r 
jAJf. 21, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
47 
that we have the most votes, but they made the most noise. 
[Laughter.] 
The question was taken, and on a division there were 
ayes 39, noes 71. 
So the motion to indefinitely postpone was rejected. 
The Speaker : The question recurs on the motion to 
non-concur in the Senate amendment. 
The motion was agreed to. 
The Speaker : The question is now agreeing to the Con- 
ference requested by the Senate. 
The motion was agreed to. 
The Speaker announced the appointment of Mr. Per- 
kins, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Talbert as conferees on the 
part of the House. 
Rocky Mountain Vignettes. 
I.— The Story of a Head. 
Sitting here in my study enjoying a post-prandial pipe 
and dreaming before the cozy wood fire, the strange 
shapes that come and go, the scenes that dawn and fade 
in its coals, give "that color that never was on sea or 
land" to my musings, and lend a witching aid to my im- 
agination. Invoked by its witchery, and by a glimpse 
over my shoulder of a head hanging on the wall, I recall 
that day of days when, far from such scenes, higli above 
timber line, in a land of lichens, where no tree will ever 
strike root, I gazed for the first time upon the stateliest 
wild animal that walks this western world, the antlercd 
monarch of the mountains upon his native heath, with 
the scarped and snow-capped peaks rising around him, 
and the cold wind that comes across the snow fields, and 
bends the bunch grass in rustling gray-green undulations, 
knowing no taint save the strong, sweet smell of the 
elk.^ 
The railroad and civilization were a week's journey by 
saddle and pack horse behind us, and since early dawn of 
this September day I had hunted with J no. Holland, my 
guide, through forests of somber evergreen, along the 
steep hillsides, and among the high mountain meadows, 
park-like with their patches of pine and aspen. Late in 
the afternoon we came to a large snow field lying along 
the base of a porphyritic pinnacle that towered almosi 
perpendicularly looft. above it. Even on the lower ranges, 
far below the region of perpetual snow, September will 
still find snow fields, varying from a few yards to many 
acres in extent, wherever they are sheltered by some over- 
shadowing peak during a portion of the day. As the snow 
thaws slightly during the day, there is generally a narrow 
strip of mud along the lower margin of the field. To the 
elk this is a gala ground. If there is a bull anywhere in 
the vicinity he will write his autograph here, wallowing in 
the mud, and pawing and eating the snow, and the hunter 
approaches such a spot with the feelings of a ticket holder 
at a lotter3^ As the surface thaws during the day and 
freezes at night it is easy to tell when the tracks were 
made — if only the evening before frost needles will be 
found in the bottom of the solid bowls that held the 
.spreading hoofs. We found an abundance of sign here so 
fresh that we determined to wait until evening and watch 
it in hope of the elk visiting it as they had for many even- 
, ings past. While waiting, we determined to climb the 
.pinnacle, and leaving our guns clambered up the big 
Slocks of porphyry on all fours at some risk and consider- 
able expense of' epidermis. But it was worth it. From 
the summit we gained one of the grandest views I ever en- 
joyed in the Rocky Mountains. The other side fell away 
a sheer wall without a projecting ledge for ftdly i,oooft. 
Far down the chasm-cut mountain side a patch of aspens 
flaunted its red and yellow hues against a background of 
evergreens below. Lying at full length, with my eyes just 
clear of the brink, I ventured to raise the glasses — with 
irrational fear, I must confess, that the added weight 
might topple me down the dizzy descent — and scanned the 
rock-strewn prospect in vain for sight of sheep or goat. 
"H there's anything in those aspens they're goin' to 
come out," said the mountaineer, who, with utter disre- 
gard for the laws of gravity, sat swinging his long legs 
over the precipice, and loosening a piece of porphyry be 
hurled it down. 
A cloud of cut twigs, dirt and debris marked the path 
of the projectile through the thicket. It must have gone 
into it with the velocity of a cannon-shot. Rock after rock 
went hurtling down the mountain side, some, upon strik- 
ing a projecting ledge, bursting into a thousand frag- 
ments, and disappearing in a cloud of dust. While the 
big mountaineer was engaged in this childish amusement I 
lay at length, basking in the warm sunshine, and enjoying 
an idleness sweetened by fatigue such as only the climber 
in that high, thin atmosphere knows. 
Across the canon towered a wall of basalt, whose dark 
breast was braided over with flashing streams. Afar off 
above the dim mountains of amethyst in the northwest 
lay an argosy of white clouds like some convoy of ships 
becalmed on a summer sea. Clouds? Did ever clouds 
gleam with such dazzling brilliancy? Did ever sky- 
piled vapors assume such rigorous distinctness of outline? 
