THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 18, 1921
THE MAN WHO IS DIRECTING THE U.S. WAR ON BEASTS
Dr. Bell, From His
Stock -Slaying Wolf
Office in Vashington, Moves His Little Army About, Killing a
Here, a Bear There and Bobcat or Cougar Somewhere Else
the flesh of cattle and sheep, but
he caused panio among them. If be
visited a corral where sheep were
put away for the night, for instance,
be would frighten them to suck an
extent that they would pile one upon
another against the fence upon one
aide of the corral and those on top
would smother those underneath, and
hundreds of them would be killed.
On another occasion be might scare
the sheep so that a whole flock of
them would run over a cliff and thus
destroy themselves.
"Thla black bear also had a tooth
for the food which sheep herders eat
and used to specialise In raiding the
camps of these men and helping him
self to aides of bacon and other
morsels which were to him great
delicacies. Few were the sheep herd
ers who would take a chance even
when wes armed In facing this mon
ster of the forest, and so the govern
ment was called upon to send hunters
for his destruction.
"H, P. Williams, the same free
loving hunter who had killed the
Custer wolf, was sent Into Big Plney,
and with him went Del Dearth, an
other man of wide experience.
"This marauding bear had Just de
stroyed a herder's camp when they
arrived hot on his track. Finally
they overtook him In a defile of the
mountains. The outlaw bear was evi-
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marksmen that they were, they faced
htm and pumped lead Into him with
their automatics as he came on. Will
iams put three bullets under his ear
and Dearth lodged one In his spinal
column. So great was the force of
the creature that even thus wounded,
he came near reaching the hunters
before he fell. When they came to
examine him they found that he wai
wounded and lacerated and torn, evi
dently aa a result of a conflict with
some other creature of the wilds,
probably a great grizzly that was
known to live In these mountain.
It may have been the anger of his
former conflict that made him so bold
as to face these hunters and meet
his end."
"I suppose different methods are
required" I suggested, "for hunting
mountain lions and other members
of the cat familyr
"Mountain liona," said Dr. Bell,
"are usually hunted with dogs. These
lions specialize on young colts, and
It Is the breeders of horses who suf
fer the greatest damage from their
activities. They also destroy many
deer. We have special hunters who
devote tbemselvea to mountain Hons
and who develop great skill In taking
them. Down In New Mexico we have
an old hunter by the name of Ben
Lilly, who began his career with
taking bears and lions down In
I 4 y
bushes, seized himself a pig, climbed
Into his tree and settled down to din
ner. Waiting In patient observation,
the. hunter saw this second bobcat,
after finishing his meal, practice the
same tricks upon the old sow, lead
her away from her young, whereupon
the first bobcat returned and got
himself another pig."
"How large is the force of hunters
which the government maintains? I
asked.
"Tfce number Is not constant," said
Dr. Bell, "but It ranges from S00 to
400 men. It Is probably true that so
many skilled hunters have never be
fore been recruited into on,e co
ordinated force. It was back In 1916
that this organization took more
definite form than It had known be
fore.. In those days hydrophobia was
prevalent among the coyotes of the
west, and, suffering with it, they
came into the settlements and at
tacked livestock and human beings.
The menace became so great as to -call
attention to the necessity of a
more highly organized campaign
gainst these marauders, and the
force was built up to its present size.
"At first we went Into the west and
employed as government hunters the
Individuals In the various communi
ties who had the greatest reputation
along this Una. This plan did not get
entirely satisfactory results because
this employment was based somewhat
upon the size of stories that men told
of themselves, rather than upon dem
orxtrated success. But when a man
became a government hunter he had
to prove himself. We accepted no
stories of marauders who were mort-
Dxw William B. Bell, Uncle Saaa'a
official hunter.
BY WILLIAM ATHERTON DU TVT.
rnSB arch criminal of the range
I country," said Dr. W. B. Bell,
who Is immediately responsi
ble for the work of that army of hunt
ers which the government maintains
in constant action from Arkansas to
Puget sound, and from Michigan to
Lower California, "was the notorious
Custer wolf. I am glad to say that I
t.ive here In my locker the skin of
that outlaw. It cost the government
ix months of the time of one of its
most skillful hunters to finally kill
this vicious beast.
