R-U.S.N. 1/13/33 



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"T-iere are few stories of "blood lust more disgusting th.a.n that detail- 

 ing the slaughter of the great elk "bands. The sea-otter v^ere hunted down 

 "because their ro"bes were valua"ble, and there was no avoida"ble waste. The deer 

 of New England were killed off for the meat. But the wholesale massacre of 

 the elk, like that of the "buffalo, was carried on for the joy of seeing the 

 great creatures fall in dying agony; and, in later years, "by tusk-hunters who 

 were too lazy to "be hide-liunters. 



"It was easier to kill elk than deer "because they were less shy. They 

 "betrayed their wherea'bouts "by whistling. They were easier to hit, and, in 

 much of the range, could "be pursued on horse"back. They were more easily 

 killed than "buffalo "because, when alarmed, they ran nqt far; and one shot, well 

 placed, would do^^rn the elk. Thus, of the three (the deer, buffalo, and elk), 

 the elk was the first to disappear from a given locality." 



That slaughter went on year after year. The elk vanished from one 

 region after soiother. Finally, the animal that had once roved the continent 

 10 million strong dwindled awaj^ until it numhered only a few thousand. 



But, along a'oout 1895, folks here and there aoout the country "began to 

 rise in opposition. They remembered the fate of the buffalo. The elk was 

 disappearing in the same way. 



Game protective societies put through laws to curlD "hunting. They also 

 started moves to restock the old ranges. 



But, hunting laws and re-stocking programs weren't enough. Our elk 

 herds also needed protection from the man-made civilization that was closing 

 in upon them. 



That need "became very apparent during the yea.rs 1908- to 1911 in the 

 Jackson Hole region of Wyoming. 



I told you, Jackson Hole is what 7/ou might call a vinter colony. The 

 elk spend the smrt-aer and fall "browsing around over the mountains. But as winter 

 comes along, they gradually move southward. By the time the snow gets deep on 

 the mountains, they find most of the elk "nerded together in the sheltered 

 valleys. 



In the days when Jackson Hole was more or less a, wilderness, the elk 

 found enough forage in the valleys to carry them thorough t"ne winter. But man 

 gradually edged in on their haven.. His cattle ate up much of the elk' s winter 

 food supply. The elk turned to the vdllows aaid other shru"bs. They soon got 



so hungry they ate the smaller tr/igs aiid, later, even the larger "branches 



and "bark. But, as you can well imagine, the elk didn't get niuch nourislxment 

 out of dry wood. Moreover, the woody fi"ber was actually injurious, especiaJly 

 to the calves. Sometimes they were a'ble to "breai; into a rancher' s haystack. 

 But, when they found the ha^^stack securely fenced, th^hung around the outside 

 and often died t'nere "by the dozens. 



Durin^' the winter of 1910-11, a"bout two thoiisand to 25 hundred elk in 

 the Jackson Hole region died of starvation. Pro"ba"bly three-fourths of that 

 num'ber were calves. 



Well, that wholesale starvation and similar starvation in previous 



years hrought action*. In response to requests from folks in the Jackson 



