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The bison in captivity and domestication.- Almost
from time immemorial it has been known that the American bison takes
kindly to captivity, herds contentedly with domestic cattle, and
crosses with them with the utmost readiness. It was formerly
believed, and indeed the tradition prevails even now to quite an
extent, that on account of the hump on the shoulders a domestic cow
could not give birth to a half-breed calf. This belief is entirely
without foundation, and is due to theories rather than facts.
Numerous experiments in buffalo breeding have been made, and the
subject is far from being a new one. As early as 1701 the Huguenot
settlers at Manikintown, on the James River, a few miles above
Richmond, began to domesticate buffaloes. It is also a matter of
historical record that in 1786, or thereabouts, buffaloes were
domesticated and bred in captivity in Virginia, and Albert Gallatin
states that in some of the northwestern counties the mixed breed was
quite common. In 1815 a series of elaborate and valuable experiments
in cross-breeding the buffalo and domestic cattle was begun by Mr.
Robert Wickliffe, of Lexington, Ky., and continued by him for
upwards of thirty years.49
Quite recently the buffalo-breeding operations of Mr. S. L. Bedson,
of Stony Mountain, Manitoba, and Mr. C. J. Jones, of Garden City,
Kans., have attracted much attention, particularly for the reason
that the efforts of both these gentlemen have been directed toward
the practical improvement of the present breeds of range cattle. For
this reason the importance of the work in which they are engaged can
hardly be overestimated, and the results already obtained by Mr.
Bedson, whose experiments antedate those of Mr. Jones by several
years, are of the greatest interest to western cattle-growers.
Indeed, unless the stock of pure-blood buffaloes now remaining
proves insufficient for the purpose, I fully believe that we will
gradually see a great change wrought in the character of western
cattle by the introduction of a strain of buffalo blood.
The experiments which have been made thus far prove conclusively
that:
(1) The male bison crosses readily with the opposite sex of domestic
cattle, but a buffalo cow has never been known to produce a
half-breed calf.
(2) The domestic cow produces a half-breed calf successfully.
(3) The progeny of the two species is fertile to any extent,
yielding half-breeds, quarter, three-quarter breeds, and so on.
(4) The bison breeds in captivity with perfect regularity and
success.
Need of an improvement in
range cattle. Ever since the earliest days of cattle-ranching
in the West, stockmen have had it in their power to produce a breed
which would equal in beef-bearing qualities the best breeds to be
found upon the plains, and be so much better calculated to survive
the hardships of winter, that their annual losses would have been
very greatly reduced. Whenever there is an unusually severe winter,
such as comes about three times in every decade, if not even
oftener, range cattle perish by thousands. It is an absolute
impossibility for every ranchman who owns several thousand, or even
several hundred, head of cattle to provide hay for them, even during
the severest portion of the winter season, and consequently the
cattle must depend wholly upon their own resources. When the winter
is reasonably mild, and the snows never very deep, nor lying too
long at a time on the ground, the cattle live through the winter
with very satisfactory success. Thanks to the wind, it usually
happens that the falling snow is blown off the ridges as fast as it
falls, leaving the grass sufficiently uncovered for the cattle to
feed upon it. If the snow-fall is universal, but not more than a few
inches in depth, the cattle paw through it here and there, and eke
out a subsistence, on quarter rations it may be, until a friendly chinook wind sets in from the southwest and dissolves the snow as if
by magic in a few hours' time.
But when a deep snow comes, and lies on the ground persistently,
week in and week out, when the warmth of the sun softens and
moistens its surface sufficiently for a returning cold wave to
freeze it into a hard crust, forming a universal wall of ice between
the luckless steer and his only food, the cattle starve and freeze
in immense numbers. Being totally unfitted by nature to survive such
unnatural conditions, it is not strange that they succumb.
Under present conditions the stockman simply stakes his cattle
against the winter elements and takes his chances on the results,
which are governed by circumstances wholly beyond his control. The
losses of the fearful winter of 1886-'87 will probably never be
forgotten by the cattlemen of the great Western grazing ground. In
many portions of Montana and Wyoming the cattlemen admitted a loss
of 50 per cent of their cattle, and in some localities the loss was
still greater. The same conditions are liable to prevail next
winter, or any succeeding winter, and we may yet see more than half
the range cattle in the West perish in a single month.