"The story of the Custer wolf is one
of the most interesting true tales of
(he wilds' that I have ever heard.
This creature was a lone timber wolf
which ranged the region around about
Custer, South Dakota, and preyed
tipon the livestock of the ranches In
a region as big as many a state. In
11 the history of predatory animals
en the range, no creature has ever
teen known that equaled In vlcloua
ness and cleverness this lone wolf.
Tonight he might fall upon a herd of
cattle In some lonesome defile, dash
Into them, cut a hamstring here, slash
throat there, maliciously rend and
tear every creature that he could
reach. In the fiendishness of its in
stincts, the Custer wolf selected from
be herds cows heavy with calves and
dragged them down that he might
tratify his taste for his favorite tid
bit. Thus was the damage wrought
particularly great, anij thus was the
cruelty of the creature beyond com
parison. Listening to the entreaties of the
cattlemen of South Dakota, the gov
ernment sent one of its most experi
enced and successful hunters, H. P.
Williams, Into the region ravaged by
the Custer wolf, and Instructed him
to remain there until he had dis
patched the animal. Great as was
Williams' skill In Just this sort of
task, it took him six months to ac
complish his purpose. The Custer
wclf seamed to have a charmed life.
Once he actually' lay down on trap
et by Williams which was sprung
and which pulled a clump of hair from
Ht body but did not hold him. An
other trap caught the side of his foot,
but he tore loose.
"William resorted to every device.
Science, co-operating with its prac
tical hunters In the field, has devised
a means of producing various scents
which catch the sensitive noses of
these creatures of the wilds and tend
to lead them to destruction. One of
these odors placed in the neighbor
hood of a trap is pretty sure to arrest
the attention of the passing wolf,
cause him to sniff and prowl about
and probably get caught In the trap.
Another of them la the distinctive
odor of the female wolf, which plays
the role of the siren singing on the
rocks and which may lead this
prowler to his destruction. Williams
' covered his shoes with this strange
odor and thus Induced the Custer wolf
to follow him about, convinced that
wily creature that there was a mate
for him In the vicinity, and led him
even to go so far as to prepare him
self cave against the time when he
hould capture her.
"It was a strange fact of the wilds
that this vicious creature as he
prowled about carried with him a
peculiar bodyguard of nature. This
todyguard consisted of two coyotes
irhlch were always in the offing, were
outriders, as might be two destroyers
for a battleship. These coyotes never
dared approach their master. He
would pull down a cow and glut him
elf with food and they would re
main near until he had finished. '
"Finally, however, when he was
urfelted and went away for a nap
the coyotea would help themselves to
ths abundant food supply which re
trained. Thus these smaller wolves
lived upon the master for years. Al
ways near him, they were his protec
tion because they gave ths alarm at
the approach of any hunter. A num
ber time they prevented "Vlillam4
Two timber wolvee whose hilling days
are eaded and aa old bear with a
perverted appetite for the flesh of
doaaeatle animals.
from getting shot at the old outlaw.
"At last, while still possessed of the
Idea of obtaining a mate, created in
him by the cleverness of the trapper.
the Custer wolf put his foot between
two Jaws of steel and was caught So
great was his vicious strength, how
ever, that he broke the chain of the
.rap, but he could not release his foot
from its grip. The hunter followed
him for miles and finally got a long
shot at him which meant his destruc
tion. This gray, almost white, skin of
this old wolf, somewhat undersized
for one of his kind, la all that is left
of the outlaw which for nine years
defied the, cunning of man and which
cost the cattlemen no less than $25
COO In animals destroyed."
