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great game going.
I* Ex¬
Elk and Antelopes Almost
terminated by Hide Hunters.
The Animals Ruthlessly Slaugh¬
tered for Their Skins.
.■I read the other day the plaint of
someone from the far West about the
growing scarcity of the elk in its old-
haunts, due to the persistent raids
tune said New
of the hide hunters, a
Yorker who was in the engineer corps
of the Northern Ptc-fic Railway while
that road was building through the
northwestern territories. “The fact
that elk were btcoming scatce did not
surprise me, for when I was out there
the game butchers were slaughtering
not only elk, but antelope and mule
deer, at a rate of 20,000 head a year.
Iam surprised, rather, that there are
any of these animals left.
can remember when elk were still
plenty in Kansas and Nebraska, and
once their rauge extended from the
JLiddle States to the Pacific coast. The
rap id advance of civilization drove
them into the dense and as yet unin¬
habited regions of Minnesota and the
northwestern territories, If they had
been doomed to extinction by the nat-
ural progress of civilization or the cf-
fects of legitimate hunting, they would
have been certain of a long life tenure,
but the wholesale slaughter of elk that
has been going on for years, has so
thinned out and terrorized the great
herds, that even as long ago as 1880
the sportsman had to seek the game in
the most remote parts of even the com¬
paratively unfrequented region to which
they had been driven.
“Indiscriminate and organized cru¬
sade against elk, mule deer and an¬
telope began in the Northwest twenty
years ago. It was the project of specu¬
lators, who saw a great business in trad¬
ing in the skins of these auimals on a
large scale. They fitted out hunting
parties which were scattered all through
the country mentioned, with orders to
let no pelt escape them. The result
was so satisfactory that still larger
parties and more of them, equipped
with the most imnroved and destructive
weapons then known, were sent out,
and the business was increased every
year while I was in the region.
“Elk travel in herds, and, to the
legitimate hunter, there is no more
noble and exciting sport than an elk
chase. When not hindered by deep
snow, they make their way with won¬
derful ease and rapidity through tho
very worst of tho ‘bad lands’ of the
legions they inhabit. Mounted on a
fleet horse, the hunter is frequently led
a chase of many miles before he is able
to bag his wary game. The natural
gait of the elk is a graceful swinging
trot, and as long as the fleeing animal
is able to maintain that he never tires.
It is the one great object of the
hunter to follow so closely and press
the elk so hard that he becomes ‘rattled’
and breaks from his trot into a gal¬
lop. When the elk strikes the gallop
his fate is sealed, for it seems impossi-
sibie for the animal to fall back into
his natural gait again. The gallop
soon tires the elk. He begins to lag
and sway from side to side. He seems
to know that he is doomed, stops in
his course and turns to fight for his
ife. No wise hunter ever approaches
near enough to an elk brought to bay
to be within range of his tremendous
horns or the deadly stroke of his fore
feet. The hunter might better stand
face to face with a grizzly, From a
safe distance the sportsman sends a
hall fr./m his Winchester through the
elk’s heart or brain, and the hunt is
over. Ahull elk in good condition
will weigh from 300 to 500 pounds, a
cow from 200 to 350.
“The greatest destruction by the
hide hunters is done among the elks
during the season of deep snow. In
April the cows of a herd leave the bulls
to themselves and retire to the thickets
and close timber. I have known a sin-
gle hide hunter to kill in one month in
the snow, and that in the month of
April, 35 cow elks. This man was one
°f a party of thirteen, and each one of
his companions averaged as many dead
cows as he boasted, The party killed
more than 450 cow elks,
each one of which would
have in few weeks given birth
to a calf. Tho elk brings forth its
young toward the 1st of June. These
men were but a very small part ot tho
a.my of hide hunters that was oneratiug
in the region, and thousands of elk were
slaughtered that month. After these
butchers slaughter their prey the skin
is stripped from the body and the car¬
cass left lying in the snow. I have
seen dead elks by the hundred along
the Yellowstone River. The average
price of an elk skin in those days
was f3.