Yet all this time the cattlemen have had it in their power, by the
easiest and simplest method in the world, to introduce a strain of
hardy native blood in their stock which would have made it capable
of successfully resisting a much greater degree of hunger and cold.
It is really surprising that the desirability of cross-breeding the
buffalo and domestic cattle should for so long a time have been
either overlooked or disregarded. While cattle-growers generally
have shown the greatest enterprise in producing special breeds for
milk, for butter, or for beef, cattle with short horns and cattle
with no horns at all, only two or three men have had the enterprise
to try to produce a breed particularly hardy and capable.
A buffalo can weather storms and outlive hunger and cold which would
kill any domestic steer that ever lived. When nature placed him on
the treeless and blizzard-swept plains, she left him well equipped
to survive whatever natural conditions he would have to encounter.
The most striking feature of his entire tout ensemble is his
magnificent suit of hair and fur combined, the warmest covering
possessed by any quadruped save the musk-ox. The head, neck, and
fore quarters are clothed with hide and hair so thick as to be
almost, if not entirely, impervious to cold. The hair on the body
and hind quarters is long, fine, very thick, and of that peculiar
woolly quality which constitutes the best possible protection
against cold. Let him who doubts the warmth of a good buffalo robe
try to weather a blizzard with something else, and then try the
robe. The very form of the buffalo-short, thick legs, and head hung
very near the ground-suggests most forcibly a special fitness to
wrestle with mother earth for a living, snow or no snow. A buffalo
will flounder for days through deep snow-drifts without a morsel of
food, and survive where the best range steer would literally freeze
on foot, bolt upright, as hundreds did in the winter of 1886-'87.
While range cattle turn tail to a blizzard and drift helplessly, the
buffalo faces it every time, and remains master of the situation.
It has for years been a surprise to me that Western stockmen have
not seized upon the opportunity presented by the presence of the
buffalo to improve the character of their cattle. Now that there are
no longer any buffalo calves to be had on the plains for the trouble
of catching them, and the few domesticated buffaloes that remain are
worth fabulous prices, we may expect to see a great deal of interest
manifested in this subject, and some costly efforts made to atone
for previous lack of forethought.
The character of the buffalo - domestic
hybrid.-The subjoined illustration from a photograph kindly
furnished by Mr. C. J. Jones, represents a ten months' old
half-breed calf (male), the product of a buffalo bull and domestic
cow. The prepotency of the sire is apparent at the first glance, and
to so marked an extent that the illustration would pass muster
anywhere as having been drawn from a full-blood buffalo. The head,
neck, and hump, and the long woolly hair that covers them, proclaim
the buffalo in every line. Excepting that the hair on the shoulders
(below the hump) is of the same length as that on the body and hind
quarters, there is, so far as one can judge from an excellent
photograph, no difference whatever observable between this lusty
young half-breed and a full blood buffalo calf of the same age and
sex. Mr. Jones describes the color of this animal as "iron-gray,"
and remarks: "You will see how even the fur is, being as long on the
hind parts as on the shoulders and neck, very much unlike the
buffalo, which is so shaggy about the shoulders and so thin farther
back." Upon this point it is to be remarked that the hair on the
body of a yearling or two year-old buffalo is always very much
longer in proportion to the hair on the forward parts than it is
later in life, and while the shoulder hair is always decidedly
longer than that back of it, during the first two years the contrast
is by no means so very great. A reference to the memoranda of hair
measurements already given will afford precise data on this point.
In regard to half-breed calves, Mr. Bedson states in a private
letter that "the hump does not appear until several months after
birth."
Altogether, the male calf described above so strongly resembles a
pure-blood buffalo as to be generally mistaken for one; the form of
the adult half-blood cow promptly proclaims her origin. The
accompanying plate, also from a photograph supplied by Mr. Jones,
accurately represents a half-breed cow, six years old, weighing
about 1,800 pounds. Her body is very noticeably larger in proportion
than that of the cow buffalo, her pelvis much heavier, broader, and
more cow-like, therein being a decided improvement upon the small
and weak hind quarters of the wild species. The hump is quite
noticeable, but is not nearly so high as in the pure buffalo cow.
