The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-26
THE BUFFALO.
His Tramp Will Soon BE Heard No
Moro on thn plains
[From the Helena (Iont.) independent

[From the Helena (AIont.) independently
In going down the Yellowstone and
across the vast region lying between
Glendive and Mandan, one is struck
with the evident scarcity of game.
The famous region, where two or
three years ago, herds of buffalo, ante
lope and deer were to be seen on every
side, is now to all appearances strip
ped of its game. For the entire dis
lance from LiVingtOn to Mandan l
only saw two or three small bands of
antelope and not a sign of deer or
buffalo. The fact is, the slaughter of
buffalo and deer has been immense for
the past two years, and particularly of
the former. 1t is estimated that
during the past winter there have
been thousand hunters engaged in
the business of Strengthening buffalo
along the line of the Northern Pacific
between Mandan and Livingston. An
eagle eyed hunter got aboard of the
train at Glendive, and he gave me the
following interesting details us to the
modus operandi III Strengthening
herds of buffalo: In the first
place, the experienced hunter Uses
the Sharpe rifle, 1890 calibre With
this he can kill at one thousand yards.
When he sees herd Of buffalo he usJ-
sually slips up to within convenient
range, from three to five hundred
yards, and always selects COW for
his first victim. He does this for the
reason that the COW is followed by
both her yearling and two-year-old
calves, and they will usually stand
by her to the last. But under no Cir
cumStances will the experienced hunt
er kill his buffalo outright. If he
does, the herd will stampede at once.
The policy is to wound fatally, but so
the animal will dash around in a cir
Gle before falling. This it always
does where mortally wounded, and
after few moments lies down. The
remainder of the herd are not alarmed
ut this, but continue 10 gaze or look
on d3zed spectators Of the tragedy be-
ing enacted. After his first shot the
hunter pauseS until quiet is T. 81 Ored,
and again fires at another COW, with
similar results. He always aims to
put his ball Just behind the fore
shoulder. which will cause death in
five minutes at furtheSt. When the
turns his attention to the calves, and
hunter generally bags his entire herd
unless he is so unfortunate as to drop
his game Immediately when all the
survivors stampede at once. The
buffalo does not scare at the
crack of a gun. He has de-
cidedly more courage than discretion.
1t is only when the crack is followed
by an immediate fall that he realizes
it's deadly nature and takes alarm.
The policy of killing the cows first
and then the calves has resulted in the
almost utter extinction Of the female
buffalo. Herds of melancholy bulls
can still occasionally be seen, some
times in bands of twenty or thirty,
and often without single COW. The
few remaining COWS now have their
pick of lovers, and always choose from
the young blood of the herd.
The buffalo bull, after he passes his
fourth We 7 loses his attractiV9neSs to
the opposite sex, and the aversion
seems to be mutual. Gathering about
him his bachelor friends of equal age
he sullenly retires into the wilderness
and forever avoids the female mem
bers of the herd, who mate with
younger and more luxurious mascu-
lines. AS 1 have said, the bulls are
about all that are now left of the buff
falo. They largely owe their safety
to the fact that their hides are less
valuable than those of the COWS, while
at the same time they are far more
difficult to kill. The hide of the bull
is only worth to the hunter from $3.50
to So, while that Of the COW brings
1926, and that Of the two-year-old calf
is worth from 81 to 81 SO. But Of late
there has sprung up quite a demand
throughout the east for the head of
the buffalo bull. The well preserved
head of an aged buffalo bull, decked
out with glass eyes and horns intact,
will readily sell for $25 in the Eastern
hunter of the future will wage a de-
structive war upon the bull tribe, and
these venerable relics of bygone era
will also UaSS swiftly away.