Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; Grand Ronde, OR
About Weekly Chemawa American. (Chemawa, Or.) 189?-198? | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1902)
8 C HEM AW A AMERICAN. ALASKA GAME PRESERVE. Appeal to Congres For Protecting The Greatest Hunting Grounds in America. Today Alaska contains the greatest hunt ing grounds in North America. They are inhabited by the giant mooe, the Invest authored animal inhabiting the earth; the kadiak brown bear, largest of all flesh eating land animals, and the mountain caribou, largest and finest of its genus. The snow white mountain sheep is there, mountain goat, black and yellow bears galore, and the rare new glacier bear, as yet never seen in captivity, and in only one Ail these fine animals are being slaugh tered by sportmen, hidehunters, headhunt ed, ami Indians, who, in true Indian fash ion, kill often live animals for every one that they properly consume. In the United States statutes there is not one line of game eit her to protect the game of Alaska, or re strict its slaughter in any manner, -Nature has been millions of years in de veloping the wonderful animal forms now inhabiting our Arctic province, but which foolish and short-sighted man la now thoughtlessly exterminating. Unless quick and effective measures are taken by con grefs, the next 10 years of slaughter will wipo out the work of ages, and lenve Alas ka only a barren, lifeless waste of rugged mountains aud dreary tundras. Already the western vide of Alaska has been almost cleared of large mamallau life. The favorite haunts of. the grandest game of Alaska are not, anil never can be, adapt-, ed to the wants of the husbandman: So far as known, they contain few precious, meta! deposits worthy of mention. Those rugged, rocky crags and peaks never will, know the wire fence and tne cowboy. Those moquito-ridilen, water-soaked tun ras invite the wild goose and sandhill, crane, not the plow and barrow. Economically, there is no reason why, Nature's great natural gameland in South ern Alaska should not be fixed and estab lished for all time as a National gam preserve, and made a heritage for genera- We of today have norlght, either moral or legal, to destroy all the zoological rP sources of Nature, and hand over to our grandchildren a world destitute of wild life. Ttie resources and the beauties of Nature are an entailed heritage, which-it would be criminal in us to destroy. What Is Our Duty In Alaska? The answer is very simple-the logical sequeuce of existing facts. As it disposed by nature to make easy the task of pres ervation, a narrow Btrip of coastwise ter ritory in Southwestern Alaska, extending from the head of Bristol Bay around to Yakutat Bay, is today a natural park, stocked abundantly with the grandest wild animals now living in North America. Tin's region is the home of the giant moose, caribou, Kadiak bear, white sheep, moun tain goat, glacier hear, black bear, ribbon seal, and a host of smaller forms. It Is in habited by a very small number oriodians and Aleuts, aud a very few white traders and hunters. Congress should pass a law creating of this territory a national game preserve, and providing for its effective protection and, regulation, on about the same general line as the Yellowstone Park. : If it it found advisable to permit a limited amount of hunting under Govern ment license, let the law so provide. The interests of the natives can be conserved, but no Indian that ever trod moccasin or bootleather ever again should be permitted to slaughter big game at will. Their shameful worK in Western Alaska shall never be repeated in the South. The sale of breech-loading firearms to natives in that territory should be stopped immedi ately, before it is too late. Oregoniau. TheChemawa American represents the hospital kitchen of the School as a very attractive place-under "Mrs. Ullb, the pre-" siding genius." The mere description of that Sunday dinner made oue feel well fed. Native American. Not Sunday only, but every day.
