Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 222, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1913 — BIG COME OF BRITISH COLUMBIA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

B IG COME OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

OF recent years the necessity of preserving the scattered remnants of the great game , herds which once roamed the untrodden ways has become more and more apparent. Public opinion, led by a few enthusiasts, has been aroused; game preserves have been organized and, in the majority of countries, the depredation and senseless slaughterings of educated and uneducated butchers have been stopped. Nowhere has the need for such reform been greater than in North America. With the bison practically exterminated and the existence of the wapiti (why will American naturalists persist in miscalling these fine deer "elk?”), the mountain sheep and the pronghorn antelope seriously threatened, it was none too soon. In British Columbia the matter has been taken in hand, and It is with this great province that I propose to deal, writes Frank Wallace in Country Life. There are two men whom future generations will have to thank for the preservation of the large game of the province. One Is Mr. A Bryan Williama, the provincial game warden, and the other Mr. A. J. Bouser, attor-ney-general for British Columbia. By dint of unremitting exertions they have procured the establishment of two efficient game reserves and a large annual expenditure for their presentation. I think I am right in eaying that when I was hunting in British Columbia in 1906 the government spent literally nothing on the preservation of their game beyond the warden's salary and those of the rangers. Last year $75,000 were expended, a fine testimony to the energy of these two gentlemen.

Privileges Modified. The area of the province is roughly 700 miles long by 400 miles wide. Section 12 of the game protection act, 1898, of British Columbia reads as follows: ‘‘The provisions of this act shall not apply to Indians or resident farmers 5 in unorganized districts of this province, with regard to their own or their families’ immediate use, for food only, and not for the purpose of sale or traffic.” The privileges of prospectors and Indians have now. been modified and are only granted where absolutely necessary; that Is, deer may be killed when food is actually needed and only in unorganized districts. Lilloet is unorganized, but the Indians here give very little trouble, and the Chllkotens, who were a source of anxiety at one time, hardly come into this country at all, except jn the berry season. Indians are now limited to deer, and are not allowed to kill moose, sheep or goats. • Under the game laws of the province open or close seasons may be declared at any time for any speeles of game in any district. Wapiti are absolutely prohibited everywhere at present, as are moose in the Fernie and Cranbrook districts and sheep in the Okanagan, Tale and Simllkameen. Game is not allowed to be kept In cold storage, and It Is illegal—a vital point —“to buy or sell or offer to buy or sell the heads of mountain sheep, elk,

moose, or caribou, or the teeth of wapiti or elk." This latter provision is aimed at such organizations as the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, which, across the border, to the lasting shame of all true American sportsmen, has done more than anything else during recent years to hasten the extermination of one of the noblest of the cervidae. The Yalakone reserve now covers an area of ground about 25 miles by 15 miles at its widest part, and is In form a rough triangle. It Includes the north fork of Bridge river, and embraces all the beaver colonies In that district. The deer (mule deer, Mazama [Dorqelaphus] nemlonus) are very tame in this reserve, and Mr. Williams tells me he saw five good stags together there a short time ago. They know the limits of the reserve quite well, and never cross the river when "jumped” near the trail, which runs parallel about 200 yards off, but trot ahead and swing back into the' reserve. A wounded ram, too, always makes tor the reserve, just as a stag who knows the pound in a Scottish forest will make for the sanctuary. The sheep are Increasing rapidly, and a party of farmers recently passed close to three fine rams who never even stopped feeding, such security

did they feet The Mg nuns often work out, but a few remain in the reserve itself. The reserve is very well observed, and no one is allowed to shoot there. I have already alluded to the sale of heads. Formerly mounted heads could be exported without export duty, but this is not the case at present unless a special permit has been obtained. Moose, caribou, sheep and wapiti heads killed in British Columbia are not allowed to be sold or exported without permission, but heads obtained elsewhere can be branded and sold on payment of a fee. A great inducement to poachers is thus removed. Everyone carrying firearms must pay a $2 AO license. A resident’s license for big game costs $5. A guide’s license im the same, and a trapper’s $lO. A general game license for a non-resident is SIOO. In the Elk river reserve in East Kootenay wapiti are on the increase. It is a big reserve and, taken all round, about the finest piece of game country in British Columbia. In addition to the wapiti, sheep, goat, white tall and mule deer are in a flourishing condition, while an odd moose or two may be found, and it is a great grizzly country. The white tail deer are becoming a nuisance, and one of the rangers counted over a hundred in one day; but it is hard to get a good head, as they frequent the timber. Three are allowed to be killed on one license. In two or three years one wapiti bull will probably be allowed on each license, and some very fine trophies should be secured by those who are fortunate enough to be able to hunt them. Laws Hard to Enforce. Good game laws are easy to make, but very hard to enforce. As an illustration of the spirit which animates those in charge of the game, Mr. Williams told me the following story: A trapper was suspected of killing wapiti just outside the reserve, and the ranger asked Mr. Williams if he might make a special trip Into the reserve in midwinter to try and catch him, as he fancied that the suspect would wait until the worst season of the year, fancying himself Immune from pursuit. Accordingly the ranger, accompanied by a second, traveled over 150 miles on snowshoes over ground covered with from 4 feet to 8 feet of snow, with 8 or 9 inches of soft snow on top. They crossed a big range of mountains at an elevation of 9,000 feet, with a temperature about 30 degrees below zero, found the remains of a wapiti in one of the trap-’ Per’s huts, followed the trail, caught their man, took him out with them (occupying three days in doing so and having to pack everything themselves) and within half an hour of reaching civilization had obtained a conviction. The trapper was fined $250 for killing wapiti and SSO for killing mule deer. The effect of suqh an example is incalculable, as a poacher never knows when he is safe. Anyone and everyone who infringes the game laws is prosecuted. Last year for exceeding the limit of sheep a visitor was fined $250.