ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



411 



SECTION OF THE FENCE. 



The eastern boundar}- of the Bison Range 

 crosses the end of the valley and five miles 

 beyond are the corrals, where the bison 

 arrived about twelve o'clock. The wagons 

 were driven in and the rear wheels dropped 

 into depressions dug in the ground. After 

 spraying the animals with crude oil, each was 

 liberated. Aside from a very slight lame- 

 ness, they were in perfect condition, greedily 

 eating their allotment of hay. The cor- 

 rals, three in number, each about 200 feet 

 square, are placed just inside the southern 

 boundary of the line fence, separated from 

 it by a passage of 15 feet in width. Two long 

 sheds with mangers have been erected on 

 the northern side. Individual members of 

 the herd may be quickly transferred from one 

 corral to the next, through the lane on the 

 south side, the ends of which can be closed 

 with strong wire gates. The fence is 74 inches 

 high, made by the Denton Wire Fence Com- 

 pany, of Denton, Texas, supported on oak 

 posts twelve inches in diameter, set three 

 feet in the ground. Above the fence proper, 

 for greater security, are three wires extending 

 parallel to the line of the top, about five inches 

 apart. One of these will be insulated for a 

 telephone service, which is being installed. 

 The gates are most ingenious, handsomely 

 constructed, and can resist the rush of a big 



bull as easy as the fence itself. The grass in 

 the corrals has been burned off, and the ani- 

 mal can get no other food but the alfalfa upon 

 which they are now feeding almost exclu- 

 sively. Large galvanized tanks, of the type 

 used exclusively in the west, have been placed 

 in each enclosure, and a constant supply of 

 running water will flow into each as soon as 

 the windmill on the banks of Cache Creek has 

 been completed. 



The bison will be kept in the corrals 

 until spring, when i\Ir. Rush expects to liber- 

 ate them into a range of some 200 acres. 

 This pasture will be fenced in the winter 

 and the grass burned. A number of cattle 

 graze though the valley, and as it is quite well 

 known that they carry the tick which causes 

 Texas fever, the spraying with oil and burn- 

 ing of the grass have been thought expedient 

 to prevent the bison from becoming in- 

 fected. ^Ir. Rush is thoroughly familiar with 

 all methods of prevention, and has adopted the 

 most stringent measures to carry the animals 

 through the dangerous season. Once they be- 

 come acclimated, the danger line will be passed. 



On October 23rd, with Mr. Rush, I rode 

 along the line of the fence, which is being 

 constructed, but 

 scarcely more than 

 half completed. Its 

 ponderous char- 

 acter has made the 

 task a heavy one, 

 especially through 

 the gorges, where 

 in places but one 

 post can be carried 

 at a time, and even 

 then by hands 

 alone. 



^^'e saw some 

 signs of wolves 

 and coyotes, but 

 not a single furred 

 animal nor game 

 bird. Perching and 

 rapacious birds 

 were in abundance : 

 jays, crows, flick- 

 ers, meadow-larks, 

 cardinals, eagles, 

 buzzards, owls, 

 hawks, sparrows, 

 and several others 



M 



A GATE LOCK. 



