Pueblo chieftain., 1921-08-12
n rREpERfC ]. HAskIN


Washington. . =. August ia
long and bitter warfare is oeins
VaEed within the borders q the
United states. neither SIDE asking nor
srantius quarter No armEtica will
be signed. and there Will De no peacs
terms The end OF the battling will he
the extinction Of one element in thv
conflict On one side are ranged be-
tween four and Use hundred govern
ment hunters. professional killers en-
ployed by the Biological survey Of the
Department Of Agriculture on th.
oth-r side are aligned all the preds-
tory beasts OF the nation. from ground
squirrels and jack RABBITS up 20 fierce
/ stock killing mountaIl HONG. bears,
] and wolves.
I Hundreds o. millions Of dollars dam
age = done annually by Wild animals
l The big killers like the wolves and
oears take a tremendous toll In the
! lives Of cattle. sheep. and horses on
| the western ranges. but the greatest
/ damage Is done by Eophers and other
1 smaller animals Vh7 destroy pastur-
| age capable Of supporting mlllions of
cows and sheep The damage done by
he predatory beasts Is estimated ar
| 500, 10000 = year
] Unfortunately. IL is not easy 20
arouse interest and secure cooperation
[ in destroying the smaller and more
I numerous pests. The dramatic appeal
Of hunting wolves and hears uakcs u
easy for the government hunters 10
pursue this work N1ih success. These
d-stroyers are diminishing fast
] Money was first pTut ided FOR slay-
I sns predatory anirna.s. big and little.
in 1915. Since then there has been an
annual appropriation. and as result
sea.pr9 beasts, biz and little. have been
dispatched 10 the happy hunting
ground hy the rifles. traps. and poison
bats Of the FEDERAL Slmrods For in
,iaaee ,i,,' "9sn .1 the - stared IN ;, New
cattle killers Of the worst sort. Now
! ther. are but score. and soon there
viii be none
Thre.-quart.rs ot tn, 10000 animals
slain have been coyotes but the total
| includes some 1900 =ray wolves each
one of which destroyed live stock in
/ the course of a year valued at fl.ho
| The total includes go mountain Hons.
each capable Of fearful destruction Of
] cattle and sheep But The humble
| prairie doc stiil occupies some lpo.o99,-
l 90 acres Of IN. best range land iu the
| Rocky Mountain region. Prairie dogs
destroy from u TO = per cent Of the
| grass in the districts they inhauit.
which means that in New Mexico
alone. II the rodent vas cleared out
/ there would he saved pasturaEe
enough to support 90. 90 additional
| cattle. Or i.sna 60 sheep.
Victim. Of th- killer
Some Of the big animal outlaws
/ tracked to their doom by the Govern
ment hunters have had long and
! bloody records one mountain zion
1 was bsEFed tn Wyoming which Wss
/ known 20 have killed Si.oo0 worth Of
live stock IN a month Another was
! killed which had a record Of Staying
seven colts in the spring of one year.
! 4 pair Of wolves was shot in wyom
Ing which had caused iZ.s09 damage in
/ a single year A ranch owner in
] Texas reported that he lost nearly s01
sheep In q year thru the depreciation
u six coyotes. Later the whole band
I was accounted for by government
J hunters
Killing the larger beasts. particular.
] ~ the wolves. in some parts Of the
/ West is also a prscsution for the pro-
I lection Of human life and health. as
/ they often carry rabies. About 800
persons are known TO have been bitten
/ BY rahid wolves. and half a hundred
! deaths are officially vouchsd for
4 Herds attacked hy these crazsd ami
\ nals suffer terrific destruction
BioEraphles Of some Of the big
beasts Killed by Uncle Sans rifles
and ps are stranger far than anil
NAL fictios The most recent Of tho
Neil known animal criminals to fall
before these hunters was an enormous
/ black bear killed near Big piney.
/ Wyoming Not only did this powerful
and crafty animal ravIsh the flockv Of
shaep With great regularity. but took
I Dc isht In soaring the sheep so that
| in ihelr haste IN eE~aps the awful fate
I 'hrsstrnlug them they sta arupsdad the
| fleeing animals bsniud uittnz u-, an
| thoaa IN front ~ them. rnofhering
many - death. The yorut trick ~
| '1le outlay. tho. ~aH DESTROYING
| ranpt Luckily. rs never reached any
.srpHrs hut accounted for many out
' r'a. tearing up the tents. -rns~hi-n