The Anaconda standard., 1896-02-07
An Old RqilrOader'S R'gretful Recol-
lectionS Of the West.
FORTUNES IN BUFFALO HIDES
Almost Worthless Twenty Years
Ago. Now They Crowd seal In
Prloe-How a Herd stopped
Train In Kansas.

buffalo skin. 1 gave ii to a brother OF
mine up in Pennsylvania. / hadn't
seen the skin since. and had forgotten
all about il. in fact. until a couple Of
weeks ago. when ! was on a visit to
my brother Then | was surprised TO
see not only that he had the skin still,
but also that II looked a good deal bct-
ter than Il did the day l gave IL 10
him, and was being cared for as II II
was among the most precious belong
ings Of the family.
You don't seem 10 use the old buff
use it, exclaimed my brother.
We'll. hardly. We can't afford 10 chuck
a $500 robe around as If il were a sheep
pelt.'
Il began 10 laugh.
Fact said my brother Maybe you
hadn't thought OF IT. but there hasn't
been a buffalo robe on the market for
pretty near 10 years. and there VIII
never he one on the market again.
You remember when they were "a
common. almost, as sheep skins. 50
do J. Well you might rake the coun-
try over to-day with n fine tooth comb
and not find a single one. Why? Be
cause all that are in existence are
held and cared for as curiOsities, to be
handed down as heirlooms; relics Of
mighty race Of beasts that once made
the earth tremble beneath their tread,
but of which there are not now rep
resentatives enough left to kick a
board fence over. Three hundreds dol
lars Is the least offer ] refused for this
skin Of mine. Itll bo worth more one
Of these days. How much did 81 cost
YOU
Not a red cent" said: and I fen 10
thinking about the way I got the buff
falo that shed that big skin After he
was dead, the way we figured IL out.
there were 1899 800 buGalocs left I'm
the herd he was travelling with. This
was back in 1873 ] was helping To
build the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F'e
railroad and we had got it as far as
Dodge City, Kas., or rather, Dodge
City had sprung up around ne spot we
had got the railroad built TO. / was
on the first place. and on our way we
were held up by this herd Of hunalOes.
We had seen the long, waving black
line Of that immense body of huge
beasts approa ching the railroad over
the prairie from the north while we
We're vet miles away from the section
OF railroad where the herd would cross,
and the engineer made an effort 10 run
the train past before the humaloos
reaches Il, but the track wasn't i'm
condition to let him get speed enough
10 do Il. The head Of the great col
umn of huffalOes struck the railroad
only a hundred yards or SO ahead Of
us, and the engineer ran down 10
within a rod or two Of the herd and
stopped. or the huGalocs that could
see us. which were only those on the
edge Of the herd, but one seemed Ia
mind us any. As far as any one could
see. west and north. there was nothing
hut buffalocs. packed together, as they
marched. as close as sardines I'm box.
They We're travelling by a humpy sort
of gait, something between n walk and
a trot, and were moving at the rate
Of about five miles an hour
The one buffalo that gave US any
particular attention was a big bull
near the head Of the column. lie
stepped out of the ranks when he got
on the railroad. being on the outside
line, and advancing a few steps with
his nose To- the ground, began paving
dirt and snOrtng, and showing every
disposition to forcihly resist an iutru-
sion on that domain. As the bull stood
there. getting fierCer and fercer. the
engineer pulled his whistle valve wide
open. such "A wild. piercing. hair-rais-
ing shrek as that locomotive let go
had never split the air in that far
western country before. II struck the
big bull with such terror that he throsv
himself back on his hind feet 50 tar
that his great head and shaggy mauc
and ponderous shoulders lowered
..
only for an instant. Then hn toprIcd
over like f3llinc tree and cam. down
I'm a heap across the track making
everything trembo He was dead be-
fore ne fell. FOR hc never moved mus
Gle as he lay. That Uucarthly shrek
Of the locomotive whistle had scared
him 10 death. NJ one seemed 10 care
90 bother with the old fellow. / had
his pelt taken of. \ man at Dodge
city cured IL for me. and when | left
there couple of months later I shipped
II along with my goods and gave il
10 my brother. That's the skin he re-
fuses $500 for now
one Of our civil engineers made "A
little calculation ON the number of
huualocs that herd contained. That
herd was two hours passing. which
showed that IL was 10 miles long. BE
tween the points where ", stopped 10
let the herd go 10y TO the point it's
western edge extended 10 was three
miles. The engineer figured I'm round
numbers. and was liberal i'm his csti-
mates. He allowed 5000 bunaIocs "a
the depth of the column and 5000 as
its width, thus showing that the herd
contained 10000 0O0 hufaloes During
the two hours that il was passing ua
on its laundering march every one on
our train amused himself by shooting
unfortunately into the herd. I SUP
pose good many bunal1eS were shot
dead. but great many more were
simply wounded. 10 he tramplyd To
death beneath the feet Of the mighty
herd. When The herd had crossed the
railroad and at last passed s1uthwarf
on its way, not less than 500 mauCIed
and mutilatod carcaSses were LEFT
strewn about on the prairie the result
of our ruthless butChery We didn't
think n any thing out Of the way
then. II makes me sick 70 think of il
now.
The Atchison. Topeka & Santa To
railroad and the Kansas Pacific rail-
road, which was building al the Sam,
time opened Up that country 20 the
buffalo hunters Wichita Medicine .
Lodge and Dodge Cl-y became centars /
FOR them. More than p 600 professional .
hunters We're al work i'm thosa REGIONS +
in 1872 and the pleasure hun rrS were .
about a. numerous The railroads .