Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1892-09-02

have recently occurred, may be effective
in demonstrating the same fact to the
%estranged powers, capital and labor.
HOW LONG Will OUR GAME LAST.
The advance of civilization means the
retirement Of wild game. Domestic
animals take the place of wild ones, and
there is always a warfare between men
and game, which means, in the end, the
almost total humiliation of the latter.
It Is but fair to suppose that at one
time the animal kingdom was undisputed
in it's possession of the United States,
But its members fell back before the al
vance guard of settlers. Farther and
farther they we're pressed, until now
they exist in no great numbers except in
sections which are thinly settled. In
the mountainous regions of the east,
where the country is so rough as to be
almost inacce :sible, they are still found,
but they are few in numbers and diff
cult of approach.
1t seems almost impossible to believe
that as short a time as twenty years ago,
the prairies of North Dakota were
covered with roaming bands of buffalo,
! deer and antelope, ~contentedly browsing
over the land, where now are cite;
wandering peacefully and without fear
over the self same spots where now are
waving wheat fields. In the western
part Of the state, buffalo were then more
numerous than are domestic cattle at
the present day. The country was a
sportsman's paradise.
But as the country began to be settled
game became scarce. As the advancing
army of immigrants come from the
east, the retiring hosts of deer, antelope
and buffalo headed westward, until the
only numbers Of these animals are
found, now, in the extreme western part
of the state.
It is no exaggeration to say that, ff-
teen years ago, a hunter might go forth
from his camp, in the western part of
the state, and see game on every side.
Buffalo$ we're slaughtered with as much
ease as would be domestic cattle now
a-days. There seemed to exist a supply
of game &c great as to be inexhaustible.
Soon, however. a diminution in num-
bers was made evident. Buffalo became
scarcer and scarcer, until none were left
but a few straRglers, who finally disap-
peared completely. AS late as 1886,
however, two hunters killed four buffalo
at a crossing of the Little Missouri
river, about seven miles from what was
then Little Missouri station, and these
we're the last buffalo ever seer IN a
country, where once they had been so
numerous.
The deer, also, have begun to disap.
pear. It is no longer possible for a pat
hunter to go out and bring them in by
the dozens. 1t requires an expert know
ledge of the country, an i~nexhaustible
stock of patience and an ability to shoot
accurately to kill even one. They are
slowly but surely becoming things of the
past.
Antelope exist yet in the state by the
thousands. There seems 10 p%erceptible
lessening in their numbers, although
they are found only in the western part.
It is probable, however, that as that Sec
ton of country becomes settled, they will
gradually become scarcer, until they are
numbered with the buffalo, things of the
past.
Prairie fowl, however seem to thrive
with civilization, and are found in
greater numbers each year. Wheat
fields furnish great attractions to them,
and it is possible that until every acre Of
land in the state is in cultivation, they
will be found in great. numbers,
although, ultimately, they too must give
way.
1t Is difficult to predict any length of
time for the disappearance of game, in
numbers sufficient to warrant hunting,
but it is safe to say that ten years more,
at the present rate of immigration, will
make q diminution, sadly evident to
sportsmen.