April 18, 1889 J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



255 



Arrived JS88: 

 March 9. 

 March 9. 

 March 14. 

 March 20. 

 April 3. 

 March 27 

 April 9. 

 March 88. 

 April 3. 

 April 2. 



BIRD NOTES. 



G^ LOUCESTER, April 2. — I give below the arrival of 

 t birds, migrant and resident, for 1888 and 1889, to 

 da to: 



Arrived 1889. 



RoMds March 2. 



Song sparrows March lb. 



Bluebirds March 19. 



Blackbirds March 23 



Fox sparrows March 29. 



Wild geese March 23. 



Frogs cummeneed to sing March 29. 



Blue jays March 17. 



Hermit thrushes April 1. 



Yellowhammers March 21. 



This last bird (Colaptex an ra t as) is also a winter resi- 

 dent. Last spring I put a bird box in the top of a tall 

 oak, and a yellovvhaunner used it all summer for a signal 

 station. He returned from the south March 21, in the 

 night. About daylight he flew to the box and sent a 

 telegram to another bu d on the hill beyond the swamp. 

 The answer was rapped on the dry limb of a dead oak, 

 and for half an hour these birds sent messages to and 

 fro. This tapping to each other is quite common with 

 the vellowhaimner. I used to hear them in the logging 

 swamps of Maine, tapping on deserted log camps. Among 

 the memories of my boyhood days is one of being regu- 

 larly awakened at daylight by the birds' reveille, beat 

 upon the loose boards of an old sawmill. Hermit. 



BUFFALO CATTLE. 



THE experiments in buffalo breeding now being under- 

 taken, and the attempt to engraft on our domestic 

 cattle the strong blood of this wild stock, has excited a 

 widespread interest not only in this country, but in Europe 

 as well; not only among scientific men, but among farm- 

 ers and stock raisers. Although a good deal has been 

 printed, and a good deal of theorizing done on this sub- 

 ject in the press of this and other countries, the subject 

 lias been intelligently discussed, as far we have observed, 

 only in Forest and Stream. And this, because it has 

 been considered not in any one-sided way. We have 

 looked upon it from the standpoint of the old buffalo 

 hunter, who was familiar with this animal when its 

 countless hordes blackened the prairies from the Rio 

 Grande to the Saskatchewan, and from the Missouri 

 River to beyond the Mountains: and to this experience 

 we have added that of the cattle man, whose memory 

 goes back to the early days of cow-punching in the 

 West, and who can recall the times when 30 to 40 per 

 cent, was the annual profit actually made on capital 

 invested. 



Forest and Stream appreciates the scientific interest 

 which attaches to these experiments. It comprehends as 

 well the possible economic value of a new breed of 

 domestic cattle which, at no greater cost of production, 

 shall be beef producers superior to those we now have on 

 our ranges, which shall be exempt from the dangers of 

 cold and snow, to which our existing breeds of cattle are 

 exposed, and which, besides their beef, shall yield a hide 

 whose value alone shall be more than the price now 

 brought by a fat steer in the beef market. Having in 

 view these points, the Forest and Stream recently dis- 

 patched a competent staff correspondent who is an old 

 buffalo hunter and cattleman, to inspect the only herd of 

 buffalo and cross-bred cattle now in existence— that of 

 Hon. C. J. Jones, of Garden City, Kansas. Of this herd 

 we have often written, and portraits of individuals con 

 tained in it have been reproduced in these columns for 

 the benefit of our readers— yet after all nothing can give 

 so satisfactory an idea of the animals as an actual view 

 of them. This view has been had, and we are free to say 

 that none of all the good things which we have heard of 

 these cattle has done justice to their superb appearance. 



It will be remembered that Mr. Jones's herd started 

 with a few calves which he captured in Texas and the 

 Indian Territory. 



