206 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 6, 1887. 



THE NATIONAL PARK. 



FEOM an advance copy of the annual report of Capt. 

 Moses Harris, acting superintendent of the Yellow- 

 stone National Park, to the Secretary of the Interior, we 

 take the following paragraphs: 



My last report was dated Oct. 4, 1886. The visiting 

 season for tourists was at that time nearly over, all the 

 hotels of the Park Association having closed for the sea- 

 son of 1886 by Oct. 15. A severe snowstorm, which 

 began on the 10th of the month, lasting several days, 

 served to hasten the departure of the summer visitors, 

 and so seriously interfered with the operations of the 

 parties engaged in road construction that work was sus- 

 pended for the season and the parties withdrawn about 

 the 20th. 



Upon the cessation of tourist travel and the closing of 

 the Park roads by deep snow, the detachments which had 

 been stationed at the different geyser basins for their pro- 

 tection were withdrawn, and the services of the men 

 made avadable for the important duty of affording pro- 

 tection to the large game which was being driven from 

 the mountains by the early and unusually heavy snow- 

 fall. The professional hunters who surroand the Park 

 commenced their operations in good season, and great 

 activity and vigilance by scouting parties were requisite 

 to prevent them from operating within the borders of the 

 Park. It is the practice of these hunters to locate camps 

 on the tributaries of the Yellowstone River, just outside 

 the limits of the Park on its northern and eastern borders, 

 and thus to intercept the game when, driven out of the 

 mountains by the deep snow, it seeks the lower valleys 

 and the safety afforded by the Park. The boundary lines 

 of the Park never having been officially surveyed or 

 marked, there is a narrow strip of debatable ground on 

 its border which encourages hunters to encroach upon its 

 limits. All parties found near the borders of the Park 

 were warned off, and were so well watched by scouting 

 parties that it is believed little ot no game was killed 

 within the Park. Several arrests were made under cir- 

 cumstances which seemed to require investigation, but in 

 no case was the evidence sufficient to warrant action. In 

 one or two instances where the fact was established that 

 the game had been killed outside of the Park and it was 

 impracticable to get the meat to market without taking 

 it through the Park, permission to do so was granted. 

 This concession, however, gave rise to injurious reports, 

 and the transportation tlirough the Park of any portion 

 of the carcasses of game animals will hereafter be dis- 

 couraged by every legitimate method. 



The open season, during which it is lawful to kill game 

 in the Territories of Wyoming and Montana, terminating 

 on Jan. 1, and the great depth of the snow also interfer- 

 ing with the transportation of meat through the mount- 

 ains, the active operations of the hunters ceased and a 

 period of comparative quiet and freedom from annoyance 

 was experienced. 



After the close of the tourist season the trains of the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad on the branch line from Liv- 

 ingston to Cinnabar were run weekly until about Jan. 20 

 when, in consequence of severe gales and deep snows, 

 they were discontinued, only resuming their weekly trips 

 in the middle of March. Fortunately the stage line fi-om 

 Livingston to Mammoth Hot Springs was operated with 

 skill and energy, the mail being regularly received every 

 day in the week, except Sunday, the entire winter. 



A party of travelers, under the leadership of Mr. Fred- 

 erick Schwatka, of Arctic fame, arrived in the Park in 

 the latter part of December for the purpose of seeing the 

 Park in its winter aspect; but owing to the illness of Mr. 

 Schwatka and the difficulties developed by the light and 

 soft character of the snow, the expedition was only par- 

 tially successful. Mr. E. Jay Haynes, however, the pho- 

 tographer of the party, with three companions, succeeded 

 in sui-mounting all obstacles and made a c ornplete tour 

 of the Park, seeming many fine views peculiar to its 

 winter aspect. The difficulties of snowshoe travel in the 

 Park are such, however, that it is not to be recommend _d 

 as a winter diversion. 



Although an unusually large quantity of snow fell 

 throughout the elevated area of the Park,"the quantity at 

 the Mammoth Hot Springs was not excessive, nor could 

 the winter, when the weather and temperature of the 

 surrounding region is considered, be called a severe one, 

 as may be seen by reference to the meteorological record, 

 which is appended to the report. 



During the month of April ^ had occasion to arrest and 

 expel from the Park one William James, who was in the 

 employ of the Yellowstone Park Association, for trapping 

 beaver on the Gibbon River, near the Norris Hote'. My 

 letter to the Department reporting this affair is appended 

 to this report (marked B). The property found in the pos- 

 session of James is still in my custody awaiting your 

 instructions. Several other employes of the Park Associ- 

 ation who were to some extent implicated in the unlaw- 

 ful acts of James were, at my request, discharged from 

 the employ of the company and ceased to make their 

 home in the Park. 



