Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-05-12
By A. X. YERKES

IN came from upstate New
az York comfortably reclining
on the plush of Pullman car asks
me if am really sincere when I
insist that the slaughter of buff
falo almost to the extinction point
was Justified? To this inquiry of
my friend, and perhaps, of interest
to others, let me say that the buff
falo, or the bison-to be accurate
is not an extinct animal. He still
exists in our parks, on a privately
owned range in Alberta and a govern
ment preserve in Yellowstone national
park
And furthermore, the wholesale de-
struction of the buffalo herd in north
ern Montana, where the buffalo made
dian massacres in the northwest. Be
sides, it permitted the Northern Pacific
railway to reach its destination on the
west coast, and speedily permitted the
peaceful settlement of a vast region
beyond the Missouri river.
were obliged to remain on their reser-
vations or starve; and inevitably,
though reluctantly, they accepted the
food and shelter provided by the gov
eminent. 1t took many years to con-
vince the Indian that the white man
could not be overcome and swept back
to the place whence he came, and
that the territory which the Indian
hoped to retain as a hunting ground
must also be occupied by white men
with herds of horses, cattle, sheep;
with farms, cities and towns.
The Sioux and several other tribes
in the northwest as well as in the
southwest had to be subdued by the
only means that would make them
understand that resistance would be
OF no avail. The Indian knew nothing
at all about diplomacy or the good
neighbor policy. He was wild and I'M
tutored, and in a conspicuous degree
5000 Are Slaughtered
In bringing this matter of the buff
falo to the fore once more, I'm re-
minded of the well authenticated ac-
count OF one Sir George Gore. who in
1855, with a company of 70 men, under
the guidance of Jim Bridger, followed
the main buffalo herd from the Platte
to the Tongue river. Here they made
camp for the winter on the site now
occupied by Miles City. That winter
fully 5000 buffalo were wantonly
slaughtered and left to rot on the
ground-only the tongues of the calves
and the choice meat OF the hump be-
ing used for food. News of this in
suitable killing-for there was nothing
sportsmanlike in shooting animals that
mill around in a circle until the last
one is disposed of-was finally brought
to the notice of congress. Restrictive
laws were promptly enacted, but as
there was no one in the region at that
time authorized to enforce law of any
sort. this congressional action proved
to be only a mild gesture. Even in
1881. when the buffalo fell in the last
roundup. law and order were notice
ably lax in and for miles around the
Powder river country.
There is no doubt but that the
massed buffalo herd, driven at last to
the upper Missouri river country was
extremely large in the years between
1861 and 1881, and that on one or
more occasions the steamboats, plying
the lower reaches of the Yellowstone
river were obliged to tie up while the
herd crossed that stream. In the year
1880 there were huge piles of hides
awaiting the arrival of the early
steamboats,. which on the swift down
trip used little steam and were not
hindered by sandbars: These hides
were about all the hunters took from
the carcass; unless they We're IN need d
calf was decidedly appetizing, when
dried. In the printing office we kept
a bunch strung together like dried
onions and everyone was welcome to
chip off as much tongue as he wanted.
Heard Buffalo Guns
It was not my privilege to see large
body of buffalo. but I was often close
enough to hear the booming of the
large buffalo guns engaged in shooting
down enough of the milling animals
to provide a days work for the skim
ners Those buffalo guns could be
heard for a distance of 10 or more
miles in the high, light air of the
plains in winter.
riding fearlessly into a herd of buffalo
and shooting them down with wild
abandon in the very face of the in
furiated beasts, are wholly fictitious.
The Indian with bow and arrow may
have been thus fearless. but Bill Cody
followed the plan Of the white man:
He shot the leader of the unit, and
then more leisurely picked off as many
of the milling animals as he needed
that day 1t was as easy as shooting
down a bunch of farmyard COWS, and
about as glamorous.
One may well wonder why and how
the immense buffalo herds. roaming
from Kansas to the Canadian border,
could have been eXterminated so
quickly. 1t should be recalled, how
ever, that the Indians OF the plains
were in constant pursuit OF the pull
falo, killing many thousands OF them
by stampeding methods.
The frantic animals were driven by
hundreds over high bluff where they
fell to their death. and were skinned
and cut up by the squaws. Evidence
of these drives still remains, even
though the bones of the buffaloes have
long since been gathered up and sold
for fertilizing purposes. Then too. the
buffalo gun and the crews which
slaughtered the buffalo, must be reck-
oned with.
2,75O in One Winter
An acquaintance: Pete Jackson, Is
authentically credited with having
killed 2,75O buffalo in one winter. Con-
sidering the length of the winter sea-
son that record is not as extravaganza
as it may at first appear.