The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-01-30
The END OF TIE BUFFALO.
How the Mighty Herds Have Been Ex-
terminated from the Great Plains.
rNTnntana Cor Chicaeo Times

How the Mighty Herds Have Been EK-
terminated from the Great Plains.
Montana Cor. Chicago Timesl
The first great transcontinental rail-
way in 1868 divided the buffaloes into
two great bands and put an end to their
migration. The railroad also let in the
hide hunters, VINO went at the thing IN
business-like way. One good shooter in
the employ of some trader would have
eight or ten SINNERS following in his
wake while he went on ahead and did
the slaughtering Each hunter was
pretty sure to drop from ninety TO 100
animals a day, and every hide secured
was worth from 10 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 fail 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 rifle resting between his legs,
pumping shot after shot into an acre or
so of buffaloes some 1900 or 1900
yards away. The gentleman was not
hunter, but rather a sportsman, O we'll
known long range shot on the Creed
moor rife range of Long Island, and
mad come west on a pleasure eXcur-
sion. He had the regulation Rem
ingtOn CreedmOOr lOng-range rifle, with
peep and globe sights, vernier scale and
Spirit-lever and was trying what
have on the buffaloes at long range He
ha6 W no FIR
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 off over the prairie in the wake of
an old bull, who seemed to be the leader.
Our friend had dropped exactly forty
Ave buffaloes, 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 thr0nged the northwest
are few hundred animals scattered in
the vicinity of Woody mountain, across
a herd of about rs, 900 were corraled IN
the forks of the Little Missouri, on the
south side of the Yellowstone river, but
they were rounded up by the GrOs
Ventres and Crows, who attempted to
drive them on their reservation before
the white hunters could get shot at
them. In this they were unsuccessful,
for the white hunters did get wind of
the affair, and by the time both reds
and whites got through with them, not
5000 of that mighty herd were left to
cross the Yellowstone. The remnant
which did get over IN safety continued
their journey into the north and at last
found refuge near Woody mouDtain,
in British territory.
1 The prairies of the northwest are COW
cred with the bleached bones of count
less dead, and here commerce steps in
again A regular business has sprung
up in the buying and selling of buffalo
bones. The harvest of furS has come to
an end, but the harvest of bones has
only just begun. Nearly every station
on the Northern Pacific has at present a
bone buyer. and all over the prairies
can be seen, piled up for shipment, the
chaotic anatomy of countless thousands
Of butfaloes. Farmers and ranchmen,
when they have nothing else to do, har-
ness up their teams and go gathering
buffalo bones. These are hauled to the
nearest railway station, where they are
paid from 50 to 50 per wagon load for
them. The bones that surveyors have
stood up as sighting points have been
picked up and carried off with the rest.
How Johnny Crapaud Talks Politics.
Paris Cor. st. Paul Pioneer Pressl
There are signs of the coming general
elections on all sides. Enter a cafe and
you will see at glance that politics
have once more taken possession of the
Frenchman's soul. He holds in his hand
q copy of The Republique Franchise and
is waving it wildly above the head of
man across the table, who is grasping a
copy of La So!eil. There are dozen
others in the room, gesticulating and
talking at the top of their voices, and if
you are not used to the ways of these
people you will expect general fight
every moment. But they won't fight
They are perfectly calm. 1t is their
custom to yell, gesticulate, make grim
aces and shake their fists in each others
faces. They don't mean anything by it.
Homely Story with Moral.