724 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



THE URGE TO SEE WILD ANIMALS IN THEIR NATIVE HAUNTS IS CERTAINLY INBORN IN 

 MOST OF US AND MANY MEN HAVE TAKEN HARD TRIPS JUST FOR THE- CHANCE OF 

 SEEING A BAND OF DEER OR ELK OR STARTING A FAWN IN AN OPEN ASPEN PATCH 



that after a ride which had covered every possible hiding 

 place over a course of twenty miles for the day he had 

 not seen one head of large game. 



Many elements go to make up the values found in 

 live game in recreation territory. The urge to see wild 

 animals in their native haunts is certainly inborn in most 

 individuals. There is a certain 

 feeling of brotherhood when one 

 is out in the field, knowing that 

 he will not fire on game if he 

 sees it, and suddenly surprises 

 a doe and fawn comfortably 

 housed in an aspen thicket. The 

 life battle of the deer family is 

 suggested when the mother deer 

 starts, quick as a flash, to get the 

 fawn and herself from harm's 

 way. One cannot help but feel 

 sympathy for an existence spent 

 in protecting life itself. To one 

 thus finding a wild thing which 

 is harmless and yet mortally 

 afraid of all living things of 

 predatory nature comes a pro- 

 found yearning for good fortune 

 to follow the wilding. Life in 

 the landscape brightens the out- 

 look. Many years ago in the 

 private parks of long forgotten 

 princes peacocks preened and in 

 the broader open spaces deer fed 

 in peaceful security. Tn our 



modern parks are bears, deer, 

 bison and many of the wild 

 things of our native land which 

 are kept there not only because 

 of the interest from an educative 

 and scientific standpoint but be- 

 cause of the livening of a certain 

 section of the public grounds. It 

 must be said in all candidness 

 that with little or no exception 

 the average park zoo falls far 

 short of what could be accom- 

 plished in this particular field of 

 use. The conventional iron 

 fenced cages so detract from 

 this effect that such people as the 

 Traveler who any day in his 

 home town might have, for a 

 few cents street carfare, viewed 

 the entire zoo of one of the 

 parks of the city, will spend hun- 

 dreds of dollars and feel fully 

 repaid to see only one flock of 

 sheep or a herd of elk for only 

 a few moments. 



The sprightliness of a scene 

 which comes from the presence 

 of wild life in the outlook cannot be over emphasized. 

 I recall the pleasant thrill I received while visiting the 

 Yellowstone when a big black bear mother with two cubs 

 came to the edge of the river opposite the road on 

 which we were traveling and leisurely looked us over. 

 As I write, my eye glancing from the window of this 



DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE THAT BIG GAME MAY STILL BE TAKEN IN SOME SECTIONS. 

 BUT THIS RANGER HAS MADE A BIG KILL AND SUCH SKINS AS HE HAS TO SHOW ARE A 

 RATHER UNUSUAL SIGHT TODAY 



