532 EEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1887. 



lope skin we obtained in the spring, those of all the other specimens 

 taken being quite worthless on account of the looseness of the hair. 

 During the latter part of May, and from that time on until the long 

 winter hair is completely shed, it falls off in handfuls at the slightest 

 pressure, leaving the skin clad only with a thin growth of new, mouse- 

 colored hair an eighth of an inch long. 



After reaching Little Dry Creek and hunting through the country on 

 the west side of it nearly to its confluence with the Big Dry we turned 

 southwest, and finally went into permanent camp on Phillips Creek, 8 

 miles above the LU-bar ranch and 4 miles from the Little Dry. At 

 that point we were about 80 miles from Miles City. 



From information furnished us by Mr. Phillips and the cowboys in 

 his employ, we were assured that about thirty-five head of buffalo ranged 

 in the bad lands between Phillips Creek and the Musselshell River and 

 south of the Big Dry. This tract of country was about 40 miles long 

 from east to west by 25 miles wide, and therefore of about 1,000 square 

 miles in area. Excepting two temporary cowboy camps it was totally 

 uninhabited by man, treeless, without any running streams, save in 

 winter and spring, and was mostly very hilly and broken. 



In this desolate and inhospitable country the thirty-five buffaloes 

 alluded to had been seen, first on Sand Creek, then at the head of the 

 Big Porcupine, again near the Musselshell, and latest near the head 

 of the Little Dry. As these points were all from 15 to 30 miles distant 

 from each other, the difficulty of finding such a small herd becomes 

 apparent. 



Although Phillips Creek was really the eastern boundary of the buf- 

 falo country, it was impossible for a six- mule wagon to proceed beyond 

 it, at least at that point. Having established a permanent camp, the 

 Government wagon and its escort returned to Fort Keogh, and we pro- 

 ceeded to hunt through the country between Sand Creek and the Little 

 Dry. The absence of nearly all the cowboys on the spring round-up, 

 which began May 20, threatened to be a serious drawback to us, as we 

 greatly needed the services of a man who was acquainted with the 

 country. We had with us as a scout and guide a Cheyenne Indian, 

 named Dog, but it soon became apparent that he knew no more about 

 the country than we did. Fortunately, however, we succeeded in occa- 

 sionally securing the services of a cowboy, which was of great advan- 

 tage to us. 



It was our custom to ride over the country daily, each day making a 

 circuit through a new locality, and covering as much ground as it was 

 possible to ride over in a day. It was also our custom to take trips of 

 from two to four days in length, during which we carried our blankets 

 and rations upon our horses and camped wherever night overtook us, 

 provided water could be found. 



Our first success consisted in the capture of a buffalo calf, which 

 from excessive running had become unable to keep up with its mother, 



