Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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.