The hair on the fore quarters, neck, and head is decidedly shorter,
especially on the head; the frontlet and chin beard being
conspicuously lacking. The tufts of long, coarse, black hair which
clothe the fore-arm of the buffalo cow are almost absent, but
apparently the hair on the body and hind quarters has lost but
little, if any, of its length, density, and fine, furry quality. The
horns are decidedly cow-like in their size, length, and curvature.
Half-Breed (Buffalo-Domestic) Calf.-Herd Of C. J. Jones, Garden
City, Kansas.
Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
Regarding the general character of the half-breed
buffalo, and his herd in general, Mr. Bedson writes me as follows,
in a letter dated September 12, 1888:
"The nucleus of my herd consisted of a young buffalo
bull and four heifer calves, which I purchased in 1877,
and the increase from these few has been most rapid, as
will be shown by a tabular statement farther on.
"Success with the breeding of the pure buffalo was
followed by experiments in crossing with the domestic
animal. This crossing has generally been between a
buffalo bull and an ordinary cow, and with the most
encouraging results, since it had been contended by many
that although the cow might breed a calf from the
buffalo, yet it would be at the expense of her life,
owing to the hump on a buffalo's shoulder; but this hump
does not appear until several months after birth. This
has been proved a fallacy respecting this herd at least,
for calving has been attended with no greater percentage
of losses than would be experienced in ranching with the
ordinary cattle. Buffalo cows and crosses have dropped
calves at as low a temperature as 20° below zero, and
the calves were sturdy and healthy.
"The half breed resulting from the cross as above
mentioned has been again crossed with the thoroughbred
buffalo bull, producing a three quarter breed animal
closely resembling the buffalo, the head and robe being
quite equal, if not superior. The half-breeds are very
prolific. The cows drop a calf annually. They are also
very hardy indeed, as they take the instinct of the
buffalo during the blizzards and storms, and do not
drift like native cattle. They remain upon the open
prairie during our severest winters, while the
thermometer ranges from 30 to 40 degrees below zero,
with little or no food except what they rustled on the
prairie, and no shelter at all. In nearly all the
ranching parts of North America foddering and housing of
cattle is imperative in a more or less degree,[50]
creating an item of expense felt by all interested in
cattle-raising; but the buffalo [half] breed retains all
its native hardihood, needs no housing, forages in the
deepest snows for its own food, yet becomes easily
domesticated, and consequently needs but little herding.
Therefore the progeny of the buffalo is easily reared,
cheaply fed, and requires no housing in winter; three
very essential points in stock-raising.
"They are always in good order, and I consider the meat
of the half-breed much preferable to domestic animals,
while the robe is very fine indeed, the fur being evened
up on the hind parts, the same as on the shoulders.
During the history of the herd, accident and other
causes have compelled the slaughtering of one or two,
and in these instances the carcasses have sold for 18
cents per pound; the hides in their dressed state for
$50 to $75 each. A half-breed buffalo ox (four years
old, crossed with buffalo bull and Durham cow) was
killed last winter, and weighed 1,280 pounds dressed
beef. One pure buffalo bull now in my herd weighs fully
2,000 pounds, and a [half] breed bull 1,700 to 1,800
pounds.
"The three-quarter breed is an enormous animal in size,
and has an extra good robe, which will readily bring $40
to $50 in any market where there is a demand for robes.
They are also very prolific, and I consider them the
coming cattle for our range cattle for the Northern
climate, while the half and quarter breeds will be the
animals for the more Southern district. The half and
three-quarter breed cows, when really matured, will
weigh from 1,400 to 1,800 pounds.
