publications

Frontier Hunting Accidents



Dad is ready to hunt during a family outing near Broken Bow in 1889. History Nebraska RG2608-764



Hunting on the frontier had many drawbacks besides firearms accidents. Among them were mishaps to horses and the problems of preserving and safely storing game after it was killed. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on September 25, 1869, included a letter from Victor Vifquain describing his hunt along the Republican River south of Fort Kearny. Although Vifquain and his friends intended to hunt chiefly buffalo, they also bagged wild turkeys, elk, and antelope.



Vifquain said of one hunting mishap:




Mr. Danford of Lincoln, made a magnificent chase of an antelope, today. He was riding a magnificent little mare which once was captured by the Indians. He set out after it and was gaining rapidly, and was about ready to fire, when the mare set her foot into a badger’s hole and gave our hunter a terrible fall. In the midst of the dust, which for a second was prevalent, nothing could be seen but the mare’s tail in the performance of her terrible somersault. The rider was thrown to the ground some twelve feet ahead, with such a force that it made me think of a bomb shell plowing the soil. I rode towards the spot, fearing to find the man dead; but nothing of the sort, he was trying to tighten the girth of his saddle, and a nose bleeding was the only damage. These badger holes are extremely dangerous. I have tried that myself three or four times, and I advised chasers to be very careful about them.



Vifquain noted as the expedition was preparing to return home that “the meat was taken care of [perhaps dried], but some twelve hundred pounds of elk meat got spoiled.”



Members of a hunting party from Lincoln several years later in 1877 also lost part of their game. From The Daily State Journal, November 10, 1877:




The hunting party, . . . that left this city last Tuesday, for a few days hunt in Iowa, returned yesterday afternoon, bringing home with them about one hundred mallard and teal ducks. The party had a pleasant time and enjoyed themselves hugely. When they arrived at the lake they found it partially frozen over, and the ducks not so numerous as they were the week before. The party estimated that they shot about 200 . . . , but a herd of hogs getting into their tent when they were absent, devoured about twenty-five, and seventy-five which they killed or crippled on the lake they could not recover.



 

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

Other Publications

The Bachelors’ Protective Union of Kearney

When the Bachelors' Protective Union gave a gala reception for two of its newly married, former members and their brides in March of 1890, the social club for young, ...

U.S. Weather Bureau in 1890s Nebraska

The U.S. Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It took over the weather service that had been established in the office of the Chief ...

Canning the Way to Victory

During American participation in World War I the U.S. Food Administration, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, launched a massive campaign to persuade Americans to ...

The Shoemaker’s Ashes

"Edward Kuehl, one of the most peculiar characters that ever lived in Omaha, or anywhere else, was found dead in his bed last night in the back room of his place of ...

Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger Foreward

Red Dog, an Oglala Lakota who lived at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska, 1876-77 (Nebraska State Historical Society RG2955.ph).   In the summer of 1876, following the ...

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), a native Nebraskan, produced some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films. He helped found 20th Century Fox ...

The Burlington’s Profitable Pork Special

Nebraska railroads were much concerned with developing an adequate economy in the areas they served. The Burlington, for example, had a long history of caring for the ...

Bungalow Filling Stations

After the giant Standard Oil Company was broken into thirty-four separate companies in 1911, the newly independent Standard Oil of Nebraska dominated the state's market ...

The Bull Fight

This is the perfect time of year for a visit to the old fishin' hole. But a group of fisherfolk from Plainview discovered that this bucolic pastime sometimes has ...

Buffalo Soldiers West

African-American soldiers on the western frontier are the focus of an exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. Buffalo Soldiers West, on loan from the Colorado ...

Protection for Buffalo

The extermination of the buffalo on the Plains occurred largely between 1870 and 1885. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on February 1, 1874, editorialized in vain ...

Buffalo Hunting

In late October 1877 young Rolf Johnson and three friends left their homes in Phelps County, Nebraska, for a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado. The hunt was not very ...
About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of History Nebraska members.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast.

Nebraska Collections

History Nebraska's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.