“The mule deer, which were also the
prey of these ‘hide snatchers,’ as the
butchers were called,ranged from Idaho
to Oregon. They were much s-liycr
than the elk, and sought the higher
parts of the bad lands. I speak of
those deer in the past tense, for it
doesn’t seem possible to me that any of
them can be left in that range, great as
it was. Quick of eye, keen of scent,
and fleet of foot, they were splendidly
equipped to eluie the ordinary huuter,
and it required all his skill and cunning
to enable him to outgeneral his game.
“But the hide hunters could post
themselves in cumbers all along the
regular mnways of the dee*, and by
Irute foice overcome all hr; wiles and
strategy, so that he fell a victim to the
butchers as numerously in proportion
as did his cousin, the elk. The mule
deer persistently clung to one locality
during the entire season, while the elk,
frightened by the sound of guns, at
once took to flight and never stopped
until he had placed running water
between himself and the supposed
danger, although the fl.ght might be
many miles in length.
“The antelope of that region was
raided just as systematically and per¬
sistently as the elk and mule deer were:
and it will hardly be believed today,
now that scarcely one buflalo is left of
all the untold thousands once langing
the plains, but it is a fact, neverthe¬
less, that only seven years ago last fall
I knew of the slaughter of more than
25,000 buff does by these hide hunters,
between the Yellowstone and. the head
waters of the Little Missouri. ”—Aew
York Sun.
A Medical Lake.
At an hour’s journey from Spokane
Falls, Wash., is Medical Lake, in the
city of Middlebaugh. Within a very
short time a considerable settlement has
been established on the borders of this
lake. The town has wide streets, ex¬
cellent shops and many neat dwellings.
The alleged curative properties of the
waters of the lake have been the incen¬
tive to this remarkable growth. The
lake covers an extent of over a thou¬
sand acres and is encircled by low
wooded hills. The waters are said to
hold in solution salts of sodium, potas¬
sium, lithium, calcium, magnesium,
iron and aluminium, also oulphur and
borax. A great variety of ailments
have been reported cured by bathing
in the lake, chief among them being
rheumatism and certain diseases of the
skin. One of the properties ot the
water is that it forms a lather whenever
it is agitated violently or rubbed quick¬
ly on the hands or tho surface of the
body. No fish or other living thing
can be found within these waters, and
the lake itself is rather repulsive and
muddy in appearance, Factories have
lecn established for evaporating the
Mater and packing the salts obtained.
Raining Spiders’ Webs.
Falls or showers of gossamer spiders’
webs have been recorded in different
parts of the world, White describes
several in his “Natural History of Sel-
borne.” Darwin mentions a shower
which he observed from tho deck oi
the Beagle off the mouth of the Rio
Plata, when the vessel was 60 miles
from land. A general fall of spiders’
webs is said to have been noticed a few
years ago in some of the towns of
Wisconsin, which seemed to come from
over the lake. The webs were strong in
texture, very white, varied from 60 feet
in length to mere specks, and were seen
as far up in the air as the power of the
eye could reach, Tho shower may
have been due to an unusual excursion
of tho familiar geometric spider, a
species which ha3 the same power as
the gossamer of shooting webs that
float upon the air, and sometimes serve
as an air-raft for the producer.—
Popular Science Monthly.
A Model Man.
Da Baggs—There goes a man who
for ten years never drank liquor, used
tobacco in any form, or stayed out after
nine p. m M and never missed a Sunday
at church.
De Kaggs—A model man, indeed!
Is he a missionary ?
DeBaggs—No; he’s an ex-convict.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
A poison has been discovered which
is said to have one hun irei times the
power of stryceninc.
A St. Louis doctor hus made serious
charges against the electric light as
hurtful to the eyes.
New Hampshire soil generally re¬
sponds to potash. This appears to be
the missing ingredient,.
The quantity of rain falling at any
place is estimated by means of a very
simple piece of apparatus known as a
rain gauge.
It is said that a Frenchman lias dis¬
covered that by watering dahlias with
tepid water a delicious aroma is impart¬
ed to them.