"I have never crossed them except with a common grade of
cows, while I believe a cross with the Galloways would
produce the handsomest robe ever handled, and make the
best range cattle in the world. I have not had time to
give my attention to my herd, more than to let them
range on the prairies at will. By proper care great
results can be accomplished." |
Hon. C. J. Jones, of Garden City, Kans., whose years
of experience with the buffalo, both as old-time hunter, catcher,
and breeder, has earned for him the sobriquet of "Buffalo Jones,"
five years ago became deeply interested in the question of improving
range cattle by crossing with the buffalo. With characteristic
Western energy he has pursued the subject from that time until the
present, having made five trips to the range of the only buffaloes
remaining from the great southern herd, and captured sixty-eight
buffalo calves and eleven adult cows with which to start a herd. In
a short article published in the Farmers' Review (Chicago, August
22, 1888), Mr. Jones gives his views on the value of the buffalo in
cross-breeding as follows:
"In all my meanderings I have not found a place but
I could count more carcasses [of cattle] than living
animals. Who has not ridden over some of the Western
railways and counted dead cattle by the thousands? The
great question is, Where can we get a race of cattle
that will stand blizzards, and endure the drifting snow,
and will not be driven with the storms against the
railroad fences and pasture fences, there to perish for
the want of nerve to face the northern winds for a few
miles, to where the winter grasses could be had in
abundance? Realizing these facts, both from observation
and pocket, we pulled on our 'thinking cap,' and these
points came vividly to our mind:
"(1) We want an animal that is hardy.
"(2) We want an animal with nerve and endurance.
"(3) We want an animal that faces the blizzards and
endures the storms.
"(4) We want an animal that will rustle the prairies,
and not yield to discouragement.
"(5) We want an animal that will fill the above bill,
and make good beef and plenty of it. |
"All the points above could easily be found in the
buffalo, excepting the fifth, and even that is more than filled as
to the quality, but not in quantity. Where is the 'old timer' who
has not had a cut from the hump or sirloin of a fat buffalo cow in
the fall of the year, and where is the one who will not make
affidavit that it was the best meat he ever ate? Yes, the fat was
very rich, equal to the marrow from the bone of domestic cattle.
"The great question remained unsolved as to the quantity of meat
from the buffalo. I finally heard of a half-breed buffalo in
Colorado, and immediately set out to find it. I traveled at least
1,000 miles to find it, and found a five-year-old half-breed cow
that had been bred to domestic bulls and had brought forth two
calves-a yearling and a sucking calf that gave promise of great
results.
"The cow had never been fed, but depended altogether on the range,
and when I saw her, in the fall of 1883. I estimated her weight at
1,800 pounds. She was a brindle, and had a handsome robe even in
September; she had as good hind quarters as ordinary cattle; her
foreparts were heavy and resembled the buffalo, yet not near so much
of the hump. The offspring showed but very little of the buffalo,
yet they possessed a woolly coat, which showed clearly that they
were more than domestic cattle.
"What we can rely on by having one-fourth, one-half, and
three-fourths breeds might be analyzed as follows:
"We can depend upon a race of cattle unequaled in the world for
hardiness and durability; a good meat-bearing animal; the best and
only fur-bearing animal of the bovine race; the animal always found
in a storm where it is overtaken by it; a race of cattle so clannish
as never to separate and go astray; the animal that can always have
free range, as they exist where no other animal can live; the animal
that can water every third day and keep fat, ranging from 20 to 30
miles from water; in fact, they are the perfect animal for the
plains of North America. One-fourth breeds for Texas, one-half
breeds for Colorado and Kansas, and three-fourths breeds for more
northern country, is what will soon be sought after more than any
living animal. Then we will never be confronted with dead carcasses
from starvation, exhaustion, and lack of nerve, as in years gone
by."
The bison as a beast of burden. -
On
account of the abundance of horses for all purposes throughout the
entire country, oxen are so seldom used they almost constitute a
curiosity. There never has existed a necessity to break buffaloes to
the yoke and work them like domestic oxen, and so few experiments
have been made in this direction that reliable data on this subject
is almost wholly wanting. While at Miles City, Mont., I heard of a
German "granger" who worked a small farm in the Tongue River Valley,
and who once had a pair of cow buffaloes trained to the yoke. It was
said that they were strong, rapid walkers, and capable of performing
as much work as the best domestic oxen, but they were at times so
uncontrollably headstrong and obstinate as to greatly detract from
their usefulness. The particular event of their career on which
their historian dwelt with special interest occurred when their
owner was hauling a load of potatoes to town with them. In the
course of the long drive the buffaloes grew very thirsty, and upon
coming within sight of the water in the river they started for it in
a straight course. The shouts and blows of the driver only served to
hasten their speed, and presently, when they reached the edge of the
high bank, they plunged down it without the slightest hesitation,
wagon, potatoes, and all, to the loss of everything except
themselves and the drink they went after!
