, 1900-12-29
MEMBERS OF THE ORDER WILL
TRY TO SAVE THE WILD
ANIMALS.
Crusade Against the Wearing of
mand for the EmbIems Have
Greatly Increased the Destruction
Of the Noble AnimaIs-Origin of
the Movement.

ready the Elks of Colorado Springs
and Chicago have taken the initiative
in the matter, and the Elks of Denver
and other cities will follow in their
footsteps. The action was decided up
on after mature consideration, II
while there has been some opposition
it is. generally meeting with hearty ap,
prevail.
At a meeting OF Colorado Springs
lodge No. 300, b. p. o. E., held Nov.
81, resolutions praying for the aband-
onment of the custom of wearing elks'
teenth were unanimously adopted. The
| resolutions asked for hearty cooper
alton of all Elks, and the members of
the Colorado Springs lodge pledged
themselves not to purchase or in any
way traffic in elk teeth.
The passage of these resolutions by
the Colorado Springs lodge was direct
ly the result of a startling condition
OF affairs which confronted members
of the lodge who visited the northwest
ern portion of Colorado. That section
is the rendezvous and feeding ground
of the greater number of the splendid
animals that have not fallen afoul of
of the hunters gun.
The members reported to the lodge
that they had seen in n instance
nineteen elk in one herd ~ruthlessly
destroyed and their carcassess left be-
hind to decay after the teeth had been
extracted. That report showed how
serious the situation really was, and
the result a that immediate steps
were taken to %acquaint Elks generally
with the exact condition of affairs.
The Denver Elks have been charged
with being directly though u~nintention-
ally responsible for the wanton de-
struction of the splendid animals, and
as the charges have been made by Elks
it is now anticipated that prompt act.
ion will be taken to stop the slaughter
as far as it lies in the power of the
Elks.
A stranger case has rarely been call
ed to the attention of the public. In
it all it is pointed out hat the mem
bers of the order can properly be
charged with nothing more than
thouEhtlessness. Their enthusiasm
for their order has led them inviting
ly to put such a high premium on the
killing of elks that there is serious
danger of the animal becoming extinct
in a few years unless something is
done to stop the slaughter.
That the Denver Elks are, in the
first place, innocently responsible for
the slaughter of elks appears from the
fact that twenty years ago the men
bers of Denver lodge, being full Of en-
thusiasm for the order. began wear
ing elks' teeth mounted in gold, as
watch charms and pins. Gradually
the custom spread until Elks all over
the country were wearing the teeth
not only as watch charms and pins. but
cuff buttons, lapel buttons, and in var
ious ways. Later the custom became
universal in the order, and today it is
estimated that $4,000 Elks, or more
than two-thirds of the members of the
order, have at least n or two elks'
teeth numbered among their trinkets.
Therefore, it would be safe to say that
among Elks alone 100, 1000 teeth are
mounted in gold and used as emblems
of the order. In addition jewellers, fol.
lowing the example of the secret So
ciety men, use elks' teeth in manufac-
turing trinkets for sale to the public
generally, with the result thai .ewelry
in which the tooth Of an elk is the chief
factor is greatly in demand.
In Chicago an elk's tooth of good size
and in good condition is worth from
50 to $40. The teeth from a big stag
might be readily sold for from $50 to
800.
The real elk, however, Is only found
in Europe and Asia. 1t is the largest
deer found in either continent, stand
ing seven feet high at the shoulder
and having huge fiat antlers and the
enormous head, with an almost pre-
hensile nose Its nearest relative in
this country is the moose, which is
even rarer and harder to find than the
wapiti. That fact might be advanced
as a good argument for the abolition
of the sustom Of wearing elks' teeth.
The animal which is called the elk
In the United States is properly the
wapiti. Twenty years ago herds Of
300 or 400 elk. or wapiti, were found
in Colorado and Wyoming, and also
in some parts Of California. At pres
ent 1t is one of the rarer kinds Of game,
though still to be found most abund-
antly in a limited district in the north
western portion Of Colorado.
As an illustration of the value which
is now placed. upon elks' teeth and of
the chances which men viii take to get
them, 1t may be remembered that sew
eral weeks ago a telegram from a Col
orado town was printed relating the
adventures Of two bold hunters who
had risked their lives in digging open
the graves Of three Indian chiefs who
had been recently buried. They were
caught at their work and narrowly got
mn With fhofr Ooo1No hnf-- A1--~I |