Arizona republican., 1916-05-07
MEXICAN WAR |s
 SOARING B|G CAME
Game Warden Willard Says Fighting Down South Causes Game to
 Take Refuge in Arizona.

That the long continued fighting that has been going on in the states of northern Mexico has frightened countless numbers of big game ani- mals from that section of the map and caused them to take refuge in the southwestern portion of this state, especially in Yuma county, is the be- lief of State Game Warden Willard. who has just returned from an eX tended tour of the tall and uncut wids of Yuma and Mohave counties.
 For the past month MT. Willard, accompanied by Deputies Pettis and House, has been making a trip through some of the unfrequented spots in the above named counties, and upon his return to this city yesterday stated that game conditns in that section are the best that they have been for years.
 'I was surprised at the large num- bers of mountain sheep and deer which l found are now roaming this part of the state, said MT. Willard, and it is certainly gratifying to find that the supply of big game is not being de- A least.
 T understand that the game laws have been lived up to pretty strictly in that section, but in spite of this fact, one is unable to account for tho big increase of the big game animals, unless he accepts the theory that is advanced that the big fellows, both deer and sheep, have been frightened out of the provinces of Sonora and Chihuahua by the continued fighting of the various Mexican revolutionary elements.
 With the possible exception of the Grand Canyon country Yuma county has at the present time more noun tain sheep than any other part of the state. All through the northern part of this county and the southern part of Mohave. in the wild sections which we visited, we saw traces of big bands of both sheep and deer. One place in the former county We came unex- pectedly on the camp of an old time desert traveller and found Il portion of the carcass of a recently slaughtered deer. We expected to file criminal charges against the man in whose pos session we found the venison, but on examination we learned from the county officials that the man had previously visited the county seat and { told the sheriff that his two logs had run the deer down and killed it. While we were inclined to doubt this yarn, we decided that we would have hard matter in proving that the man had deliberately killed the ani- maj. and so we had to pass up what promised to be our only case against violators of the state game laws.
 During this trip we covered about 500 miles and visited some parts of the county of Yuma where I believe no white man has trod for many years. if at all We succeeded in getting lost d number of times, but always managed to find our way again. Our tour included stops al Yuma. Parker Quartzsite and many other small places
 l Taken as a whole, I am inclined to believe that the hunters of the state are most hearty in their CO., operation of the state authorities in the matter of obeyng the game laws, and consequently in a few years I think this state will again be the home of immense herds of big game animals, as well as Of hundreds of the smaller natives of the wild wood"