BOUNDARIES OF THE PARK. 



The following are the present boundaries of the Park as 

 defined by law: 



Commencing at the junction of Gardiner's River with the 

 Yellowstone Kiver and running east to the meridian passing ten 

 miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of Yellowstone 

 Lake; thence south along said meridian to the parrallel of latitude 

 passing ten miles south of the most southern point of Yellowstone 

 Lake; thence west along said parrallel to the meridian passing 

 fifteen miles west of the most western point of Madison Lake; 

 thence north along said meridian to the latitude of the junction of 

 the Yellowstone and Gardiner's rivers; thence east to the place of 

 beginning. 



It has been proposed to rectify and change these bound- 

 aries as follows: 



Beginning at a point on the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude 

 where said parallel is intersected by the western boundary of the 

 Territory ot Wyoming; thence due east to its point of intersection 

 with the meridian of 110° west longitude; theuce due south five 

 miles; thence due east to the meridian of 109° 30' west longi- 

 tude; thence due south along said meridian to the forty-fourth 

 parallel of north latitude; thence due west along said parallel to 

 its point of intersection with the west boundary of the Territory 

 of Wyoming; thence due north along said boundary line to the 

 place of beginning. 



While there are some undoubted advantages to the 

 Park in the proposed changes, there would be a very 

 serious disadvantage in permitting a frontier town, with 

 its saloons, gambling houses and disreputable resorts, to 

 approach within two miles of this place, which is, and 

 will of necessity continue to be, the headquarters of the 

 Park and the principal resort of visitors. 



The disorders of the neighboring town of Gardiner, 



five miles distant, which now overflow into the Park, are 

 a constant and serious source of annoyance, Should the 

 town approach to within the distance permitted by the 

 proposed change of boundary and the present lawlessness 

 with the unrestricted sale of liquor continue, it would be 

 well nigh impossible by the present methods of govern- 

 ment in the Park to preserve such a degree of order here 

 as would make the place, pleasant and desirable to visit- 

 ors. The constant agitation of the subject of a change of 

 the boundary lines of the Park has probably the effect of 

 postponing the very different measure of an accurate 

 survey of the present boundaries. I have embraced in 

 my estimate of appropriations an amount sufficient to ac- 

 complish this purpose and cannot too strongly urge its 

 importance. The present uncertainty is a constant in- 

 vitation to lawless hunters and others to encroach upon 

 the Park and adds greatly to the annoyance and labors of 

 those charged with its protection. 



THE PROTECTION OF THE PARK. 



The Park has been protected during the past year by 

 means of the employment of the military force under my 

 command in the enforcement of the rules and regulations 

 established by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance 

 with law. The force at my disposal for this purpose has 

 been one troop of cavalry, the maximum strength of which 

 is three commissioned officers and sixty-four enlisted men, 

 but by the casualties of service the ordinary strength of 

 the command is much below this number. For the quar- 

 tering and subsisting of this force the post of Camp 

 Sheridan has been established at Mammoth Hot Springs, 

 Wyoming. 



A military post involves the maintenance of a sufficient 

 garrison for the proper care and protection of buildings 

 and supplies by military methods, which in this instance 

 correspondingly reduces the number of men available for 

 distribution through the Park. 



Stations have been established within the Park and are 

 occupied as follows: At SodaButte during the whole year. 

 At Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canon, Lower Geyser 

 Basin and Upper Geyser Basin from June 1 to Nov. 1, At 

 Riverside, on the Madison River, from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1. 



The men thus stationed made daily excursions in every 

 direction from their several camps, and the protection 

 thus afforded is supplemented by constant scouting opera- 

 tions, directed by an experienced scout and mountaineer 

 acquainted with all of the trails, and indeed with every 

 inch of ground within the Park. It is believed that the 

 measures thus taken have been reasonably efficient in 

 protecting the game of the Park, its various objects of 

 wonder and beauty and its forests. I am, however, con- 

 vinced that the force at my disposal is inadequate to the 

 proper protection of the Park during the tourist season. If 

 it should be increased by two additional scouts and by 

 one company of infantry from June 1 to Oct. 15, it would 

 probably be sufficient during the next year, but as travel 

 to the Park increases and the game outside of its limits 

 diminishes a much larger force will be necessary to give 

 proper protection. 



In my last report I alluded to the necessity which 

 existed for an established form of government for the 

 Park. That necessity still exists. It may be possible to 

 give the Park sufficient protection by the employment of 

 an adequate military force and a number of experienced 

 scouts. But should this method be adopted it will be ex- 

 pedient to request such legislation as shall define the 

 jurisdiction of the Territorial courts within the Park, so 

 as to permit the same power which they now have with 

 refereuce to other reservations, and the enactment of a 

 stringent law for a protection of the game. 



