The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-28
BUFFALO BILL AS A GUIDE.
One Sportsman's Experience In the
Big Horn Basin.

chicago lfleE-Ocedu. II > lHS oiiiy
place in the United States where big
game and lots of it can be found to-
day." enthusiastically declared George
P. Everhart, on his return recently
from the Big Horn basin in Wyoming.
where for five weeks he was with a
hunting party arranged by Hon. Will
liam f. Cody.
Il left Chicago on Oct. 2S." continued
Mr.. Everhart, accompanied by H. NJ.
Gerens. owner of the Iroquois hotel in
Buffalo, n. Y, and Henry Foote, a
New York capitalist. both good sports
men. When we reached Billings, Mont,
we found Buffalo Bills, private car
waiting to take us to Red Lodge, the
terminal of the Northern Pacific rail-
road. There our host, Major John NJ.
Burke, and Pony Bob the famous ex-
press rider of other days, were on hand
with bronchos and wagons to carry US
and our outfits over the Shoshone
mountains to the metropolis OF the Big
Horn basin. Cody-the metropolis re-
ferred tots only two years old, and
has about Is houses one store, black
smith shop and a big irrigation plant.
The town is near the center of the Big
Horn basin, which lies 1000 feet below
the summit of the Rocky mountains.
and in area is as large as the state of
Massachusetts. The Shoshone river
flows through it.
..The main street of Cody is along the
river The inhabitants call 1t River
street. Water street. 'Shoshone ave-
nue. and on extra fine days Major
Burke would probably call it Canyon
boulevard but Pony Bob and other
old timers always called it the Stink
ing water trail The Indians gave the
Shoshone river the name of Stink
water and rightly, too, but it has been
discovered that the sulphur and car
bon springs which flow into the river
possesses wonderful curative powers
Within a stones throw of each other
are two springs. one having tempera-
ture of IS degrees, and the other on oO
degrees. The waters of the hot springs
of the Big Horn basin possess the me
dicinal properties of the famous not
springs of Arkansas.
But beautiful as the basin is,
adaptable to agriculture and rlcn IN
minerals. the game that abounds in 1T
was the chief charm for me. l nave
Travelled all over this country and know
that the Big Horn basin is the Sports
mans paradise. There's good hunting
in thousands of places-but no finding.
During the FIVE weeks in that country
I saw bears, mountain lions elk deer,
antelope. Rocky mountain sheep. W ives
and coyotes. tc say nothing of small
game. which included the finest mallard
ducks 1 ever tasted. The mountain
streams abound in trout and grayllng:
The last day fished 1 caught q
mountain trout. ranging in weight
from one and one-haf TO TWO anu one
half pounds.
"One day we saw a herd OF loO elk
We only killed four of them. Our party
made a record by killing in one day
four Rocky mountain sheep, the warlest
animal in the world. not barring the
channels. By the way. the story about
Rocky mountain sheep leaping from
crag to crag and alighting on their
horns is-like lots of other good stories
not true. The stories of the jumping
of the mountain sheep have perhaps
been exaggerated, but the way they do
leap along the mountain is truly
wonderful"
Wasn't it very cold in that coun-
try?"
"The lowest temperature was s de-
grees above zero. but so dry is the CHI
mate that we did not feel the cold.
So mild are the winters that nearly
every day the men go around in their
shirt sleeves, and l bathed in the sui
phur springs nearly every day.
Il hardly know which is more enjoy
able, hunting for big game in the day
time, or listening at night to the reml-
niscences of Buffalo Bill Major Burke
and Colonel Henry Inman. who was the
quartermaster of Sheridan's army. The
only thing on the whole trip which l
cannot look back on with pleasure is a
ride which Buffalo Bill invited me TO
take through Box canyon. 1t is only
six miles long, but no man ever passed
it. 1t lies between the Rattle
snake and Cedar mountains, and its
walls, hundreds of feet high. are al
most perpendicular. In places we
passed the path was less than a foot in
width. and misstep simply meant
death.
Just like riding on Michigan ave
nue. complacently remarked Buffalo
Bill after we had passed one of the
most dangerous places. l think he took
me out on that trip just to try my
nerve. I followed him because. after
we had entered the canyon, there
wasn't any chance for a horse to turn
around till we had gone for several
miles. ! wouldn't make that trip again
for the hest husinhSS block in Chicago