428 



RECREATION. 



when an additional appropriation will make 

 it possible to introduce a new strain into 

 the decaying herd. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY L. R FREEMAN, 



MOUNTAIN SHEEP ON MT. EVERTS. 



Of the mountain sheep, on account of the 

 inaccessibility of their haunts, little is 

 known, and the picture here published was 

 obtained only with the exercise of the 

 greatest care and patience. They are sup- 

 posed to be increasing, however, as their 

 habitat on Mount Everts is an ideal one, 

 and their only scourge is the mountain 

 lion. 



The antelope, to the number of 700 or 800, 

 frequent the valley of the Gardiner river, 

 near the Northern boundary. A few are 

 killed by coyotes, but the construction of 

 the Gardiner canyon fence, referred to 

 above, would undoubtedly leave them in 

 a position to thrive and increase. 



All the other game is rapidly growing 

 in numbers. Even the trout in the streams, 



AMATEUR PHOTO Br L- R. FREEMAN. 



SCABBY ELK WITH ABNORMAL ANTLERS. 



despite the great numbers caught in years 

 past, appear to be rising faster than ever 

 this spring, and 5 and 6-pounders from 

 the Madison and Firehole rivers are not a 

 rarity. 



The elk are more numerous than any 

 other animal in the Park. They are often 

 seen in herd of 1,000 or more, and their 

 aggregate is variously estimated at 35,000 

 to 60,000. Some of the young are killed 



by coyotes and mountain lions, and many 

 of the old ones die from scab or are killed 

 near or over the borders, without their 

 numbers seeming in the least to decrease. 

 Scab, a, disease confined exclusively to the 

 bulls, appeara to be a sort of a skin affec- 

 tion arising from the animals taking cold 

 in their wounds after fighting together. 

 The /scouts have orders to shoot on sight 

 all so affected. The accompanying illus- 

 tration of a scabby elk not only affords a 

 remarkably good example of the wasting 

 away of the body under the disease, but 

 presents a curious freak in the way of a 

 horn. The old fellow was shot by scout 

 Morrison. The horn shown in the picture 

 bears a close resemblance to that of a 

 moose, while the other horn, ill shaped 

 and undergrown though it is, is not very 

 different from the ordinary elk horn. 



GUESTS OF THE FOUNTAIN HOTEL. 



Bears, both black and silvertip, are in- 

 creasing and becoming quite tame. They 

 are inveterate thieves, however, and it 

 takes the strongest kind of nail-studded, 

 iron-sheathed doors to resist their teeth 

 and claws. Visitors to the Park who may 

 want to see evidence of the work of these 

 marauders will find it on the outer panel- 

 ing and casing of the back door of the 

 kitchen of the Canyon hotel. The accom- 

 panying picture was taken by flashlight 

 from the kitchen window, the bears having 

 been diverted from their work on the door 

 by some pieces of corn-beef thrown on the 

 snow before the window. 



The deer, mostly blacktail, while much 

 preyed on by lions and coyotes, are in- 

 creasing rapidly and becoming remarkably 

 tame. They are most numerous around 

 Mammoth Hot Springs. 



Moose are rarely seen, as they frequent 

 the Wyoming border, away from the trails 

 and roads. The scouts report those seen 

 in splendid condition, and they are believed 

 to be growing in numbers. 



Beavers exist in the Park in large num- 

 bers, the present stringent national laws 

 seeming to have deterred the poacher from 

 operating here. The beavers have houses 

 on the Gardiner river and at other points 



