^itWHUMyi^^MMMPAwnnnm^ i-griUttftfata»«UgivTtnw'j:!rtfiftf^»g3Uigsy:a^Q3-i:-j;^^ (tftrnt-l-*^***!" ;| j Mh fit T\ m 'I ,.M, A* ji. M f'\ '(] In i u . '■ ;i ; ' k hTs-Wrriifilig^iati. t!i^M^!H()(;itliE<}!eiJiiy9Si!illitlS!ii)iSiMi^ilM^l!^ LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OSBORN LIBRARY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY PRESENTED May 5, 1919 ,v WILD ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA INTIMATE STUDIES OF BIG AND LITTLE CREATURES OF THE MAMMAL KINGDOM BY EDWARD W. NELSON Natural-Color Portraits from Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes Track Sketches by Ernest Thompson Seton PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY WASHINGTON, D. C. U. S. A. Willlllllllillll!llillll!llll!lllllllll!iill!llll!l|||||illll||llllllll||llllll|||||i|lilllli![|||I||^ ^ Copyright, 1918 BY THE National Geographic Society (hi5:3 Wa.shixgton-. D. C. Tress uf Juuu & Detweii.er. Ixc. INTRODUCTION TN OFFERING THIS VOLUME of "Wild Animals of North America" to mem- -*• bers of the National Geographic Society, the Editor combines the text and illustrations of two entire numbers of the NATIONAL Geographic Maga- zine— that of November, 191 6, devoted to the Larger Mammals of North America, and that of May, 191 8, in which the Smaller Mammals of our continent were described and presented pictorially. Edward W. Nelson, the author of both articles. Is one of the foremost naturalists of our time. For forty years he has been the friend and student of North America's wild-folk. He has made his home in forest and desert, on mountain side and plain, amid the snows of Alaska and the tropic heat of Central American jungles — wherever Nature's creatures of infinite variety were to be observed, their habits noted, and their range defined. In the whole realm of scientists, the Geographic could not have found a writer more admirably equipped for the authorship of a book such as "Wild Animals of North America" than Mr. Nelson, for, in addition to his excep- tional scientific training and his standing as Chief of the unique U. S. Biolog- ical Survey, he possesses the rare quality of the born writer, able to visualize for the reader the things which he has seen and the experiences which he has undergone in seeing them. Each of his animal biographies, of which there are 119 in this volume, is a cameo brochure — concisely and entertainingly presented, yet never deviating from scientific accuracy. In jVIr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, the National Geographic Society has secured for Mr. Nelson the same gifted artist collaborator which it provided for Henry W. Henshaw, author of "Common Birds of Town and Country," "The Warblers," and "American Game Birds," all of which were assem- bled in our "Book of Birds." In the present instance Mr. Fuertes has produced a natural history gallery of paintings of the Larger and Smaller Mammals of North America which is a notable contribution to wild-animal portraiture, and the reproductions of these works of art are among the most effective and lifelike examples of color printing ever produced in this country. Supplementing the work of Mr. Nelson and Mr. Fuertes is a series of drawings by the noted naturalist and nature-lover, Ernest Thompson Seton, showing the tracks of many of the most widely known mammals. "Wild Animals of North America" provicles In compact and permanent form a natural history for which the National Geographic Society expended $100,000 in the two issues of the Magazine in which the articles and illustra- tions originally appeared. Gilbert Grosvenor, Director and Editor. INDEX TO WILD ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA (The articles and illustrations in this volume are reproduced from the November, 1916, and May, 1918, National Geographic Magazine. The first page is numbered 3 85, as it originally appeared in the Magazine. The following pages are numbered in sequence.) Antelope, Prong-horn 4.")2 Armadillo, Nine-ljanded 584 Badger 420 Bat, Big-eared desert (MC. Bat, Hoarv 598 Bat, Mexican 599 Bat, Ked 59C. Bear, Alasliun Brown (fron tispiece) 441 Bear, Black 4::7 Bear, Cinnamon, or Black . . 4:!7 Bear, Glacier 487 Bear, Grizzly 44(» Bear, rolar 43(! Beaver, American 441 Beaver, Mountain 529 Beluga, or White Wliale. . . . 4(;s Bison, American, or Buffalo. 401 Blarina 59.'