The method of capturing the buffalo calves was prac- 

 tically the same as that implied in the operations of cut- 

 ting out and roping for branding, as seen at a round-up 

 on the range: with this exception, that the pace set by 

 the buffalo was much hotter, so that usually the rope 

 could be thrown only at the close of a long and break- 

 neck race, into which neither man nor horse could enter 

 with any surety of success or salety. It was always an 

 even chance for the buffalo calf, especially if it happened 

 that the calf was with its mother detached from the main 

 bunch. The little curly red fellows, not more than three 

 or four weeks old, would get over the hot plains in a 

 course so fast and long that even the best of the horses 

 were tried to the utmost. The pause necessitated in dis- 

 mounting and in hobbling the captured calf was usually 

 sufficient to allow the remainder of the herd to sweep on 

 so far as to make it nearly impossible for the rider to get 

 among them again on that run. It was a good horse that 

 could take two calves on the same run. The bay Ken- 

 tucky mare Jennie once got into the herd three times on 

 one run, and three calves were roped from her. She was 

 a wonderfully game animal. She came into camp one 

 night apparently quite blind and barely able to stand, 

 after crossing probably one hundred miles of hot and 

 waterless desert. Every boy in the camp got out and 

 worked with her, and by dint of a pint of whisky, which 

 the mare drank out of a pail, and by long and patient 

 rubbings, she got through safely. Jennie was subse- 

 quently given by Mr. Jones to the range hunter, Lee 

 Howard, for services in the calf hunt of 1887. The other 

 horses used were of the best range stock, and for the most 

 part were speedy, plucky and ^fearless. One black cow- 

 pony proved himself very good. Another, a gray brute, 

 was always afraid of the buffalo, and could hardly be 

 crowded in closer than 20 or 30yds. Mr. Jones himself 

 roped probably more than his proportion of the calves in 

 the earlier hunts. He had no aid in the calf hunt of 1885. 

 In 1886 he was assisted by Ez. Carter, a very handy young 

 cowboy. In 1887 Lee Howard, the Panhandle hunter, 

 was enlisted, and was found wonderfully skillful. In 

 1888 Howard and young De Cordova were on the hunt, 

 and these two repeatedly did what it had been claimed 

 no one could do; they roped, threw, tied and hobbled 

 full-grown buffalo cows. No stronger commentary on 

 the effectiveness of the cowboy's rope and his skill in 

 using it could be made. 



When the herd was sighted — although the "herd" 



meant usually only a few scattered individuals — the 

 riders at once left the light wagon, where they usually 

 rode while on the search, and with all possible speed 

 loosed and mounted the saddled horses, which were led 

 behind the wagon. There might be pause enough to 

 draw a cinch a little tighter, but beyond that there was 

 no waiting. Usually the herd would sight the hunters 

 as soon as the latter did them, and then away they would 

 go. There was oidy one pace for the riders, and that the 

 very best the horses could do. Of course the light wagon 

 could not keep up with the herd or with the riders, and 

 these were very soon lost to sight. The driver of the 

 wagon, however, lashed his horses into the best speed 

 they coidd make, and sent them on full jump after the 

 lessening cloud of dust. The wagon would sway and 

 bound over the rough hillocks, but so long as its inmates 

 could cling to it there was no thought of any danger. 

 There is an excitement to every f eatu re of this kind of 

 buffalo hunting which is not paralleled in any other sport 

 of the field. 



Each rider had on his saddle a number of rope hobbles, 

 made in a somewhat peculiar way. This rope was un- 

 raveled, so that the strands 

 stood loose. It was tied in the 

 middle in a large loop, just 

 large enough to slip over the 

 calf's head. A knot was tied 

 in the end of each free leg of 

 the hobble, so that the loose 

 strands were confined at the 

 ends and at the tight neck knot. 

 When a calf was roped the 

 rider sprang from his horse — 

 which stood without further 

 precaution than the usual plains 

 custom of throwing the bridle 

 reins down over his head — and 

 at once put the hobble on the 

 calf's neck; then one hindfoot 

 was forcibly drawn up, nearly to the calf's jaw. A slip- 

 knot was quickly run into the loose leg of the hobble, 

 and the running strands were thus drawn tightly just 

 above the calf's foot. A round rope would slip, but the 

 ingenious expedient of loosening the strands formed a 

 hobble which did not slip in a single instance. The sec- 

 ond hindleg was in the next instant treated in the same 

 way. It was determined beforehand just how long the 

 legs of the hobble should be, namely, just long enough 

 to pull the calf's feet close up to its neck. If left too 

 long the calf could run away. As really applied the calf 

 was left trussed up like a fowl and lay bobbing around 

 on the grass, a pretty fair object for discovery by the 

 ambulance corps in the light wagon. A short period of 

 vicious butting and tumbling, and the buffalo was taking 

 its first buggy ride, and the wagon was swaying on down 

 the trail after more calves in the midst of a struggle to 

 keep the calf somewhere on the bottom of the vehicle. 