It was the snowy summits of the three Tetons, giants of 
the range. Below us, beyond the snow patch, along the 
• sloping mountain side lay a tawny reach of bunch grass 
in bright relief against the dark green of the balsams, be - 
low which looked like a field of half^grown grain. Sud- 
denly, upon the bare ridge just beyond the snow field arose 
an antlered head, whose many tines looked like the bare 
branches of a tree, and with his big ears set like the spin- 
aker of a yacht, a bull elk with his stately stride came into 
view, followed by his harem in single file, with their heads 
hanging down like cows driven to pasture. So pastoral 
was the scene that for a full minute, in my condition of 
dolce far niente, I failed to grasp its import, but lay idly, 
dreamily, gazing upon the wild mountain kine as if they 
were but common cattle back in my bltiegrass home. The 
next, with a swift revival of sense, I clutched John wildly, 
and too excited to speak, could only point toward the 
game. He pattsed with a rock poised in his uplifted 
hands, and glancing where I pointed, fell back as if struck 
with paralysis, his heels still hanging over the precipice. 
"Lie still — don't move again," he whispered, "they 
haven't seen us — but we haint got our guns." 
It was true : we had to abandon them to climb the 
pinnacle, and there was nothing for us to do but wait and 
pray for an opportunity to regain them, 
The herd scattered out upon the snow,, and fell to paw- 
ing and lapping it. The big bull skirted the field, thrusting 
his muzzle into the mud made by the melting snow, until 
at last he found a nice oozy, miry spot, which w^as evi- 
dently of extra flavor, when he very deliberately lay down 
and made several ineffectual efforts to roll over — a feat 
which his antlers prohibited. Failing, he lay for some 
time chewing the cut of sweet and bitter fancy in ap- 
parently the acme of bovine content, then rose, and shak- 
ing himself like a dog, was for a moment enveloped in a 
halo of mud and water. He stood for some time appar- 
ently pondering divers deep and weighty matters, then 
arching his back, he stretched out first one hindleg and 
then the other, and then selecting the cow which seemed 
most comfortable, he routed her out of her snowy couch 
with hoof and horn. 
"The sonofagun!" ejaculated my companion, "if I only 
had my gun now." 
Soon they all strayed off over the ridge. As the last head 
dropped down out of sight we started for our rifles, 
tumbling down the peak, and finally plumping into the 
snow with sublime indifference to danger, From the top 
of the ridge we expected to view the quarry, and after 
pausing near the top to breathe, we peered cautiously over 
with rifles at full cock. A stretch of bunch grass lay be- 
fore us, the nearest timber a quarter of a mile away. Into 
this the herd had disappeared. Making for it we wound 
in and out of copses of stunted pine, riven and twisted by 
the winds that ceaselessly sweep these altitudes, keeping 
well np and to windward. Even when feeding, elk will 
sometimes go at a ground-covering gait, but we began to 
believe that the herd was traveling, and consequently 
growing solicitous, quickened our steps. Suddenly, out 
of the ground, hardly 40yds. away, suddenly and silently 
as an apparition, arose a young two-spike bull, whom 
the master bull had evidently run out of the herd, and who 
was hanging on its outskirts. I was just stepping out of 
a gully, but dropped back instantly into its friendly 
shelter. 
"There he is," excitedly exclaimed John, poking his 
Winchester over my shoulder. I promptly grabbed the 
muzzle and jerked it down. "There he is! Don't you see 
him? Why don't you shoot?" and then catching a 
plainer view, muttered an objurgation upon his eyes and 
subsided into silence. 
With lifted head and ears, eyes and nose striving for 
sight, scent, or sound, the animal stood for fully five min- 
utes, and then deliberately lay down, either believing 
himseH the victim of an optica! delusion, or else attribut- 
ing the ' disturbance to some innocuous habitant of the 
mountains. 
Beating a retreat, we passed above him, but despite the 
wartiing we had received almost ran mto a cow, who was 
feeding in a little swale, surrounded by bushes so nearly 
her own color that she escaped detection until she raised 
her head. We simultaneously saw the fir.st movemqit, 
the trees were behind us, and standing as we stopped 
we remained rigid while her great ears pointed toward us. 
After a long look she dropped' her head, but immediately 
lifted it again after snatching a mouthful of grass. 
Though not startled, she was suspicious, and quietly dis- 
appeared among the trees. 
