crew, consisting of 35 men and 14 teams, moved to The Mammoth Hot Springs Gardiner road, where the work consisted of widening and graveling road, and cutting off points on sharp curves; this work was suspended on December 10, 1913.

Three hundred linear feet of rock masonry retaining wall laid in cement mortar was completed along the Gardiner River near the 3-mile post from Gardiner.

Numerous earth slides on the road in Gardiner Canyon were removed.

A grader crew shaped up the roads and opened the ditches around the belt line in October, in order to prevent excessive washouts by melting snow in the spring.

All out-door work was suspended on December 10, on account of the severe weather. The removal of occasional earth slides, and the construction of water and oil storage tanks was continued throughout the winter at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Road work recommenced on April 3, 1913, in Gardiner Canyon. During the present season 100 feet of rock masonry retaining wall laid in cement mortar was completed along the Gardiner River, and 200 feet of rubble retaining wall along the Gibbon River, where the old wall failed.

Two crews were engaged in widening and repairing road and bridges in the forest reserve east of the park, and one crew in the forest reserve south of the park.

The original estimate for improving the west, south, and east approaches within the park was given in Senate Document No. 871, Sixty-second Congress, second session. The total for the three approaches was $340,700. The sundry civil act of August 24, 1912, appropriated $77,000, and that of June 23, 1913, appropriated $75,000 to be spent in improving these entrances, leaving a total of $188,700 still to be appropriated before the entire work is provided for. The total disbursements for this work to September 30, 1913, approximated $85,000, and the improvement of the roads was about onefourth completed.

The work on the west entrance road to September 30, 1913, consisted in the widening of 8 miles of road to 25 feet and graveling of this distance to provide subsurface, and the widening of 9 miles to about 18 feet preparatory to final widening to 25 feet. This gives a partially improved road to the belt line junction 10 miles south of Norris Geyser Basin. The Firehole River branch has not been improved. Of the 3 miles of this road about 1 will be relocated. Surveys for this relocation are completed, and the construction work on the roadbed will be completed during the summer of 1914. Contracts for two bridges on the west road have been let, and bridges will be in place at the beginning of the next tourist season. With a continuance of present appropriation, the entire west entrance road will be widened to 25 feet by the end of the 1914 working season, but the improvement of the road will not be finished until several years later.

The work on the east entrance road to September 30, 1913, consisted in general widening of the most narrow and dangerous portions to 18 feet, which will be the completed width of the road. Complete or partial widening was done on 20 miles of the 28 miles of this road. Local road material was placed on the road in a num

ber of places to provide foundation. A finished road was started from the east entrance of the park during the first part of September, 1913, and several miles will be completed during the present season in case weather conditions permit.

The work on the south entrance road was of comparatively minor character and consisted mainly in clearing off the roadway preparatory to widening to 18 feet, the replacement of culverts, and repair of bridges. None of the roads will be in a safe and suitable condition next season for animal-drawn and motor-propelled vehicles.

Maintenance and repair work to roads, bridges, and culverts, and sprinkling of 100 miles of roads was continued throughout the season on the belt line, Mount Washburn, and Cooke City roads.

Contracts were let for one 40-foot steel arch bridge on the Gibbon River, one 80-foot and one 67-foot concrete bridge over the Gibbon River, one 65-foot and one 40-foot concrete bridge over the Firehole River, all to be completed this fall. Contract was also let for a 200foot concrete arch bridge at the Canyon, to be completed next year. Work has been commenced on two of the concrete bridges, and the abutments of the steel bridge are practically completed.

All the steel bridges in the park and the Engineer Department buildings are being repainted.

Four log barns and two log cabins were built at permanent camps during the season, and a wagon shed 136 by 25 feet was completed at Mammoth Hot Springs.

The construction of reinforced concrete arch culverts at Spring Creek and at the canyon is being begun.

The Secretary of the Interior, Hon. Franklin K. Lane, and the assistant to the Secretary, Mr. Adolph C. Miller, visited the Yellowstone National Park from July 30 to August 3, 1913. They were impressed with the excellence of the road and bridge systems laid out by Gen. Hiram M. Chittenden while engineer officer in charge of the work, and especially with the road from the canyon to the top of Mount Washburn. The Secretary decided that the valuable work of Gen. Chittenden was worthy of recognition, and, on motion of Mr. Miller, announced that hereafter the road from the Canyon Junction to the top of Mount Washburn be know as "Chittenden Road," and directed the acting superintendent to make that fact of record and cause suitable sign posts to be erected.

