300 



RECREATION. 



in the delta of the Slave river. About 15 

 years ago a few were killed near Liard, 

 but they are seldom seen in that quarter. 

 They formerly frequented the Salt Plains, 

 40 miles Northeast of Fort Smith. Frank- 

 lin's party killed a buffalo in that vicinity 

 at the time of their visit in 1820. Richard- 

 son states that in 1848 there was an abun- 

 dance of deer and buffalo meat obtainable 

 on the Salt Plains." 



Later information is furnished in the re- 

 port of Game Inspector Jarvis to the Cana- 

 dian Government. His inspection of the re- 

 gion embracing the present range of the bi- 

 son was made in 1897, an d he says : "I 

 have taken great pains in making as thor- 

 ough inquiries as possible in connection 

 with the buffalo, their habits, number, and 

 range. The range of a scattered band of 

 about 300 is from Peace point to Salt river, 

 and from Salt river to within 20 miles of 

 Fort Resolution, on Great Slave lake. I 

 met a Mr. Handbury, an English sportsman, 

 who is on a hunting expedition. He had 

 just returned from an unsuccessful buffalo 

 hunt, but he saw fresh tracks and beds of 

 about 60 buffalo. Mr. Handbury returns 

 this year, but the fear of a $200 fine will 

 hardly prevent his hunt. . . If it be the inten- 

 tion of the Government to protect these 

 nearly extinct animals, it can only be done 

 by placing officials on the spot. I have in 

 the case of buffalo and other game im- 

 pressed on all hunters and interested per- 

 sons the necessity of obeying the game act, 

 and have left printed notices where practic- 

 able." 



A letter from Mr. H. I. Moberly, of the 

 Hudson Bay Company, dated Nov. 9, 1897, 

 states : "They lived formerly from the be- 

 ginning of the wooded country North of the 

 Saskatchewan to Great Slave lake, and 

 farther North along the East slope of the 

 Rocky mountains. At present there are not 

 more than 250 to 300 alive, and they are 

 in 2 bands ; one on the lower Peace river, 

 North of it, and running from close to 

 Great Slave lake at Peach point, 90 miles 

 below Fort Vermillion. The other is on the 

 upper Hay river and ranges between Peace 

 river and Liard river, and runs down some 

 250 miles East of the Rocky mountains and 

 up to the foot of the mountains." 



This brings the history down to Mr. 

 Stone's report, in which he says he does 

 not think the present number exceeds 50, 

 and that their complete extinction, in spite 

 of the efforts of the Canadian Government 

 to protect them, will be consummated with- 

 in the next 3 years. 



So it appears that the wood bison, dur- 

 ing the last 6 years at least, have occupied 

 a portion of country considerably to the 

 North of the region where they were lo- 

 cated by Mr. Hornaday in 1889, and by me 

 in 1876. It is fairly safe now to assume, how- 



ever, that they have been entirely extermi- 

 nated from their former range South of the 

 Peace river, and that a few years more will 

 suffice for their complete extermination. 



The extirpation of the plains bison has 

 already been practically effected. An excel- 

 lent authority on thk subject states that in 

 1895 there were possibly 20 to 25 wild ex- 

 amples in different parts of Montana, Wy- 

 oming, and Colorado, and 100 to 125 in the 

 Yellowstone National Park. Now (March, 

 1900) he says : "It is safe to say there are 

 not a dozen live wild buffalo outside the 

 Yellowstone Park in the United States, 

 and if there is a single one I do not know 

 where it is. Inside the park there may be 

 20 head or so." 



The different domesticated herds he esti- 

 mates may contain, all told, "between 300 

 and 500." 



Thus the American bison is already prac- 

 tically exterminated in the wild state, and 

 its perpetuation depends on the care and 

 skill exercised to preserve the domesticated 

 herds. 



THE RUFFED GROUSE. 



The ruffed grouse is a queer bird, a 

 unique combination of intelligence and 

 stupidity. One moment the embodiment of 

 prudence, foresight and cunning, the next, 

 perhaps, it acts as if suddenly bereft of 

 sense. Of course the shrewder side is gen- 

 erally in evidence, but the other asserts it- 

 self often enough to be responsible for the 

 death of 9 out of every 10 of these birds 

 brought to bay. 



For instance, that foolish habit of stay- 

 ing in a tree, just because a yapping cur is 

 underneath, until the hunter finds and 

 brings it down. I remember once coming 

 through a patch of wood when my dog put 

 up a grouse in a low hemlock. I had only 

 a pistol and began blazing away at the 

 bird, drawing nearer at each shot, until 

 when all my cartridges, 10 or 12, were gone 

 I stood within 15 feet of her. A man who 

 has hunted grouse a great deal with the 

 rifle tells me he has frequently had them 

 wait for a second shot, even when wounded 

 by the first, as was attested by 2 bullet 

 holes in the body. Instead of acquiring 

 wisdom with age, the old birds usually stick 

 to a tree longer than those of first season. 

 Then that telltale drum and putter, by 

 which they so often betray their where- 

 abouts, that silly way of sticking to the 

 burr branches in budding time while their 

 companions are sent fluttering one by one 

 to the ground, until their own turn comes, 

 and- of running their heads through a wire 

 noose rather than hop over a barrier a foot 

 high. I even knew one to fly out into a 

 tree near a schoolhouse and allow itself to 

 be peppered to death with an air gun. 



A successful grouse hunter with whom 



