Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-08
LAST OF THE BUFFALO
Corgr3ss Asked to EstGb ish Great
Breeding Preserve
TO RAISE HhLFBREED CAIILi,
Congressman Curtis Wants "Buf-
faIo" Jones 10 Be in Charge.
b G. B S ON H U n L :
BIG BI S ON H U n L :


known to exist in the United States brings
the number up to about 500, though the
count is not believed to be accurate With
the exception of the small herd in the Ma
tional Yellowstone Park, all of these buff
f&Io are in a greater or less degree of cap
tivity, ranging from the small animal
houses of the geological parks in the cast
ern cities TO the vast Enclosures of some of
the western cattle ranches 1t may be
said that all the buffalo are really in cap
tivity, for even those in the Yellowstone
Park are closely watched, and if. for any
reason, they show inclination to stray be-
yOnd the boundaries, tn y are driven back
by the soldiers and game keepers in charge.
With the exception of these Yellowstone
Park animals and a few in the public col
1ections, the small and scattered herds are
owned by private parties. some of them
merely fad or as additions to we'll
kept parks, others for commercial pur-
poses.
Proposed Government Reservation.
The United States government has never
made formal attempt to prevent the ex-
tinction of the buffalo, or has assisted to
any marked degree the efforts Of private
persons 20 propagate the species Congress
man Curtis of Kansas has introduced
bill this winter which represents the first
CONSIDERABLE tllOEI To SEIZURE gov
aid in this direction. His bill is entitled,
"A bill to set apart a preserve for the
American bison and for other purposes"
The bill authorizes and directs the Secre-
tary of the Interior to set apart a tract of
land containing 100 600 acres in the county
OF Eddy OF in the county of Lincoln, in
the territory of New Mexico, and to lease
this tract to such person as In his judg-
ment can carry out the provisions of the
proposed law for a term of twenty years
The lessee is to be given the right to fence
and control the land and use it for the
breeding and grazing of American bison,
and for the purpose of prOpagating other
domesticated, indigenous, native American
animals. The lessee is also to be allowed
TO put upon this land the necessary do
nestle animals requisite to care for the
bison and for the purpose of experimenting
in the crossing of such bison with domestic
cattle
The lessee. among other conditions is re-
quired to deliver to the United States gov
eminent on board the cars at the nearest
railway station two full-blooded bison
each year after the first year of the lease,
the bison to be both male or both female,
or one male and one female. at the discre-
ton of the Secretary of the Interior. He is
to be required to keep his herd of full
blooded buffalo up to not less than 100 head
during the period of the lease.
To be eligible as a lessee, the party Sc
curing this tract from the government shall
place upon the land within one year from
the passage OF the bill not less than sew
enty full-bluoded American bison of which
not less than half shall be females. which
bison shall be maintained for breeding pur-
poses The bill makes 1t unlawful during
the existence of the lease for any other
than the owner to kill or injure any of the
animals, or to hunt any kind of game
within the inclosed boundary without the
written consent of the owner, and 1t is
made unla wful also for any person other
than the owner to kill, injure or dispose of
any bison within the territory of New Mex
leo. Penalties are provided for violation of
= and he and Oth ar
Of the proposed buffalo ranch are fully
protected by special legislation.
For buffalo" Jones.
While no names are mentioned in this
bill, IT is known that the measure is for the
benefit Of Buffalo Jones the noted Kan
sas hunter and trapper, for he is the only
man In the United States today who could
comply with the terms of the law as now
proposed, requiring seventy full-blooded
animals to be placed upon the range within
q year from the passage Of the act.
Mr.. Jones is now on the Goodnight ranch
IN Texas. deyoting himself to experiments
IN producing buffalo cattle or half-breed
buffalo. Charles Goodnight, the famous
Panhandle cattle man. has a herd of about
seventyfive buffalo, and Jones has already
succeeded in raising from these half a
dozen halfbreed buffalo cattle These have
been separated from the full-bloods and
give promise of thriving and multiplying
The half-breed animals bear a strong re-
they are thoroughly gentle, and have all
the habits of domestic cattle 1t Is be-
lleved by those who have seen them that
they will furnish valuable article of COM
merce in their hides. which resemble the
now high-priced buffalo robes. and that
they Will make hardy, self-susta ming
north and IN other places where the eli
mate necessitates the highest order of
"rustllng'' ability.
In south Dakota and Montana
The next largest herd of buffalo in pri-
waite ownership Is one at Fort Pierre, South
Dakota, which numbers about fifty. They
are owned by James Philip, generally known
through the cattle country as ''Scotty''
Philip This herd also contains number
OF half-breed buffalo cattle, produced in
the same way as those in the Panhandle
Mr. Philips herd represents the result of a
hunt in the Little Missouri country about
twenty years ago, when Frederick Dupree,
an old French hunter, in company with a
band of Indians and half-breeds, captured
half dozen calves. Mr.. Dupree allowed
these buffalo to range wild in the Cheyenne
river country. except that he allowed none
OF them to stray. When Dupree died the
buffalo We're sold to Philip after fruitless
attempt to sell them to the United States
government. These buffalo In Mr. PhjIin,s
herd have had practically the freedom
which they would have enjoyed before thetr
nominal captivity, and they have developed
to full perfection One bull was sold out
of this herd for show purposes several wears
ago for 81 600 They are now confined In a
pasture among the rough lands in a bend
of the Missouri river, about eight miles
from Fort Pierre. The fence which re-
strains them is of woven wire, seven feet
high, with posts five feet apart, and over
all strung barbed wires.
Another valuable herd of buffalo Is owned
by c. F. Conrad Of Kalispell, Montana. He
now has thirty-seven head of full-blooded
buffalo in a 200-acre field, one mile from
the town in which he lives. Mr.. Conrad
haS hot rhn huff 1nG rats sod In
tivlty fail to develop as well as those In
the wild state. The striking difference is
in the body between the hips and shoulders
The animals raised in confinement have
shorter bodies and lack the muscle which
gave the appearance of strength to their
wild ancestors s-& ~
Change in q Few Years.
1t Is difficult for those who remember
the vast herds Of buffalo which roamed the
western states but a few years aRo To