Feb. 5, 1885.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



23 



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SKETCH MAP OF THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 



COMPILED FROM THE LATES1 GOVERNMENT. SURVEYS. 



heavy rains in spring and the wash of tbe melting snows 

 would, in a year or two, .carry away all of the forest 

 floor, which at present acts as a kind of reservoir for these 

 waters, and deposit it in the stream beds, or in the 

 lakes through which the streams flow. Thereafter, when 

 the water fell, it would no longer he received by this sponge 

 and held for a little while. It would fall upon the hard, dry 

 mountain side, and at once rush " clown toward the main 

 channel, swelling the river beyond its banks at one season of 

 the year, while in a dry time its tributaries would carry no 

 water and the main river would be reduced to half its pres- 

 ent volume. This would be the beginning of the evil. How 

 far it would go no one can tell; but if we may judge from 

 ithe experience of European countries with certain streams, 

 its results would be most lamentable. Certainly a stream 

 which is beyond its banks for three months in the year, and 

 half dry for the remainder, will not be of great benefit to 

 a farmer who desires to use it for irrigation . 



We have always regarded this question of forest preserva- 

 tion as the most important of those included in the subject 

 of Park protection. It has a direct bearing on the prosperity 

 of a very considerable section of our agricultural domain, and 



therefore deserves serious consideration and prompt attention. 



The protection of the Western large game is a matter 

 which deeply interests all sportsmen, and not less all those 

 who have devoted any attention to natural history. The 

 fate of the buffalo on the plains, of the moose in New York 

 State and of the elk in the region between the Hudson River 

 and the Mississippi, should teach us a lesson. It took but a 

 few years to exterminate the buffalo, and unless a halt is 

 speedily called, a few years more will see the elk as scarce 

 as the buffalo is to day. 



It is a notorious fact that more or less hunting constantly 

 goes on in the Park, notwithstanding the regulations pro- 

 hibiting it. Last summer elk meat was sold openly there, 

 and if any question was raised as to where it was killed, the 

 seller would laughingly reply, "Oh, it came from the 

 Hoodoo country/' a region just without the Park. There is 

 now in the country to be included in the Park an abundance 

 of elk and deer — enough to stock the region and to keep it 

 supplied for all time, if only they are efficiently protected. 

 We have reason to believe also that there are a few bison 

 within its borders, though it may be doubted whether there 

 are enough of these to establish a permanent herd there. 



All these animals must be protected in tbe most stringent 

 manner by a law which shall not only be such in name, but 

 shall be rigidly enforced. 



This bill for the protection of the Paj'k should be passed 

 at once. If it fails to become a law at this session, the 

 work of protection will be delayed for a whole year. 

 Next summer, when tourists go to the Park, those of 

 them who are lawless can override the regulations as they 

 have done in the past. They can kill game, smash down the 

 geyser craters, and fire the forests; and in the absence of 

 any forms of law, it will be impossible to punish them. 



It is therefore a matter of great importance that the bill 

 should at once be taken up and passed by the House. This 

 done, it is believed — though we are without positive informa- 

 tion on tbe subject— that Senator Vest will urge its passage by 

 the Senate, and by prompt action on all hands the matter 

 may be carried through. It is certain that if this is not 

 done a great amount of destruction will be wrought during 

 the coming summer, The bill is without objectionable 

 features, is encountering no opposition, and is wholly out- 

 side of the domain of politics. It is simply a measure for 

 the public good. Why shall it not be passed ? 



