The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-01-11
HUNTING THE BUFFALO.
Theodore RooseveIt's Recollcctions OF m
ExneditInn I'm 1a11.

Expedition In 1877.
When camp was pitched the horses
we're turned loose to Craze and refresh
themselves after their trying journey,
during which they had lost flesh wo.
fully. They were watched and tended
by the two men whe were always left in
camp, and, save on rare occasions, the
horses were used only to haul in buffalo
hides. The camp-guard for the time be.
ing acted as cooks; and, though coffee
and flour both ran short and finally gave
out, fresh meat of every kind was abun-
dant. The camp was never without
buffal o beef, deer and antelope venison,
wild turkeys, prairie-chickens, quails,
ducks and rabbits. The birds were sim
ply 'potted," as occasion required; when
the quarry was deer or antelope, the
hunters took the dogs with them to run
down the wounded animals. But almost
the entire attention of the hunters was
given to the buffalo. After an evening
spent in lounging round the campfire,
and sound nights sleep, wrapped in
robes and blankets, they would get up
before daybreak, snatch hurried
breakfast, and start off in couples
through the chilly dawn. The great
beasts were very plentiful; in the first
days hunt, twenty were slain; but the
herds were restless and ever on the
move. Sometimes they would be seen
by the camp, and again ii would need
an all-day's tramp to find them. There
was no difficulty in spying them-the
chief trouble with forest game; for
on the prairie a buffalo makes no
effort to hide, and its black, shaggy
bulk looms up as far as the eye
can see. Sometimes they were found
in small parties of three or four
individuals sonnet times in bands of about
two hundred and again in gre 1t herds OF
many thousand: and solitary old bulls,
expelled from the herds, were common
If on broken land, among I,ills and ra-
vines, there was not much difficulty in
approaching from the lceward: for,
though the sense of smell IN the buffalo
is very acute, they do not see we'll at
distance through their overhanginy
frontlets of coarse and matted hair. II,
as was generally the case, they were ont
on the open rolling prairie the stalking
was far more difficult. Every hollow,
every earth bummock and sagebush had
to be used as cover. The hunter wrig-
gled through the grass HAT on his face,
pushing himself along for perhaps
quarter of mile by his toes and fingers,
needless of the spiny cactus. When
near enough to the huge, unconscious
quarry the hunter began firing, still
keeping himself carefully concealed. If
the smoke was blown away by the wind,
and if the butfaloes caught no glimpse
of the assailant, they would often stand
motionless and stupid until many of
their number had been slain: the hunter
being careful not to fire too high, aiming
just behind the shoulder, about a third
of the way up the body, that his bullet
might go through the lungs. Some
times even after they saw the man,
they would act as if confused and panic
struck, budding up together and staring
at the smoke puffs-but generally they
were off at numbering gallop as soon
as they had an idea of the point of
danger. When once started, they ran
for many miles before halting, and their
pursuit on foot was extremely laborious.
Theodore Roosevelt, in st. Nicholas.