406 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 12, 1889. 



GAME PROTECTION IN WYOMING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I desire to correct beforehand some impressions sports- 

 men may receive after reading a communication from 

 "¥, H. W." in Forest and Stream of Oct. 81, headed 

 "On a Wyoming Ranch." I think, in the first place, 

 there must be a mistake in the date of the letter from 

 Mrs. Frost, as the incidents related in that letter occurred 

 about a year since. I have myself heard that worthy 

 lady tell of the killing of the bear and cubs and I know 

 myself all about that dance, as I have been there myself. 

 I recollect also hearing of the hunt of that "Eastern gen- 

 tleman," and also recollect hearing that for that or a 

 previous hunt he was arrested by the game constable, 

 taken before a Justice of the Peace, but on promise of 

 not again breaking Wyoming game laws was let off with 

 a gentle reprimand. 



The Mr. Frost mentioned by "W. H. W." is one of o"ur 

 worthiest and most law-abiding citizens, who at one time 

 acted as guide to hunting parties. But when told of the 

 strictness of Wyoming game laws, and of the efforts, 

 then for the first time assuming tangible form toward 

 enforcing them, at once gave up his predilections for 

 hunting and became a strong advocate for enforcing 

 them. He is now making money on his road and stock 

 ranch, and I don't believe could be hired as guide for 

 hunting parties where there was the least probability of 

 breaking the game laws. 



Wyoming has been for years past apparently at the 

 mercy of the skin and meat hunter and of the so-called 

 sportsmen. It is difficult to say which class have ruth- 

 lessly destroyed the most of our big game. From the 

 time of the advent of that English sportsman, Mr. Bail- 

 lie-Grohman, ten or twelve years ago, who in the columns 

 of the Field (London) boasted of having killed 400 head 

 of large game, within the space of a few months, to the 

 present time, this slaughter has been going on. That 

 sportsman (it was said) was driven from the Territory by 

 his indignant countrymen, his steps being folio wed by an 

 officer of the game laws, but his place was soon taken 

 by so-called sportsmen of lesser caliber of both the for- 

 eign and domestic kind, until at this time our large game 

 has been almost completely exterminated. This class of 

 sportsmen embraced all phases of life, lawyers, doctors, 

 politicians, statesmen (not Christian statesmen) and 

 divines, among the latter a noted clergyman of your city. 



Even as late as last summer some so-called sportsmen 

 passed in from Eawlings and Lander to the head of Wind 

 River, got among a band of elk, and the result was that 

 they passed out through Lander with the heads of twelve 

 bull elk. If this party killed twelve bulK how many 

 more elk died from wounds afterward? Doubtless 

 double that number. Unfortunately through the negli- 

 gence of the sheriff and his deputies this party was not 

 arrested and passed out of the Territory unscathed. 

 Their names are, however, on file, and if the Grand Jury 

 at its next session can bring them back through a.n in- 

 dictment, a very strong effort will be made to do so. 

 Next season arrangements will be made to intercept such 

 vandals, either going or coming from their hunting 

 grounds. 



The foregoing recapitulation of facts are given in jus- 

 tice to the people of Wyoming to indicate from what 

 causes resulted the present rigid game lavvs. Since the 

 days of Baillie-Grohman, at each biennial session of the 

 Legislative Assembly the game laws have been made more 

 rigid, until at the present time a non-resident of the Terri- 

 tory can kill game on no account whatever, and a citizen 

 can kill only a limited quantity for purposes of food for 

 himself and family. 



Game laws, as with other laws, never enforce them- 

 selves; and unless there is a power behind them sufficient 

 to furnish the money to employ officers to see that they 

 are enforced, they generally remain a dead letter on the 

 Btatute book. So it was found with our game laws. 

 This experience led in this locality to the formation of 

 the North Wyoming Game Protective Association, com- 

 posed of persons in northern Wyoming who took a de- 

 cided interest in preserving the big game. For the first 

 two years moral suasion was tried in the shape of procla- 

 mations and offers of rewards for violators of the law. 

 This had little effect on what may be called the vandal 

 class of sportsmen or the skin and meat hunters from 

 Montana. As grass and sods had no practical effect, it 

 was determined in the summer of 1888 to try what virtue 

 there was in stones. Funds were raised among those 

 interested, and game constables were employed, whose 

 duties were to patrol the foothills of the mountains and 

 arrest all violators of the game laws whoever they might 

 be, and particular attention was given to that part of 

 the Montana line contiguous to the western edge of the 

 Yellowstone Park, from whence a good deal of game had 

 been killed and taken into Billings and Red Lodge, 

 Montana. 



