TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 129 



tion of game under state control, where female deer and fawns 

 are now being killed under the laws of the state. In Canada, 

 British Columbia prides itself on the efficiency of its game laws, 

 but the game is rapidly vanishing there, although in the eastern 

 portion of that province it is the Stoney Indians, rather than 

 white hunters, who are the chief destroyers. 



From the point of view of game conditions, Alaska is divided 

 into two entirely distinct regions. First the Coast Region, from 

 Portland Canal along the base of the mountains northward and 

 then westward to and including the Aleutian Islands. 



The second region comprises the interior beyond the moun- 

 tains, and is co-extensive with the region drained by the Yukon 

 River and its various branches. 



The conditions in these two regions differ widely, and prac- 

 tically all the sportsmen who go to Alaska hunt in the coast 

 region. Those who cross into the interior are apt to confine their 

 shooting to the headwaters of the Yukon in Canadian territory. 



The game on the coast between Portland Canal and Mt. St. 

 Elias consists principally of bear and the small Sitka deer. There 

 is an abundance of goat on the mainland close enough to salt 

 water to be easily reached. 



To reach moose, caribou or sheep from the southeastern coast 

 requires a journey over the mountains into British Columbia, 

 which is seldom attempted, except from Fort Wrangell at the 

 mouth of the Stikeen River. 



West of the St. Elias Alps and around Cook Inlet, the prin- 

 cipal game animals are the giant moose and white sheep of the 

 Kenai Peninsula, the caribou and bear of the Alaska Peninsula, 

 and the bear of some of the large islands, notably Kodiak. It is 

 in this district that the game laws require close attention and 

 rigid enforcement. 



In the vast interior the strict enforcement of game laws is not 

 so important, because the entire region drained by the Yukon is 

 covered with heavy forests, and the population is largely con- 

 fined to the waterways. 



Black bear, lynx and moose are everywhere abundant, but 

 seldom seen along the Yukon River. Sheep are accessible from 

 points on the upper Yukon, notably at Eagle, and caribou oc- 

 casionally cross the river in herds. 



The game laws for this district should aim principally at the 

 prevention of slaughter on a large scale for market purposes, and 

 of hide and head hunting. There are very few sportsmen, and 

 the miners and prospectors in the interior are difficult to control. 



