The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1899-12-08

-. AIUs-, Nal-' AA'-Nt'F
n M. 4Eeis. looking over '-e D.-es Y.
MA. I, window which represented :
.s ~ buIaioes. lie STOOD m 'front.'
... time. ard - he relolnf the crowd
business man remarked.
ri rori.r he looked AZ \. That was
rln Bore. | d0nt know hls righ.
% I'M, that's what lie was cal because
". fortune out 81 bcnes-buiiaio
,fter those animals had been wiped
~. AZ the earth. He's forgotten me.
49, banking in those days. and ~ s-w
Zen and knew his business pat
~. lives somewhere herrabouts, bni
...n let lie isn't picking ny bones now
z. making his own as comfortable as POS
Twenty years ago there were alive
-,,r,tns on the plains 5,01,nQO or Goo.
~. igFs.oes. and there was an army ~
ara Indians trying 70 wipe them out
,t.f.. hunters II collected would make
.rry u 900 o. i,coy men, and as ioi
.r. thev had dozen armies IN the ticlc
~- iuHalocs for three dollars apiece
.Iohn Bone was a hustler On ranch
--farn Kansas, and was hired by tAe
.rts Ai.l hlllls0es. and t1Iei rtAf io
- 1871 he has killed more huAA cfs
.rtane. X aas hard wlTN, and BE
r. decided ID 60 into business Tor IN m-
.,- be didn't e. III Tor hides. he wcn-
iares lie happened 10 sec a notice -
..t.rn gapsv that Ola bones were wanted.
ar.srei ur, CORES 0ndencc and tcunt
.- In loG.l maze SIS or 50 ton for them
started ~ lie hr-i rented Place tor
f with plenty OF acr' age, and then with
three brothers started out with CART
.,.ng bones. AT that time the country
dotted with buffalo skeletons from one
ga 10 tie other The hunters only took the
ss. sometimes the tongues, and et, the
entire animal. 20 i was not difficult mat
IRA, -st all the bones he wanted. lie Pulled
-lsm up in heaps Then the carts came
,r-. ana loaded up and dragged them 10 the
amr Ia tins way he heared up pile that
ut. such curiosity that II was called the
.B5re mountain and John Bones monn-
neni
HE was. so far as know. the pioneer
l-ne picker. though there might have been
s.e-s In what was known a. the north
ts-s ana 30 sou may be sure he did not tel.
arrore wha, he was doing The hunters
.lt ne was crazy and called him John
Bones. joan was smar. enough 20 hep out
,hs idea ard be said nothing and Just piled
III B. bones lie told one man he Was gong
t8p.e w a. many a. he could get and make
N. luse D; heads. and then charge ad-
m-.1n The first lni he piled UP IN a his
-.asrt. and tile last time | law i. il was 81
M. h-n ard ~ feet thick and made W q
il lsari- of zones. A stranger sight you
fessr saw. and certainly monument 20 the
t-.-ia ,.1l 81 the bison
-Ia while he was piliug NJ this house. a
lera-ied Il. John had has brothers and some
y F..
tae bones and packed them % tie rearcs
rs ral and got sis ton Tor them !. O. b.
aid sometimes more.
-NAat John made | don't know. but
fortune without doubt The railroads could
ts tie story. and | know that in one yeai
tie Atchison. Topeka { Santa f. sAlppf'
lanWD pounds. that was in ls72- In !
thsy shipped abcu. 1900 900 pounds and i
"a -ear.y 10000 pounds In the north ihl
great places for shipment were Billing
Mont. AMI jamestown. Dakota. Here y0i
could see W 20 ten Or II years ar
PILES rs bones as large as the state house
wa. going d say Finally. when hide. berai
-i scarce. the hone hunters were as tlicl
a. logs ard with biz bullock teams tlg
vt-- all over the country wherever buffai
- lfen known and took every bone. Inc
asGel them ~ the Missouri river an
shipped tLen 81 steamer down % Contrl
.r,-. from w.ith tens q thousands q ton
were stripped al over the word
IL those days my business took me ou
10 .ae AIMS. We often advanced none
10 ite responsible hunters for their ouih
end | was often in the camps General
iaere were three men together They had
v4sar. tent. horses. rifies. ammunition en-
r--rci provisions. Each nl-n was arme
wiiA a rifle, three skinninz knives and
y steel or sslarpener. and they were ~
hunters from way back: many % thei
would kin ~ 10 80 bufIaloes a day The
method was 10 steal up TO herd. lie n CO..
re4Eien; and shoot the leader. The buTa
vas a stupid beast and would stand iooksr
= ile smoke and gather around tie fir
victim. Finally another one would sta
9i and the hunter would shoot Il and u
ne would lie reenacted. and % Cd until
sage man by firing about once a -ninu
-sherE known in a very short time TO VII
,a' a herd
Near.y al these skins were hanLle1
Ntw York by two firms. one firm boar
q rnc years 2i6.l75 robes and hides. 4
tA iaty pasd 500. and probably 81
~ AZ .eas; S2,O00.OD0. The other firm "a
0u trr robes and hides In four years abb
$1,000. The two firms in eight years "a
o-' l23.eD Tor hides and robes. 20 ),
tan a-ure OUT as to the number 81 aliuas
slaughtered.
John Bone worked at first for men vi
iiAl. then wnen they got 100 or -
'e+l Tie brothers went in for themsev,
\ was not always PLAIN sai.ing. Their ID
Wfff olsen eaugat ia biizzaris and frozen
'A. and their bones mingled with TIC
n te animals they were an search o.
laen4 i.l.s man tell an experience which W
Illustrated the number % bufaloe. AZ I
i-i-e and The dangers q the sport lie v
-- ting for homes and had four wage
lsstl lish with them when one T. gh: tn
-'iFi rushing. roaring sound a. q
mighty wind. while the very elrth seen
iremo.e Buffa-oes on a s.aTspcle,' CT
boues. starting up; and n a few momei
over the divide came black mass u for
t.Ai covered the earth. They seemed TO
l-'lirg on with irresistible force and ",
m'ns down on the camp ike an avaiAnc
Bone himself rushed toward them. firing