Taming the Elks of Humptulips
Two hunters capitalize on a deep snowstorm to capture and relocate wild elks near Humptulips City.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Fred Williams, the postmaster at Humptulips City, and a rancher named White, while out hunting during the recent snow storm, stumbled across the trail of elks. After following them a short distance, the animals were discovered floundering through the deep snow. The hunters easily overtook them on their snowshoes, and as the elks were thoroughly exhausted they made little effort to escape. One of the men remained in the vicinity while the other returned for a rope. With this the elks were secured and brought to Humptulips City, where they were put in an inclosure and are now being tamed and fed.
“the elks were thoroughly exhausted they made little effort to escape.”
Human-wildlife interactions are common in the Grays Harbor region, but this historical account highlights the different attitudes towards wildlife management in the 1890s compared to contemporary conservation efforts.
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