UC-NRLF 
 
 B 3 111 llfl 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA 
 BISON HI NT 
 
 PK.NNA. DEER AND 
 TilEIR HORNS 
 
 Shoemaker 
 
 
 ill 
 
 n 
 
 
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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
t 
 
A PENNSYLVANIA 
 BISON HUNT 
 
 BEING THE RESULTS OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE 
 CAUSES AND PERIOD OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THESE 
 NOBLE BEASTS IN THE KEYSTONE STATE OBTAINED 
 FROM DESCENDANTS OF THE ORIGINAL HUNTERS. IN- 
 CLUDING A SKETCH OF THE CAREER OF DANIEL OTT. 
 A PENNSYLVANIAN WHO HAS KILLED MANY BUFFALOES 
 IN THE WEST. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 HENRY W. SHOEMAKER, 
 
 (Author Of "PENNSYLVANIA DEER AND THEIR HORNS") 
 
 COPYRIGHT : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
 MIDDLEBURG. PA.. 
 
 Published By The "MIDDLEBURG POST" Press. 
 
 19 15. 
 
(FRONTISPIECE) 
 
 JACOB QUIGGLE, 1821—1911, 
 
 ex - commissioner of Clinton County, grandson 
 of Philip Quigley, Early Pennsylvania Buffalo 
 Hunter. 
 

 INDEX OF PAGES 
 
 Introduction 7 10 
 
 Tl. Dofinitcly Located 11 15 
 
 III. Description IG 19 
 
 I\'. The Passing; 20 27 
 
 V. The Last Stand 28 37 
 
 VI. Last of His Race 38 43 
 
 VII. Reintroduced 44 49 
 
 VIIL Daniel Ott 50 (10 
 
 IVI31SJ456 
 
A PENNSYLVANIA 
 BISON HUNT 
 
 Being The Results of an Investigation into the Causes and 
 Period of The Destruction of These Noble Beasts in The 
 Keystone State, Obtained from Descendants of the Original 
 Hunters. Including a Sketch of the Career of Daniel 'Ott. 
 a Pennsylvanian Who Has Killed Many Buffaloes in the 
 West .... 
 
 "Perhaps the most gigantic task ever undertaken on this 
 continent in the line of game slaughter was the extermina- 
 tion of the bison — Probably the brilliant rapidity and suc- 
 cess with which that lofty undertaking was accomplished 
 was a matter of surprise even to those who participated in 
 it. The story of the slaughter is by no means a long one " 
 —Dr. W. T. Hornaday. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 HENRY W. SHOEMAKER, 
 
 MIDDLEBURG, PA., 
 
 Published By The "MIDDLEBURG POST" Press, 
 19 15. 
 COPYRIGHT : ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
TO 
 DR. W. T. HORNADAY. Sc. D., 
 
 \VII(» .MOK'H THAN ANY OTHER MAX I\ 
 A.Mi:iH("A HAS SAVED THE P.ISOX EliO.M 
 EXTINCTION. TIIKSE I'Ai.'ES AIM-: KE- 
 srECTKI'LLY DEDKLATEI). 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 / INTRODUCTION 
 
 WHEN a supposedly anthoiitativo publica- 
 tion like "Report of the reiinsylvania De- 
 partment of Agriculture" for 189() states 
 that *'p(Mhaps two hundred years ago the lordly 
 l)is()n inliabited what is now the Keystone State," 
 it would seem well nigh impossible to trace doAvn 
 the animal's existence within our borders to a 
 more comparatively recent date. The published 
 references to the buffaloes in Pennsylvania are 
 few and far between. The earliest travelers and 
 
S PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 cliiuniclcrs like l*e*or Kaliii, Dr. JSc-hoepl', ami 
 oven William Ponii make little mention of them, 
 but that is entirely due to the fact that in their 
 travels they passed just outside of the bison's 
 limited ran<>v, althouiih Albert Gallatin has 
 much to say concernin*'- them. Dr. AV. T. Horna- 
 day in his monoiiraph on the extermina- 
 tion of the American Bison has devoted 
 more si)a((' to the existence of these ani- 
 mals in the State than any other writer. 
 In the map which he prepared showinii the form- 
 er ranjie of the buffaloes in North America he 
 has drawn a line ap])roximately just west of the 
 Sus(iuehanna showinu where the herds and then 
 the stra^ulers lingered until the last years of the 
 ciiihteenth century. This would biinj-- the raniic 
 a tiille west of Ilarrisburg, of Liveipool. of Sun- 
 buiy, Lewisbur<>, Lock Haven, lOmporium and 
 Bradford. West of that the buffalo's ran.ue ex- 
 ten(h'd unbrokenly to the Rocky Mountains. S. 
 N. Rhoads in his "Mammals of Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey" has furnished some interestino 
 information on the Bison in Pennsylvania, as 
 has Trof. J. A. Allen in his very com]»lete treat- 
 ise. But they have failed to liive anythinu like 
 a dcsciiption of tlie Pennsylvania Bison, how he 
 looked, his size, habits, or the details of his ex- 
 termination. With mea<>re records the hunt for 
 tra<-es of the Bison of the Keystone State miulit 
 seem discourajiinii, wei-e if not for the wealth of 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 oral traditions, embracing; every topic connected 
 with life in colonial days, which still runs like 
 an underground stream through the hearts and 
 minds of the old pioneers. These people, with 
 their clear intellects, well-developed consciences, 
 and kindly natures, are fast falling beneath the 
 hand of the Keaper, but from them some record 
 of the Pennsylvania Bison has been obtained, 
 and on the folloAving pages is preserved. How- 
 ever, much of what has been thus obtained will 
 only interest the scientist and the student, for it 
 matters little to most persons to learn that the 
 Pennsylvania Bison was different in appearance 
 from most of his western congeners, that he be- 
 longed to the type known as the wood bison. At 
 the same time it does seem worth while to present 
 a description of our bison, from the lips of the 
 grandson of a noted hunter of the species. It 
 brings us closer to this vanished forest monarch, 
 makes Bison americanus seem more real. But 
 from points of difference he deserves to be called 
 Bison americanus Pennsylvanicus. Doubtless 
 west of the Alleghaniea the individuals sliaded 
 into the true bison of the plains, but those wliich 
 ranged between tlie east and west sloi)es of the 
 Alleghanies, migrating between tlie (ireat Lakes 
 and the valleys of Southern Pennsylvania, Mary- 
 land and Virginia, to Oeorgia represented the 
 type of bison of the Keystone State. Doubtless 
 in Georgia they encountered the Nortliern mi- 
 
10 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 j^ratioiis of a Soutlieni or Soutlnvesteni type of 
 bison, the bison of Louisiana, but probably it too 
 was closely related to the Pennsylvania type. 
 The lengthy niii> rations were hardly in keeping 
 with known eharacteristics of the wood bison of 
 Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, and of the 
 Canadian Northwest. But this can be clearly 
 judged and determined after the stated facts are 
 weighed and digested. But most interesting of all 
 seems the vast numbers of bison which roamed 
 through the Central and Western paits of our 
 state, now gone and forgotten through man's 
 rapacious greed. 
 

 
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PENNSYLVANIA BISON HrNT 
 
 11 
 
 // DEFINITELY LOCATED 
 
 IT was early in the month of August, 1911, that 
 a "clam bake" was given at Quiggle Springs 
 nearMcElhattan in Clinton County. Though the 
 bake was far from a success, as those present well 
 renuMiiber, the information concerning the bison 
 in Pennsylvania gleaned at it made it a memor- 
 able occasion. About nine o'clock in the even- 
 ing, while waiting for the clams to be served, 
 the moon began to rise from behind the Bald 
 Kagle Mountain which towered above the Park. 
 The conveisation had turned to old Hyloshotkee, 
 the Cayuga cliief wlio once resided at the Five 
 vSjuings, to the elo(|uent Logan who often camp- 
 ed rheie and then drifted to the subject of hunt- 
 ing adventUT'es. One of the guests, Jacob Quig 
 ole. formeilv a Commissioner of (^linton (^ounty, 
 
12 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 at that time Hearing his ninetieth birtliday, re- 
 marked that he liad often heard of Hyloshotkec's 
 prowess as a buffalo hunter. Immediately the 
 Avriter's curiosity was aroused — he has previous- 
 ly interrogated the aged gentleman on almost 
 every other subject of Pennsylvania anti(|uity — 
 and now he was to learn something definite about 
 the bison. Mr. Quiggle's keen gray eyes kindled 
 with interest in the subject, and he went on to 
 say that his grandfather, Philip Quigley or 
 Quiggle, who settled in what is noAv Wayne 
 Township, Clinton County, in 1773, and. later 
 was an officer in the Revolutionary War, had 
 been known far and wide as a buffalo hunter. He 
 had been born in Cumberland County in 1745, 
 and grcAV to manhood with the l)ufTaloes just 
 aci'oss the lilue Kidge from his home. As they 
 were gradually driven west and north, to Buffalo 
 Creek in liedford County, to Buffalo Valley in 
 Union County he had followed them, until find- 
 ing a spot of ground wliicli suited him on the 
 West Branch, he had settled in the heart of the 
 Indian and big game country. The famous 
 '*P>iiffalo Path" had run within a few rods of his 
 cabin, extending through the valley of Henry 
 Bun, to the east end of Sngai- \'alley, thence 
 acioss tlu' Bed Hills, through the west end of 
 While Deer \ alley, across the liulfalo Moun- 
 tains, into IJuffalo N'alley, across that val- 
 Icv. over -lack's and the White Mountains, into 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 13 
 
