The following is from the reminiscence of James Virden:

    "In the winter of 1846-7 William Virden, a brother of mine, and I were trapping for beaver and mink along the Cedar River. At that time sufficient snow had fallen to make trapping easy. One afternoon when out trapping we found a trail of what we supposed were cattle tracks. Thinking that we could follow for a longer distance with a team than on foot we went home and prepared for a hunt for the next day. We set out the next morning, driving a yoke of oxen hitched to a large log sled. After a short time we struck the trail at where now Virden’s Grove is located on the Black Hawk Creek, four miles south of Waterloo. We followed the trail until we came within three miles of where Hudson now stands. We then tied our oxen and started on foot along the creek. After a walk of nearly a mile we came upon the buffaloes. They were standing in a thicket of trees. We were much surprised and by the actions of the animals we decided that they were not in the habit of being so near human life. They turned suddenly, broke cover, and started up the creek on the run. We pursued them for nearly a hundred yards, when they stopped, turned, and looked back at us to see if we were still there. But we had dropped among the tall, brown rushes and had crept forward until we were close enough to shoot one. I took aim and fired. On hearing the report of my gun they set out at a rapid rate toward the prairies. We followed them for half a mile, where in a hollow amongst the hills we saw great drops of blood on the snow. On a few feet farther, back of a cliff, we saw a buffalo struggling on the ground. It was the one I had wounded when I fired at the herd. The animal still continued to struggle, so I fired again and she fell dead. On examining the result of our chase we found it to be a buffalo cow nearly four years old. When I arose to my feet I glanced up at the sun and noticed that it was lowering in the West. So we concluded that we would not follow the rest of the herd any farther that night. Leaving my brother in care of our much-prized beef I went back for the oxen and sled. By the time I again arrived on the scene William had the buffalo skinned and we loaded her into the sled and started back home, well pleased. When we reached home the wind had arisen and the air became freezing cold. My brother predicted a storm. The next morning the wind blew a gale and snow flew in every direction. We quickly decided that we would not venture out that day. And that settled our buffalo hunt."