! Bobcat, or Bay Lynx 409 Bowhead 4(19 Buffalo, or American Bison. 4(11 Cachalot, or Sperm Whale. . 472 Caribou, Barren Ground. . . . 4(M) Caribou, I'eary 4(in Caribou, Woodland 4(1() Cat, Common Cat, .Jaguarundi, or I-vra... 41:! Cat, King-tailed 5S(; Chipmunk, Antelope 545 Chipmiuiic. Easleru 549 ■Cliipmuuk, Golden 545 ■Chipmunk, (Jregon 552 ■Chipmunk, Painted 55:1 Cony, or Little Chief Hare. 494 Cougar, or ^Mountain Lion. . 412 Cow, Common Coyote, Arizona, or Mearns. 424 Coyote, Jlearns. or Arizona. 424 Coyote, Plains 424 Deer, Arizona White-tailed. . 457 Deer, Black-tailed 45(1 Deer, Mule 45:! Deer, Virginia 45(> Deer. White-tailed 45(1,457 Dog Elk. American 4;):! Evni, or .Taunaruudi Cat... 41.''i Ferret. Black-looted 571 Fisher, or Pekaii 444 Footprints, wild folk Fox Fox, Alaska Ked 417 Fox, Arctic, (jr Whiie 425 Fox, Cross 417 Fox, Desert 420 Fox, (iray 417 Fox, Pribilof Blue 425 Fox, Ked 41(1 Fox, Silver 417 Fox, AVhite, o^• Arctic 425 Goat, Bighorn Goat, Kocky Mountain 452 Gopher, I'ocket 500 Hare, Arctic 491 Hare, Little Chief 494 Hare. Varying 489 Horse Human footprints .Taguar 4i:i Kangaroo Kat 502 Leminiug. Banded 50:^> Lemming, Brown 504 I>ion. Mountain 412 Lynx, Bay 409 Lynx, Canada 409 Manati. Florida 4(15 Marmot, American 5:i:! Marmot, Hoary.- or Whistler 5:!(1 ^larten. or American Sable. 57(i IMink, American 575 Mole. Oregon 588 Mole. Star-nosed 589 Moose 461 Mouse, Beach 524 Mouse, Big-eared Kock 525 Mouse Field, or Meadow . . . 505 Color T r.ick lustra- ill stra- tion ■ t ou 451 611 559 419 001 500 507 500 4:?9 008 4:!9 4:^9 442 008 4:^8 44:^ 534 470 40:! 500 595 411 471 4o:; 471 422 (110 422 459 487 415 502 5:!9 542 580 542 543 .54:1 511 414 005 594 423 423 423 599 458 455 Oil 455 GO 7 458 458 000 5!t0. .597 454 007 415 551 440 485 575 4 IN 420 418 419 419 420 418 41S (104 451 004 515 510 511 507 490 010 009 4-14 51 N 519 41 1 005 411 411 012 407 534 5:i5 578 o.)>> 555 58G '.587 563 ;>63 462 ' (';(')2 530 531 522 495 Text Mouse, Grasshopper 520 Mouse, Harvest 517 Mouse, House 529 Mouse, Jumping 496 Mouse, I'ine 508 Mouse, Ked-backed 509 Mouse, Kufous Tree 512 Mouse, Silky Pocket 497 Mouse, Spiny I'ocket 498 Mouse, White-footed 521 Muskhog, or I'eccarv 448 Musk-ox 404 Muskrat 513 Ocelots, or Tiger-cats 410 Opossum, Vii-ginia 408 Otter 445 Otter, Sea 432 Peccary, Collared 448 I'ekan, or Fisher 444 Pig, Common Pika, or Little Chief Hare. . 494 I'olecat, or Spilogale Porcupine 495 Prairie-dog 536 Quadruped, with biped track : Common cat Raljbit, Antelope .lack 480 Kal)bit, California Jack.... 487 Kabbit, Cottontail 492 Rabbit, Jack Rabbit, Marsh 493 Rabbit, Saowshoe 489 Raccoon 408 Rat, Brown 525 Rat, Kangaroo 502 Sable, American, or ;\larten. 570 Sea-elephant, Northern 432 Sea-lion. Steller 429 Seal, Alaska Fur 429 Seal, Elephant. 432 Seal, Greenland 433 Seal, Harbor 433 Seal, Harp, or Saddle-back. . 433 Seal, Leopard 433 Seal, Ribbon 430 Seal. Saddle-back 433 Sheep, Dall Mountain 449 Sheep, Rocky Mountai;; . . . . 448 Sheep, Stone Mountain 449 Shrew, Common 591 Shrew, Short-tailed 593 Skunk, ("(jmmon 580 Skunk, Hog-nosed 582 Skunk, Little, or Polecat Skunk. Little Spotted 577 Squirrel, Abert 504 Sipiirrel, California (iround. 541 Scpiirrel, Douglas 557 S(iuirrel, Flying 508 Squirrel, Fox 501 Squirrel, Gray 500 S(|iiirrel. Kail);ilj 504 Squirrel. Ivcd 550 Sipiirrel, Rusty J'"ox 501 S(|uirrel. Striped (iround... 540 Spilogale, or Polecat Stoat, or Lar.ge Weasel.... 572 'I'iger-cats. or Ocelots 410 Walrus, Pacific 42.S Wapiti, or American i:ik... 45:! Weasel Weasel, I^arge, or Stoat... 572 Weasel, Least 57:: Whale. Greenland Right. . . . 409 Wliale. Killer 40S Whale, Spei-m. or Cachalot. 472 Wh.-ile. White, or Beluga... 408 Whistler, or Hoary Marmot. 5;'>0 Wildcat. Texan Wolf, Arctic White 421 Wolf, Black Wolf. Grav. or Timber 421 Wolf. Pr.iirie 424 Wolf. Timber, or Gray 421 Wolverine 4'.i.S Woodchuck. Common 5:',:', Woodrat 510 Color T rack Uustra- illi stra- tion t cn 527 570 527 531 514 522 523 523 515 515 530 572 447 40G 600 520 509 415 410 588 440 434 447 440 571 511 593 514 538 510 492 488 sii 507 490 410 590 531 574 518 555 434 431 431 434 4:35 435 4.35 435 438 435 450 447 450 500 50(1 595 558 592 559 593 5.58 550 5:;9 546 551 547 581, 582 547 5.50 546 547 581 538 593 554 415 430 4.54 584 554 554 471 170 470 '*'*'* (112 422 423 423 (305 423 423 427 583 534 578 526 Still ts of iging IS of Ifalo, rong- •-tails ^ame, food, ce of black , and ■e ex- erous noun- it. nusk- mar- re so medi- Inited i the here, foun- devel- The Larger North American Mammals By E. W. nelson Chiefs U. S. Biologiccil Survey With Illustrations from Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes AT the time of its discovery and /% occupation by Europeans, North / ,^. America and the bordering seas teemed with an ahnost incredible pro- fusion of large mammalian life. The hordes of game animals which roamed the primeval forests and plains of this continent were the marvel of early ex- plorers and have been ecjualed in historic times only in Africa. Even beyond the limit of trees, on the desolate Arctic barrens, vast herds con- taining hundreds of thousands of caribou drifted from one feeding ground to an- other, sharing their range with number- less smaller companies of musk-oxen. Despite the dwarfed and scanty vegeta- tion of this bleak region, the fierce winter storms and long arctic nights, and the harrying by packs of white wolves, these hardy animals continued to hold their own until the fatal influence of civilized man was throw^n against them. Southward from the Arctic barrens, in the neighboring forests of spruce, tama- rack, birches, and aspens, were multitudes of woodland caribou and moose. Still farther south, in the superb forests of eastern North America, and ranging thence over the limitless open plains of the West, were untold millions of buffalo, elk, and white-tailed deer, with the prong- horned antelope replacing the white-tails on the western plains. With this profusion of large game, wdiich afforded a superabundance of food, there was a corresponding abundance of large carnivores, as wolves, coyotes, black and grizzly bears, mountain lions, and lynxes. Black bears were everywhere ex- cept on the open plains, and numerous species of grizzlies occupied all the moun- tainous western part of the continent. Fur-bearers, including beavers, musk- rats, land-otters, sea-otters, fishers, mar- tens, minks, foxes, and others, were so l)lentiful in the New World that immedi- ately after the colonization of the United States and Canada a large part of the world's supply of furs was obtained here. Trade with the Indians laid the foun- dations of many fortunes, and later devel- Photograph by Capt. F. I*;. Kleinschmidt TOWIXG IIKR BABY TO SAFETY When a mother polar bear scents danger she jumps into the water and her cub holds fast to her tail while she tows it to safety. But when no danger seems to threaten she wants it to '"paddle its own canoe," and boxes its ears or ducks its head under water if it insists on being too lazy to swim for itself. oped almost imperial orj^'anizations, like the Hudson's Bay Company and its rivals. Many adventurous white men became trappers and traders, and through their energy, and the rivalry of the trading companies, we owe much of the first ex- ploration of the northwestern and north- ern wilderness. The stockaded fur-trad- ing stations were the outposts of civiliza- tion across the continent to the shores of Oregon and north to the Arctic coast. At the same time the presence of the sea- otter brought the Russians to occupy the Aleutian, Islands, Sitka, and even north- ern California. The wealth of mammal life in the seas along the shores of North America al- most equaled that on the land. On the east coast there were many millions of harp and hooded seals and walruses, while the Creenland right and other whales were extremely abundant. On the west coast were millions of fur seals, sea- lions, sea-elephants, and walruses, with an equal abundance of whales and hun- dreds of thousands of sea otters. ]\Iany of the chroniclers dealing with explorations and life on the frontier dur- ing the early period of the occui:)ation of America gave interesting details concern- ing the game animals. Allouez says that in 1680, between Lake Erie and Lake 386 Photograph by Capt. F. 1\. Klcinschmidt A SWIMMING POLAR BKAR A polar bear when swimming does not use his hind legs, a new fact brought out by the motion-picture camera 387 t rt 2 388 i ^'i^ ^?N :,tunc View Co. ROAMING "mONARCIIS OF THE PLAIN : BRITISH COLUMBIA A remnant of the veritable sea of wild life that surged over American soil before the dikes of civilization compassed it about and all but wiped it out Michig-an the prairies were filled with an incredible number of bears, wapiti, white- tailed deer, and turkeys, on which the wolves made fierce war. He adds that on a number of occasions this game was so little wild that it was necessary to fire shots to protect the party from it. Perrot states that during the winter of 1670- 167 1, 2,400 moose were snared on the Great Manitoitlin Island, at the head of Lake Huron. Other travelers, even down to the last century, give similar accounts of the abundance of game. TRAINS HELD UP BY BUFFALO The original bufifalo herds have been estimated to have contained from 30,000.