East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-11-09

Unless the game laws are drastical-
" enforced in Alaska the immense
herds Of caribou and moose in that
country will soon share the lamenta-
bic end that has overtaken the buffalo.
Such is the opinion OF soldiers at Fort
Wright. who have lately returned from
the land which is known in Europe
and all over this country as one of
the few places in the world where big
game shooting Is now abundant.
They say caribou are still plentiful
in the interior, but the moose are be-
ing rapidly thinned out, owing to the
inroads made on them for commercial
purposes. During the winter months
the price OF meat received from the
United States in cold storage is almost
prohibitive, while the Indians bring
to the towns venison in plenty, which
they are glad to sell at Is cents
pound. Fresh meat must be had to
make the body able TO. withstand the
winter cold, and the price OF caribou
and moose Is so much lower than that
OF beef and such products from the
states, that the inhabitants gladly
welcome the Indian traders who come
in with fresh supplies.
The trappers who live in lonely parts
OF the islands with their dogs are al
most universally respecters OF the rule
that allows them eight caribou or
moose a year for food, which is about
the amount necessary to keep body
and soul together. But the Indians
and the dealers are not so scrupulous:
they kill as many animals as they can,
confident that there is a ready market
for them at the towns.
The principal barrier in the way
Of rigid enforcement OF the game
law Is the great extent of the territory.
The warden learns of some infraction
Of the law. but the news generally
come in two or three days after the
slaughter and the perpetrator Is by
that time a hundred or more miles
away.
one observer in the interior OF Al
aska said that one afternoon he tried
to count a herd of caribou on neigh
boring hillside and got up to 500 be-
fore he stopped. Even with that large
number there were many that ne
missed. and herds of smaller size are
roarning all through the interior OF the
country. The moose do not travel in
herds and are disappearing faster
+rar the caribou. Even the Indians
from the interior have noticed the d.
,17inution of moose within only rev
Years and they predict. that in few
,,,,ra Years there will be no big game
event in the farthest and widest parts
~ the country If the game laws can
not he enforced more rigidly.
The officers are Jealous and anxious
~ 10 their duty. but the distances, the
orimitive method of travelling and the
inaccessible trails lead to results tha'
are not very satisfactory.
Rig game are not the only sufferers
Ducks and birds of all kinds arr
slaughtered indiscriminately, tourlsu
as well as dealers sharing in the .de
s+ruction. The islands UP the Lynn
canal where bears and deer were
few wears ago far more plentiful thai
Inhabitants. are becoming depopulat
ed of animals. and Alaska will sool
lose her prestige as a game paradls
II the government does not step II
and bring offenders to a peremptor;
stop.
1t is thought by those conversan
with the country that stricter penaltle
should be imposed than those whlc
now obtain. which are about the sam
as those in Oregon and the Pacifi
states. Owing to the impossioility c
ever obtaining many convictions o
account Of the inability of the officer