Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-04
SAYS HE is 1o1.
Claims That Buffalo at One Time
Roamed in Iowa,


Roamed in Iowa.
Wapello, July 1.-Wapello can claim
the distinction or having a man who
should share the $50 challenged by Mr.
Garden, who recently offered to give
that sum for positive proofs that buff
falo ever roamed Iowa prairies The
article recently published in the Des
Moines Register and Leader regarding
the forfeiture of $40 made to another
by Mr.. Garden has called UP the
subject in Wapello. Obadiah Gar
rison Of this city, who alleges that he
is 1O1 years Of age and who came to
Louisa county on March 8, 1887. is the
distinguished parsonage. The buffalo
were not seen in Louisa county, as
might be supposed, but near the center
OF the state, east and west, northeast
of what Is now Creston. Mr. Garrison
cannot give accurate description Of the
place sufficient to enable the writer to
locate 1t at this late date, but 1t was
near that city. 1t was in the year 1898:
Mr.. Garrison was at work south OF
Wapello when four men from
New York who had learned Of him
from a friend In Illinois, came to see
him and offered him an amount Of
money if he would accompany them on
a buffalo hunt. Mr.. Garrison. con-
sented and they made the necessary ar
rangement and in a few days started.
Besides two yoke of oxen they took
with them four mich COWS for what
purpose will be detailed later. They
proceeded west from what is now Co
lumbus City, about three days travel.
At the close of the third day the party
saw smoke issuing from a grove some
distance ahead. In response to his
hearty "pello," the Indian word for
"hello" in the Musquawka'' dialect, an
Indian squaw walked forward and vel
coined him to the red mems camp He
then learned that large party of the
five miles distant and that she and her
husband and two sons were coming
that way In the morning. She accord
ingly called to her husband and sons
who were but short distance away,
and soon they appeared, and after
shaking hands and learning that there
were other white men near, babe them
bring them to the camp. This was
done and several Of the white men
with Garrison, eastern men, showed
some unea siness in the presence Of the
red men, which they were quick to dis
Germ. much to their amusement. The
hospitable Indians invited the whites
to camp with them that night and the
next morning the Indians from camp,
several hundred In number came.
Upon learning of the errand Of the
whites a grand buffalo hunt was or
ganized Garrison says that they
stayed with the Indians ten days and
that during that time, the band killed
several dozen buffalo, that he himself
killed one of the largest of the herd
and that the party captured four calves
and two males These were placed
with the cows which they had brought
along and were readily adopted by
them, after which they returned to
this county. The calves were taken
east and there used for breeding pur-
poses. Mr.. Garrison says there used to
be spring on Flint Creek about mid
die way between Dodgeville and Mt.
Pleasant where the buffalo watered at
still earlier date than the one OF
which we write and prior to the time
he came to this county. The spring
was Doggy place and in and around
the boys were scores of bones which
the Indians told him were bones OF
buffalo who had come to drink, mired,
and died. N. Crutchfield, another Wap-
clio citizen, says that while he never
saw buffalo in Iowa he remembers
distinctly when he was child about
the year 1910 of hearing his brother
in-law, Dan McCrystal, then in the en-
ploy of the government surveying land
in Northwestern Iowa, tell of killing
buffalo which were consumed by the
marty as food -