FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 
151 

kins, East Woburn. Colored Muscovy Ducks—Ilst prize 
William P. Miller, Milford. Cayuga Ducks—lst 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—lst prize, J. W. Hunt, North Bridgewater; 2d 
prize, W. P. Miller, Milford, Mass. Rouen Ducks—Ist 
prize, C. A. Johnson, Newburyport, Mass.; 2d prize, P. W. 
Hudson, North Manchester, Ct.; 8d prize, C. L. Parker, 
Winchester, Mass.; 4th prize, M. I. Ellis, Norwood. Ayles- 
bury Ducks—lst prize, P. W. Hudson, North Manchester, 
Ct.; 2d prize, C. A. Johnson, Newburyport, Mass.; 3d prize, 
M. 1. Ellis, Norwood; 4th prize, Calvin L. Parker, Win- 
chester; special premium No. 91, best pair Rouen 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. 
‘« Kare’ 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. 8S. 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 almostasahuman. Mr. Tiffany became attached 
to her, as he knew his family were sate 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. 

4 THE BISON. 
INDISCRIMINATE SLAUGHTER OF BUFFALOES ON THE 
Prains—THE ANIMALS NEARLY ALL GONE—VALUE OF 
Hipes DxETERIORATING—HUNTERS ON THE PLAINS— 
Coty WEATHER. 
Tue buffaloes of the plains have met 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 Kast, 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 ret on the plains. Only a 
short distance on hundreds more of carcasses were discoy- 
ered, and, in fact, the plains were literally dotted with pu- 
trifying buffalo carcasses. On the Rickarce 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. Ifsixteen 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 sammer 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 adistinction 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 along 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 whicb 
point they came to Denver by rail.— Denver News. 
