The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 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 bukiumper of
using effectively the revolver which he proudly
displays In fact, if most OF these modern cow
boys attempted to draw his gun at oldfash-
ioned saloon gathering in "wideopen' town OF
the west. before he could touch the trigger he
would have been as full of lead a plum pud-
ding is full OF rasins. For. alas the glory and
glamour of the wild west has departed forever.
First came the numbering wagons with their
hardy owners, emigrants and hunters, 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 tor 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
desolate 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 as Wyoming
must be prepared for series of rude shocks If 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 few de-
cayed bones relics of a skull, the last traces of
animal which roamed in countless thousands
over the praires and wantonly eXtermiuated
partly by hunters for their hides and partly by
settlers make way for their cattle. The curious
prong-horn antelope also has almost been wiped
in these district. But the saddest Of all, per
haps is the present state to which the
finest deer on earth. the American wapti has
been reduced. This noble beast. which for
mery a 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 marked depre-
citation in modern years. AS every knows
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 the season opens each
valley or pass which leads from the Yellowstone
to the surrounding country is peopled with So
called sportmen, meat-hunters. all camped and
waiting for those unwary animals which may roam
beyond the confines OF their reservation.
In these outlying districts, where few
ming bands of wapiti still survive, they have
tirelv changed their habits during the early part
of the season. Formerly the herds would be
found grazing or roaming through the low-ying,
omen parks while throughout the day and night
the forests would echo to that melodious whstling
call of the bulls But today. if hunter seeks the
socalIed American elk" he must perforce look in
different places those frequented by the old
time hunters Far up. on the very edge of the
timber-line feeding and climbing almost like
mountain sheep among steep crags, and on the
verge of snow-line. now find the few survivors
of the splendid animals And so terrified they
by the constant presence of their natural enemy
man. with his innumerable camp fires and at
teudant 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 a wapit whstling two occasions,
and moreover throughout this period only saw
one head worth shooting at. says c. E. Radcliffe
In Country Life. 1t is this 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 a few years ago
was teeming with good heads
In the same way the bears and bishorn sheep
Of the Rocky mountains have almost become a
thing Of the past. Even the very numerous mule