Mr. Robert Wickliffe states that trained buffaloes make satisfactory
oxen. "I have broken them to the yoke, and found them capable of
making excellent oxen; and for drawing wagons, carts, or other
heavily laden vehicles on long journeys they would, I think, be
greatly preferable to the common ox."
It seems probable that, in the absence of horses, the buffalo would
make a much more speedy and enduring draught animal than the
domestic ox, although it is to be doubted whether he would be as
strong. His weaker pelvis and hind quarters would surely count
against him under certain circumstances, but for some purposes his
superior speed and endurance would more than counterbalance that
defect.
Bison Herds And Individuals In
Captivity And Domestication, January 1, 1889.
Herd of Mr. S. L. Bedson, Stony Mountain, Manitoba.-In 1877 Mr.
Bedson purchased 5 buffalo calves, 1 bull, and 4 heifers, for which
he paid $1,000. In 1888 his herd consisted of 23 full-blood bulls,
35 cows, 3 half-breed cows, 5 half-breed bulls, and 17 calves, mixed
and pure;[51] making a total of 83 head. These were all produced
from the original 5, no purchases having been made, nor any
additions made in any other way. Besides the 83 head constituting
the herd when it was sold, 5 were killed and 9 given away, which
would otherwise make a total of 97 head produced since 1877. In
November, 1888, this entire herd was purchased, for $50,000, by Mr.
C. J. Jones, and added to the already large herd owned by that
gentleman in Kansas.
Young Half-Breed (Buffalo-Domestic) Bull.-Herd Of C. J. Jones,
Garden City, Kansas.
Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
Herd of Mr. C. J. Jones, Garden City, Kans.-Mr.
Jones's original herd of 57 buffaloes constitute a living
testimonial to his individual enterprise, and to his courage,
endurance, and skill in the chase. The majority of the individuals
composing the herd he himself ran down, lassoed, and tied with his
own hands. For the last five years Mr. Jones has made an annual
trip, in June, to the uninhabited "panhandle" of Texas, to capture
calves out of the small herd of from one hundred to two hundred head
which represented the last remnant of the great southern herd. Each
of these expeditious involved a very considerable outlay in money,
an elaborate "outfit" of men, horses, vehicles, camp equipage, and
lastly, but most important of all, a herd of a dozen fresh milch
cows to nourish the captured calves and keep them from dying of
starvation and thirst. The region visited was fearfully barren,
almost without water, and to penetrate it was always attended by
great hardship. The buffaloes were difficult to find, but the ground
was good for running, being chiefly level plains, and the superior
speed of the running horses always enabled the hunters to overtake a
herd whenever one was sighted, and to "cut out" and lasso two,
three, or four of its calves. The degree of skill and daring
displayed in these several expeditions are worthy of the highest
admiration, and completely surpass anything I have ever seen or read
of being accomplished in connection with hunting, or the capture of
live game. The latest feat of Mr. Jones and his party comes the
nearest to being incredible. During the month of May, 1888, they not
only captured seven calves, but also eleven adult cows, of which
some were lassoed in full career on the prairie, thrown, tied, and
hobbled! The majority, however, were actually "rounded up," herded,
and held in control until a bunch of tame buffaloes was driven down
to meet them, so that it would thus be possible to drive all
together to a ranch. This brilliant feat can only be appreciated as
it deserves by those who have lately hunted buffalo, and learned by
dear experience the extent of their wariness, and the difficulties,
to say nothing of the dangers, inseparably connected with their
pursuit.
The result of each of Mr. Jones's five expeditions is as follows: In
1884 no calves found; 1885, 11 calves captured, 5 died, 6 survived;
1886, 14 calves captured, 7 died, 7 survived; 1887, 36 calves
captured, 6 died, 30 survived; 1888, 7 calves captured, all
survived; 1888, 11 old cows captured, all survived. Total, 79
captures, 18 losses, 57 survivors.
