364 



RECREATION. 



law in the Hole. All through the summer 

 it is almost impossible to obtain fresh 

 meat, there without sending over the pass 

 to Victor, Idaho; yet the hills are alive 

 with big bands of elk. To my mind, when 

 a lot of hardy, hungry ranchers, every one 

 the possessor of a good gun, go without 

 fresh meat the entire summer, and it close 

 to hand, it speaks well for the efficiency of 

 the game wardens and the influence of the 

 conservative sportsmen element among the 

 ranchers. They know enough not to kill the 

 goose that lays the golden eggs. Any reck- 

 less rancher who goes elk hunting in the 

 winter in Jackson's Hole has his work cut 

 out for him to escape the clutches of the 

 law. It is an immense territory, and of 

 necessity can not be policed like Central 

 Park, but the statement that wholesale car- 

 nage is being carried on there the entire 

 winter is beside the truth. 



The ranchers are allowed to kill 2 elk, 

 ydtA. the same as any sportsman, and they 

 do their killing late in November so the 

 meat will keep during the entire winter. 

 They go out in parties on these hunts and 

 carry the carcasses home in wagons or 

 sleds, if there is snow. That is probably 

 the foundation for Finn's statement as to 

 indiscriminate killing during the winter. 

 Even then the ranchers do not kill the 

 worn out old bulls, and leave their car- 

 casses to rot, or rather to dry and mum- 

 mify. 



The real menace to the elk lies in the 

 gradually contracting feeding grounds for 

 the winter, due to the taking up of all 

 available ranch land, for it is a good cattle 

 country. This is the difficulty which must 

 be met, and that within a comparatively few 

 years, or it will be too late. Already there 

 are plans under way to add to the timber 

 reserve, which prevents farther encroach- 

 ment by ranchers, and to extend the Yel- 

 lowstone National Park reservation still 

 farther South. Many good sportsmen are 

 profoundly interested in this question. In 

 time a solution will be reached and the 

 preservation of the elk made certain ; but 

 there is no need of adopting Josh Adams' 

 hired man's suggestion that, as an alterna- 

 tive,, good and experienced men should be 

 sent into the Hole to '"swing off" a few 

 of the poachers as a salutary warning. 



I know your friend Steve Leek, of Jack- 

 son, very well, having put in 3 months with 

 him in the hills last summer. It is a great 

 country and should not be maligned. 



W. S. W., Pittsfield, Mass. 



Game Commission, he will start an in- 

 vestigation that will unearth the "nigger 

 in the woodpile." Unfortunately the cor-, 

 respondence has been mislaid, I not con- 

 sidering it of any more value than the 

 said Fish and Game Commission's "pro- 

 tection." If "Adirondack", wishes to start 

 an investigation I will be with him if he 

 will reveal his identity, write me a per- 

 sonal letter or make an appointment. Lock 

 Box 271, Schuylerville, N. Y., is my 

 address. I will make an affidavit to any 

 and all statements I made, in the article in 

 question, give names of parties referred to, 

 etc.. All that has been or is being done in 

 the line of game protection in this section 

 is being done by the L. A. S. or local 

 organizations. The State affair strikes me 

 as being a big bluff, its offices "grafts," 

 and the organization, from the standpoint 

 of game protection, a farce. 



I was recently told of a case of a "good 

 fellow," as regards our ruling political or- 

 ganization on caucus and election days, 

 who, during the summer months, goes 

 openly afield with a double barrel shot gun, 

 shortened to conceal under his coat; and 

 who has, at the opening of the season, 

 scores of game birds in cold storage for 

 use in sporting resorts, in some of which 

 it is suspected that persons in political 

 high life have more than a passing inter- 

 est. I will give "Adirondack" this man's 

 name, my source of information, tell him 

 where he can obtain a description of the 

 man's outfit and the number of birds he 

 had on one occasion, at the opening of the 

 season. In my opinion the woodpile nig- 

 ger sits boldly on top. 



W. M. D.., Schuylerville, N. Y. 



IS READY TO SHOW PROOFS. 

 "Adirondack," in August Recreation, 

 says that if I will furnish the correspon- 

 dence referred to as taking place between 

 me and the New York State Fish and 



A SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION. 



Game Commissioner Johnson and his 

 force didn't capture any Indians, but this 

 was as expected by the people of this coun- 

 ty. The Utes had due notice of Mr. John- 

 son's approach and the redskins were safely 

 over the border and on the reservation long 

 before the Commissioner's force reached the 

 Utah line. 



However, the expedition was not bar- 

 ren of results. Quite a number of Utah 

 people, generally called Mormons, were 

 caught and made to pay dearly for 

 violating the Colorado game laws. A party 

 of 4 was caught North of Three Springs, 

 and 2 men were caught on Yellow creek. 

 All had deer in their possession, and all 

 were taken before Justice Shankland, of 

 Angora, and fined according to law. The 

 largest haul, however, was made near Cot- 

 tonwood, close to the Utah line. Under 

 Sheriff Hornbek, Wardens Jay, Fenn and 

 Blades got track of an outfit near Box- 