A bundle of spider webs, not larger
than a buckshot, and weighing less
than a dram, would, if straightened
out and untangled, reach a distance of
350 miles.
Experiments recently made in France
with a view to discovering the vitality
of trinchinaj, show that even when ex¬
posed to a temperature 20 to 25 degrees
below zero for about two hours the lit¬
tle animals become as lively as ever on
a return to normal temperature.
It is proposed to utilize the power of
Niagara Falls by constructing a race¬
way and tunnel, the construction of the
latter to be on the basis of a probable
capacity of 121,000 horsepower. The
plan is practically the same as the one
suggested by the late Augustus Porter
in 1847.
A metal that will melt at such a low
temperature as 150 degrees is certainly
a curiosity, but John E. White of Syr¬
acuse, N. Y., has succeeded in produc¬
ing it. It is an alloy composed ot
lead, tin, bismuth and cadminm, and
in weight, hardness and color resembles
type metal.
A professor in the University of
Klausenburg, Germany, claims to have
compounded a solution which com¬
pletely neutralizes the poison introduced
into the system by the bite of a mad
dog. This solution consists of chlorine
water, salt brine, sulphurous acid, per¬
manganate of potassium, and eucalyptus
oil.
The use of electric lights is increas¬
ing with great rapidity among the
London shopmen. A walk down the
Strand or Oxford street after dark will
show that every second or third store
has now givan up gas, which would
have been entirely superseeded soma
time ago if it were not so cheap.
Many of the other large cities in Eng¬
land are now using the arc light, and
at Brighton it is almost universal.
A young physician attached to tho
Chelsea (England) Hospital for Women
has invented and used, it is said with
success, a machine which, in cases of
cancer, will direct a current of elec¬
tricity against a diseased cell strong
enough to destroy it and at the sumo
time will not injure a healthy cell.
Those that are destroyed are said to
turn into a hard substance, that remaini
without causing the patient any incon¬
venience.
The great siphon in the new aque¬
duct for the water supply of New Y r ork
city is considered a most wonderful
piece of hydraulic engineering. It
conveys the metropolitan water supply
across the Harlem at a depth of 307
feet beneath the river bed. Certain ad¬
vantages were gained by this method
over a stone or steel viaduct, which it
is believed will counterbalance its
greater cost, Not the least of these is
the immunity from danger of foreign
attack.
A Knife Blade in His Brain.
William Benjamin Rowland, a cart-
man, recently died of phthisis at a
London hospital, and when the doctors
made a post mortem they found a steel
knife blade run into his skull for an
inch and broken off there, It had.
been there so long that the bone had
healed over the spot where it had en¬
tered. The blade had passed between
the convolutions of the brain, which
was uninjured. The nearest incident
that could account for the presence of
the blade in the man’s brain had oc¬
curred nice months before, when he
was thrown from a wagon and had hfr
head severely hurl.
Unfortunate.
Miss Gaswell—Pop, did you sec
(he Prince o’ Wiles while you was in
Europe, an’ did ye talk with him?
Pop—I saw’in, but the crowd war
so big he didn’t sec me.
BUDGET OF FUN.
HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM
VARIOUS SOURCES.
The Modern Philosopher—False
Alarm—CommerciaI Chat —The
Sense ol Proportion—They
Go Together, Etc.
Hasting not and resting not,
He moved on grandty like a star;
Serene, untroubled, ’mid the hot
Hard struggles of our human war.
’T was not because his soul was great.
He thus withstood all worldly shocks,
His father left a large estate.
And he was blessed \vitk"gilt-edged”stocks!
— Puck.
COMMERCIAL CHAT.
“What do you think of the clothing
trade?” said the tramp to the scarecrow,
after swapping suits with him.
“I like it better than the stationary
business,” answered the scarecrow.
FALSE ALARM.
He—“I've a great mind to kiss you.”
She—“If you do, I’ll ring!”
He—“Oh, please-”
She—“To have James tell mamma
that I’m very busy and must not be dis¬
turbed.”— Chatter.
RELATIVE BEAUTY.