I was willing to admit that this
was a fairly good story of the wilds
that this government official was
telling. As he talked I was studying
him, attempting to ' determine just
what manner of man this supervisor
of government hunters was. Just what
hi probable origin and training. A
dark, incisive, quick-acting, fast
talking man was this director of the
hunters, a man who seemed to know
his game and to be hugely enthusi
astic over It. He told me that be
grew up aa a farmer boy down In
Iowa. He had gone to the university
of that state, had specialised in so
ology, had studied animals from many
angles,' including Investigational
work In Italy. Then be became etate
zoologist In North Dakota, lived for
years In the land of the wolves and
coyotes, studied thproblems of the
range, fought the battles from a
State standpoint which he had seen
fighting from a national standpoint
since H14. when he came to Wash
ington,' and continued that work for
the bureau of biological survey of
the department of agriculture.
"How great," I asked, "is the loss
suffered by stockmen through the
depredations of these predatory ani
mals?" "It is hard to get at the exact
figures," said- Dr. Bell, "but It Is
placed somewhere between to and 30
million dollars a year. I knew of a
wolf in Colorado which took a toll
of 13000 worth of cattle in single
12-month. " In Texas two wolves
killed 72 sheep, valned at $9 each. In
a period of two weeks. One wolf In
New Mexico killed 25 head of cattle
in two monthe. while another was
reported by atockmen In the same
state to have killed ISO cattle valued
at not less than $5000 during the six
months preceding its capture. In
Wyoming two male wolves were
killed which, during one month, had
destroyed 150 sheep and seven colts,
while another had chalked up a kill
worth $4000, and yet another had
brought down 10 head of cattle In a
single spring. Our county agricul
tural agent in Colvllle, Utah, reported
that wolves had taken 20 per cent
of the year's calf crop in that sec
tion. One wolf killed In Now Mexico
was known to have dispatched 20
yearling steers, 9 calves, 1 cow, 15
sheep and a valuable sheep dog. In
two weeks at Osona, Texas, two
wolves killed 7 sheep.
"Four coyotes, preying upon smal
ler livestock, killed IS pure-blooded
rams' In two nights. In Morgan
county, Utah, three coyotes killed
$500 worth of sheep in an hdur. Near
Antonio, Colo.. 67 ewes, valued at
$1000. became separated from the rest
of the herd and within two days the
coyotes had consumed them alL
"One bobcat in Texas killed $300
worth of Angora goats and another
got S3 rams on a single ranch in a
month.
"A grizzly bear in New Mexico le
known to have been responsible for
the death of S3 head of cattle. In
Arizona one of our hunters followed
the trail of a mountain lion, which
was later killed, and found the bodies
of nine head of cattle which that
animal had destroyed.
"After personal investigation, the
president eX tit State Agricultural
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A aato loaded with bodies of eoyotea,
killed by government hunters.
college' of New Mexico made an esti
mate that 35.000 head of cattle, 165.
000 sheep and 50 horses were killed
annually by predatory animals in that
state. These losses amounted to
$2,700,000."
"Which of these animals," I asked,
"is the most desperate enemy . of
manT"
"The timber wolf," Dr. Bell re
plied, "is individually the most de
structive. The coyote, however, is
so much more numerous that the sum
total of the destruction for which tt
Is responsible is greater than that
of the timber wolf. The mountain
lion and then the bobcat would prob
ably rank next after these.
"The position of the bear with re
gard to the stock industry of the
west is very peculiar. The bear, or
dinarily, is satisfied with a diet of
nuts, berries, honey and grubs, and
prowls about In his good-natured
way feeding harmlessly. , Then, once
in a while, there appears an indi
vidual bear which develops Into a
renegade. Fresh meat from domestic
animals Is not the normal food of a
bear, but it is very easy for bruin to
develop a taste for this food. Once
that taste is acquired the bear be
comes a destructive outlaw and an
enemy to man. Such an Individual
bear is likely to range about a wil
derness, defy the stockmen over a
long period of time and do great
damage.
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The hunter la winter dreas, white so he will fade quickly into the landscape.
Wyoming, a huge black bear de- dently In a very nasty mood. In
veioped this unusual sort of appe-1 stead of running from the hunters
"Juafc recfinUy, near Bi&- Fluey, la' tHe. Not only would he Zeed upon a charred tnem, Steady-cefved
Louisiana. One day, about 30 years
ago, he left his home in Louisiana
with his rifle and his dogs and never
returned. He drifted Into the west
and there came to be the greatest of
the mountain Hon killers.