 Middle Creek ^'alloy Avliere the giant beasts 
 wintered in countless numbers. Earlier they had 
 continued their niijirations probably as far as 
 Georoia, many bison crossing from the Ohio 
 country into Southern Pennsylvania via Clear- 
 field. Thomas Ashe, in his ''Travels in America" 
 in 180(5 says: "The best roads to the Onondargo 
 from all parts, are the buffalo-tracks; so called 
 from having been observed to be made by the 
 buffaloes in their ainiual vi.«!itations to the lake 
 from their pasture-grounds: and though this is 
 a distance of above two hundred miles, the best 
 surveyor could not have chosen a more direct 
 course, or firmer or better groui'.d. I have often 
 traveled these tracks with safety and admiration : 
 I perceived them chosen as if by the nicest judg- 
 ment; and when at times I was per])lexed to find 
 them revert on themselves nearly in paiallcl 
 lines, I soon found it occasioned by swam])s. 
 j)()nds, or precipices, which the animals knew 
 how to avoid : l)ut that object being affected, the 
 i-oad again swept into its due course, and bore 
 towards its destination as if undei- the diicction 
 of a compass." Kev. John Ettwein in his "Notes 
 of Travel in 177-" says, "Reached Cleailield 
 ( /i-eek, where the buffaloes formerly cleared large 
 ti'acts of undergrowth, so as to give then) tlu' a])- 
 ])eai'ance of cleared fields; hence the Indians call 
 the cieek Clearfield." The herds had been ( ut in 
 two ])y the s<'ttleis in IMiilip (Juigley's time the 
 
U PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 Northern and Western herds could move no 
 further South than the Valley of Middle Creek. 
 Those in the South had to remain there. Mr. 
 Quigj;ie stated that when the persimmons became 
 ripe alon«i- the Bald Kajile Mountains it was time 
 to look for southern mij-rations of the buffaloes. 
 In sinjile file they crossed the Susc^uclianna 
 River just below the Gieat Island, a short dis- 
 tance east of Lock Haven, followed approximate- 
 ly the line of the Xew York Central Kailroad 
 easterly throuj-h Wayne Township, and thence 
 south throuj>h the j^ap in the I5ald Kai»le Mount- 
 ains, made by the waters of Henry Run, former- 
 ly called Love Run. In renn's and Aiiddle Creek 
 Valley they wei-e joined by herds Avhich came 
 from the Western ])art of the State via deartield. 
 When the red l)ud was in ])loom it was time to 
 look for the Xoitherly mijiration. In the Autunm 
 miurations, thev were mostlv killed for their 
 hides, but in Spring- maiidy calves were killed, as 
 budalo calf meat was hi.iihly relished by the pio- 
 iiccis. Tlie calves were born from March to July. 
 When the settlers harrassed the buffaloes, they 
 ti'ied to mijirate at ni<>ht as much as ])<)ssil)le, and 
 al the (Jreat Island crossinii split into three 
 streams, one ]»()urin.u thi-oujih Castanea Cap, to 
 tlie head of the Kammerdinei- Run. and foHowinji' 
 il cast to where it joins vsith MclOlhattan Run, to 
 conned with llie tih' which went thronuli Mc- 
 ICllialliin (l;i|». Tliciicc these two files went out 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BTSON HUNT 
 
 15 
 
 the valley of Spring Run, where they joined the 
 file that had come through the Henry Run Gap. 
 The bison traveled not only with order but with 
 time, as they came together like clock-work, as 
 if by preconceived orders, at the head of Spring 
 Run. 
 
l«i 
 
 rKNNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 /// i)i:s('h*irT/(}\ 
 
 ASKIOD (Iclinilcly to dcsiiiln' llic Pcimsvl- 
 v:iiii;i l)is()ii, Mr. (iuijijilc staled that Ins 
 iiicniory was clear on tliat i>oint, for alllioiiiih 
 his mraiulfathcr, the hiiiilci-. 1im<1 dicil bd'orc his 
 birtli. and his fatlicr had passed on whih' he was 
 still a youn«; boy, frcnn his mother and other old- 
 er i-elatives he had heard the subject uone over 
 auaiii and auain. In the tirst ]dace, the bison of 
 j'ennsyhania was a tremendous aininal. Like 
 the wood bison of the tianks of the Kocky Moun- 
 tains and Canada Northwest, he exceeded in size 
 the bntfaloes nn't with west of Ohio, Kentuckey 
 and Tennessee. In color the I'ennsylvaina bison 
 was \-ei\- dark, manv »>l' the old bulls beinu coal 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON IUNT 17 
 
 black, with grizzly white hairs around the nose 
 and eyes. The hair was very short, Avitli a ten- 
 dency to crispness or curliness, especially at the 
 joints. The hump, so conspicious on the western 
 bison was notable by its absence. The first settlers 
 on seeing the animals called them "wild bulls." 
 The legs were long, and fore and back legs even- 
 ly placed, the heavy front and meagre hind- 
 quarters of the western bison were not present, 
 in other woi-ds the Pennsylvania bison was a 
 beautifully pi'oportioned beast. He was an agile 
 runner and climber, carried no superfluous flesh, 
 was adapted in every way for life in a rough, 
 mountainous country. The bulls often weighed a 
 ton, the mature cows half that nnuh. The hair 
 on the neck and shoulders was no longer 
 than on other parts of the body, except 
 with mature bulls, Avlio carried a sort of 
 mane or crest which reached its maxim- 
 um length where the hump grows on the 
 prairie buffalo. Both males and females wore 
 beards but thev were not heavv and consisted of 
 tufts of straight, stiff black hair. The horns, 
 whicli in mature specimens were very long, gi'ew 
 upwards, like the horns of Ayrshire cattle. Ap- 
 pai-ently the hoi-ns were ninth like those of Jii.soii 
 hoHdnus of Lithuania and tlie Caucasus. The 
 Pennsylvania bison preferred dense forests, al- 
 though on wai-m smisliiny days in winter they 
 could be found sunning themselves in abandoned 
 
18 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 Indian fields in Middle Creek Valley. In early 
 Snninier they conld be fonnd i)asturing along 
 Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but as the season ad- 
 vanced, gradually retired to the cool mountain 
 tops in Northern Pennsylvania, where they lin- 
 gered until the first snows — the ''persimmon 
 time" further south. By the time of the Fall 
 migration calves which had been born mostly in 
 March and April were well advanced, and many 
 appeared to be the size of yearling cattle. The 
 impression among the early hunters was that the 
 great northern herd, which when Thilip Quigley 
 settled on the West Branch in 1773, still number- 
 ed about 12,000 animals, was split up into a vast 
 number of ''families," consisting of a mature 
 bull and a dozen cows with a like nundjer of 
 yearlings and calves. At the end of the migia- 
 tion followed the weaker and aged bulls, which 
 had no mates, also the buffalo oxen of still great- 
 er size than the biggest bulls, these last named 
 castrated by the Avolves of Northern Penn- 
 sylvania. Behind the stragglers skulked troops 
 of grey wolves, which followed the herd as far 
 as the (Jreat Island ci'ossing, where they retired, 
 tlie ])ursuit being taken u\) by packs of smaller 
 brown wolves, wliich foUowed the bison from tlie 
 famous wolf rocks on Henry Bun as far South as 
 W'liile Deer Valley, where they retired in favor 
 of the larger black wolves. These black wolves, 
 whose slrongliold was in the v^even Mountains, 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 19 
 
 proved on the sickly, wounded and aged buffaloes 
 during their entire winter's stay in the Valley of 
 Middle Creek. 
 
2(1 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 IT THE PASSilNCT 
 
 OX the Northerly iiiiurntions, nccordinc: to 
 Ml-, (^uitijilc, bands of buffalo were constant- 
 ly (l]()i)i)inji- out of the <ir('at herd, these were 
 the "faniilii's," each led by a «iiant bull. Many of 
 these ^i-oups summered in the hij»h table-lands 
 of the Seven Mountains, in what is now (Jre'iji 
 Township, Centre County, whei-e they se<Mned to 
 feel i»iiili(ubiily content, liy 1770 no bison 
 
PF.XXSYLVAXIA BISON HUNT 21 
 
 sumiiiered in the ridges adjacent to the West 
 Branch \^alley, as the settlers kept them on the 
 run, even at migration time they would have 
 avoid crossing the valley had not the instinct 
 of countless centuries been too difficult to over- 
 come. When the part of the herd which 
 once summered at the northern limit of 
 the range, which was Avhere the city of 
 l^uffalo, New York, now stands, commenced 
 their southern journey, in some mysterious 
 way, probably by an acute sense of smell, 
 knowledge of this was imparted to the 
 heads of the bison families which had "dropped 
 off*' at each sequestered and grassy spot on the 
 way north in the Spring. These heads of fam- 
 ilies would ascend to the tops of high peaks, and 
 bellow loudly for several days, drawing their 
 little colonies around them, and when the herd 
 passed down the path, fall into line for the journ- 
 ey to the southland. This bellowing or drawing 
 together of the clans, informed the hunters of the 
 proximity of the migration, and all they had to 
 do was to post themselves along the paths, and 
 kill as many bison as they wished. Many were 
 killed foi- s])ort, or to prevent the settlers further 
 south from enjoying them. These buffalo paths, 
 which all converged with the main path, were 
 often worn two feet deep with the tread of the 
 countless herds for countless years. The bark 
 of the adjacent trees had been all worn off by the 
 
