Joe S. McCombs killed 4,900 buffalo during the winter of 1877-78 along the head of the North Concho River, at Moss Creek Springs, and the big spring in present day Big Spring. Hundreds of other hunters had camps along the forks of the Concho River that year. In 1878-79 he moved west, to Mustang Springs, just a few miles northwest of present day Stanton. He killed less than a thousand buffalo. In 1881 cowboys found one buffalo cow in during a roundup that produced 10,000 cows in the range around Sweetwater. They roped the cow and branded it with all of the brands represented at the roundup. It was never seen again. The great herds were gone forever.
When I learned the above information in the 1983 West Texas Historical Association Yearbook, my imagination started percolating, and I created the following story of his last hunt…
"Boys, it's been a week since a buffalo wandered into Mustang Draw looking for water. All the hides of the ones we killed are dried and cured and today a freighter is supposed to come with a string of wagons to load them up and haul them east. We need to scatter - all of us need to ride in a different direction and look for the rainwater lakes and look for where the buffalo have gone." Joe looked at his three skinners and the young teen-aged roustabout that had begged to come along.
He shook his head and sighed. "None of you guys have much experience roaming these flat plains. You might get lost. I will draw you a map of the draws, the best that I know, but I haven't covered all of this country either. Mustang Draw is joined by another draw down south, and it splits into two a few miles upstream. In between the two forks are several salt lakes, which should be holding water. There are always much smaller clay bottom lakes, but unless that particular range has had recent rains, they may not have water. Don't go beyond the headwaters of the draws. There are 20 or 30 miles of dry before you reach the edge of the 'yarner' (the buffalo hunters' term for the Llano Estacado), and then you hit sand dunes where you might find water, but then it is another 10-30 miles or more to the Pecos River. You go too far and you will likely die of thirst."
Joe gestured up Mustang Draw. "About 10 miles upstream from here Mustang Draw splits. The North Fork is Mackenzie Draw. I don't think the colonel ever saw it, but one of his patrols named it after him. About 30 miles up, there is a big salt lake to the north of the draw - you might find it by looking for the cranes that spend the winter in it. If you find it, you will find a bunch of tipi poles on the north side in some rough country where there a bunch of cedars. Ol' Quanah was born there, and he was there last year looking for other Comanches that had left the reservation. I would be careful around there, just in case a few young Indians still are dreaming of the old days. Mackenzie Draw heads up in some in some sand dune country about 60 miles northwest."
He looked at the men. Nobody bothered to ask a question, which made him wonder if they would refuse to go alone out on the prairie. He continued, "The south fork goes west a few miles and splits again. The south fork of that goes about 60 miles. About 30 miles out there is a big salt lake south of the draw, and if you see cranes, follow them and check it out. People are calling that one Shafter Lake. The north fork goes northwest and splits into two or three draws. About 30-40 miles out, there are places in each of those draws where the Indians and Col. Shafter's black Seminole Indian scouts dug in the bottom of the draw and found water."
"As you are riding, look for signs of water. Look for plum thickets - that is a sure sign you can dig in the bottom of the draw and find water, especially if the bottom of the draw is sandy. Dig for water in the tight bends of the draw, if the ground is sandy. You mind find old scrapes the Indians dug, and if you do, dig a little upstream from the old scrapes. If you find tipi poles, dig there, too. Before you leave, we will fill up five or six buffalo stomachs with water for you to carry for the first day out. Give your horse water before you drink any. Fill the stomachs back up when you find water. If you find a rainwater lake, wade out into it and see how deep it is. If it is more than 3 feet deep, it might hold water most of the winter."
"If a blue norther hits, hole up. Find one of the densest little forests of hackberries or wild china and hunker down and wait the storm out. It will get warm again in a couple of days. You don't want to be caught out in the open. If the snow is falling you will lose your way if try to keep riding, and you will freeze to death because of the wind. Each one of you will take your buffalo robe so you can keep warm. If you see any wagon tracks in one of the draws, do not go up it. I know ol' George Causey is still hunting out of Yellowhouse Lake about 120 miles north of here, but I bet he has hit hard times, too. I think we have killed most of the buffalo - I don't think we will find many more, every again. The ones we are finding this year are the ones smart enough to run west during last year's hunt. The buffalo didn't normally go on the Yarner unless there was lots of rain. This year wasn't as dry as last year when Nolan got lost and had four men die, but it wasn't a wet year, not by a long shot."
The men did refuse to go alone, so Joe McCombs decided to take the outfit up Monahans Draw and take the south fork. They found Shafter Lake, alright, but no buffalo. They went up Mackenzie Draw, and found Cedar Lake, too, and found carcasses left behind by Causey. After that, McCombs called it quits.
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