Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-01-01

" z
perhaps, about twelve feet. In approaching
d large herd during the summer the first
Indication of the presence of the huge ami
mails was an immense cloud of dust rising
high In the air; for the buffalo. as do many
o. the wild beasts, loves to reveI in the
fine sand or dirt, which he furnishes bv
digging up with his horns. Like bull
In his wallow" was once frequent saving
on the plains. and it had a very significant
meaning with those who had ever witness
ed a buffalo ball endeavoring to cool him
self off In a wallow, says the Kansas CITY
Star
Many years ago. in the early days of
travel on the great plains, the travellers be-
lleved these curious rings to have been
made by the Indians in their dances, but
the idea prevailed only short time The
buffalo, whose hair is remark ble for its
intense shagginess and thickness, must
necessarily suffer severely from heat, and
then he will seek the lowest ground on the
prairie, where there has been little stag
nant water left, If he can find it; of course.
the ground being soft under the short
grass. it is an easy matter for him to
make a mud-puddle of the spot in a very
short time. He accomplishes this by get
I'LL uO"IA OH O1C hICC. LIS SuOI /
horns, and at last his head, into the earth,
which the water slowly filters. This makes
himself on his side as fat as he can, he
rolls forcibly around, and, with his horns
and hump, he rips up the ground by his
rotary motion, sinking deeper and deeper,
continually making the wallow larger,
which fills with water, in which at length
he becomes completely immersed, the
water and mud, mixed to the consistency
of mortar, covering him perfectly, chang
ing the color and general appearance.
When he rose the mad dripped in great
streams from every part OF his huge body,
a Notwithstanding monster of mud and
ugliness, too terrible to be accurately des-
cribed. 1t was generally the leader of the
herd who took upon himself the business
OF making the wallow, or if he found
another had commenced the excavation be
would drive him away and wallow until
he was satisfied, standing in a mass of
mud and water in the mole until he got
ready to give the others chance. 1t was
al ways the next in command who stood
ready; and then he came out the next.
who advanced in his turn, and so on &C
cording toy ank until all had performed
their ablutions. Frequently hundred
or more would patiently wait their turn,
each one making the wallow little larger,
and carrying off share of its mud which,
drying to whitish color, gradually fell
off.
1t required about half an hour to make a
decent wailow and the depth was about
two feet. The water naturally drains into
these holes, together with its accompany
ing vegetable deposit, and the result is a re.
markedly rich soil, where the grass and
weeds grow with luxuriance so marked
that a buffalo wallow can be distinguished
long before it is reached. The prairie5
are covered with them all over, the central
and western portion of Kansas where the
pillow had not yet disturbed the primitive
sod. The first thing a Kansas farmer
does after rain is to examine the buffalo
wallows; if they are filled with water the
rain has been a good one, and the saying
common in that region, both of the indi-
vidual and the newspapersis, when speak
ing or writing Of a soaking rain: The
buffalo wallows are FULL When the
weather was dry the buffalo had to content
with the comminuted dust he could make
in the hole, and as the weather was gen
orally dry the whereabouts of herd could
usually be located by the cloud OF dust
rising ahOva IL