Forest and Stream. 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1899, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
ERMS, $4- A Ybar. 10 Cts. a Copy. 
Six Months, $i. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1899. 
J 
VOL. 1,11, -No. in. 
No. 846 Broadway, New York. 
The Forest and Stream is the recognized medium' ot entertain- 
ment, instruction and information between American sportsmen. 
The editors invite communications on the subjects to which its 
pages are devoted. Anonymous communications will not bt re- 
garded. While it is intended to give wide latitude in discussion 
of current topics, the editors are not responsible for the views of 
correspondents. 
Subscriptions may begin at any time. Terms: For single 
copies, $4 per year, $2 for six months. For club rates and full 
particulars respecting subscriptions, see prospectus on page iv. 
TJ/£ EASTERN ELK. 
It is more than fifty years since the wapiti was practi- 
cally exterminated from the eastern United States and 
Canada, and one of the most eminent American authorities 
on mammals has stated that it is probable that the Eastern 
elk was a different animal from the Western form with 
which we are all so familiar. Only a single specimen of 
the old-time Eastern elk is known, so far as we remember, 
and characteristic remains of this species of any sort are 
almost entirely -wanting. When, therefore, the report was 
received that in 1896 Count Henri de Puyjalon had found 
traces of elk in the western portion of the Province of 
Quebec, and when early last winter we received the re- 
port of the killing of an elk on a tributary of the Mata- 
pedia River in Bonaventure county, Quebec, it seemed 
highly desirable that an investigation of these reports 
should be made, and that positive information should 
be had as to whether elk are still found in either of these 
localities. If found in either, the chances were altogether 
in favor of their belonging to that form which once 
ranged in the northeastern United States, that is to say, in 
New York, parts of New England, and also in New 
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 
In view of all these facts, the Forest and Stream set on 
foot an inquiry, the results of which are here given. We 
have consulted a number of men, all of whom are in the 
highest degree reliable, and the evidence is overwhelming 
that the elk still exists in the western portion of Quebec 
on the head waters of the Ottawa River. Thus, the re- 
port of the Count de Puyjalon is amply confirmed by posi- 
tive testimony much more satisfactory than he was able 
to furnish. On the other hand, the story of the elk killed 
near the Metapedia is by the statement of Mr. Joncas dis- 
proved. This, however, is further complicated by a letter 
which we publish this week from Mr. Noah Palmer. The 
whole subject is one of such interest that any evidence 
bearing on it will be gladly received. 
Mr. L. Z. Joncas, now in charge of the Quebec exhibit 
•at the Madison Square Garden, states emphatically that 
the animal killed in the Metapedia in eastern New Bruns- 
wick and called an elk, is nothing more than an ordinary 
woodland caribou, with a somewhat unusual horn develop- 
ment. As the head is on exhibition in the Garden, the 
statement may easily be verified. In reply to inquiry as to 
elk in western Quebec, Mr. Joncas shows the heads of 
three wapiti killed-on the headwaters of the Ottawa. The 
heads were procured by Indians near Grand Lake Vic- 
toria, and there is reason to believe that there exists in 
this neighborhood at the present time, a breeding stock 
of Cervus canadensis, sufficiently numerous to perpetuate 
the race. Mr. Joncas says that in this Pontiac country on 
the upper Ottawa, elk were found in large numbers thirty 
^or forty years ago, and that they are apparently on the 
increase at the present time. The region lies between the 
77th and 78th parallels of longitude, and the 47th and 48th 
of north latitude. 
Further evidence on this point is given by Mr. N. E. 
Cormier, Superintendent of Fisheries and Game, Avinier, 
Quebec, and also by Mr. L. O. Armstrong, of the C. P. 
Ry. Both gentlemen state that they have personal 
knowledge of the existence of wapiti at the present time in 
the neighborhood mentioned. Mr. Cormier says that 
George C. Rainboth, Provincial Land Surveyor, saw elk 
near Grand Lake Victoria in the winter of 1896. 
