The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1912-01-08
PRAIRIE
CHICKENS
DECREASING.

That prairie chickens which only
a few years ago We're so plentiful in
W estern Oklahoma, are rapidly di.
minishing in numbers is reported by
hunters all over that section. The
Panhandle district. the heaviest In
nine years. have driven the. prairie
chickens as we'll as other wild game
into the towns in that locality. but
the number of the chickens is small.
Like the buffalo the hunters state,
the prairie chickens are not. able to
withstand the advance of civilization.
In some sections of Western Okla
homa only FIVE years ago prairie
chickens were so numerous that it
was not uncommon TO Sc from two
hundred to three hundred chickens
flying over the prairie. Out in the
thinly settled portions of the country
they became pest even The few
farmers were delighted when hunt
ers appeared and encouraged the
shooting of the birds that We're de-
vastating their crops.
The farmers even gave board free
10 hunters who would stay and :hoot
the chickens, for they played havoc
with the kaffir corn and cane patches.
They were wary of hunters, too, for
the old chickens become hardy cam
pagners, after having been shot at
a number of times, and they soon
put all the young birds wise to the
man with a gun Hunters were IL
the habit, thefefore, of seereting
themselves in small punches OF kaf-
fir corpf until the chickens came III
the evening, to feed.
Prairie chickens disappear from
communities that are settled up. In
the Western states this bird was
pushed on 10 the wild prairies, but
as these are fast narrowing down the
chickens are becoming fewer. Sports
men now travel long distances for
the pleasure of shooting chickens,
Old timers state that fifteen years
ago the chickens fed on the Western
prairies by the thousands. An effort
is being made now for the establish
ment OF a state game reserve in the
Kiamichi mountains, and If this is ac-
complished particular attention Will
be paid to propagating the prairie
chicken.
The Mink Also Exterminated
Owing to the heavy demand for
mink furs, which has prevailed for
the past two or three years, there
has been an unusually small number
OF mink pelts brought to the markets
in the Southwest this winter. SO
scarce has been the supply, in fact
that dealers have been unable TO any
where near meet the demands rom
IL, 10
port the demand, however, as strong
as ever. Wichita dealers state that
they have secured but fifteen pelts
this winter
Dealers assign as the main sause
for the scarcity the fact that the DIE
demand for this kind of fur resulted
in increasing the zeal of the trappers
.o secure mink pelts. They say that
the sources OF their supply, Kansas
Oklahoma and Colorado have been 50
hunted that a very Dig
catch during the remainder OF TINS
season is not to be expected.
The other fur-bearing animals that
ere common to this section have been
this winter. These lncude
the skunk, oppossum, muskrat. rae
coon. coyote or prairie wolf. Occa-
s .onally. 100, wildcat is bagged The
demand for this variety has been
iarge according to the dealers, M?
stale tLat they have had an abunj-
a., supply brought to the mark 4,5
In several instances, skunk fans
have been started throughout the
Southwest in order to supply the de-
II AM for the fur
Great Progress Made in Work
The records OF the state game war
den for 1871 show that great progress
has been made in the way Of preser-
yation protection and propagation ~
game. The native game animals,
birds and fish have been protected
this season, according to the records
as they have never been before IN
this state This fact is proved by the
thousands of arrests made and hne5
collected by deputy AMI assistant
game wardens throughout the state.
During the past year more than S'-
O00 has been added to the game pro-
lection fund from this ource alone
and a rigid enforcement of the law
seining in closed streams,
dynamiting, shooting game our OF
season. exceeding the bag limit, chas-
inc deer with dogs and selling or
H. Ia a q