mmission
and the sportsmen of the state has been damaging to the interests of
wild life, and deplorable. In the case of Warden Welch, in Santa Cruz
County, pernicious politics came near robbing the state of a splendid
warden, but the courts finally overthrew the overthrowers of Mr. Welch,
and reinstated him.

The fish and game commissioners of any state should be broad-minded,
non-partisan, strictly honest and sincere. So long as they possess these
qualities, they deserve and should have the earnest and aggressive
support of all sportsmen and all lovers of wild life. The remnant of
wild life is entitled to a square deal, and harmony in the camp of its
friends. Fortunately California has an excellent force of salaried game
wardens (82 in all) and 577 volunteer wardens serving without salary.

COLORADO:

The State of Colorado should instantly stop the sale of native wild
game to be used as food.

It should stop all late winter and spring shooting of native wild
birds.

It should give the sage grouse, pinnated grouse and all shore birds
a ten year close season, remove the dove from the list of game
birds, and give it a permanent close season.

It should remove the crane and the swan from the list of game birds.

In twenty-five short years we have seen in Colorado a waste of wild life
and the destruction of a living inheritance that has few parallels in
history. Possibly the people of Colorado are satisfied with the
residuum; but some outsiders regard all Rocky Mountain shambles with a
feeling of horror.

A brief quarter-century ago, Colorado was a zoological park of grand
scenery and big game. The scenery remains, but of the great wild herds,
only samples are left, and of some species not even that.

The last bison of Colorado were exterminated in Lost Park by scoundrels
calling themselves "taxidermists," in 1897. Of the 200,000 mule deer
that inhabited Routt County and other portions of Colorado, not enough
now remain to make deer hunting interesting. A perpetual close season
was put on mountain sheep just in time to save a dozen small flocks as
seed stock. Those flocks have been permitted to live, and they have bred
until now there are perhaps 3,500 sheep in the state. Of elk, only a
remnant is left, now protected for fifteen years.

The grizzly bear is so thoroughly gone that one is seen only by a rare
accident; but black bears and pumas are sufficiently numerous to afford
fair sport, provid