82 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



mens of both summer and winter skins, accompanied by skulls and 

 flesh measurements, will be preserved for museum collections and 

 study before it is too late. 



Originally the elk inhabited the western slope of the Cascade 

 Mountains and the region thence to the coast over all of western Ore- 

 gon. In 1805 Lewis and Clark on their way down the Columbia re- 

 ported elk as seen near The Dalles ; as plentiful across the river from 

 Camas, Wash.; three killed near Point Adams, several near Cape 

 Horn, and many taken during the winter just below the mouth of the 

 Columbia (1893) v. 2, pp. 671, 734, 743, 754, 794, 795, 798, 920, 935). 

 In 1811-14 Franchere reported them as abundant throughout a great 

 part of the Willamette Valley (1904, PP- %4?, 3*4, &&3). In 1841 

 Wilkes reported them as plentiful in the vicinity of Willamette Falls 

 (1845, pp. 348, 386). In 1841 Peale reported elk in the mountains 

 south of the Columbia River of unusual size and in considerable num- 

 bers (1848, p. 306). From observations made about 1854, Suckley 

 and Gibbs reported them as abundant in the mountains west of 

 Astoria (1860, p. 133). 



Later as the country was settled, elk were reported from almost 

 every valley and mountain range of western Oregon, including the 

 west slope of the Cascade Mountains, but there seems to be no record 

 from the east slope of the range. In recent years, under rigid pro- 

 tection, apparently they have been holding their own, while in some 

 localities actually increasing. The continual spread of settlement, 

 though, is restricting their range, and the greater number of hunters 

 each year makes it more difficult to prevent poaching in out-of-the- 

 way places. 



Forest Service officials in 1910 reported elk as very scarce in the 

 Siskiyou and Siuslaw National Forests, as formerly abundant in the 

 Umpqua National Forest, and approximately 15 head ranging on each 

 of the Crater and Cascade National Forests. In 1913, according to 

 the Oregon Sportsman, there were 6 or 7 small herds in the Loon 

 Lake district, about 35 miles from Roseburg. In 1914 the same 

 periodical mentioned about 48 elk in Lane County, a band of 25 on the 

 head of Drift Creek in Lincoln County, and a small band in Wasco 

 County near the southeast slope of Mount Hood. In 1915 elk 

 were reported as increasing in southern Oregon, where 31 were 

 counted in 1 day. One was seen in Tillamook County, and 2 or 3 

 small bands in Clackamas County. In 1916 the animals were said 

 to be increasing in Lane, Lincoln, and Douglas Counties, 8 were 

 counted in Coos County, and a few in Tillamook and Clatsop Coun- 

 ties. In 1917 numbers were reported in Lane County, a herd of 80 

 was estimated in the Fall Creek country in Coos County, a small 

 band of 35 or 40 in Curry County, and a few in Columbia County. 



In the official report ot game animals on the national forests of 

 Oregon for the years 1924, 1925, and 1926, a slight decrease in num- 

 ber of elk is shown on the Cascade and Siskiyou Forests, and an 

 increase on the Crater, Hood, Santiam, and Umpqua. The number 

 reported for 1926 on the Crater was 16, the Siskiyou 25, the Santiam 

 40, Mount Hood 130. and the Cascade 225 elk. This total of 436 

 elk on the national forests of western Oregon probably covers the 

 greater part of the Roosevelt's elk in the State in 1926. In 1929 the 



