Buffalo Tracks Goodnight Herd

Back to Buffalo Tracks       

Pablo-Allard> Eaton      Corbin     Moosehead/ WC Whitney   

First Bison by State        Last Bison by State      

Dr Jeff Martin: Whence the Buffalo Roamed:
When and Where Were Bison Roaming During Colonial North America and Before?

 

Tracking the Goodnight Bison herd- said he relocated bison all over and in many other countries. He also said he would buy any small family groups or singles whenever he could, which is why I wonder if the Bulls from Howard Eaton that came to Texas, if they did go to Goodnight, at that same time Goodnight was shipping bison to Yellowstone,  which  Eaton was handling that sale and transfer as well.

Wichita herd was a collection of what the Bronx had collected and right before they were due to ship (abt 6 months) the 15 head to Wichita, Whitney donated practically his whole herd. If Wichita did not get some of the Goodnight bison, they may have gotten the genetics from his bison as they were sent there in 1899, years before the 15 head were shipped to Oklahoma. 

Buffalo Tracks Goodnight

 

1866  Charles Goodnight TX Palo Dura Texas  +3cfs  Gave to a partner who later sold them w/o CG knowledge

1878  Charles Goodnight  TX  Gathered Texas Canyon   +2hd   1 heifer 1 bull calf

1878  Charles Goodnight  TX   Gathered Texas Canyon 1878/80   +3hd  Gather by Walter and Leigh Dyer 2 calves (brothers of Mary Ann) one of the heifers died before it was of breeding age, leaving one bull and two heifers as the nucleus of the now famous herd.

1879  Charles Goodnight  TX   1878/80     +1 calf/4hd    By T Anchors    

1881  Charles Goodnight   TX    From Neighboring Ranch  +2hd/6hd  Colonel B.B. Groom’s ranch on the Canadian 1 yr & 1-2yo

1883  Charles Goodnight  TX  Texas   1hd/7hd   A  brindle cattalo calf, near the carcass of the Texas cow

1888  Charles Goodnight  TX  Herd Increase  13hd  Hornaday: 2 three-year-old bulls, 7cows, and 4 calves-One cow is a half-breed (calf caught on plains in 83′?) 

1891 Charles Goodnight   TX   Imported a bull in June/Jul  +1hd  Bull from Lee’s Summit Missouri.

1892  Charles Goodnight  TX  Herd increase  32hd  – 32 Cows, how many bulls is unknown cattalo?

1892  Charles Goodnight   TX  Herd Increase   He has even bought at times when buffalo were offered for sale single he or in little families. He has sent men all over the West in search of the scattered remnants of the once countless herds. No sales at this point.

1893  Charles Goodnight  TX   Herd Increase Dec 26.   24hd   Buffalo full blood

1894  Charles Goodnight  TX   Herd Increase     25/30      25 or 30 full-blooded buffalo and as many more half-breeds

1896  Charles Goodnight  TX    February Buffalo Zoo NY   -2hd  Cows sent to Buffalo Zoo NY- Frank Crandell BZNY

1896 Charles Goodnight  TX  September 26th US Gov.    -5hd   Sold to US Government Two old bulls, one yearling heifer and old cow. The 5th ?

1897 Charles Goodnight TX   Herd Increase August   50hd     St Jo Herald says 36 pure blood buffalo.

1898 Charles Goodnight TX  1897/1898 sold two head to CJ Jones to break to cart. (JT Owens)

1898  Charles Goodnight TX   Herd Increase     63hd    Abt. 63 In all, buffalo and crosses

1898 Charles Goodnight  TX   Sold at Auction    -1hd    Old buffalo bull @.10 per lb about 14 years of age weighed 1,850

1898 Charles Goodnight TX   Brackenridge Park, Texas   -5hd    Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas

1899 Charles Goodnight  TX    Sept- Germany     -5     Buffalo Jones has gone to Goodnight Texas, to get seven buffalo which he will ship  5 east. (Europe)

1899 Charles Goodnight  TX  Sept-Madison Square Park -2   Buffalo Jones has gone to Goodnight Texas, to get seven buffalo which he will ship 2 Madison Square Park NY

1899  Charles Goodnight TX  Sept- Zoological Park Bronx -7hd   4 Bulls , 2 Cows, 1 yrl Delivered by Jones

1900  Charles Goodnight  TX  Elitch’s Park, Colorado    -2hd   Elitch’s Park Colorado -several among them one of the first ever caught; (came here or Denver)

