosity,
then the hunter must have his horse handy
for quick dash and long dash over the
prairie, with every chance of his stumbling
| into prairie dog hole aud coming to IN
timely grief on the sharp point of a cactus
bush, and then to see his band of anrelopeS
disappearing in the dust miles away, when
| he rises from his tnorny bed. Only one
on account of its great rarity is among the
] = IS Il.