Texas Game and Fish, Volume 13, Number 4, April 1955 Page: 10
32 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
BALANCE ifATURE
By ROBERT A. McCABE
University of Wisconsin
Here are three
tales of
how hunting and
fishing were ruined
when Man tampered
with NatureThree Texans Scan the Range
AT a drift fence on the range in
central Texas, three riders dis-
mount. The last one out of the stir-
rups runs his gnarled fingers up and
down the small of his back and
moves slowly toward the fence. Each
man scans the range. Grandfather
spits tobacco juice on the sodlessFishing Ruined by 'Improvement'
In northern Wisconsin there is a
small, clear-water lake, the shores of
which are owned by one man, thus
making the lake "his." Although he
owns other lakeshore property near-
by, this has been his favorite spot.
Half the lake to the south is walled
in by a virgin stand of pine. In by-
gone days long green shadows cast
on the surface of northern lakes by
virgin timber were commonplace;
today such shadows are rare. Fire
and axe fortuitously by-passed these
pines and this lake and thus made
them one of the few remaining
reckoning points for evaluating out-
door beauty. The soft mat on the
forest floor has in times past cush-
ioned stealthy moccasins as it now
cushions the fall of factory shoes.
The pine woods aroma that inun-
dates the trunks of these big trees
is that which soaps and shaving lo-
tions mimic. The high pitched
"tzip" or "zeee" of wood warblersfilters down from the forest crown
as a pleasing overtone of the wind
soughing through lofty pine boughs.
Here, too, is the weightless sub-
stance of wilderness-solitude.
The upper end of a black spruce-
tamarack log looks out onto the
Continued on Page 24ground; the father pushes his Stet-
son to the back of his head, and
with elbow on a ferize post cradles
his chin between thumb and hooked
index finger. The son's eager eyes
flash from the moving herd in the
distance to the troubled faces of
his forbears. Each views the same
scene, but the comfort and satisfac-
tion derived from what he sees is
indirectly proportioral to the age
of the viewer. Why?
Grandfather knows that when he
first looked at the then fenceless
range, the longhorns were able to
eat the same grass that shaded their
beds. The fact that cattle had to
stand to see over tl-is feather bed
of forage was amp-e evidence that
it would fatten a larger herd. In
. Continued on Page 24When Predators Died, So Did Deer
Part of the Kaibab National For-
est in northwestern Arizona is a
plateau of about 725,000 acres. Here
Indians, deer, wolves, coyotes and
mountain lions lived in harmony
with the plants and smaller animals
of this wild and rugged wilderness
long before the crack of a white
man's rifle echoed between the rim-
rocks. In the exploration of the
West, wagon trains followed the fur
traders and frontiersmen; railroads
followed the wagon trains; and cattlefollowed the railroads. This linear
build-up of the overrated social pat-
tern called civilization brought with
it the professional wolf trapper.
The buffalo, bread and butter of
the western wolf, was taken from
him by the wanton h-ide and tongue
trade. Of the more than a hundred
million bison that once roamed
America's grasslands, all but a few
small herds became a memory in
one generation. Even before the
Continued on page 25TEXAS GAME AND FISH
10
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas. Game and Fish Commission. Texas Game and Fish, Volume 13, Number 4, April 1955, periodical, April 1955; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1588361/m1/12/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.