The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-09-21


. Army 70 DRIVE lsyess ELK :
nesster Herd win Mako . :
sTrek" Of Nearly Three .
Hundred Miles. Z
New York Press.)
Ton thousand head Of wild ok
'trekking" clear across the state Of
Wyoming, guarded and guided by l.
600 United States cavalry and as many
cowboys. ranchmen and sheep herd
ers. 10 the strange spectacle which
will be seen In this state some time
between now and winter Il the plans
OF the state officials who have the
project in charge are carried out.
The elk are at present in the Jack
son Hole country. in the extreme
western edge Of the state. It ID the
intention Of the oficials TO remove
them to the Big Horn mountains Just
west OF Sheridan, and In the extreme
northern portion Of the State trek
OF probably 300 miles. The animals
have increased q rapidly that the
Jackson Hole country is fairly over
run with them. It 10 estimated that
fully 10000 head OF elk winter every
year In the Hole. and they simply eat
the ranchmen out Of house and home.
They are protected by the state, and
except for a few days In the fall the
killing OF an elk 10 q serious offense.
Al q result the elk herd. small q few
years ago, when the stringent protec-
ton laws were passed, has now be-
come the largest herd Of wild animals
on earthsSand its, number 10 increas-
Ing rapidly. The elk have seemed to
realize that they are safe and have
become Co. tame that they are not
frightened at the presence Of q man.
In the winter, when the range is Gov
cred with snow, the elk invade the
ranchers' haystacks and eat every
straw. Fences are of not the least
protection against them, as they 70
over an obstacle of that kind as il
they were birds.
The elk herd has finally become SO
great q menace that the entire west
ern portion Of the state took up arms
In An effort to saw the ranches aud
farms, as we'll as the sheep and cattle
40 tho elk threaten to simply strip the
range Of forage and leave the domesi,
ticated animal to die Of starvation.
The national government was appeal
ed to and the session Of congress ap-
pr%opriated $4,000 for the care and
preservation Of the elk in Wyoming.
But this amount 10 simply q drop In
the bucket, and 1t is realized by the
state officials that the great herd must
be made self-supporting IL it ts to re-
main in existence.
In northern Wyoming are the Big
Horn mountains, stretching 100 miles
or from north to south. The big
Horns" r the most mountainous"
mountains in the northwest sue
cession Of high peaks and deep ra-
vines, and all heavily wooded. It 10
an ideal country for elk aud other big
game. The great elk herd from Jack
son Hole would scatter and lose It,
self, once 1t were transplanted to the
Big Horn mountains. And there would
be SUFFICIENT %provender to furnish
food throughout the winter without
the least assistance from the state or
others.
Under these conditions. the state
ofhcials have determined to move q big
portion OF the herd from the Hole
over to the Big Horns. But to make
the transfer by railroad would be out
Of the question, because Of the ire
mendous expense, the distance by rail
being something like 1000 miles and
necessitating a trip down through
Idaho. Utah, across the southern line
Of Wyoming, and then northward
across the state. So it was determin-
ed to drive the elk as though they
were cattle.
The United States government. will
be asked to permit 1000 cavalrymen
from Fl. Russell at Cheyenne and TT.
Mckenzie at Sheridan to take part in
the great drive. And to this large
force will be added 1000 cowboys,
ranchmen. sheep herders and others
"a total driving force Of 1000
mounted men. The great trek" will
not take place until late fall or early
winter. The elk have become so &C.
customed to mounted men that they
no longer fear a man on a horse, and
this fact will be taken advantage of
during the drive. The animals will be
handled as a herd of cattle, except
that instead Of q cowboy now and
sASA JIG AAOuAtSQ A4Su AROUND the elk
will be as thick az flies. At night
they will be herded, Just as the cattle
are.
The only practical road into jack
son Hole is from the west, SO that the
big drive will take that direction when
the start is made. Around the SOUTH
ern end Of the Teton range the great
cavalcade will make its way, and
thence through central Wyoming to
the Big Horn river. Down this stream
the elk will be driven, and not until
the Big Horn mountains are reached
will the animals be permitted to roam
from the parallelogram in which they
traversed the something like 800
miles Of mountains and plains.
II the. first drive is successful It ia