Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-08-24

the herd which was headed m q north.
east direction and were thsn about
two miles from the river. The SER
geant was good plainsnan and In.
dian fighter and We all soon agreed
that the buffaloi would CROSS the river
to the grazing ground above mention
ed. As the situation presented an op-
portunity to replenish the harder at
the fort as we'll b our own, we began
to lay plans for 1 buffalo killing. The
herd on emerging from . ravfns,
which was simply . depression In the
sand hills. changed its course more to
the north and we figured that should
, they maintain that course they would
cross tho river four miles below the
fort, The sergeant said there was Z
shallow crossing at that point and Il
appeared a. II the bison were aware
Of the same fact. We hold . consul-k,
tation and agreed, that tho sergearlht
take ono Of his men and one civ1liuIan
and repair to the fort. report and pasre-
pare for the hunt sent Jim Moro ~
In to make arrangements and 70 briHt 9
four big buffalo rides and plenty cttf
ammunition to the hunting groundsN
Myself the soldier from the fort ana
Irish Mike travelled at safe distance
from the herd with the object In Wow
of compelling them to cross the river
in case they should simply water and
return to the sand hills Our first con-
illusions were correct for as the herd
reached the waters edge they began
drinking and moving straight for the
| west bank of the river. We had pick
eted our stock and wormed our way
J to within about 500 yards from the
herd and could have gone closer had
We desired but our main object was
| to see the unsuspecting animals cross
the river. The wolves made desper-
ate efforts at hamstringing but met
| with poor success on account of the
bulls who constituted the rear guard.
shore we returned to our horses and
were soon galloping for the place
where we had crossed the river with
the sergeant.
.! We were soon at the fort and found
that Stanley had completed arrange
ments for the hunt. The sergeant
headed the contingent OF soldiers from
the fort and the boys from the train.
A quick drive of six miles brought us
within sight Of the herd which were
quietly grazing entirely oblivious of
their great danger. had been on
many hunts of like character with
father in 1857, 1858. 1859 and 1850
along the old Wachita, Kickapoo,
Usage and Walnut trails, hence the
| buffalo training of earlier days came
| in as No. l asset for that occasion.
To fully describe this successful
round ur - the bumpers of mirth
! and GOO - that We had on that
occasion AXE much more space
than perha'' CT have to spare, but
suffice to say that we potted eighteen
of as fine buffalo as | ever saw skin
ned or slain on the great American
! desert. We skinned and took two fine
young bulls and left the other sixteen
to the mercy of the boys In blue. We
loaded the two skinned and Quartered
bison into the four-mule wagon and
started back for camp at the fort.
On reaching the fort we were pleased
to find that the other boys under Stan
ley's direction had everything COM
plete and ready for an early start on
the following morning. Two six-mule
teams with old government freight
wagons were sent out to bring In the
meat and skins, the latter being tan.
ned and dried to be used for bedding
by the soldiers. That night was a
night Of rejoicing and feasting by
the boys at the fort as well as by our
men, Stanley sold the captain two
barrels Of salt to be used in sailing
down the fresh meat and also used in
preserving the hides. Everybody was
! late retiring but up early the next
morning and after an all around fare.
well to cur hosts at the fort We once
more headed for the land Of the greas.
ers and the setting sun at the end OF
the Santa Fee trail.