Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-04-11
Buffalo Memorials.
Tho Trail. the WaIIow, the Rubbing Stone

buried the memorial which he left
behind him. In the territory that
has been cultivated no signs of the
wild inhabitants remain. Even where
the earth villages of the Indians used
to stand along the streams, forming
low mounds, as the supports and
earth walls and roofs sank to decay,
the plow, passing again and again
over the soil, has SO leveled 1t that
the mounds are no longer seen. So
in such regions it is with the buffalo
trails and with the buffalo wallows.
But in the arid Northern country
all over the hills, the trails of the
buffalo may still be traced. Often
they are visible merely as green lines
showing brightly against the yellow
prairie over which they run, but
sometimes they are deep worn, six or
eight inches, even foot below the
surface of the surrounding soil. To-
day many of these trails are used by
the range cattle, which occasionally
are SO numerous as to wear away the
grass which has sprung up in the old
path, but more often the number
passing over the trail is SO small as
only to keep the grass worn down.
In ancient days in the soft chalky
soil of Kansas, these trails were
sometimes so deeply worn that the
buffalo as they passed along rubbed
their sides against the walls OF the
trail ,and over the herd, moving stead
lily onward at slow walk, hung
clouds of fine dust, chalky powder
as fine as plaster of paris but yellow,
or cream colored.
When undisturbed the buffalo u.s.
ually Travelled in single file, often the
nose of each great brute close to the
hindquarters of the one ahead of 1t.
Groups of buffalo followed estab-
lished paths, and sitting on high
hill, overlooking some river or little
prairie lake, one often saw the buffalo
in long strings stringing in from all
directions. For the most part the
trails led to water, or perhaps to
6OulS Sloookh6 pioSO VA -
stream. II they led toward a river,
many OF them would be parallel or
nearly so, or they might converge
toward some point where the descent
Of the bluffs was gradual and easy,
for the buffalo always chose for him
self the easiest ways.
To-day, as one observes these trails
memorials of ancient days-he
may wonder why they stand out so
brightly green upon a prairie that in
late summer is sere and yellow. The
reason Is obvious. Millions Of buffalo
travelling for uncounted years over
the same paths have fertilized them
by their droppings, so that the soil
there Is now far richer than else
where on the prairie, for the buffalo
chip deposited in the trail never grew
dry and hard as it did on the prairie,
but was at once trodden into the soil
and reduced to powder, to nourish a
subsequent growth of grass.
1t is not surprising that these trails
over the hills are noticed by travel
ers who are whirled along in the rail-
road trains of to-day, nor that they
inquire what they mean, nor that
when their significance is explained
the thoughtful inquirer should con-
slider with interest and wonder the
changes that have taken place over
the broad land of the West.
Far less conspicuous than any 9TH
er of the memorials that he has left
Is the buffalo wallow. This was SIM
ply a place where in the heats of
summer, or when greatly pestered
by insects, or when worried by last
winters tattered coat which he had
not yet gotten rid of. the buffalo
threw himself down in some damp or
wet place and rolled until covered
with mud and water. The process
has often been described, and is well
understood. The practice is not Pc
culiar to the buffalo, since In the
heats of summer the elk, and bears,
and probably many other animals
battle themselves in this fashion.
Sometimes a buffalo wallowing on q
soil which was white, or nearly so,
emerged from his bath a white buff
falo instead of black one, and more
than once people have been deceived
by this color, and imagining that
they saw before them an albino buff
falo, have chased it and killed it,
only to find that the color came off
on their fingers in white powder.
Such an experience was had by Colo
mel d. l.. Brainard, of Arctic explora-
ton fame. In the same way, many
years ago, / became highly excited
over what / believed to be black
elk, which closer inspection showed
to be merely an elk that had been
wallowing in a spring hole In the
timber. Sometimes, too, the buffalo
coming from such a bath coated with
thick mud, dried off quickly, and the
clots of dried mud clinging to the
long hair of head and forelegs, rat
tied curiously against each other as
the animals galloped away, to the
mystification of any inexperienced
pursuer.
Rubbing Stones.
The buffalo's practice Of rolling on
the ground, which, when the ground
was wet, made the wallows that have
been spoken of was, no doubt, often
done for the same reason that horse
rolls; that is, in order to irritate the
whole skin by thorough rubbing or
scratching. In the timber country
where buffalo were abundant 1t was
not uncommon in old times to see
cottonwood trees Drowned and pol
ished to height of five feet or more
by the rushing against them of the
.buffalos' bodies. A hundred years