The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-08-04
THREE WHITE BUFFALO.
Old Kansas Hunter Tells of Them
One in the State House

falo covered the prairie I never saw a
white buffalo, said Martin Wringsby,
formerly a Kansas hunter and ranchman.
But it is certain that three skins at
least of this rare animal were in existence
at a time subsequent to 1866.
1.-THE best known is the stuffed skin
of the white buffalo COW that stood in
the museum of the state house at To-
peka, Kan, in 1881. and probably is still
in existence in care of the state. The
second was carried at his saddle by Ro-
man Nose, the Cheyenne chief, who led
the grand charge against Capt. SANDY
Forsythe's band of scouts in the memoir
able fight the Ariskaree branch of the
Republican river in 1867 in which the
chief was killed. The third, taken in 1871,
was for ten years in possession of the
hunter, James Caspion, who killed the
buffalo that originally wore it. OF where
it went after he disposed of it, have not
the least idea.
"Caspion of party of three
hunters who with wagon train and sad
die horses went, in October, 1871, out on
the plains of western Kansas to hunt
buffalo. On October II Caspion, with
Sam TilIman, started out on horseback in
the morning to look for buffalo, leaving
the third man to follow along in the wa
gon. In order to bring a greater range OF
country into view the two horsemen sep
arated, keeping always in sight of each
other. Late in the afternoon, riding up
the slope of long ridge of rolling prairie
and looking over the crest Caspion saw
ahead of him twenty-five miles away a
range of steep bluffs. Between him and
the bluffs, the nearest buffalo being With
in long rifle range, was the great southern
herd, which every summer fed north
ward from Texas and New Mexico, re-
naming in Kansas and Colorado until the
! Il how fn "a
south again. There were tens of thou
sands of the beasts in view, as Caspion
said, but what particularly caught his eye
was a miIk-white buffalo feeding among
the others at the distance of a mile away,
it's wilderness contrasting strangely with
the dun tfnts of the beasts around it.
Having signalled to Tillman on the
ridge behind him to come up he dismount-
ed and lay watching the herd over the
summit trying to think of some way by
which he and his partner could get pos
session of the white buffalo's skin. When
at last he turned round to look for Till
man it was to him riding for life back
over the route they had come with fifty
CHEYENNE warriors after him. The chase
was a short one. A shot crippled Till
| mans horse, and the Indians closed about
him The hunter emptied two saddles be
fore the firing stopped. Then with Till
mans scalp borne aloft on lance the
Indians turned and came for Caspion- He
had to run for it, and as he could not ride
to right or left without giving the Indians
the advantage of being able to cut him
off he put his horse ahead straight for
the buffalo herd.
This naturally started stampede.
| Caspion was well among the buffalo be-
| fore the unwfeldly beasts knew what had
| happened and got fairly to running. Then
| his horse was carried away in the rush,
| and the last thing the hunter saw, be-
| fore the dust shut everything from view,
was the Indians coming over the crest OF
| the hill he had just left. After this 1t
was all crowding, jostling, and smother
as his horse was hurried along in the
press and after darkness fell the buffalo
still were going. At last he could tell by
the feel of the ground that they had
| come to a very rough and hilly country
| the bluffs in fact that he had seen in the
afternoon. The herd, unable to scale the
| bluffs had to divide, most of the buffalo
turning to the left, but some of them fol-
| lowing the valleys between the emfnences.
/ Caspion's horse was forced by the buffalo
into one of these valleys and carried along
with the column that crowded the narrow
| defle. 1t was not so dusty there as 1t
| had been on the open plain, and presently
| when the valley widened, letting in the
| light of the moon, he saw ahead OF MN
| the white buffalo They came to a place
| where a deep ravine worn by water, cut
| close against the side of the bluff The
buffalo that were nearest the hillside kept
| their footing. The others were crowded
| off into the ravine, and Caspion could
| hear them falling to the bottom. his
| horse passed the place safely, and as the
| valley widened beyond he took this chance
| to rein his horse away from the buffalo
! and got from among them. Finding
I "a q
| in there and passed the rest of the night
| with the buffalo pounding past him for
| hours after he had rolled himself in his
blanket.
| I'm the morning light only two or three
| struggling buffalo were to be seen in the
| valley. But looking over the edge of the
| ravfne. Caspion saw scores of buffalo ly-
| ing at the bottom killed or too badly hurt
| to get away. Against the bank was lean
| ing the white buffalo, a young bull with
his leg broken. The hunter climbed down
| into the gulch, shot the bull with his pis-
| toll, and took its skin. Having secured the
/ tongue and cut of meat from the haunch
| 10 serve as provisions, Caspion rode along
| the valley until he came to where it
| opened out on the plain to the south
| Five miles away was the main herd of
| buffalo which the band of Cheyennes
| were just attacking, riding in upon 1t
from three sides. Coming toward them
| from the eastward were the Indian wo-
| men on ponies drawing poles behind them
on which to pack meat and pemmican,
showing that the band was not war
party but was out autumnal hunt.
The Indians had killed Tillman and
chased Caspion, simply because they
happened to run across them, and the
chance to kill a. white man was too good
to miss. They were busy now, and Cas-
pion, circling widely to north, rode back
to where the wagon was, without molesta-