268 
FOREST AND STREAM^ 
[Oct. 3, 1896. 
been cut, and -which was intersected by numerous log 
roads. There was a bridgo across the river on the Govern- 
ment road by which we had traveled in, and beyond it was 
a large burnt district over which the fire had run several 
years ago. The high ridges were burnt bare to the rockSj 
but in an occasional gully was green bush, and there 
numerous deer made their headquarters, 
We hunted the north and south sides of the river alter- 
nately, and the sport could hardly have been better. The 
deer were so numerous that we speedily made up our 
minds that we could easily get the two each allowed us 
by our game laws without killing any fawns; so we let 
the small deer go and killed only large ones. 
Though, Uke nearly all Ontario hunters, we always bring 
dogs into the bush, we had in former years killed most of 
our deer by still-hunting, and that generally without snow 
for tracking; but in this case that was out of the question. 
We had more or less snow nearly all the time, but it 
was generally more or less crusted; so that we couldn t 
move noiselessly, and we had to depend on our dogs. lu 
six and a half days' hunting we killed eleven deer, includ- 
ing seven bucks, six of which averaged ISOlbs., and four 
large does, which, with the doe we had killed previously, 
gave us om- limit — two deer each. Four of the bucks had 
ten-point heads, and three eight points. 
I killed a buck and a doe. The first I got one morning 
just after two of our dogs had been put out. I was stand- 
ing where three runways came together and crossed a 
small brook at the end of an alder swamp. I had not 
heard the dogs and was rather surprised when the buck, 
a grand fellow with a ten-point head, appeared. He was 
running with his nose close to the ground and his flag 
down, and though it afterward appeared that the dogs 
were on his track, they were so far off that perhaps he 
did not know it. I stopped him with a ball through his 
neck from my .45-90 Winchester and he hardly kicked. 
The dogs came up while 1 was bleeding him, and one of 
my comrades coming to my assistance we got the insides 
out of the buck and proceeded to hang him up. This was 
quite a contract, as there was no sapling near suitable for 
a spring pole. We put the gambrel stick across a pole, 
the ends of which we placed against two trees about 6ft. 
apart. We raised each end of the pole alternately by 
lifting on crotches which we cut, and hadn't got the 
buck's head clear of the ground when the dogs, which had 
meandered off, began to give tongue again, and we made 
for runways. Within five minutes my comrade shot a 
fine doe, which we dragged to where we had the buck, 
and having completed the job of hanging them both up 
we struck for camp, well satisfied with our morning's 
work. 
My other deer, the doe, I shot in the green bush in a 
gully in the "burn." I got her by still-hunting. I saw 
her start about lOOyds. away, and got off two shots, one 
of which entered near her kidneys and ranged forward, 
coming out through her lungs. I followed her bloody 
track about 200yd3., when I saw her standing about SOyds. 
away. She looked pretcy shaky, but to make sure of her 
I let fly at her head. The ball went in at one ear and 
came out at the other. This was the only deer shot in our 
party by still-hunting. 
Two of the other deer, both large bucks, were shot 
under rather peculiar circumstances one morning after a 
night's hard frost which had frozan the river over. Both 
were killed while trying to cross the river by smashing 
through the ice. The first was seen by one of our party 
who was crossing the bridge about 200yds. away, and 
struck the buck's head with three out of ten shots from a 
.40-82 Winchester. The second was heard smashing the 
ice by another member of our party who was in the 
woods some distance away, and who made for the river 
and made two hits out of four shots at lOOyds. 
Both bucks were killed in places where the river had 
widened out into small lakes, and to get them out was 
something of a problem; but there was an old punt near 
the bridge, where it had apparently been left in the sum- 
mer by some one who had been fishing for the pickerel 
and black bass with which the river swarms. We utilized 
the punt, one man paddling and another kneeling in the 
bow and breaking a passage through the ice with a green 
pole. This was slow work, but both deer were finally 
towed down to the bridge and hung up on the ridge above 
close to the road. 
