Evening star., 1902-08-01
BUFFAL0ES' GUARDIAN
GOVERNMENT KEEPER OF THE
YELLOWSTONE PARK HERD.
Old Hunter Who Crossed Bison With
Black Native Cattle With
Successful Results.
Topeka Correspondence Detroit Free Press.

Iopeka correspondence Detroit Free Press.
Buffalo" Jones Is at home this week
| making arrangements to go to Yellowstone
| Park, where he will assume the duties of
preserving the few remaining buffaloes. a
job given him recently by President Roose-
Welt.
No hunter In the world has ever killed
more buffaloes than Buffalo Jones' He
got his name on account of being the great
est buffalo hunter in America. He used to
kill them by the hundred for their hides for
robes He made thousands of dollars out of
it. But when the bufraloes began to disap-
pear he repented. and now is that animal s
best friend: He realized that unless they
were protected by some one it would be
only matter Of few years until the buff
falo would be extinct. So he established a
buffalo ranch at Garden City, Kan. and
corralled as many buffaloes as possible and
domestcated them. few years ago that
ranch proved too small. and he went In
with Charles Goodnight and established the
famous Goodnight ranch in Texas. The buff
falo herd was moved down there where 1t
still remains In the meantime the wild
buffalo had disappeared. Only one or two
now roam at large. They are at Lost Park,
Col
1nbreeding Absolutely Fatal.
Buffalo" Jones realized that by inbreed-
Ing the few remaining buffaloes on his
ranch he would in the course of a few
years destroy the last OF the kind and he
decided to do some experimenting He
crossed the buffaloes with the black native
cattle. The new race resulting from the
cross is known as the catalo On the Good
night ranch there are more than one hun
dred head of catalo. Jones exhibited a cat
alo robe at the meeting of the Kansas board
Of agriculture and the delegates were
amazed. The fur Is long and as soft as
beaver. Instead of the coarse hair on the
shaggy neck and shoulders of the bison the
catalo robe has hair the same length all
over
Unlike many other hybrids. a catalo cow
Is as fertile it's ancestors. One Of them
has raised eight calves in the last seven
years. These animals have been bred back
until the latest progeny are fifteen-six-
teenths buffalo. The three-quarter bloods
furnish the best robes, while the quarter
pioods are the most promising from the
standpoint of beef production. These ami
mails. no matter how little buffalo blood
runs through their veins, take all the habits
of the buffalo
Buffalo Jones says that the Creator.
after surveying the Landscape DER found
no animal that could stand the blizzards of
the American desert or the Texas siroccos
SO He brought into existence the buffalo
and whispered into his ear not to tramp
out the short grass of the plains. For this
reason. he says. the buffalo in his palmy
days. when allowed to pursue his own way
always Travelled single fie like the Indian
In moving from one section of the country
to another the buffalo always used the old
beaten paths. In this way the short grass
was not tramped out. Water being scarce.
the buffalo did not pollute it. Neither did
he pollute his paths. This is why he never
had foot and mouth disease, but was al
ways healthy.
Always Perfect Health.
A cataio. on an average, weighs about 300
pounds more than the native steer 1t car
ries- more than 100 pounds of meat in its
hump. which is equal to the best porter
house steak. The hams are light unless
the cattle strain predominates. These ami
mails live and keep fat on pastures on
which native cattle would starve. They
never gulp down any poisonous weeds and
are always in perfect health.
After saving the buffalo from externlina-
ton. Buffalo" Jones painted for other ami
mails to conquer. so in 1897 he started
alone to the arctic regions after the most
remote animal in the world, the musk OK
He CAPTURED five alive and turned his face
southwark. leading his captives tied to his
deg sled. Day after day he plodded along,
travelling and sleeping in the daytime and
fighting off the arctic wolves at night. The
Indians and Esquimaux had warned him
repeatedly not to attempt to take any musk
OK out of those regions alive. They be-
lieved that if any were taken out they
would be damned in the eyes of the Gre
ator. They are a superstitious as well as
religious people. But Jones needed not
their warning. One morning when he
awoke he was Mortified to find his five
musk OK dead with their throats cut The
natives had followed him and put into exc
cution their threats.