- 000 to 60,000,000 animals, and in 1870 it was estimated that about 5,500,000 still survived. A number of men now living were privileged to see some of the great herds of the West before they were finally destroyed. Dr. George Bird Grinnell writes : "In 1870, I happened to be on a train that was stopped for three hours to let a herd of buffalo pass. We supposed they would soon pass by, but they kept coming. On a number of occasions in earlier days the engineers thought that they could run through the herds, and that, seeing the locomotive, the buffalo would stop or turn aside ; but after a few locomotives had been ditched by the ani- mals the engineers got in the way of re- specting the bufi'aloes' idiosyncrasies. . . . "Up to within a few years, in northern Montana and southern Alberta, old buf- falo trails have been very readily trace- able by the eye, even as one passed on a railroad train. These trails, fertilized by the buffalo and deeply cut so as to long hold moisture, may still be seen in sum- mer as green lines winding- up and down the hills to and from the water-courses." Concerning the former abundance of antelope, Dr. Grinnell says : "For many years I have held the opinion that in early days on the plains, as I saw them, ante- lope were much more abundant than buf- falo. Buffalo, of course, being big and black, were impressive if seen in masses and were visible a long way off. Ante- lope, smaller and less conspicuous in color, were often passed unnoticed, ex- cept by a person of experience, who 389 •r O '■^ J might recognize that distant white dots might be antelope and not biififalo bones or puff balls. I used to talk on this subject with men who were on the plains in the '6o's and '70's, and all agreed that, so far as their judgment went, there were more antelope than buffalo. Often the buffalo were bunched up into thick herds and gave the impression of vast numbers. The ante- lope' were scattered, and, ex- cept in winter, \Yhen I have seen herds of thousands, they were pretty evenly distributed over the prairie. ANTElvOPES EVI^RVWHERE "I have certain memories of travel on the plains, whenVfor- the whole long day one would pass a continual succession of small bands of antelope, num- bering from ten to 'fifty or sixty, those at a little distance paying no attention to the traveler, while those nearer at hand loped lazily and uncon- cernedly out of the way. In the year 1879, in certain val- leys in North Park, Colorado, I saw wonderful congregations of antelope. As far as we could see in any direction, all over the basins, there were antelope in small or consider- able groups. In one of these places I examined with care tlie trails made by them, for this was the only place where I ever saw deejily worn ante- lo])e trails, which suggested the l)uffalo trails of the plains." The wealth of animal life foimd by our forebears Avas one of the great natural re- sources of the New World. Although freely drawn upon from the first, the stock was •but little de])leted up to within a century. During the last one hundred years, however, the rapidly increasing occuj)ation of the continent and other 390 Photograph by Alburt Schlecliten A CINNAMON TRlJI^D : YELLOWSTONE: NATIONAL PARK Bruin for the most part is an inoffensive beast, with an impelling curiosity and such a taste for sweet things that he can eat pounds of honey and lick his chops for more 391 I'liutugraph by JC. C. Ulicrhultzer moose; FlJKDING UNDER DIFl' ICUU'II' S The moose likes the succulent water plants it Imds at the bottom of lakes and sluygish streams, and often when reaching for them becomes completely submerged ' 3Q2 Photograph by E. C. Obcrholtzcr COW MOOSE WITH HER YOUNG Notice the fold of skin at her neck resembling a bell causes, together with a steadily increas- ing commercial demand