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the mesquite grass appears too dry and brittle 
for food value, it has fattening properties that are 
truly wonderful and it is the grass that is most 
esteemed by cattle-raisers as well as propagators 
of buffalo. 
After one or two fall rains or snow storms green 
blades begin to appear about the roots of the 
mesquite grass, and naturally the buffalo begin 
at once to feed onit. The grass known locally as 
“‘blue-stem”’’? grows in rank profusion all over 
the range. This grass is a kind of bunch-grass, 
and makes excellent hay. Mr. Goodnight says 
that buffalo will eat it, and do well upon it, when 
better grass is not to be had. A kind of salt grass 
grows on the moist flats, both in the foothills and 
on the sides and tops of the mountains. This 
grass is eaten in the spring, when green, and before 
the other grass begins to grow; but as soon as it 
has dried the cattle do not touch it. 
There is no impure water on the range. The 
most important announcement regarding water 
is that all springs and streams that supply the range 
head on it and flow out of it. Therefore, there is no 
danger of contaminated water reaching the 
animals. The chief water supply is Cache Creek, 
which heads in the center of the range, about a- 
quarter mile from the northern boundary. The 
spring that forms its source, though small, can 
easily be dug out and covered, so that the animals 
cannot get into it. The water could then be run 
into troughs, and the overflow allowed to continue 
down the stream bed. I drank from this spring, 
and found it clear, cold and delightful. 
From this spring Cache Creek winds southward 
through the center of the range for about three 
miles. At the time of my visit there was plenty 
of water throughout its entire length, and during 
the rainy season this is always the case. There 
are times, however, during July, August and 
September when the creek goes dry in places, 
the water sinking and reappearing. But during 
the dryest seasons water in abundance can always 
be found in pools and rivulets not farther than a 
quarter of a mile apart. 
In the extreme southwest corner of the range 
perpetual water is found in Sugar Creek, which 
also has a spring foritssource. Again, in the canon 
on the west side of the range there is permanent 
water; and on section 7, in the center of the range, 
and a mile east of Cache Creek, permanent water 
exists. In fact, during the dry season an animal 
cannot get more than one and a-half miles from 
water. In late November, 1905 (there had been 
several rains of late), there was plenty of water all 
over the range. 
Water is always found close to the surface, and 
wells can easily be driven if they become necessary. 
The boundary line of the proposed buffalo range 
runs as follows: : 
Beginning at the southeast corner of the reserve, 
the line passes through prairie country one and a- 
half miles in a northwesterly direction; thence 
west one and a-half miles to the base of a high, 
rocky mountain. Thence it skirts along the foot 
of this mountain, winding in and out among the 
post-oak and black-jack trees in a northwesterly 
direction for another mile. There it turns due 
RECREATION 
north through an open flat and enters the timber 
at the foot of another mountain. The timber for 
the next mile, while scrubby, affords shelter from 
the summer sun. After crossing the gully marked 
on the map on section 2 there is another open flat 
of about a-quarter mile, and again the fence will 
run through scrub black-jack oak trees, some of 
which can carry a wire fence. This stretch is about 
half a mile long, and the remainder of the distance 
(about a mile), to the northwest corner of the 
range, is over open rolling and broken country. 
The northern boundary runs two miles east 
through sections 26 and 25, inclosing a strip of 
jack-oak timber about 150 feet wide. This lies at 
the foot of a high, rocky, timbered ridge that ex- 
tends northward as far as the eye can reach. At 
the east end there is a narrow valley of probably 
200 yards. From the southern turning point to 
the southeast corner of section 25 the line runs half 
the distance through a prairie and the rest of the 
way through timber. Here it turns southeast 
through timber and a narrow-timbered pass, 
cutting across the southwest corner of section 32. 
Thence it runs east a-quarter mile and southeast 
for a mile to the southeast corner of section 5. 
This stretch also leads most of the way through 
timber. It is thickly strewn with large boulders, 
to avoid which, and still take advantage of the 
trees for posts, it will be somewhat difficult to run 
the fence. The country just outside of the range, 
from the turn at the southeast corner of section 25 
to the southeast corner of section 5, is hilly and 
mountainous and timber covered. Here the line 
turns due south, and runs over the prairie one and 
a-quarter miles to the starting point—the middle 
of the dividing line of sections 16 and 17. 
The object in running the line through the tim- 
ber is to minimize the expense of supplying posts 
and at the same time give the animals shade and 
shelter. About half of the west, north and south- 
east line runs through timber that can be used as 
fence timber by supplying a few posts here and 
there; and there are many places where even the 
black-jack oak can be worked in to good advan- 
tage. 
Posts can be cut outside of the range, very near 
the locations where they are needed, with the 
exception of the southern line, where it may be 
necessary to haul them two or three miles. 
From all accounts buffalo in large numbers 
traveled over the proposed buffalo range during 
their northward and southward migrations, and 
doubtless many of them wintered in the foothills 
of the Wichita Mountains. From information 
gained from the old settlers, both white and Indian, 
it seems that the buffaloes were hunted so per- 
sistently that they were not allowed to winter in 
peace in this locality. Buffalo wallows were found 
all over the prairie and level country on the range, 
and buffalo bones and horns were found on the 
range by Mr. E. F. Morrissey when he first came 
there as supervisor of the reserve. 
During my stay in Oklahoma I interviewed 
many old-time plainsmen and Indians. Among 
them were Charles Goodnight; Ben Clark, the old 
Government scout who hunted buffalo during the 
days of Custer’s campaign on the Canadian River; 
