The Condition of Wild Life <n Alaska 



of Alaska, he received the startling information 

 that the bear of Alaska are so numerous that they 

 could not be exterminated in a century, and so 

 ferocious that only numerous and heavily armed 

 parties dared to venture into the interior. On his 

 return the Senator recommended the practical re- 

 peal of all the Alaska game laws, an effort which 

 was defeated by the Boone and Crockett Club. 



In the same manner the present Governor, hav- 

 ing consulted the local bar-room bear hunter, is 

 greatly concerned about the danger to humanity 

 from brown bear. He uses in 1911, the following 

 language, after stating that the close season for 

 brown bear should be repealed : 



"The least that can be said of the legal protec- 

 tion of brown bear in Alaska is that it is an absurd- 

 ity. If this protection is continued, the menace to 

 human life will be still more serious, and agricul- 

 ture and stock raising in some of the most favored 

 regions in the Territory will be discouraged. 



"The Superintendent of the Government's ex- 

 perimental stock farm on Kodiak Island, makes a 

 strong appeal for the protection of settlers and 

 live stock against the ravages of brown bear, de- 

 claring that it has become a question whether we 

 shall have a game preserve or a great agricultural 

 and stock raising region on Kodiak Island." 



389 