Gilroy—“That’s a very plain-looking
girl in the nearest box. ” $500,000
Larkin—“That girl is worth
in her own right.”
Gilroy—“Ah 1 now I look at her again
I see she is really handsome.”— Epoch.
TnEY GO TOGETHER.
Stern Papa—“Ah, going!”
Late Geer—“Yes, sir. Your daughter
and I have enjoyed a feast of reason.”
Stern Papa—(moving his right foot
with great velocity)—“And now you
have a flow of sole.”— Munsey's Weekly.
SHE HAD A MUSICAL DAUGHTER.
Book Ageut—“Here is that book,
ma’am, ‘How to Play the Piano. 1
Lady of the House—“What book? I
did not order any book.”
“No’m, but the neighbors did, and
they told me to bring it to you.”— Pick
Me Up.
THE SENSE OF PROPORTION.
Saleslady—‘ l For a garden hat, madam,
the one you are trying on is hardly large
enough. Now, this would be much bet¬
ter.”
Customer—“Oh, no. That wouldn’t
do at all. Our garden is very small.”—
Boston Beacon.
A CAUTIOUS WITNESS.
__ Lawyer—“You say deceased , , was poor
a
man -.
IV itness “Yes, „ sir; . very poor.
Lawyer—“Had you ever been inside
of his house?
Witness—“No, sir, but I knew that
he kept seven dogs.”
KEEPING HIM OUT OF TEMPTATION.
Spacer—“Do you prefer having MSS.
-sent in by mail, or would you mind my
calling with what I write and wish to
submit for your consideration?”
Editor—“Send it in by mail I have
a prejudice against shedding blood and
do not wish to be tempted.”
THE HACKMAN IN THE FOREST.
“Would you like to leave?” said the
woodchopper to the Y r oung Tree.
“I don’t know but I wood,” an¬
swered the YYning Tree, “Can you
take me down with a hack?”
“I guess so,” said the chopper; “see-
big you’ve only got one trunk.”— Puck.
A LITTLE HOME CHAT.
Papa—"How are you progressing in
your language lessons, Ethel?”
Ethel—“Oh, I have learned to say
‘thank you,’ and ‘if you please’ in
French.”
Tommy—“That’s more than you ever
learned in English.”— Terre Haute Ex¬
press.
A DEEP QUESTION.
Richleigh—“Julia, don’t you think
you could bring yourself down to love
me just a little?”
Julia—“I don’t know, I should have
to go down pretty far.”
Richleigh—“How far?”
Julia—“About the bottom of your
pocket book.”— Munsey's Weekly.
TRIED TnE MATCHES.
“Go get me some matches,” the Baron
ordered his valet, “and see you try them
before you bring them, The last were
no good.”
The valet goes and returns.
“Well?"
“They are all good, sir ; I tried them
’very one.”— Burlington Free Press.
GYMNASTICS MIGHT HAVE SAVED THEM.
A. —“Come, now, you must own that
you have gone partially mad on the score
of gvmnastics?” gymnastics
B. —“Mad? Why, mean
strength, health, long life.”
A. —“That may be, but the fact is
our forefathers knew nothing of gymnas¬
tics, and-”
B. —“And they a c d ad, every man
of them!”
TOO HEAVY TO be remoyed.
“There is one solace left me,-at least,”
remarked the old farmer. “After all
my boys leave and go up to the city,
after the pigs and the cattle die, and
everything else forsakes me, there is at
least one thing that will stick to the old
farm.”
“And that is ?”
“The mortgage.”— Lawrence Ameri■
can.
THE PHILANTHROPIST AND PHILOSOPHER.
Wife—“John, dear, define a philan-
thropist.”
Husband—“A philanthropist, my love,
is a man who gives away other people’s
money.”
W.—“And what is a philosopher?”
H.—“A philosopher is. a man whe
bears with resignation the toothache
from which his neighbor is suffering.’’—
Pick Me Up.
—.-—d
TWO VIEWS OF IT.
Parker—“How do you like Mis3
Knowitt, Tangle?”
