have had no better friend. A pioneer to Nebraska in 
1867, he settled on Turkey Creek, a location thirty- 
eight miles southwest of Lincoln, and his selections of 
land have proven profitable to him in his years of 
retirement. His ‘‘game pasture’’ has comprised eighty 
acres along the course of this creek, and a grove of 
large walnut trees have afforded ample shade. The 
buffalo have increased slowly; and on account of the 
presence of a herd of elk and deer in the same pasture 
it has been necessary for him to occasionally dispose 
of a few animals in order to keep the herd down to the 
proper size for the pasture. 
Our Government had but one available location in 
Nebraska to which these animals could be taken, and 
this was the Niobrara Reservation, a part of the old 
military reserve of the same name, which was aban- 
doned about six years ago. It is in Cherry County 
about half way up the State, east and west, and within 
six miles of the South Dakota line. Valentine is the 
nearest town, four miles distant from Headquarters. 
The original military reserve comprised 37,000 
acres, and its possibilities as a bison range would have 
enthused your most dormant member. It was decreed 
that such portions which could be classed as ‘‘agricul- 
tural’’ should be opened to settlement, and our depart- 
ment secured but a minor portion. Executive orders 
setting aside certain areas as the ‘**‘ Niobrara Reserva- 
tion for the Protection of Native Birds’’ were made 
under dates of January 11 and November 14, 1912, and 
the approximate area of the completed reserve is now 
14,000 acres. It was fortunate that the bird protective 
sentiment was suffic iently strong to bring to the depart- 
ment the control of a tract of land of ‘this character. 
For the joke is, that upon inspection of our ‘‘ Bird 
Reservation’’ we found a property of such merit as to 
justify any extensive plan and outlay for the mainte- 
nance of a herd of buffalo, with the addition of elk, 
deer and antelope if desired. 
The Niobrara River runs east and west across the 
tract, about one-third of the area lying north of the 
stream. This northern portion includes many shelter- 
35 