22 PP]NNSYLVANTA BISON IIITNT 
 
 hujio creatures rubbing themselves. Along Buff- 
 alo Path Run, in liuffalo Gap, Union County the 
 path is very plainly marked today, altliough no 
 buffaloes have tramped over it in a hundred and 
 fifteen years! Until it was cut some years ago a 
 large hemlock tree by this path showed the marks 
 whei'e it had been lubbed by the bison. The path 
 is a familiar landmaik, and ])art of it is a trail to 
 this day foi- i)i'ospectoi'S, huntei-s, fishermen and 
 beri-y-pickers. Altliough the Indians of l*ennsyl- 
 vania killed manv buffaloes, they onlv did so for 
 food and clothing, and were careful to keep alive 
 plenty of good healthy breeders. Tliey only killed 
 such animals as were absolutely necessary to 
 them, not a single bone or sinew was wasted. 
 With such hunting thei-e was no dangei* of buffa- 
 loes or any othei- animals becoming extinct. It 
 was only when the wliite hunters came, men of 
 lowly origin, whose forbears were not allowed to 
 carry firearms, or enter in the game preserves 
 and parks of the gentry of the old counti'y, who 
 shiughtei-ed the bison without rime or reason. 
 They killed foi' the sheer love of gore and brutal- 
 ity, they killed until ammunition and strength 
 b(»came exhausted, they killed h'st somebody else 
 later on liave something left to kill. In Pennsyl- 
 vania these ra|»a(i<)us l)eings speedily wiped 
 out the tens of thousands of buffaloes, as well as 
 thc! moose, elk, brown bears, beavers, otters, fisli- 
 ers, heath cocks, pai'0(piets, pileated woodpeckers, 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 23 
 
 wild piiioons, and other valuable and necessary 
 animals and birds. It is a horrible story to re- 
 late, but it is not ended, as the descendants of 
 these ijuuchc marrauders have ravished and 
 burned forests, and now their factories pollute 
 our rivers and streams and kill the fish. They 
 will not be content until Pennsylvania is as des- 
 olate as China, and they have prevented posterity 
 from having anything worth while! Gradually 
 the herds which headed south became less and 
 less in numbers. The aggregation which passed 
 thi'ough Henry Run annually undoubtedly joined 
 a still larger body in Middle Creek Valley in an 
 early day on their march to Georgia. But to- 
 wards the end the Valley of Middle Creek was 
 as far South as they dared to travel, and some 
 of the vast armies from Western Pennsylvania 
 came to join them no more. In various parts of 
 the State we get glimpses of how plentiful were 
 the bison at the end of the eighteenth century. 
 Prof. Allen quotes from Thomas Ashe's well- 
 known book, '-Ti-avels in America*' in 180(1, as fol- 
 lows : "In the vicinity of the spot whei-e th(^ town 
 of Clarion now stands, in Northwestern IVnn- 
 sylvania, one of the lirst settlers built a log cabin 
 near a salt spring which was visited by l)uffaloes 
 in such numbers that he supposed there could not 
 have been less than two thousand there at a time." 
 Professor Allen stated that near the heads of Oil 
 Creek and the CMaiion River there were at one 
 
24 PIONNSYLVANIA BISON IK 'NT 
 
 time thousands of buffaloes. Waterford, in Erie 
 County, was originally tailed Le Boeuf, and is 
 situate^l on Le Boeuf Lake. P^'iench Creek in Ven- 
 ango County was originally Riviere des Boeufs. 
 Big Buffalo Creek is in Armstrong County — all 
 famous resorts of the bison in the old days. 
 They were more f>revalent in Pennsylvania than 
 all the vast herds of various wild animals which 
 were found by the first pioneers in South and 
 South Central Africa. S. N. Rhoads further 
 quotes Ashe as saying that the old settler at 
 Clarion declared that for the first several seasons 
 the buffaloes visited his salt spring with the ut- 
 most regularity. They traveled in single file al- 
 ways following each other at equal distances, 
 forming droves on their arrival of about three 
 hundred each. These embraced probably a score 
 of family gioups, which perha})s had some ''clan" 
 relationsliip. The first and second years, so un- 
 ac(piainted were these poor brutes with this 
 man's house or with his nature, that in a few 
 hours tliey ru])bed the house completely down, 
 taking delight in turning the logs of wood off 
 with their horns, while he had some difficulty to 
 escape from being trampled under theii- feet or 
 crushed to death in his own iMiins. At that time 
 he estimated there could not have been less than 
 ten Ihuusaiid in the neighborhood of the spring. 
 They sought for no manner of food but only 
 bathed and drank three or four times a dav and 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BTSON HUNT 25 
 
 i'oIUmI in the earth, or reposed with their flanks 
 (listended, in the adjacent shades, and departed 
 in single fih-s, according to the exact order of 
 their arrival. They all rolled snccessively in the 
 same hole and each thus carried away a coat of 
 innd to preserve the moistnre of the skin, and 
 wliich when hardened and baked by the snn 
 would resist the stings of millions of insects that 
 otherwise would persecute these peaceful travel- 
 ers to madness or even death. In the first and 
 second years this old man with some companions 
 killed from six to seven hundred of these noble 
 creatures, merely for the sake of the skins, which 
 to them were worth only two shillings each, and 
 after this "work of death" they were obliged to 
 leave the place till the folknving season, or till 
 the wolves, bears, panthers, eagles, rooks, ravens, 
 etc., had devoured the carcasses and abandoned 
 the place for other prey. In the two following 
 years the same persons killed gi-eat numbers out 
 of the first droves that arrived, skinned them and 
 left the bodies exposed to the sun and air; but 
 they soon had reason to repent of this; for the re- 
 maining droves, as they came up in succession, 
 st()i)p(Mi, gazed on the mangk'd and putrid bodies, 
 sorrowfully moaned or furiously lowed aloud, 
 and returned instantly to the wilderness in an 
 unusual run without tasting their favorite spring 
 or licking the impregnated earth, which was also 
 once their most agreeable occupation : noi- did 
 
2r. PKXXSYLVANIA BISON HINT 
 
 Ihcv or any of their race ever revisit that iieiiih- 
 borhood. There was a salt spriiij* in Dauphin 
 County winch the bison visited in Spring and 
 Fall. It was situated in the wilds of the Stony 
 Cieek Country, and the vast herds to reaeh it 
 crossed the rivei- at Haldeman's Island, near 
 the mouth of the Juniata. Many wei-e drowned 
 at hiiih water, so intent were thev to reach their 
 favorite retreat. Thomas Ashe says elsewhere in 
 his book i-efeirinji to the bloody scenes at Clarion 
 ''The simple history of this sprinu is that of 
 every other in the settled parts of this Western 
 World. I met with a man who had killed two 
 thousand buffaloes (in Tennsylvania ) with his 
 own hand, and others no d<Mibt have done the 
 same thinji. In cons(M|uence of this proceediuii 
 not one l»nffah) is at this time ( ISU i found east 
 of th<* Mississippi, except a few domesticated by 
 the curious oi- cairie<l throu<ih the country on a 
 public show." .lohn Filson, writing in 1784, of 
 the Blue Licks in Kentucky stated, "I have heard 
 a hunter assert he saw about one thousand buffa- 
 loes at these licks at once; so numerous were they 
 lu'fore the fii-st settlers had wantonly sported 
 away their lives.*' All through Pennsylvania 
 the story was the same, wanton, soidid, and un- 
 necessary, the annihilation of a i*ace of animals 
 which <<)uld have been domesticated and furnish- 
 ed hides and beef to a vast iK)])ulation. Peihaps 
 it is just as well thai so few of the details of llic 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BTSON HUNT 27 
 
 passing of the Pennsylvania bison are available, 
 as they would sicken and disgust all thoughtful 
 and sensible persons. It is best that the waters 
 of oblivion have closed over the entire horrible 
 transaction, yet a w^ord to the wise is sometimes 
 suificient to stay the hand that is bent on wiping 
 out the remaining forms of wild life in the Key- 
 stone State. The passing of our bison should 
 serve as an object lesson of the need of organized 
 conservation, if our deer, bears, mid cats, wild 
 turkeys, and grouse are to be saved. Thomas 
 Ashe, in commenting on the cruel annihilation of 
 the lordly bison says : "The first settlers not con- 
 tent with this sanguinary extermination of the 
 animals, also destroyed the food to which it was 
 most partial, which was the cane, growing in 
 forests and brakes of immeasurable extent. To 
 this the unsparing wretches set fire in dry sea- 
 sons ; in order to drive out every living creature, 
 and then hunt and persecute them to death.'' 
 
