FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



151 



kins, East Woburn. Colored Muscovy Ducks— 1st prize 

 "William P. Miller, Milford. Cayuga Ducks— 1st prize, P. 

 W. Hudson, North Manchester, Ct.; 2d prize, M. I. Ellis, 

 Norwood, Mass.; 3d prize, M. I. Ellis, Norwood, Mass.; 

 4th prize, B. B. Covell, New Bedford. White-Crested 

 Ducks — 1st prize, J. W. Hunt, North Bridgewater ; 2d 

 prize, W. P. Miller, Milford, Mass. Rouen Ducks — 1st 

 prize, C. A. Johnson, Newburyport, Mass.; 2d prize, P. W. 

 Hudson, North Manchester, Ct.; 3d prize, C. L. Parker, 

 "Winchester, Mass.; 4th prize, M. I. Ellis, Norwood. Ayles- 

 bury Ducks — 1st prize, P. W. Hudson, North Manchester, 

 Ct.; 2d prize, C. A. Johnson, Newburyport, Mass.; 3d prize, 

 M. I. Ellis, Norwood; 4th prize, Calvin L. Parker, Win- 

 chester; special premium No. 91, best pair Kouen Ducks, 

 C. A. Johnson, Newburyport; special premium No. 92, best 

 pair Cayuga Ducks, P. W. Hudson, North Manchester, Ct. 

 (To be Continued.) 



THE OLDEST HORSE DEAD. 



"Kate " is dead. We suspect she was the oldest piece of 

 horse flesh in this country. She was owned during the past 

 twenty-seven years by Edwin W. Tiffany, Esq., President 

 of the First National Bank, of this city, and she died on 

 Sunday, the 8th inst. , aged thirty-eight years and nine months. 

 She was of the Morgan family of horses, was foaled in May, 

 1835, and Mr. S. D. Goodwin was her owner. The late 

 Daniel Camp purchased her when she was in her youth, and 

 Mr. Camp claimed that she could take a buggy and driver 

 from Hartford to New Haven and back in less time than 

 any other horse could travel the same distance. Kate had 

 great endurance ; and she was as gentle as a lamb, and as 

 intelligent almost as a human. Mr. Tiffany became attached 

 to her, as he knew his family were safe when Kate was in 

 the harness. He treated her with great kindness, which 

 prolonged her life, probably. Kate has done good service 

 till within two years, and has eaten hay even till within a 

 month past. But finally she yielded to the scythe of Time : 

 the oldest horse known to "horse men." Indeed, at our 

 State fairs, for ten years past, Kate was looked upon as a 

 very old and sprightly marvel of a horse. She will be kindly 

 interred in her old pasture, where the white clover grows, 

 and in the summer time the beautiful white daisies will bow 

 their heads in respect to the oldest and the best of the "no- 

 ble" race. — Hartford Times. 



THE BISON. 



Indiscriminate Slaughter of Buffaloes on the 

 Plains — The Animals nearly all gone — Value of 

 Hides Deteriorating — Hunters on the Plains — 

 Cold Weather. 



The buffaloes of the plains have mot their fate. En- 

 croaching civilization has sealed their doom ; and the inor- 

 dinate greed of man has swept them from the face of the 

 earth. Where years ago the mammoth herds of Bison 

 roamed the plains, and were hunted by the Indians as ne- 

 cessity demanded, now lie the bleaching bones of millions 

 of these noble animals, sacrificed simply for their hides. 

 For the past two years the work of destruction and annihil- 

 ation has gone forward, and to day there are not enough 

 buffaloes to form what was at one time considered a moder- 

 ate-sized herd. Millions of these animals ranged the plains, 

 their natural home, feeding upon the rich grasses. To day 

 there are not enough to graze on a quarter section of land 

 and eat the feed bare. Hunting parties are to be met with 

 all over the plains in the vicinity of the Republican, and 

 also in the southern portion of the Territory, who slaughter 

 indiscriminately every herd upon which they come. The 



traveler over the Kansas Pacific Road may see cords of white 

 bones piled up at various stations in the buffalo country, 

 awaiting transportation East, where they enter into a thous- 

 and and one articles of commerce and trade. Besides the 

 bones there are thousands of hides, rough-dried, ready to be 

 sent to the commercial marts of the East, where they are 

 tanned and placed upon the markets. These bones and hides 

 are the fruits of the huntsman's labors, in killing the noble 

 game of the plains. The meat from the carcasses of the slain 

 buffaloes is seldom used, although in a few instances it is 

 cut and shipped to Eastern packers, where it is disposed of 

 as mess beef at largely enhanced prices. 



We yesterday met Mr. John A. Lessig, brother to Gen. 

 Lessig, the Surveyor-General, who has been out on the 

 plains several months, running correction lines and town- 

 shipping the eastern portion of the Territory. He informs 

 us that the destruction of buffalo is almost incredible. Dur- 

 ing the perambulations of this party they had an opportu- 

 nity of forming opinions as to the slaughter of the bison on 

 the plains. On the south fork of the Republican they came 

 upon one spot where were counted 6,500 carcasses of buffalo 

 from which the hides only had been stripped. The meat 

 was not touched, and was left to rot on the plains. Only a 

 short distance on hundreds more of carcasses were discov- 

 ered, and, in fact, the plains were literally dotted with pu- 

 trifying buffalo carcasses. On the Rickaree River, which 

 lies between the two forks of the Republican, the camps of 

 buffalo hunters were of frequent occurrence. Mr. Lessig 

 estimates that there are at least 2,000 hunters in camp along 

 there, waiting for the buffalo. He came across one party 

 of sixteen who stated that they had killed 28,000 buffaloes 

 during the past summer, only the hides of which were util- 

 ized. If sixteen hunters can kill this many animals, how 

 great must be the slaughter upon the broad extant of the 

 bison range ? Evidently millions of the animals must have 

 been killed during the past summer alone. Mr. Lessig savs 

 there are no buffaloes to be seen on the plains, except dead 

 ones, and that, hunt as much as they may, the sportsmen 

 can not at present find any game. 



The value of the hides has deteriorated considerably, ow- 

 ing to the great increase of the articles in the market. Here- 

 tofore they were worth $3 delivered at the railway stations, 

 while now a distinction is made as to size and paid for accor- 

 dingly. The hides of bulls bring but $1, those of cows 60 

 cents, and calves 40 cents. At these rates even the hunters 

 say it pays very well. But even at these low rates the hun- 

 ters will have to scratch to make their grub, for Mr. Les- 

 sig says the buffalo are nowhere to be found. They say 

 they are waiting for the buffaloes, but they will have to 

 wait a long time. There are but few to breed from, and 

 even if the animals are not completely annihilated, it will 

 be many years before they regain even a tithe of their num- 

 bers of the past two years, before the indiscriminate slaugh- 

 ter began. 



Mr. Lessig had fourteen men in his surveying party. 

 About the 27th of November the cold weather began, and 

 the snow fell to a great depth. The ravines were all drifted 

 full, and on the level snow was quite deep. Being in a 

 timberless country, the party depended upon buffalo chips 

 for fuel, but the snow coming on, recourse to this article 

 was cut off, and they had to think of returning. One night 

 the weather was so cold that a barrel full of water froze 

 solid. The party left the Republican about the 10th of De- 

 cember, and reached Eel Trail on Friday night, from which 

 point they came to Denver by rail. — Denver News. 