The elk seem to be confined closely to this particular 
locality. Men who are familiar with the country a few 
hundred miles away, say they have never seen nor heard 
of elk. Alfred Lanoie, who has made nearly a dozen trips 
to Hudson's Bay, and passed to east and west of the 
Pontiac country, says he knows nothing of elk. So does 
Beebe Tirette, of St Raymond, and Mr. C. C. Farr, of 
Haileyburg, on Lake Teraiscamingue. Willie Paulson, 
who hunts on the Montreal River and around Lake 
Temagoming, furnishes a piece of information, however. 
which seems to indicate that «tray wapiti occasionally 
range several degrees to the west of the region which 
seems to be occupied by the main herd- He states that 
the wife of Malcolm McLain, a former Hudson Bay Com- 
pany factor, saw an elk on Lake Aninianipissing re- 
cently. Mrs. McLain has seen caribou and moose and 
deer all her life, but she had never before seen an elk. She 
described the animal as being large as a moose, and of a 
yellowish patchy color. It was a bull, and had horns simi- 
lar to a deer's, except that they were much larger, and 
bent backward instead of forward. The animal was walk- 
ing when seen. 
Eight years ago Paulson himself killed an odd animal 
which would have furnished material for a pseudo elk 
story to a man inclined to prevaricate. He says, however, 
that it was nothing but a moose with an unusual horn 
development. Its color was black, and it had all the rnoose 
characteristics, except as regards its antlers. Paulson de- 
scribed the horns as branching like those of a caribou. 
There were six or seven prongs on each side, which were 
a foot or more in length, and no wider than the parts of 
a caribou's antlers. It was a very old animal, Paulson 
said, and was killed near where the Montreal River 
empties into Lake Temiscamingue. The horns were sold 
to the Hudson Bay Company. 
The testimony which we have thus recorded, which 
appears to establish the existence of the wapiti or round 
horned elk far to the east of any region which it was 
thought now to occupy, is of very great interest, for it 
offers to big game hunters a new, and not very inacces- 
sible, locality where elk may be killed. Yet the news is 
far more interesting to the naturalist than it is to. the 
hunter; for in this herd of elk — which cannot be large — 
may be found the only survivors of a form- which once 
roamed over the forest's and valleys of the eastern States 
from Georgia on the south far into Canada on the north. 
Whether this eastern elk was actually different from 
the Rocky Mountain form may well enough be doubted, 
and we can have no positive knowledge about this until 
specimens of the two are compared. Yet, as the elk in 
question are found about in the longitude of Buffalo, N. 
Y., or not more than two degrees west of Washington, it 
may be regarded as quite certain that they represent the 
eastern form, and are not more different from it, than are 
the Virginia deer which inhabit the same region different 
from those ranging in Maine or the Adirondacks. 
It appears that, although no one else seems to have 
known of the existence of this eastern herd of elk, the 
Indians and the few Hudson's Bay men who occupy the 
limited area of its range, have always known that the elk 
were there, and a few hides have been exported by the 
Hudson's Bay Company each year. It may be imagined, 
however, that the number of the animals found here is not 
large, and now their existence has become generally 
known they will in all likelihood soon be exterminated 
unless active measures are taken for their protection 
against visiting sportsmen and Indians alike. It is 
earnestly to be desired, therefore, that the Quebec Pro- 
vincial Government should absolutely prohibit for a con- 
siderable period the killing of any of this remnant of the 
eastern elk, and in this connection the recommendations 
made some years ago by Count Henri de Puyjalon deserve 
careful consideration. 
To set aside as a great game reserve, where no hunt- 
ing should be done, the whole territory between the Otta- 
wa and Temiscamingue to the west. Lakes Quinze, White 
and Expanse to the north, the Ottawa River to the south 
and a line starting from the mouth of the Ouanaouais 
passing Lakes Antiquas, Grand Lake, and following the 
Du Moine River to the Ottawa to the east, would fairly 
place Quebec in the forefront of the Provinces so far as 
big game protection is' concerned. A definite area, which 
is reserved can be effectively policed and protected. The 
overflow from the protected country would give wonder- 
fully good hunting in the whole region adjacent to the 
reservation. In practice the restrictions on hunting would 
not be felt, while the advantages from having such a pro- 
tected stock of game as would soon exist in the reserve 
would attract sportsmen from far and from near. Such 
action is perhaps too radical to be hoped for at present, 
but some such radical action must be taken before long. 