Altogether about half a dozen arrests were made last 

 fall and winter of sportsmen and meat hunters, princi- 

 pally from Montana, some of whom have the reputation 

 of being desperate men, and had made threats that they 

 could not be arrested. The game constable on that part 

 of the line had some reputation himself of " being on 

 the shoot," and had no trouble in bringing them before 

 the justice, one of them being arrested at his camp high 

 up in the mountains. As soon as it was demonstrated 

 that the game law was to be enforced, most of those en- 

 gaged in its violation skipped across the line. The task 

 was made the easier from the fact that the great majority 

 of the citizens of northern Wyoming were heartily in 

 accord as to game protection, and every instance of its 

 violation was promptly reported. 



The effort last winter was so successful that it was re- 

 solved to redouble the effort this summer and fall, and 

 accordingly posters were distributed along the Northern 

 Pacific road giving the details of the law and that con- 

 stables would be on the watch along the northern line in 

 search of violators of the law. Fortunately thus far 

 there has not been a necessity for making arrests, as both 

 sportsmen and hunters from Montana have kept away, 

 and our own people conform to the law and report all 

 violations of it by others. 



I have thus given in some detail the result of enforcing 

 the game laws in Wyoming, in the hope that similar 

 efforts will be made elsewhere. You may rely upon it, 

 that unless there is sufficient force in public opinion to 

 employ officers to see that these laws are enforced, they 

 will forever remain a dead letter on the statute book. 



The letter of "W. H. W." is misleading in regard to the 

 abundance of large game in northern Wyoming, He 



who comes to Wyoming expecting to find game any- 

 where except in the high mountains and among the 

 snow (except antelope and deer at certain times in the 

 late fall) will be very much deceived. Besides, I am sure 

 if any sportsman journeys to Mr. Frost's ranch, in hopes 

 of his assisting them in violating the game laws, they 

 will also be equally disappointed. He would in all likeli- 

 hood advise them to return the way they came. 



Any one deserving the name of sportsman will not 

 knowingly violate the game laws of any locality.. Any 

 sportsman who knowingly violates such laws deserves no 

 consideration if arrested, and will not receive it in 

 Wyoming. We have magistrates who will execute all 

 laws whenever instances of their violation are brought to 

 their attention, and in this they will also be backed by 

 public opinion. 



The people of Wyoming are becoming very restive 

 under the long-continued and repeated violation of her 

 game laws, as described heretofore. About a year since 

 this took shape in the summary hanging of two hunters 

 for gross outrages on the property of a ranchman who 

 had merely remonstrated with them for breaking the 

 game laws. This was of course all wrong, but here, as 

 elsewhere in almost all the States, a resort will occasion- 

 ally be made to the "higher law" when the ordinary pro- 

 cesses of law fail or are too slow in operation. It is to be 

 hoped the letter of "W. H. W." may not be misleading 

 to other sportsmen in regard to Wyoming game and 

 game laws. 



In making my first bow to the readers of Forest and 

 Stream I feel a good deal as the boy did when making 

 his first speech before the public— 



Don't view ine with a critic's eye, 

 But pass my imperfections by. 

 Otto, Wyoming, Nov. 20. J. Q. A. JONES. 



A FIRST BUFFALO HUNT. 



IT WAS in 1881. My brother Robert and I started from 

 our ranch in Dakota the first part of December to be 

 absent about two weeks. Our ranch is situated in Law- 

 rence county, close to the Black Hills, just at the foot- 

 hills of Crow Peak, five miles west of the town of Spear- 

 fish. Our neighbors had been, out and got a winter's 

 supply of buffalo meat, and we thought we would do the 

 same. We procured two rifles, one a .50 70 Springfield, 

 which was stamped 1864 and was originally a muzzle- 

 loader, usually called a "long Tom." The other was a 

 mate to it in size, age and weight, a Remington. After 

 practicing so that we could hit a box 2ft. square at a 

 hundred yards, we were ready for game. We took three 

 ponies and started. Striking the Little Missouri where 

 it is now called Stoneville in Montana, from there we 

 followed up the river twenty miles, and leaving that we 

 went over the divide and struck Little Powder River. 

 This trip occupied five days, and we traveled twenty-five 

 miles a day. We expected to find game over there and 

 asked a cowman we met on the road if there was any 

 game near by. He said, "No, but you will find plenty 

 up the river forty or fifty miles." We traveled up stream 

 two days and then made camp. We had a good time 

 going out. The weather was fine, and there was plenty 

 of grass for our horses. 



