True Buffalo Hunting Story

[Shotgun Steve]

 Of the few stories about buffalo hunters that have survived, some have grown in the telling until it is impossible to draw a sharp line between truth and fiction. More credible, as a rule are those which hunters told of their own hardships and exploits. In one such tale, a young Texas Ranger, Drew Kirksey Taylor, described his encounter with a wounded and infuriated buffalo bull.

That was in 1876, when hide hunters were swarming over Pease River about a hundred miles west of Graham.
One evening two green hunters drove up with two ox-driven wagons and made camp near by. They had not brought any saddle horses, fearing that Indians would steal them; but they had two mongrel dogs.

The next day, as he had no outlaws to chase, young Taylor went out with the hunters to have a bit of sport and to show them how to kill buffaloes. In midafternoon the trio found a small herd grazing along the creek. Taylor tied his horse to the wagon, hung his six-shooters over the saddlehorn, and carrying his rifle, started walking up the creek toward the game.

The Ranger shot six or eight of the fatter animals before the others took fright and fled. Each of the wounded beasts would stagger, fall, get up, go a short distance, and then fall dead. The carcasses were scattered over about an acre of the prairie. Putting down his rifle, Taylor examined the bodies, showing the hunters the vital spot at which they should aim.

One old bull was batting his eyes, showing that he still had some life in him. When Taylor thoughtlessly kicked him in the side, the bull started to get up. The Ranger jumped onto his back and tried to hold him down; but the bull continued to rise, with Taylor astride him.

"I was sitting straight up on his hump," said Taylor. "I stuck my spurs in his sides and hung on. Right there a circus started. The old bull went kicking and bawling out across the prairie, with me hanging on for dear life. I didn't dare let go. Had I done so, he would have gored me."

Taylor had to think quickly. While gripping the sides of the buffalo with his spurs and holding to the hair of the back with one hand, he reached his other hand into his pocket and drew out his long-bladed pocketknife. He tried to stab the enraged animal, but could not reach down far enough.

When the hunters saw the plight of Taylor, they set their dogs on the wounded buffalo. The dogs, one on each side, worried and soon slowed down the bull, weakened from loss of blood. Then Taylor was able to slide off backward. He stopped the animal by cutting his hamstrings, then put an end to him with a bullet.

From the book "The Great Buffalo Hunt" by Wayne Gard

[Joss House]

Thanks for the short story.

I've been reading several book over the past couple of years about the great buffalo hunt and this sounds like a book to add to the list. Currently I'm reading 'Life in the Saddle' as told by Frank Collinson. In this book he describes a similar incident with a teen age boy that was taken along on a hunt where the kid ended up unintentionally riding a supposedly dead buffalo.