The light wagon followed on down the trailuntilitmet 

 the riders coming back, when information was exchanged 

 as to the number of calves collected or to be collected. 

 After all the captives had been found the return to camp 

 was begun, with men and animals very nearly exhausted. 

 It might be fifty miles to water, and night settling down 

 over a country trackless in the daytime. Now came the 

 time for perfect knowledge of the plains; a time, too, if 

 grumblers could have found a place on such a hunt, to 

 reflect that buffalo calf hunting was arduous business. 

 There were no complaints, however, and the only con- 

 cern was lest the calves should not live until water was 

 reached. The men denied themselves, and the scanty 

 water of the canteens was given to the calves, or used to 

 moisten the mouths of the horses which had run so well. 



At camp the calves were tied on short ropes, fastened 

 trot-fine fashion to a long rope staked securely in the 

 ground at each end. This assured a certain give and 

 swing, so that the little fellows could not injure them- 

 selves in their rushes and tumbles. At first they were ex- 

 ceedingly belligerent and showed ability to butt with 

 wonderful strength and accuracy, but they grew tame 

 very rapidly, and at the end of a week or so could be ap- 

 proached and handled by their feeders. They were fed 

 upon the milk of domestic cows, the cows having been 

 driven down across the range to the home camp at the 

 expense of a great deal of toil and trouble. Condensed 

 milk was found to be unwholesome, and the calves sick- 

 ened and died upon it. With the best of care, some of 

 them were lost, as the heat and exhaustion of the chase 

 were too great for them. 



After a week or so of rest at the home camp, the long 

 and tedious march to the settlements was begun. This 

 was made by slow and easy stages. The buffalo 

 calves were driven on foot. They stayed well with 

 the domestic cows, and the younger calves were 

 suckled by the domestic cows with mutual amity. 

 A beer bottle covered with a rag was a favorite 

 way of conveying milk to some of the calves, and 

 one or two learned at once to drink milk from a 

 pail. One cow suckled three buffalo calve-'. T. e 

 little fellows took well to then foster motheis. 

 Often then own motheis had fought savagely 

 against their captors. 



It may be well seen that the herd was ac- 

 cumulated only as the result of skill and tireless 

 energy and at the expense of many hardships 

 undergone. 



To these calves Mr. Jones has added by pur- 

 chase a few single buffalo, and last year he bought 

 the Bedson herd of over eighty head, so that he is 

 now by far the largest owner of buffalo in the 

 country. 



Besides the pure buffalo, of which he has nearly 

 120, he has a number of the: crossbred stock, and 

 it is these which to the breeder of cattle are by 

 far the most interesting. Among these last are four 

 half-breed cows, of one of which a portrait was given in 

 Forest and Stream of Dec. 20, 1888, and is to-day again 

 printed. 



To the experienced eye it will at once be clear that this 

 animal is built on just the lines of a beef maker, and yet 

 the picture conveys only a faint idea of the excellence of 

 this superb creature. She is very tall, more so than an 

 old work ox, very thick through, with a gigantic frame 

 and short legs. It has been supposed, and the opinion 

 w r as advanced by old stockmen who have seen the picture, 

 that it was taken after the cow had been fed on corn, and 

 in this way "forced," i. e., made as fat as possible. This 

 we are assured by Mr. Jones is Hot the case. This cow 



has never had any corn. The photograph from which 

 this drawing was made was taken in the fall when the 

 cow had been for six months suckling a three-quarter- 

 blood calf, a calf, by the way. which at six months old 

 weighed six hundred and ten pounds. The cow was in 

 fair order but by no means fat. 



"When the Forest and Stream correspondent exam- 

 ined this cow in March last he was struck by the excel- 

 lence of the portrait of her which had appeared in the 

 paper some months before. The likeness was at once 

 recognizable. Points which will strike the stock raiser 

 are the general appearance of thickness andsturdiness of 

 this animal, the heavy shoulders, the almost entire 

 absence of hump, and thus the hindquarters nearly as 

 high as the fore, the great depth from above downward. 