Tangle—“Oh, I admire her immense-
lv. She is such a brilliant conversation-
alist.”
Parker (meeting his old friend two
years later, when Miss Ivnowitt has be¬
come Mrs. Tangle)—“And how do you
get along with your wife, Tangle?”
Tangle—“None too well. She talks
too much.”
TAKING TrME GY THE FORELOCK.
lie—“I love you, Maud.”
She—“All right, Harry. And yon
may keep company this summer on a few
conditions.”
“Name them, sweet.”
“You must not try to work the bacilli
in ice cream racket on me, nor cut all the
drowning accidents out of the papers to
show me, nor tell any chestnuts about
poisonous serpents at picnics. They
won’t work. Now, I think we can get
along very well.”— Lawrence American.
MEAN, BUT TRUE.
The boys at a certain college not fai
from New York, have got what they call
a “fearful down on Professor X.” Con¬
sequently, they make his life a howling
failure. He was woke up at one in the
morning the other day by a violent ring¬
ing at his bell. Drawing on his dressing
gown, he threw up his window and in¬
quired what was the matter.
“Burglars are arouud, and we wanted
to tell you that one of your windows is
open.” anxiously.
“Which one?” he asked,
“The one you have got your head stuck
out of,” replied the students in chorus.
A TRICK OF THE TRADE.
Owner of Premises (to tenant)—“Now,
Jones, you may show me those rooms
that you think need repairing.”
Tenant (with alacrity)—“All right.
We’ll begin with-”
owner (enthusiastically)—“One mo-
ment! Is this your baby, Mrs. Jones?
What a remarkably pretty little fellow!
Qotsy, tootsy, pootsy! Won’t you come
an d g jj. on m y ^ ne e r baby? Bless its lit-
bright °nes.” eyes! I’ll be along in a minute,
Mr . j 0
Mrs. Jones (to baby)—“Go and sit on
the gentleman's knee, dearie.” (To Mr.
Jones)—“John, I don't see that there’s
anything about the house that needs fix¬
ing up so very badly.”— Chicago Tribune.
BUT HE COULDN' T.
A couple of men got into a dispute,
and one of them brought his fist down
upon the table with the exclamation :
“I can lick you out of your boots in
two minutes!”
4 4 I guess you can,” replied the other.
“I can lick you and the whole family
behind you!”
“Ob, no.”
“Y r es, I can!”
“I don’t believe it.”
“But I know I can!”
The mild mannered man V.flned to tha
crowd and asked :
“Father, Bill, Jim, Tom, Henry, Wal¬
lace, Stephen, George, Andrew, do you
hear that? Mother and Ann and Betsey
are not here, but I guess we can do
him.”
And the ten jumped on to the boaster
and had him yelling for mercy inside of
a minute.— Detroit F>'ee Press.
Statistics of a Cat Hospital.
The sauitorium for aged and indigent
cats at Brighton, Mass., has made its re¬
port for the year ending April, 1890.
Officially it is known a3 the “Sheltering
Home for Animals,” and its regulations
include the care of dogs that are ill or ,
have no fixed place of residence. The
unsympathetic small boy of Brighton ,
calls it the cat hospital. The report
bears upon the epidemic of la grippe,
which seemed to find the cats unprepared.
Large numbers were prostrated by this <
mysterious and dread disease, and not¬
withstanding the utmost precautions, the
deaths were numerous. There were 171
cats received, while the number of dogs
was 184. Ninety cats found homes, while
110 dogs did the same thing, which, ac¬
cording to the opinion of experts, tends
to show the superiority of dogs-— Aew
York Tribune.
How to Mail Flower Buds.
To mail flower buds, cut a potato into
two pieces and bore holes into them, and
insert the stems of the buds with cotton
to support them, There is sufficient
moisture in a good-sized potato in moder¬ to sup¬
port a flower for two weeks a
ately cool temperature. Flowers from
bouquets or baskets may be preserved in
the the same same way. way. r The ~ potatoes can be h.Vl-
den bv leaves or moss.- Boston Cultivator.