, 1908-04-01
PROBLEM OF
THE FOREST
WILD HORSES AND HOW TO RID
THE WESTERN RANGES OF
THE ACCEPTED PESTS.
Thousands of Them In Sections, Far
mers Shooting Them as They
Would Wolves and Coyotes-Pecu.
liar Conditions Confronting the
Forest Service Of the Country.

Wild horses by the thousands are
overrunning the government national
forest of Nevada and neighboring
states, and the authorities in Wash
ington are besieged with petitions
from stockmen and farmers begging
them to put a stop to the nuisance.
says a Washington special to the New
York Tribune of a few days ago. A
recent dispatch from Reno conveyed
the intelligence that there are fifteen
thousand of the uutamed beasts upon
the Toiyabe, ToQuina and Monitor for
est reserves in Lander county alone,
and that orders have been received by
the forest rangers to begin a systema-
tic war of determination upon them.
Number Not Exaggerated.
This dispatch, although twisted as
to facts, does not e~xaggerate the num-
Der of horses now supposed to be
roaming at large in the districts e
toned. AS a matter of probable truth,
there are d good many more than ff-
teen thousand wild horses in Nevada
and the neighboring states. and every
herd is a pest to the owners of vegt
tation and domestic stock.
Force Not Large Enough.
The part of the Reno telegram which
Is not true is that relating to the Or
ders sem from Washington. Neither
the forest rangers nor any other en-
ployes of the government have been
told to destroy the horses, and unless
they do receive such orders they will
confine their energies to fencing crops
from the trespassing animals or round
ing them up when they appear and
threaten damage to the range. III
deed, if half the stories brought to the
capitol are true, all the rangers in
Uncle Sans service would have little
chance of destroying the big herds
that are roaming over the western
states.
All Rifles Against Them.
Within the last few years they have
increased to such an extent that IN
many localities they are classed as
'varmints,' with wolves, wildcats and
grizzlies. and every mans rifle is turn
ed against them. No fence is strong
enough to stop these horses, and when
they appear in force they have even
been known to knock down and kill
COWS and calves. After each vista
ton from a herd the ranchman is like
ly to mourn the loss of his domestic
horses, and it requires only a few days
association with their new companions
for the best broken animal to become
as wild as their nomadic comrades.
Hides on the Market.
A study of the wild horse problem
brings to light many interesting facts
about the animals. The legislature Of
Nevada, it seems, passed a law many
years g specifically allowing hunt
ers to shoot wild horses and to sell
their hides for what they could get in
the open market. The law opened tho
way to a new and unusual industry,
and many men found the killing of wild
horses very profitable. Besides the
work was exciting and gave the bust
ness the added zest of sport.
Killing Branded Horses.
AS time went on n the business OF
killing these outlaws" Gas the wild
honses were often termed) on the
ranges assumed greater and greater
proportions, stockmen found that the
professional hunters were, in many
cases, abusing their rights and were
killing branded and shod horses. This
put an end to the business, for on COM
plant of the stockmen the Nevada leg
islature promptly repealed the law.
1t is estimated that $4,000 animals
were killed during the time that the
law was in force This figure gave the
basis for last weeks story.
Conditions Are Bad.
The report, however, had good basis
of fact, for the wild horse question
has grown to be as serious in the last
few years as it was was when the
Nevada legislature was forced to en-
act the old law. The United States
the killing OF a single horse because it
has no right to do SO. The forest
officers of the Nevada national forests
realize how bad conditions are, and