THE BISON OF HOT SPRINGS COUNTY
Hot Springs State Park Bison Pasture
The red hills were dotted with thousands of massive brown beasts, grazing in the pale green of the sage. Their huffs and thud of hooves filled the air. A giant bull threw himself down and rolled in a wallow, dust flying as he rubbed the flies and ticks off his thick hide. The hunting party readied themselves, picking out their prey with anticipation. It was July 1877 and a party of cavalry soldiers and Sioux scouts, led by General Sheridan, had just spotted the enormous herd of bison. They had been exploring the Bridger Mountain Range in presentday Hot Springs County, then a relatively unknown region. Major George “Sandy” Forsyth was the official recorder of the trip and his words recalled the plentiful bison that once roamed the area. “We made camp on the side of a hill in a winding sort of valley – rough red earth and sage brush, filled with Buffalo – probably 5000 of them.” “This P.M.,” he added in his small journal, “we were almost stampeded by our horses by the Indians driving some Buffalo nearly thro [sic] camp. So far today we have killed 40 Buffalo, Elk and Antelope.”
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The hunting continued and on July 5th, Forsyth said, “Detail sent out from cavalry to shoot Buffalo which Indians reported just ahead. Crossed the Bridger trail. Hunters ran the Buffalo across the head of the column and killed 6.” Major Forsyth and his companions were traveling through the Bridger Mountains. Their path took them through the Nowood country, east of modern-day Thermopolis. The land was still untamed and the Civil War veteran reveled in the beauty. He described the trout they caught, the wild animals they hunted and he marveled often on the deep blues of the flowers – especially the Forget-Me-Nots and Larkspur
recently seen a large buffalo bull in the Big Horn Basin, near Fenton.” The reporter added, “The man and his companion were within twenty yards of him, and could have killed him had they desired. He was lame in the left front foot. Paste this in your hat, and you will know him next time you come across him.” One of the last wild bison sighting in Hot Springs County occurred in the 1950’s.
“At 7 P.M. tonight,” Forsyth wrote, “a frightened Buffalo Bull dashed thro our camp. He came down a steep hill and right thro the camp, like a locomotive off the track.” After this close call, with a beast that could weigh up to 3,000 pounds, the men nicknamed their camp, “Camp Stampede”. Fourteen years after Forsyth witnessed the herd of 5,000 bison, it was rare to see the giant beasts. In January 30th, 1891, the Fremont Clipper reported such a sighting. “A writer to the Alamo Argus claims to have 16
George Sandy Forsyth
Major George “Sandy” Forsyth reported seeing herds of 5,000 bison in the Wyoming wilderness of Hot Springs County
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