Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-04-18
THE B,soN.s EXTINCTION.
DR.. Carver Tells How the Great Herds
Were Wiped Out.


Were Wiped Out.
Gas the Indians hunted them, the
race of bison would probably have
lasted forever, but about 1866 the white
men turned their attention to the
shaggy monsters of the plains Large
Eastern firms organized hunting par
ties and paid the shooters $3.50 for
each bison where he lay dead on the
plains. / then went to Southern Ne
braska and became q professional
hunter. The bison consisted of two
large divisions, the one living in the
South and the other in the North.
Their only common feeding ground
was along the Republican river and its
branches in Nebraska The Indians
were well aware of that fact, and
hostile tribes have had many fight
for that territory. It was not until
1873 that the Government put an end
to this by sending the Pawnees South
and the Sioux to their Northern reser-
vations. Prior to that time we had to
do all of our hunting at the risk of be-
ing scalped at any time
'+Our favorite gun was an army
model of the Springfield rifle, 45-cali-
Der and loaded with ninety grains of
powder. The whites patterned after
the Indians and hunted on horseback.
Having wagons to haul our game, we
did not care to ''circle" them as the In
dams did. When a herd was located
we would mount our best horses and
as quietly as possible approach the
herd from the leeward side. As soon
as they saw us the fun would begin.
Although of low build. the bison will
make very interesting race with a
horse for ten miles. We would press
up on the right flank of the herd and
ride SO close to the animals that our
guns would touch the side when fired.
The most deadly shot was to fire quar-
tering through the lungs so that the
animal would bleed to death. In this
way we would follow the herd as long
as our horses could stand it. On one
of these runs / killed 113 bison, none
of which were more than 100 yards
apart. In riding back an awful sight
was presented to the eye. The trail
was marked by dead and dying ami
mails An occasional big bull would
have d DfOhOu OtCh SO O1lCtG u0 COOlu
only get up on his fore legs, and moth
ing could look more furious than his
shaking head, with coal-black eyes
glaring in death stare from his haggy
front. We received our pay for the
animals dead on the plains, and wagons
followed us up, quartered the animals
and shipped the saddle and tallow to
Eastern markets.
''About 1871 the hide-hunting began.
Prior to this time little or no attention
was paid to the skins, but when the
demand for them created high price
the meat was allowed to rot upon the
plains, and this magnificent race was
extinguished simply that extravagant
tastes might be satisfied. With the
improvements in firearms an entirely
different mode of hunting was adopted.
The Springfield army gun was super
coded by Sharp 50-caliber and
loaded with 120 grains of powder.
The hunter used his horse only in find
to the leeward side so that the scent of
the powder and report would not reach
the animals, and find suitable shelter
about 1000 yards distant from them.
1 have killed them at distance of a
mile. Hunting in this way we had to
be very particular. and watch the herd
closely. Like a herd of cattle, the
bison are always on the go and are apt
to walk out of rifle range in short
time. In moving, however, they al
ways have leader and the trick was
70 L.; hot 70 kol ~
others off. By thus killing the lead
ers, we could often shoot for an hour
from behind one clump of grass, and
when they had moved out of range,
the 'skinners' would come up, cut the
hide in the ordinary way for skinning,
tie the animals head to stake, hitch
team of horses to the hide, and jerk
it off. No one will ever know what inn
mense numbers of bison were killed by
these hide-hunters, but to my certain
knowledge three-million hides were
shipped from the banks of the French
man river in one winter. The hide
hunters, by system of fires, kept the
bison from the streams until many of
them persisted, and thousands of others
were easily killed. At the close of that
winter man could go along the banks
of the Frenchman for fifty miles by
simply jumping from the carcass of
one bison to that of another. Consid-
ering facts of this kind, it is not sur
prising that a small, tame herd and a
few old circus animals represent the
great herds which. less than quarter
of a century ago, blackened miles of
prairies as a thunder cloud darkens
the y."-Kansas City Times.
Grass Seed Counted.