The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-03-24
Spent Summer of 1882 KILL
ing Animals to Provide
Meat For n. p. Rail Gangs
Building Road Across Mon.
tana-Visited With Roose.
welt at MedOra Ranch

Gaylord, Mimi, March 24.-Deer
bunting in Minnesota under present
conditions may be thrilling for some
people, but to man who has made
100 or so buffalOes bite the dust
veil it's bit strong.
George Allison Mackenzie, ST., Of
Gaylord, attorney. former legislator,
and pioneer buffasb hunter, went up
to the Yellowstone and Big Horn
Valleys in Montana in 1882 when he
was teaching school near Cleveland
in LIE Sueur county, and reading
law" and came back the slayer Of
about 100 buffalocs.
The scene OF Mr. MacKcnzie's hunt
was near the site Of Clusters last
stand which occurred six years previ-
Gus. Mr.. Mackenzie celebrated bis
SEVENTEEN birthday last week.
Follows Sport All His Life
A hunter since he was II years old
when he shot his first deer In Mis-.
souri,, Mr.. Mackenzie tsas followed
the sport virtually all his life. Last
year he shot deer in Northern Min
ne sofa.
4 had heard thar men were being
employed to kill buffaloes in Mon
.tana to provide meat for the crews
N1hen building the Northern Pacific
The veteran said today, recalling the
great hunt" of 1882.
Il was pretty fair shot and had
hunted in the west before, so
thought that would be a good way to
spend my summer vacation. l had
overhauled my hunting equipment
cleaned and packed my assortment OF
rifles and shotguns, and boarded q
train at st. Paul on . bright, sun
shiny morning, April I, 1882, my
destination being the buffalo hunt
ers' camp on Arnell's creek, 10 miles
above Forsyth.
Still Frontier Country
II reached che camp about 10 day
later. Montana was still virtually ,
frontier country and most OF the mel
on the buffalo range were profession
al buffalo hunters-that was thei
trade, Just as it had been Buffalo
Bill Gody's years earlier. had sho
buffaloes before but never befor
had / been in a country where the.
Were so numerous. I didn't do an,
hunting the first few days, bpt roo
over the range in the vicinity of tn
camp.
ut would be impossible perhaps t
x,give the average person an accurat
tidea of the number of buffaloes i
that country then. There were liter
ally millions of them. They travele
in vast herds and when herd STAN
peded the thunder Of their hOOfs an
the trembling Of the earth were tel
rifle.
More Like Slaughter
"Of course, our method of KILN
them could not be called hunting;
really was more like slaughter, an
some persons may. be inclined to or
ticise the practice. But all ! can sa
is that buffaloes were plentiful an
were in the way. Everybody SCENE
to want to get rid of them.
Il was provided with y little ma,
that had been trained to hunt bu
faloes and one morning started OF
with the boys. Their method W,
simple; spotting herd they wou
maneuver until the herd was to vim
ward Of them, and then getting |
close as possible without alarmir
s~the animals, they spurred the
mounts, gall0oed in among them M
shot right AMI left. :.
II soon found myself in the mid
of n wild, shooting bunch with blu
faloes on all sides Of me. My ma
behaved admirably and ! managed
bring down about half dozen befo
the herd got out of range. We didT
spend much time running them dov
as they were too plentiful, but aft
having made one kill went on
stalk another herd, after turning 4
carcasses over to the skinning gane
Mr.. Mackenzie taught school
Rice county the following winter a
continued reading law. He taug
again the next winter and did not
west again until 1885. Then he Wis
ed Roosevelt's ranch near Medo
and spent several weeks a. the for
or Presidents guest. The Gayle
o.man is mentioned in one Of Rool
vclt's books dealing with his
periences in the west. Mr.. MacKe
xie became we'll acquainted with 4
former President and later visit
him on several occasions aftpF
had returned to the East.
y