20 



SPERMOPHILES OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 



Jo wa,— Sections 1487 and 1488 of the Code of Iowa (1873) provided for 

 the payment of bounties on wolves and other large animals but not on 

 gophers or spermophiles. Elsewhere the power was conferred on the 

 board of supervisors at any regular meeting "To determine what boun- 

 ties, in addition to those already provided by law, if any, shall be of- 

 fered and paid by their county on the scalps of such wild animals taken 

 and killed within their county as they may deem it expedient to ex- 

 terminate. But no such bounty shall exceed five dollars." (Code of 

 Iowa, 1873, Title Chap. 2, Sec. 303.) 



Under this law eight counties expended $14,031.96 for the destruction 

 of Gray and Striped Spermophiles previous to the year 1890, as shown 

 in the following table: 



Table showing bounties paid on Spermophiles by Counties of Iowa. 



County. 



Race. 



Date. 



Total amount 



paid on 

 spermophiles 

 and other 

 animals. 



Total 

 bounty 

 paid by 

 county. 



Remarks. 



Boone 



Cerro Gordo 



5 cents, striped . . 

 3 cents 



(2 cents, striped . . 

 (3 cents, gray 



1888 

 1864-1865 



f 1885 



1 1887 



1 1888 



{ 1889 

 1888 

 1888 

 1889 

 1878-1882 



1874? 

 1875-1876 



$2, 000. 00 

 954. 45 



1 750. 00] 

 965.001 

 1,195. OOf 

 1,546. OOJ 

 1, 150. 00 

 2, 198. 01> 

 2,400. 00 S 



*700. 00 



$2, 000. 00 

 954. 45 



4, 456. 00 



1, 150. 00 

 4, 598. 01 

 700. 00 



June 9, 1864, to Oct. 18, 

 1865. 



75 per cent for striped 

 and gray in 1889. 



June 1 to July 1, 1888. 



Bounty in force 1878- 

 1882. 



Includes $386.50 for 

 other species. 



Ida 



O'Brien 



(3 cents, striped . . 



^5 cents, gray 



10 cents, gray 



<i5 cents, striped .} 



(8 cents, gray £ 



(2i cents, striped.) 

 }5"cents, gray > 





1 560. 00 



560. 00 

 14, 418.46 











* Amount paid in one month. t Approximate. 



Kansas. — No attempt was made to ascertain the amount expended 

 in Kansas, but it is probable that bounties were offered in several coun- 

 ties. Mr. J. S. Betzer, of Copeland, Kans., reported that the county 

 of Thomas paid a bounty of 3 cents per scalp during the spring of 1890. 

 The total amount expended was more than $5,000, which, however, 

 included a small sum paid for bounties on wolves. 



Minnesota.— In the spring of 1887 the State of Minnesota passed the 

 following bounty laws: 



AN ACT TO PROVIDE BOUNTIES FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF GOPHERS AND BLACKBIRDS. 



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota — 



Section 1. That gophers aud blackbirds are declared public nuisances and any 

 person who shall kill or destroy said gophers in this State shall be entitled to receive 

 fi re (5) cents each for every pocket gopher so killed by him, and three (3) cents each 

 for all other kinds of gophers so killed. 



Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of the chairman of the board of supervisors of 

 each town, on the production to him of the dead bodies of all such gophers * * * 



