246 SADDLE AND CAMP 



and later very stringent regulations were put in 

 force restricting the hunting of any kind or spe- 

 cies of animal within its boundaries, save of 

 predatory animals in very particular cases and 

 under strict observation. This made of Yellow- 

 stone National Park an ideal game preserve and 

 refuge, where, under military patrol, it is safe 

 to say no poaching takes place. Thus was 

 formed a great breeding ground for animals to 

 which they could retreat, free from molesta- 

 tion by their old-time enemy the Indian, or 

 their new and far more destructive enemy the 

 white man. 



The elk herds of Yellowstone Park and the 

 contiguous country were large and their annual 

 increase under normal conditions is about one- 

 third annually. As previously stated, their 

 winter ranges in the park were limited to small 

 and restricted areas, due to the high altitude of 

 the park, its heavy snows and severe winters. 

 As the early snows began to deepen upon the 

 mountains the herds sought lower levels, the 

 overflow of the limited winter feeding grounds 

 in the park drifted out and spread over ranges 

 beyond its borders, those in the south working 

 their way across the Tetons into Idaho, into 

 Jackson's Hole, along the Hoback, the Big 

 Bend of the Green River, and down to the Red 



