8 ANIMAL, LIFE IN OKLAHOMA. 



into the wild retreats, the native animals become less and less abundant 

 and finally must perish altogether unless given some measure of pro- 

 tection. The advent of man into Oklahoma has, of course, very mater- 

 ially lessened many kinds of wild life, but fortunately only a few species 

 have been lost entirely, and the location of a National Gkme Preserve 

 within the State, and the provision recently made for the establishing of 

 State game preserve, give assurance that no species now living in 

 Oklahoma will ever be reduced to the point of extinction. We shall always 

 have at least a remnant or sample of the faunal wealth that once abounded 



in this State. 



HOOFED ANIMALS. 



BUFFALOES. 



The buffalo is the largest wild animal that has lived in Oklahoma 

 in modern times. Within the memory of men now living, this noble 

 animal roamed over the prairies in countless numbers, and at times whole 

 valleys were covered with vast, unbroken herds. Great as this throng 

 was. it went so quickly after the coming of the railroads that men could 

 not believe it gone. In the fall of 1884 the hunters came to kill the 

 buffaloes for their hides, which they sold for one dollar and a half apiece, 

 but none could be found. "They are gone north," the gunners said, but 

 they had not gone north ; they had all but gone to utter extinction ! At 

 one time there were only twelve buffaloes in the State, but now there 

 are eighty-four head in the Wichita National Game Preserve in Comanche 

 County, and a small herd at the 101 Eanch in Kay County. The splendor 

 and vigor of this remnant, however, are gone and they trail after a 

 wagon to be fed, as broken and fearless as domesticated cattle. 



ANTBLOPB. 



Antelope, white never so abundant as the buffalo, were very numerous 

 in this State before the coming of the cowboy and his civilization. They 

 often grazed in herds of several hundred and were well adapted to 

 Ijve in rough country. They remained somewhat longer than the buffalo, 

 for the last antelope in Oklahoma, which lived in the southern part 

 of Ellis County, were not killed until 1910. Since that time not a 

 free antelope has lived within the State, and only a single specimen 

 is held in captivity. This is a male and is on the Government Preserve 

 in the Wichita Mountains. 



DEER. 



Deer were one time very abundant in. the timbered sections of this 

 State, and on account of their wonderful speed and cunning thej have 

 evaded the destructive forces of man and may yet be found_ running 

 wild. Their range is now restricted to the mountainous regions, and 

 it is doubtful if there are more than one hundred and fifty wild deer in 

 the State today. Most of these are in the Kiamichi Mountains, where 

 the persistent and criminal efforts of hunters to kill them will no doubt 

 Boon be successful in securing the last specimen. 



