The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1885-01-17
THE END OF THE BUFFALO.
How the Mighty Herds Have Been Ex-
terminated from the Great Plains.
NJontana Cor Chicago Times

How the Mighty Herds Have Been Ex-
terminated from the Great Plains,
Montana Cor. Chicago Tmesl
The first great transcontinental rail
way in 1868 divided the bulfaloas into
two great bands and put an end to their
migration. The railroad also let in the
hide hunters, who went at the thing in a
businesslike way. One good shooter in
the employ of some trader would have
eight or ten skinners following in his
wake whilo he went on ahead and did
the slaughterng Each hunter was
pretty sure to drop from ninety to 100
animals q day, and every hide secured
was worth from rs cents to 81 each in
its raw, untanned state The SINNERS
received the meat as their portion, but
as they generally selected the tenderloins
and tongues, the remainder Of the meat
was left to rot on the prairie.
The writer remembers, in the fall of
1881, while passing over the country
tributary to the Little Missouri river, in
southeastern Montana, of meeting on a
knoll or rise in the prairie hunter
lying comfortably ON his back with his
long-range rife resting between his legs
Pumping shot after shot into an acre or
so Of buifaloes some 1,200 or 1900
yards away. The gentleman was not a
hunter but rather a sportsman, a we'll
known long range shot on the Creed-
moor rifle range of Long Island, and
mad come west on a pleasure eXcur-
sion lie had the regulation Rem
ington Creedmoor long-range rifle, with
peep and globe sights, yarnier scale and
spirit-lever and was trying what
effect his fine-sighted target rifle would
have on the buffaloes at long range He
had evidently found the true windage
and correct elevation, for after every
shot | could see visible commotion in
the herd, which told that the bullet had
hit something The distance being so
great, the animals had not heard the
noise of the discharge, and consequently
did not take fright until the sportsman
tired of his sport. Then for some rea-
son they bestirred themselves, and
rolled of over the prairie in the wake Of
an old bull, who seemed to be the leader.
Our friend had dropped exactly forty
five bulfaloes, but what to do with them
he did not know, and SO they remained
hide, hoof, horns, and ALTO rOt
where they had fallen.
The only remnants of these mighty
herds that once throngel the northwest
are few hundred animals scattered il
the vicinity Of Woody mountain, across
the line in british Manitoba. Last yeai
herd of about $4,000 were corraled in
the forks of the Little Missouri, on the
south side of the Yellowstone river, bu
they We're rounded up by the Gro,
Ventres and Crows, who attempted t
drive them on their reservation before
the white hunters could get shot al
them. In this they were unsuccessful
for the white hunters did get wind oi
the affair, and by the time both reds
and whites got through with them, no.
5000 Of that mighty herd were left Il
cross the YelloWstone The remnant
which did get over in safety continued
their journey into the north and at las
found arefugo near Woody mountain
in British territory.
The prairies of the northwest are COY
cred with the bleached bones of count
less dead, and here commerce steps il
again. A regular business has sprung
up in the buying and selling Of buffalo
bones The harvest of furs has come tt
an end, but the harvest of bones ha,
only just begun Nearly every station
on the Northern Paciic has at present {
bone buyer, and all over the prairie.
can be seen, piled up for shipment, the
chaotic anatomy of countless thousand
Of bufaloas. Farmers and ranohmen
when they have nothing else to do, har
ness up their teams and 60 gathering
buffalo bones. Thee are hauled to tn,
nearest railway station, where they are
paid from ~ to So per wagon load fol
them. The bones that surveyors hav,
stood up as sighting points have beer
! picked up and carried off with the rest