The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-22
BIG GAME IN MONTANA.
It Has Been More Plentiful in the
 Past Year than in Ten Years.

It Has Been More Plentiful in the
 Past Year than in Ten Years. Butte (Mont.) Inter-Mountain.
 The hide, head and market hunters have been practically driven out Of the and the results are very evident at the present time Large game has been more plentiful this season than in the ten years last past Deer and elk have been found in large numbers in places where they had not been seen for years. In many instances this season they have been killed within few miles of town and It Is not unusual to hear of them being seen while driving along the coun- try roads and in some cases even in the gardens close to the farmnOuses
 So numerous are they this year that almost every hunter who went out has returned with a good kill and reports game plentiful everywhere. Only a short -.-e asu -,IIss JNse IaIoot, young wo- man of Columbia Falls, killed deer on the river bank in front of her fath- CT g. residence.
 The greatest large game sections of the State are the extreme northwestern and southwestern parts, but more especially native North American game is still to be found there. This section is conn posed of the whole of the Flathead por- tions of Teton, Powell and Lewis and Clarke counties.
 The other sections are adjacent to and border on the National Park and are made up of Gallatin, Madison, Park, Sweet Gras sand Carbon counties. The other west and middle-west counties have a very liberal allowance of big game, while in the eastern part of the State, along the Missouri River, in the breaks, is found the finest white-tailed deer shooting in the world. On the prai- ries of this section the remnant of ante lope live and range.
 Antelope are becoming numerous in some sections of the State where they were almost extinct two years ago. We see already families of beaver every where, and in some instances they had to be killed to protect property. Moose are often seen and caribou are found in larger numbers than in any other State.
 Of the game for which we have law ful season all are plentiful and seem to be on the increase except the Rocky Mountain goat. They, like the mountain sheep, are only to be found in the Rocky Mountains, and as they are permitted to be killed they are becoming very scarce But still in regard to these we are very fortunate, as we undoubtedly have more than any other State.
 Elk are increasing, and are gradually working back Unto their old haunts, which are still unsettled. 1 have been endeavoring to secure reliable reports of the number seen last year, so as to make an estimate of the number still existing in the State Taking the report of the superintendent of the National Park into consideration as well as those received rom scouts, deputies, and old mountain eers, think 25,0OO would be a very con- servative estimate to place thereon.
 Blacktatl deer are no doubt multiplying. as more have been seen and killed this season than for many years past They are beng found quite numerously in sec tions which have been considered hunted out. The little whitehall deer, the most beautiful and graceful of all wild ani- mals, Is still found In large numbers along the bottoms and breaks of the Mis- | souri River. Considering everything onr game Is doing nicely, and with continued rigid enforcement of the laws, will muI- | tply.