In connection with the subject of park protection I ap- 

 pend to this report copy of an order issued for the guidance 

 of the enlisted men of my command in the discharge of 

 their duties (marked E), and for convenience of reference 

 a copy of the rules and regulations of the Park (marked F). 



THE GAME AND ITS PROTECTION. 



I am gratified to be able to report that the rales for the 

 protection of the game in the Park have been generally 

 well observed and respected. 



One or two isolated instances of unlawful killing have 

 occurred, but immense herds of elk have passed the win- 

 ter along the traveled road from Gardiner to Cook City 

 with the same safety which herds of domestic range cat- 

 tle enjoy in other localities. Several stacks of hay which 

 had been placed along this road in anticipation of winter 

 freighting, were appropriated and doubtless enjoyed by 

 these animals. It is difficult to form any accurate esti- 

 mate concerning the number of elk that passed the 

 winter in the Park: certain it is that the number that 

 wintered in the valley of Lamar River and on its tribu- 

 taries have been estima ed by all who saw them at several 

 thousands. The elk are accustomed, when driven out of 

 the mountains by the snows of winter, to follow down 

 the course of the mountain streams into the lower valleys. 

 For this rpason but little efficient protection can be af- 

 forded to this species of large game in the Park except 

 upon the Yellowstone River and its tributaries. 



The elk which foUow down the outward slopes of the 

 mountains surrounding the Park along the tributaries of 

 the Madison and the Gallatin on the west, or the Snake 

 River on the south, pass beyond the Park limits before 

 the hunting season permitted by the Territorial laws has 

 closed, and fall an easy prey to the hunters who are in 

 wait for them. 



A small number of buffalo still remain in the Park, but 

 after as careful and thorough an investigation as is practi- 

 cable I am unable to state their numbers with any 

 approach to accuracy. My impression is that they have 

 been heretofore somewhat overestimated, and that at the 

 present time they will not exceed 100 in number. They 

 are divided into three separate herds. One of these ranges 

 between Hell-Roaring and Slough creeks; in summer well 

 up on these streams hi the mountains, outside the Park 

 limits, and in the winter lower down on small tributaries 

 of the Yellowstone, within the Park. If the reports made 

 several years ago can be relied on, this herd has rapidly 

 diminished, and it is doubtful if it now exceeds some 

 twenty or thirty in number. Whether or not this decrease 

 has been due to illegal killing by hunters or to other 

 causes I am unable to say, though I do not believe that 

 many have been killed within the past two years. An- 

 other herd ranges on Specimen Mountain and the waters 

 of Pelican Creek. The herd was seen by reliable parties 

 several times last winter and was variously estimated at 

 from forty to eighty. A traveler on the Cook City road 

 claimed to have counted fifty-four near the base of Speci- , 

 men Ridge. A scouting party which I sent out during | 



the month of May found but twenty-seven head of this 

 herd, with four young calves. It is possible that the herd 

 at this time was broken up and that but one portion of it 

 was found. The third herd ranges along the Continental 

 Divide and is much scattered. A band of nine or ten 

 from this herd was seen several times this spring in the 

 vicinity of the Upper Geyser Basin. It will take close 

 observation for several years to determine with any cer- 

 tainty the number of these animals, or whether or not 

 they are diminishing in numbers. It is practically cer- 

 tain that none have been killed within the Park limits 

 during the past two years, and yet there is an equal cer- 

 tainty that the present numbers do not approach those of 

 past estimates. 



Large numbers of antelope are found in the Park. A 

 herd of some 200 passed the winter within a mile of the 

 town of Gardiner, pasturing on the plain between the 

 Yellowstone and Gardiner rivers, south of the town. 

 They were unmolested, though it was found necessary to 

 occasionally drive them back toward the hills, that they 

 might not get beyond the Park hmits. 



The mountain sheep are found in all of the moxmtain 

 ranges within the Park. A band of seven or eight spent 

 a large portion of the winter .in the cliffs along the trav- 

 eled road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner, 

 and they became so accustomed to the sight of travelers 

 as to manifest but little more timidity or wildness than 

 sheep of the domestic variety. 



I have heard considerable anxiety expressed by those 

 who profess interest in the Park lest the rale which pro- 

 tects equally all animals in the Park should work to the 

 detriment of the game proper by causing an undue in- 

 crease of the carnivora. But while it is true that there 

 are some noxious animals that are not worthy of protec- 

 tion, chief among which is the skunk, or polecat, yet 

 I am convinced that at the present time more injury 

 would result to the game from the use of firearms or traps 

 in the Park than from any ravages which may be feared 

 from carnivorous animals. 