for animal prod- ucts, have had an appalling effect. The buffalo, elk, and antelope are reduced to a pitiful fraction of their former count- less numbers. WANTON WASTE OE WIED LIFE Practically all other large game has alarmingly decreased, and its extermina- tion has been partly stayed only by the recent enforcement of protective laws. It is quite true that the presence of wild buffalo, for instance, in any region occu- pied for farming and stock-raising pur- poses is incompatible with such use. Thus the extermination of the bison as a deni- zen of our western plains was inevitable. The destruction, however, of these noble game animals by millions for their hides only furnishes a notable example of the wanton wastefulness which has hereto- fore largely characterized the handling of our wild life. A like disregard for the future has been shown in the pursuit of the sea mammals. The whaling and sealing in- dustries are very ancient, extending back for a thousand years or more ; but the greatest and most ruthless destruction of the whales and seals has come within the last century, especially through the use of steamships and bomb-guns. Without adequate international protection, there is grave danger that the most valuable of these sea mammals will be exterminated. The fur seal and the sea-elephant, once so abundant on the coast of southern California, are nearly or cjuite gone, and the sea otter of the North Pacific is dan- gerously near extinction. The recent great abundance of large land mammals in North America, both in individuals and species, is in striking con- trast with their scarcity in South Amer- ica, the dift'erence evidently being due to the long isolation of the southern conti- nent from other land-masses, whence it 39.3 C ^ . ""-2 S5 c > > u — > >" rt o-c: o 'O O "U tc.S.- O P SJ "" dJ ^ -TJ-C -^ _o -^ >, 'a3 t-'rt a, o-« C dj OJ O^ C U ") bo « o > U ^-^-o C rt O -M dJ U Di 3 u ^ OJ TD c.5-a o 5^ -^ OJ OJ rt '*-' rt C •S
  • 99 ■^''^1^ W k ^ 'T: "Z ■f.> Z tr> O 'X. w < pa t: t/; o H o K ^ y< ^ in numerous localities extending from coast to coast in the United States. Camels and horses, with many species of antelope closely related to still existing forms in Africa, abounded over a large part of this country up to the end of the geological age immediately preceding the present era. Then through imperfectly understood changes of environment a tremendous mortality among the wild life took place and destroyed practically all of the splen- did large mammals, which, however, have left their records in the as])halt pits of California and other fossil beds through- out the country. This original fauna was followed by an influx of other species which made up the fauna when America was discovered. At the time of its discovery by Coluni- Ijus this continent had only one domesti- cated mammal — -the dog. In most in- stances the ancestors of the Indian dogs appear to have been the native coyotes or gray wolves, but the descriptions of some dogs found by early explorers indi- cate very difTerent and unknown ancestry. Unfortunately these strange dogs became extinct at an early period, and thus left unsolvable the riddle of their origin. Before the discovery of America the people of the Old \\^orld had domesti- cated cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats ; but none of these do- mestic animals, except the dog, existed in America until brought from Europe by the invaders of the New World. The wonderful fauna of the asphalt pits had vanished long before America was first colonized by white men. and had been replaced by another mainly from the Old World, less varied in character, but enormously abundant in individuals. -Mthough so many North American mam- mals were derived from x\sia, some came from South America, while others, as the raccoons, originated here. I'KWKR LARGIv MAMMALS rX Till'; TROPICS It is notable that the fossil beds which ]jrove the existence of an extraordinary abundance of large mammals in North America at various periods in the past, as well as the enormous aggregation of mammalian life which occupied this con- tinent, both on land and at sea, at the time of its discovery, were confined to the Temperate and Arctic Zones. It is popu- 400 ■^ >■ ^y From Scott's "History of the Land Mammalb ot the Westt-iu llcnubphwe": Maciuillan Coiuiiaiiy THIS REPRESUXTS A SCENE AT THE CALIFORNIA