Jai^. 28, i9t)5-i 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
6§ 
National Park Game. 
From the annual report of Major John Pitcher, U. S. A., Supt. 
Game. 
The past winter was an exceedingly favorable one for 
all game in the Park, except the wild herd of buffalo. 
There is danger that this herd may become extinct in the 
course of time, and our new herd was started none too 
soon. As stated in previous reports, the remnant of 
the wild herd is located on the head of Pelican Creek. 
This is an exceedingly unfavorable country for them to 
winter in, for in that section the snowfall is very heavy, 
and the only way that they can keep alive is by grazing 
on the few places kept open by the hot springs. This 
herd could be driven out of that locality and possibly a 
few of them caught up, but it is more than likely that the 
greater part of them would be killed in the attempt. In- 
stead of attempting to catch up the old ones, men are 
sent out each spring for the purpose of capturing the 
young calves, which are brought in to this place, raised 
by a domestic cow, and then turned out in the inclosure 
with the tame herd. The capture and transportation of 
these animals to a point where they- can be cared for is 
an exceedingly difficult and somewhat dangerous matter, 
for at the season when it is necessary to make the at- 
tempt, the men have to travel on snowshocs, and the 
snow is usually in wretched condition for such work. 
Last summer a lot of hay was cut and stacked up for 
these buffalo at what was supposed to be the most con- 
venient point for them, but when the scouts went out 
there in the spring this stack was so deeply covered with 
snow that they were unable to find it. tip to the present 
time three calves have been caught up from the wild 
herd and placed with the new or tame herd. Two of 
these are males and one is a female. 
If for any reason the wild herd should abandon their 
present range on the head of Pelican Creek and should 
move down to the lower country where they formerly 
lived, the chances of their survival would be greatly in- 
creased, and they might become the progenitors of a con- 
siderable wild herd. The increase in certain semi- 
domesticated herds justifies a hope that this wild herd 
may be saved. 
The New Buffalo Herd. 
The increase in this herd during the past season has 
been very encouraging. It now consists of thirty-nine 
animals, and they are all in fine condition. The follow- 
ing table shows the yearly increase in the herd since its 
establishment, and also gives the number of males and 
females. The bull which is noted as having died, is the 
one which was turned out with the wild herd on Pelican 
Creek. He wandered away from the herd and died on 
the edge of the lake near the Thumb station. The cow 
which died broke her leg by stepping into a badger hole 
while running in the pasture. Every effort was made to 
save her, but it was impossible to do so. 
Caught spring of 1904. 
Total Oct. 1, 1904. 
Males. 
. 3 
2 
, 2 
Females. 
18 
3 
Total. 
21 
5 
2 
7 
21 
28 
.6 
6 
1 
12 
1 
13 
28 
41 
1 
1 
2 
27 
39 
Antelope. 
The herd of antelope which,, winters on the northern 
slope of Mount Everts and near the town of Gardiner 
is doing exceedingly well, and seems to be increasing 
in numbers. About 1,150 were seen and counted last 
winter by both the scouts and members of the detach- 
ment now permanently located at the new station near 
the gate at Gardiner. As all stock has been kept off this 
range during the past year, or ever since the fence near 
Gardiner has been completed, the grass or winter feed 
for these animals should be in better shape than it has 
been for a number of years, and unless a very deep snow- 
falls in the late spring, they will certainly do well this 
winter. A few have already discovered the new alfalfa 
field that has been started this year in front of the town 
of Gardiner. While this field, which is about 50 acres in 
extent, will not yield much of a crop of hay this season, 
next year it should produce a crop of from 100 to 200 
tons, which will be sufficient to carry the antelope 
through the winter, no matter how severe it may be. 
Deer. 
The blacktail or mule deer are also undoubtedly in- 
creasing in numbers, and are becoming more tame and 
fearless each year. One hundred and twenty were 
counted on the parade ground of Fort Yellowstone one 
day last winter, and this is considerably more than have 
ever been seen at any time in the past. 
Mountain Sheep. 
The band of mountain sheep which winters on Mount 
Everts was fed quite liberally last spring, and therefore 
passed through the winter in good shape._ _A few have 
been seen during the past summer in the vicinity of their 
feeding corral, but as yet we have been unable to deter- 
mine the increase in this band. A new band of about 
100 was seen last winter near the northwestern corner 
of the park. Where they came from or where they spent 
the past summer no one at present knows, but we are 
in hopes that they have taken up their permanent resi- 
dence within the limits of the Park._ If this band is 
still in the Park it will be located within the next month 
or so, 
Bear. 
There seems to be about the same number of bear in 
the Park as we had last year, and, as they can be seen 
at any time about the various hotels, they still con- 
tinue to be a great source of interest to the tourists, and 
give but little trouble, except where people fail to obey the 
few simple rules concerning them. One man, an employe 
of the hotel at the lake, was slightly injured by a bear 
during the past summer, but from the best information 
that I could get, I believe that this man got simply what 
he deserved for his violation of the rules and regulations, 
and that his punishment by the bear was a good lesson 
for others. 
