V 

 THE PASSING OF THE WILD 



PEOPLE grieve over the breaking of some valued 

 piece of old china, which probably took but a 

 few hours to make, and which may possibly be 

 replaced. What, then, shall be said of the 

 extinction of a species which took untold 

 thousands of years in the moulding, and which 

 can never more be seen alive ? A few grains 

 of powder, and a few more of lead, undo in 

 sixty seconds the work of sixty centuries. 



The wild creatures are going, slowly but 

 surely. The Powers concerned in the parti- 

 tion of Africa have, a little late in the day, 

 made game laws to protect the little that is 

 left of the hordes of oxen, antelope, and ele- 

 phants that once abounded in that continent ; 

 and the American Government, moved, after 

 long indifference, by the eloquence of Mr. 

 Hornaday and other enthusiasts, has likewise 

 established sanctuaries for two or three threat- 

 ened species of the New World. In a country 

 like the United States, where beef is cheap 

 and wild game no longer forms the daily food 



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