THE END OF THE TRAIL 299 



of spring. An informant wrote me during the 

 spring: 



"The elk calf crop of last year has suffered a 

 loss of about eighty per cent. The health offi- 

 cers of Livingston declare that the waters of the 

 Yellowstone River have been contaminated by 

 the decaying bodies of dead elk, and the Mon- 

 tana Board of Health is making an investi- 

 gation." 



In spite of this, previous to April first, 191 1, 

 permits had been granted to sheep men to graze 

 forty thousand sheep during the summer of 

 191 1 on the Gallatin National Forest Reserve. 

 Doubtless many additional licenses were later 

 issued. 



It is unbelievable that a Christian nation 

 would permit, to say nothing of being responsi- 

 ble for, such a condition as exists. Humanity 

 cries out against this utterly heartless course. 

 It makes me heart-sick now to remember what 

 I saw in Jackson's Hole. Every one wants to 

 see the animals preserved if they can be pro- 

 vided for. No one wants to see them preserved, 

 however, through one season only to be starved 

 to death the next. If they cannot be provided 

 for, let us kill them in the name of mercy, and 

 be done with it once for all. 



Whether the sheep that denude the ranges in 