In almost every case where a bear has become unruly 
or troublesome it has been due to_ the fact that he has 
been fed and petted by some misguided individual. This 
is a mistaken kindness, as sooner or later it usually re- 
sults in the death of the bear, for whenever it is reported 
that they have become troublesome or dangerous, a scout 
is sent out to investigate the matter, and if he finds the 
facts to be as stated, he quietly executes the offender. 
Mountain Lion, Lynx and Coyotes. 
With the increase of horned game in the Park, a cor- 
responding increase has taken place in the carnivora. 
Mountain lions or panthers, formerly not abundant, are 
now quite common, though rarely seen. They prey 
chieflj-, perhaps, upon the elk, but are known to be very 
destructive also to deer and mountain sheep. Deer and 
elk are so abundant' that the number killed by the 
panthers could perhaps be spared; but the case is very 
different with the mountain sheep, which, on account of 
their small numbers, should be carefully protected. 
It therefore seemed necessary to destroy the panthers, 
and a pack of hounds has been procured which last win- 
ter rendered good service and enabled our game warden 
and scouts to kill fifteen of these animals. 
The mountain sheep which winter near the .Mammoth 
Hot Springs range chiefly on Mount Everts, and this is 
therefore a favorite winter hunting ground for the 
panthers. After each fresh' snow during the winter 
hunters with dogs are sent around Mount Everts, and 
if a panther has visited it the hounds take up the fresh 
trail and usually bring the animal to bay, when the 
hunters coming up shoot it. Usually the lions take to 
the trees, but last winter one was driven into an aban- 
doned shaft sunk years ago by coal prospectors. Here 
he drove off the dogs, but traps were set just within the 
entrance, which was then stopped up, and the next day 
the animal was found in the trap and killed. 
The Canada lynx and bay lynx are not abundant, and 
owing to their habits are seldom seen. They prey chiefly 
on birds and small mammals, and probably seldom attack 
* the large game, though now and then they may kill a 
chance calf elk or fawn. The injury that they do is 
trifling, and no measures have been taken for their 
destruction. 
It is the general impression that coyotes are protected 
in the Park, but this is far from true, for it is a well- 
known fact that they are very destructive to the young 
game of^ all kinds, and we therefore use every means 
to get rid of them. The game warden, scouts, and cer- 
tain good shots among the soldiers are directed to kill 
them whenever the opportunity is offered. They are also 
destroyed by the use of traps and poison, and during 
the past winter between 75 and 100 of these animals were 
killed. 
Feed for Large Game. 
Owing to the limited winter range for all large game, 
both within the boundary of the Park and in the sur- 
rounding country, it is only a question of time when it 
will become absolutely necessary to provide feed for this 
game during at least a portion of the winter. There are 
a number of places in the Park, particularly along the 
Yellowstone and Lamar rivers, near the northern border 
of the Park and in the midst of the chief winter range 
of the large game, where a large quantity of alfalfa and 
hay could be raised at a comparatively small cost. As I 
have already stated, we have experimented in a small 
way in feeding .the mountain sheep, deer and antelope in 
the vicinity of the Mammoth Hot Springs, and the 
marked improvement in the condition and increase in 
the number of these animals seem to warrant carrying 
this experiment to a much greater extent. 
It will probably never be necessary to feed any of our 
game during the entire winter, but I am of the opinion 
tha.t in the future it should be treated in about the same 
way that the cattlemen handle their range stock ; in other 
words, in case of a very bad winter or a spring, when 
the snow falls very deep and a crust forms over it, we 
should have a number of haystacks scattered about the 
range, so that the greater part of the game could be fed 
just a sufficient amount to carry them over the dangerous 
period, which in most cases would not continue for 
more than a week or two. 
During the time that I have been in the Park the 
winters have been particularly favorable for the large 
game, and only a small percentage have died of starva- 
tion at any time; but this is not to continue indefinitely, 
and in the near future we are liable to lose a large 
amount of game if the precaution suggested above is not 
taken. 
Fish and Fish Hatchery. 
During the past summer the United States Fish Com- 
mission has constructed a small frame building at the 
West Thumb of the Yellowstone Lake, for the purpose 
of eyeing the eggs of the black-spotted trout. This sta- 
tion has heretofore been in charge of the superintendent 
of the hatchery at Spearfish, South Dakota, but on ac- 
count of the distance and Jnconvenient railroad com- 
munication between this point and Spearfish, it would 
seem much better to place the station in the Park under 
the care of the superintendent of the hatchery at Boze- 
man, Montana. 
It was the intention of Mr. Booth, the superintendent 
of the Spearfish station, to place quite a large plant of 
eastern brook and Loch Leven trout in the Park this 
spring; but owing to a flood or cloudburst at his station, 
which interfered with his plans, only 21,000 brook trout 
could be shipped. This shipment, however, was very 
acceptable, and these young trout were all planted in 
Willow Creek, the stream where they were most needed. 