1901 Charles Goodnight TX  Denver    -1hd     Bull for Denver Zoo

1901 Charles Goodnight TX   Hornaday sent out plea’s-animals arrived Oct 1 -4hd       Goodnight 4hd 3bulls – 1 cow – Ed Hewens Bull, Cow and yrl hfr – $500 for cows $400 for bulls CJ Jones selected the animals from Goodnight and delivered them. National Zoological Park

1901 Charles Goodnight TX  Herd Increase abt 50hd    And may have just as many crosses.

1902 Charles Goodnight TX   Bulls Yellowstone   -3 Bulls   Donated to Yellowstone (est 23 animals now in park)

1902 Charles Goodnight  TX   Fall- Buffalo Bill    -8hd   Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show (two were killed during loading)

1902 Charles Goodnight  TX  April 16    60-70hd   Full Blood all sexes and sizes 17 bulls, the rest cows and hfrs. A number of hybrids

1903 Charles Goodnight ? TX   July – Howard Eaton -Pablo Allard   2hd? Others will be shipped to Mr. Eaton’s herd in Dakota, and still others to Texas, where there is a herd, the idea being to infuse new blood into those herds. Did they go to Goodnight?

1903 Charles Goodnight TX  Brackenridge Park, Texas   -3hd   Brackenridge Park San Antonio Three buffalo yearlings, two heifers and one bull, the gift of Col. Geo. W. Brackenridge in Antonio, arrived here today for the Goodnight ranch in the Panhandle

1903 Charles Goodnight  TX   Herd Increase   73/50 Xs    Full blood/Crosses

1904 Charles Goodnight  TX   Herd Increase    50 hd   Mark Sullivan census taker

1906 Charles Goodnight   TX   Peter Roth, Nevada   -15hd    Peter Roth has started a buffalo farm near Las Vegas and has received from Charles Goodnight, the well-known buffalo raiser, fifteen buffalo calves six months old each.               

1908 Charles Goodnight  TX   Herd Increase    91hd/100Xs    Born on ranch 21 new calves 70 Grown

1909 Charles Goodnight  TX  Conrad Herd- Nat’l Bison Range -2hd   Charles Goodnight of Texas forwarded his gift pair of young buffaloes to the Conrad estate at Kalispell, to be kept there pending erection of the fence at the bison preserve. The male buffalo died, and the female was shipped with the Conrad herd to Ravalli. Nation Bison Range

1912 Charles Goodnight TX  Herd Increase  120+  ABS

1914 Charles Goodnight  TX  Herd Increase    164hd     35 were bulls, 107 were cows, and 22 were calves

1915 Charles Goodnight TX    Reynolds  Ranch   -5hd  Sold to Reynolds Hereford Ranch They grew that little herd to over 200 head by the 1950’s and put on buffalo hunts supervised by the Game and Fish commission. 4 cows and one bull

1915 Charles Goodnight  TX  W.O. Dunlop  -45hd     W. O. Dunlap is not a cattleman, although he is attending the convention. He is a buffalo man for he bought 45 head of buffalo from the Goodnight ranch and is having good success with them.

1915 Charles Goodnight  TX  J P Slaughter ranch  -3hd  Sent on a train and two of the bulls fought and killed each other. Only one bull survived and he was sent back.

1916 Charles Goodnight  TX  Herd Increase   148/35   Charles Goodnight has 148 buffalo and 35 cattalo

1921 Charles Goodnight  TX   Texas A&M  -2hd   On November 16 1921, a pair of buffalo yearlings were purchased and placed in a corral on the campus. The mascots were named Charles and Mary Ann in honor of their former owners. Col. and Mrs Charles Goodnight.

1923 Ranch Sold w/buffalo  TX   Ranch Sold  to  J.I. Straley, an oilman from Wichita Falls. Straley was in partnership with his sisters husband.

1924 C Goodnight-J.I. Staley  TX   Ranch sold   >200hd    the increase being sold off or butchered for meat and hides. This year surplus of buffalo calves was purchased by that Burnett ranch interest of Iowa Park. (In 1932, “Hugh Exum, manager of the ranch (6666 Ranch) , told me he was posting the place,” Cardwell said. “He has five buffalo he got from the Goodnight ranch and he is going to see what he can do.’  Tom L Burnett died in 1938 and the last 14 head of his buffalo were sold to two ranchers of the same area who planned to use them for stock purposes in May of 1936. Two of them will be exhibited at the centennial exposition in Dallas)

1929 C Goodnight-J.I. Staley  TX  Goodnight died in 1929, and he wanted the state to take over his ranch and bison herd.    209hd   The American Bison Society recorded this herd in 1929 as having 208 head, it was listed as Charles Goodnight-J.I. Staley