ILLEGAL KILLING. 21 



become unwilling hosts of large numbers. It is doubtful if the elk are 

 killed by ticks, but in the spring they are undoubtedly weakened 

 by the pests. 



ILLEGAL KILLING OF ELK. 



The great majority of the people of Jackson Hole are opposed to 

 the killing of elk contrary to law, but there is more or less illegal 

 killing throughout the year. Some of the lawbreakers became resi- 

 dents of the region because of the opportunity afforded for making a 

 living in whole or in part from game, and many of these regard the elk as 

 their natural prey at any season. Many also are "old-timers" — men 

 whose experience in the West antedates restrictive laws and the period 

 when they became necessary. Others justify themselves in illegal 

 killing "because so many of the elk die of starvation." It is hoped 

 that the conditions which furnish this excuse may be abolished. 



Lowest in the scale of all the enemies of the elk is the tusk hunter — 

 the creature who, on the chance of gaining a dollar or two, kills one 

 of the largest and finest of our game animals and, taking only the 

 tusks, leaves the body to go to waste. The wolf kills that he may 

 live, but the tusk-hunter slays only that he may escape honest labor. 

 Under cover of the mail he forwards his booty undetected to dealers 

 who dispose of the tusks to purchasers who seek only trophies, indif- 

 ferent to how they are obtained. 



The warden service in the Jackson Hole region at the present time 

 is very inadequate. The game preserve, with an area of not less 

 than 1,000 square miles, is little patrolled except by the Federal 

 forest rangers, whose regular duties will not permit much attention to 

 game interests. In addition to this there remains an area comprising 

 at least 1,500 square miles, and this great tract of rough country is 

 under the care of one deputy game warden with one or two assistants. 



TRANSPORTATION OP ELK. 



The plans of the Biological Survey contemplated the removal of a 

 number of elk to other States, where they could be liberated on suit- 

 ably protected ranges and form the nucleus of new herds. 



The problem of transportation is a difficult one, because the Teton 

 ^ ;ngc, 2,000 feet higher than the valley of Snake River, must be 

 crossed on the way to the railroad. Spring, moreover, when the 

 : tow is disappearing on both sides of the range and is softening and 

 settling on the Teton Pass, is the. most unfavorable time of the year 

 for moving live animals. The facilities for transportation were not 

 extensive, and the number captured, therefore, was necessarily lim- 

 ited by the accommodations at our disposal. A dozen of the more 

 vigorous animals of various ages were selected from a herd being fed 

 in the southern part of Jackson Hole, and on April 12 we started 

 with them for the railroad. Hay or alfalfa was provided for them 

 m< >n ling and night and water at least three times daily. They readily 



