The Forgotten Explorer by Samuel Prescott Fay

Author:Samuel Prescott Fay
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-926855-15-8
Publisher: RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
Published: 2011-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Appendix A

S. PRESCOTT FAY’S REPORT ON WILDLIFE OBSERVATIONS TO THE US BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The editors are indebted to biologist Mark Phinney of Dawson Creek for his research into, and opinions on, the wildlife identified in this report. Some of the common names, and many of the scientific names that Fay used, have changed since 1914. Where the current common name differs from that used by Fay, it is presented here in brackets, in italics.

The absence of white-tailed deer and elk from this list will immediately impress anyone familiar with current large-game distribution patterns.Although the valuable ornithological observations are among the first for the region, some of them appear open to question.

E.W. Nelson, assistant chief of the Biological Survey, thanked him profusely for the collection in December 1914. In a letter of May 1915, after receiving Fay’s complete report, Nelson commented: “It is a fine piece of work. I am delighted . . . with the interesting notes which the report contains . . . It is full of good stuff and many of your photographs are gems. You have the sincerest thanks from the Survey as well as my personal appreciation for your kindness in doing such a completely satisfactory job.”

EXPEDITION OF 1914 BETWEEN YELLOWHEAD PASS AND PEACE RIVER BRITISH COLUMBIA – ALBERTA

Early in the spring of 1914 I began to make definite plans for a trip among the Canadian Rockies into a region in which I had been interested for two years. The exact locality lies along the Continental Divide between the 53rd and 56th parallels of latitude. On the south it is bounded by the Yellowhead Pass and the Athabasca Valley, while on the north it is bounded by the Peace River. The mountains here divide the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta for approximately the southern third of this section, then the boundary runs due north along the 120th parallel of longitude. So that, in spite of the fact that our route lay along the east side of the mountains, we were in British Columbia the majority of the time. Though the actual distance was only about 230 miles in a straight line, owing to the difficult nature of the country, we went more than three times that distance to reach the Peace River.

Our main object was hunting and collecting for the Biological Survey, for the purpose of which we had been appointed field assistants, and special permits had been secured for us to hunt out of season and take a limited number of the larger game animals from both provinces. The question that interested us most was as to the distribution of sheep between these two main passes. South were the ranges of Montana sheep (Ovis canadensis) and north near Laurier pass, specimens of Stone sheep (Ovis stonei) had been secured for the National Museum. The question was, Did either of these two species come into this unknown area and what were the limits of its range, or did both cross their already known

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