Personally conducted camping party and special licenses issued in the Yellowstone National Park during the season of 1915-Continued.

That it be decided for a definite period of time by the department maintaining the military force and that controlling the national park if the park shall continue to be policed by United States troops or if they shall in the near future be replaced by a civilian organization. A fixed policy in this regard is essential to a stable and progressive administration.

Very respectfully,

LLOYD M. BRETT,

Colonel of Cavalry, Acting Superintendent.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

APPENDIX.

RULES AND REGULATIONS.

Regulations of October 24, 1915, governing the distribution of animals from the Yellowstone National Park during the fiscal years 1914-15.

1. General. Distribution of all animals will be limited to applications from Federal, State, county, and municipal authorities. None will be given to private parties. Allotments will be made in the order of receipt of applications, but preference will be given to shipments intended for National reservations and to those States not having theretofore received animals. Before elk will be allotted evidence must be furnished that the laws of the State where they are intended to be transported afford them complete protection during the close as well as the open season. In the case of all animals assurance must be given that they will be humanely and properly cared for.

2. Expense. No charge will be made for animals, but applicants will be required to bear all expense of capture, crating, and hauling to Gardiner, Mont., the shipping point, and to arrange for payment of transportation charges from that place to point of destination. Provision should be made for an attendant to accompany elk shipped by freight in carload lots. Small consignments of elk or other animals should be forwarded by express, and arrangements should be made for suitable crates in which to transfer animals from car to place of destination.

3. Elk.-During the present fiscal year the total number of elk to be distributed will not exceed 1,000, and not more than 50 head will be allowed to any one State.

In view of the existence of several peculiar forms of elk on the Pacific coast, and the importance of keeping these elk distinct from the Rocky Mountain species, requests for elk intended for the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, or points west of these ranges will not receive approval.

In shipping elk by carload the number of head in any one car shall not exceed 30. This number will be permitted only in the case of yearlings shipped in a 36-foot car; in all other cases the number of elk shall not exceed 25 head per car. When cattle cars are used for the shipment of elk the lower part of the car must be covered with burlap, canvas, or some similar material to screen the animals from view and prevent them from being disturbed at stations en route. When box cars are used the doors should be left partly open for ventilation. Before shipping the elk all cars must be padded inside to a height equal to the shoulders of the animals. Ample arrangements must be made to provide food and water when cars are likely to be more than 12 hours en route. When

ever possible the elk should be fed and watered within the car; otherwise shipments will be governed by the 28-hour law (act of Congress of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat., 607). When convenient snow should be furnished the elk instead of water, and tubs containing water or snow must be placed at the ends as well as in the middle of the car. Two partitions, one on each side of the door, must be provided as a place for food and water.

4. Buffalo.-A limited number of the older bulls from the tame herd will be distributed to such municipal parks-not more than two to any one park-the authorities of which will defray all expense of crating, hauling to cars, and transporting, and upon the further condition that at least two buffalo cows will be procured for each bull donated. Cows from the park herd will not be disposed of under any conditions.

5. Beaver.-A limited number of beaver will be distributed to points where the animals will have complete protection and where conditions are favorable for their increase.

6. Bears.-Bears, not to exceed two for any public park or zoological garden, may be shipped when properly crated.

7. Other animals.-Antelope, deer, moose, and mountain sheep will not be distributed at this time, owing to their limited numbers. Applications should be addressed to the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D. C.

GENERAL REGULATIONS APPROVED MAY 27, 1911.

The following rules and regulations for the government of the Yellowstone National Park are hereby established and made public pursuant to authority conferred by section 2475, Revised Statutes United States, and the act of Congress approved May 7, 1894:

1. It is forbidden to remove or injure the sediments or incrustations around the geysers, hot springs, or steam vents; or to deface the same by written inscriptions or otherwise; or to throw any substance into the springs or geyser vents; or to injure or disturb in any manner or to carry off any of the mineral deposits, specimens, natural curiosities, or wonders within the park.

2. It is forbidden to ride or drive upon any of the geyser or hotspring formations, or to turn stock loose to graze in their vicinity. 3. It is forbidden to cut or injure any growing timber. Camping parties will be allowed to use dead or fallen timber for fuel. When felling timber for fuel, or for building purposes when duly authorized, stumps must not be left higher than 12 inches from the ground.

4. Fires shall be lighted only when necessary, and completely extinguished when not longer required. The utmost care must be exercised at all times to avoid setting fire to the timber and grass.

5. Hunting or killing, wounding or capturing any bird or wild animal, except dangerous animals when necessary to prevent them from destroying life or inflicting an injury, is prohibited. The outfits, including guns, traps, teams, horses, or means of transportation used by persons engaged in hunting, killing, trapping, ensnaring, or capturing such birds or wild animals, or in possession of game killed in the park under other circumstances than prescribed above, will be forfeited to the United States, except in cases where it is shown by satisfactory evidence that the outfit is not the property of the person