Jan. 13, 1912.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
49 
Yellowstone Park Game. 
Seattle, Wash., Dec. 20 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: With this I send you a letter from a 
friend at Gardiner. I’ve been hearing of the 
troops being used to keep the elk in the park, 
and that they would not be killed outside or get 
out until the close season in Montana. 
Forest and Stream has been trying for 
years to encourage the domestication of game 
in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. There are 
too many elk and hundreds and often thou¬ 
sands starve. This has been going on for years! 
What is the use of protecting game to such an 
extent that the increase is of no use to man, 
that the animals only starve and suffer? 
Now, the country is so much settled up, and 
all the old game winter ranges are overstocked 
with domestic animals, so that there is now 
not sufficient feed to carry through the great 
number of elk and other game from the Yellow¬ 
stone National Park. When will the Legisla¬ 
tures listen to reason? 
We all believe in game protection, but is it 
protection to let game starve, when every year 
two or three thousand could be spared with¬ 
out hurting the main herd, and this at the same 
time would keep it down to somewhere near 
the capacity of the range to feed it. 
T. E. Hofer. 
The enclosed letter from Gardiner, Montana, 
dated Dec. 6, says: 
“The elk came out of the Park on the 22d 
(November) and the hunters came here from 
all parts of the State and hunted from Jardine 
on foot. Between 600 and 700 elk were killed 
and about 50 deer. There should have been 
more elk killed, as there is not winter range 
enough for those that are left, and a good many 
will starve to death. 
“There are about 500 antelope. I think a few 
more than last year. They are down around 
Hoppe’s ranch (about three miles below 
Gardiner). 
“I heard to-day a pack of wolves got up into 
the buffalo corral and killed three old bulls 
and three calves. The scouts went out to see 
if they could shoot or poison them.” 
[This evidently refers to the first deaths by 
disease in the fenced buffalo herd, recently re¬ 
ferred to in Forest and Stream. Informa¬ 
tion received since the above was written ad¬ 
vises us that no less than twenty-three of the 
young bison in the fenced herd have died. It is 
believed that the epidemic is black leg, and it 
is hoped that the disease has been checked.— 
Editor.] 
Boone and Crockett Club Dinner. 
The annual dinner of the Boone and Crockett 
Club was held Wednesday, Dec. 20, in the 
Council Chamber of the University Club, Fifty- 
fourth street and Fifth avenue. New York. 
There was a large attendance, including, 
among the members and guests, Hon. W. E. 
Humphrey, of Seattle; Major W. Austin Wads¬ 
worth, Col. Theodore Roosevelt, George R. 
Borup, who was with Peary in the expedition 
to the pole; Carl Akeley, recently returned from 
Africa; Dr. Lewis Rutherford Morris, Dr. John 
Rogers, Madison Grant, Charles Stewart 
Davidson, John B. Burnham, Professor Henry 
Fairfield Osborn, Charles Sheldon, J. Walter 
Wood. W. R. Cross, Major Robert Temple 
Emmet, D. M. Barringer, Royal Phelps Carroll, 
Bayard Dominick, Jr., J. H. Kidder, Townsend 
Lawrence, E. H. Litchfield, Jr., J. H. Prentice, 
Alden Sampson, Hon. William Cary Sanger, 
John L. Seward, Lewis S. Thompson, Robert 
Dudley Winthrop, George Bird Grinnell, C. 
de Rham, Dr. C. H. Townsend. 
At the close of the dinner, Mr. Akeley gave 
a thrilling account of some of his adventures 
in British East Africa in his search for the 
giant elephant for the American Museum of 
Natural History. Incidentally he spoke about 
other game, and by request told the story of 
his unique experience in choking to death a 
wounded leopard which had attacked him. Mr. 
Akeley’s lecture was illustrated by photographs 
of great beauty and interest, and was listened to 
with close attention and frequently interrupted 
by applause from his hearers. 
In response to questions, the speaker told of 
coming across the gorilla and the chimpanzee in 
a country quite distant from what has usually 
been regarded as the range of these primates. 
Dix on Conservation. 
In his message to the Legislature last week 
Governor Dix said: 
“This Commonwealth has forest area of ap¬ 
proximately a million and three-quarter acres, 
a large percentage of which has been lumbered, 
and of this territory 120,000 acres have been 
burned over. The lumbermen have removed the 
mature trees and thereby diverted soil energy 
to the young trees, but it cannot be claimed that 
they have removed the humus, nature’s natural 
reservoir for retaining moisture on the high 
levels. 
