
OTTER POOLS BEFORE ERECTION OF FENCES AND BEFORE TURNING ON WATER. 
were needed, and water everywhere. The 
sewers were out of sight, but they were 
there, nevertheless. For personal com- 
fort only one thing was lacking on the 
opening day. The Rocking-Stone Restau- 
rant was delayed in order to make the 
plans more perfect, and it is just begun. 
But the accommodations for the animals, 
—there is where our interest centers. 
As one enters the park from West 
Farms, the first thing seen by the visitor 
is the’ buffalo range. From the high 
gravel walk one looks over the top of the 
fence and beholds 20 acres of as beautiful 
rolling ridges, rich grassy hollows and 
comfortable shade as could be found any- 
where in the finest mountain parks of 
Wyoming or Colorado—which is saying a 
great deal. Hornaday is the luckiest man 
on earth to have found for the Society’s 
herds of buffalo, elk, deer and antelope 
such ideal ranges as they now occupy. 
Each range seems more nearly perfect than 
the other, but the buffalo range, with its 
spacious shelter house, and 4 paved corrals 
for wet weather, is the finest of them all. 
I was greatly pleased to find what 
pains have been taken to enable the pub- 
lic to see the buffaloes to the best pos- 
sible advantage. In addition to the walks 
along the boundary fences, a big open- 
ing has been left between the 2 main 
corrals, so that people can overlook them 
from a high and well-shaded knoll. In ad- 
dition to that, a small, shady yard has 
been provided between 3 of the cor- 
rals, for the exclusive use of artists. 
The buffalo house is a semi-circular hill- 
side barn 80 feet long, with shelter for 25 
345 
head of buffaloes, and a feed room, hold- 
ing many tons of hay. In one corner of 
the largest corral is a pool of water 4 feet 
deep, with concrete bottom and sides, kept 
clean by a good system of drainage. On 
the South side of the main range a much 
larger pool will be made very shortly; 
and there are as many shade trees as are at 
ali admissible in a range for animals born 
and reared on the great plains. 
Lucky buffaloes are these which now 
occupy this delightful range. To-day the 
nucleus of the society’s herd consists of 
7 animals as tine ball, 4 ~ years - .old 
—fit model for any artist—3 other younger 
bulls, 2 adult cows and one yearling 
heifer. This bunch was purchased of no 
other man than the renowned Buffalo 
Jones himself, and by him brought to 
the park on October 2. The bulls cost 
$350 each, and the cows $400 each, deliv- 
ered in New York, which prices are 
about half those asked by the owners of the 
largest herds in the West. 
Next beyond the buffalo range and 
the famous rocking stone—a 59-ton boul- 
der of granite, so delicately balanced that 
50 pounds’ pressure will cause it to rock— 
lie the bear dens. They occupy a shaded 
and swell sheltered valley, along the steep 
side of a ledge of pink granite, and the 
cage-work climbs quite up to its top. 
Against the base, the sleeping dens have 
been built of rough, weathered granite 
which so closely copies the parent ledge 
that many visitors believe the dens have 
been dug out of the solid rock. Each den 
is 35 by 70 feet, contains a swimming 
pool, and 3 large dry sleeping dens. Two 
