The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-28

90 of by the thPhine'P,
:, wear book published by the de-
,.nont Of agriculture there il chap
paSovoted to animals Supposed to Be
r na. If Mankind, says the Washing
post Ii tells about the mammals
'md birds native to this country which
s s.o sunposed to be hostile to human be-
,nos and their industries.
r. cannot be said that in the United
s.a,os bounties have brought about the
sSs.ormination of a single species of ami
aI IN ony state. The rarity of wolves
paSt If fine Mississippi liver is rather
smo 20 the settlement of the country
tbau to the number killed for rewards.
On the great plains, where civilization
hos NOT encroached upon natures do
main to any great extent, the wolves
hove not decreased perceptibly, not
witbstanding high premiums paid for
scalns Almost undoubtedly coyotes,
wbicb are q small breed of wolves, have
Increased In California during the last
three wears since the bounty on them
vas withdrawn, so that there are now
os MANY of them in that state as ever.
California, Montana and Texas offered
az apiece for coyote scalps for some
time. the outlay aggregating hundreds
~ thousands of dollars, but the results
were unimportant. Iowa and Mime
sofa are the only western states which
now nav more than SO per wolf scalp,
and in Iowa the rate for young wolves
Is 50.
Meanwhile in some parts o: the conn
try wolves and coyotes are very destruc-
tive. In New Mexico they kill from
sI5O.OOO to $500, 600 worth of sheep
annually, and in Nebraska the damage
done to sheep is reckoned at 800, 600
wear. One difficulty in the wolf prob
lem lies in the fact that it is impossible
10 secure the cooperation OF all the
states This lack of agreement on the
subject of bounties in general opens
wide door to fraud. Scalps taken in To-
calities where rewards are low are ship
ped to places where premiums are high,
and thus it often happens that county
is compelled to pay for animals that did
not belong to it. At the present time
the bounty on wolves and coyotes varies
from 81. 80 to So, the latter price being
paid in the Black Hill regions of South
Dakota. In North Dakota it is So; it is
So in Montana and Wyoming, and in
Iowa it is So, except for young animals.
Thus rewards may be claimed profitably
in Iowa for coyotes killed in North Da-
kota
The wolf bounty in Nevada was so
cents when California was Offering So
for scalps. Consequently thousands Of
scalps were shipped from Nevada to
California, and large numbers of them
were actually imported from Mexico, so
that California found herself getting
poorer at distressing rate, and the
bounty law was repealed. Owing to ig-
norance of natural history on the part
Of local authorities, heads Of domestic
fowls, cartridges, pheasants, cuckoos.
butcher birds, ETC., were accepted and
paid for as those of hawks and owl;
under the scalp act" in Pennsylvania.
The skins of dogs and other domestic
animals are frequently turned in for
those OF wolves and coyotes. In the case
OF small animals the heads are some-
Times accepted in one county and the
tails in another county, so that the pre-
NUNS are collected twice. One county
In North Dakota, waging war OIL ground
squirrels, first required the head, then
the tail and year or two later all four
feet
One interesting effect Of the bounty
system is TO encourage the breeding Of
the animals outlawed. 1t is said that in
INDIA many natives are regularly en-
gagged in the business of propagating
snakes for the sake of the premiums
oAered by the government for venomous
serpents. There is no doubt that the
same thing has been done in this coun-
Wy with various animals for which
oounties were granted. For example,
.ne eggs OF hawks and owls have been
,ahen from the nests and Matched under
nens In Iowa "a few years ago it was
saiu 70 be more profitable to rear coyotes
ior the bounty than to raise sheep, and
kentucky and New Mexico have recog-
alzed the possibility of breeding wolves
yrequirlng affidavits showing that the
animals had not been raised for the
sake Oh reward. British Columbia, by
'ne way, pays bounties for wolves,
,Cyotes and panthers. but requires that
'ne skulls shall be presented to the
CURATOR or the provincial museum for
soientiilc Identification.
Inc pocket gopher is one of the worst
enemies man has to encounter in the
"n',lai Kingdom. 1t does all its work
Underground, the lines of its tunnels
H. buy marked by dead and dying plants.
s purrow runs foot or less below the
" aa..ace and is dug for the purpose Of
Se''ing at the roots on which it feeds.
S1e may travel for weeks in region
90 s'es'eu by Rophers and yet not see ono
.Heih' they labc= AID destroy unob.
dan' Butfaloes il their past album
r" uye We're not one-tenth so numerous.
bu vpnerS Go not disappear before man,
MI, remain III the cultivated fields.
inv !, havoc among the crops and kill
ra s 'ne orchards The little beast is
my my urave, not hesitating to attack q
."ou OH Slight rroyooox;1..