The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-03-04

by the French traders in the country, Far
ret, the stop, and has great power in ar
resting the speed of a horse; though it is
extremely dangerous to use. too freely as
a guide, interfering too much with the
freedom of his limbs, for the certainty Of
his feet and security of his rider.
when the Indian then has directed the
course of his steed to the animal which he
has selected, the training of the horse is
such, that it knows the object of it's rid
ers selection, and eXerts every muscle to
give It close company; while the halter lies
loose and untouched upon its neck, and the
rider leans quite forward, and off from the
side of his horse, with his bow drawn, and
ready for the deadly shot which is given
at the instant he is opposite to the ami
mails body. The horse being instinctively
afraid of the animal Though he generally
brings his rider within the reach of the
end of his bow, keeps his eye strained
upon the furious enemy he is so closely
encountering; and the moment he has APP
proched to the nearest distance required,
and has passed the animal, whether the
shot is given or not, he gradually sheers
of, to prevent coming on to the horns of
the lnfuriated beast, which often are in
~stantly turned, and presented for the fatal
reception of its too familiar attendant.
I'm cunning the buffalOes, or in time of
war, the lassO Ga long thong of rawhide,
ten to fifteen yards in lengthy, drags on
the ground at the horses feet. and some
times several rods behind, so that if a man
Is d~ismounted, which is often the case, by
the tripping or stumbling of the horse, he
has the power of graSping to the lasso. and
by stubbornly holding on to it, of stop-
ping and securing his horse, on whose
back he is instantly replaced, and contin-
utng on in the chase"
Indians Did Not Slaughter Bison
Although the buffalo were hunted by
Indians and supplied the natives with al
most every article of a utilitarian nature,
the great herds we're never appreciabIy
depleted by the redmen of the plains. The
utmost economy was practiced by the In
dams in their use Of the buffalo, and, as
has hereinbefOre been stated, virtually
every portion OF the animals body, was
turned to some account. They never killed
more than would satisfy their immediate
needs, and not until after the white man
overran their domain, did they kill the
buffalo as sacred-a part of their religion.
It had been given them by the Great Spirit
who in that manner provided for the needs
of His people, and they looked upon the
ruthless slaughter of the bison as most
sacriligiOus-which it WAS!
The White Hunters
One of the picturesque types of the early
days on the plains was the white buffalo
hunter. For instance, such men as Jim
IBridger, Yellowstone Kelly, and the many
! Others, who used to hunt the buffalo on
horseback in much the same manner as did
the Indian. using. however, long-barreled,
muZzle-loading guns and carrying in their
hands the ramrods used to press home the
powder and ball after each shot had been
uFeu. Later, Wnen the DETERMINATION OF
the species was proceeding in full swing,
still hunting" was practiced, and it was
this still hunting that spelled the doom
of the bison. This was a simple effective
method of slaughter. The hunter would
crawl to the eewar to within sure rifle
shot without being discovered; then choos-
ing the best concealment the ground af-
forded. he would begin his work of des-
truction. The buffalo seeing nothing, and
hearing only the report, would usually re-
main quiet in wOnderment. Presently the
wounded animal would fall. and the others,
smelling his blood, would gather round
and try to make 1T rise or else so on graz
ing, evidently thinking that their COM
lpani0n had lain down to rest. Meanwhile
after shot would bring down victim after
victim until the whole band had been
killed.
The buffalo was a hard animal to kill.
A ball upon its shaggy head or neck was
DETECTED as though from a panOply of
steel. Wounds in the rear of the body
were seldom fatal. 1t was only in the re-
giOn of the heart that a bullet or arrow
was sure, and the Indians and white hunt
lers always aimed to strike there.
Vast HOrdes
Tt is not possible to even vaguely esti-
mate the number of buffalo there were on
the plains and in the foothills when the
first white men came west. One writer
has stated that it is safe to assume that
animals grazing between Manitoba and the
Snake Plains of Texas. 1t is a fact. how
ever, that the numbers were literally in
Vulnerable. And, as late as 1871 it was
not ~uncOmmont to see herds from twenty
to fifty miles in width and of unknown
depth from front to rear. The grazing
grounds Of the main herd, so far as the
! white mans knowledge reaches, was on
the p~rairies Of what is now the state of
2 Kansas in the territory lying south of
White Rock creek and west on the Repub-
lican river.
i Holding Up the Steamers
In tho fnrrffopu nnvv 6nnnpd ne Mnnfnnu
> and the Dakotas, the bison were very
, numerous, the grazing grounds being one
: Of the best in the entire west. 1t has been
: stated that even after the Missouri river
was being navigated by steamboats,, the
herds were so vast that, in times of low
water, the great mass Of animals would
I possible to proceed while they forded the
stream. In his book, 9TH Conquest OF
e the Missouri River" James Mills Hanson
2 tells of an experience of the "Ida Stock
{ days on a trip to Fort Benton In 1866
Mr.. Hanson says:
I "As the Stockdale approached Elk Horn
Prairie Tin Dakotah), the buffalo increased
/ rapidly in number on either bank. Vast
= herds extending away to the horizon line
l Of the nOrthward bluffs, were moving
: slowly toward the river, grazing as they
n came. On arriving at the rivers brink
they hesitated and then, s%norting and bel.
: lowing, plunged into the swift current and
swan to the opposite shore.
"When the StOckdale reached a point
4 nearly opposite the Elk Horn grove, ex.
i element rose to a high pitch on board, fol
= the buffalo became so thick In the river
that the boat could not move, and the
s engine had to be stopped. In front, the
: channel was blocked by their huge, shaggy
= bodies, and in their struggles, they bea'
against the sides and stern, blowing arc