"Even the bobcat, a much smaller
creature than the mountain lion, does
a great deal of damage and is a
predatory animal quite worthy of the
steel of the experienced "hunter. One
of our men has Just sent In a story
of a bobcat which a farmer had ob
served In Arkansas which will illus
trate a somewhat unusual method of
that creature In preying upon the do
mestic animals. The farmer did not
have his gun when he discovered this
bobcat. It was perched upon a low
limb of a tree and was busily en
gaged in the process of devouring a
bit of its favorite food, a small pig.
Nearby the mother of a brood of
these pigs was Industriously keep
ing watch over them to protect them
from further losses. The bobcat paid
ro attention to her, but gave itself
to the enjoyment of its meal, fin
ished it, and. cat-like, washed Its
paws and tidied Itself up.
"Then it Jumped down to the
ground and approached the mother of
this brood olgpigs. She was Imme
diately on the defensive and charged
him viciously. He would avoid her,
but played around In front of her In
such a way that she followed him
further and further away from her
pigs. When the distance was suffi
ciently great to make a raid safe,
another bobcat lurched tram the
ally wounded but got away. A man's
success was measured by the skins or
scalps that he delivered. Those hunt
ers who failed to deliver scalps or
skins were soon severed from the gov
ernment payroll. Thus, through the
years, we have built up an organiza
tion of hunters who demonstrate that
they make good. There was prob
ably never greater group of hunt
ers found together since time began
than are today In the service of the
United States government.
"There was a trapper by the name
of Bakken, for Instance, up In Mon
tana, who devised a particularly suc
cessful scheme for catching coyotes.
Just as game In the desert concern
trate at a water hole, so do coyotes
tend to gather about a pralrle-dog
town, because they are very fond of
the flesh of these fat little rodents.
Bikken worked out a scheme for
trapping coyotes around a pralrle-dog
town. He killed himself soma dogs
end propped them up In front of holes
around the edge of the town. At the
approach of each of these holes he
would set steel traps, covering them
with duft. Then, knowing the habits
of the coyote, he would throw up two
fresh lines of dirt which came to
point at the prairie-dog hole. The
coyote Is shy of fresh dirt, would
avoid it and would thus be directed to
the point where the traps were set
and would be caught. After thus
surrounding a prairie-dog town with
traps, Bakken would be likely to have
several coyotes In the morning."
"Is it the plan of the government,"
I asked, "to exterminate these va
rieties of predatory animals?"
"I doubt if we will be able to ex
terminate them, at least for a long
time," said Dr. Bell. "The numbers
of coyotes are so great and they are
sb widely scattered that it will take
long time to reduce them to the point
where they are no longer very harm
ful. We actually got the nklns of 30.
000 coyotes last year, however, and
that Is a good many. Altogether, we
have killed more than 3500 timber
wolves, some 600 mountain liona and
nearly 20.000 bobcats and lynxes.
"The killing of these creatures put
the government quite effectively in
the fur business. During the five
years of 1916-20, Inclusive, we sold
$240,000 worth of furs, the money re
vtrtlng into the United States treas
ury. During those five years we killed
altogether about 300,000 predatory
animals. We attempted to estimate
the value to the stockmen of oar work
for the fiscal year ending June 30.
1920, and we believe that it aggre
gated $6,000,000. During that samo
year we spent $500,000, about half of
It contributed by the federal govern
ment and about half by the states and
stockmen's associations. Gradually,
we figure, we will exert an Increasing
Influence toward making the task of
growing the meat of the nation stead
ily easier for the man on the range."
Three Faiths Born In India.
Indianapolis News.
India Is said to be "the burning
heart of Asia." That Is to say, it has
a genius for religion that is unsur
passed. Of the four great faiths
which had their genesis In Asia, three
were born in India. It Is a land of
147 languages. Some of them are
spoken by only a few people, but
there are ten of these languages, each
of which is spoken by 10,000,000 or
more. Of every 100 people In the
world, 18 live In India. The latest
census of India gives the population
M 11S.13L53Z,