48 



WILD LIFE PROTECTION FUND 



their pre-emption records. The moose 

 in this bit of country came in from the 

 head of the Palliser River, through a 

 pass that I discovered while making re- 

 cent investigations in that part of the 

 district. 



"Sheep are doing well in all parts of 

 the district. Contrary to popular opin- 

 ion, sheep have not the horror of rail- 

 roads or steam whistles that they are 

 credited with. As a case in point I may 

 make mention of the fact of my seeing 

 eight sheep on the mountain above Elko. 

 This, mark you, was within sight and 

 hearing of busy railway traffic. Another 

 instance to prove that wild game can 

 accustom itself to the sights and sounds 

 of civilization is the fact of a band of 

 sheep having been seen about three 

 miles from Elko by two neighbors of 

 mine who were fishing in the south fork 

 of Elk River. 



"It may interest you to learn that pin- 

 tailed grouse are here to stay. Since 

 the logging off of the forest lands in 

 the southern portion of Fernie District, 

 and the subsequent forest fires that 

 from time to time have swept the logged 

 off areas, pin-tailed grouse have found 

 an excellent harborage in the tall grass 

 and young undergrowth that has sprung 

 up in the wake of the fires. They are 

 now present in large numbers. 



"Since we are on the subject of 

 logged-off areas, I may as well intro- 

 duce the subject of the Virginia deer. 

 Grave forebodings filled the minds of 

 many of our sportsmen that the cutting 

 of timber, and the consequent restric- 

 tion of the range of the white-tailed 

 deer, would prove disastrous to the lat- 

 ter. Such a contention, while perhaps 

 theoretically correct, is not borne out 

 by the facts. Much of the deer range 

 has been cut and burned away, it is 

 true; but it cannot be said that the 

 white-tailed deer is in any immediate 

 danger of extinction. Close observation 

 of this species of game has forced me 

 to the conclusion that the deer are grad- 

 ually adapting themselves to a new hab- 

 itat. Where formerly they descended 

 in hundreds to the lower levels to win- 

 ter, I now find them living through the 

 winter months in the high fir forests 



on ground that from its natural inac- 

 cessibility cannot be logged for many 

 generations. They are harder to get 

 without doubt; but they are there in 

 myriads, if one is man enough to hunt 

 them. 



"Practically the same thing may be 

 said of the mule deer. Where they win- 

 tered years ago in large numbers, they 

 are now conspicuous by their absence. 

 But for all that they have not all been 

 killed off, nor have they left the coun- 

 try. They have simply chosen for their 

 winter places the more isolated hill- 

 sides where the pot-hunter, through 

 lack of funds or possible energy, cannot 

 or will not go." * * * * 



In view of the effort now being put 

 forth under the auspices of the Perma- 

 nent Wild Life Protection Fund for a 

 large increase in the supply of big game 

 throughout the national forests, the re- 

 port of Warden Lewis on the new hab- 

 its of the white-tailed deer have deep 

 significance. 



THE WICKEDNESS OF 

 CONNECTICUT 



During the past ten years the rigid 

 deer laws of Massachusetts have in- 

 creased the deer supply in that State, to 

 a gratifying extent. More than that, 

 deer from Massachusetts have migrated 

 down into Connecticut, and once more 

 stocked the wild lands of that State, 

 clear to the Sound. 



Now we are reliably informed from 

 New Haven that during the last ten days 

 of the legislature of 1915 a very bad 

 bill was slipped through, permitting Con- 

 necticut farmers to kill deer on their 

 own lands, all the year round/ As 

 a result, a great slaughter is now on ; 

 and up to December 1, it was said that 

 over 800 deer had been slaughtered by 

 the "farmers." And the worst of it is, 

 there is no chance to repeal that dis- 

 graceful law until 1917. 



Every member of the legislature who 

 voted for that law deserves a jail sen- 

 tence of not less than six months. The 

 enactment of such a law, anywhere, is 

 a crime. 



