The Kansas herald of freedom., 1856-04-12
For the Herald If Freedom.
The North American Buffalo.


ploration by Europeans. Il abounded
in the present States of Missouri. Ken
tucky, Illinois and Ohio as late as the
year 1880. It has been supposd by
some writers even to have roamed over
the grassy plains of Oregon and Cali
fornia, and even as far down as the
Southern termination of the valley of;
the City of Mexico, and on the niesas
of Chihuahua. Durango and Sonora,
lateral to the Sierra Madre of Mexico.
Its present range is now eofned be-
tween the atitudes of Lake Athabasca
in Go North, and that of Matamoras of
the Rio Grande in go North; or cover
ing a superficial extent of over two hun
dred and forty millions of square acres.
| The most of this range is land of grass
and prairies, crossed by numerous
streams of plentiful water flowing from
the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi
and Gulf of Mexico; and forming one
of the noblest pastoral countries in the
world, capable of sustaining millions
and millions of beasts fit for the use of
man.
Many attempts have peen made 10 do
mesticate the buffalo, the most of which
have succeeded when the animal was
raised from the calf. This has been eff
fected in Missouri, Kentucky and Texas.
If the Buffalo COW is crossed with q
Bull of the domestic species. it brings
forth, as is said, fine breed of draught
cattle, the meat of which is stated to be
much superior in flavor to ordinary
butchers beef. Ii the domestic Cow is
crossed with Buffalo bull, mother ma
ture puts the female into such agonies,
that death ensues in the process of deliv-
cry.
It is certainly very singular that the
enterprising settlers of the frontiers of
the West have never succeeded in tanning
some of the immense droves of the
Buffalo which visit their neighborhod
every year. One would think that a
company of mounted frontiersmen could
easily try the experiment among the
hundreds of thousands which come
down annually over the Eastern prairies,
and Immediately on TO the track of the
Pasifc emigration. The new Territory of
Kansas is much better adapted to tanning
and raising Buffaloes, than to form
campaign grounds of hostile sectional
Americans, who can certainly never con-
quer each other, with all the Sharp's
rifles and Colts revolvers in the world.
Try it my valiant Bellicosities-your
wranglesome energies will be exhausted
on beneficial purpose.
The Buffalo of India and the Eastern
Archipelago is distinct species from
that OF the Bison or Cibola of North A
merica. 1t is much more intractable
and stubborn in its nature, and when in
i wild state, is considered by the natives
OF those countries as actually more dan
gerous to meet than the tiger o the
Iungles. This fact is well authenticated
by many English hunters in Ceylon and
lndia-the English sportsmen there
away, to make sure of him, use large
bore rifle, with iron or copper balls. 1t
is always found in the marshes and gras-
sy gIades of the jungle forests of the hot
coas.s of Ceylon, the Bay OF Bengal, ST.
sm, Cochin China, the large islands of
the Archipelago and the Southern coun-
tries of China. In these regions, it is
found often in great numbers. 1t is a.
bout one-quarter larger than the Amer
ican Bison, has very thick skin of
blush color, sprinkled with short coarse
hair, and very ugly, wicked physiog
nomy, Illuminated with redish eyes of
most develish aspect--its mouth has a
pair of thick lips, which can assume a
curl, malignant and wretched, surpass-
ling the likes of anything of vice and
scornful hatred of the base part of hu-
mainly.
/ However, like the civilised and the
wild Arab outlaw, the Buffalo of the
Orient can be captured, conquered, dist
pinned, and finally tanned and domesli-
Gated to carry the yoke of labor and civ
lilization; he then becomes useful servant
to man, and leads the plough over the
tongh soil with greater strength and abil-
Iity than any other animal except the
elephant.
1t has a hump near the shoulders,
which, with the tongue. are the only
parts eaten by Europeans-the remain
der of its flesh being coarse and rather
strong in hayr. It's food is plantain
leaves and succulent swamp grasses-its
life and pleasure is among the marshes
and pools of river banks and thick for
ests. In the rutting season it is fero-
c;ous, when in the tame state-in the wild
state, it will often attack tigers and ele-
phants. 1t has been used as a draught
animal in the countries before mentioned
from time iqmemorial; It's strength,
stubborness and indocity greatly exceed
that of the Buffalo of the Great Prairies
of Western America. The habits OF the
Oriental brute are entirely and distinctly
different from the noble animal OF our
occidental plains, which we lear will be-
come entirely extinct from the earth, if
the Western frontiersmen do not within
few wears corral and tame them to the
use of civiliza.ion. To effect this, every
facility is now being opened by the on
ward march of colonization and setLle-
mene into those intermiuabie pastoral re-
gions, which are destined 20 sustain and
support millions of men, who promise
to be the yerysSinew and back bone of