“Conserving the waters on the high levels 
must be understood to embrace ownership or 
power of control and regulation by the State, tO' 
the end that the same shall be preserved to the 
people for their use and enjoyment forever, thus 
insuring to them all the benefits to be derived 
from a development of the natural resources of 
the State. This should be accomplished without 
adversely affecting existing interests. Legislation 
which shall recognize and conserve the interests 
of the people with due regard for the rights of 
private business will receive the approval of all 
citizens. 
“The State should never surrender ownership 
or control of the great potentialities created by 
the barge canal and the canalized rivers which 
form a part of the canal system. No sale of the 
State’s resources should be made. In fact, it 
would seem right and proper that such sale or 
transfer be prohibited. The policy of the State 
should be to preserve ownership and control of 
its natural resources and develop and utilize 
them entirely and solely for the public welfare.” 
Springfield Association. 
At its first meeting in the new year the 
Springfield (Mass.) Fish and Game Association 
had as guests State Forester Rane, and James 
S. Whipple, of Salamanca, N. Y. Mr. Rane 
spoke of the proposed plan to secure from the 
Legislature funds to carry out a new system of 
forest fire protection. Mr. Whipple told of the 
work that is being done in New York State 
looking toward better forest, fish and game pro¬ 
tection, and gave a number of beautiful lantern 
slides, by way of illustration. 
These officers were elected for the year: Presi¬ 
dent, Mayor Lathrop; First Vice-President, 
Samuel D. Sherwood; Second Vice-President, 
Clinton Gowdy; Third Vice-President, Dr. F. H. 
Saunders, of Westfield; Fourth Vice-President, 
William J. H. Nourse, of Worcester; Secretary 
and Treasurer, State Fish and Game Commis¬ 
sioner George H. Graham; Assistant Secretary, 
Forbes Gatherum; Executive Committee, Arthur 
C. Merritt, Chairman, John B. Smith, Dr. E. A. 
Gates, Charles R. Culver, Charles S. Ballard, 
James P. Hatch, Henry Loeb, J. Douglas Law, 
A. E. Snow, H. L. Bowles and Dr. W. A. Hare. 
It was voted tO' invite some of the represen¬ 
tative farmers of Western Massachusetts to at¬ 
tend the monthly dinners of the club in order 
that the sportsmen may become better acquainted 
with the men on whose land they so often hunt 
and fish. 
Louisiana Notes. 
New Orleans, Jan. 6 —Editor Forest and 
Stream: J, W. Gardiner and C. O. Noble, oil 
operators, with headquarters in Lake Charles, 
have purchased y,200 acres of land in Cameron 
parish on the Gulf coast, which they will con¬ 
vert into a private game preserve. On this 
preserve they have one of the few white heronries 
in the United States, and it is valued at a large 
price. On this preserve the duck, snipe and 
goose shooting is said to be the best in Louisi¬ 
ana. Mr. Gardiner holds the gold medal as 
the best trap-shooting expert in Louisiana, 
which he won in 1910 during the annual contest 
held in New Orleans. Both men are enthusi¬ 
astic hunters and fishermen and are members 
of several hunting and fishing clubs. This pre¬ 
serve will be improved and a number of birds 
will be raised on the land and a private warden 
appointed to look after the place. 
Amos Burhans, Mrs. Burhans and little son 
and daughter have arrived here on the gasolene 
launch Wanderlust from St. Paul, Minn., and 
will remain until after the Mardi Gras in Febru¬ 
ary. The Wanderlust is 35 feet long with a 9- 
foot beam and is handsomely fitted out. The 
party will cruise in the Gulf the latter part of 
February and may go up the coast to New 
York. Mr. Burhans says the object of his 
long trip down the river was for the purpose 
of gathering material for a book for boys. He 
has written extensively for boys and girls. He 
has gained a good deal of material during his 
trip down the Mississippi, which began in the 
early fall. They stopped en route at several 
cities, but made the Wanderlust their head¬ 
quarters. The Porpoise, a sea-going motor 
cruiser, accompanied the Wanderlust a part of 
the way down the river and will be in New 
Orleans shortly. The Porpoise is owned by 
Messrs. Hinkle and Gast, of Benton Harbor, 
Mich., and it is the intention of the owners to 
cruise to Florida Keys and then to New York, 
The cruiser is a palatial craft and is awaited 
with interest here. 
During the Christmas holidays a number of 
parties were organized to enjoy days in the 
woods and on the waters, hunting ducks and 
wild geese. Just prior to Christmas, owing to 
the rush of the busy season, very few shooters 
{Continued on page 64.) 