28 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 if: 
 
 ■r 
 
 \ THE LAST STAND 
 
 OIjD I-'hivcl IJci'iisti-cssci- AVJis foi- SCVCI-Jil 
 ye;! IS ;i ljniiili;ir limine a])()Ul the ancient 
 Klccknci- House at New Hcilin. The forni- 
 ('!• scat of justice of Union Uounty, lies imniedi- 
 alelv casl oCllic While Mountains, where Ihe 
 ()isoii UKuh' their last stand in Pennsylvania. 
 'IMie aiicd man, who jticked nj) an honest penny 
 hostlejin«i and doinji chores for travel]inj> men, 
 was a jicnial soul, and on occasion could be in- 
 duced to lell of his illustiious family connec- 
 tions. Chief amonjLi his celebrated forbears was 
 his iircat urandfat liei-, .Mailin P>erjList i-essei-, a 
 Snyder County pioneei-, who helped to wi|)e out 
 Ihe last herd of wild l>ison in the Keystone State. 
 I IK idrni ally through marriaiic he was iclaled to 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 29 
 
 Flavel Koaii, an eccentric genius who in liis 
 youth had been famed as a slayer of Pensylvania 
 bison. About twelve years ago, when the writer 
 was in Union and Snyder Counties, gathering 
 the old folk-tales and legends of the l»ennsyl- 
 vania mountains, he was directed to Flavel 
 Bergstresser as the possessor of a retentive 
 memory and a seemingly inexhaustible stock 
 of information. It happened that one of 
 the writer's companions on the excursion 
 was (\»ptain John Q. Dyce, of Clinton 
 County, famed in Central Pennsylvania as a i)oet, 
 orator, and student of folk-lore, (^aptain Dyce 
 and Bergstresser recognized one another as old 
 friends, as they had gone through Muncy Dain 
 together on a raft which followed the one which 
 was wiecked causing the loss of three young men, 
 one memorable May morning in 184:i One tale 
 of the long ago led to another, old Bergstresser 
 waxing ehxiuent when he realized that he was be- 
 inu treated as an eiiual and a man of intelligence 
 aiid not as a broken down hostler, to be sworn 
 at and kicked about. The conversation passed 
 from rafting to i)olitics, from ])<)liti(s to religion, 
 fi-om i-eligion to hunting, whcic it stuck, for both 
 old ii'.cii were ciil liusiastic devotees of the chase. 
 It iH'gaii wilh wild pigeons. i)assed to brown 
 bears, to pantheis, to elks, and then to buffaloes, 
 to a time before th<' iiK-moiy of most living Pciiii- 
 svlvanians. Silling down in a comfoitaljlc coi- 
 
30 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 m'l- ol" the steps of the hotel, and leaning ajiainst 
 an npiight, old Bergstresser took off his hat, 
 stroked his long white beard, and related the 
 story of an annihilation of the last bison herd 
 and the last individnal buffalo in Pennsylvania. 
 The story is given in full in Chapter XVII of the 
 writer's ''More Pennsylvania Mountain Stories," 
 but the salient facts will be given in the ensuing 
 paragraphs. It appeared from what Bergstres- 
 ser said that by the close of the Eighteenth cen- 
 tury the last herd of Pennsylvania bison, num- 
 bering nearly four hundred animals of all ages 
 had take refuge in the wilds of the Seven Moun- 
 tains. The settlements in Middle Creek Valley 
 prevented them from wintering there as of yoi-e 
 and the pei-sistent slaughter in the West Branch 
 Valley made it unsafe for them to try to escape 
 to the North. Hemmed in on all sides, they sur- 
 vived a while by hiding on the high(\st and most 
 inaccessable mountains, or in the deepest and 
 darkest ravines. The winter of 1700-1800 was 
 particularly severe, and life on the bleak moun- 
 tain tops became unbearable to the starving 
 l)rutes. They must penetrate into the valleys, 
 where grass could be dug out from under the 
 snow, or ])('rish of hunger. Led by a giant coal 
 bhick bull called "Old Logan," after the Mingo 
 cliicltain of that name, the herd started in single 
 file one winter's morning for the clear and com- 
 rorl;d)le stretches of the Valley of Middle Creek. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 31 
 
 While passing- throuj>li the woods at the edj>e of 
 a clearinji- belonging to a young man named Sam- 
 uel McClellan, they were attacked by that nim- 
 rod, who killed four line cows. Previously, while 
 still on the mountain, a count of the herd had 
 been made, and it numbered three hundred and 
 fortv-five animals. Passing from the McClellan 
 property the herd fell afoul of the barnyard and 
 haystack of Martin Bergstresser, a settler who 
 had recently arrived from Berks County. His 
 first season's hay crop, a good-sized pile, stood 
 beside his recently completed log barn. This hay 
 was needed to feed for the winter to a number of 
 cows and sheep, and a team of hoises. The cattle 
 and sheep were sidling close to the stack, when 
 they scented the approaching buffaloes. With 
 "Old Logan" at their head, the famished bison 
 herd bioke through the stump fence, crushing the 
 helpless domestic animals beneath their mighty 
 rush, and were soon complacently pulling to 
 pieces the hay-pile. Bergstresser, who was in a 
 nearby field cutting wood, heard the commotion, 
 and rushed to the scene. AidcMl l)y his daughter 
 Katie, a girl of eighteen, and Sanniel McClellan, 
 who joined the party, four buffaloes were slain. 
 The (h'aths of their comrades and the attacks of 
 the settlers' dogs terrified the buffaloes and they 
 swept out of the barnyard and up the frozen bed 
 of the creek. When they were gone, awful was 
 the desolation left behind. The barn was si ill 
 
32 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 standiiiii, but the fences, spring- house, and hay- 
 stack were gone, as if swept away by a Hood. 
 Six coAvs, four calves, and thirty-five slieep lay 
 crushed and dead among the ruins. The horses 
 which were inside the barn remained unharmed. 
 McClellan started homeward after the depjirture 
 of the buffaloes, but when he got within siglit of 
 his clearing he uttered a cry of surprise and lior- 
 ror. Tlii'ee hundred oi* more bison were snorting 
 and trotting aiound the lot where his cabin s-tood, 
 obscuring the structure by their hugt' dark bod- 
 ies. The pioneer rushed bravely through the 
 roaring, crazy, surging mass, only to find ''Old 
 Logan," his eyes bloodshot and Haniing, stand- 
 ing guard in front of the cabin dooi-. He fii'ed at 
 the monster, wounding him which so further in- 
 furiated the giant bull, that he ]>lunged headl(>ng 
 througli the door of the cal)in. The held, accus- 
 tomed at all times to follow their leader, forced 
 their way after him as best they could through 
 the narrow opening. Vainly did McClellan tire 
 his nnisket, and when^ the ammunition was ex- 
 hausted; he drove his bear knife into the 
 beasts' Hanks to try and stop them in their mad 
 course. Inside were the jjioneer's wife and three 
 little childi-en, the oldest five yeais, and he dread- 
 ed to think of their awful fate. lie could not 
 stop the bulTaloes, which continued tiling thi'ough 
 the doorway until they were jammed in the cabin 
 as tightly as wooden animals in a toy Noah's ark. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 33 
 
 No souiul caiiio from the victims inside; all ho 
 could hear was the snortiiiji" and bumpino- of the 
 giant beasts in their cramped quarters. The 
 sound of the crazy stampede brought Martin 
 Bergstresser and three othei- neighbors to the 
 spot, all carrying guns. It was decided to tear 
 down the cabin, as the only ])()ssible means of 
 saving the lives of the McC/lellan fandiy. When 
 the cabin had been battered down, the bison, 
 headed by "Old Logan" swarmed from the ruius 
 like giant black bees from a hive. McClellan had 
 the pleasure of shooting "Old Logan" as he 
 emerged, but it was small satisfaction. When 
 the men entered the cabin, they were shocked to 
 find the bodies of the pioneer's wife and three 
 children d(nid and crushed deep into the mud of 
 the earthen flooi- by the cruel hoofs. Of the 
 furniture, nothing remained of lai-ger size than 
 a handspike. The news of this teriible tragedy 
 spread all over the valley, and it was suggested 
 on all sides that the murderous bison be com- 
 pletely exterminated. Tlie idea took (oncrete 
 form when Bergstresser and McClellan started 
 on hoi-seback, one riding towards the river and 
 the otheT- towards the headwaters of Middle 
 Creek, to invite the sctrlers to join the hunt. 
 Meanwhile, there was anollier l»lizzard but everr 
 man invited acce])te(l with alacrity. About fifty 
 hunters ass(Mnbled at the Hergstressei- home, and 
 niarclicd like an invading army in the diicction 
 