The census of the herd is exactly as follows: Adult cows, 11;
three-year olds, 7, of which 2 are males and 5 females; two-year
olds, 4, of which all are males; yearling, 28, of which 15 are males
and 13 females; calves, 7, of which 3 are males and 4 females. Total
herd, 57; 24 males and 33 females. To this, Mr. Jones's original
herd, must now be added the entire herd formerly owned by Mr. Bedson.
Respecting his breeding operations Mr. Jones writes: "My oldest
[bull] buffaloes are now three years old, and I am breeding one
hundred domestic cows to them this year. Am breeding the Galloway
cows quite extensively; also some Shorthorns, Herefords, and Texas
cows. I expect best results from the Galloways. If I can get the
black luster of the latter and the fur of a buffalo, I will have a
robe that will bring more money than we get for the average range
steer."
In November, 1888, Mr. Jones purchased Mr. Bedson's entire herd, and
in the following mouth proceeded to ship a portion of it to Kansas
City. Thirty-three head were separated from the remainder of the
herd on the prairie near Stony Mountain, 12 miles from Winnipeg, and
driven to the railroad. Several old bulls broke away en route and
ran back to the herd, and when the remainder were finally corraled
in the pens at the stock-yards "they began to fight among
themselves, and some fierce encounters were waged between the old
bulls. The younger cattle were raised on the horns of their seniors,
thrown in the air, and otherwise gored." While on the way to St.
Paul three of the half-breed buffaloes were killed by their
companions. On reaching Kansas City and unloading the two cars, 13
head broke away from the large force of men that attempted to manage
them, stampeded through the city, and finally took refuge in the
low-lands along the river. In due time, however, all were
recaptured.
Since the acquisition of this northern herd and the subsequent press
comment that it has evoked, Mr. Jones has been almost overwhelmed
with letters of inquiry in regard to the whole subject of buffalo
breeding, and has found it necessary to print and distribute a
circular giving answers to the many inquiries that have been made.
Herd of Mr. Charles Allard, Flathead Indian Reservation,
Montana.-This herd was visited in the autumn of 1888 by Mr. G. O.
Shields, of Chicago, who reports that it consists of thirty-five
head of pure-blood buffaloes, of which seven are calves of 1888, six
are yearlings, and six are two-year olds. Of the adult animals, four
cows and two bulls are each fourteen years old, "and the beards of
the bulls almost sweep the ground as they walk."
Herd of Hon. W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill").-The celebrated "Wild West
Show" has, ever since its organization, numbered amongst its leading
attractions a herd of live buffaloes of all ages. At present this
herd contains eighteen head, of which fourteen were originally
purchased of Mr. H. T. Groome, of Wichita, Kansas, and have made a
journey to London and back. As a proof of the indomitable
persistence of the bison in breeding under most unfavorable
circumstances, the fact that four of the members of this herd are
calves which were born in 1888 in London, at the American
Exposition, is of considerable interest.
This herd is now (December, 1888) being wintered on General Beale's
farm, near the city of Washington. In 1886-'87, while the Wild West
Show was at Madison Square Garden, New York City, its entire herd of
twenty buffaloes was carried off by pleuro-pneumonia. It is to be
greatly feared that sooner or later in the course of its travels the
present herd will also disappear, either through disease or
accident.
Herd of Mr. Charles Goodnight, Clarendon, Texas.-Mr. Goodnight
writes that he has "been breeding buffaloes in a small way for the
past ten years," but without giving any particular attention to it.
At present his herd consists of thirteen head, of which two are
three-year old bulls and four are calves. There are seven cows of
all ages, one of which is a half-breed.
Herd at the Zoological Society's Gardens, Philadelphia, Arthur E.
Brown, superintendent.-This institution is the fortunate possessor
of a small herd of ten buffaloes, of which four are males and six
females. Two are calves of 1877. In 1886 the Gardens sold an adult
bull and cow to Hon. W. F. Cody for $300.
Herd at Bismarck Grove, Kansas, owned by the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fé Railroad Company.-A small herd of buffaloes has for several
years past been kept at Bismarck Grove as an attraction to visitors.
