Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-05-31

The Goodnights are great friends of
Buffalo" Jones of Kansas. famous
hunter who had a herd in the north
west which he took to Texas and went
into partnership in the Goodnight
ranch. Mr.. and Mrs. Goodnight are
growing old. They have never had
any children of their own, but they
have learned to love their buffaloes
almost as much as IL the animals were
children, and they do not wish the
herd to become scattered and left to
die after they themselves are dead, so
they have asked the government to
give them a lease of a big tract of
wild land in New Mexico where buff
faloes can be raised and preserved,
they agreeing to supply animals for
national parks to pay some of the
profits to the Goodnight college, and
ut the end OF twenty years to give
their whole herd TO the government
Buffalo" Jones. their partner, is now
In Washington trying to get congress
to accept the offer.
OF unoccupied land in New Mexico
and in the section around the Guade-
loupe mountains nothing lives at the
present time. 1t Is the best place in
the world for raising a herd of buff
faloes, for there Is plenty OF buffalo
grass, gramma grass and shade, Mr..
Jones wants the government to set
$500, 900 acres of this land for the use
of the buffalo. and he will himself
agree to utilize 100000 acres OF IL for
this purpose. The committee on pub
lie lands in the lower house of con-
gress has agreed to recommend that
only 10000 acres be leased TO Mr..
Jones, which is not enough for his
purpose. as the buffalo is migratory
animal and likes TO wander about
IL can live on less land. though. than
cattle for the reason that cattle in
grazing run all over the fields. crop
ping a mouthful of grass here and
there and destroying more than they
eat. Besides which cattle only bite
of at first that part OF the grass con-
tanning the seeds and afterwards come
back and eat IL nearer the roots. The
bison when grazing line up like a
company of soldiers. about eight feet
apart, and eat the grass down TO
the roots as they go forward. The
strip OF grass left between each ami
NAL is about four feet wide and this
furnishes the seed the next year for
the land that has been eaten over, so
that plains on which buffaloes feed
are each year covered with fresh
grass. while In the places where cattle
feed the grass is soon destroyed. Buff
feloes never have the diseases common
TO cattle because Il Is cleaner ami
NAL. In drinking for instance, the
buffaloes come down 70 the water in
single file, like Indians or soldiers:
they are usually led 3y an old COW
and each one treads In the tracks of
the one before II. This makes deep
paths in the prairie, called trails, and
when once these trails have been
made the buffaloes always use them
in going to and from their drinking
places. When they get to the water,
they so in, drink their I'LL and come
right out again. Cattle straggle down
without any system or order, wallow
in the watering place, often until 1t is
foul and the water unfit to drink. and
when they come out wander aimlessly
around, tramping down more grass
than they eat, while the buffaloes so
back to their feeding grounds In single
fie by the same trail they come.
In she summer time when cattle be-