Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1914-02-13

deer have disappeared from their former haunts
and In much-hunted localities are only to be
found on the highest points where timber grows.
Late In the season, when heavy snow falls, bands
or Wap1ti and mule deer are driven from their
refuge in the Yellowstone park and move down
TO lower grounds in such places Jackson's
Hole or the valley of the Soshone river. Woe be-
tide these luckess wanderers if the open season
Is still In force for at the head of every pass lead
Ing out of the game reserve are armed bodies of
meathunters, who shoot sight old or young,
male or female, regardless of age, or sex, every
deer that is More shame is it to the au-
thorties who still permit the sale of deer meat in
the surrounding towns.
Vast herds of deer congregate in the low
grounds during severe winters and many hun
dreds of them perish for want of food. 1t is no
uncommon event for kindhearted farmers to feed
numbers of wapit from their stores of hay But
the expense of this is more than these hard-work-
ing individuals can stand, and something surely
should be done by the United States authorities to
provide for the needs of these fine animals, which
have been driven from their winter feeding
grounds by the settlers and their cattle.
The modus operandi Of making a trip after
wapti is too we'll known to need description If
undertaken early in the season by a sportsman
who is well equipped with men and pack-horses
the expedition is rather in the nature of pleas
ant picnic. The climatic conditions in September
and early October are generally perfect while the
absence of mosquitoes and other biting flies make
IneSe regions appear q PARADISE to who has
done much big-game hunting further northwest in
the real wilds of North America, which are only
now to be found in northern British Columbia
and Alaska. But II a sportsman delays his trip
until late in the fall and then camps as the
writer has DONE at an altitude of over ten thou
sand feet, he will find the early frosts and snow
make life in a tent, even in Wyoming, rather cold
er than is necessary for personal comfort.
The way in which American pack-horse can
thread Its way through dense timber, or follow a
narrow, snakelike trail across dangerous rock
Sides Is little short of marvellous. 1t is an inter
esting sight to see long line of these surefooted
animals threading their way in single file along
the face of a dangerous precipice, often treading
In loose, rolling rocks, in places where one false
step means sheer drop of two thousand or three
thousand feet into empty space. Yet it is seldom
that one falls off the trail. If this does happen
the owner may bid goodby to his horse and all
that he carries since rarely anything but frag-
ments are found afterwards on searching the
valley below.
Strange to say although the Wyoming wapit
have developed rnwonted cunning In seeking
their living and feeding grounds the are still CON-
parativey stupid animals to stalk. Especially SO
Is this the case with treveling bulls when they are
running In search of cows Then by means of
whistling In very poor initiative style of the
bulls challenge solitary bull can often be called
up to within few yards of the hunter. The
writer and his guide have thus been enabled to
follow bull for two miles through the forest
answering his repeated call at intervals until
hnally they have come face to face few yards