The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-12
BUFFALO BONE COLLECTOR.
THE war "JOHN BONE" STARTED
4 PLAINS INDUSTRY
Got Tired Out shooting Bufiaiors for Their
Hides and Gathered Ip Bones Made ,
Heap Of Money out OF II Before Others
Enmnh nnI Tint Mna nrnniuI.I.

Found out Tint IL Was Profitable
\ tall. lnnk, long haired man IN a very wide.
brlmmcd sombrcro and wearing rlanking watch.
chain uf colossal size, was sauntrrinr along trn
principal street of Los Angeles CAT recently with
hands deep in his pockets lunkiur over the hcada
~ almost every one. when his eye was caught 80
a picture in a window which represented u suaIl
herd Of buiTalocs lie stood IN front " II euu,
time. and as he reiolnci the crowd u Kansas hu,i.
ness man remarked.
NO wonder he looked AT H. That Was I'D John
Bone | don't know his right name hut that,
what no was called because hr made n fortune utt
ii bones buffalo bones, after lhvS, animals had
been wiped off the face II the earth llr- forgot
ten me. but was banking IN those days, and
saw him often and knew his business pat I
reckon he lives somcw here hctcahuutS, hut Won
can bet he isn't picking ny bones now he's making
his own as comfortable as possible Twenty
years ago there were alive and roaming ON tho
plains five ur six milton buiTnlocs aud There
was an army II whites and Indians trying Ia Wtpo
them out The white hunters II collected would
make an army oi sN ~ seven Thousand men. aud
rs for Indians, they had n dozen armies In the
field killing hufalocs for 81 apiece
This John Bone was hustler on n ranch in
northern Kansas and was hired by the owner to
kill buHalocs and EXPECT next To- Buffalo l}Ul 10
has killed more blUnlocs than any one II was
hard work, and he nnally decided Ia go into husi-
ness for himself, but h. didn't 20 In for hides, hs
went after bones lie happened 10 see n notice IN
an Eastern paper that old bones were wanted, and
he opened ny correspondence and found that hs
could make SIS ur $50 ton for them 50 he started
In. lie first rented place for camp with plenty
of acreage and then with his three brothers started
out with carts collecting bones. At that time tho
country was dotted with buffalo skeletons from
one end To the other The hunters only took the
hides, sometimes tn" tongues. and left the entire
animal ~ II not d fcul, matter Ia get all tho
bones he wanted lie piled them w IN heaps
Then the carts came along and loaded NJ and
dragged them Ia the camp In this way he hcapcd
up pile that was such curiosity that It was
called the Bone Mountain aud John Bones
Monument,
lie WAS, 80 far rs ! know tn" pioneer bono
picker. though there might have been others in
what WAS known rs the north h,rd, and 81 Won
may BE- sure he did not tell any one what he was
doing The hunters thought he was crazy and
called him John Bones. John IVES smart enough
10 help out the idea and he said nothing and just
piled up his bones He told one man he was going
20 pile up as many ~ he could get and make a hig
house Of heads and then charge admission. Tho
first lot he piled up in biz square. and the last
time saw IT, II was thirty feet high and twenty
feet thick and made up n thousands "f bones.
stranger sight YOU never saw, and certainly a
monument Ia the dcstrWc, % of the bison
But while he was pIling UP this house, A. he
called II. John had his brothers and some one
inside at work and th"s" mon ground up the bones
and hacked them Ia tic nearest railroad
and got SIS a ton for them - b and sometimes
more when the supply was exhausted here h'
mo,cd on and began another fort a. u" skulls
aud skcl'tu were seemingly ln' Nhhusilh'r.
WHY, have seen places where for miles the country
would b" DOTTED with The bleaching bones and It
wa Eu trick To get thousands. lBy aud by Others
began {" get On I" II and II was one Of the sights
On ia" northern roads 10 SEQ the plies II buffalo
bones waiting shipment
without doubt The RAILROADS could tell tho story,
aud know that IN "nc. ycar thc Atchisnn Topeka
and Santa fe shipped ioouln pounds, that vs.
in 1872 IN 70 they SHIPPED about three million
rounds and in ~ ncariy seven million pounds.
u the North the great Places for shipment We"
YOU c'uld Sc, mp I" ten ur twelve years ago piles
OF bones a. large a. The State House was going
the bone hunters were n thick ~ hops and with
: * bullock teams they went all over the country
bone. They hauled them Ia the Missouri River
and SHIPPED Them by steamer down {" central
places. from which tens 81 thousands OF tons "ero
In th0>r days my business took me out on the
plains We often advanced money 10 H." RESPONSE
bic hunters for their outfit and was often in tho
amps General! IN, r. were three men trgcthc'.
They had wagon tent. horses. rifles 6mmuni.
armed with a rinr thrr' skinnnr knives and =
long steel ~ shari-nrr and they We're rot hunters
from way back many "i them would kill fifty 10
sic IN 10 herd lie in conccalmcnt and shoot
the leader The huiial" was stupid beast and
around the tir~, victim Finally another one Would
start oil and the hunter would shoot II and the
single man by iirlnE about once minute has
been known III very short time 10 wipc "ut n herd.
Iearly all ,h"SG skins were handed n New
hou' ht in nine years 2i6,l15 robes and
~ robes ana hides in four, years ebon,
$40 600 The tw" firms IN eight years pad
cut 81, 233 900 for hides and ruhc,. 81 you can
igure out rs I" the number II animals Slaughtered
20 n bone worked nlhtst i"fmrn with car,
lal then when they got twelve ur fifteen hundred
head the brothers went in for themselves ID
wa not always plain sailing 7 heir mcn, Wcre
and their bones mingled with these "l the animals
hey were IN scarch Of heard this man tell
her 81 buiTnloes at The time aud the dangers ~ tho
,pnti Tie Vas hunting for bones aud had four
hey heard a rushing. ruarng sound rs 81
mighty wind, while the very earth seemed Ia trcm-
Die 'HuiIaloes On stampede" rrlcd Bones,
starting mp: and IN few moment over the d.
vide came black mass 81 forms that covered Ito
'arih, They seemed {" be- pushed IN with r.
amp like an avalanche Punr himself rushed
oMnrd them firing his gun I" turn 'h"n tipy>
heavy carts Together Rut The mass oi .uina4
anne on like the wind aud the men could only
tsyl beneath III" carts ON" was overturned
\ lille against the other WAS plcd solid mass 4
,crwing. grnaninE hsorS that v,rr crushed ~
iea,h by H." passing thr,ns he mon h9rCly
Icncaih them
vide and was i've drSS Tas,imr r,rs,r p"mt
N walk Hundreds were shot ~ ,hcy went
T. H., lhr men men never 'ninrng itm .hcr%?E,nN
irrai engines End cars ~ n cir rush 7 he \'rhl-