The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-07-05
LAST OF THE BUFFALO.
Geo. W. Bailey Tells of His Hunt
Near Medicine Lodge.
From the Wellington Journal:

From the Wellington Journal:
Buffalo hunting is thing of the past
of 1873. A. H Swan, G: A Thompson
and myself composed the outht- vs.
went on what was then known as the
Hunters Trail, which passed through
where Mayfield Milan, Argonia and
the city of Harper now stand, and the
objective point being old k1oWa' on
Medicine Lodge river. The hrst puIc
faiO found was on the west side OF
Beaver creek, in Ryan township. There
were six OF them. These were the nrst
wild buffalo either of US had ever seen,
and the last seen for several days. After
crossing the Chikaskia there was no
timber until we reached Medicine river.
This attempted to do. driving all
day and away into the night. We final
~ gave it up and camped- A cold
March wind was blowing from the
north so to be more comfortable we all
slept, or rather lay in the same wagon.
If the reader has never tried the feat
of three ordinary sized men sleeping in
a narrow wagon bed, they will fail to
appreciate the condition we were in
that night, the wind blowing at the
rate of 40 or so miles an hour, and cold
l shall never forget that night lay
in the middle, where the peddler froze
to death, so the story goes that once
heard. Turning over from right side
TO left side, or vice versa, was accOmp
1ished by a united effort, with the COM
ma nd to right spoon or left spoon, given
by the one getting tired first. Imagine
our feelings when daylight came, look
ing out, and there in less than half
mile distant was plenty of timber and
shelter.
From there we went up the Medicine
river, in northeast of where Medicine
Lodge city now stands, near Elm creek.
Here we found plenty of buffalo. but we
did not know how to hunt then We
went at it Indian style, that is, shoot
ing them on the run while our
horses. This was the widest sport
ever had. The first herd I got into on
horseback. 1 thought as they all had
their tongues out that they would soon
be unable to run, and L would surely
have all the buffalo 1 wanted; 1 did
not know that they could run all day
that way. Here on each side of me
were thousands of buffalo and some
antelope mixed up with them. Twice,
when near the head of the herd, a part
of the leaders would turn to the left
and part to the right. This would
bring the two divisions together and
they would file up together until it
seemed like hundreds in a file. Both
times 1 stopped, thinking each time
that there would be a lot of dead ones,
but not so. They would, calves and all,
get up and light out as though nothing
had happened. This manner of killing
buffalo came near costing me my life
One day l was to do the Skinning.
Swan and Thompson were to do the
killing The knife was to Ga
butcher knife),I put in the inside breast
pocket of my overcoat, with the blade
up. Going out to where the buffalo
We're, I thought I would kill one and
then go to skinning. Riding alongside
of a COW and calf as fast as an ordinary
horse could run, and using my revolver
irving to kill the calf my horse jump
ed sideways and threw me off. How
many times L turned over 1 never knew.
The ground where 1 fell was as level
as barn floor and covered with buff
falo grass. The point of the knife pen
etrated the hollow of my left arm, sew
ering a blood vessel Before the bleed
ing could be stopped 1 was very weak
from the loss of blood. No more buff
falO Killed skinned nv
that trip. This settled it; 1 had more
than the contract called for. Swan and
Thompson finished loading the wa CONS
ROmeward we started. Every Jolt of
the wagon was a painful reminder of
me playing the champion bareback
rider along side of that COW and calf I
never made an ecga cement to perform
an that capacity afterward.
GEO w RAITiFY