34 PENNSYLVANIA BISON IKTNT 
 
 of the inouiitaiiis. Among- them were Jacob 
 "stuck, George Ott, Emmanuel Snyder, Abraliam 
 Sourkill, George Schnabk', Jolm Young, AVilliam 
 Doran, George Everhart, Gottfried Fryer, Jacob 
 Fryer, Dennis Muckk^henny, Peter Fisher, Chris- 
 tian Fishei-, John Hager, Jacob Long, Sr., George 
 Michael, Francis Rhoads, (^onrad AVeiser, Jr., 
 Peter Arbogast, Joseph l»auling, Albert Swine- 
 ford, John Swinef()i<l, (ieorge Swineford, Jacob 
 Jarrett, Sr., John Middleswaith, George Good, 
 John Kittardantive, Harry Lauder, Harry Lehr, 
 Jonathan Farnsworth, George Wickersham, 
 George Weirick, John Hartman, Adam Diessler, 
 George Kessler, John Kreigbaum, George Ben- 
 fer, Jolm Hummel, Solomon Miller, Moses Troup, 
 Peter Trou]). After all these yeais, some of the 
 names have a strangely familiar ring. Many 
 dogs, some partly wolf, accompanied the hunt- 
 eis. They were out two days before discovering 
 Iheir ({uarry, as the fresh snow had covered all 
 the buffalo paths. The brutes were all huddled 
 together up to their necks in snow in a great 
 hollow space known as the "Sink" formed by 
 Hoiniestiel's T<nigue in the heart of the White 
 M(Mintains, near the ])i-esent town of \Veikert, 
 Union (N)unly, and I he hunters looking down on 
 them fiom the high plateau above, now kyown 
 as the ilig I'^lats, estimated theii' number at 
 three hundred. When they got among the ani- 
 mals thev found them numl) from cold and 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 35 
 
 hunger, but had they been physically able they 
 could not have moved, so deeply were they 
 "crusted-' in the drifts. The work of slaughter 
 quickly began. Some used guns, but the most 
 killed them by cutting their throats with long 
 bear knives. The snow was too deep to attemi>t 
 skinning them, but manv tongues were saved, and 
 these the backwoodsmen shoved into the huge 
 pockets of their deerskin coats until they could 
 hold no more. After the last buffalo had been 
 dispatched, the triumphant hunters climbed back 
 to the summit of Council Kup where they lit a 
 huge bonfire which was to be a signal to the 
 women and children in the valleys below that 
 the last held of Pennsylvania bison Avas no more, 
 and that the Mc(nellan family had been avenged. 
 Then the- party marched down to the lowlands 
 singing (jerman hynnis. It was a horrible sight 
 that they left behind them in the Sink. Three 
 hundred dead buffaloes stood upriglit in the 
 frozen crust most with jaws broken, and all witli 
 tongues gone, while the ice about them resem])hMl 
 a sheet of crimson glass. Later in the seasoij 
 some of the hunters returned to see if tliey could 
 procure a few of the hides, but tlie alternate 
 freezes and thaws had rendered them valueless. 
 To this day the barren fiat where the McClelhm 
 (•al)in stood is known as the Buffalo Field. It is 
 situated on high ground a shoi't distance to the 
 east of the old distillery ncai- Troxelville. The 
 
3f) PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 date of the aiiniliilatioii of thi' last bison liord is 
 put by Bcrgstresser at Decembor 31, 171)1). He 
 comes to this conclusion as he always heard it 
 was "after Christmas and before the New Year." 
 If there were other herds from the AVestern part 
 of the State wiped out at about this time or later, 
 the writer has been unable to obtain an inklino-. 
 Most piobably they were driven into Ohio and 
 West X'iriiinia and wei-e annihilated. Dr. S< liocpf 
 journeyinji' fioni Ilaiiisbniii' to Pittsbuiji' in 
 1783 states in his valuable book, "Ti-avels 
 in the Confederation" that the buffaloes in 
 the vicinity of lMttsl)uiii had been driven to 
 Ohio befoi-e his arrival in the future "Smoky 
 City." However, only a few years befoi-e, bison 
 were found in lari!,(' numbers on liuffalo Ci-eek 
 in liedfoi'd County. The yeai- 171)5 maikcd the 
 dissappeai-ance of the last hei-ds from tlie Xoi'th- 
 western ])ai-t of the State, and the mijiiations 
 li'oiii Lake Erie to Southein Pennsylvania had 
 ceased before the "(Jreat Knnaway" on the \Vest 
 Hranch in 177S. Doubtless at one time, prob- 
 ably as late us 1770, the streams of bison from 
 New Yoik and the Ohio Country united in the 
 Southei'U T*ennsylvania valleys and swarmed in 
 solid phalanx into the \\armei- reiiions of the 
 Carolinas and Tennessee, each winter. Settle- 
 ments in Sontheiii l*ennsyl\ania checked the 
 mi<irations, and no l>ison moved farthei- Sonth 
 than .Middh' Creek \ aHev attei- that. To come 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 37 
 
 North meant death. The Seven Mountains be- 
 came the final strono-hold of the buffaloes from 
 the North and Northwest of PeHusylvania. 
 Gradually these were killed off, or perished from 
 severe Avinters and lack of food. The herd killed 
 at the close of 1799 were probably the last, except 
 for a few stragglers remaining in the State. If 
 they had not blundered into the valley of Middle 
 Creek, impelled by blind instinct and starvation, 
 they might have lasted a score of years longer, or 
 into the memory of men now living. Their ex- 
 tinction therefore was en-masse, and not gradual 
 like the later extermination of the elk. This ac- 
 cident caused their wiping out, as they were 
 otherwise as able to care for themselves as the 
 elks. The elks traveled in herds, migrated be- 
 tween the Northern mountains and Southern 
 Valleys in Pennsylvania, were no more fleet of 
 foot or shy than the buffaloes. One by one the 
 elks were shot out, until the last met its end in 
 the Black Gap, on October 1, 1878. From the 
 point wliere ('apt. Daniel Engle slew the last 
 native wibl Klk in Pennsylvania to where Col. 
 Jolin Kelly killed the last known buffalo on Feb- 
 ruary 19, ISOl, is less than a dozen nnles "as 
 the crow flies." These noble brutes met their 
 end bravely amid the wild scenery they loved 
 so well. 
 
38 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 VI LAST OF HIS RACE 
 
 COL. John Kelly, slayer of th(» last wild buff- 
 alo in I'ciiiisylvaiua, was born within a 
 stone's throw of the biithi)laee of Kobert 
 Fulton, in Lancaster County, on Feb. 11, 1744. 
 Little is known of his early career except that he 
 chafed at the monotony of life in a settled coun- 
 try, and longed for the "sweet danj^crs" of the 
 frontier. In 17()S he removed to Buffalo Valley, 
 which had Ion** been noted as a feeding liionnd 
 for vast liei-ds of bison. IJnffalo Creek, which 
 flowed tlnouuh the vjiUev. was the favorite bath- 
 ing place for the ''vanished millions." Numbers 
 of these noble brutes always summered on liulf- 
 alo Mountain. Six feet tall, with sandy haii-, and 
 
GRAVE OF COL. JOHN KELLY, 
 
 In New Cemetery At Lewisburg. 
 
 (From Photo by J. Herbert Walker.) 
 
COL. KELLY HOMESTEAD. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 39 
 
 blue eyes, John Kelly made an ideal pioneer. He 
 never knew such a tliin" as fatiiiue or discourajie- 
 ment. He became a famous Indian fi.uhter, and 
 is said to have had one hundred -nicks" on his 
 trusty rifle, indicatino the number of redmen 
 whom he made "bite the dust." Many anecdotes 
 are told of his prowess in battling with the fierce 
 sava«ies. They are anion" the most thiilling- in 
 the annals of Indian warfare. When the Rev- 
 olutionary War broke out, he was among the first 
 to enlist for the colonists. Being rapidly promot- 
 ed for bravery, he soon attained the rank of 
 Colonel. His bravery at the battle of Princeton 
 was conspicious. After the Kevolution, he re- 
 turned to his comfortable homestead in what is 
 now Kelly Township, ITnion County. There 
 were still a few marauding Indians to kill, but 
 he devoted his time principally to farming and 
 hunting big game. His specialty was buffaloes, 
 and his fri(Mids stated that he killed over a luind- 
 i-ed of these animals. The stories of some of his 
 hunts have been InnKh'd down to us by Michael 
 (Ji-ove, one of the pionccis of P>uffalo N'allcy who 
 died in 1S27. Late in the fall of IS(M). after 
 the tirst snowfall, wliile out with one of his 
 neighbors, Michael M<( Mister, looking for wolf 
 tracks, he noticed thi-ee ])Uffaloes. a bull, a cow 
 and a calf, at the edge of a wood in one of his 
 clearings. This cieaiing is a sh(»rl distance 
 south o\' the Kelly lunne. McClistei- tired, killing 
 
40 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 the calf, but the bull and cow escaped into the 
 forest. This pair, which were of enormous size, 
 were noticed from time to time in the neighbor- 
 hood, but manaiied to elude their pursueis. But 
 it seemed as if fate was preservinji this, the last 
 of the bison in Pennsylvania, to fall to the un- 
 erring? bullet of the inti'epid Colonel. On (he 
 mornin<»- of January 19, 1801, Kelly was riding' 
 horseback on his way to mill, mounted of "Bran- 
 dywine," his old char«>er of the Revolution. It 
 was a misty moininu, and had not his horse 
 snorted he wouhl have ridden scpiai-ely into a 
 mammoth buffalo bull which com])letely blocked 
 the narrow crossroads. Kelly dismounted from 
 his horse, and takinu leisui-ely aim, shot the 
 bison thi'OU<ih the heart. The spot where this 
 buffalo was killed, which ])i()ved to be the last of 
 its species shot in Pennsylvania in a wild state, 
 as far as proved, became known as Buffalo Cross- 
 Roads. The huj»e skull, nailed to a pitch-pine 
 tree, was a familiar landmark for many years. 
 About 1S20, it was blown from the tree in a .uale, 
 bein«i ])icked up by one of the Kleckner childi-en, 
 relatives of the Kelly's, and for half a century 
 reposed in the «ia!-ret of the Kh'ckner homestead 
 in the vicinity of liuffalo Cross-Roads. When 
 the mansion was remodeled some yeais ajio, a 
 careless house-cleaner thiew the hoins into a 
 basket oC trash, and they wcic buincd in a bon- 
 fire in the yaid before their value was ascertain- 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BTSON HUNT -il 
 
 ed. A slightly differcMit vorsion from the lips of 
 a Dr. Bock, is recordod in Prof. Allou's ''History 
 of the American Bison," page 485. The bnffalo 
 cow which escaped McClister and Col. Kelly 
 in 1800 nltimately took refngv in th(> "tight 
 (Mid" of Bnffalo Valley. There in the wild- 
 erness, it defied its pnrsuers for several yeais. 
 Jonas J. Barnett, aged 77 years a splendid 
 old gentleman residing at AVeikert, Union 
 County, informed the writer that his great uncle, 
 Jacob Weikert, who settled on the site of the 
 town bearing his name in 1800, went after this 
 bnffalo repeatedly, at last driving it out of the 
 valley in the direction of Lewistown. Thus the 
 ultimate fate of the really last buffalo in Penn- 
 sylvania is unknown, unless later research in 
 Mimin County will bring it to light. A buffalo 
 is said to have been killed on Buffalo Run, Cen- 
 tre County (near Hunter's Park). This might 
 have been the same animal. The career of Jacob 
 Weikert reads like romance. He was a native of 
 P,(n-ks County, but preferring life in the unset- 
 tled regions, nioved into the "narrow point" of 
 Buffalo Valley. For seven years, he was unable 
 to keep hogs on his place, owing to the depreda 
 tions of panthers. All told, he piobably killed 
 over one thousand panthers, wolves and liears. 
 as well as countless deer and other game. The 
 Kelly homestead was remodelled in 1914. The 
 giant open fire-idaces where the old pioneei- sat 
 
