Edgar Howell’s Arrest That Created the Lacey Act
In 1894, a man with a knife stood over dead buffalo in Yellowstone’s snowy Pelican Valley. Edgar Howell had just shot five bison when Army scout Felix Burgess skied across open ground and caught him red-handed.
The poacher had killed eleven buffalo total, with seven pregnant, all for heads worth $300 each. At first, the law was too weak to do much – but two reporters happened to be nearby.
Their photos of severed bison heads shocked the nation. Just weeks later, Congress passed the Lacey Act, America’s first wildlife protection law.
Yellowstone’s Heritage and Research Center now tells this story that saved our last wild buffalo herd.
Buffalo Poachers Set Up Winter Camp in Remote Yellowstone
Edgar Howell hiked into Yellowstone’s hidden Pelican Valley in late 1893 with a buddy from Cooke City. They built a winter camp with a tipi and poaching gear, far from any ranger patrols.
After a fight, his partner left, and Howell kept hunting alone. Buffalo heads sold for up to $300 each to taxidermists.
Park protection was terrible, with just one scout watching the entire 2. 2 million acres for poachers.
Army Captain Sends Scouts to Hunt the Hunter
Captain George Anderson heard about strange snowshoe tracks heading toward known poaching spots. He sent soldiers to Pelican Valley in February 1894 to check on buffalo and look for signs of illegal hunting.
The patrol found old snowshoe and toboggan trails but lost the tracks in the snow. Anderson didn’t quit.
He planned another patrol to catch Howell when he came back. On March 12, he sent Scout Felix Burgess and Sergeant Troike on a mission.
Bloody Buffalo Heads Hang from Tree Branches
On the morning of March 13, Burgess and Troike found six bloody buffalo heads hanging from tree branches, showing active poaching.
The patrol followed faint tracks toward Astringent Creek mouth, finding more signs of a butchering operation that ran all winter.
Fresh blood trails and drag marks in the snow led the soldiers forward, guiding them toward Howell’s illegal hunting grounds.
Gunfire Echoes Across the Snowy Valley
Burgess and Troike heard rifle shots breaking the quiet as they walked through a light snowstorm. They followed the sounds toward Pelican Creek, moving carefully through the snow.
Soon they spotted Howell kneeling beside a fresh buffalo carcass, skinning his kill. The poacher worked so hard he never looked up.
Even Howell’s dog, sitting next to the warm carcass, didn’t notice the approaching lawmen.
Scout Skis Across Open Ground Toward Armed Poacher
Burgess faced a tough challenge. He needed to cross 400 yards of open ground on wooden skis to reach Howell.
The scout carried only a . 38 caliber revolver while the poacher had a powerful buffalo rifle leaning against a nearby tree.
High winds covered the sound of Burgess’s skis sliding across crusty snow.
One wrong move could break through the snow and alert the poacher, turning the arrest into a deadly fight.
“Throw Up Your Hands!” Burgess Catches Poacher Red-Handed
Burgess got within fifteen feet before shouting, “Throw up your hands! ” Howell stopped cold, caught skinning the fifth buffalo of his current hunt.
He gave up without a fight but told Burgess the soldiers got lucky catching him. The final count showed Howell killed eleven buffalo total, seven of them pregnant females.
Before dark, Burgess and Troike tied up their prisoner and gathered evidence for the trip back to park headquarters.
Journalists Learn About Arrest at Park Headquarters
The patrol reached Lake Hotel by evening with Howell in custody. A phone call told Captain Anderson at Mammoth Hot Springs about the arrest.
As luck had it, two journalists stayed with Anderson’s troops when the news came in. Emerson Hough, a writer for Forest and Stream magazine, and photographer F.
J. Haynes heard about the capture.
Anderson ordered men to collect Howell and the buffalo remains.
Photographers Capture Grisly Evidence of Buffalo Slaughter
Hough quickly sent news of the arrest to Forest and Stream editor George Bird Grinnell. Haynes took shocking photos of the cut-off buffalo heads and bodies, making visual proof that would anger the nation.
Captain Anderson felt happy about catching the well-known poacher who had long avoided capture.
A short notice appeared in Forest and Stream within days, with a full story and graphic photos set for the next week’s edition.
Legal Loopholes Let Poacher Almost Walk Free
Anderson faced a big problem. He could only take Howell’s gear, worth less than $30.
No federal laws existed to properly punish poaching in national parks. The captain held Howell in jail for about a month, pushing his authority to the limit.
Finally, he had to free the poacher with just an escort to the park edges.
Howell bragged that his punishment was nothing more than a slap on the wrist for killing America’s last wild buffalo.
Magazine Article Creates National Sensation
Grinnell published a powerful Forest and Stream article titled “The Butcher’s Work” that shocked the nation.
The graphic photographs of slaughtered buffalo, especially the pregnant females, created widespread public anger. Citizens sent letters and petitions to Congress demanding action to protect America’s vanishing wildlife.
Grinnell organized influential allies to lobby Washington for change.
The public pressure worked – Representative John Lacey of Iowa introduced protective legislation on March 26, just thirteen days after Howell’s arrest.
America Gets Its First Federal Wildlife Protection Law
Congress passed the Yellowstone Park Protection Act on May 7, 1894, less than two months after Howell’s capture.
The law, later known as the Lacey Act, prohibited hunting in Yellowstone and gave marshals power to arrest poachers.
It allowed commissioners to decide punishments for violations, closing the legal loophole that almost let Howell escape consequences. Howell became the first person convicted under America’s new federal wildlife law.
The legislation came just in time – fewer than 100 buffalo remained in Yellowstone, the last wild herd in the United States.
Visiting Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
You can explore the site where Edgar Howell’s 1894 arrest for buffalo poaching led to America’s first federal wildlife protection law. The $35 vehicle pass gets you seven days in the park.
Hike Pelican Valley trail three miles east of Fishing Bridge, but you need four people minimum due to grizzly bears.
Visit Fort Yellowstone’s 1890s Army buildings at Mammoth Hot Springs, or join free Heritage Center tours Wednesdays at 8 AM.
This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.
Read more from this brand:
The post How a lone Army scout saved Yellowstone’s last wild buffalo in 1894 appeared first on When In Your State.