SHOOTING NOTES. 



HEAVY frosts in Canada and along the New England 

 coast, started the woodcock moving, and a cumber 

 of northern bred birds have resorted to the sidehill 

 covers of Connecticut and New Jersey. The season lor 

 these birds opened in both these States on Saturday last. 

 A farmer friend of mine, who resides near Wawayanda 

 Lake, in Sussex county, N. J., tells me that for the last 

 few days past he has started some eight or ten birds 

 every evening when hunting for his cows in a swampy 

 piece of ground near the lake; and that one of them 

 "was all striped with white marks." It was probably an 

 albino. 



While albino woodcock are not every-day affairs, 

 although I have seen at least a half a dozen, and shot two. 

 One of these was killed near East Hampton, L. I., and 

 the other in a vineyard on the mountains back of Bor- 

 dighera, on the Cornice road, in Italy. Of course the 

 latter was of the European variety. I have also seen two 

 albino hens in the Iceland moss landg of northern Nor- 

 way. There perhaps the most novel way of killing wood- 

 cock, of all the many methods, is resorted to. In the 

 land of midnight sun, the birds nest and bring out their 

 young in the Iceland moss. Dogs could have been used 

 to flush the close-lying birds with advantage, but they 

 were not available. The birds lie so hard that the sports- 

 man might tramp through the thick under-eover for a 

 long time but with poor success. He, however, hires two 

 peasants whom he provides with a long rope. Each takes 

 an end, and separating, they begin dragging the rope 

 through the moss as they advance. The sportsman walks 

 between them, just where the rope bags and shoots the 

 birds which are flushed by the scraping of the rope. In 

 this way the sportsman who dines at seven o'clock can 

 go out and shoot until after midnight and kill from 

 twenty to thirty brace of cock, and have as much light 

 to shoot by as our hunters do at noon in the dense covers 

 of our Yankee swamps. 



There are now plenty of birds in the covers of Litch- 

 field county, Conn., once the most famous fall woodcock 

 grounds in America. Some forty years ago the grounds, 

 about Canaan, Salisbury and Mount Raggy were shot 

 over exclusively by the late Colonel William DePeyster 

 and the late Mr. William. Aspinwall, both of this city., 

 They were assisted in those days by Mr. Henry Lawson,. 

 of Halifax, N. S., who regularly made one of the party, 

 and by Mr. Herman Bancroft, of Quaker Hill, Conn.. 

 The latter was a remarkable shot for those muzzleload- 

 ing-small-bore-long-barrel days. These four gentlemen 

 once on Oct. 8 shot 108 woodcock and some 40 odd par- 

 tridges (ruffed grouse). Game was very abundant in 

 those days in this section, grouse being especially so. In 

 November, 1847, so I was told by Colonel De Peyster, Mr. 

 Bancroft killed 382 partridges, his best bag being 39 in 

 one day. To-day, these grounds are shot over by Mr. 

 Chas. Barnum, of Lime Rock, and by his friend, Mr. 

 Arthur Duane, of this city. It is also interesting to note 

 that Mr. Barnum shoots over a pointer that is a descend- 

 ant of the old Colonel De Peyster strain, which was the 

 most famous breed of dogs in these parts some fifty years 

 ago. Mr. Barnum got the parent or parents of this dog 

 from Mr. Bancroft just prior to his death some seven or 

 eight years ago. 



On Saturday last, Oct. 1, duck shooting began on Long 

 Island. William Foster, of Ponquogue, on Shinnecock 

 Bay, tells me that there are a few wild broadbills, black 

 ducks and teal at the head of the bay; just enough to 

 tempt a city gunner to spend his money for an expensive 

 outfit. Since the illegal netting of these ducks began 

 (which the good folks who live near Shinnecock say is 

 winked at by Grandfather Gamewarden Whittaker) the 

 fowl shooting has been very slim on this once good killing 

 water. In Connecticut the shooting season for quail, 

 raffed grouse and woodcock also began on Saturday. In 

 Pennsylvania deer shooting. 



I had a look the other day with my dogs over the 

 Wawayanda Mountains, back of Vernon, for partridges, 

 and knowing the lay of the land, managed to move a 

 large number of birds. In fact, they are well distributed 

 this year, and there is no better range than the mountain 

 district from Greenwood Lake westward to Vernon Val- 

 ley. The walking is hard, as the country is very rocky 

 and rough, but there is game enough there to pay any 

 one to go after it. Partridge shooting, however, does not 

 begin in New Jersey, under the law, until Nov. 1, but th« 

 birds are now being shot as the game laws are a dead 



