20 “COME DUCK SHOOTING WITH ME” 
on the fence and shooting cows in a field. Professional 
buffalo hunters always shot on foot. Then the animals 
fell inside a comparatively small area and it was easy 
for the wagon squad to find and skin them. A buffalo 
shot low down behind the fore shoulder is hit in the 
heart. He stands still a minute, then begins to sway 
sideways, and finally falls dead without noise or strug- 
gle. The balance of the herd show no alarm until an 
animal is badly wounded and begins struggling, then 
they become frightened and run. 
The professional rarely chased buffalo on horseback 
as it strings the bodies widely apart over the plain and 
makes too much extra work for the skinners. It 
always seemed to me that the Government winked at 
the slaughter of the buffalo on account of the Indians. 
The animals provided them with home, food, and rai- 
ment; tents, robes, and meat. With plenty of buffalo 
on the plains, they could get supplies to continue the 
fight against the settlers. When the buffalo went, the 
Indian went also—upon a reservation. 
A few days, hunting filled our wagon with meat. We 
saved the robes, hindquarters, tongues, and humps of the 
buffalo. They said the hump was a great delicacy much 
relished by old timers. It wasamixture of fat and meat. 
A buffalo round steak was much more appetizing. 
There is surprisingly little meat on a buffalo, consider- 
ing his appearance and bulk while alive. 
Our first night’s camp on the homeward journey was 
planned to be on the banks of the Purgatoire River, or 
Picketwire as the cow punchers called it, that empties 
into the Arkansas River. The first discoverer of the 
river, a French trapper, found it full of quicksands and 
had much difficulty in crossing with his horses. He 
therefore named it Purgatoire. A cattle man would 
