Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-11-19
LAST OF THE BUFFALO,.
Railroads and Hide Hunters
Finishing the Animal.
The Remnants of Big Herd all That are
Left of Him in the Northwest

tlO lOoliuulUo VI u DlS llolu e,li ih"V oiO
Left Of Him in the Northwest
During recent day a reporter
strolled into wholesale fur dealers to
solace himself with a view of the hairy
integuments which suggested winters
cooling blasts A large pile of bison
robes attraced his gaze, and to him
the proprietor said;
"Better buy one and frame it, my
boy"
Frame it?"
"Yes. In about five years from now
they'll be as scarce as silver fox skins,
and five times as useful"
"Why, what was the catch this
year?"
-Four"
"Four what? Thousand?"
"No, sir; plain four. In other
words, there wasn't any catch this
year, and our firm corralled six out OF
the ten thousand of the catch of 1855
"Do you mean to tell me that the
buffalo have disappeared from the lace
of Dakota and Montana earth?"
"Practically, yes; and from all other
earth In the Northwest as well. The
remnants of the big band, numbering
probably a few thousand, are some
where north of the international line;
no one seems to know clearly where,
but probably in the remote vicinity OF
Woody Mountain. There are few on
the Upper Moreau, and still fewer on
the plains between the James River
and the Missouri and about the forty
sixth parallel An old bull was re-
Gently driven into Fort Meade, along
with lot of domestic catJle, by the
COWBOYS. lie looked like the last of
his race, and if he has any fellows they
cant be found"
"WhaG did you use to call a big
yearly catch"
"Well, in the year after the North
ern Pacific was opened through to the
Little Missouri, 1881 | think it was,
Northwestern traders got in about
100000 robes. You see the railroad
let in the hide-hunters, and as the buff
falo happened to be south of the line,
and within reaching distance of the
Missouri and transportation, the out
put was very large. Thousands upon
thousands were killed whose hides
were never removed, and of the thous.
ands large majority furnished only a
few pounds of tenderloin to the rapa
cious ri1emen. We've been talking fol
years about the tilue when the buffalo
would be practically extinct Now
that time has come, and it's too late fol
protective laws. Such laws could moi
have been enforced against the Indians
but they might have been against the
white hide-hunters and the rich sports
men, who were the most wantoI
death-dealers of the lot"
"Can they be bred to domestic cat
tle?"
"Oh, yes, readily enough. But th'
hybrid, while good enough for meat, il
not of much use for robes. It's a pit,
there wasn't law enacted decade O
two ago making it penal offense TO
a white man even to shoot at buffalo
The Indians are not so ruthless in thei
destruction as have been claimed. and
besides, when they get robe and tai
it it is worth something, The robe
tanned in the East, or by whites any
where, are incomparably inferior t
these known to the trade as Indian
tanned. The reds take let of pains
and seem to have method which
while it leaves the hide pliable, leave
it of sufficient thickness and strengt
to hold the hair and withstand tn
rough usage all robes must expect t
undergo"
81 should be inclined to believe, fror
your remarks, that buffalo overcoat
will be worth good deal a few year
from now."
"a good deal? Well, if you ca
500 to $3.50 good DEAL agree wit
you. Seriously, there must be a subst
tute found for them, since am not eS
aggerating an iota as to scarcity. IS
Paul Pioneer-PreSs.