Scotty Philip, The Man Who saved the Buffalo

by Wayne C. Lee, illustrated (Illustrator)

James "Scotty" Philip came to America from his native Scotland in 1874 when he was 16. At 17, he was in the Black Hills illegally, looking for gold. Twice he was escorted out by the army. He returned in the big rush of 1876 but he found no gold. Then began a series of adventures as a teamster, cowboy, rancher, and freighter. He was scout for the army at Ft. Robinson during the Dull Knife outbreak. He married the daughter of a Sioux woman and a French voyageur whose Sioux blood gave her land right on the new Pine Ridge Reservation where Scotty moved his family and where he built a cattle empire. He was called back as army scout during the Ghost Dance craze that ended in the battle of Wounded Knee. He built a town by lost the fight for the county seat. Later he was elected to the South Dakota Senate.Seeing the vanishing buffalo and deploring the loss, he salvaged Pete Dupree's herd of buffalo when it appeared doomed. Building a buffalo-tight fence around thousands of leased acres near Fort Pierre, he allowed his buffalo herd to crow until he had nearly a thousand head when he died. He sold or gave many of his buffalo to National Parks, state parks and reserves, and after his death many more were distributed to areas where they would be protected. Most of the buffalo east of the Rockies today are descendants of Scotty's herd. He and Ed Lemmon were the first two men from South Dakota to be inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovd this book I did not know about this man even though I read a lot of history about this time period. He was a good man seemed to be loved led. Y many .

[Mary Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old book with a true story accompanied by great historical photographs about one of the icons of the American West. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Alan Haarstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is a little bit meandering, but the story is so compelling that it doesn't detract. I would reccomend.

[Hubert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was initally skeptical about this exuberant biography of a rancher, real estate developer, Army scout, and gold prospector in the Dakota territories / states around the late 1800s, but upon reading it, found Scotty Philip to be quite the fascinating, intriguing, and worthwhile figure. We learn of his work as a gold prospector, his observation about skirmishes between white Eurocentric settlers and Native Americans - here the author doesn't dwell the topic, other than to note in brief that whatever the white man wants from the Native Americans, it usually gets.

Despite the title, the focus on buffalo doesn't arrive until the last quarter of the book. The author describes some significant differences in herding technique between cattle and buffalo.

Philip comes off as a successful entrepreneur who was savvy with finances, smart with investments, and skilled on the ranch and in the fields.

Some space is also devoted to his family (both the family in Scotland) and the one that he builds with his wife. It's tough to have lost half his kids, many as infants.

Though you pick up the book - and might think it's written at an 8th grade level - the story is rather gripping. It can make the reader feel nostalgic about the imagined Wild West, as settlers pushed out Native Americans, as ranchers displayed skills including fence building and rounding up of cattle. To some extent, the story does really advocate for the American dream and the power it can have on us all.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of Scotty Philip who came to America with nothing but dreams and accomplished so much in his 53 years of life. Men who had this much drive amaze me. He was successful in nearly everything he got involved in, and he had the foresight to purchase some of the last remaining buffaloes and create a herd over many years.