Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-04
A GREAT HUNTING GROUND
An Abundance of Game Of Every Description
in Alaska
Factors That Have Resulted in the In
crease of Wild Animals I'm
That section.
From Field aud Stream.

From Field aud Stream
1t is a remarkable fact that game IS
actually on the increase in Alaska today.
1t is well known that the moose was for
merly unknown within its limits, hut driven
from the forests of lower Canada and the
United States by the constant onslaughts
OF the huntsman, ii has gradually Travelled
westward and northward until it has finally
reached the Alaskan peninsula, and, hreel-
ing for years practically free from molesta-
ton, 1t has become abundant there today.
When the agents OF the Hudson Bay Com
pany first appeared in its Vicinity they
found the Indians dwelling about the NY
land river unwilling TO ascend il or to have
anything to do with the country sbout its
u au"ateiS, Superstil1UslS maintaining
that long before, as party OF braves Of
their tribe were ascending the river n a
canoe, suddenly a terrible, black something
rose seemingly out of the very water itself
overturned the canoe and drowned most II
the hunters in the whirlpools Might not
the legend have been an account, eNacg, r
ated by the simple and overawed Indians of
their first meeting with a moose, especially
as during the summer months the animal
often frequents the vicinity Of streams
standing shoulder deep in the water to avoid
insects? An untutored Indian, unfamiliar
with the moose and its character, meeting
1t for the first time, might well be i'm
pressed with Superstiuous awe and dread,
such a powerful and formidable front docs
ii often present.
a second factor which has resulted in tie
Increase Of game animals i'm Alaska is the
manner in which the Indians, and white
hunters as well. following their example,
capture such meat they may stand in
need Of The country being. a general
thing, rough and difficult TO traverse, the
huntSman paddles along some waterway in
his canoe, scanning the banks as he goes
Until he comes upon his quarry feeding OF
lettering at the waters edge. The result is
that the interior Of he av
distance from the streams and naV.gah!e
waterways is seldom visited bv the hunts
man, and as consequence its wild animal
lie augments from year to GEAR. So Alaska
has proved the natural corral of The CONT
nent, into which all its game animals have
gradually been driven and penned in amid
surroundings which are far from being UNI
favorable. In fact, here they have found a
refuge admirably adapted to their needs,
and have been steadily thriving and in
creasing until Alaska today has become
one of the best natural game preserves in
the world. Some moose and caribou roam
its swamps in search of tender shoots,
mountain goats nfbble the grasses and
MOSES Of the higher mountain slopes, and
black and brown bears prowl about in the
darkest reCesses of the forests and along
the streams in search of fish. The spruce
grouse is abundant in the dense evergreen
woods, and exceedingly tame, the blue
grouse Is also to be found in the upper
timber belts of the mountain sides and
ptarmigan on the sunny cliffs and barrens.
Rabbits are plentiful everywhere, and as
a matter of course, their deadly foe, the
lynx, is usually not far away. Amid such
a variety this the sportsman cannot fail
to find plenty Of employment for mis- gun,
if only he possesses the necessary knowl-
edge and skill at woodcraft to enable him
to properly search out and approach his
game.
The climate of Alaska is not nearly as
harsh and severe as many imagine /: to be-
In the vicinity of the coast warm winds
from the Pacific ocean temper he atmos-
phsre, and even far inland, although the
thermometer sometimes falls ds low as TO
and more degrees below zero, vet these
cold snaps are soon over and ara not atnCr-
mally frequent With the exception of the
vicinity Of the coast, the snowfall reaches
a depth no greater than that of Maine or
Nova Scotia, and the winters, though some
what long. are still quite similar to the
''Old-fashigned' winters of northern New
England Though the first Snowfall occurs
about the middle OF September, Yet winter
does not set in in earnest before November,
and, after all. winter is about The same
thing the world over The writer has seen
the snow fifteen feet deep in places I'm his
| New England home, and if Alaskan drifts
add few feet more to their depth. the
casual observer would be unable to detect
the difference.
winter in Alaska in a shelter tent and come
out none the worse for the experience. But
with the visiting sportsman, planning to
stay throughout the winter, III ere is no
need of undergoing such self-imposed hard
ships. timber is plenty. and a good, ser
viceable log house can be kept as warm and
comfortable as a New England honest cad,
in spite of the whistling winds Without.
The country is all so compa rativey new
and undeveloped that one does rot need TO
undertake a long and wears me journey
far from the most isolated trading post to
get into region promising any fair PROS
pect of sport, for a comparatively short
jaGnt from almost any of the settlements
brings one into the heart Of good game
country. Returning miners say that they
have no difficulty in keeping themselves in
meat if adept in the use of She rifle. and
unanimously agree that the whole r,aaon is
stocked with, for The present, a well-nigh
limitless supply of a large variety of game
such the huntsman will search for in