, 1923-04-11

May by which time the spring thaws
have set in, ridges have become bare
and the bulk of the elk herd has NOV
ed back to it's summer refuge, as
they invariable quit the valleys and
follow the snow back into the mount
aims as the ridges bare ahead of them
We have many natural enemies of
the elk which, in times past have ex-
acted an exceeding heavy toll from
the herd. Probably the most des-
tructive is the mountain lion, but we
have eliminated him from considera-
ton by his practical determination
which is also true of the wolf though
the coyote is still to be reckoned with
in the matter of the destruction of
calves and wounded adult animals or
those so weakened by starvation as to
be unable to defend themselves.
Then We have hat lowest specimen
of all humanity, "The Tusk Hunter,
of whom nothing too bad can be said
or for whom no penalty can be too
severe.
The wolf and his kindred kill that
they may eat; the magpie picks the
eyes from the living animal to salts
fly his appetite; the lion kills quickly
and mercifully to appease the pangs
of hunger but the human wolf stalks
his prey and leaves one of the mob
lest specimens of our wild life welter-
ing in its blood, taking only its teeth
leaving the meat to waste while under
cara nf thn III vail La fI.
his booty to dealers who dispose of
the tusks to purchasers who seek
trophies Indifferent to how they have
been obtained.
The game warden service in the
jackson Hole is entirely inadequate
The game preserve, with an area of
approximately 1900 square miles,is
patrolled only by Forest Service men,
while all the rest of the Jackson Hole,
more than 1000 square miles of addi-
tional territory, is favored with the
supervision of only one assistant
game warden!
The disgrace of it is that the
Game Dept. is more than self sustain
ing. Aside from the fines collected
this department has paid into the
State Treasury S15S 100000 surplus
since 1908 and means an annual ex-
penditure by sportsmen and tourists
of S35,000.00 among the people of
the State and $3.50, 100000 annually to
the people of Teton County alone.
Here are the remedies / would
suggest:
Run the State Game and Fish De-
partment on a business basis; take it
out of politics; provide civil service
examinations for warden and assis-
tants; create a State fund and require
that department to be run on it's
own resources. Provide also a civil
service examination for guides, Civ
ing them a permenant license under
heavy bonds as ex-officio game war
dens conditioned on an observance
and enforcement of the game laws;
abolish all permits and issue no trap
pers license except on a heavy bond;
appoint a sufficient field force to
convince the unlawful that the State
really means to protect the game; pro
hibit the alien from our streams and
fields, except when accompanied by
a guide but, above all---FEED THE
ELK ENOUGH TO PULL THEM
THROUGH THE WINTER. Also a
sane law in reference to bear and
prohibit the ruthless obstruction of all
kinds of wild animal life.
Many of these things would have
been accomplished by the enactment
nf tho nnrnn la,y xnI,,L ,... L.lI-l +
the past session. I admit that the
possibility of taking the Game and
Fish Dept. out of politics may be but
a dream--a dream that comes to me
when I stand by the side of a help
less animal, yet living but frozen to
the ice, its eyes picked out by the
magpies, its udder or hams eaten by
a coyote or its tusks pulled by some
human skunk.
At such times, after | have put an
end to its suffering, / have sworn to
labor increasingly for the enactment
of such laws as will overcome and
make such conditions impossible.
At the risk of seeming sentimental,
| must speak of the moonlight nights
when we have stood and watched
bands of starving elk along the hill
side above town, and parallel to the
town, following the narrow trail
where, with the crying of calves,
coughing Of the cows, and the
scrunch, scrunch of bleeding hoofs,
they wandered from one end of
the valley to the other seeking for the
food they could not find. Hunting
for food, ever hunting, while every
drift, and log or obstacle of any kind
was marked by the form of n great
bull, n COW, or a poor little calf cry
ing weakly for its mother. Having
reached the lowest ebb of their vitali-
ty they had slipped and fallen, and,
being too weak TO regain their feet
had died. victims IN the nreeent ott-