Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-10-24
CREATOR OF CATALO
HYBRID HERDS DIES
AT HOME IN TOPEKA

Topeka, Kan. OCT 2t.-The crea- 4
ton Of a dstinct breed of animals,
the catalo. by crossing cattle and
buffalo. was one OF the undertaking.
Of the late Charles jesse CBuffalo"N F,
ones, widely known frontieTsman. who
recently died here at the home OF his
daughter The experiment. which Mr.
Jones declared was a success. at (
tracted nation wide interest among
scientists as well az live stock pro
ducers. At the same time. Mr. Jones /
is said to have declared, that the ex-
pensc attached to the propagation Of
the catalo had proyen diSCouraging - I
cattle men and admitted that he had
expended many thousands of dollars I
more in the venture than he got out
of it
Mr. Jones reared several herds Of
the hybrids al various times. the first
herd on HIS ranch near Garden City Il
Kan. in the early sos. according TO
Mr. Jones daughter, Mrs. Olive Jones /
Whitmer. of this city
In 1891 this herd numbered 1875
head and was sold by father to the
Flathead MONT Indian agency" said +
Mrs Whitmer He frequently sold
small herds Of the Catalo to ranchmen
in Oklahoma and Texas, and the last
herd he reared, consisting of SEVENTY /
catalo and forty buffalo. was sold at
Portales, " VI, in 1915 to Charles
Goodnight of Goodnight Texas Father
disposed Of his her., at the time be I
cause his lease on government land
In the Grand Canyon country ran out
and he was getting too old to look
after the herd
The catalo proved superior in
many ways to the ordinary breed of
cattle, father always maintained in
that il was a better forager on the
plain. it carried more weight and the
hide was Of most excellent texture
Father sold some Of the hides for as
much as 81 900 apiece years ago in
New York They were used as buggy
robes, but with the advent of the aul-
tomobile the demand for such robes
ceased"
One of the last herds of buffalo
reared by Mr.. Jones was that in Vel
lowstone National Park. After he was
appointed custodian of the park by
Roosevelt in 1902, Mr. Jones took u
herd of twenty buffalo from his New
Mexico ranch to the YelloWst one
Shortly before his death on Oct / last
MI Jones received letter from Soc
rotary of the Interior Franklin X
Lane. stating that he herd now mum.
bers 400 head and no longer is con-
fined but roam3 at will Hundreds OF
zoos throughout the country obtained
the nucleus buffalo for their herds
from Buffalo Jones ranch.
Buffalo" Jones was typical
frOntiersman. one OF he last of his
type Born in Bloomington, H., seY.
enty.ive years ago. he came to Kan.
sas in 1886 He was dubbed Buffalo"
through his extensive contracts in fur.
nisng buffalo meat to the construction
gangs of the Union Pacific and other
railroad liens in their pioneer opera
tiono in Kansas He saw the animals
slain by the hundreds and their car.
casses for he most part left to rot
on the prairie, Impressed with the
thought that before many years the
species would become extinct, Jones
captured buffalo calves and confined
them on his ranch near Garden City,
thus building up a herd which he
maintained through long period OF
years Jones was credited with being
the original founder of Garden City. .
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