Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 July 1886 — Buffalo Hunting. [ARTICLE]

Buffalo Hunting.

When Catlin exhibited his pictnres of Indian life, a little over twenty-five years ago, one of the most striking features of the collection was the representation of the countless herds, of buflalo that then ranged in millions ' from Mexico to the Hudson Bay ter- * ritory. In this year of grace the buffalo is almost as extinct as the aurochs, the bulk of the slaughter being done in the last ten years, and done so thoroughly that in a distance of a thousand miles a traveler was,never out of sight of a dead buffalo, and never in sight of a living one. The long-range rifle in the hands of the white hunter has been the weapon of destruction. The habit of the animals in keeping together in enormous herds made them easy to bo tracked; they possessed no great speed, nor did their senses enable them to-de-tect their foe at the distance which modern rifles will carry. The slaughter of them was thus not difficult, and as their hides are valuable, and their pasture grounds were coveted, the Western ranchman was not likely to be deterred by any sentimental considerations. To chase the buffalo on foot is a difficult task, the wildness of the country making the fatigue too great; the sportsman prefers to ride when en- t gaged either in looking for or pursuing his lordly game. It is not uncommon for parties who hunt for sport, if ponies are at hand, to change their large ordinary horses for the smaller and welltrained pony when the herd is in view. The hunters then approach carefully from leeward, keeping as much as possible out of sight. When concealment can be no longer maintained, they trot gently forward; the buffaloes gather together, stare at the intruders for a moment and then dash away. A race of about half a mile takes the pursuers up to the game; each singles out a victim, rides up to its left flank, and i fires, the pofiy wheeling sharply off to avoid any charge from the wounded animal. In this style of hunting the hunter has to be close up, almost touching the animal, for it is so tenacious of life that it must be hit in the right spot. The charge of a wounded buffalo is said to be easily avoided, and accidents are rare, although it is a good rule to be cautious when near one apparently dying or dead. The professional buffalo hunters use Sharp’s rifles, which are the most accurate and powerful, and good for half a mile and over, and at this distance, out of sight and hearing, they can lire shot after shot into the herd, which stands still in a stupid, amazed condition. As many as forty have been thus slain, the hunter scarcely changing his position. Of course, in this manner of hunting, the shooter dismounts, and, like a long-, range rifleman, lies down flat. AL-

though the heavy Sharp’s rifles, with their conical bullets, will go through anything, yet at these long distances they are not of necessity immediately fatal, and the wounded creature has to be put out of its misery by a nearer shot. When it comes to a halt, the executioner steps up and aims just behind the shoulder. The buffalo drops its head, straddles out its fore-legs, rocks to and fro, then pitches heavily on its' side, and all is over. The flesh of the cow or of the calf is good i eating, and can hardly be distinguished from ordinary beef. The most delicate portion of the bull is the hump meat, the strip of meat on each side of the backbone, which is juicy and tender. It is interesting to remark that a new species of buffalo is developing in the woody, precipitous regions of the mountain ranges; it shuns the open plains, lives in small herds, and is endowed with great activity, and is a clear case of the “survival of the fittest."— Harper's Bazar. >