The Portland daily press., 1896-12-05
A PLAGUE OF WILD BEASTS.
Wolves and Bears Ravaging the
Ranges of Colorado.

Sattlemen Offering Bounty OF ND ZOE
Each Wolf Scalp-Fox Hounds and
Wolf Hounds Useless Against the Saw
age AnimaIs-Bears With Price on
Their Heads.
Denver, Nov. 21.-Wolves, bears and
other beasts of prey are proving serious
menace to the prosperity Of tn G cattle
and stock raising industry in Colorado.
This fall their ravages on the range, ana
even on enclosed lands, are costing the
ranchmen and cattle companies OF the
State many thousands OF dollars
monthly. The pests have become so en-
boldened by hunger and folce OF num-
hers that several cattle and stock grow
ers have already threatened to pull their
capital out of the business and sell or
abandon their ranches unless they are
aided by the Legislature in getting rid OF
the wolves and bears which swarm all
over the sparsely inhabited sections of
the State.
Representatives of the large cattle and
stock companies are now in Denver con-
ferring as to how to rid themselves of the
wild beast mn isanca. No line of action
has been yet adopted by them. What
they agree upon most generally is that
the State ought to revive tine policy OF
paying bounties for valves scalps. The
statute providing for price upon the
heads of these animals is still unrepealad,
but for nearly year the fund created
fnr its payment has hten exhausted.
Consequently professional wolf hunt
ing has practically ceasei. 10 that cir
eumstauce and another still more po-
tent, are due the remarkably large num-
hers of wolves now in Colorado. Bears,
while TOO humorous to suit the ranobers,
are not nearly SO hard on live stock rs
wolves, for the greater number OF them
are already alternating.
The stock and cattle growers complain
that their neighbors of Texas, Oklshoma,
and the Indian Territory are unloading
the wolves Of their own range districts
upon Colorado by thousands. Packs of
fox and wolf hounds are being used to
harry the animals out of the two Terri
tories and the State mentioned, and the
wolves naturally troop into this State,
wh5re they are safe from such enemies
Fox hounds cannot be used here, owing
to the rough and broken character of
the ranges. The experiment has been
mace only recently, with very unsatis-
factory results.
A pack was set after wolves OH one of
the ranches owned by the Prairie Cattle
Company, but the hounds were easily
outdistanced and grew too tagged to do
anything but lie down after compare
lively shot run. Even WORSE luck was
had with wolf hounds. About two
months ago Charles Walker, manager of
ranch on Horse Creek, between Color
ado Springs and Pueblo, brought two
full fedged wolf hounds from st. Louis.
at he first opportunity he unleashed
them uron pack of six gray wolves.
1'he dogs easily caught up with the
wolves; Mr.. Walker riding some distance
behind and cheering them on to the at.
tack. 1t was short and fatal to the dogs.
Walker saw his hounds leap into the
midst of the snarling wolves, then came
brief mix-up, and when the wolves
fight the two hounds were dead-literally
ripped to tatters by the scissors-like teeth
of their former prospective prey.
Six pure wolf hounds of the Russian OF
barzoi breed were taken into Weld coun-
ty on wolf hunt some time previously
They did not do quite so well as Walkers
pair, for they ran away as soon as the
nj
sodes have satisfied the ranchmen that
dogs are valueless in their present ex-
tremity.
Talks with some of those who have
come to Denver to LOBBY for another
scalp bounty appropriation show the wolf
problem to be most difficult one for
them to solve satisfactorily. Nearly all
the large cattle and horse raising COM
panies are offering a IS reward for every
wolf scalp brought to them. They report
the loss this fall from the depredations
of the pests to be far up in the thousands
of dollars.
]. G. Johnson, manager of the Prairie
Cattle Company says that his firm has
lost over 100 cattle during the season,
all of them killed by wolves. He report,
that so Gar be has paid out IS apiece fol
the scalps of $50 dead wolves. Charles
Walker reports the LOSS on his ranch in
calves and colts alone to be upward OF
ST, 0oO
In the western section of the State,
throug Routt and Rio Blanco counties,
bears arc proving strong allies of the
wolves in destroying stock and cattle
Very few bears are reported from the
southern ranges and ranches.
The Prairie Cattle Company owns
nearly all the grazing land along the
Roy oil Purgatoire, in Las Animas,
Prowers, and Bent counties. Large
herds of its cattle range along Chicaqua-
qua, Gutierrez, Smiths, and other
canons throu gh that country, where the