42 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 oil winter evenings and told Indian and luinting 
 stories were torn away, and the attic stripped of 
 relics. It is said that the horns of several 
 buffaloes killed by Col. Kelly prior to 1800 hung 
 there for many years, but the writer, who visited 
 the spot while the remodelling was in progress, 
 accom])anied by Mr. S. N. Rhoads, the Philadel- 
 phia naturalist, could not learn if they had been 
 desti'oyed or lost. As few horns were preserved 
 as trophies by the old timers, it was an unsenti- 
 mental age, it would be unusual if these priceless 
 souvenirs had been kept. In the field east of the 
 KeMy mansion is the grave of an Indian Avho 
 came very near to putting an end to the Colonel's 
 life. Years after the revolution, when Kelly was 
 seated one fine June evening on his porch, he 
 noticed something stir behind a large gum tree in 
 his pasture-lot. As he never moved without his 
 trusted rifle, he lifted it to a position (luickly, in 
 time to let fiy a ball at the head of a redskin as 
 he ])oked it out for a moment from behind the 
 tree. Before the savage could discharge his fire- 
 arm, he was a dead Indian. Not wishing to ter- 
 lify his women folks, Kelly stro(h' down to the 
 l>astui(', and with the aid of a manure-fork, bur- 
 ie<l tlie Indian, whom he recognized as Hull 
 Head, so named on account of his broad skull, 
 and a redman who cherished an old grudge 
 against him. One Christmas day, a few years lat- 
 er, when Col. K<'llv*s "landcliildrcii and "iicat- 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 43 
 
 jiraiidchildren were plaviiig in the yard, a hunt- 
 ing- dog ran up with the Indian's skull in his 
 mouth. There was great excitement for a time, 
 to he sure. Explanations being necessary, the old 
 Indian fighter retailed the episode to his family 
 circle that evening as they were gathered around 
 the inglenook. Col. Kelly was fond of young peo- 
 ple, and until within four years of his death was 
 known as the most accomplished dancer iu Buffa- 
 lo ^^llley. He died on February 18, 18:^2, aged 88 
 years. His lemains i-est under a handsome monu- 
 ment in the picturescpie New Cemetery at Lewis- 
 burg. His grave has been a favorite shrine for- 
 lovers of history and sport, and for years it was 
 pointed out to visitors by the late lamented sex- 
 ton of the cemetery, Capt. W. L. Donachy. As far 
 as is known, no portrait of Col. Kelly exists. His 
 descendants aver that, like William Penn, the 
 iiiighty buffalo hunter steadfastly refused to have 
 his portrait painted. There is a rumor, however, 
 that a travelling German artist sketched him 
 unawares at the request of one of his sons. Thei-e 
 ai*e some persons who claim to have seen this 
 likeness, and they say that it shows a man stri- 
 kingly like George Washington in contour of 
 features. Such a portrait if in existence now 
 would be of priceless value, and diligent search 
 should be made for it, and it should be deposited 
 in the State Museum at Harrisburg. 
 
44 
 
 PKXXSYLVANIA BISON IK 'XT 
 
 ->*•» 
 
 RE-IXTIWnUCTrOX 
 
 FOR noarly half a eontiiry Peiiiisylvaiiia 
 enjoyed the inclaiicholy distinction of b('in«> 
 the leadinii tanninu iiiound foi* western 
 bnfPalo hi(h's. From a])ont 1845 to 1885, it is 
 estimated that one million bison hides were tan- 
 ned in this State, mostly at the l)i<> tannery at 
 Wilcox, Elk Connty. Many hides were sent there 
 to be tanned and sold, in conse(|uence of which 
 ihcy became a drnji on the local market. They 
 weic sold to nei«ihb()rin<> Inmbermen and farmers 
 at ILM) pel- l)al(', a bale containinii 12 hides. Thei-e 
 arc still a few of these hides to be ])icked up 
 about Wilcox, those in i^ood condition brin.uinj; 
 never less tlian f5() ajtiece. All throuiih IVnn- 
 syhania bulTalo i-obes were familiar sights in 
 farmhouses, in lixciy stables, and sleiiihs, until 
 veiy i('<cn1ly. Xoa\ Ihey are scar<('. except 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 45 
 
 pcrliaps in Snyder County. Tho writer has 
 a magnificent robe purchased from the estate 
 of the late Cornelius Crondey, of Clinton County, 
 who had bought it in 1880 from John Wana- 
 maker of Pliiladelphia at the price of |3.5(). But 
 the re-introduction of the buffalo in living form 
 will be more interesting to the readers of these 
 pages. Shortly after the Civil War, a number of 
 bison were shipped to this State, butchered and 
 served at barbecues. One of the most famous of 
 these was when a Kansas buffalo weighing a ton 
 was slaughtered at Beading at a big political 
 barbecue during the Tilden campaign of 187(5. 
 A live buffalo calf was shipjH'd from Nebraslca 
 to Abe Sheesley of Jersey Shore in 1870, and 
 for a year or two made a gentle and affectionate 
 pet. During the running season in the animal's 
 third year, he jumped fences, butted down small 
 buiblings, chased dogs and children, making him- 
 self generally obnoxious. Finally the animal 
 was chained in a stable where he was kept for 
 several years. He was mated with several cows 
 of the domestic variety, and his offspring were 
 said to be handsome creatures. Unfortunately, 
 they had little res])ect for fences or enclosuies, 
 and generally had to be killed wlien two or three 
 years old. Mr. Sheesley iK'came tired of his un- 
 manageable pet, and had him ])utchei<'(l. The 
 animal weighed dressed a ton, and tlie good 
 people of Jersey Shore and Chatham's Kim hv- 
 
46 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 sei}?e(l biitclKM- W. H. Sclnvor's travclliiiii; market 
 wagon to taste the tiesh of tlie late inonarch of the 
 plains. The horns adorned the Sheesley home for 
 many years. In Col. .John (J. Millias' interestinjr 
 book "British Deer and Their Horns,"is an anms- 
 inji aceonnt of a herd of buffaloes ex])oited from 
 the United States to Scotland by Sii- William 
 Stewait, who seived at the Battle of Waterloo. It 
 is as follows: ''Sir William was one of the first 
 men 'out west' and his life was a complete ro- 
 mance. Certain as])ersions were cast on his 
 pluck aftei- Waterloo, and to show that they 
 were false he went out to the Rocky Mountains 
 and lived amongst the Sioux for five years. There 
 he became a first-class bandit, but displayed su<h 
 couiaiic that they made him a chief. ^V('a^•yin^i 
 of his wild life, he returned to Murthly, l)rin<iin«» 
 with him however, almost a dozen of his pals 
 amongst the Sioux and a herd of Buffaloes. The 
 latter he lodged in a beautiful ])ai"k at Rohallion, 
 surrounding it with a stone wall seven feet high 
 and with a wire fence on top of that. If my 
 leader is a lover of Punch, which he is pretty 
 sure to be, he will recollect a diawing by John 
 Leech of Mr. Briggs being taken through Hulfalo 
 Talk by his friend. Tiiat friend was my father 
 (Sir .John K. Millais). and Mr. Biiggs was of 
 course Leech himself. I have often heard the 
 story of iliai day amongst the buffaloes. By and 
 by the l)ufTal<>es died off oi- were killed, and the 
 
JONAS J. BARNET, 
 grand-nephew of Jacob Weikert, 
 one of the Last Hunters of Bison 
 in Pennsylvania. 
 
