THE MONTANA NATIONAL BISON RANGE.—­The opening of the Flathead Indian Reservation to settlement, in 1909, afforded a golden opportunity to locate in that region another national bison herd.  Accordingly, in 1908, the American Bison Society formulated a plan by which the establishment of such a range and herd might be brought about.  That plan was successfully carried into effect, in 1909 and ’10.

The Bison Society proposed to the national government to donate a herd of at least twenty-five bison, provided Congress would purchase a range, fence it and maintain the herd.  The offer was immediately accepted, and with commendable promptness Congress appropriated $40,000 with which to purchase the range, and fence it.  The Bison Society examined various sites, and finally recommended what was regarded as an ideal location situated near Ravalli, Montana, north of the Jocko River and Northern Pacific Railway, and east of the Flathead River.  The nearest stations are Ravalli and Dixon.

The area of the range is about twenty-nine square miles (18,521 acres) and for the purpose that it is to serve it is beautiful and perfect beyond compare.  In it the bison herd requires no winter feeding whatever.

In 1910 the Bison Society raised by subscription a fund of $10,526, and with it purchased 37 very perfect pure-blood bison from the famous Conrad herd at Kalispell, 22 of which were females.  One gift bison was added by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Goodnight, two were presented by the estate of Charles Conrad, and three were presented from the famous Corbin herd, at Newport, N.H., by the Blue Mountain Forest Association.

Starting with that nucleus (of 43 head) in 1910, the herd has already (1912) increased to 80 head.  The herd came through the severe winter of 1911-1912 without having been fed any hay whatever, and the founders of it confidently expect to live to see it increase to one thousand head.

THE GRAND CANYON NATIONAL GAME PRESERVE of northern Arizona, embraces the entire Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, for a meandering distance of 101 miles, and adjacent territory to an extent of 2,333 square miles (1,492,928 acres).  Owing to certain conditions, natural and otherwise, it is not the finest place in the world for the peaceful increase of wild game.  The Canyon contains a few mountain sheep, and mule deer, but Buckskin Mountain, on the northwestern side, is reeking with mountain lions and gray wolves, and both those species should be shot out of the entire Grand Canyon National Forest.  It was on Buckskin and the western wall of the Canyon itself that “Buffalo” Jones, Mr. Charles S. Bird, and their party caught nine live mountain lions, in 1909.

I regret to say that “Buffalo” Jones’s catalo experiment on the Kaibab Plateau seems to have met an untimely and disappointing fate.  For three years the bison and domestic cattle crossed, and produced a number of cataloes; but in 1911, practically the whole lot was wiped off the earth by cattle rustlers!  Mr. Jones thinks that it was guerrillas from southern Utah who murdered his enterprise, partly for the reason that no other persons were within striking distance of the herd.