The far-sighted policy of the Provincial Government of 
Ontario in setting aside as a game and fish reservation and 
a public pleasure resort for its people the noble Algonquin 
Park south of the Ottawa River, might wisely be Imitated 
by the Province of Quebec in establishing for its people 
within the boundaries suggested, and so adjacent to the 
Algonquin Park, a pleasure resort not less beautiful, more 
extensive and more valuable. 
THE NEWFOUNDLAND CAR J BO U. 
The people of Newfoundland appear to be pursuing a 
line of conduct with respect to their supply of big game 
precisely like that followed by residents of tlie United 
States, and destined, if uninterrupted, to result in a like 
ruin of native resources. The stories of vast slaughter of 
caribou, such as is given in our columns to-day, show that 
in Newfoundland a present plenty is blindly accepted as a 
permanent abundance; and while restrictions are placed 
upon visiting sportsmen, the native market-hunter is given 
full license to slaughter by the ton. There is no perceptible 
diminution of the supply, we are told. That is the old, 
old story. There is always a period, as there was in the 
United States, when unrestrained killing of game caused 
no visible difference in the supply. But the disastrous 
rule in nine cases out of ten is that when the evil results 
of unbridled pursuit begin to make themselves manifest, it 
is then loo late to stay the game decrease. 
The local game protective association has undertaken 
to provide, by legislative intervention, for restricting the 
killing of caribou. This is a public concern of importance 
in which they should have the hearty support of their fel- 
low citizens. Properly cared for, the Newfoundland cari- 
bou may be preserved as a permanent resource of the is- 
land, and a way should be found to do this without inter- 
fering in any respect with the real interests of any one 
concerned. 
The improved means of communication between New- 
foundland and the United States, the better provision like- 
ly to be made for the entertainment of visitors to the is- 
land, the narrowing of other available game fields, and the 
growing fame of the big heads to be won on the deer bar- 
rens — all these influences are tending to promote the com- 
ing of sportsmen-tourists in increasing hosts. The license 
fee imposed is so large that the revenue to the public 
treasury, already worthy of consideration, will in the 
future mean much more. But American sportsmen will 
resort to Newfoundland for caribou only so long as there 
shall be caribou there to reward them for the money and 
time expended. The authorities of the colony may not ex- 
pect to derive a revenue from th.is source after once the 
report goes out that their hunting resources have been 
depreciated. Action looking toward better protection of 
the game should be taken at once. 
SNAP SHOTS. 
The spirit of organization among hunting guides is 
spreading. We report to-day a new association just 
formed by the guides of the Jackson Hole district in the 
Rocky Mountains. An organization of this character is 
capable of accomplishing a vast deal both for the guides 
and their employers, if it shall be conducted simply and 
honestly with a purpose to promote fair dealing between 
the two classes. Big game hunters will heartily wish the 
new movement a full measure of success. 
In the rush of the closing days of the fifty-fifth Con- 
gress, the Lacey-Hoar bird bill failed of enactment, which 
means that it is dead altogether, and if the matter is ever 
taken up at Washington again it must t)e from the be- 
ginning. As both Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, and 
Representative Lacey, of Iowa, will be in the next 
Congress, we may reasonably anticipate that they will re- 
new their activity in this direction. 
Further distressing reports of the effects of the great 
storm upon the game come to us from the South. In some 
sections the supply is apparently wiped out so completely 
that years will be required to restore it. One condition 
which added to the destructiveness of the storm was that 
it advanced from the south to the north, and thus there 
was for the birds no retreat before it. 
The Maryland Game Protective Association, which is 
among the most businesslike and efficient of the protective 
organizations of the day, has been forehanded and ener- 
getic in providing food for the quail in the several counties 
of the State. Grain has been supplied, and in some in- 
stances where conditions favored such enterprise, shelters 
have been established. 
