1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



149 



Anderson Forest and Stream for 



Contradicted. April 2 contains the 



following reply to the 

 Forest Superintendent's letter : 



"Editor Forest and Stream : 



"In Mr. Anderson's letter such 

 astounding statements occur that -I can 

 not let them pass unchallenged. 



' ' He says that there is no decrease 

 in the number of settlers by reason of 

 the reserve. The best answer to Mr. 

 Anderson is found in the fact that 

 wherever one goes on the reserve are 

 found abandoned ranches, tumble down 

 fences, filled up irrigation ditches, and 

 deserted houses on which appears the 

 notice, ' This building has been taken 

 possession of by, -and is the property 

 of, the United States, and all persons 

 are hereby warned against trespassing 

 therein.' 



"As to Mr. Anderson's statement, 

 that the same amount of stock is on 

 the reserve as formerly, I challenge him 

 to publish the amount actually allowed 

 on the reserve as against those kept off. 

 Last summer tens of thousands of acres 

 of grass went to waste, though the stock 

 was ready to eat it, and this winter thou- 

 sands of tons of hay have been sold for 

 the cost of putting it up, or are rotting 

 in the stacks, simply because the stock 

 cannot be summered on the reserve. 

 I expect to burn 200 tons of standing 

 hay next fall that should be worth six 

 dollars a ton ; and on hundreds of acres 

 of land I shall not even turn the water, 

 because of Mr. Anderson's management 

 of the reserve. 



"As to the reserve becoming a breed- 

 ing ground for wild animals, here are 

 the facts : Here is a great tract of moun- 

 tain country , thinly settled, and intended 

 to be kept so. It is well stocked \vith 

 game to furnish food, and every attempt 

 is being made to have as little hunting 

 done thereon as possible. The cougars 

 are already there, and the wolves have 

 found out its advantages and are com- 

 ing in droves. 



' ' With the boundaries restricted to 

 the actual forest and mountain lands, 

 and with a man in charge well informed 

 as to actual conditions and who pos- 

 sesses the respect and confidence of the 



people, much might be done. As it is, 

 the situation is bad. A heavy blow 

 has been struck at the development of 

 Wyoming, and very little good accom- 

 plished. The forests could have been 

 protected just as well with a much 

 smaller reserve. These forests are 

 mainly of lodgepole pine, are of very 

 little commercial value, and were in no 

 danger until railroads came. 



" Nothing has been done toward the 

 main object of game protection, to save 

 the larger males, so as to provide tro- 

 phies that are worth going after. Bull 

 elk scalps are worth $8 to $15 ; bull 

 elk tusks, $2 to $5 each ; mountain 

 sheep scalps $3 to $8 ; and from $50 to 

 $500 for extra large elk and sheep 

 heads. And if anyone thinks that no 

 elk and sheep are killed at these prices, 

 they are mistaken. For thfe next two 

 months is the hunters' harvest. The 

 big bulls and rams are weak and are 

 bunched in sheltered places. 



' ' I can leave home tomorrow morning 

 and before night have a hundred dol- 

 lars' worth of elk tusks in my pocket, 

 and in a month can have a thousand 

 dollars' worth of heads cached, ready to 

 pack out in the spring, and no one the 

 wiser. And I don't know but what I 

 might just as well do it. 



" WILLIAM WELLS. 



"WELLS, WYOMING." 



Where the As usual, we have just 

 Shoe Pinches, enough of the facts from 

 both sides to make one 

 unacquainted with the situation give up 

 the problem in despair. The following 

 additional statements, which we have on 

 good authority, may serve to throw some 

 light on the subject. 



Under Mr. Anderson's administration 

 the game has been very carefully pre- 

 served. This was a necessary policy on 

 account of the fact that the elk from 

 the National Park drift southeastward 

 through the reserve in search of winter 

 feed, and right in their line of travel a 

 number of men have taken squatter's 

 claims, so high up in the mountains 

 (8000 feet or more) that no sane man 

 would have settled there for agricul- 

 tural purposes. 



