The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1914-01-24

splendid youth who smokes cigarettes while he
apes the manners and costume of his predeces-
sors, but who is often too idle to throw rope. or
totally incapable Of riding bad bukjumper or Of
using effectively the revolver which he proudly
displays. In fact If most of these modern cow
boys attempted to draw his gun at an. old-fash-
toned saloon gathering in "wide-open" town OF
the west before he could touch the trigger he
would have been as full of lead as plum pud
ding is full of raisins For, alas! the glory and
glamour of the wild west has departed forever.
First came the numbering OK wagons, with their
hardy owners, emigrants and hunters, a race Of
men, SCARED and weather beaten fighting their
way grimly, inch by inch, to open the new Edo
RADIO. Foot by foot they drove the Indians and
game before them, and for years barely held their
own in these unknown lands. Then came that
mighty factor, steam, and the steel roads with
their high-powered locomotives, today conveying
the settlers tourists in few hours across those
once desoate prairies to traverse which once took
the old pioneer many weeks to accomplish.
In consequence, he who today sets out in quest
of sport through such country Wyoming
must be prepared for a series of rude shocks II he
hopes to find anything approaching the state OF
affairs there about which he has read In the books
of his youth
The splendid buffalo is extinct; but a few de-
cayed bones or relics Of skull the last traces Of
an animal which roamed In countless thousands
over the prairies, and were wantonly exterminated
partly by hunters for their hides, and partly by
settlers to make way for their cattle. The curious
pronghorn antelope also has almost been wiped
out in these district But the saddest Of ALL per-
haps, Is to the present state to which the
finest deer EARTH the American wapiti, has
been reduced This noble beast which was for
merly denizen of the open country, has been
driven to seek refuge in the densest forests Here
It is hard indeed for any number of them to OBJ
tain sufficient food, and In consequence the type
and size of their antlers shows a marked depre-
citation in modern years. AS every one knows a
harbor of refuge has been found for them by the
United States government In the Yellowstone
park, and here the tourist may see, face to face,
grazing in bands, the semi-tame remnants of the
once vast herds Of wapiti. Outside this sanctuary,
on every side, as soon as the season opens each
| valley or pass which leads from the Yellowstone
| to the surrounding country is peopled with so
called sportmen. or meathunters. all camped and
waiting for those unwary animals which may roam
beyond the confines Of their reservation.
In these outlying districts, where few cum
ming bands Of wapiti still survive, they have en-
tirely changed their habits during the early part
| Of the season. Formerly the herds would be
found grazing. or roaming through the low-lyng.
| open parks while throughout the day and night
the forests would echo to that melodious whstling
call Of the bulls But today. II hunter seeks the
socalled American elk" he must perforce look in
different places to those frequented by the old
|
| tir1ber-line, feeding and climbing almost like
mountain sheep among steep crags and on the
1 verge Of snow-line. now find the few survivors
of the splendid animals. And terrified are they
by the constant presence of their natural enemy
man, with his innumerable camp fires and at
tendant noises, that the bulls seldom dare give
utterance to their challenging calls So true is
this. that the writer after spending many weeks
during the past season in the wilds Of Wyoming
only heard wapiti whistling two occasions,
and. moreover. throughout this period only saw
one head worth shooting at says c. E. Radcliffe
in Country Life. 1t is true this was a noble head
and one Of the finest brought out Of that country
for some time past, but the capture of this head
entailed many weeks of hard work. many scores
Of miles travelling. and many thousands of feet
hard climbing in a country which few years ago
was teeming with good heads.
In the same way the bears and bighorn sheep
OF the Rocky mountains have almost become
thing of the past. Even the very numerous mule