60 



of success each year. Although very wary and difficult to approach, 

 the " professional," through an intimate knowledge of their habits 

 and the skilful use of breechloading rifles, often succeeds in destroy- 

 ing a whole band when once he has satisfactorily chosen his point of 

 attack. Our hunters brought us in thirteen obtained on a single ex- 

 cursion for them, and killed from a band of fifteen. The other two 

 were killed, but could not be got at. 



15. Antilocapra Americana. Fronghorn. Antelope. 

 Abundant. Found everywhere on the plains in large herds. Their 

 extermination, however, seems to be rapidly approaching, from the 

 rate at which they are at present slaughtered. Thousands are killed 

 within the radius of a few miles, every year, for the eastern and 

 western markets, a large proportion of those killed here being sent to 

 Utah, Nevada and California. The best of the antelope season occurs 

 in October and November, the elk and deer being the more profit- 

 able game later in the season. The hunters select the most favor- 

 able points along the railroad for their headquarters, and for weeks 

 together the more successful of them take from five to eight or ten 

 saddles each per day, for which they find ready sale. One party 

 whose camp I visited averaged over fifteen dollars a day each, during 

 the best of the season, from the sale of their antelope saddles. Prob- 

 ably the antelopes occur at present in no greater numbers anywhere 

 than in southern, and especially in southwestern, Wyoming, where 

 bands of hundreds are often visible, and the smaller herds are innu- 

 merable. They are, however, already perceptibly decreasing in 

 numbers in consequence of this wholesale slaughter. 



1O. Cerviis Canadensis. Elk. Abundant, particularly 

 about Elk Mountain, and neighboring portions of the Medicine Bow 

 Range. 



19. Cerviis macrotis. Mule Deer. Abundant. 



18. Cervus leucurus. White-tailed Deer. Not common, 

 and appears not to associate generally with the C. macrotis, which is 

 here far more numerously represented. We obtained a single speci- 

 men from our hunters, who reported it to be the only example they 

 had met with for many months. 



1S>. Jaculus Hudson! us. Jumping Mouse. Said to be 

 common. 



