Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-11-06
SAVED BISON EXTINCTION
"BuGnlo" Jones Knew the mtg Animal
Of the Plains

The late Buffalo Jones. who died at
| Topeka at the age of Is, came to the
western plains in 1866 and became pro-
| fessional buffalo hunter, and later tried
| to atone for his cussedncss." as he put IT..
by making up a private herd and there
| by saved the buffalo from becoming ex-
| tinct." He was an authority on the hab-
! its of the wild buffalo. and often on his
! visits to the Office OF the Kansas City
Star he had given many interesting facts
about these noble animals, which were
numerically slaughtered by so-caled civ
iliacd man While he was making his
fight in Washington to get Congress to
make appropriation to save the buf-
! falo from extinction by placing herds in
some Of the national parks. he said:
The bison is an animal perfectly train
ed TO take every advantage of his environ
ments. His instinct SURPRISES that of the
! shrewdest observation-disclosures for ages he
ma tanned himself where the cattle OF
/ tho ranchmcn are now dying. There is no
waste grass left on fourfoot swath which
! the animal cuts In feeding The herd
rises at dawn and commence to Craze.
When filled they start for the trail. led
/ usually by an old COW, who gives the sig
nal for starting by sounding grunt not
/ unlike that of hog. only much louder.
The rema inder of the herd drop I'm behind
following exactly in her foot prints un-
! til they reach the path which leads them
to their drinking place. This path never
exceeds Il inches in width. 1t is the same
path along which the ancestors of these
buffalo have travelled for countless ages
When the pool, lake or stream is reach
cd, the buffalo step in. fiji themselves and
Immediately return to the banks instead
of lingering in the water and poluting it,.
as domestic cattle do Thus. by keeping
to the one track. they have saved the
grass over which the cattle stragele to
water and they have kept the water
pure and fresh. After resting an hour
or so they wend their way over a well
defined trail for miles and miles. without
| cutting a blade of the grass which is so
necessary for their subsistence. II the
man who causes two blades Of grass to
grow where only one has grown" is a
! benefactor of the race. how much more
is the buffalo n benefactor. who pre-
serves thousands Of blades that other
animals ruthlessly destroy?
The buffalo never yields to disease
lite Is clean in his domestic habits and
in consequence always drinks pure water
eats clean, fresh grass. does not besmear
! himself with filth and conseuuently new
er suffers from any OF the skin diseases
common to domestic or range cattle. His
thick underfur and the pantalets which
cover his legs make him unaware of the
existence Of flies in summer and allow
him 10 fatten where domestic cattle grow
thin and die on account of these pests
When winter comes he adds an additional
robe of fur TO his robe Of fat. and turning
his head to the storm, eats quietly along
to the front in the fact OF the fiercest
billiards that ever blew.
There are many small traits Of the
buffalo that are lacking in cattle. The
buffalo COW never allows her calf to be
destroyed by the coyote. The buffalo
never mire in swamps or pools as so
many cattle do. When they find that
they are becoming stuck they throw them
selves on their sides and swim or paddle
through the mud. as would hog. In
spring time they curry themselves by
rolling in wauows, made in the hard
dry clay. thus removing their winter
coats and loosenng up their skins. so as
TO take on flesh. They always lie with
their backs up hill, so to rise early.
and always have guards out day and
night TO warn the herd of approaching
danger They always face storm. and
never drift as do cattle. They lie down
with their heads to the fercest storm
throwing their heads around on their
sides and sleeping contentendly. while the
great mass OF fur on their high humps
shields the more exposed parts OF their
bodies from the winds.
"A strang thing about a buffalo is that
the younger females always follow the
old srandmothers," said Jones They
seem 10 propagate in families, and the
families can be distinguished by peculiar
facial resemblances. No person ever saw
herd of buffalo move in a straight line
They always take zigzag course. My
explanation is this, A buffalo is very
cautious animal Their shaggy foreheads
prevent their seeing objects \on either
side of them. To prevent a surprise from
an enemy they walk oblquely to the right
and then to the left. and in that way get
an unobstructed view of the surrounding
country kansas city Star.