The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-04-29

They always face storm. and never
| drift" as do cattle. They lie down WIKI
| their heads to the fercest sto N, throw
ling their heads around on their sizes ana
sleeping contentedly. w1iie tn" great pass
Of fur on their high humps Shields Inc
more exposed parts Of their bodies from
| the winds.
| What is true OF the buffalo is also true
| OF the catalo, a cross which I originated
first in Kansas. and afterward continued
at the Goodnight ranch in Texas. Ihe
catalo Is cross between the buffalo and
| the domestic cow, and in all essentials II
| takes its instinct from the strongest
bleod-that of the buffalo. In my travels
| in the Arctic regions became convinced
| that millions of meat-bearing animals
could be maintained there If Nature
| laws were followed. We cannot expect 10
cultivate cattle or buffaloes on the lux
uriant moss OF the far north, where REIN
deer and musk thrive. Neither can We
| expect to make a complete success OF
cattle on the buffalos natural pasturaSe'
/ The new race of cattle-the catatoss-
which I have produced by crossing the
buffalo with the alloway and RoianSls
cattle-are as well adapted TO the snort
grass country as the buffalo, and they
combine with the best natural character
istics of the buffalo the peculiar advan-
tages of cattle for human food. The cat
aio has the great size and weight Of the
buffalo. 1t breeds as fast and is as
healthy. Its flesh is as juicy, compact
| and sweet as that of our best cattle. For
| shelter it requires only the handsome
| black beaver hide. which is cross be
tween the strong heavy coat of the bur
| falo and the softer hide or its COW
mother.
| In a general way the Goodnight herd
of buffaloes and cataloes, in which Mr..
and Mrs Goodnight, of Goodnight, Tex
and myself have joint interest, is pretty
well known throughout the west Colonel
Henry Inman, who has written the his
! tory of my life Of adventure in the west
and of my Arctic explorations, has told
something OF my connection with the bur
falo, while articles have appeared con-
corning the Goodnight herd. There seems
| to have been some misunderstanding
| about the proposition that Gooinights
| and myself have made to congress.
| In 1856 Mr.. Char.es Goodnight, Texas
|
caught three buffalo calves. These were
the beginning of herd which is at pres
ent the largest in the country. About the
same time I had a small herd in Kansas.
These 1 took to Nebraska and shortly
afterward L sold the herd of a hundred.
They were taken to Montana and ] af-
terward purchased them and took part
of them to Texas.
| Along with the Goodnights l have es-
| tablished a ranch of about 300 acres.
On this we have twenty elk, forty deer
and a number of specimens of pronghorn
antelope, a species which Is nearly ex-
tinct We have also 10 buffaloes and
about eighty cattle Mrs Goodnight is
now getting along in years. She and
Mr. Goodnight have loved their buffaloes
as they would have loved their children
if they had ever had any. They are both
anxious that their herd of buffaloes shall
go to the government
From the proceeds of the sales from
| this buffalo herd Mrs. Goodnight cstab-
lished a little college. Their ranch lies
up in the Panhandle country. and their
college offers to about 100 boys and girls
the only chance they have for obtaining
an education. At this school they boa, d
and are taught at cost-about s10 per
month.
| If this herd of buffaloes is sold to pri-
vate parties, geological gardens, eircusses,
etc, the chances are that the animals
will become extinct. The Goodnights, as
well as myself, have been anxious that
the government take the herd AMI that
an arrangement be made whereby an in
come can be had from the surplus ami
Inals to maintain the college and to pay
for the labor of fene ne a part OF The
public domain and caring for the trffa-
| Ices. The present ranch at Goodnight Is
| too small for the animals now on 1t: 'he
only way of procuring additional land is
! by selling part of the hs-l, and the land
around the ranch is somewhat expensive.
Down in New Mexico there are SO, fGC,c0J
acres of unoccuoied lard. Around the
foothills of the Gusd tioupe mountains
nothing lives at pre- sent, bat here is an
! ideal place for raising Il greac herd Cf huff
| faloes, for the buffalo grass an1 the
gamma grass grow nlea.ifuliy, and there
| is a sufficiency of shade. In response to
| the urging of almost every scientific So
ciety in the country and to the kindly ex-
I! presslons Of every one almost with whom
| have come in contact and their express
sions of opinion that the government
should do something for the preservation
of a herd Of bufaloes, I came to wash
ington at the beginning of the present
| session of congress and made the govern
| ment an offer on behalf OF the Goodnights
and myself. My proposition was that The
government set aside 100000 acres IF its
waste land for the buffalo. l asked for
| the use OF 100000 acres for period
OF twenty years. stating that i, might
be possible to get along with 2,5te'90)
acres
| In return for this grant-and a grant
would be necessary in the case of the buff
| falo, as it is a migratory animal ana has
| to be fenced-I proposed that the GovoI n
ment was to have all of the females If
| the original herd and OF the Increase Cf
the herd. As many of the males were TO
be kept as were necessary for breeding
purposes, and from the sale OF the re-
mainder of the males / Gas 70 pay tor
the care of the herd and % pay to tie
Goodnights or to the Goodnight college
| for period OF twenty years a certain
| proportion OF the net prol.s. At the con-
| cluslon of the twenty years he entire
herd was 10 be turned over % the govern
ment AS I am now SOLE = years Of
age, I could not make i longer contract
/ than that. while / should have 70 wsit
many years before tbs Increase IN the
| herd would mean any profit 10 Ene,
Chairman Lacey Of ne pubic Ian L
| committee of the house favored my prrT-
| osition. Mr. Miller II kansas AMI Nh
| CleoeTg OF Texas have both he@7 among
| the ardent friends OF the bin but IL has