 The animal is massive throughout. A front view would 

 show great thickness from side to side. These cows are 

 all alike in size, and convey the impression of more bulk 

 than large work oxen. When seen in March they were 

 rather thin in flesh and were shedding then coats, so that 

 they did not appear to advantage. They were estimated 

 to weigh about l/lOOlbs. Mr - Jones expressed the opinion 

 that he could fatten one of them in the autumn so as to 

 weigh l,800lbs. live weight. They are sired by buffalo 

 bulls and are out of common Indian cows. 



A half-breed steer was castrated as a calf by Mr. Bed- 

 son, and killed when he was past three years old. He 

 dressed l,2801bs. clear meat, or nearly twice as much as 

 a fat four-year-old range steer. 



As might be expected, the three-quarter bloods more 

 nearly resemble the buffalo. The hump is much more 

 pronounced, the head and horns more buffalo-like, while 

 the coat is much longer than that of the half-breeds and 

 more wavy. Animals of this breed attain a great size, as 

 indicated by the weight of the six months' calf already 

 mentioned. A young three-quarter bred bull, past three 

 years old, pulled down the scales at 2,4001bs. when grass 

 fat in the autumn. Owing, however, to the lack of sym- 

 metry, due to the hump, they do not so much impress 

 the cattle man. They produce a robe, however, which 

 in beauty and evenness is superior to that of the buffalo. 

 The buffalo's coat in winter on the hump, upper sides and 

 back is curly and matted, and soon bleaches out to a faded 

 tan color, while the coat of these three-quarter bloods is 

 even throughout, having little or no curl anywhere, and 

 is but little lighter on the back than on the belly. It is 

 everywhere a beautiful rich brown, and is as heavy as any 

 buffalo robe. 



The robe of the half-breed is even in length on all parts 

 of the body and is without curl, more like a heavy bear 

 skin than anything else. 



Mr. Jones hopes to have this spring about thirty buf- 

 falo calves and from thirty to thirty -five half-breeds. 

 Some of these are expected from ordinary domestic cows 

 and some from thoroughbred Galloway cows, of which 

 he has about fifty head on his place. These Galloway 

 cattle have themselves heavy long coats and a woolly under 

 coat, and this cross can hardly fail to produce an animal 

 which will yield a fine robe, besides being admirable beef 

 cattle. None of these animals had calved at the date of 

 our representative's visit to the farm, but a full account 

 of this year's calf crop is promised us. 



Besides the beef and robe-producing qualities derived 

 from the crossing of the buffalo on our domestic cattle, a 

 great advantage is the increased hardiness of this hybrid 

 stock. That cattle in severe storms turn tail to the wind 

 and drift before it is well known. The habits of the 

 buffalo are just the reverse of this. They face the storm 

 and either stand or work up against it. This character- 

 istic they transmit to their descendants. The cattle and 

 the buffalo may range together during the summer, but 

 in autumn or when the winter storms come on they sep- 

 arate, the cattle drifting and the buffalo remaining 

 stationary. The offspring of domestic cows by buffalo 

 brills wean themselves at this time, and remain 

 with the buffalo herd. Often during a storm the buffalo 

 and the hybrid stock will lie down, turning their 

 broad shoulders to the wind and throwing their head 

 around behind the body so that it will be out of the 

 wind. In such a position they may lie for hours, even 

 until quite covered up and concealed from view by the 

 snow which has drifted over them. Mr. Bedson is re- 

 ported to have said that often after a heavy storm he has 

 looked out over the prairie where these animals ranged 

 and been unable to see anything of them, the whole plain 

 being an unbroken expanse of glittering white, here and 

 there interrupted by little mounds of snow. One by one 

 these mounds would be broken up by the movement of 

 the buffalo, which would get up, shake themselves and 

 then begin to paw away the snow and go to feeding. 



HALF-BREED BUFFALO COW. 



The keen powers of scent possessed by the buffalo stand 

 it in good stead when the ground is covered with snow, 

 for by this means it discovers the best grass which is con- 

 cealed from view. It is said— we do not know how truly 



that when Mr. Bedson had his herd in Manitoba, they 



frequently in this way discovered the potato caches of 

 the farmers and pawed their way into them. 



An interesting characteristic of the domesticated buffalo 

 and of the hybrids between them and the ordinary cattle 

 with which they associate is their gentleness. In this 

 they appear to differ in no respect from the domestic 

 stock. Our correspondent drove and walked within arm's 

 length of them, and sometimes, when one was lying down, 

 it was necessary to touch it with the whip to make it rise 