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PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 47 
 
 last old bull broke out of the park somehow, and 
 meeting the mail coach going north, proceeded 
 to knock the stuffin' out of the horses. But there 
 was an unfeeling man on the coach who had a 
 rifle and no sense of humor, so the last of the 
 Scotch buffaloes had to go/' In various Zoolog- 
 ical (Jardens in Pennsylvania, buffaloes have 
 thriven remarkably well. The Philadelphia Zoo 
 in Fairmount Park, which was founded in 1859, 
 and opened to the public in 1874, has usually 
 maintained a group of about a dozen head. In 
 188(), the Gardens sold an adult bull and cow to 
 Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) for |30(). At the 
 Zoo in Highland Park, Pittsburg, at present 
 there are two young female bison, purchased 
 last year from Earl E. Bennett, Newport, N. H. 
 A male from Yellowstone Park, is shortly to be 
 added to this herd. At the Reading Zoo there 
 are no buffaloes at present, but as soon as 
 an appropriation can be secured for their 
 maintenance, a cow and bull will be shipped 
 there from Yellowstone Park. In several 
 private parks in different i)aits of the 
 State buffaloes are kept, notably at the magnif- 
 icent game preserve of Col. Harry (\ TicxUm-, 
 "The Cement King," near Allentown, wliere Ihere 
 is a hei'd of 20 of these noble brutes. As game 
 animals, the buffaloes will piobably nevei- l)e 
 i-e-introdnced in Pennsylvania, although their 
 docile habits and liaidv natures wonbl make 
 
48 PENNSYLVANIA BI80N H^NT 
 
 tliciii adiiptablc in some of the wilder sections of 
 the State. Perhaps witli the s]>rea(l of the hoof 
 and luoutli disease and bovine tn1)ei(nlosis, a 
 sentiment in favor of fnll-])red or half-bred bison 
 to replace the present breeds of domestic cattle 
 will be instituted. The bison are not subject to 
 these diseases, and would Hurish on the aban- 
 doned slashinjis and bare mountain t()i)S in the 
 Pennsylvania wilds, iierks County farmers have 
 been talking about startino- to ])astnre herds of 
 steers on the Blue Mountains, but buffaloes 
 would be hardier and moic remunerative. 
 Ketween ISTO and 1875 it is conservatively esti- 
 mated that one million wild buffoloes weic killed 
 annually in the west. Most of these were wast- 
 ed, and theii- hides flittered away for paltry 
 sums. May the day come when a like numl)er of 
 tame bison aic butchei-ed in Pennsylvania to our 
 citizens' advantage. Albert (Jalletin, the tiimn- 
 cier, of New Geneva, Fayette County, wrote ( on- 
 sidei-able about the domestication ol the bison, 
 which he believed was entirely feasable. He said 
 that many had been kept and successfidly bi-ed 
 by farmers South of Mason and Dixon's line. At 
 one peiiod for eight months he lived otf buffalo 
 meat, and enjoyed it. He also believed in the 
 jMaetiitility of crossing bison with domestic cat- 
 tle and mentioned a farmer living on the Monon- 
 uahela River who owned a large bullalo bull 
 whicli he allowed to roam at larue with his farm 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 49 
 
 cattle and which was "no more dangerous to man 
 than any bull of the common species." Mr. J. W. 
 Cunningham, of Erie, formerly of Howard Coun- 
 ty, Nebraska, successfully experimented with 
 ci-ossinj>- bison and domestic cattle. 
 
M) 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HINT 
 
 •in-* 
 
 DAyJKI. OTT 
 
 GKANDSOX of Gooriio Ott, one of tlio oii«>iii- 
 al l)uffal() limit (MS ol' (Vntral Ponusylvania 
 and himself slayer of iiiaiiy hundreds of hi- 
 son on the ])lains of the (Jreat West, Daniel Ott 
 of Selin's (Jrove, Snyder County, is one of the 
 histoiieally noteworthy iKMsonaiics of the Key- 
 stone State. Ill (•(Hiii)any with Hon. (Jeoriic W. 
 Wa^cnsellei-, editor of the Middlebur^ I*ost, and 
 .1. lleibeit Walkei-, associate editor of the Lewis- 
 burj»- Journal, the writei- recently visited the ven- 
 e?-able iiiiiiiod at liis eozv honif on llie oulskii'ts 
 
DANIEL OTT, 
 
 Born May 27, 1820, 
 
 A Penn-jylvanian Who Has Killed Many Buffaloes 
 
 in The West. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 51 
 
 of the quaint old town of Selin's Grove. Nimble 
 and mentally alert, despite his 95 years, the old 
 hunter, who is still a handsome man and has the 
 a(iuiline nose and tight drawn lips which are 
 usually signs of character, greeted his guests 
 cordially, and unfolded to them the marvelous 
 story of his life. Frefiuently during the narra- 
 tive he told jokes, which convulsed his hearers, 
 and his fine amber colored eyes, as clear as those 
 of the poet Keats, were alive with keenness and 
 humor. Daniel Ott was born in Selin's Grove on 
 May 27, 1820, being the son of Daniel Ott, Sr., 
 (1784-1852) and grandson of George Ott, (1745- 
 1814) , one of the original pioneers on the Karoon- 
 dinha, noAV known as Penn's (^reek. George Ott, 
 who was a native of Chester County, took up 400 
 aci-es of wild land in what is now Snyder County 
 in 1700, when that region still abounded with 
 wild beasts and roving Indians. In Daniel Ott's 
 own words let him describe his thiilling life's 
 pilgrimage. "I was born in the house where I 
 now leside, and am of Dutch and English an- 
 cestry. I\ly father and grandfather, the pioneeis, 
 wei'e not hunters in the modern meaning of the 
 wold, as the game came U]) to their doors to be 
 shot, liul'faloes and other gar>ie were ])lentirul 
 north of .Jack's Mountain when they came into 
 this country. When I was a boy wolves wcic 
 numerous, and at night we could hcai- Ihem liowl- 
 ing from the summits of the Spangenlx'i-g and 
 Ihc Mahanov Mountain, and thev even howled 
 
52 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 from tlic top of the Uluc Hill at the jj^ood people 
 across the river at Sunbury. In those early days, 
 I killed and helped to kill many wolves, they 
 were grayer in color than the ones I afterwards 
 met with in the west. T hnnted all kinds of game 
 in Pennsylvania and was a fisherman as Avell. I 
 have killed too many deer to count them, the first 
 when I was a mere boy, and the last when I was 
 eighty years old I bronght down on Jack's 
 Mountain. The horns of that stag I still have. 
 I was a good-sized boy when Halley's comet ap- 
 peared in 1834 ; I saw it again 70 years later in 
 1 1)10. I saw the famous falling stars one night in 
 1885. In the White Mountains, back of Jack's 
 Mountain, I once killed a half deer half elk. It 
 had one horn like a deer and the other like an 
 elk, and di-essed over 200 pounds. In addition 
 to wolves and deer I killed many bears, cata- 
 mounts, and wild cats. On two occasions, I came 
 face to face with big panthers, but they eluded 
 me. The flights of wild pigeons which used to 
 come to Selin's Grove darkened the sun. I have 
 trapped 1300 wild ])igeons in one day. The nest- 
 ing grounds of the wild pigeons were arranged 
 with military precision. Sometimes they were 
 in the sha])e of scjuaT-es, other times circles. The 
 ti-ees maiking the boundary had no nests on the 
 bi-anches outside the line. It was si range to see 
 trees full of nests on one side and with none on 
 the odicr. I remember when the Sus(juehanna 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 53 
 
 RivcM- and IVmiu's Creek Avere alive with 
 shad. That was before the days of pol- 
 lution from the tanneries and ijaper mills. 
 I have cauf>ht 500 shad at a single haul. When I 
 was a boy, there were still a few Indians in this 
 countiy ; they used to ti-avel along- the river bank, 
 and rest under the big trees in the shade. In 
 1841 I came to the conclusion that I would like 
 to visit the big game regions of the West. As 
 there were no railroads and stage travelling was 
 expensive I resolved to set out on foot. The 
 stages and freighters which crossed the Alle- 
 ghanies were diawn by the now extinct Tone- 
 stoga horses. The Conestoga horses Avere better 
 looking than any draft animals of the present 
 day. They were chunky built, with full necks, 
 sliort heads, and fine full eyes. Although they 
 would weigh on the average 1200 pounds they did 
 not stand over 15 :2 hands. They had ])articular- 
 ly good hoofs, much like those of the fast travel- 
 ing PercluMons. I walked from Selin's Grove to 
 the P>ig ^'alley, to Bedford, to AVheeling, to Col- 
 umbus, to Dayton, across the Black Swam]) on 
 the Corduroy Road to Indianapolis. The In- 
 diana capital then consisted of a few wooden 
 houses and was surrounded by magnificent hai-d- 
 wood forests. Deer, wolves, and coyotes abound- 
 ed. Raccoons were a nusiauce to the settlers. 
 One night with several friemls I was out hunting 
 'coons along the White Rivei-, when we became 
 