ASPHALT PITS, WITH A MIRED ELEPHANT, TWO GIANT WOLVES, AND A SABER-TOOTtlED TIGER (SEE PAGE 399) larly believed that the tropics possess an exuberance of hfe beyond that of other chmes, yet in no tropic lands or seas, ex- cept in parts of Africa and southern Asia, has there been developed such an abundance of large mammal life as these northern latitudes have repeatedly known. In temperate and arctic lands such numbers of large mammals could exist only where the vegetation not only suf- ficed for summer needs, but retained its nourishing qualities through the winter. In the sea the vast numbers of seals, sea- lions, walruses, and whales of many kinds could be maintained only by a limitless profusion of fishes and other marine life. From the earliest appearance of mam- mals on the globe to comparatively recent times one mammalian fauna has suc- ceeded another in the regular sequence of evolution, man apjiearing late on the scene and being subject to the same nat- ural influences as his mammalian kindred. During the last few centuries, however, through the development of agriculture, the invention of new methods of trans- portation, and of modern firearms, so- called civilized man has spread over and now dominates most parts of the earth. As a result, aboriginal man and the large mammals of continental areas have been, or are being, swept away and re- placed by civilized man and his domestic animals. Orderly evolution of the mar- velously varied mammal life in a state of nature is thus being brought to an abrupt end. Henceforth fossil beds containing deposits of mammals caught in sink- holes, and formed by river and other floods in subarctic, temperate, and trop- ical parts of the earth, will contain more and more exclusively the bones of man and his domesticated horses, cattle, and sheep. DESTROYING THE IRREST0R.\BLE The s])lendid mammals which possessed the earth until man interfered were the ultimate product of Nature working through the ages that have elapsed since the dawn of life. All of them show myriads of exquisite adaptations to their environment in color, form, organs, and habits. The wanton destruction of anv 401 "*** V ■^f^^ 1 luiii a drawing by Charles R. Knight A PRIMITIVE FOUR-TUSKED ELEPHANT, STANDING ABOUT SIX FEET AT THE SHOULDER, THAT LIVED AGES AGO IN THE UNITED STATES (TRICOPHODON MIOCENE) of these species thus deprives the world of a marvelous organism which no hu- man power can ever restore. Fortunately, although it is too late to save many notable animals, the leading nations of the world are rapidly awaken- ing to a proper appreciation of the value and significance of wild life. As a con- sequence, while the superb herds of game on the limitless plains will vanish, sports- men and nature lovers, aided by those who appreciate the practical value of wild life as an asset, may work successfully to provide that the wild places shall not l)e left wholly untenanted. Although Americans have been notably wasteful of wild life, even to the extermi- nation of numerous species of birds and mammals, yet they are now leading the world in efforts to conserve what is left of the original fauna. No civilized peo- ple, with the exception of the South Af- rican Boers, have been such a nation of hunters as those of the United States. Most hunters have a keen appreciation of nature, and American sportsmen as a class have become ardent supporters of a nation-wnde movement for the conser- vation of wild life. SAVING OUR WILD LIFE Several strong national organizations are doing great service in forwarding the conservation of wild life, as the National Geographic Society, the National Asso- ciation of Audubon Societies, American Bison Society, Boone and Crockett Club, New York Zoological Society, American Game Protective and Propagation Asso- ciation, Permanent Wild Life Protective Fund, and others. In addition, a large numl)er of unofficial State organizations have been formed to assist in this work. Through the authorization by Congress, the Federal Government is actively en- gaged in efforts for the ])rotection and in- crease of our native birds and mammals. This work is done mainly through the lUu-eau of Biological Survey of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which is in charge of the several Federal large-game 402 From a drawing by Charles R. Knight A gkote;sque creature that once lived in