Buffalo Hunters

Buffalo Hunters. Symbols of a Frontier Era. These graves hold more than the remains of six men-they hold the power of symbol and stereotype. Like other remote graves overlooking prime waterways in the rural West, they have been kept well marked. Yet the identities of their occupants can no longer be verified and legend surrounding them conjure classic images of the "taming" of the West. , Here lie men from elsewhere, drawn to the fringes of America's western frontier, who ultimately lived and died right here. One is said to have been killed by Indians in 1878. Another is said to have been killed in a fight in 1880 at the Foley Roadhouse, a combination tavern and hotel that operated close to the present-day Interstate highway. A third grave is thought to hold another man who died at the Roadhouse, of natural causes in 1881. , For many years a handmade sign described three of the six as "buffalo hunters," evoking scenes that followed the Indian Wars, when huge bison herds were killed for their hides, for amusement, and to eliminate the core of western native cultures. Decades later, incidents continued occurring in this area reminiscent of other "Wild West" stereotypes-in 1917 the Terry newspaper reported that two inmates "were accidentally shot in the city jail by the town Marshall."