Having killed all the deer the law allowed us, we hired 
two teams to take them and our camp outfit to Alunic 
Harbor, and two heavy loads they made for the roads over 
which we had to travel. We started shortly after noon 
on the 14fch, got to a hotel eight miles from camp that 
evening, remained over night, got up at 4 o'clock next 
morning, reached Alunic Harbor about 11, and boarded 
the steamer for Burk's Falls at 1, W. P. 
RANGE OF THE ANTELOPE. 
With Provisional. Map Showing Distribution 
in 1896. 
We all know in a general way about what ranges were 
occupied by the larger North American mammals when 
this country was first settled by the whites. And we all 
know in a general way that the ranges of these mammals 
have been greatly circumscribed by the settling up of the 
country, the ravages of hunters and the clearing away of 
forests and swamps. From most of the States east of the 
Missouri River the larger mammals have practically been 
exterminated, though in many States Virginia deer and 
black bears are still to be found. It is now probably too 
late to trace the method of this contraction of the range 
of the different species, or to learn when each one became 
exterminated over any given area. Since, however, we 
know that the work of extermination is still being carried 
on, that the free range of these larger animals is becoming 
more and more circumscribed, it is worth while now to 
make a beginning and to try to define from year to year 
the range of the different species. 
Some years ago I endeavored to learn just what was 
the range of the white goat at that time, and I published 
in Forest and Steeam a map which indicated the limits 
beyond which this species was, not found. It seems to me 
desirable to do this for other species, and with this letter 
I offer a map which shows the range of the pronghorned 
antelope {Antilocopra americana) for the year 1896, so 
91 
PROVISIONAL MAP --HOWINO DlSiRlBUTlON OF THE ANTELOfE IN lb96. 
The range is indicated by the black dots. 
far as I know it or have baen able up to the present time 
to learn about it. 
The books tell us little that is definite about the east- 
ward extension of the range of the pronghorned an- 
telope. Caton tells us that it is found only west of the 
Mississippi River, and that it extended as far east as that 
stream only in the northern portion of its range. All the 
other authorities have followed him in this. We know 
certainly that this antelope loves open country and was 
formerly most abundant on the plains. 
I have an impression that it formerly existed in west- 
ern Iowa, where in the year 1870 I saw a captive spsci- 
men which was said to have been taken as a little kid at 
some point in the neighborhood. My notes on this in- 
dividual unfortunately are lost. My friend Mr. Frank 
M. Chapman kindly reminds me that Herrick (Mammals 
Minnesota, Bull. Minn. Geological Survey, 1892) speaks 
of it as formerly occurring in southwestern Minnesota, 
but gives no particulars. Roughly, the Mississippi River 
was the eastern limit of the range of this species and the 
Saskatchewan and Red Deer rivers its northern boundary. 
South it extended well down over the plains of northern 
Mexico, while west at many points it reached the shores 
of the Pacific, Of course, within this vast territory there 
were many considerable areas where antelope were never 
found. Such are the heavily wooded mountain areas of 
Washington, Oregon and parts of Montana and Idaho, 
but over all the great plains, and over all the naked sage 
brush plateaus of the arid central region, these animals 
were extremely abundant. As has been elsewhere stated : 
"It is not so many years since the antelope was the 
most abundant game animal of the plains and the West- 
ern mountains. This was immediately after the extinc- 
tion of the buffalo, and it is perhaps true to-day. The re- 
duction in numbers of the species has come more from 
the contraction of its range than from actual destruction 
of individuals. The time was — and men whose hair is 
not yet gray can remember it — when the antelope ranged 
in vast numbers over both the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kan- 
sas, Indian Territory, Texas, and to the west to and be- 
yond the Rocky Mountains and to the Pacific coast, and 
their numbers were so great that it may even be ques- 
tioned whether the buffalo greatly exceeded them for 
multitude. As the traveler rode along, the prairie as far 
as he could see was dotted with the white patches of the 
feeding animals, and only those immediately in his way 
moved off to some nearby rise of ground and stamped 
and whistled at him as he passed. 
