ILLEGAL KILLING. 21 
become unwilling hosts of large numbers. It is doubtful if the elk are 
killed by ticks, but in the spring they are undoubtedly weakened 
bv the pests. 
ILLEGAL KILLING OF ELK. 
The great majority of the people of Jackson Hole are opposed to 
the killing of elk contraiy to law, but there is more or less illegal 
killing throughout the year. Some of the lawbreakers became resi- 
dents of the region because of the opportunity afforded for making a 
living in whole or in part from game, and many of these regard the elk as 
their natural prey at any season. Many also are "old-timers" — men 
whose experience in the West antedates restrictive laws and the period 
when they became necessary. Others justify themselves in illegal 
killing "because so many of the elk die of starvation.'' It is hoped 
that the conditions which furnish this excuse may be abolished. 
Lowest in the scale of all the enemies of the elk is the tusk hunter — 
the creature who, on the chance of gaining a dollar or two, kills one 
of the largest and finest of our game animals and, taking only the 
tusks, leaves the bod} r to go to waste. The wolf kills that he may 
live, but the tusk-hunter slays only that he may escape honest labor. 
Under cover of the mail he forwards his booty undetected to dealers 
who dispose of the tusks to purchasers who seek only trophies, indif- 
ferent to how they are obtained. 
The warden service in the Jackson Hole region at the present time 
is very inadequate. The game preserve, with an area of not less 
than 1,000 square miles, is little patrolled except by the Federal 
forest rangers, whose regular duties will not permit much attention to 
game interests. In addition to this there remains an area comprising 
at least 1,500 square miles, and this great tract of rough country is 
under the care of one deputy game warden with one or two assistants. 
TRANSPORTATION OF ELK. 
The plans of the Biological Survey contemplated the removal of a 
number of elk to other States, where they coidd be liberated on suit- 
ably protected ranges and form the nucleus of new herds. 
The problem of transportation is a difficult one, because the Teton 
Range, 2,000 feet higher than the valley of Snake River, must be 
crossed on the way to the railroad. Spring, moreover, when the 
snow is disappearing on both sides of the range and is softening and 
settling on the Teton Pass, is the most unfavorable time of the year 
for moving live animals. The facilities for transportation were not 
extensive, and the number captured, therefore, was necessarily lim- 
ited by the accommodations at our disposal. A dozen of the more 
vigorous animals of various ages were selected from a herd being fed 
in the southern part of Jackson Hole, and on April 12 we started 
with them for the railroad. Hay or alfalfa was provided for them 
morning and night and water at least three times daily. They readily 
