The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-11
THE GAME OF COLORADO.
A STATE THAT WAS ONCE THE
SPORrSMAN'S PARADISE.

How the Bufaloes Were Exterminated.
Killed For Their Tongues and Hides,
Other Big Game of the Silver Pro.
duclng State-The Streams Still Full
of Fish-Interesting Facts About
small Game.
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, PACIFIC SLOPE,
Aug. Judging from what remains there
can be little doubt but that Colorado was
once the sportsman's paradise. Reckless and
wasteful extravaganza in dealing with the
teeming animal life has depleted her
mountains and plains. First came the long
unknown years in which the red man held
the sovereignty of the country, but as he
was unfurnished with guns and had to con-
struct his little hunting tepees tthe remains
Of which are seen everywhere in the hills),
made out of long poles stretching up against
a living tree and then covered over with
bushes, where he would sit the hvelong
day, along the side Of some
elk or deer trail, with his ear attent upon
the slightest sound, and his obsidian arrow
heads ever ready, and furthermore, as he'
killed only what he needed for food and
clothing, his onslaught upon the animal
kingdom did not greatly reduce its num-
bers. Next came the trappers and fur
hunters, penetrating to every snow stream
from the mountains, and watching by the
side of every beaver dam, trapping the
countless minks and lynx; catching the in
dustrious beaver by the thousands, as this
cunning worker came forth to cut down
the poplar trees for his fishing dam, aud
watching in his hole under the bank for the
imprisoned trout, was himself watched and
caught 10 such numbers that his
bones still whiten the creek banks where his
dam Is now in ruins.
But next, worst and most wanton Of all,
came the buffalo hunters, killing at first,
out of mere wantonness. the lordly
monarchs of the plains; then killing for
such an incidental thing as the buffalo
tongue, which was the object for which
Buffalo Bill murdered and slaughtered,
slaughtered during the sanguinary years
from 40 to IA; and finally, during these
years of whole5ale murder, you could not
ride on the plains from Texas to Canada,
without coming, every twenty-five miles,
upon an outfit engaged in killing buffaloes
for their hides, following the countless
bands of innumerable bulls aud COWS and
their young-to the north ia summer and to
the south In winter. A member of one OF
these outfits has been our cook on a recent
hunting trip, and it is hard to
| restrain ones patience to hear
| him, without any visible conjunction,
| describe the unending herds and how gayly
| the work of destruction went onl The
noble animals ruthlessly shot down, their
| tongues cut out, the rest Of the carcass
| hide and meat enough to furnish forth a
dozen ranches-left to rot on the prairie,
| whitening the very sod for several years,
| until 1t was found to be lucrative business
IN Uat thafr fha
| plains which had known the buffalo for
untold years knew him no more, 50 COM
| pletely was every vestige OF his existence
| swept away from off the earth.
ONLY FEW BUFFALOEs LEFT.
And now, with the exception of the EGO
| buffaloes in the government park at Yell
lowstone, it Is believed that not a single
| specimen can be found upon the plains OF
| hiding its diminished head in any corner OF
| the mountains.
A later authority, which | believe TO be-
reliable, leads me to qualify the above
| statement 80 far as TO say chat in 1888 there
were about 300 in the whole Of the United
States. outside of the band upon the govern
ment reservation. OF these there was q
| bunch of 100 at the head Of Porcupine
| creek, Montana; In Wyoming a few strag-
| glers from the government park; in the
| mountains of Colorado two bunches OF
bison, one of 25, and one OF IL;
27 in Nebraska; about 30 scattered
through the Indian territory two punches in
Texas, one of % head and one of &. These
are all that were known to exist Of the
many millions that once made their homes
on the prairies and this was in 1888, two
years ago, and even this small number has
been decimated in the last year or two, SO
that about the only chance now remaining
Of killing buffalo is TO hunt on the EASTERN
border Of this Yellowstone park, where an
avsa al
Within the park, protected by stringent
government regulations, all the big gan6
is multiplying slowly.
THE ELK AND DEER SLAYERS.
After the buffalo murderers finally came
the elk and deer slayers, who In and out OF
season killed carloads of venison, elk and
antelope meat for shipment to the coast At
one -Gleuwood-25,0 900 pounds Of
venison used to be shipped weekly. AT one
time, not over twenty years ago, the elk.
which is the monarch of all the American
cervidB, was probably the most abundant
game animal in the west, not even excepting
the buffalo. They ranged all over
western North America. Their horns,
those large-branohing, six-pronged antlers.
which are the glory Of the hunter, are
found over the plains and mountain cram
MES. 1t was not an uncommon experience
for the hunter to come upon band OF 5000
elk at once, and so tame that the band
would stand while the sportsman emptied
his repeating rifle into members of the
group. But now the elk is a doomed ami
NAL, and can only be found, as we will see
directly, by following him with hard climb.
ing through mighty canyons and over steep
precipices, into the black timber below
snow, or even sometimes above snow-ine
itself. Well, after many years of
ruthless destruction of her big game, which
with proper care might have furnished food
tot large population for centuries, Colo4
rado passed various laws for their protec,
ton. The law stands IN substance now
about this, that no one is allowed to kill
elk. deer or antelope except for his own
use; that no selling of skins or meat is all
lowed; heavy fine is placed upon the per.
son in whose possession game for sale is
exposed and upon all public carriers,
railroads, etc., which should be found
transporting it. This much | was
able to make out, before undertaking our
late hunting trip. Therefore, there is very
little destruction of game at present, save
for ones own personal consumption. 1t is
the custom of the ranchmen to go out 10
the fall and kill thirty to fifty deer. which
they skin and hang up for their winter's
food. Three years ago few gormandlzlnG
hunters brought 100 wagon loads OF elk out