Stand up for the bison

I'm sad today. Very, very sad.

My troubled mind is the result of a headline I came across in a recent issue of the Omaha World-Herald.

The headline says, "Yellowstone plans to kill 1,000 bison."

"What is that all about?," I wondered. I've always marveled at the size and power of the bison and was sorrowed -- as were many of my fellow Americans -- to learn of their murderous decimation during the settlement of the American West.

Here in McCook, our love for the bison has remained strong through the years for two very important reasons. Number One -- and this has brought McCook great pride through the years -- is that the mighty bison is the mascot for our beloved McCook High School athletic teams. And, although this bit of history is not so well known, it has even more historical significance than the fact that the bison is our school's mascot. The fact -- which is one of the most impressive things to ever happen in McCook is that 124 years ago, in 1891, Buffalo Jones amassed the largest herd of bison in the United States and placed them on School Section 16, north of McCook and on anothe ranch at Garden City, Kansas. The location in McCook was close to the place where McCook Ben Nelson Airport now stands.

There were 80 head of buffalo in the herd when it arrived. Estimates of value ranged from $30,000 to $40,000 and above.

During his time in McCook, Jones was mentioned in almost every newspaper. Among the highlight happenings were (1) A trip by Jones to Liverpool, England, to deliver six head of bison to an English nobleman, and; (2) The selection of Jones' entire herd of bison to appear at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1892.

With this kind of activity, Jones soon became the source of news stories in larger cities. One article, written by the Grand Island correspondent for the Lincoln Journal, claimed that Jones had been killed by one of his herd. The McCook Tribune had tongue-in-cheek when it responded: "For a man gored by a buffalo, Mr. Jones plays a remarkably pert and persistent game of croquet."

While Jones' fame was a temporary source of pride for McCookites, it was also responsible for his leaving.

Larger communities made attractive offers for him to relocate his bison herd. Omaha finally won out, with Jones moving his herd there in May of 1892.

For the next few years, stories about Jones continued to appear in the McCook newspapers. One account, in March of 1894, told of Jones using a team of bison to help with building the Galveston-Manitoba Railroad. "He drives them with wire lines, operated by a windlass," according to the report in the March 16, 1984, issue of the McCook Tribune.

It is partly because of my interest in Buffalo Jones -- and his tremendous influence on both early day McCook and the survival of the bison -- that I am so offended by what is taking place in Yellowstone National Park.

In my opinion -- and that of my good friend, Kenneth Morgan -- the decision by Yellowstone National Park to kill 1,000 Bison -- is the direct result of the laziness and sloppiness of the bureaucrats who operate the agencies of the federal government.

Do you know what Yellowstone's excuse is for killing a thousand bison? It's the b-word: brucellosis.

That's ridiculous, as cattlemen in Nebraska and the custodians of Custer State Park in South Dakota can tell you. Because, you see, both Nebraska cattlemen and the custodians of the bison herd at the South Dakota state-operated Custer Park have long ago eliminated brucellosis in both beef cattle and bison by a continuing, carefully controlled program of vaccinating young heifers.

So why doesn't the federally operated Yellowstone State Park do the same? Because, ladies and gentlemen, they believe in a "natural system" of bison mating and maintenance.

Pardon my French, but that's total bull ....!

Before Buffalo Jones helped save the bison with his herds in McCook, and in Garden City, Kansas, it was estimated by some that there were fewer than 350 bison remaining in the United States.

And, now, nearly a quarter of a century later, Yellowstone National Park's bureaucratic decision-makers are making a mockery of a historic turn-around in bison numbers.

Somebody, please. Stand up for the Bison.

The mighty, mighty bison rose from the brink of extinction. With our aggravation... and intervention ... I'm hoping we can keep the mighty Bison on the rise.