Glacier County chief., 1940-09-13
Buttao Jones Rendered Valuable and Lasting Service
ito His Country i'm Perpetuatom of the American Bison

herdsman, the while urging the gov
eminent to interest itself in saving the
American bison.
BY 1880 Jones had homesteaded ad-
Joining Garden City, Kan. He turned
his homestead into TOWNSHIP property
and cashed in on a townsite boom
With ample means at his command he
started out to save the few remaining
buffalo in the Texas Panhandle.
Made Five Trips to Texas
With wagons, COW horses, cowboys
and, uniquely, herds of domestic COWS
to Suckle buffalo calves, Jones made
five trips to the Panhandle from 1886
TO 1880 to capture buffalo. He early
to catch. and that they pinned away
and died in captivity, so he turned
to roping calves. The story of these
hunts IS replete with adventure, dan
ger and thrills. hardships, disappoint-
ments and occasional successes. Buff
ialo Jones took back each year at
least few calves for his Garden City
buffalo herd. which grew in numbers.
His expeditions were accompanied
by such men as Emerson Hough, Ar
fist A. j. Kicker and others T. C.
Hornaday, historian and superintend-
ent of the taxidermy department of
! the Smithsonian institution, in 1887
came to Montana hoping to capture
, live buffalo calves to start a herd in
the National park, Washington, D. C.
His effort failed completely, and he
turned his attention to Jones work
He reported to the 5Oth congress in
glowing terms the work Jones was do
/ ing to save the buffalo.
With the last of the wild buffalo
! zone on the southern plains, Jones
| turned to demonstrating his herd He
CroSs-bred with cattle, an experiment
that Col. Charles Goodnight had proved
successful at his ranch at Clarendon
Tex. He trained pair of young buff
falo to drive, using a winch and rope
for lines. He had buffalo fur woven
into cloth, and buttons made of hoofs
and horns. He, of course, ate buffalo
meat.
The Jones herd provided buffalo for
ZOOS and private herds in many states,
and in 1891 he took a small herd TO
England at the order OF rich noble
| man.
When the townsite bubble burst at
Garden City, Buffalo Jones was broke.
! But he continued his battle for gov
eminent action to save the buffalo.
i He made trip to the White House
in 1896. and frequently cooled his heels
at the doors OF congressman and at
In the late nineties, believing his
cause was lost. Jones went to the Arc
tic to try roping muskox and other
animals for domestication in the
United States. Superstitious Indians
killed his captive animals to prevent
their leaving the country He returned
home, discouraged at the failure OF
another venture.
Secured Teddy's Aid
In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became
president. Jones knew him as an ar
dent conservationist and secured presi-
Ii 81 ,~,l 11r @I nTAn
for the establishment OF a buffalo
herd in Yellowstone park. Securing
three bulls from the Goodnight herd
in Texas and 10 COWS from the Pablo
Allard herd in the Flathead country
the herd was started on the Lamar
river A few wild buffalo that had
evaded poachers were gradually abb
sorbed and now the Yellowstone herd
is maintained at about 1000 animals,
all there is range to support.
incidentally. Colonel Goodnight es-
tablished his herd in Texas by roping
buffalo calves near his ranch and
placing them under fence. The Pablo
lished by the Indians leading home
several calves from the last-and un-
SucceSSful-tribal hunt.
Buffalo Jones remained in Yellow
stone until 1906, with the status OF
game warden. After the buffalo herd
WIS Sdltly tSldDiLSIltu llt tuI leu "
determination of mountain lions, which
were serious menace to the elk. He
also put in some time, as his daughter
Mrs. Jessie Jones Phillips of Chicago
said tanning bears, or rather, max
ing tame bears wild. that had been
!, spoiled by tourists"
He later made trip to Africa. where
he roped wild animals and brought
them alive to a large New York zoo
a r mixtures
of the African veldt. He later had 6
herd of buffalo in Arizona, where or
the banks of the Grand Canyon he
had the use of a tract of government
land for ranch in return for cam
paign against mountain lions. His
| troduced Zane Grey to his first west
ern experiences while in Arizona.
The Grand Canyon buffalo herd wa
sold to a PortaleS, N. M. man, anc
Jones drove the animals overland Il
that point in 1911.
. A lecture tour with illustrated slide!
: on, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone
park occurred around 19l0-19l2. Jones
died in poverty at Topeka, Kan, II
1919, and is buried at Garden City
Kan.
} The Goodnight herd in Texas, IA
nous in the southwest for more thar
a generation, went begging" for {
home in the early depression year:
when an insurance company took over
the Goodnight holdings following TIL
colonels death. AT one time 1t wa
5 proposed to open the herd TO hunting
r along the Palo Duro canyon, but the
] state OF Texas. assisted by INTERESTED
? citizens, finally provided the herd {
; home The Pablo-Allard herd was sole
; to the Canadian government abou
| 1906 after a half-hearted gesture fol
| purchase had been made by the Unitec
States government, frustrated by TIT
S suspicious of the Indian wife OF tht
ou,rer that r,,rchaSe Of the herd wa