Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-01
TANNING BUFFAL'OES
DIFFICULTIES IN SEPARATING
CALVES FROM THEIR MOTHERS.
Written for The Star.

| forts to dodge the savage buffalo. had been
mended we were ready to continue our
work of photographing the buffalo cows
| and their calves at Corbin Park. AS we
| entered the buffalo yards / was interested
| to note the effect which my narrow es-
| cape of the day before had had on my
nerves. l was just as determined to get
| the photographs and in sense / felt no
more fear than before, but 1 was fully con-
| scious that a change had taken place In the
| condition of my nerves, and that my heart
was beating faster than usual when / went
out to take the portrait of a certain tawny
| calf.
| / had another rather close cali that day,
| but not SO close q one as had Morrison,
| the buffalo man, who was helping me, and
whose picture / got as he shining
| over a fence, with an angry COW buffalo
| just below, foiled in her best Intentions of
| helping him over that self-same fence.
Morrison is afraid of nothing with horns
and hoofs on 1t, but he has had a very
wholesome respect for COW buffaloes eyer
since the day when he did not get over the
| fence quite fast enough, and a savage
| mother bison pinned his legs to the boards,
and caused him to go on crutches for three
months afterward.
Separating the Calves From Their
Mothers.
After we had taken a few more pictures
1t was decided to capture the calves, which
I was to bring up by hand. First of all 1t
was necessary to separate them from their
mothers, who otherwise would of course,
kill any one who laid hand on their ba-
bies. In order to separate them lit was
necessary to drive all the cows ard calves
from the buffalo yards to series of cattle
pens about quarter of a mile away, and
as these pens opened one into another we
expected to be able to accomplish our object
without much danger. A special fence had
been built between the yards and the cattle
pens. into which the buffaloes allowed
themselves to be driven without Offering
much resistance.
Gradually, by careful driving, the skillful
opening and shutting of gates, and a fear
less attitude maintained by Morrison
throughout, the separation was effected,
and we had all the cows in one pen and
their calves in the next. But what a hub
bub there was The cows, mad as hornets
were rushing up and down the fence and
gruntlng savagely, while the calves on the
other side were galloping this way and
that, leaping clean over one another in their
efforts to rejoin their mothers.
Now came the little job of putting them
into the crates, and one who has not
handled buffalo calves can quite understand
the fun it was. There was a theory that
they could be driven into narrow end of
the Enclosure and thence into crate placed
In the farthest corner But the calves
didn't see things just that way
Getting the Wild Things in Crates.
They raced from point to point, Jumping
slap into the fence until it seemed that
they must surely break their necks, and did
ABOUT every mortal thing except go into the
crates. So 1t was decided that they should
be caught by hand Four of the strongest
men on the place. besides myself entered
the pen, and then the real work began
The calves were pretty tired by this time
and their tongues were lolling far out Of
their mouths, but they We're conquered not
one little DIT. Every now and then one of
them would come at full speed, catch man
below his waist line, and send him to the
dust Presently one of the little scamps
came past me, and. crashed right into the
board fence, and fell al my feet thought
that he had killed himself, but instinctively
L threw myself upon him. He was only
slightly stunned and the next instant he
was on his feet and l was off mine I could
not have held him for ten seconds had not
two big fellows came up and thrown their
arms around him. He kicked butted and
plunged, until 1t seemed that he might get
aWay.Lin spite of us all. but one seized his
fore legs, another his hind legs and the
third took him round the body.
A Game Youngster.
When he found that he was really a cap
live, he opened his mouth and bawled with
all his might, and all the cows in the next
enclosure answered him at once and ground
their heads against the fence until we
feared 1t might give way. We prayed that
it would hold; we knew what would happen
if it didn't. The three of us finally got the
calf into deer crate, and in the meantime
the other two men had captured another.
When the second one was put into the
crate there was a fight at once, and the
two little wild things butted another
vigorously on general principles. little
later another crate had two occupants. and
we left them to quiet down. before they
were taken over Croydon mountain to Sun
set Ridge
Early in the afternoon l started for
home. leaving Morrison to follow with the
calves over a longer but easier route He
arrived at o'clock at night and l went
out to meet him with lantern. First
thing he asked to inspect the quarters in
tended for the buffaloes. I took him into
the barn and showed him pen which the
carpenters had made to hold -four calves"
He didn't say much. but could see that
he didn't approve of the pen. He called for
some boards and raised the sides of the pen
more than foot, or until they were over
five feet high all round. Then he examined
the doors of the pen and strengthened
them considerably. For upwards OF an
hour he examined and worked before he
pronounced the place strong enough to hold
a buffalo calf, and then We brought up one
of the crates and placed the end near the
door of the pen. AS we raised the sliding
door of the crate two dark forms shout out
on the barn floor.
Butted Their Own Shadows.
They arched their backs like angry cats,
erected their short tails. and, snorting
angrily. plunged forward and madly butted
their own shadows, which the lantern threw
upon the walls of the barn. When they
Gained down a little we Lei: out the other
two, and for five minutes there was a bat
tie royal, each calf butting at every other
which came anywhere near him.
OF course / was anxious to become ac-
quainted with my new charges as soon as
possible, into the pen l went; but they
would not let me get any way near them
and dashed around the walls In frenzy. 4
Then | remembered that when deer how
ever wild, are driven into dark room, one
may approach them fearlessly. and / had
the barn darkened and went into the pen
again. For minute all was silent, as 4
CROPPED about trying to find a calf. Then
one of them found me.
forget just where he hit me- but I re-
member that the spot was sore for some
time afterwards. Then from quite another
direction l received singing blow and
before / knew it the entire quartet had got
TIE range, and. as the boys say were
s all y,,..