The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-12-28
and there you'll see lake Gidden, aud il
that amt proof enough, nothing will do, 30
that's nll.-GuGrdian Angel. ~.
The IND Of the Bpffalo.

The final extinction of the buffalo is only
q question Of time. The period when tbis
noblest Of eur wild animals will live only
in history ia rapidly approaching and will
eoon be unless some effort ia made to stop
the present indiscriminate wasteful slaueht-
er. That the methods by which this
fate is wrought may be better
understood, we present some sketches made
in a recent visit to the plains in Western
Kansas: The buffalo region is now remote
from all actual settlement or possibility of
settlement at any early date. The profita-
BILE occupation of those vast plains by
farmers Is remote contingency. For
many years to come there is scope and
verge enough eastward of this arid district
in which either abundant irrigation or o
change of climate is needed to make it
habitable for the agriculturist, The buffalo
and the antelope have here had their homo
from time immemorial, and here they
might be permitted to exist with profit.
But the greed Of a class of men, many of
lives in their hands and hold those of
others as cheaply, who style themselves
hunters, is fast extermipatipg these crea.
lures. Westward frem Fort Dodge and a
line running northerly from it the ground
is occupied with bones of the buffalo.
Here and there may be seen the !" dug
outs of the hunters surrounded by drying
skins at all periods of the year, irrespective
of the season or condition of the buffalo !;
and heaps of hides are piled in the rear of
them. The prairie, a.vast expanse of level
green upon which ono lonely tree perhaps
breaks the monotony, is dotted closely
with skeletons, many of which are still
like a coating of ssmi-transparent skin,
upon them. Bare spets of ground upon
which no heritage grows mark other places
upon which carcass has decayed and
killed the vegetation, and from which the
bones have been gathered for shipment to
sionally De seen vainly searching amongst
these dry wrecks for q meal, and heard
bowling as if in dismay at the melancholy
prospect. The bones in places near to the
railroad stations have been carefully picked
up, and occasionally one meets with vast
quantities awaiting shipment. Whole
trains of cars filed with them have been
forwarded eastward for use in bone black
manufactures. But although the bones
have been removed the prairie still exhibits
scar where every buffalo has fallen, and
the bare spot remains uncovered with
grass, lasting memento naori. The money
gained by this slaughter only curses those
cured. One dollar per skin and one dollar
per ton of bones is the price paid for the
labor, exposure, and wretched life of these
men. And this miserable sum is yet more
miserably expended. Forty-rod whisky
seems to be the chief article of traffic, and
the frontier town Of Sargent where some
of these men gather to trade their hides OIL
gamble away the proceeds, consists of g
single row of saloons of q wretched charac
ter. In these places the enterprisinG
visitor bent upon acquiring information
will probably have for HE fellow ledger al
night an unkempt individual who retires te
rest with his head upon a pair of revolvert
and half a peck of cartridges. It is to sup
port such a horde of men, who prey MOI
only upon the inoffensive buffalo but upor
each other and the ILL used Indian and with
whom the life of a man is Of no more &C
count than that of the buffalo, that thesa
animals are sacrificed and these plains
rendered tensntless. The repulsive CON
clusion of this matter only adds to tht
regret with which we view the whole
b1siness; and our earnest hope is that thu
useless and murderous destruction may b
swiftly put an end to by adequate lsgiAta
ton. Congress meets this month, and W.
hope that efforts will be made for nationa
game law which will prevent the wantol
destruction of buffaloes.-American Agri
cGlturist.