We had seen several coyotes, but did not shoot at any 

 or anything. We had a little experience that night 

 which was laughable after it was over, but quite the re- 

 verse just at the time. We had found a splendid place 

 to camp, and hauled our wagon up close to a large Cot- 

 tonwood tree, about 40ft. high and 2ft. 6in. diameter and 

 perfectly dry. After unharnessing our horses and picket- 

 ing them out, we lit a fire close to the tree, so that the 

 smoke would follow up the tree instead of into our eyes, 

 as it had been in the way of doing. We had nearly 

 cooked our supper, when all at once we heard a tremen- 

 dous roar. Robert looked at me and I at him for a moment 

 without saying a word, and then as the sound seemed 

 overhead we looked up and there was a stream of fire 

 coming out between the main forks of the tree about 

 25 ft. high like a blast furnace. We looked at our camp- 

 fire and the whole blaze was going into the tree where it 

 had burned a hole into the hollow of the tree. In a few 

 minutes the tree would fall and set the whole prairie on 

 fire, and probably come down on our wagon. It was just 

 the distance off to receive a crushing. My! didn't we fly 

 around. We got in our horses and harnessed them up as 

 quickly as possible and hauled the wagon away, and then 

 picked up most of our^camp equipage and grabbed a sack 

 each and ran to the water to get them wet to tight the 

 fire with. The grass was at least I4in. high and as thick 

 and dry as could be. We had no sooner done this than 

 down came the tree right where our wagon had stood ; and 

 of all the lively times we ever had it was for the next few 

 minutes that followed. It seemed as though it was im- 

 possible for us to stop the flames. They were every- 

 where at once. If any person could have seen our antics 

 just then without the fire they would have thought we 

 were raving maniacs, more fit for the lunatic asylum 

 than the prairies. However, we conquered it at last and 

 learned a lesson we shall not soon forget. 



The next day we went to some hills about two miles 

 from camp and could see any number of buffalo, herd 

 after herd, on the hills and in the valleys. We crawled 

 within 50yds. of a herd of about fifty and commenced 

 shooting at them. They did not know where we were, and 

 all rushed together in one bunch and stood there. We 

 kept on shooting until we had fired from fifteen to twenty 

 cartridges each, and then decided that we must have 

 killed a dozen. We rose up so they could see us; and as 

 soon as they did, they scampered off over the hills. We 

 looked around to see how many dead ones there were, 

 and, lo! not a single one. They had all gone. 



We were thunder struck, and could not imagine why 

 we had not killed any. Looking around, Robert spied a 

 lone buffalo down in a low place, and said, "I am going 

 down to see if I can't get that fellow." 



Away he went. When he got at about 200yds. from it 

 (he could not get nearer) he shot at it, and in an instant 

 the buffalo took after him. I have seen Robert run before 

 in foot races, but I never saw him throw so much energy 

 into it as he did on this occasion. He fairly flew. He 

 might have touched the ground occasionally; but from 

 where 1 was I could not swear to it. But he still hung on 

 to the "Long Tom." Ail at once he came to a ravine or 

 v^asbout that was about 1 5 ft. deep, and the sides were 

 perpendicular. He hesitated a moment, and then glanc- 

 ing around saw that the buffalo was pretty close. (He 

 said afterward he looked like a mountain coming.) He 



jumped down and sat on the brink, intending to jump 

 over if the buffalo came right up. In the few moments 

 he had to wait for developments, he hastily slipped a 

 cartridge into the chamber of his gun, and prepared to 

 jump or shoot. When the buffalo got up within a few 

 feet of Robert in his mad charge, he must have noticed 

 the ravine, for just as Robert was sliding off, the animal 

 wheeled about and disappeared. Robert caught himself 

 by the grass and drew himself back before he was over- 

 balanced. I asked him afterward why he did not shoot 

 as soon as the buffalo wheeled off; and he said he was 

 perfectly satisfied to have come out of it as he did with- 

 out any more trouble. What troubled him most after- 

 ward was that when he jumped down to a sitting posture 

 on the brink, he landed on a sharp rock, which made it 

 very uncomfortable for him for several days. 



We hunted for four days and could not kill a buffalo. 

 Game was very plentiful, and we had no trouble at all to 

 get plenty of shooting. Several times in those four days 

 deer would jump up and run off at a distance of about 

 100yds. and stand and look at us; but we would not shoot, 

 because we thought if we could not kill a buffalo at 

 50yds. we couM not kill a deer at 100yds. 



The next morning as we were trudging to the hills 

 Robert said: " Now, to-day let us both shoot at the same 

 buffalo and see if we cannot kill it." It was not long 

 before we sighted buffalo, and in half an hour we were 

 within 15yds. of a fine cow. We both shot at her simul- 

 taneously and saw her fall, and thought we sure had one 

 at last; but she jumped up again and ran off to the mam 

 herd about 100yds. away; and there they all stood, about 

 seventy-five of them. We kept firing until we were 

 tired, and finally concluded we had one if not more, so 

 we got up in sight and away they went, every one of 

 them, our cow with the rest. We decided then that our 

 guns were not powerful enough for buffalo and gave ii 

 up. The next thing in order was to find a hunters' camp 

 and try to get some meat to haul to Deadwood on 

 shares, that being home and twenty-five miles further. 

