Introductory 1 1 



Missouri and the Red River of the North to the 

 Pacific coast in California ; but it has been exter- 

 minated from the eastern and western borders of 

 its former range, and very much thinned out 

 everywhere. 



In the game preserves and zoological gardens 

 east of the Mississippi it has proved feasible to 

 perpetuate the whitetail and the wapiti, which 

 lend themselves readily to this semi-domestica- 

 tion. With mule-deer, caribou, moose, and prong- 

 buck the .task has been far more difficult, owing 

 probably to the difficulty caused by an entire 

 change of surroundings. Seemingly, however, 

 the effort to keep moose on preserves in the Ad- 

 irondacks and New Hampshire has been success- 

 ful. There would be a far better chance to keep 

 mule-deer and prongbuck permanently in captiv- 

 ity if the effort were made in their natural habitat. 



The chase of all these noble and beautiful an- 

 imals has ever possessed a peculiar fascination 

 for bold and hardy men, skilled in the use of arms 

 and the management of the horse, and wonted to 

 feats of strength and endurance. Throughout 

 the pioneer times the settlers followed hunting 

 as an industry as much as a sport, and to this day 

 there are regions in the Rockies and even on the 

 great plains where the ranchmen still so follow 

 it. Ordinarily the hunter goes on foot with the 

 rifle, but where the country is open, as through- 



