EXTRA CASE

Wyatt Earp - The Buffalo Hunter

F. Robert Jacobs, n!"ana #n"$ers"ty
The legend of Wyatt Earp lives on largely based on his exploits as a gunfighter
and Marshall of the frontier West in the 1880s. The classic tales of the shootout
at the O.K. orral in To!bstone or his sa"ed#off shotgun duel "ith urly $ill are
possibly the !ost celebrated gunfights of frontier history and cannot fail to stir the
reader%s i!agination. Wyatt lived to be over 80 years old& long enough to recount
his story to 'tuart (a)e for the boo) Wyatt Earp* +rontier Marshall
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,published by
-oc)et $oo)s..
/pparently& Wyatt "as 0uite a financial success long before he beca!e a
!arshal. 1e learned ho" to hunt and shoot buffalo "hen only 12 years old. $y
the ti!e he "as 30& the Kansas ity and ald"ell buffalo hunters )ne" hi! as
one of the best in the "est. 1is !ethods for hunting buffalo "ere very different
fro! the established practices of the ti!e.
Outside the !arshal%s office in ald"ell& veteran hunters "ould !eet to co!pare
the season%s hunt. 'uccess "as !easured solely by ani!als )illed and cash
received for the hides and !eat. Wyatt reali4ed that "hat "as i!portant "as the
gain after expenditures for horses& "agons& supplies& and s)inners% "ages "ere
considered. /ny hunter could boast of the !oney in his poc)ets at the end of a
season& but fe" could say accurately ho" !uch "as gain.
The Ways of the %eteran Hunters
The buffalo hunter of 1851 set out for the range "ith five four#horse "agons& "ith
one driver& the stoc) tender& ca!p "atch!an& and coo)6 and four others to s)in
the )ill. The hunter provided horses& "agons& and supplies for several !onths.
Money received for hides and !eat "ould be divided into t"o e0ual parts6 one
"ent to the hunter& and fro! his share& he paid all expenses. The second "as
again split into as !any shares as there "ere drivers& s)inners and helpers "ith
each getting a share as his seasonal "age. 7t "as believed that no really top#
notch buffalo hunter "ould stoop to s)inning the ani!als he shot. Each person in
the party had a specific assigned 8ob& and none "ould do so!ething belo" their
level of dignity.
The "eapon of choice at the ti!e "as the 'harps 9+ifty9 rifle. These rifles& "hich
all right#!inded buffalo hunters carried& "eighed !ore than t"enty pounds. The
gun shot a slug of lead t"o inches in length& a half#inch in dia!eter& "eighing
approxi!ately an eighth of a pound. The 'harps "as the best "eapon
obtainable for long#range shooting& but notable a!ong its dra"bac)s "ere the
cost of a!!unition and the fact that the rifle%s accuracy "as seriously affected by
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-arts of this case are fro! hapter 2& 9The $uffalo :ange.9
continued rapid fire. To prevent da!aging the rifle& the "ise user& ran a "ater#
soa)ed rag through the barrel after every second or third shot and let the !etal
cool.
Wyatt recounted that 9early "hite hunters had follo"ed the 7ndian practice of
shooting buffalo fro! the bac) of a horse galloping full tilt at the edge of a
sta!peding herd. 7n s)in hunting this did not pay. 'hooting fro! horsebac)
could not be as accurate as fro! a stand& and the ani!als )illed during a run
"ould be strung for !iles across the prairie& !a)ing a lot of travel for the
s)inners& "ith the added certainty that !any hides "ould be !issed. /lso& every
buffalo left alive "ould be sta!peded clear out of the country in a day%s hunt& and
the )illers "ould have to !ove ca!p or "ait for another herd.
97n stories about $uffalo $ill ody and other Western characters "ho "ent into
the circus business& 7%ve read of a single horse!an holding a bunch of buffalo
stoc)#still by riding around and around the! for hours and shooting as he rode.
That "as an i!possibility. T"o !inutes after the horse!an started his riding and
shooting& there "ould not have been a buffalo "ithin rifle range. $uffalo "ould
sta!pede instantly at the sight or s!ell of a !an on horsebac)6 they "ould
ignore a !an on foot& or eye hi! in curiosity. That "as "hy hide hunters shoot
fro! a stand.