54 PP^XXSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 
 
 lost in the woods. We ^ot in a liollow 
 buttonwood ticc for safety, and none too 
 soon, for we were surrounded by a yelp- 
 inji' pack of coyotes, which kept us piisoners un- 
 til dayllyht. West of Indianapolis was a wild 
 piairie couutry, where wolves roamed, and where 
 there were millions ol ])raii'ie chickens. I de- 
 cided to walk to Sprin^tield, which I found to be 
 a small villaiic like Indianapolis. Abe Lincoln 
 was theie, carelessly dressed and ungainly, a 
 familial- tigui-e about the streets. The inaccess- 
 ability of the countiy between Indianapolis and 
 Spriniifield led me to say to my companion 'No- 
 body will evei- live in this reiiion, it is too hard to 
 reach with sn])plies.' West of Springfield in 
 Missouri, there were still great herds of buffaloes 
 and antelo])es. I decided to walk to (Miicago, 
 through the wild parairie region. lOach night I 
 trusted to reach some settler's cabin, as I hated 
 to sleep out on the plains oii account of the 
 wolves and coyotes. I saw coyotes and i)rairie 
 chickens on the outskirts of the Windy City. 
 When I got there I found only a single line of 
 fiame houses, one story and one story and a half 
 high, facing the Lake on what is now Michigan 
 Avenue. It was a dreary place, so I struck out 
 foi- Indianapolis, which town I liked veiy much. 
 1 travelh'd thiough the West for a luuMber (►f 
 years, my exiieiiences would fill a book, meeting 
 Indians, trach'is and lunilcrs and killing mn<h 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 55 
 
 game myself. In the licight of the buffalo ex- 
 citeiiuMit I organized a hide Imiiting expedition 
 to go to the T'anhandle district in Texas, where 
 herds of hundreds of thousands of these noble 
 animals roamed the plains. Our outfit left 
 Dodge City, which is in Ford County, Kansas, 
 and lieaded Soutli. Dodge City was in tliose days 
 (in the early seventies,) one of the headciuaiters 
 of the buffalo trade. Piles of hides a liundred 
 feet high were stacked in all parts of the town. 
 Only the choicest hides, those from the cows and 
 heifers, were used for lobes, the tough hides of 
 the old bulls went for belting. AVe were sot)H in 
 the buffalo country, as the plains were covered 
 with the carcasses of dead bison. Some were 
 killed for ''fun'" and never even skinned, others 
 had their hides stripped off and left for the 
 u'olves. We could see where they had been kill- 
 ed in former years, as where they laid the buffa- 
 lo grass died, and weeds sprang up, and tlu' 
 skulls aiid horns were mournful relics of man's 
 wastefulness. When we cami)ed at night bands 
 ()(' noisy coyotes came close to our cam])s, and 1 
 siiot many of them. When they barked, the large 
 grey wolves often answered them, but the big 
 wolves were shy and we seldo.ii s:nv them. In 
 Indian Territory now Oklahoma, neai' the Cim- 
 arron Kiver, I saw a hei-d of wihl horses. They 
 weic the most beautiful animals I have ever seen. 
 They were blood bays, with black manes and tails. 
 
56 PKXXSYLVAXIA lilSON JUXT 
 
 Their heads wviv small, (heir cars short, and 
 they stood liij-hcr in front than in back. My 
 conipanions wanted to shoot them, but I told 
 tliem not to, as it would be a shame to kill such 
 handsome creatures for no good purpose. Mean- 
 while the i>rand stallion which led them, si<>hted 
 us, snorted, which was th(^ signal to the herd to 
 make off, and they staited away in sini^le file at 
 a trot. Buffaloes always run with the wind, 
 nothing can turn them. The aim of the hunters 
 is to get them off the wind ap])roach close and 
 shoot tliem. The first herd we surprised w<1s 
 given the signal by a big bull, and started for us. 
 We waved our ha^s as they came near, but they 
 would not turn from their course. Fearing that 
 they would run us down, we took to our heels. 
 As the big brutes ])assed, my conii)anion, (Jeorge 
 Harrison, fired a dozen shots into them. 1 asked 
 him why he lired at them when he knew he could 
 not kill them. He said he did it because they 
 'kicked so funny' when hit. I told him that the 
 buffaloes so wounded would die a lingering death 
 on the piaiiie, would be eaten l)y the wolves and 
 their hides wasted. Harrison said he had never 
 thought of that before. Ever after I made it the 
 rule of our exix'dition only to kill such hnlTaloes 
 as we could use the hides, or in self-defense. As 
 for ai-ms, our expedition u.scd Shaip's Needle 
 (Juns, which were calculated to carry a one ounce 
 ball 1000 yards. Some hunters used brcccli load- 
 ing IT. S. Muskets or Winchester ritlcs. In llic 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BISON HUNT 57 
 
 fall of the year when we did most of our killing' 
 the small family groups of buffaloes were begin- 
 ning to come together in the vast herds which 
 assembled during the winter months for 
 nuitual protection. In the Summer they sep- 
 arated into parties of about one hundred animals 
 each, and slept, pastured and travelled in such 
 groups. Every party of buffaloes had their 
 watchers, which gave the signal of the approach 
 of human or animal foes, while the others rested 
 or munched the sweet buffalo grass. We stalked 
 our buffaloes, crawling along through the grass 
 until w^e got near them, then before we could be 
 seen, as w^e approached "off" the wind, we select- 
 ed our victims and fired. We always carried 
 five skinners to one killer, as it took a great 
 amount of care to scrape all the fat off the hides, 
 and unless this was done, they were hard to keep. 
 The air in the buffalo country was so dry that no 
 odor emanated from the carcasses which strewed 
 the plains, looking in the distance like hillocks. 
 At nightfall, the hordes of w^olves drawn to the 
 neighborhood by the food, feasted and fought 
 over the remains. At our camps we made our 
 fires with buffalo chips which furnished a clean 
 and very hot fire. We usually selected a hole in 
 the turf made by the buffalo's hoofs, laid a sheet 
 of news])aper at the bottom of the hole, and 
 placed the chips on to]). Then wx^ touched a 
 match to the ])aper. soon having a splendid blaz.e. 
 
7)A PEXXSYLVAXIA BISON PIFNT 
 
 The size of the buffalo bulls was onoruious. They 
 would average over a thousand pounds, and 
 some weighed close to a ton. They were covered 
 with layer after layer of thick fat. When we 
 collected as many hides as we could transport on 
 our wagons, we started for Dodge City, where 
 we sold the hides at an average price of two dol- 
 lars apiece. We generally took a ton of selected 
 buffalo meat with us on our northern journeys. 
 On oui- trips we met many Indians, Coman- 
 ches, Cherokees, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and 
 so on. They all chided us for our wholesale 
 killing of what they called their cattle. They 
 were particularly upset over the white man's 
 wasteful methods of killing the bison. They on- 
 ly killed what they absolutely needed, they main- 
 tained. Many persons have wondered why the 
 Ignited States (Jovernment nia(h' no effort to stop 
 the killing of the buffaloes on Uncle Sam's 
 Farm as the boundless plains were called. The 
 (rovernment in those days could not control the 
 Indians, it had its hands full there, consecpiently, 
 a 'side issue' like game protection was out of the 
 (juestion. Hul it was a great pity, as the buffa- 
 loes might have become the cattle of the West, as 
 they weie haidier than any of the varieties 
 bi(»ught there. 1 saw many long-hoi'ued Texas 
 steels. They were wonderful animals, and adapt- 
 e<l themselves to local conditions; it is a i)ity 
 their stock has bci-n allowed to die out. On the 
 
PENNSYLVANIA BLSON HUNT 59 
 
 plains with the buffaloes Avere vast herds of 
 pronji-hoiiied antelopes. We killed many of 
 these as their tlesh was "ood and their hides were 
 of some value. Many hunters killed them for 
 sport, firinji' into the herds at random, and let- 
 ting the poor creatures die liniierino' deaths. I 
 am ulad I hunted buffaloes, and while I killed a 
 fii-eat number, I do not have it on my soul that I 
 killed a single one for sport. All I killed were 
 used as much as possible. I cut out the best 
 meat, and saved and sold the hides. I tried to in- 
 duce the othei- hunters to be less wasteful, and 
 think I had influence with some of them. I had 
 an experience that I would not exchange with 
 anyone in the world. As I sit hei-e, h)oking down 
 Ihe river to the towering Mahanoy, I think liow 
 things have changed. All the big timber which 
 coveied the Mahanoy Kange is gone, and theie is 
 no game here any more worthy of name. Thei-e 
 are few ducks in the river, no flights of wild 
 pigeons darken tlie sun, an Indian is a curiosity, 
 rafting is done, there aic no more arks, gone is 
 the canal which I saw built, everything is be- 
 coming tame and commonplace. 1 have lived a 
 long while — ninety-five years, but T would like to 
 live longer in this beautiful world if T can relain 
 my faculties and not become a burden to my 
 family. I can read without glasses, have my own 
 teeth and have a good liead of hair. Last week 
 I cli()pi>e(l down a dea<l a|>i)le tree, yon can see 
 the pile of stove Avood I made from it if you look 
 
(50 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA BISON HINT 
 
 out tho back door. Yesterday I butchered a big 
 hog, and sliot tlie head off a rooster. Up to a few 
 years ago, I often walked to Middleburg, ten 
 niih's; I take some pretty long walks still. Lots 
 of people come to see me, I have a loving con- 
 siderate family. Over in the next room I keep 
 my hnnting trophies, in the evenings when the 
 wind howls about the old house I go in and 
 sit beside them, the heads and horns of buffaloes, 
 deer and ant('l()])es T shot in tlic old days. Then I 
 feel myself back in the wilds of Jack's Mountain, 
 or in (learfield County, or in the endless plains. 
 I heai- the tiamp of the bison herds, the shouts of 
 the victorious hunters, or maybe the blood-curdl- 
 ing cry of the panther. Then my mind goes back 
 still further, and I hear my father tell of how his 
 fatlier took part in the hunting of the last herds 
 of bison in old Pennsylvania, of Indian massa- 
 cres, of pioiuMM' hardships and T feel proud to be 
 tlie scion of such stuidy stock. Yes, indeed, 1 
 have nmch to be thankful for in this grand world ; 
 I have lived, I have struggled, I have harmed no 
 one, in my advanced age I am at peace, I am 
 (•(Hitent." 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 
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 to desk from which borrowed. 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
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 1955 
 
 
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