1038 Condition of the Yellowstone National Park. (November, 
ber, thus increasing the police to twenty-five men. Their salaries 
were fixed by the new bill at $1500 per annum. The sum now 
paid is $900, from which the men are expected to feed themselves, 
an important consideration in so expensive a region. This bill 
was not passed. 
Since the attention of Congress and of the press has, been 
directed to the park, the protection of its beauties and curiosities 
has been more efficient. A number of persons have been fined 
for breaking the geyser deposits, including at least one member 
of Congress. In this respect the protection may be considered 
to be now fairly good. Protection of game has been less suc- 
cessful because more difficult, and because of the great inade- 
quacy of the force. Bison, elk, moose, deer, etc., are far less 
abundant than when the park was first created. The bison have 
been, I am informed, reduced to a herd of about sixty individuals, 
and the elk have been decimated. The moose are confined to a 
small region. From the inaccessible nature of their habitat, 
mountain sheep have not been so reduced in numbers. Protec- 
tion has, however, become more definite in this direction. During 
the past year several persons have been fined from $75 to $100, 
and one old hunter, who defied the guards, was caught, fined 
$100, and imprisoned for six months. 
_These measures of protection can, however, only be carried 
into effect by an increase in the force and their proper distribu- 
tion throughout the territory. Persons may now hunt undetected 
in the park, and may drive game outside of its boundaries with- 
out difficulty and kill it. The disposition to kill is not controlled 
by any considerations of decency in some men. Thus a party of 
English shooters killed, for their amusement, twenty or thirty 
from the bison herd without taking any part of the animals for 
_ their use, thus reducing their numbers by one-fourth at least, at 
one battue. Some persons state that protection is useless because 
the game leaves the park in winter. This I ascertained is not 
true, for there are numerous well-protected localities where the 
game winter safely. 
- ohe bin which was brought before Congress last winter for the 
- more efficient protection of the park should be passed by the 
gress of 1885-6, with some possible amendments. Thus the 
> should be increased to twenty-five men, each with a salary 
000 per annum exclusive of his food and boarding. The 