the united states (uertatherium EOCENE, MIDDLE Wyoming) It had six horns on the head and. in some species, two long- canine teeth projecting down- ward from the upper jaw. The feet were somewhat hke those of an elephant, but the skull and teeth resemble nothing on earth today. preserves and nearly seventy bird reser- vations. On the large-game preserves are herds of buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope. The Yellowstone National Park, under the Department of the Interior, is one of the most wonderfully stocked game preserves in the world. In this beautiful tract of forest, lakes, rivers, and mountains live many moose, elk, deer, antelope, moun- tain sheep, black and grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, and lynxes. Practically all of the States have game and fish commissions in one form or an- other, with a warden service for the pro- tection of game, and large numbers of State game preserves have been estab- lished. The increasing occupation of the cotmtry, the opening ttp of wild places. and the destruction of forests are rapidly restricting available haunts for game. This renders particularly opportune the present and increasing wide-spread inter- est in the welfare of the habitants of the wilderness. The national forests offer an unrivaled opportunity for the protection and in- crease of game along broad and effective lines. At present the title to game mam- juals is vested in the States, among which great differences in protective laws and their administration in many cases jeop- ardize the future game supply. If a cooperative working' arrangement could be effected between the States and the Department of Agriculture, whereby the Department wottld have supervision and control over the game on the national forests, so far as concerns its j^rotection 403 001^^^ «> From a 'drawing by Cliarlcs R. Knight THE primitive; FOUR-TOKD HORSF (EOIIIPPUS, lower eocene, WYOMING) The so-called four-toed horse, a little creature some 12 inches in height at the shoulder. having four well-defined hoofs on the front foot and three on the hind foot. The animal is not a true horse, hut was undoubtedly an ancestor (more or less direct) of the modern form. It must have been a very speedy type, which contributed greatly to the preservation of the species in an age when (so far as we know) the carnivores were rather slow and clumsv. and the designation ol liunling areas, varying the quantity of game to be taken from definite areas in accordance with its abundance from season to season, while the States would control open seasons for shooting, the issuance of hunting licenses, and similar local matters, the future wel- fare of large game in the Western States would be assured. Under such an arrangement the game supply would be handled on l)usiness ])rinciples. When game becomes scarce in any restricted area, hunting could be suspended until the supply becomes re- newed, while increased hunting could be allowed in areas where there is sufficient game to warrant it. Tn brief, big game could be handled 1)_\' the common-sense methods now used so effectively in the stock industry on the open range. i\l present the lack of a definite general policy to safeguard our game supply and the resulting danger to our splendid na- tive animals are dcplorablv in evidence. 404 ''''^t^a^^iLft A TRUE HORSE WHICH WAS FOUND IN THE FOSSIL BEDS OF TEXAS: PEEISTOCENE It is interesting to note that this country was possessed of several species of wild horses, but these died out long before the advent of the Indian on this continent. The present wild horses of our western plains are merely stragglers from the herds brought over by the Spaniards and other settlers. When Columbus discovered America there were no horses on the continent, though in North America horses and camels originated (see text, page 399). From drawings by Cliarles K. Knight THE FOREST HORSE OF NORTH AMERICA (hYPOHIPPOS MIOCENE) This animal is supposed to have inhabited heavy undergrowth. It was somewhat off the true horse ancestrv and had three rather stout toes on both the fore and hind feet. 405 ^ :z; o C ^ E rt <; OJ ■•^ '^ ^ Q 2; o i- > o 1- u < ^ O e 2; c < ^ h tn 3 d o j5 ^ O <=( +-< o -a;=; Jit 406 H v. bo CO I. •a (U c '•p rt o c o '5 ■^ o _bo 1> u en ^ ctf p, ^ _o •o 3 v C?' rt -Q ^•5 O bfl I- tH O C o) OJ "u ^ 03 C s -a (U o o 1) N 03 t» a oj