The Earth before Men Came 21 



American Forestry Association 

 The elk once roamed the valleys. 



This great natural park, with its long seacoasts, rivers, 

 lakes, marshes, dense woods, and open plains, was a para- 

 dise for wild creatures of every description, and the Indian 

 was contented to leave it so. 



Grizzly and black bears roamed the thickets. Elk wan- 

 dered through the mountains and valleys. Deer were 

 abundant every~where. The antelope raced over the plains, 

 mountain goats and sheep lived among the rocks, and moose 

 filled the Northern woods. Great herds of buffalo dark- 

 ened the surface of the plains. When the first railroad was 

 built across the plains, less than fifty years ago, the trains 

 were sometimes stopped by herds of buffalo crossing the 

 track. 



Most of the songbirds that filled the country then are 

 still with us, for they were of little commercial value to the 

 hunter. No other land has richer bird music than ours. 



