A few years ag<. the
Fish and Wildlife
turned a sc undrel
named 3oh 3urW'n^lder
loose in the Onitina
vajLiey* he vva>i i‘u
a supply nf cyan!
Cyan!do gim is a
mi shed with
is pans, A
sh*all device
oo^ioiB or c. oy-.iiic.er ab ut an inch
in dimeter and six inches long with a
shar a pike on cne end and a scented
cap on the other. The operax/or carries these* —
guns with hirn in country known to be
infested with wolves9 and at suitable V
spots he pushes the spike into the
ground leaving the body pointing up*
The scented cap is soaked with a musk
that is irreoistably attractive even to
the wary wolves* They-are drawn from a
distance by the scent and when they come up
to it they take the cap in their mouth and
puli up on it. The "gun" is so arranged that
when the cap is pulled off. a caitridge of
low power is exploded and throws a bit of
cyanide into the folf*s mouth, (we hope
uxs&i uiiOAou vucss never una out now potent
this cyanide poison is) In a few minutes the wolf N
is deadc To be effective the cyanide must go into
the mouth and the scent used is attractive only, t#
wolves, coyotes.and fox. Few foxes try to live in wclf
country* how this Burkholder fiend was so diligent and
understanding in the use of these guns that he killed'off
about all the wolves in the Chitina Valley.
oo, now unci na^.pensr The moose and sheep are multiplying \
up that va ley so fast that the country is in danger of being \
over run with moose and sheep* It*s a big country a.nd is densely
covered with willow and poplar and lilly pads which is the proper
food foe moose, and it is recognized that the Valley e*uld support
fifty times as n.any moose and sheep as there are.now* But we
shudder to think of the condition of starvation that may obtain up
there some fifty years hence* The only thing we can think of that
will relieve the situation will be to get some hunters 'who prefer
hunting moose and sheep to wolves to come up here in the Fall hunt
ing season.and see if 'they can help keep the game from increasing
so fast that they get out of hand and begin to starve*
Pilots flying over the Chi tine, country and trappers on their
trapping lines say they see so many moose and sheep that the
situation is really alarming* And to ag^rivate a bad matter,this
past winter has bean so unprecedentedly mild and the snowfall so
light that the ^nbose and sheep have seemingly all survived, even
the ccfves and/lambs. Hundreds of cattle froze to death in Florida*
Jr.ok ’.ViIson and Howard Knutson who operate
out of here with small planes suitable for
hunters and fishermen had some hunters out
last year, with excellent results* They expect
to have a few more this coming September.
The Copper River froz over smocthe end solid
the latter aprt of February and Paddy King
with some oompetc.it help is muling some
eighty cords of wood fro,a ascross he river
with c. tractor and sled .. Me at people here
burn oi|J, but a few of us peer ones still have
to stay with wood* Thann God. he planded lots
of it* If a person is an “Indian1* of some
slight degree the Welfare Bureau will buy
/i oil him ••.nd he does not used to cut wood*
i i ( These Indians call us Missourians, "
/ f i “poor white trash** because we cannot
•' get in on the welfare handout*