At present it contains ten head, one of which is a very large bull,
another in a four-year-old bull, six are cows of various ages, and
two are two-year olds. In 1885 a large bull belonging to this herd
grew so vicious and dangerous that it was necessary to kill him.
The following interesting account of this herd was published in the
Kansas City Times of December 8, 1888:
"Thirteen years ago Colonel Stanton purchased a
buffalo bull calf for $8 and two heifers for $25. The
descendants of these three buffaloes now found at
Bismarck Grove, where all were born, number in all ten.
There were seventeen, but the rest have died, with the
exception of one, which was given away. They are kept in
an inclosure containing about 30 acres immediately
adjoining the park, and there may be seen at any time.
The sight is one well worth a trip and the slight
expense that may attach to it, especially to one who has
never seen the American bison in his native state.
"The present herd includes two fine bull calves dropped
last spring, two heifers, five cows, and a bull six
years old and as handsome as a picture. The latter has
been named Cleveland, after the colonel's favorite
Presidential candidate. The entire herd is in as fine
condition as any beef cattle, though they were never fed
anything but hay and are never given any shelter. In
fact they don't take kindly to shelter, and whether a
blizzard is blowing, with the mercury 20 degrees below
zero, or the sun pouring down his scorching rays, with
the thermometer 110 degrees above, they set their heads
resolutely toward storm or sun and take their medicine
as if they liked it. Hon. W. F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill,"
tried to buy the whole herd two years ago to take to
Europe with his Wild West Show, but they were not for
sale at his own figures, and, indeed, there is no
anxiety to dispose of them at any figures. The railroad
company has been glad to furnish them pasturage for the
sake of adding to the attractions of the park, in which
there are also forty-three head of deer, including two
as fine bucks as ever trotted over the national deer
trail toward the salt-licks in northern Utah.
"While the bison at Bismark Grove are splendid specimens
of their class, "Cleveland" is decidedly the pride of
the herd, and as grand a creature as ever trod the soil
of Kansas on four legs. He is just six years old and is
a perfect specimen of the kings of the plains. There is
royal blood in his veins, and his coat is finer than the
imperial purple. It is not possible to get at him to
measure his stature and weight. He must weigh fully
3,000 pounds, and it is doubtful if there is to-day
living on the face of the earth a handsomer buffalo bull
than he. "Cleveland's" disposition is not so ugly as old
Barney's was, but at certain seasons he is very wild,
and there is no one venturesome enough to go into the
inclosure. It is then not altogether safe to even look
over the high and heavy board fence at him, for he is
likely to make a run for the visitor, as the numerous
holes in the fence where he has knocked off the boards
will testify." |
Herd of Mr. Frederick Dupree, Cheyenne Indian
Agency, near Fort Bennett, Dakota.-This herd contains at present
nine pure-blood buffaloes, five of which are cows and seven mixed
bloods. Of the former, there are two adult bulls and four adult
cows. Of the mixed blood animals, six are half-breeds and one a
quarter-breed buffalo.
Mr. Dupree obtained the nucleus of his herd in 1882, at which time
he captured five wild calves about 100 miles west of Fort Bennett.
Of these, two died after two months of captivity and a third was
killed by an Indian in 1885.
Mr. D. F. Carlin, of the Indian service, at Fort Bennett, has kindly
furnished me the following information respecting this herd, under
date of November 1, 1888:
"The animals composing this herd are all in fine condition and are
quite tame. They keep by themselves most of the time, except the
oldest bull (six years old), who seems to appreciate the company of
domestic cattle more than that of his own family. Mr. Dupree has
kept one half-breed bull as an experiment; he thinks it will produce
a hardy class of cattle. His half-breeds are all black, with one
exception, and that is a roan; but they are all built like the
buffalo, and when young they grunt more like a hog than like a calf,
the same as a full-blood buffalo.
"Mr. Dupree has never lost a [domestic] cow in giving birth to a
half-breed calf, as was supposed by many people would be the case.
There have been no sales from this herd, although the owner has a
standing offer of $650 for a cow and bull. The cows are not for sale
at any price."