FISH.

The Department of Commerce made considerable improvements to its plant in the Park. A hatchery building 34 by 60 feet was constructed of hewed logs, shingled over to present an attractive appearance, on the site near the outlet of Yellowstone Lake selected and approved by the department last year. This building is furnished with modern equipment. The loft was finished and used during the past season as quarters for the employees and will be available for storage use after other contemplated buildings are constructed. This building furnishes room for apparatus with a capacity for eyeing 30,000,000 eggs. A small dam was built across the creek about 400 feet upstream from it, and water supply for the work is drawn from this pond through a 12-inch wooden stave pipe.

Under the authority of the department of August 6, 1913, a building 14 by 30 feet, with ell in the rear 10 by 12 feet, was built at

Clear Creek. This building was made from timber cut on the ground, finished with drop siding, and is used for mess house and quarters for the employees engaged in taking fish spawn from Clear and Cub Creeks. As yet no building has been constructed at Columbine Creek.

Mr. W. T. Thompson, superintendent of the United States hatchery at Bozeman, Mont., who also has charge of this subhatchery in the park, informs me that for some unexplained reason the run of fish was much smaller than for two seasons past, and that the number of eggs taken was also below the average proportional to the number of fish, though the quality was unexcelled.

A total of 7,446,060 eggs of the black-spotted trout were secured, from which 6,886,360 eyed eggs were shipped to various National and State hatcheries in Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Oregon, and smaller consignments were forwarded to the New York Aquarium at Battery Park and the Detroit Aquarium for educational purposes, and probably for later use in stocking suitable waters. The balance secured were planted in park waters as follows: Jones Creek, 8,000; Crow Creek, 12,000; Middle Creek, 15,000; Sylvan Lake, 22,800; Eleanor Lake, 28,500; Pelican Creek, 25,000, and Clear Creek, 12,000.

Mr. Thompson also had 22,500 brook trout (fontinalis) fingerlings shipped to the park from the Bozeman hatchery, and these were planted, one-half in Glen Creek and the balance in Blacktail Deer Creek, to replenish these streams, that are convenient to the road and are therefore sometimes depleted.

The workings of the Fish Commission in the park is a matter of considerable interest to tourists, and is the most important point for collection of eggs of the black-spotted trout in the world.

WILD ANIMALS.

The winter conditions for wild game were again excellent. With plenty of grass, and the snow remaining soft so they could paw through it to get food, the elk, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep wintered well and with but little loss.

ANTELOPE.

The herd of antelope is in good condition and has increased slightly, but was more or less restless during the winter and had to be driven back into the park frequently from down the Yellowstone Valley. These were fed from the hay cut on the field near the entrance arch, but as usual their feeding was interfered with more or less by the large herds of elk. A new 7-foot Page woven-wire fence is now being constructed for about 4 miles west from Gardiner on the park line, to take the place of the old one, which was inadequate, and it is believed that this fence will hold them entirely inside the park, preventing much loss and saving much of the work of driving them back across the line. The supply of hay was fed out, and owing to a late severe storm last spring it was necessary to purchase about 6 tons additional from a near-by ranch.

Two crops of excellent alfalfa hay were cut on the field during the past summer, aggregating about 105 tons, for use during the coming winter.

DEER.

Both the black-tailed and white-tailed deer are apparently thriving. While the black-tailed deer were not seen in large herds during the past year, during the winter they were noted in small numbers scattered for many miles along the northern boundary just inside of the park line. No apparent change in numbers of the white-tailed species, which ranges almost entirely along the Gardiner River near Fort Yellowstone, has been noted. A scarcity of large males of both varieties has been noticed during the past two years.

ELK.

A census of elk in and along the north line of the park was taken between April 9 and May 1. The count showed 32,229, after having shipped 738, as noted below, making a total of 32,967, or an increase of 2,866 over the number found by the count of April, 1912. The elk were in excellent condition all winter, and but few dead ones were found, Of 337 dead elk noted by the men making the count, 90 per cent were yearlings.

