WILD LIFE IN ALASKA—GRANT. 525 
the interior beyond the mountains, and is coextensive with the region 
drained by the Yukon River and its various branches. 
The conditions in these two regions differ widely, and practically 
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 Mount 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 re- 
quires 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 principal 
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 dis- 
trict 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 confined 
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 occasionally 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. 
Wolves.—Wolves are abundant in Vancouver Island and through- 
out the interior. In the north, around the region drained by the 
Porcupine River, they assume very large dimensions, some skins 
measuring nearly 6 feet from nose to tip of tail; and a large per- 
centage of these wolves are black. Coyotes have pushed north from 
the American boundary as far as White Horse, at the headwaters of 
the Yukon River. 
Foxes.—Red, cross, silver, and black foxes occur in the interior. 
The two latter command enormous prices, in some cases as high 
as $1,000 for one skin. These animals are being killed off-by the 
use of poison in the hands of white men, and many more are de- 
stroyed than are recovered. The natives are afraid to use poison, 
owing to several tragedies which have occurred from its careless 
handling. 
