Copyright 1995-2005 - Chuck Pritchard

POETS, BARDS & LIARS

The buffalo hunters roamed the west in the mid 1860's and 1870's and supplied meat to the railroad construction crews, sold the tongues for eastern gourmet meals and the hides for coats. A hunting team consisted of a shooter, a skinner and a hideman.

The shooter would take a stand downwind and commence a methodical slaughter, making every shot count. The rifle of choice was usually a Sharps 1875, 50 caliber, and after about two dozen kills the shooter would pause to let the gunsmoke clear. If the rifle was overheating, the breech was opened and water poured down the barrel to cool it. This was followed by a swab with a grease rag. The daily kill for a skilled shooter averaged about 125 head.

The population of the herds was declining at an alarming rate and in 1874 the Texas legislature proposed a bill to limit the number of buffalo that could be killed. This was met by considerable objection from the Army, who had not been successful in their attempt to defeat the plains indians. The Army encouraged the slaughter of the buffalo because the indians relied on the herds for nearly everything, and losing their base of supply would place them at a great disadvantage. In the end, the nomadic tribes of the plains were reduced to beggars and the great buffalo herds were reduced to just a few.

William F. Cody- Became a buffalo hunter after the Civil War and in 1865 he contracted with the Kansas-Pacific railroad to supply meat for the construction crews. He killed more than 4000 buffalo in 18 months and earned the name " Buffalo Bill. " In 1867 he contracted to Goddard Bros. to supply meat for the Union-Pacific construction crews. His rate of pay was $500 per month to supply 12 head per day and he killed nearly 7,000 head under this contract.

Tom Nixon- Once killed 120 head in forty minutes and had to cease at 204 because the barrel of his gun was literally destroyed from the heat.

Bat Masterson - In 1872, Masterson joined a group of buffalo hunters bound for the Texas Panhandle and became friends with Billy Dixon, a scout and Indian fighter. Dixon described Masterson as " a chunk of steel and everything that touched him drew fire." In 1873, Masterson and his brothers, Ed and Jim, became free lance hunters and sold meat to the railroad construction crews. Ed and Bat were the shooters, while Jim staked and dried the hides. Masterson trailed the herds into Oklahoma and Texas, using Adobe Walls as his headquarters.

Bill Tilghman - By the age of twelve, Tilghman had developed into a stout young man with uncanny abilities using a pistol or rifle. In 1871, he and two of his teenage friends became buffalo hunters, selling their meat in Hays and Ellsworth, Kansas. He truly loved life on the prairie, spending the summer hunting and the winter skinning the hides. He also hunted wolves and coyotes for bounty money and sold wild turkey for seventy-five cents apiece in Ellsworth. He became friends with the Cheyenne and Osage tribes and spent many days as a guest in their camps. A friend, Hurricane Bill Martin, bragged on Tilghman's marksmanship so much that a Cheyenne chief, Roman Nose, demanded to see Bill's ability with a rifle.

New Year's Day, 1874, Tilghman brought his Sharps 50 to the Cheyenne camp and the chief pointed at two buffalo bulls that were grazing on a rise far away. Tilghman took a rest, aimed the big 50 and fired. The first two shots fell short but on the third one of the big bulls fell over. Hurricane Martin insisted that the distance be measured and all, Indians and hunters, agreed that it was one full mile. Eleven thousand buffalo were killed in the winter of 1874 and Tilghman's Sharps 50 accounted for seventy-five hundred.