During December, January, February, and March, 538 elk were captured in the park near the northern entrance and shipped by freight for stocking public parks and ranges as follows: Eighty (2 carloads of 40 each) to Kings County, Wash.; 50 (2 carloads of 25 each) to Yakima County, Wash.; 40 (1 carload) to Garfield County, Wash.; 50 (2 carloads of 25 each) to Shasta County, Cal.; 50 (2 carloads of 25 each) to Pennsylvania for Clinton and Clearfield counties; 50 (2 carloads of 25 each) to West Virginia; 80 (2 carloads of 40 each) to Arizona; 25 (1 carload) to Hot Springs, Va.; 3 to City Park, Aberdeen, S. Dak.; 4 by express (crated) to the City Park at Boston, Mass.; 6 by express (crated) to the City Park at Spokane, Wash. One hundred were captured and shipped under direction of the Department of Agriculture, of which 25 went to Sundance, Wyo.; 25 to Estes Park, Colo.; 25 to Walla Walla, Wash.; and 25 to points in Utah. The cost of capture and loading on board the cars at Gardiner was $5 per head, which was paid by the States and parks receiving the elk. The loss in capturing and up to time of delivery at their destination was but 22 animals out of 538 shipped. During the same period the game wardens of the State of Montana captured 200 elk just outside of the park line and shipped them to points in the State where it is desirable to restock them. They reported a loss of about 3 per cent in capturing and shipping. I can see no reason why from 500 to 1,000 elk can not be spared from this herd each year if desired. The experiment of the past two years in capturing and shipping them has surely proven successful.

In addition to the public benefits secured through shipment of elk, the overflow from the herd into the adjoining States insures good hunting during the open season, although much of the territory immediately adjoining the park has been set aside as game preserves by the States of Wyoming and Montana. Hunters were fairly successful west of the park in Montana last fall, but the slaughter of the preceding year on Crevice Mountain just at the end of the open season was not repeated,

MOOSE.

Moose have been seen frequently in their regular haunts by scouts, patrols, and others. They have usually been reported in good condition.

BUFFALO.

WILD HERD.

No accurate count of the wild herd of buffalo was made, but scattering bands of them have been seen, and one party on patrol reports having seen 7 calves with a herd at a distance. It is believed that there has been some increase.

TAME HERD.

This herd now consists of 162 animals, 81 of each, male and female. In February 2 old bulls that had become dangerous to life had to be disposed of, and under authority of the department they were killed, and the skin and skeleton of one was shipped to the National Museum at Washington, D. C., and the other was sold as a specimen for mounting to Baker University, of Baldwin, Kans. In June, two 2-year-old bulls were donated to the Department of Agriculture to assist in stocking the new bison preserve at Niobrara, Nebr. The latter part of June, 1 very old cow, 1 yearling cow, and 2 yearling bulls were found dead in the field, doubtless from the effects of eating a poison weed (larkspur) that happened to be abundant in that section at the time. The carcasses had been badly torn up by coyotes, but such bones as could be saved were shipped to the National Museum for specimens. During the summer 27 calves have been born. of which 15 are males and 12 are females.

The 24 calves born in 1912 were too young to vaccinate against hemorrhagic septicemia when the herd was treated in June. The veterinarian of the Department of Agriculture therefore returned to the park on November 12 for this purpose, and finished the job on November 27. There has been no indication of a reappearance of this very fatal disease. Fourteen of the old bulls were brought in to Mammoth Hot Springs on June 13, where they were held during the summer so that they could be seen by tourists. They were returned to the main herd on September 22. The main herd has been kept out on the range daily in charge of a herder, and will be so long as the weather will permit. About 200 tons of excellent hay was cut at the buffalo farm on Lamar River for use of the herd during the winter.

At least three-fourths of the number of bulls on hand could be dispensed with to the advantage of the balance of the herd.

BEAR.

Both black and grizzly bears are plentiful. Thirty-two grizzlies were noted at one time on the garbage dumps at the canyon on August 20. During the summer it has been necessary to have five killed that had become dangerous to life and a menace to property. Attempts were made to save the robes for the National or other