Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-02
PLAN FOR GREAT
GAME PRESERVE
LAND MAY BE SET APART FOR 1T
IN ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA
AND MEXICO.


Mexico and probably a small part of
California is a project which will likely
be talked about by srortsmen all over
the country within few months. A
small party of explorers recently visited
Tucson after making a trip through the
county adjacent to the head of the Cult
of California representing, it is be-
lieVed, a number of sportsmen Of the
middle states, bent on formulating a
plan for the protection of game and to
prevent the determination of certain =
species. A convention of sportsmen will
soon meet in Chicago or Denver to con
slider plans for the establishment of
great game preserve, and representa-
tive sportsmen from all sections will re-
port the advantages offered for game
preserves in their immediate sections.
That portion of the country south Of
Yuma, including a small section of Cali
| fcrna and considerable territory in
| Mexico, is one of the most fruitful fields
! for the nimrod of this country today.
1t abounds in wild game of all sorts, and
with the help of man a large expanse of
land could be converted into one of the
greatest and most inviting game pre-
serves in the world. Mexico offers lib
eral aid to such enterprises. and it is un-
derstood that already that government
has promised to make important cOnces-
sons if American sportsmen are willing
to carry out the plan of establishing
| a game preserve lying partly in Mexico
The determination of wild game in
this country and the urgent necessity of
adopting drastic measures for the pre-
vcntion of further ruthless slaughter
are two subjects which have long occu-
| pied the attention of American sports
men. Never before have they been
! stirred up to the necessity as within the
! last few months. when from all over the
country there have been demands for
! congressional action State and terri
torial legislation has proved insufficient
hut federal action in recent years has
| checked wholesale slaughter in this and
other territories and states. However,
slowly but surely certain kinds of wild
| game such as deer and antelope, will be
| extinct in Arizona within a few years,
! and in a shorter time the mountain
| sheep now found in a few parts of this
| territory will disappear unless early ac-
/ ton is taken. 1t is because of the threat
! ened determination that congress will
soon be asked to make an appropriation
! for creating a game preserve, or at least
| for it's moral support.
| The redskins of Arizona have made
great inroads into the ranks of deer and
/ antelope. leaving their reservations fire.
! ,uently toengage in systematic slaught-
ers of those animals. The Apaches in
Eastern Arizona kill only the game they
require formeat and leather. 1t is said
! that the Navajoes of Northern Arizona
and other Indians of this territory do
| not kill game on the wholesale plan
merely for sport. is commonly be-
! lleyed but they seem to require an in
ordinate amount for ordinary use. Oc-
| Casionally they leave their reservations
| v here long ago game became too Spor-
| adc to invite the hunter and organize
! Lands, which go after big game with
guns and bows and arrows in much the
| same manner that Americans organize
rabbit drives. Great piles of hair scraped
| from the hides speak Enthusiastically or
! the slaughter which attends one OF
| these expeditions.
A party consisting of Professor w. j.
Niece, Delaney Gill. an artist, and oth"
! ers representing the Smithsonian lnstl-
! tuition recently passed through PhoenlN,
after exploring the Tiburon Island, in
the Gulf of California. returning from
Sonora by an old road near Tenajos
| Atlas. The party went to examine the
condition of the cannibalistic Ceris In
| dians of Tiburon Island, who murdered
l.. T.. l.. Robinson, "a newspaper man.
! and a companion six years ago ana
| Toasted on their bodies. On account OF
tribal friction a few years ago a small
! hand of these savageS left the island OF
Tiburon and made their way to the
coast of Mexico, subsequently travelling
rorth and establishing small colony
near Quitovac. The Smithsonian party
went among the Indians at that place
! for the third time, finding them in the
same condition on each trip. They nave
not multiplied in any numbers in the
last score of years. and their manners
of living and habits have not varied.
In visiting these Indians McGee
Journey took him through the heart OF
| tho game country which in time may be
| set apart as preserve. All along MS
nath he discovered game in such pro-
tusion that he made a part of his trip
Inc study of wild animals of that region
The Indians of QuitOvac led him into
some remarka BILE hunting grounds where
deer and wild hogs. large species or
neccary. tame and unfamiliar with the
! " hite spOrtsman's methods. were nut
little intimidated by the approach OF
the party. The professor returns en-
| thusiastic over the game conditions Oh
that region Wild animals abound there
| as they did only a few years ago IN
MANY parts of this country. but al
though the region is not remote from
| thickly populated sections. 1T has been
almost entirely neglected by hunters,
untouched by the hand of the white
nan. and it's isolation from the haunts
of men would be complete but for the
presence of a handful of redskins who
roam over that section The country Is
so formed, said Professor MCGEE. that
some of the lands could be irrigated by
water from the Colorado river, making
of them even more alluring stamping
! grounds for wild game
Notes az the 69V.