Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1873-12-04

RIvRR-THE HABITS OF TIE BUFFALO AND THEIR
| TENAoITY TO oLIFE-QUARRELs WITH The INDIANS,
| &o
Especial Correspondence of the Commercial
GREELEY, Col, Nov, 1873.
have just returned from successful buffalo
hunt. 100 miles down the Platte river, east of
Greeley. Our party Of four tbagged" 20. The
trip out and back consumed days; we hunted
days. | went for the profits, not the pleasure
OF the thing. Sport, think can hardly be leg-
| timately termed factor in a business where 70
much duty, hard work, must be done. Exhiara-
| ting and fatiguing it certainly is and, to the
fo0l-hafdy full Of adventure and ge luine danger
Like nearly every body else who could COM
maud gHn and team, in this part OF the
| country, as long as the buffalo was handy l
thought it was my duty to try to lay up for
| myself and family a full winters supply of
wholesome beef. Arrived on the ground
| we practsed ''stil" hunting the game
| in preference to chasing it down in the saddle
a method to be adopted for it's advantages of
safety and better meat where the same ID want
/ ed for use.
November is the month chosen for hunting
| this shaggy animal. because the COWS are now
| fat and fit for slaughter calves mostly weaned
| hair tight in the ekin, aud the weather cool
enough for pleasure and to preserve the flesh
and allow of it's transportation almost any dis
tance. Another reason is to be found in the
fact that they are then within easy access of our
town and adjacent places. They will not. how
| ever likely be found twelve month hence
| where they are now Last yoar they put in an
| appearance" at old Fort Morgan go miles from
Greeley, few struggling old bu, lis were coming
up to the Colony bounds.
Exaggerated statements OF the immense num-
Der Of buffalos to be found east of the ''Amer-
| lean Rancho" had been freely circulated round
| town before we left, finding plenty af unso-
| phlsticated believers, myself among the rest.
| But those high colored reports was unable af
sarpva varda ffax rif \ En
/ Hkeptcal on that point. One of our number
/ a capital shot, and first rate fellow--who had
"freighted" it across the plains in 'G7 ON one
occasion soberly assured me "if there was one
| there were 900 buffalos in sight" just across
| the ridge from wheret we were then standing
| Determined to see, and judge for myself, L
| found by counting the number in a few OF the
nearer groups in sight, that there were probably
| 900 III valley of about one square mile area
| Probably there were as many as 10000 within
an area Of ten square miles.
Neither did find them near 30 shy and VIC
/ ious, when wounded as had been led to believe
| Only one of those slain by us turned to the
| charge; and then it WAS laughAble to sec with
what speed former Wilmingtonian climbed n
| hill. shot we'll planted in the thorax, just be-
| hind the shoudeT-blade, well down, nearly al
/ ways proved fatal Yet it must be said the but-
falo is an animal extremely tenacious OF life.
| Frequently they would run off more than mile
| aIaOnB the hills, and be lost before dying of
| their death. wounds A COW, perforated directly
through the heart by heavy rifle ball,ra dis
tance of 30 yards before falling. Hence il was,
| suppose, their caTcasses, with spreading legs
under blazing sun, among the whitening skele-
tons of others, 30 thickley strewed the country.
Some of tue habits of this clumsy creature
seemed, at first, rather singular to me- They
are extremely gregarious in their nature, being
almost always found together in groops, espec-
| tally when going to the river for a drink and a
bath for like other pachyierma the buffalo
loves to bathe. When on tho march, the COWS
| with their calves and weaker ones, are huddled
/ into the centre of the band with strong, young
bulls on the tlanks for guards. Outside of ali,
and by far the most daring and dangerous, tramp
| the old and superanuatod bulls OF the heard,
| sometimes giving vent to low deep and strong
/ ly cultural noise ending in a faint crcket-like
whistle. Buffalo (more properly bison,) never
| low or below, like civilized cattle. Age fades
the glossey blackess OF their coats TO dali taw-
| ney hue, 30 that those familiar with their ap-
pearance can easily detect and distinguish the
old from the young at great distance
| Formerly buffalo seldom halted to feed in the
Platte valley, on their way to the NOrthward. In
deem have been told not a hoof of them had
| been seen there, for years, after the opening oil
| the Union Pacific railroad. But since the Kan
sas Railway has beon in operation, and settle
| ments have multiplied and been pushed up the
valley of the Republican river, they have been
forced further this way from their ancient feed
ing ground. His entire extinction, at the pres
ent rate of slaughter, is think, only question
Of time. Unquestlonably the destruction OF the
buffalo means either the civilization or the ex
termination OF those wild and ferocious IndiaI
tribes who feed on their flesh, and who have &c
long deied aud cost the Government 30 much
trouble aud treasure.
1t has become a saying among frontiersmar
that where buffalOs are, there Indians are al
So" This we have found to be fact. We founC
quite large party OF Indian hunters of the
reservations, from each Of three tribes-Utes
sioux and Cheyennes hunting among the whte
in the vicinity of what a o called Buffalo Springs
at the head waters CT the Republican. Now, i
this thing is allowed to go on long, there is grea
danger OF a collision taking place between then
and the whites. Natural born thieves, Indian
| invariably steal all they can lay their hands on
wherever they enter white mans camp. Al
| act OF this sort, came very near ending in hgh
| while we were on the chase.
| One day party of about dozen warriors an
a squaw entered the camp of party of whit
| hunters not far from ours, and demanded al
they had. This they, Of course, refused to acced
to- whereupon the Indians got angry, accusing
the whites OF killing of the buffalo and trespas
sing on their rights i'll general They then lef
highly exasperated after warning the white
| out Of the country, and set fire to and total
destroyed a large depot Of dryed hides at til
Springs, the property OF the whites saw til
smoke Of the burning hides, but not the Indians
few acts like this, think sufficient to brin
| ON war mo It any time-not that the whites ar
always innocent and the Indians guilty.
Br0m RprIin. Md.