Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-07-09
The Buffalo.

In going down the Yellowstone and
lho vast region Wing between Glcndiv.
and Mandau, one Is struck with tho
egidcnt scarcity OF game. This famous
region, where, two or three years ago,
herds of buffalo, antelope and deer wero
10 be seen on every side i now to all
appearances stripped of lis game. For
The entire distance from Livingston To
Mandan | only saw two or three small
bands of antelope. and not sign OF It
deer or buffalo. Tho fact Is. the slaugh-
tor of buffalo and deer has been im-
mensc for the past two years, and par
licularly of the former. 1t is estimated
that during the past winter there have
been q thousand hunters engaged in the
business of slaughtering buffalo along
the line of the Northern Pacific between
Mandan and Livingston. I'm cagle-eyed
hunter got on the train ut Glcndivc, and
gave the following interesting details rs
10 the modus opcrandi in slaughtcring
herds of buffalo; In the first place, the
experienced hunter uses the Sharpe
rifle, 1890 calibcr. With this he can
Kill at Il thousand yards. When he sees
a heard of buffalo he usually slips up
within convenient range, from three
hundred to five hundred yards and al
WAYS selects n COW for his first victim.
he does this for the reason that COW is
followed by both her ycarling and two
yaar-old calves, and they will usually
stand by her To the last. But under no
circumstances will the experienced
hunter kill his buffalo outright. Ii he
does. the heard will stampede ut once
The policy il TO wound fatally, but so
that the animal will dash around in
circle before falling. That it always
does when mortally WOmdcd and after
n few moments lies down. The remain
der of the heard are not alarmed at this
but continue TO gaze or look on, dazcd
spectators of the tragedy being enacted.
After his first shot, the hunter
pauses until quiet is restored,
and again fires nj another
COW. with similar results. lie always
aims to put his ball Just behind the foro
shoulder, which will cause death in five
minutes at the furthest. When the
COWS have all been slain he then turns
his attention TO the calves, and lastly 10
the bulls. The experienced hunter
generally bags his entire herd unless
he is 50 unfortunate as 10 drop his game
llllinCtlluttlN, WITH Hll tue SUlNINblS
stampede ut once. The buffalo does
not scare at the crack of Il gun, He
has ,dccidedlyimorc courage than discrc-
ton. 1t j. only when the crack is fol.
lowed by an Immediate fall that he
realizes it, deadly nature and takes
alarm, The policy of killing the cows
and then the calves has resulted
i'm 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 a single cow. AS have
said the bulls are about all that are
left of the buffalo. They largely owe
their liberty to the fact that their hides
are less valuable than those of the COWS,
while mt the samo time they are far
more difficult To Kill. The hide of the
bull j. only worth to the hunter from
81. 80 TO -. while that of the cow
brings -. - and that of the two-ycar-
old calf is worth from ~ to Sl.jO. But
of late there has sprung mp quite a de-
mand throughout the East for the head
of the buffalo bull. The wcll-prcscrvcd
head of an aged bull, dcckcd ont with
glass eyes and horns intact. will readily
sell for so in the eastern markets.
Consequently the buffalo hunter of the
future will wage a destructive war upon
the bull tribe. and those venerable rel
let, of II by-gonc-cra will also pass
swiftly away, -Ifelcn0 (HoRt J H39cpcH-
dent