Snaileries. 
The rearing of snails as a food-product is by no means 
a new industry, and it is to-day carried on in various 
European countries, especially in France and Italy. Many- 
species are regarded as edible, but the large white snail 
(Helix pomatia) seems to be the snail that is generally 
preferred. The Romans reared this species in enormous 
quantities in gardens or inclosures, banked or surrounded 
with ashes and sawdust, so that the snails could not get 
out, feeding them on bran and sodden wine. These snail- 
eries are said by Pliny to have been invented by Fulvius 
Herpinus some time before the civil wars between Csesar 
and Pompey; and from another Latin author, Varroi, we 
learn all about snail stews and how to make them. It is 
from the Roman period that snails as delicacies have 
descended to us. According to Varro, the Romans also 
grew their snails so large that the shells of some would 
hold ten quarts ! 
, Besides rearing these wonderful snails in cochlearia, 
they also drew supplies from Capri, Sicily, and the 
Balearic Isles, as we learn that from these places came 
the snails that were most prized in the Roman market. 
The Romans further acclimatized this gasteropod, and 
spread their taste for it, in all the provinces they con- 
quered, Gaul or France retaining the taste to this day. 
The Helix pomatia is in England an introduced and not 
a native snail, and is called the Roman snail, because it is 
generally supposed to have been brought here by the 
Romans, though tradition has it that it was first intro- 
duced by monks into Cambridgeshire, and also that it 
was introduced into Surrey — where it is known as the 
Italian snail — by one of the Countesses of Arundel. The 
Helix pomatia, however, whether introduced or not, is 
now found from Finland to Lombardy. 
All edible snails are nocturnal hermaphrodites, and be- 
long to a family which are distinguished into three groups 
— sea, fresh-water and land snails. Our interest at present 
lies with the last named. Besides Helix pomatia, the 
other snails that are used as food are Helix aspersa (the 
common garden snail), and Helix nemoralis (the wood 
snail). In the United States edible snails are frequently 
to be seen exposed for sale; but they are not raised in 
that country, and those on sale have been shipped to 
. America alive from Europe. In Vienna, again, during 
Lent there is a large snail market, the snails coming in 
barrels from Swabia. The great center for the consump- 
tion of snails, however, is Paris and some of the French 
provinces. There is, indeed, a very large trade in this 
commodity in France, the large white snail being in 
special demand in Paris, while the garden and wood 
snails are in common use among poorer consumers in all 
parts of France. Snails are a recognized dish in French 
menus, and the maitre d'hdtel can serve you snails a la 
Cettoise, or Marsellaise, or Parisienne, or Bourguignonne, 
or Bordelaise, all being excellent ways of disguising the 
snail. For example, Bordelaise is simply a combination 
of snails, red wine, butter and garlic. Frenchmen also 
take snails medicinally for phthisis and catarrhal troubles, 
preference being given to preparations made from or with 
raw and uncooked snails. Under the name helicine, a 
powder is also sold in France which is said to have 
absorbed the juice of the snail. 
It must be confessed that snails by themselves make a 
very insipid dish, but this is relieved by the strong condi- 
ments that are generally used; yet owing to their glu- 
tinous nature, snails still remain a difficult morsel to 
digest — that is, if the condiments used do not excite the 
secretion of gastric juice. They should generally be con- 
sumed immediately after they are gathered, after having 
been purged of all noxious vegetable substances that they 
may contain. Instances of poisoning have been known 
to occur when the snails were picked off henbane, bella- 
donna, and other plants of like nature; but accidents of 
this kind are avoided when snails so gathered are first 
subjected, as is the usual custom, to a lengthened period 
of fasting before being used. 
The production of snails in France is now not equal 
to the demand, and large quantities are yearly imported 
from Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. During the Paris 
Exhibition of igoo there was such a scarcity of snails in 
the Paris markets that at one time prices rose as high as 
fifty-five francs per thousand. In the wholesale trade in 
snails in Paris from sixty to eighty millions of snails 
are received yearly. 
In this snail market there are two seasons, called 
respectively coureurs and touches. In the first period, 
which extends from April 15 to the end of May, gros 
blanc sells at from eight to ten francs per thousand, and 
petit gris from two to three francs. The second period is 
divided into two: the first, called voiles, extends from 
September i to October 15, the price for gros blanc rang- 
ing from twelve to fourteen francs, and for petit gris about 
four francs; the second is the touches proper, extending 
from October 15 to April, and in it prices average about 
eight francs for gros blanc and five francs for petit gris 
per thousand. 
The snails that are sold in the period of touches have 
generally been kept in snaileries, where at the first frost 
they inter themselves about ten to fifteen centimeters 
deep, and secrete a slime, which, mixed with the earth, 
forms a cement. The aails sold during the voiles p«ried ' 
