Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-12-02

! North Africa, and the Hyena Is Very
Rare-No Ostriches Have Been Seen
for Several Years-vast Army Of
Hunters With Improved Firearms
Make Game Laws a Joke by Heavy
Slaughter.
According to Colonel Henry w. Shoe
maker, "a member of the New York
Geological society. the destruction or
wild life in Africa. Italy and France
Is proceeding at rate rivalng that
which marked the determination OF
our western wild animals. and unless
remedial measures are taken the instl-
tuition of hunting will soon he but
historical memory for HE lack OF
game TO keep ii alive. Colonel Shoe
maker recently made II trip through
Morocco and Algeria. travelling also
IN Italy and France. for the purpose
of studying forestry matters ana de-
voted particular attention to the con-
dition of hunting and game.
"EXcellent game laws prevail he
Says. 'but the great number Of hunters
has lIIitc WIN ne az ~ hitt ~ ','>''
North Africa ms in the western states
at home.
"Of the larger mammals the lion IL
gone. and even as Il tradition Is barely,
remembered. visited the grave OF
Jules Gerard at Bouira, who to my
surprise found survived down to our
time, dying in 1911, in his eighty-ninth
to, ar in, a a
cept two localities. Judging from the
number of women wearing jackal furs,
terrible slaughter has been meted
out to these animals. The hyta Is
very rare.
"rhe mouhon Is gone from all sec
lions of Algeria. but one. and Is
scarce In Morocco Formerly al
BiSkra horns of the moution. addaX.
gazeiIe. etc, were on sale everywhere.
This time found only one very old
pnir of mouhon horns, few very In
ferior gaZelle horns. no addax, and no
PANTHER skins. From forty to fifty
English sportsmen hunting each year
for forty years (all observing the game
lawS) have wiped out the mouflon at
FL Kantara. AT Bougle, where panther
claws were sold as charms at five
francs apiece, none Is now to be had
al any price; none being killed the
reason.
"In the Sahara, Mahomet Szhir. a
character famous at Bskra, says:
The game is all gone. Occasionally
one sees an old skin; that Is all. No
ostriches have been seen for several
years The bubal hartebeest (Bubalis
boSelaphus) is gone, even as mem
ory. The Barbary partridge is almost
gone On our trip we actually saw
three, and one squirrel, two foxes, two
jackals and a tame young wild boar.
Game Laws Scraps of Paper.
"Game laws are mere scraps of
paper in the face of an army ol we'll
armed and interchangeable hunters.
Unless hunters can content themselves
with small kills there will be no game
in the future, anywhere.
"When | was here In 1913, the leop-
ard was considered in no danger OF
extinction. Now 1t is practically gone.
The gazelle Is far from plentiful. This
winter English and American sports
men have made big bags, and they
will have 1t all gone by 1928. The
wild boar will last the longest, as 1t
haunts the deep forest covers. The
decrease in bird life is most noticeable.
Many birds which we CLASS as insectiv-
OrouS, and try to protect, are sub
ject to open seasons here. Apart from
the loss to sport and agriculture by
the destruction Of these interesting
forms of wild life, 1t is a sad fact that
much of the picturesque charm OF
these countries is gone from them by
their passing.
Before leaving Algiers, Edouard
Arnaud, the best known guide OF
American and English hunting parties
for mouflon and gazelle, said: in the
Sahara Desert, about Biskra and Tug
CURT, the gazelle will last probably
three more seasons. 1t is very scarce
now; and thirty to fifty parties of
English and Americans go out after 1t
each winter, to say nothing of local
and native hunters, all of whom make
big kills. The mouflon has been COM
pletely exterminated In the mountains
of Ell Kantara. The gaZelles have been
,all killed off since the war in the Little
Sahara at Bou- Sada. In Morocco,
since the French occupation, the ga
zelles are disappearing fast in the
plains about Marrakesh. / know of
only one place in Algeria where the
mounon and gazelle can be found in
favorable numbers, and that is because
II Is too difficult for tourists to get In
to them.
"In the Cevennes mountains wolves
are still to be found, and wild boars
are so numerous that one hunter near
AnduZe killed five In one month Since
the wolves have been destroyed over
the greater part Of France the boars
have increased enormously, and now
they can be killed at any time and In
any way. In some sections there Is
bounty of fifty francs for mature bears,
and smaller premiums for younger
ones.
Bird Life at Low Ebb.
"In Italy we found bird life at low
ebb, and an awful slaughter going on