New-York tribune., 1901-11-24
THE ELKS OF COLORADO.

THEIR ENTERMINATIoN POSTPONED, IF NOT
AvERTED-
From, The St Paul Pioneer Press.
The elk season. briefest and most glorious of all
Rockies and hundreds of wealthy niurods from
Colorado s'lSa seens SE the @ ooretsd antieTs
The open season lasts only twelve days. from
year the. elk is under the protection of laws that
a gd 3 m I bnfer s Ti5P haPvsg his crop
Of antlers while the sun shines-and that crop is is
aon De suc an army of iegsl difcuities to be
and bring down elk al this season, only results
In om ons eh To sn ranso an
from England. flock into Colorado every year and
of October "a, when the season opens They do not
TefuTn Oa Empty handed but others bear the masni
cent spreading antlers that tell OF success and and
Colorado is the natural home of the. elk in the
cent animals to be found in such numbers. The
sought mountain lions and bobcats in the year
of the big game region where railroads have never
penetrated, where stage drivers often wrap their
or deer, and where huge bands Of elk have roamed
few years ago the elk was threatened with
extinction. Hunters killed indiscriminatey. until
the State Of Colorado stepped in and limited the
open season to twelve days. This gave the elk
shance for & his life The t IS aWnng ts bsndf fef begag
elk in Colorado than there we're five years
Necessary owing to the habits of the elk.hebits
which made the animal an & easy prey. G In Inc t Elk
coming down into the valleys as he is forced down
heavy snowstorm would invariably catch lot of
elk near the timber line An active IN man non on snow snow
one OF the animals before they could founder out
ouence the season is now closed before the heavy
storms of winter set in This makes it Necessary
that are carpeted with ory twigs and rustlng
eansI.ed oIiT BY bis acute eyesght or sense Of
smell, the hunters chances are indeed narrowed,
out Of the Rockies to grace dining an
Tiere is one band .: eli, in Routt County, Col,
that numbers nea4 y n.e hundred Late in the fall
Of the White River, in Rio Blanco County There
and scattering herds be found all along the
Great Divide few seasons age TWO tenderfeet
boat Springs. in Routt County. At the same time
ra9ts They had Just arrived at Steamboat Springs
and had loudly announced that they intended TO
a agTly5 near 4b town and the citizens of Steam
6aaf srf2s made rrangements to feed the AMI
mails until they could make their way TO lower
ever, and were delighted The hunters approached
with ciubbed rifles Half the band had been killed
when rnountaineer arrived on the scene and in
mistake that was likely TO prove fatal Being
Tge fag sffo fbeiT feet m Mge with fear the huntsmen
managed win the race to the Wyoming line and
suers were prenared TO wreak
favorite grazing places OF the elk. owing to the
abundanGe Of grass that grows 5etween en- the d9arH
protection. The animals seem to be able to run
open. and swapping twigs almost invariably give
warning Of the approach Of the stalker During
il the number and extent Of Of, forest @ fires in the the
feedSe gPonnd Of the Elk in proportion It is only
by much riding and close watchlng OF tralis tnts1
October @ zr''o or November. Even when he has
aged to successfully stalk his aqa5ry m h his task is
# the elk is only slightly WOUNDED iie he is of
desperate hurt and II there any young in the
band he g @ e snc 9n at o 9ay has an aTaa BE
tree TO climb. who is a sure enough shot to ad-
iba tT 1 the or bnlt bt a the ony resouree is the
hunting knife. and this is slight armament In com
taarp hoofs every blow Of which will cut through
RE elk bears the same relation 20 the big game
of America that the tarpon does to its game fish
shiny monster in Florida waters usually the
men Who tgTn 70 Is @ face eseS T be se IN
the morning Every large city in the United States
sires Brokers railroad magnates and raanufactur-
represented III the brief guest Of the antlers
that money would not bpy the average elk head
tfst is borne away & from the ne Roekes s.orrss -
the United States now adorn one Of Emperor Will
bore them was laid low by an adTnirer OF the Ger
man Emperor. and the antlers were sent from
Colorado Springs. II is question II even Canada
produce anything to equal their magnificent
spread
There IS only thing that comes rank
ing with the elk IL the estimation Of the hunter,
and that is the mountain sheep. But Colorado. in
common with other Rocky Mountain States has
refused 70 allow any open season for mountain
sheep, owing the scarcity of the animals. 1t
with difficulty that Buffalo Jones recently
cured a permit TO capture few of the sheep for
scientific purposes. Like the elk. however, the
sheep promise TO increase in number. Sportsmen
hope that in q few years that State authorities
will consent to a brief open season. In the mean
time however, the elk must be regarded the
precious OF an the game. because the rarest-
Even the wesponless camera enthusiast finds the
big animal DELIGHTFULLY."- elusive quality. and wild
game photographers who have with success
with deer and other game have found 1t practical
ly impossible get the elk to Took pleasant"
Unless elk is caught helpless in snowdrift
about the only chance of photographing him sue
cessfully wait until he is dead. And. owing
the twelve day limit of the killing season, the
photographer is under great handicap.