174 



RECREA TION. 



PROTECT THE GAME. 



The following correspondence will in- 

 terest all friends of game protection, 

 and this means all true sportsmen. 



Extract from a Letter from Hon. B. M. 

 Webster, Omaha, Neb. : 



"The mountains were literally alive with 

 hunting parties, from all over the country. The 

 Shoshone and Bannock Indians had hunted all 

 through the range during the summer, in larger 

 numbers than usual. We could not find a game 

 range anywhere that they had not been overrun. 



" Is there not some way in which this slaughter 

 by the Indians can be stopped ? As a rule these 

 ' wards of the nation ' do not hunt for meat, but 

 are merely after a little spending money and 

 take only the pelts, leaving the carcasses to rot. 



"I have called this matter to the attention of 

 several of our Congressmen, but find it difficult 

 to get them interested in any subject affecting 

 the general good. I wish some definite plan 

 could be decided upon, by which all sportsmen 

 throughout the country could act in unison, in 

 order that something might be accomplished be- 

 fore it is too late." 



EXTRACT FROM MY REPLY TO MR. WEBSTER. 



Dear Sir : I am, and have been for fifteen 

 years past, an ardent advocate of game protec- 

 tion. I join you heartily in the wish that some- 

 thing could be done to stop the illegal and un- 

 reasonable slaughter of game by the Indians, in 

 the vicinity of the National Park and elsewhere. 

 Will ask the National Fish and Game Pro- 

 tective Association to take up this question and 

 act on it, and have no doubt they will do so. 

 Shall also write the commissioner of Indian 

 affairs, and hope that by the time another sum- 

 mer arrives some influence may be brought to 

 bear upon the Indian department that will cause 

 it to keep the redskins at home. 



Another Letter. 



Mr. F. S. Baird, Attorney, National Fish and 

 Game Protective Association, Chicago. 



Dear Sir. — I am in receipt of a letter from 

 Hon. B. M. Webster, of Omaha, Neb., who 

 has lately returned from a hunting trip in the 

 Rocky Mountains, and who writes me that the 

 Shoshone and Bannock Indians have been hunt- 

 ing all through the country south and east of the 

 National Park, all summer and fall; that they 

 have killed thousands of elk, deer and antelope, 

 in many cases taking only the skins and leaving 

 the carcasses to rot. These Indians make a prac- 

 tice of this reckless slaughter of game every sum- 

 mer, in open violation of the law, and some strong 

 pressure should be brought to bear upon the 

 Secretary of the Interior that would cause the 

 issuing of such orders as would restrain the Indi- 

 ans from leaving their reservations, at least dur- 

 ing the close seasons. The game laws of 

 Wyoming and Montana are, I believe, applicable 

 alike to Indians and to white men, but the people 

 of the territories dislike to prosecute the Indians 

 on account of depredations which they fear 

 would be committed in retaliation. The attention 



of former secretaries of the Interior and com- 

 missioners of Indian affairs has been called to 

 this matter repeatedly and promises have been 

 made, but no important action has been taken. 

 Local Indian agents give the Indians hunting 

 permits every summer, and allow them to go 

 where they like. This should be forbidden. 



Can not the National Fish and Game Protect- 

 ive Association, at its next meeting, take some 

 action in this matter which will cause the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior to act energetically ? 



I think it would be well for you to correspond 

 with Mr. Webster and have suggested to him 

 that he write you. I shall agitate this matter, 

 through occasional articles in Recreation, and 

 will co-operate with your Association, in any way 

 possible to bring about the desired end. 



Kindly let me know your views of the matter 

 and oblige. 



And Still Another. 

 To the Honorable 



Secretary of the Interior, 



Washington, D. C. 



Sir. — I am in receipt of a letter from Hon. B. 

 M. Webster, of Omaha, Neb., who has lately 

 returned from a hunting trip in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. He writes me that the Shoshone and 

 Bannock Indians have been hunting all through 

 the country south and east of the National Park, 

 all summer and fall, that they have killed thou- 

 sands of elk, deer and antelope, in many cases 

 taking only the skins and leaving the carcasses 

 to rot. These Indians make a practice of this 

 reckless slaughter of game every summer, in 

 open violation of the law, and some strong 

 pressure should be brought to bear that would 

 cause the issuing of such orders as would re- 

 strain these Indians from leaving their reserva- 

 tions. 



The illegal slaughter of game by the Indians 

 in Wyoming and Montana, on territory outside 

 of their reservations, has been so enormous dur- 

 ing the past few years as to alarm all lovers of 

 nature, and to cause grave apprehension as to 

 whether it be possible to preserve the elk, deer and 

 antelope from total extinction. The large herds 

 in the National Park naturally migrate more or 

 less and frequently move outside the bounds of 

 the Park. The Indians hang around the south 

 and east limits of the Park during a great portion 

 of each summer and kill all they can of this game. 

 They take the skins and sell these for a paltry 

 price. If they saved the meat the offense would 

 not be so great, and yet this game should not be 

 slaughtered by the hundreds or thousands of head 

 for the sake of feeding Indians, so long as the 

 government provides beef and pork for them. 



I beg that you will consider this matter care- 

 fully and that before another summer opens you 

 may find it advisable to issue such orders as will 

 prevent the Indians from leaving their reserva- 

 tions on these hunting expeditions. 



Of course, whenever sportsmen complain of the 

 Indians killing the game, it is charged, by people 

 who are not fond of hunting, that the sportsmen 

 wish to have the Indians prevented from killing 

 the game in order that they may kill it themselves. 

 This is true only to a limited extent. There are 

 thousands of sportsmen who never hunt big 

 game, yet who are interested in having these wild 



