Settlement of the Great Plains in the 1830s marked the beginning of the end for the great bison herds. Between 1830 and 1880, hunters and fur traders organized large-scale bison hunts, killing hundreds of thousands of bison for their hides. Thousands were killed just for their tongues, which were considered a delicacy. As many as 250 bison could be shot in one day by a skilled hunter, and a good skinner could remove the hide in five minutes. The peak of the bison trade was between 1870 and 1880 when as many as 250,000 hides were auctioned off in 1-2 days. The cumulative effect of this unregulated and unethical slaughter was the near-extinction of the American bison. By the turn of the twentieth century, the thundering herds of millions were reduced to less than 300 wild bison.