Charlotte home and Democrat., 1886-12-10
Buffalo Hunting.

Iu riding over the green turf of the
open country, one sees every ywhere white
objects which so reflect the strong sun
shine that they almost dazzle the eye.
These are the bleaching skulls of the buff
faloes that used to roam in thousands
through the western plains. Every one
has read how, only fifty years ago, mil
lions of buffaloes wandered over aearly
halt of the United States now there are
no great herds except in the Territory of
Montana, aud from that territory more
than hundred thousand skins have been
sent to the East in a year. For nearly
every skin that is sent away, about half a
ton Of fine meat is left to decay on the
prairie. It is reckless waste of animal
life, and am sorry to say that our Gov
ernment does very little to stop it. With.
in ten years there will be no more great
herds of buffaloes in the United States
Small: bands of them will linger hidden
away il the valleys, but. by the time some
boys who read this will be old men, the
American bison will probably be seen on
lY where it Is kept as curiosity just as
the one little band OF aurochs-the last
descendants of the wild cattle which used
to roam over all Europe-is kept by the
Emperor of Russia. Still, even now, at
times, single buFaloes or small bands OF
them will wander back here to their old
grazing-grounds. Last summer a party
of hay makers saw band of q dozen or
more in a remote valley behind the peak
| And few days later, one of our neigh
| bors at the nearest ranch, beyond the
mountains, was sitting in doorway of his
snug home one morning, after an early
| breakfast, when, ito his astonishment, a
| great buffalo bull came rrotting easily
along within hundred yards of the door,
He would hardly have been more surpris-
ed had an elephant or a rhinoceros hap
| pened in for morning call for be had
never seen buffalo, nor had he ever ex-
pected to see one at his own ranch. But
his surprise left him breath enough to
shout, "a buffalo buffalo p The house
was full of men just in from the work of
| gathering beef-cattle for shipment and
at the startling word every man seized
the nearest rifle or pist oil or shot gun, and
dashed away to join the chase only one
or two stopping hastily to throw a saddle
on a horse. AS soon as the chase began
the big beast ran swiftly into the thioket
along the creek, and was able to keep out
of sight for some time. The chase was
| long and exciting, but the buffalo's pur
suers were too many for him. Some fol-
lowed up his trail, while others watched
the outskirts of the thicket and at last
one of the best .marksmen among them
catching sight of the big black body, took
quick line aim and brought the buffalo
down with single bullet SO all the in
habitants of the ranch feasted with buf
falo meat as long as it could be kept from
spelling. But where the great herds
range, there is no such excitement about
killing them. One day a young fello "
from the East, listening to the yarns o
an old buffalo hunter, said as the hunter
finished his story: "It must be very ex
citing sport, John !" "Well, rll tell you
how it is" said John. cts about as ex
citing as if you were to go out into the
corral and shoot dozen Of those old dai
ry-cows with pistol"