REPORT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
NATIONAL HERD IN THE WIND CAVE 
NATIONAL GAME PRESEKVE 
To Dr. FRanKtIN W. Hooper, President, American 
Bison Society: 
Regarding the transportation of the bison herd 
from the New York Zoological Park to the Wind Cave 
National Bison Range, I beg to report as follows: 
The shipping of live bison, while not an extremely 
hazardous undertaking where conditions are fairly 
favorable for their handling , involves careful attention 
to details in the preparation of arrangements for their 
capture, crating and transportation. Just such care 
was given to the arrangements for the shipment and de- 
livery of the fourteen animals presented to the Ameri- 
can Bison Society by the New York Zoological Society, 
and in turn given by them to the United States Govern- 
ment as the nucleus of a National herd to be established 
in Wind Cave National Park in the southwestern part 
of South Dakota. Your Society having assumed re- 
sponsibility for the safe delivery of these animals at 
their destination, in accordance with your instructions, 
preparations were commenced for their forwarding in 
the last week of November. 
The only means of handling a wild animal of the 
size and strength of a full grown bison with a minimum 
risk of injury is by confining it closely and securely in 
a erate of sufficient size only to permit of reasonable 
comfort, without being large enough to allow of too 
ereat freedom. The crate is built with all framing on 
the outside and with perfectly smooth timber on the 
inside; the bottom, sides and ends solid to a height of 
about three feet, and the remainder spaced about three- 
quarters of an inch apart to furnish hght and ventila- 
tion. The framing is usually reinforced on the outside, 
either by iron angles or heavy galvanized strips, to 
prevent spreading or racking. 
In this ease, because of the long distance to be coy- 
ered, the crates were provided with small hinged doors 
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