Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1891-01-28
THE suFFALo's BATH.
He RSvOIs In Mud and SluSh and Delight
In Stagnant Pools.

He RSvOlS In Mud and Slush and Delights
In Stagnant Pools.
A buffalo wallow. once one Of the
most familiar objects on the Kansas
prairtes, 10 q circular depression. having
Q diameter of from six to thirteen feet
the average, perhaps, about twelve
feet In approaching q large herd dur
ing the summer the first indication Of
the presence of the huge animals was
an immense cloud of dust rising high
In the air, for the buffalo, as do many
Of the wild beasts, loves to revel in the
hne sand or dirt, which he furnishes by
digging 1t up with his horns. Like q
bull In his wsllow," was once frequent
saying on the plains, and it had very
significant meaning with those who had
ever witnessed buffalo bull endeavor-
ing to cool himself of in o wallow.
Many years ago, In the early days Of
travel on the great plains the travellers
believed these curious rings to have
been made by the Indians in their
dances, but the idea prevailed only for
. short time. The buffalo, whose hair
II remarkable for its intense shagginess
and thickness, must necessarily suffer
severely from the heat, and then he will
seek tho lowest ground on the prairie,
where there has been a little stagnant
water left, II he can find 1t; of course,
the ground being soft under the short
grass, 1t is an easy matter for him to
make . mud-puddle Of the spot in very
short time. He accomplishes this by
getting down on one knee, plunging
his short horns, and at last his head,
into the earth, and he soon makes
an excavation into which the water
slowly hlterA This makes a relatively
cool bath, whore, throwing himself on
his side IS fat as he can, he rolls forci-
bly, around, and, with his horns and
hump he rips up the ground by his ro-
tary motion, sinking deeper and deeper,
continually making the wallow larger,
which hlls with water, in which ct
length he becomes completely i'm
mOFsed, the water and mud, mixed to
the consistency of mortar, covering
him perfectly, changing his color and
general appearance. When he rose the
mud dripped in great streams from
every part of his huge body, .
horrible-looking monster of mud
and ugliness, too horrible to be accu-
Fsteley described. 1t was generally
the leader OF the herd, who took upon
himself the business of making the wal
low, or II he found another had COM
lmenoed the excavation he would drive
him away and wallow until he was sat-
iShed, standing in mass of mud and
water in the hole until he got ready to
give the others Q chance. It was always
the next in command who stood ready,
and when he came out the next who ad-
vanoed in his turn, and so on according
70 rank until all had performed their
Ablutions. frequently q hundred or
more would patiently wait their turn,
each one making the wallow q little
larger, and carrying off share of its
mud, which, drying to whitish color,
gradually fell of.
It required about half an hour to make
. decent wallow, and the depth was
about two feet The water naturally
drains into the holes, together with its
accompanying vegetable deposit and
the result Is q remarkably rich soil,
where the grass and weeds grow with q
luxuriance so marked that Q buffalo
wallow can be distinguished long be-
fore 10 Is reached. The prairiSs are
covered with them all over the central
and western portion of Kansas where
the splow has not yet disturbed the
primitive sod. The first thing a
Kansas farmer does after . rain 10 TO
examine the buffalo wAllowS; If they
are allied with water the rain has been
. rood one, and the saying common in
that region, both by the individual and
the newspapers, is, when speaking or
writing of soaking rain: THE buffalo
WAllows are full" When the weather
was dry the buffalo had to content him
self with the comminuted dust he could
make in the hole, and as the weather
was generally dry the whereabouts Of
. herd could usually be located by the
CLOUD Of dust rising above it.-Kansas
City Star