Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-11-19
NO. SIS.

i ment the ravines or csnous, which
3 abound on the plains, are admirably
: adapted. BY taking advantage Of these
; and keeping in the right direction OF
, the wind the still hunter may easily
get within $50 or even 100 yards Of bis
game without being discovered. Large
herds are much less sensitive TO dan
ger than small ones or than q single buff
falo, numbers seeming to inspire them
with a sense ofBeourity and confidence.
When a great herd is oyertaken By q
panic or from other cause gets started
4 on swift march il sweeps acFsss the
8 plain with the force of an avalanche.
and will turn aside for nothing. In
such cases it Is not unfrequent that
numbers of the animals are slain by
being crushed and tFEmpled BY the
moving mass.
/ AT this season the bulls and COWS
herd separately, aud the former only
are found in this vicinity, the COWS
with the young being left In localities
more remote from the hunting grounds
as if for safety. The large herds now
collected in the vally Of the Saline
have been attracted thither not only
I By the water, which is exceedingly
scarce on the plains, but also By the
salt with which certain springs in that
vicinity are impregnated. They will
remain here until the fall rains shall
have moistened the dry raVines and
canone, or should the rains fail, will
make a circoit 20 the westward where
4 water is more abundant Most Of the
buffalo OF western Kansas winter fur
ther south on the prairies Of the In
dian Territory. The Indians are ac-
1 custOmed to hasten their emigration
/ thither in the fall by setting FIRE to the
short dry grass of the plains, and the
fires which have lately been sweeping
over the country are attributed in part
at least TO their agency. Ii is not Un-
likely that the rowing bands recently
discovered hereabouts have come With
this intent rather than for any hostile
purpose.
Thousands OF buffalo are slain every
year and their generation like that of [
the Indians is no doubt slowly going /
out of existence. Judging BY their |
ancient trails which may be seen al |
most every hundred yards, their mum /
bers must have formly been immense
ly greater than at present, and the /
time is probably not distant when it /
will be rare thing to find q buffalo 4
anywhere il the country contiguous TO /
the railway. Man is not the only enc
my to these lordly denizens Of the des-
ert, but the wolves aUd coyotes, when
maddened By hunger, are not unfre
quently impelled TO attack them. Their
custom is 70 ambuscade a struggling
buffalo and while q part Of their force
engages him in front the rest snap at
his heels until they succeed ia dis I
abliBg him for fight by cutting bis
hamstrinRs The same animals will /
attack the buffalo young when oppor-
tunity serves, and the calves are there
fore usually kept Ia the middle Of the
herd during its migratiOns.
Such is substantially the stock of
information about the buffalo cleaned
from our scouts as they piloted our
party across the Wild hills and can
ons toward the hunting grounds of the
Big Smoky. The soft, dreamy atmOB-
phere hoated like enchantment over
the surrounding scenery, while every
eye strained through the shadoWy film
which snciFcled the horizon, to diacoY-
er the 6rst indications of game in the
distance. Herds of antelope now and
then skinned like q dream Of motion
across the line of vision, and OCCASION
ally huge buck rabbit would start
from a clump of grass and 60 bound
ing over the plain in wild, spasmOdie {
plunges. In the diL2 blue above soar
ed many hawk keenly Watching for I
the first victim of our rifles, and on /
either hand scores Of prairie dogs, with I
pricked up ears and mien Of sauoY in i
dependence, as much as 10 say, shoot [
me If you can, sat eomp0sedly upon {
their launches watching the move Z
ments of our party. These little bur- Z
roWeTs are extremely active and it is q
only an expert riheman who can knock /
one over. On the 6rst alarm they will {
'skedaddla" like frightened mice for
their places OF refuge. and if their Pur- {
suer is not too close they will sit watch I
ing him with only their head and ears Z
above the parpets of their little fort
resses. IF a colony is started By an Z
unexpected shot the hunter will be
amply repaid for the disappointment {
of missing his aim by the sport of see I
ing the whole troop, with tails twink {
ling in air, disappear like a fash in {
their subter8nean places of safety.
Ii is said these animals will some E
times burroW to a depth of sixty feet :
Ia the soft alluvium of the plains, and Z
they are hOspitable enough 20 share {
their quarters with the homeless eXiles {
of the prairie. Rattlesnakes aud owls q
often hibernate with them, all living I
in q state of mutual confidence and {
sociability. The generosity of she prai- {
rie dog is certainly more to be admir-
ed than his choice of company. @
We had gone some three hours jour 6
ney over the rolling plain when the
two scouts who had kept IN front rode e
back aud reported the discovery Of q
bufal0. Only one had been seen, . i
lonely old outcast, as one Of the scouts
called him, quietly feeding q few hun ]
dRed yard down an adjacent canon. The c
wagons we're brought up and parked Z
behind screening ridge, the rifles a
made ready, and the party. eleven in z
number, mustered for the onslaught. f
Creeping into the tOrtuous eonOn the "
eleven hunters succeeded In approach e
ing within l59 yards of their game, b
and then from their covert poured in "
10 him a vOlley from half score Of ri c.
1es. Some Eve or six shots took ef- Il
feet, The great shaggy bull gave one q
frantic bound. turned for moment his /
Indignant, fiery eyes upon his pursuers b
then WhirliLg, attempted to gallop 81
away IN spite Of his death wound. But o
the dogs, now seized him, be plunged q
4 te rods, staggered fell aud expired in | 81
! moment. A Spencer rife ball had kill. q
ID him, aud as an Indian fighter once n
said of the pistol which killed she
Chief, Black Hawk, modesty forbids o
as to whom carried that rife. 81
Some two hours later another buffalo c.
was discovered and killed in almost o
the same manner as the first. o.
Mrs. W. Il. Putnam, Of Boston, fred o.
The shot which did the business in this al
instance. e
Some miles further on herds we're y,
,een Trsging along the banks Of the o.
Big smoky, which is here nothing ~
more than wide bed of sand, border e
ID By steep banks, between which a I!
mere rivulet filters it's way over the Z.
ANDY surface. The party Immediate al
N divided into several squads and aa
started in pursuit OF the different herds 3.
m of which we're extremely shy and d.
.imid. One Of them, which broke for g
.ha river reanneared ON the OppOeita Cl