 After considerable traveling around we found two hunt- 

 ers encamped and told them what we wanted. One of 

 the hunters said if we.would stay with them for a week 

 and help to haul game into camp we could have all the 

 meat we wanted and keep it ourselves: that he didn't 

 want us to haul on shares, and that he was going to 

 Deadwood in that time and would go back with us, so 

 we concluded to do that. One day one of the old hunt- 

 ers said: " Why didn't you kill your own game?" We 

 told him our experience, and he said he had a gun like 

 the Springfield once and he could kill anything with it. 

 He wanted to try it a shot. He shot at a black knot in a 

 tree about 125yds. away, and the bullet came within 

 an inch of the center of it. He said he could not see 

 what was wrong with the gun, and then said: "Maybe 

 you don't hit 'em in the right place," We told him we 

 thought if we hit them at all we ought to kill thetn. 

 " Oh'no," he said. " Now, I'll tell you where to hit 'em." 

 He drew out a rough sketch of a buffalo in the sand with 

 a stick and pointed out the vital spot behind the shoul- 

 der; and told us we must take as good aim as if we were 

 shooting at the head of a chicken. Tnis was new to us, 

 and we thought now we could kill a buffalo if we had 

 the chance. 



In a day or two we were to start for home, and were 

 very anxious to try our hands once more on a buffalo; 

 but did not get an opportunity until the day came that 

 all were to stay in camp and prepare for the start for 

 home on the morrow. In the morning I looked over the 

 bank close to our tent and saw six buffalo not a mile 

 away. I grabbed the needle gun and a handful of cart- 

 ridges and struck out to bead them off. I soon got ahead 

 of them and awaited their coming. A fine cow took the 

 lead, and as they were walking by me, at about 100yds. 

 away, I took careful aim at the vital spot and pulled 

 trigger. Down she went a dead cow. I soon got another 

 cartridge in the gun; and after they ran about 100yds. 

 they stopped. I hastily took aim and fired at a two year- 

 old' bull, and down he tumbled. Then the other four 

 stampeded toward the hills, and not finding a way clear 

 they turned and came almost direct toward me. I hid be- 

 hind a big sage bush, and as they rushed by, about 30yds. 

 away, I fired at the leader, a fine heifer three years old. 

 After running about 75yds. she dropped dead and never 

 kicked. By this time the young bull I had shot was up 

 again, and I shot at him twice at 200yds. distance and he 

 fell for good. I was then going to turn loose on the re- 

 maining three, and found that I had no ammunition. I 

 sneaked up to camp and told Robert if he wanted some 

 meat to take the gun and some cartridges and go down 

 the creek and shoot some buffalo. He went and I with 

 him to see him shoot. When he got up to about 125yds. 

 he commenced to shoot at them. He killed two with 

 three shots, and the fourth shot wounded the last buffalo, 

 which struck off for the hills and disappeared. It was 

 not yet noon. After dinner we skinned the buffalo, cut 

 off the hams, humps and shoulders, took out their 

 tongues and suet and took it all to camp, and left the 

 carcasses for the coyotes. 



The next day we pulled for home. One little accident 

 happened on the road which was annoying. The third 

 day the roads were frozen harder than usual; it had 

 snowed some during the night; and the wagon made a 

 great clatter. The hunter was about 50yds. ahead of us 

 when our horses became frightened at the rattle of the 

 wagon (they were real Lidian cayuses) and smarted to run 

 away. Robert was driving and walking by the side of 

 the wagon. He hung on to the lines, but the ground 

 was slippery and I saw him slide, and then pitch head- 

 long to the ground, and after plowing it a little he stop- 

 ped. The team went on. They ran up close to the hun- 

 ters' wagon and wheeled off to the left, when the rim of 

 the front wheel struck inside the rim of the hunters' 

 wagon and in an instant the whole rim (felloes and tire), 

 was completely torn off the hub of their wagon. Every , 

 spoke had been broken at the felloe and at the hub, which 

 let the hub down to the ground. Our team circled; and 

 %e caught them without further harm. After procuring 

 a pole and tying it up, so that one end dragged like a 

 sled, we continued our journey and came home by way 

 of- what is now the town of Sundance, Wyo. We were* 

 gone five weeks and one day. 



We have been out on several trips since and my la8^ 

 buffalo >>unt was a very curious one, with a great many 

 more adventures than the first. We secured fifteen buf- 

 falo, four deer, two antelope, several jack rabbits and 

 chicken. The above story is a true one. 



John T. Lilly. . 