"Over all the summer range the species was very 
abundant and very evenly distributed. If the buffalo 
covered the face of the plain, antelope were to be seen 
mingled with them, feeding among the great beasts; if 
there were no buffalo in the country, the antelope were 
still there in the same numbers. Hundreds and thousands 
of them might be seen in a day, not bunched up together, 
but sometimes singly or in loose herds of from three to 
fifty. If frightened and started to running, these herds 
would mingle for a while; but after the alarm was over 
they would separate again into smaller groups. 
' 'At the approach of winter the antelope changed their 
ground, migrating in loose, straggling columns from 
summer to winter range. They traveled by established 
routes, crossing rivers at certain well-known points and 
using the same passes between mountain ranges year 
after year. At such special points they were killed in 
great numbers by hunters. On the winter range, after 
the cold set in, the antelope congregated in herds of 
thousands, and these herds kept together until the ap- 
proach of spring. Hunters used to kill many of them in 
winter by shooting into the close mass of fleeing beasts 
so long as they were within range. Of course they 
wounded as many as they killed. At that season the 
antelope often perished from cold. If a cold winter rain 
came on, gradually changing to sleet and then to snow 
with bitter cold, the animals sometimes became coated 
with ice and either perished from cold or were so chilled 
that they fell an easy prey to the hunter on two legs or 
four." 
I am not sure how far south into Mexico the range of 
the antelope extended, but it ought not be difficult to 
learn this. Swainson and Richardson in their "Fauna 
Boreali Americana" say that this species occurs as far 
north as 53°, It was formerly extremely abundant in 
many un wooded portions of California, 
Two or three statements made by earlier writers on this 
species are incorrect, but will probably be repeated by 
compilers for many years. One of these is that the ante- 
lope is unable to jump over even a comparatively small 
obstruction. It is true that the antelope, living as it usu- 
ally does on the open prairie or where it only has to run 
straight ahead, is not accustomed to finding obstacles in 
its way nor to jumping them, and seldom or never does 
jump high; yet I have seen a tame antelope jump a 4ft. 
fence for the purpose of getting out of the dooryard in 
which it was confined, and later, when the animal was 
chased back by the village dogs, I have seen him sail over 
the same fence with all the ease of motion that a white- 
tail deer would show. 
It is also commonly stated that the antelope never goes 
into the timber. This is not true. While essentially an 
animal of the open country, preferring above all things a 
region where he can use his eyes, the antelope neverthe- 
less frequently ventures into cover. As long ago as 1877 
I saw antelope feeding among the timber in the mountains 
of Wyoming, and later, in 1879, 1 often found them in the 
mountains of northwestern Colorado, feeding either in 
heavy willow brush in the river bottoms or among the 
pine timber, near little open parks in the high mountains. 
Mr, Attix recently wrote me reporting five or six bunches 
of antelope in the heavy green and dead timber of the Con- 
tinental Divide, near the Wyoming and Colorado line. 
These herds have been driven from their former feeding 
ground by the immense bands of sheep now being grazed 
there, A favorite summer range, especially for old male 
antelope, is high up on the bald hills and hogbacks of the 
main range, where they were often found in very con- 
siderable numbers, and often associating with the moun- 
tain sheep. 
Of course the investigations of a single individual for a 
few weeks can cover but a very small area, and my per- 
sonal observations on this map are confined to the small 
portion of Wyoming lying in the bend of the North Platte 
River, and two small sections of western Montana lying 
just east of the Rocky Mountains — one near the boundary 
line, and one along the Yellowstone River, both north and 
south of it. The remaining information comes from 
gentlemen with whom I have communicated by letter, 
and who have been kind enough to tell me of the regions 
with which they are familiar. 
This map is provisional and is known to be extremely im- 
perfect, but is published now in the hope that it may reach 
the eye of many readers of this journal who may be able 
to supply its omissions. It will be observed that the 
localities for antelope are chiefly on the plains, and only 
pass just over the Continental Divide. No doubt there are 
antelope in Idaho, and in western Oregon, Utah, Nevada 