Wyatt goes on to recount the !ethods of current hunters. 9/ 1unter "ould drag
his 'harps to a rise of ground giving a good vie" of the herd& pic) a bunch of
ani!als& set his rest#stic)s
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and start shooting. 1e ai!ed to hit an ani!al on the
edge of the bunch& the leader if possible& 8ust bac) of the foreleg and about one
third of the "ay up the body. 7f the slug "ent true& the ani!al "ould drop in his
trac)s or stagger a fe" steps and fall. 'trangely enough& the buffalo paid no
attention to the report of the rifle and very little& if any& to one that fell.
9/ first#class hunter "ould )ill "ith al!ost every shot& and if he "as good& he
could drop ga!e until so!e buffalo still on his feet chanced to sniff closely at one
that had fallen. Then it "as up to the hunter to drop the sniffer before he could
spread his excite!ent over the s!ell of blood. 7f he could do this& the slaughter
!ight continue& but eventually the blood scent beca!e so strong that several
ani!als noticed it. They "ould bello" and pa"& their fren4y "ould spread to the
bunches nearby& and suddenly the "hole herd "as off on a "ild run. The hunter
could )ill no !ore until he found conditions suitable for another stand.
9Where large parties of hunters "ere "or)ing the plains by such !ethods in fairly
close 0uarters& the periodical scarcity of buffalo "as a certainty. With the best of
luc)& a single hunter !ight )ill one hundred buffalo in a day& fro! several stands.
That "ould be all that four s)inners could handle. 7 found that the average bunch
"ould sta!pede by the ti!e thirty or forty had been )illed. Only the best of
hunters could average 20 )ills a day& thirty to forty "as !ore co!!on.
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/ shooting rest "as t"o stic)s tied together& ;#fashion& set in the ground to support the rifle "hile
the !ar)s!an ai!ed and fired.
Wyatt Earp&s Buffalo Hunt"n' (etho!
The first fla" "hich Wyatt Earp sa" "as that the average hunter outfitted in
expectation of )illing one hundred buffalo a day& and selling each ani!al%s hide
and !eat for t"o to five dollars& depending upon si4e and 0uality. 7n place of five
"agons and t"enty#odd horses& Wyatt purchased one "agon& four sound
ani!als for harness and one to ride. 1e engaged an experienced s)inner in a
straight profit#sharing sche!e. Wyatt "as to finance the hunt6 the s)inner "ould
drive and coo)6 and& greatly to the disgust of older hands& Wyatt "as to assist in
s)inning and butchering. /t the end of the hunt& Wyatt "as to )eep the tea! and
"agon& deduct all other expenses fro! the gross receipts& and share any net
e0ually "ith his s)inner.
7n contrast to the use of the 'harps rifle& Wyatt )illed buffalo "ith a shotgun.
Wyatt "as "ell ac0uainted "ith the buffalo%s idiosyncrasy of sta!peding at the
sight or scent of a !an on horsebac)& but generally ignoring one on foot. 1e
intended to !a)e use of this in reaching shotgun range of the herds. 1e
purchased a breech#loading gun& "ith apparatus for reloading shells& and this&
"ith a supply of po"der& lead& and caps& "as to constitute his hunting arsenal.
1e loaded a single one#and#one#half#ounce slug to the shell. 1e )ne" that at
any range under one hundred yards he could score as accurately "ith his
shotgun as any rifle!an.
Wyatt described his approach* 9My syste! for hunting buffalo "as to "or) !y
"ay on foot nearer to the herds than the rifle users li)e to locate. The shorter
range of !y shotgun !ade this necessary& but 7 could fire the piece as rapidly as
7 "ished "ithout har!ing it. 7 planned to get "ithin fifty yards of the buffalo
before 7 started shooting& and at that range pic) off selected ani!als. 7 "ould
shoot until 7 had do"ned all the s)inner and 7 could handle that day. 7 figured to
offset the danger of a sta!pede by finishing !y )ill before the ani!als s!elled
blood and then "or)ing the herd a"ay 0uietly in the direction 7 "anted it to go.