Herd at Lincoln Park, Chicago, Mr. W. P. Walker,
superintendent.-This very interesting and handsomely-kept herd is
composed of seven individuals of the following character: One bull
eight years old, one bull four years old, two cows eight years old,
two cows two years old in the spring of 1888, and one female calf
born in the spring of 1888.
Zoological Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio.-This collection contains four
bison, an adult bull and cow, and one immature specimen.
Dr. V. T. McGillicuddy, Rapid City, Dakota, has a herd of four pure
buffaloes and one half-breed. Of the former, the two adults, a bull
and cow seven years old, were caught by Sioux Indians near the Black
Hills for the owner in the spring of 1882. The Indians drove two
milch cows to the range to nourish the calves when caught. These
have produced two calves, one of which, a bull, is now three years
old, and the other is a yearling heifer.
Central Park Menagerie, New York, Dr. W. A. Conklin, director.-This
much-visited collection contains four bison, an adult bull and cow,
a two-year-old calf, and a yearling.
Mr. John H. Starin, Glen Inland, near New York City.-There are four
buffaloes at this summer resort.
The U. S. National Museum, Washington, District of Columbia.-The
collection of the department of living animals at this institution
contains two fine young buffaloes; a bull four years old in July,
1888, and a cow three years old in May of the same year. These
animals were captured in western Nebraska, when they were calves, by
H. R. Jackett, of Ogalalla, and kept by him on his ranch until 1885.
In April, 1888, Hon. Eugene G. Blackford, of New York, purchased
them of Mr. Frederick D. Nowell, of North Platte, Nebraska, for $100
for the pair, and presented them to the National Museum, in the hope
that they might form the nucleus of a herd to be owned and exhibited
by the United States Government in or near the city of Washington.
The two animals were received in Ogalalla by Mr. Joseph Palmer, of
the National Museum, and by him they were brought on to Washington
in May, in fine condition. Since their arrival they have been
exhibited to the public in a temporary inclosure on the Smithsonian
Grounds, and have attracted much attention.
Mr. B. C. Winston, of Hamline, Minnesota, owns a pair of buffaloes,
one of which, a young bull, was caught by him in western Dakota in
the spring of 1886, soon after its birth. The cow was purchased at
Rosseau, Dakota Territory, a year later, for $225.
Mr. I. P. Butler, of Colorado, Texas, is the owner of a young bull
buffalo and a half-breed calf.
Mr. Jesse Huston, of Miles City, Montana, owns a fine five-year-old
bull buffalo.
Mr. L. F. Gardner, of Bellwood, Oregon, is the owner of a large
adult bull.
The Riverside Ranch Company, south of Mandan, Dakota, owns a pair of
full-blood buffaloes.
In Dakota, in the hands of parties unknown, there are four
full-blood buffaloes.
Mr. James R. Hitch, of Optima, Indian Territory, has a pair of young
buffaloes, which he has offered for sale for $750.
Mr. Joseph A. Hudson, of Estell, Nebraska, owns a three-year-old
bull buffalo, which is for sale.
In other countries there are live specimens of Bison americanus
reported as follows: two at Belleview Gardens, Manchester, England;
one at the Zoological Gardens, London; one at Liverpool, England
(purchased of Hon. W. F. Cody in 1888); two at the Zoological
Gardens, Dresden; one at the Zoological Gardens, Calcutta.
Statistics of full-blood buffaloes in captivity January 1, 1889.
| Number kept for breeding purposes |
216 |
| Number kept for exhibition |
40 |
| |
|
| Total pure-blood buffaloes in captivity |
256 |
| |
|
| Wild buffaloes under Government protection in the
Yellowstone Park |
200 |
| Number of mixed-breed buffalo-domestics |
40 |
There are, without doubt, a few half-breeds in
Manitoba of which I have no account. It is probable there are also a
very few more captive buffaloes scattered singly here and there
which will be heard of later, but the total will be a very small
number, I am sure.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language
of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the
historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in
any way endorse the stereotypes implied.
Source:
The
Extermination of the American Bison,
1886-’87, By William T. Hornaday, Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1889
Extermination of the American Bison
 |
