THE BISON SOCIETY. 



Recreation is out for the preservation and 

 perpetuation of our game, and, occupying 

 such a position, we will do all in our power 

 to help along the Bison Society. At the 

 same time we regret that Mr. Baines saw 

 fit to so word his letter to our Editor as to 

 imply a threat if our Editor did not join 

 the society, thus rendering it impossible for 

 him to do so with dignity. However, we 

 wish the members of the Bison Society all 

 success in their undertaking, and also to 

 state that the society inaugurated by the 

 Editor of Recreation was expressly for the 

 purpose of purchasing the Pablo Allard herd 

 of bison before it is disbanded and scattered. 

 There are now over three hundred mighty 

 beasts in this herd, including sixty-six calves 

 born this year. If the bison society can join 

 hands with us in securing this herd for the 

 people of the United States they will be en- 

 titled to wear laurel wreaths as did Mark 

 Twain at the late banquet given by the So- 

 ciety of Illustrators. In our efforts to se- 

 cure the Pablo Allard herd of buffalo for 

 the people of the United States we have no 

 axe to grind. We do not know the owners 

 of the Pablo Allard herd, and will receive 

 no benefit from this transaction that is not 

 equally divided with every citizen of this 

 continent. 



We hope that every one that reads this 

 will make it a point to take five minutes of 

 their own time to devote to the public and 

 write to their representative in Congress 

 and the Senate asking that this magnificent 

 herd of bison be purchased by the govern- 

 ment and kept intact as a lesson in history 

 and patriotism to all future generations of 

 Americans. There are millions of men who 

 are willing to give their lives and die for 

 the country, but there are only a few men 

 who will take the trouble to work for their 

 country's good. The crying need in the 

 United States today is for patriots during 

 peaceful times, patriots who will look out 

 for the elevation, education, and high ideals 

 of our people, and no American with any 

 sentiment in Ms soul can stand idly by and 

 see the buffalo of America, who are so inti- 

 mately connected with the history and ro- 

 mance of this country, wiped out of ex- 

 istence. 



A dispatch from Helena, Montana, Decem- 

 ber 8th, says that the heavy snow in the 



mountains has driven a herd of six hundred 

 antelopes down into 79 Ranch, near Lewis- 

 ton. The poor little animals' legs were all 

 cut with the crust of the snow and there 

 were so many, of them and they were crowd- 

 ed so close together that men rode in among 

 them as they would in a bunch of cattle, 

 and the timid creatures, being greatly ex- 

 hausted, made not the slightest effort to es- 

 cape. It is not legal for anyone to kill ante- 

 lope in the state of Montana, and, so far as 

 we have heard, the law was respected in 

 regard to this herd. While one feels sorry 

 for the six hundred little prong-horns, with 

 their cut and bleeding legs, one rejoices at 

 the news that there were enough left to make 

 a herd of such dimensions, and we congratu- 

 late Montana on the possession of this big 

 bunch of prong-horns, and upon having com- 

 mon' sense enough to protect these unique 

 creatures. 



We have had occasion several times to 

 publicly announce that all of us outdoor peo- 

 ple love Theodore Roosevelt because he is 

 one of us, and in sympathy with us, but none 

 of us can fail to condemn the thoughtless 

 blood-thirstiness which impelled him to shoot 

 snowbirds in his recent hunt in Virginia. 

 We all hope and trust that the dispatch 

 which has gone around the country to the 

 effect that he did kill these little birds in 

 wanton sport is an error. Still, we must 

 know that there is a touch, we might say, a 

 very strong dash of the wild cowboy in our 

 President's disposition and character, and it 

 would not foe improbable that a man of this 

 type might possess both the virtues, admir- 

 able qualities and also the faults of a cow- 

 boy. 



A special dispatch to the New York 

 Times, dated San Francisco, December 28th, 

 says that Robert Fitzsimmons admitted to- 

 day that he received a letter from the 

 White House, but would not exhibit it or 

 tell whether it was from the President. Of 

 course, a correspondence with - a pugilist 

 would uphold the theory that he has a cow- 

 boy's love of rough sport, at the same time, 

 the refusal of Fitzsimmons to exhibit or tell 

 the contents of the letter he received from 

 the White House proves that the pugilist 

 had more traits of a real gentleman than one 

 would be apt to attribute to a man of his 

 profession. 



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