The Portland daily press., 1883-08-02
A Carney Column.
The Slaughter of Buffaloes

In going down the Yellowstone and across
the vast region lying between Glendive and
Mandan, one is struck with the evident
scarcity of game. This famous region,
where, two or three years ago, herds of but.
falo, antelope, and deer were to be seen on
every side, is now, to all appearance, stripped
of its game. For the entire distance from
Livingstone to Maudan / only saw two or
three small bands of antelope, and not
sign of deer or buffalo. The fact is. the
slaughter of buffalo and deer has been i'm
mense for the past two years, and particular
ly of the former. 1t is estimated that dur
ing the past winter there have been thous-
and hunters engaged in the business of
slaughtering buffalo along the lines of the
Northern Pacific, between Mandan and Liv-
ingston. An eage-eyed hunter got on the
train at Glendive, and gave me the follow
ing interesting details as to thes anOGltS opey-
dndt in slaughtering herds of buffalo. In
the first place the experienced hunter uses
the Soarpe rife, 1920 calibre. With this he
can kill 1000 yards. When he sees herd Of
buffalo he usually slips up within conven-
lent range, from three hundred to five hum
dred yards, and always selects a COW for his
first victim. He does this for the reason
that COW is followed by both her yearing
and two-year old calves. and they will usu-
ally stand by her TO the last. But under no
circumstances will the experienced hunter
kill bis buffalo outright. If be does the herd
will stampede at once. The policy is to
wound fatally, but so that the animal will
dash around in circle befo e falling. This
it always does, when MORALLY wounded,
md of {axs a. l,1c A. TN
remainder of the herd are not alarmed at
this, but continue to gaze or look on, dazed
spectators of the tragedy being enacted.
After his first shot the hunter pauses until
quiet is restored, 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 mimi es at
the furthest. When the cows have all been
slain he then turns his attention to the
calves, and lastly to the bulls. The expert
enced 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 bnffalo does not
scare at the crack of gun. He has decid-
eddy more courage than discretion. 1t Is
only when the crack is followed by an imme-
date fall thai he realizes its 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, sometimes 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 year, Hoses his
attractiveness 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 members Of the
herd, who mate with other and more luxu-
rious mascuines AS have said, the bulls
are about all that is now left of the buffalo.
They largely owe their liberty 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 81, while that of the COW brings
1925, and that of the two-year-old calf is
worth from 81 to $3.50. But of late there
has sprung up quite demand throughout
the east for the head of the buffalo bull.
The well preserved head of an aged bull.
decked out with glass eyes and horns intact,
viii readily sell for S25 in the eastern mar
kets. Consequently the buffalo hunter of
the future will wage destructive war upon
the bull tribe, and those venerable relics of
by-gone era will pass swiftly away.-Hele-
ma Mont. Independent.