The Greeley tribune., 1910-06-16

the sixties and ranged their cattle
the illimitable plains; not the DOW
Jagged cowboy with woody chaps
ttngling spurs, broad-spreading ma
nth rattlesnake band and belt holo
ing a big knife and wicked revolver
not this smoking, drinking, swearin
fellow crying "Hoopla! Hoopla! o.
our dull streets anxious to convinc
himself and others that he was
very. very bad man indeed: not tnes'
nor even the willy. horse-steaihs
indians who murdered three o
Tracy's men, thus starting Gene
tery at Sterling along with Mr. cum
whose neck was broken by his buck
ing pony; but the fauna OF nortnerf
Colorado, as known by the ploneers
of Union Colony in the seventies.
since Herodotus, the father OF MIS-
+,,v told his preposterous stories
has there ever been communi'y ;1S 81
blessed, SO surfeited even, VIII Wiz
meats as were our pioneers OF 'n n..,
ave and forty years ago: Sam
Wright, our present potato saiesman'
ence Of the firm of Wright 4 camp,
Seal. was heard to say IN those olo
,aays that never did marketmen nave
sech an uphill struggle to maintain
Z public meat market with wagon
1nads of wild meat coming In every
~: buffalo, antelope. elk, deer.
teck-rabbits, pony, rabbits. grouse
e.d an occasional Rocky Mountain
16e-horn or bear. Our pioneers,
eroesing the plains over the Kansas
pacific, saw Thousands and nous
asds of buffalo dotting the hills away
- the far horizon. The Soutn
platte Valley, in what was then Weio
County swarmed with buhaio.
Hunters came great distances
-an from the Atlantic coast. 10 De
e1se to say, 81 have shot buffalo on
- western plains" Men can tell
e the gallant performances OF our
veteran pioneer, Henry T. West. now
= his eighty-sixth year, but still
straight and strong as when on our
ooaony committee he helped to To-
80 our city in this goodly land: It
80 he upon his splendid horse.
0nny. Who performed the exception
Fl feat Of running down. throwing.
1y4nx and securing a whole wagon
had OF pugnacious buffalo calves.
No one but a man OF gigantic
strength and endurance. possessed
of . noble mount. could have done
vhat Henry T. West did that day.
IN many Of the school books OF the
United States may be seen an ac-
eount Of Mr.. Vests feat, written by
. Greeley scribe. disappointingly
hsaing the real nam under the
pseudonym of Ike Trafton lest Mr..
West should resent the using OF his
true name. And 1t may be added
fAAt while a motherly. long-horned
Texas COW adopted one young bison
-tAe little fellow never made friends
With the pioneer who had genera
overnight OF him.
As we look back it seems unac
eoantable that we should have al
most annihilated the millions o
ba1alo in few short years. Pos
s1bly 1t was the policy Of Gen. W. 7
Sherman. he who had named war
Hell" and who knew how mucl
WoFse than hell was Indian warfare
that led to the wholesale massacre o
TIE American bison. He said tina
No could never hope to deal success
fully with the Indians SO long as the
Wsre able to supply themselves wit
uu1imited buffalo meat. Their store
~ jerked meat enabled them I
make their dreadful forays upon tn
scattering white pioneers. And q
- Wasteful shooting went on. Jacl
nAa Baxter counted forty FIVE dea
buffalo ON Beaver Greek. shot dow
- some blood-thirsty hunter VIII
haA not even cared to skin his VII
t1ms. FOur-horse wagon loads {
bu4alo meat came into Greeley till
Qaafter Of the excellent meat grace
1Ae north side Of almost every houl
h town. At least four tanneri,
started mp and for years did = thri
ing business tanning buffalo rob,
- adorning them with the rut
&Aasacters and figures designed
eoovince the GuAible people Of Il
fns east that they were getting Il
AAadiwork and primeval skill
- gentle indian squaw.
In those early days our peop
b91It . brick. eafth-covered jail I
~ lot where the courthouse No
stands and presented It to d
oounty. EoF years there were |
~ men to put in that jail. and
Oas actually rented to Mr.. Flory I
. 0u6Alo-robe warehouse and the
a4 times he stored two thousand
tAem.
Many Of our citizens made tri
70 the mountains and returned vi
Aeat for their families and big sts
feo for their fellows.
In the early days IL was not CO
sidered much Of feat to step O
from Greeley and return with 1
antelope. And the immense noe
~ wi1a s&pese! How they used
settle 6CNA II east Greeley just
purpose 70 let Freeman Hart
them! And the hocks Of sandh
cranes! Whist has become of tn,
and the hocks Of ducks? Gone pre
ably with the disappearing prail
dogs and the stubbed rattlers. A
who ever sees nowadays the lit
prairie foxes called "swifts?"
The older settlers about Fort Il
ton tell OF the periodical visits
great tribes Of indians to tho LupA