The herd was scattered and feeding, and. for half an 
hour we crept around it before we located the master 
bull. At length we caught a fleeting glimpse as he strode 
across an open space, and occasionally afterward were 
enabled to keep him located by glimpses of his towering 
antlers, as he moved about in the copse. We crept down 
within looyds. of him, and as there was no more cover, 
determined to walk boldly toward him. Posting John 
where he could see if the bull broke cover on the oppo- 
site side, I fared forth across the open, straight for the 
clump that hid the bull. I had taken but a dozen steps 
when I was halted by an apparition that arose above the 
brush— clearly outlined with ears pointing toward me, the 
clean-cut, blood-like looking head of a heifer. The 
next instant there was a frightened snort, and the heifer 
went crashing away through the woods. With ears and 
eyes straining, I strove to locate the bull. Has he too 
fled? If so, his hoofs were shod with silence. 
Oh, the excitement of those' few tumultuous moments. 
Suddenly the suspense was ended. Suddenly sounded 
the challenge of the bull, so close, so hoarse and harsh 
it sounded that I drew back appalled. More like the 
roar of some huge beast of prey was it than the mellow, 
flute-like notes that were wont to float down the moun- 
tain side on the frosty evening air, and die away down 
the echo-loving cafion in mellow- fragmentary bugling. 
The next moment he broke cover, thrashing, his huge 
antlers from side to side against the bushes as they 
parted, and gave egress to the biggest bull I had ever 
seen. His shaggy mane bristling with fury fell, and 
like lightning his whole demeanor changed as he burst 
into the presence of his deadly arch enemy, man, and with 
a whistling snort of fear the huge beast wheeled and 
plunged back into the engulfing bushes as 1 fired. So 
quickly had it all transpired, so suddenly and unex- 
pectedly the whole denouement, the fearless charge and 
the hasty retreat, that my aim was naturally uncertain 
even at that short range, but through the smoke I saw 
the big fellow swerve as he plunged into the brush, and 
dashing after through a strip of pines, I got a snap- 
shot as he plunged across an open space, and the next 
moment a bullet sang over my head uncomfortably close 
as John opened fire above me. I promptly dropped 
down and yelled to him not to shoot, and upon his reply- 
ing I quickly got out of the bushes. Far below we could 
see the cows scurrying like mice along the mountain 
side, and disappearing in the heavy timber. Hastening 
to the spot where John had last seen the buU, we were 
gratified to find a few drops of blood beside his tracks, 
and a few paces further on some flecks of bloody froth 
upon the leaves of the aspens showed that he had been 
shot in the lungs, and as we carried the trail along the 
splotches grew more frequent. Then ensued a long and 
laborious trailing, as monotonous and irksome in the 
doing as it would be in the telling. 
In the dusk)' twilight, while it was still darkly day, we 
were carrying it through a grove of balsams that clung 
to the mountain side. John was in advance with his 
rifle slung by its strap over his shoulder, and bent over 
to follow the faint hoof marks left on the flinty surface 
or the fainter splashes of blood on the brown pine needles 
growing more and more indistinct, and difficult of de- 
tection. Stepping in his footsteps, witlii fhy rifle at full 
cock, I was gazing straight a:head, and in the darkening 
depths of that balsam grove I caught a movement, and 
gave the warning cry. Without looking up John sprang 
down the mountain side out of my way, clearing the fiela 
of action, and gaining a place of safety for himself, 20ft. 
at a jump. Simultaneously the thunder of hoofs sounded 
on the air, and the hunted animal, with the long hair ou 
his neck and back erect, and curling forward, and with 
his eyes glaring green with the malevolence of a demon, 
the hunted animal charged his persecutors. There wag 
no time to flee, there was no time to even think, there 
was mighty little time to act, but the old Winchester 
over there in the corner came up to the shoulder right 
and true, and the bullet made the hole that has been so 
carefully hidden by the taxidermist's art in the head on 
the wall. Fr.\ncis J. Hag.^n. 
Game in Jackson's Hole. 
Lancaster, Pa. — Editor Forest and Stream: Referring 
to the communications from .Mr. W. L. Simpson relative 
to the subject, permit me to say that Mr. A. C. Kepler and 
I returned a few weeks ago from a very enjoyable hunt in 
the Jackson's Hole country. We left Mr. S. N. Leek'& 
Recreation Ranch in the Hole on Sept. 20, and rettirned 
with our outfit on Oct. 10, having been in the mountains 
twenty-one days. Mr. Simpson, your correspondent, was 
also oitt with a party, they having left the settlement about 
Sept. I. They were camping in Fall River Basin, and he 
having occasion to go out for mail and additional sup- 
plies, returned via the "Horse Creek route," which neces- 
sitated his passing close by our catnp, which was located 
at the foot of a canon on one of the tributaries of Granite 
Creek, and some ten miles from his camp. As it was get- 
ting dark, we, sportsman like, insisted on his remaining 
with us over night, which invitation he was glad to accept. 
