The Idaho Republican., 1913-02-28

IDAHO's NEW SWITZERLAND.
By Mrs. J. G. Green, who writes for
the Capital News of Boise.
The heart of the lover of nature
who finds joy in the wild creatures
of the forest, the mountain and the
stream, is stirred to deep and honest
indignation over the recent tales of
wanton destruction of the defenseless
deer which have been driven by hea-
wy SHOWS to the valleys of the settlers
in Idaho. The parallel the unlaw-
full daily catch of trout by the"mess'
angler which the writer personally
noted last summer in the southern
portion of the state. Do not our
humane laws reach our wild ami
mails? With an inborn love for the
wild and primitive things of life, re-
joicing in their freedom and alive to
their interesting characteristics, it is
painful to see the cruelty of man Gi-
rected against them. True, the
sportsman is not to be criticised for
hunting and taking his rightful share
of what was intended for his use.
The fisherman is entitled to his
due also. But the vulgar pot hunt
er, the poacher on natures preserves,
the willy angler who depletes the
stream for unlawful profit belong to
the same category They are not
only selfish robbers of the wild food
supply, taking their neighbor's share
as we'll as their own, but they are
wanton destroyers of one of natures
most wonderful resources. How few
of us really know anything of the
life of the inhabitants of the wild
Yet how populous are the seemingly
untenanted areas of forest and the
stretches of lonely sagebrush plain!
Deer Gentle Animal.
OF the creatures of the wilderness,
none seem more beautiful than the
deer, and none so gentle when once
they are assured of mans friendship
In the game preserves this is very
noticeable, but cases have been
known where an occasional trapper
has become very well acquainted
with small band of deer which grad
ually lost their fear of the man and
his cabin and fed within "close
range" All through the mountains
of Idaho are to be found the black
tail or the white tail deer. In the
northern part of the state is found
the mule cared deer; and in years
gone by an occasional caribou cross
ed the line from British Columbia in
to the northern part of Idaho.
Here, too, were found plenty of
moose before their numbers were re-
duced by the hunters, or they were
driven back into Canada.
Elks and Antelope.
At the headwaters of the middle
fork of the Salmon river elk are to
be found. Also in Chamberlain bas-
in. II or 18 miles from Warren, and
at the headwaters of the south fork
of the Payette, in the Sawtooth
range. Antelope are found in the
valleys of the Snake, according to
the information cleaned personally
from the residents of Bruneau valley,
Owyhee county, who claim that bands
of antelope at one time roamed
throughout that section. One was
seen by the writer in 1896 while en-
gagged in teaching school in Bruneau
valley. I was facing the door, which
opened toward the low, chalky hills.
The deer, a beautiful creature, came
bounding across the dry, sagebrush
waste. leaped across the "four-foot"
ditch, ran by the school house (the
boys in full pursuit by that tjme),
crossed nearby orchard, bounding
over the sagebrush fence and disap-
pearing in the trees and underbrush
bordering the Bruneau river, which
flowed just beyond was told by
the old settlers in the valley that
it was an antelope, which was the
only kind of deer known to live in