To do this& 7 "ould stand up& "ave !y coat in the air& and shout. The buffalo
"ould probably !ove a"ay 0uietly if 7 got the! started before they scented
blood. Then the s)inner and 7 "ould get to "or). 7n practice& !y idea "or)ed out
exactly as 7 had calculated it "ould.
9'o!e people called !y !ethod foolhardy. To !e& it "as si!ply a 0uestion of
"hether or not 7 could outguess a buffalo. The best ans"er is that there never
"as a !o!ent during !y three seasons as a buffalo hunter "hen 7 "as in
danger fro! a sta!pede& nor a day "hen 7 hunted that 7 did not have a profitable
)ill. My lo"est score for a single stand "as eighteen buffalo& the highest& t"enty#
seven. 7 shot one stand a day& "hich !eant t"enty to thirty#five dollars apiece for
the s)inner and !yself every day "e "or)ed. That "as cash in hand& not hopes.
9<o "onder the average buffalo hunter "as glad that the code forbade hi! to
s)in his )ill6 s)inning "as hard& dirty "or). My s)inner )ept out of sight "ith the
"agon until 7 had finished shooting. Then he ca!e on the 8ob. 7n s)inning a
buffalo& "e slit do"n the inside of each leg and along the belly fro! nec) to tail.
The legs and a strip along each side of the belly#cut "ere s)inned out and the
nec) s)inned all the "ay around. The head s)in "as not ta)en. We gathered the
heavy nec) hide into a bunch around "hich "e looped a short length of rope& and
a horse hitched to the other end ripped the hide off. We did it every ti!e this
"ay.
97n ca!p& "e dusted the hides and the ground nearby "ith poison to )eep off flies
and bugs& and pegged out the s)ins& flesh#side up. 7n the dry prairie air& first
curing too) but a day or so. The hides "ere then turned& and& after they had
cured so "ater "ould not in8ure the!& they "ere stac)ed in piles& hair#side up&
until "e hauled the! to a hide buyer%s station& or a buyer%s "agon ca!e to our
ca!p.
Wyatt Earp - The )e'en!
The success of Wyatt Earp%s venture against cherished custo!s beca!e legend
to the ran)s of the buffalo hunters. Ti!e after ti!e on chec)ing tallies& the lone
hunter found that& "hile so!e had )illed greater nu!bers than he fro! the given
stands& or had larger seasonal totals& his daily count of hides "as "ell above
average. :udi!entary arith!etic proved that his profits "ere !uch higher.
Wyatt recounts the inevitable de!ise of the great buffalo herds* 9With all the
buffalo 7 sa" in the days "hen they roa!ed the range& 7 shall never forget a herd
"e sighted in the fall of %51. We had seen a fe" s!all bunches& but none that 7
stopped for& as 7 "anted to !a)e ca!p as per!anent as possible. We had
crossed the Medicine (odge "hen the plenticity of buffalo sign indicated that "e
"ere closing on a si4able herd. 7 "ent to a rise possibly three hundred feet
above the cree) botto!. The sight that greeted !e as 7 topped the hill soon
disappeared for all ti!e.
97 stood on the highest point "ithin !iles. To the "est and south& the prairie
rolled in !ounds and level stretches pitted "ith buffalo "allo" as far as 7 could
see& t"enty or thirty !iles. +or all that distance the range "as pac)ed "ith
gra4ing buffalo.
9... 7 signaled !y s)inner to 8oin !e. %My =od>% he said& %there !ust be a !illion.%
97t !ight give a better idea of the results of buffalo hunting to 8u!p ahead seven
years to 1858& "hen $ill Tilgh!an& $at Masterson& and 7 "ent buffalo hunting for
sport. We traveled due "est fro! ?odge ity !ore than one hundred !iles
along the /r)ansas :iver& south to the i!!arron& and east to roo)ed ree)
again& at the height of the best hunting season over "hat in 1851 had been the
greatest buffalo ground in the "orld. =rass "as as plentiful and as succulent as
ever& but "e never sa" a buffalo. The herds "ere gone& "iped out.9
*"scuss"on +uest"ons,
o!pare Wyatt%s buffalo hunting to the approach used by the old ti!ers@
What are the )ey ele!ents of business success fro! an operations
perspective@
:elate these ideas to Wyatt%s approach.
Were the buffalo hunters irresponsible in )illing off the great buffalo herds as
they did@