After filling him up with roast bear, luscious elk steak and 
coffee such as only Andy Mattison can make, we added 
more and larger dry fir logs to the fire, and proceeded to 
smoke the pipe of peace, happy in the fact that there was 
not a single red Indian in the Hole thus far this fall. 
We had scarcely got started questioning our visitor as 
to the news of the outside busy world, when who should 
put in an appearance but Mr. D. C. Nowlin and his favor- 
ite dog, Mike. He was on a trap line, and was camping in 
the next cafion, but a few hundred yards above us. After 
the usual greeting, Mr. Nowlin and his faithful companion 
joined the circle, and as they did _Mr. Simpson pro- 
ceeded to inform our caller that his name had been 
placed on the Republican ticket as. a candidate for the 
Legislature. Then the conversation turned to game pro- 
tection, and the numerous evidences of violations of the 
lawf before the hunting season opened. The whole subject 
was discussed in all its phases, and I write to verify all 
that Mr. Simpson has said in all of his communications, 
and am only sorry he did not tell all he knew, about the 
way parties slip in through the Green River route, and 
commit wholesale depredations in this best of all game 
regions in the United States to-day. During our stay in 
the country we had ample opportunities of becoming very 
well acquainted with Mr. Nowlin, and with his neigh- 
bors rejoice that he has been elected a member of the 
A¥yoming Legislature. He is the right man in the right 
place. He is a ranchman, hunter, trapper and surveyor, 
and being in possession of a good education, is a fluent 
weaker, and having had an exteiided experience on the 
frontier, he will be capable of voicing the best interests 
of his constituents on the subject of game protection in the 
Jackson Hole country, as well as other subjects of public 
interest. 
There is but one Yellowstone National Park. As a 
park filled to overflowing with unique and marvelous evi- 
dences of internal fires, and a large area of thin earth 
crust, it is out of reach of competition, and will continue 
to supply subjects for the artist, the kodak fiend and the 
scientific student, so long as the geysers shall continue to 
spout, and the boiling water to deposit incrustations. As 
a game preserve, however, it is a signal failure, and re- 
minds me of a key without a handle, an arrow without a 
bow, or a gun witlwut a lock; and unless the Goveniment 
shall conduct the preserve in accordance with the natural 
conditions existing, in a comparatively short time the 
game in the Park will consist of a few specimens of 
bears, coyotes, lynx, beaver, porcupines and foxes. All 
of the deer family will eventually go where the buffalo 
did. Then, when it is too late, regrets and "I told you 
so" will be in order. 
It is estimated by those who have the best opportunity 
of knowing, that within the Park proper, and thirty miles 
south of the south boundary, in Uinta county, Wyoming, 
there are not less than 10,000 elk hanging around the 
base of the foothills at the present time. This section of 
country south of the Park is bounded on the north by the 
south Park line ; on the west by the Gros Ventre, and on 
the east by the Teton ranges of mountains; and in 
places the main ranges approach each other so closely that 
the foothills come almost together.. The average altitude 
of the main ranges is not less than 9,000ft., while the 
elevation of the Snake River, which winds its serpen- 
tine course through this magnificent country, is only 
about 6,oooft. The foothills have a maximum average al- 
titude of about 7,000 to 7,500ft.; they are well supplied 
with water, well wooded, and interspersed here and there 
with grassy parks and numerous natural licks, as well 
as deep, dark caiions. In this ideal natural game region 
between the base of the foothills of the two main ranges, 
there are hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile plains, 
including the Jackson's Lake region, Fall River basin and 
the Jackson's Hole country. Ten years ago this grand game 
country was' visited onlv by Indians from the reservations, 
prospectors, hunters and trappers, and but comparatively 
few of them. Then, when the winter snows were from 
I sin. to 2ft. deep in the Yellowstone Park and the foot- 
hills of the main ranges, the elk migrated to the lower alti- 
tudes, where the snow^vould be ofttimes not over from 
4 to loin. deep, and where they could subsist fairly well 
by pawing down to the luxurious grass, or if the snow 
was crusted thev could still do fairly well along the 
banks of the rivers, their tributaries and the lakes. 
But, alas for the noble elk family, conditions ha.v'e 
changed. Eight or ten years ago the prospectors, hunters, 
trappers and skin-hunting Indians destroyed yearly a 
goodly number of elk; nevertheless, the survivors were 
