The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-11-21
ONLY A FEW LEFT.
The American Buffalo Has Be-
como Nearly Extinct.
Colorado tho Home of tho Remnin,nc
Members OF Countless Herds
Wanton Destruction OF
tho Animals.

There are about fifty buffalos still
ranging wild in Colorado, says the Den
YER Republican,. And yet one man. for
whom frontier Justice is waiting. re-
Gently killed five.
1t has been so generally and freouent-
Az stated and published that the Ameri-
can buffalo and bison have become com
pletely and thoroughly extinct that tho
general public has come to accent Il ms
"a fact and believe that the only speci-
mems are those which have become do
! dnesticatcd and are carefully housed
ana cared for in the several geological
gardens and parks.
mat there arc few of them remaining
on the plains is certainly true, but there
Inre enough, with proper protection, to
soon produce large herds. In this state,
where once there were thousands Of
Fhese animals, their number has been
rapidly reduced by hunters, who have
slain them simply for the momentary
pleasure they have experienced in kill
ing large game, until they now number
LESS than fifty and arc in four small
NERDS. These arc confined to the rough
'er and more sparsely populated dis
stricts, their habitations being IL more
effective protection to them than all
the state game laws ever enacted by the
general assembly.
So small had grown the number of
these distinctivcly American animals
that in 1889 the state legislature enact
ed law providing severe penalty for
the killing of IL single specimen before
the year 1900, thus allowing full ten
years Tor them to propagate, but in
spite OF this enactment word was re-
ceived but short time ago that some
one in the Kcnosha range had shot five
buffaloes State Game Warden Land
started at once to make IL special and
personal investigation of the case.
While out he has also made an extern
'sivc visit through the state, and he has
Just returned with an interesting ac-
count. He is somewhat discouraged
with many things connected with the
enforcement, or, moro properly, the
nonenforccmcnt of all the game laws,
and predicts that unless something
decisive is done, and that very soon, the
buffalo will not be the only family
wiped from the face of the earth. lie
reports most terrible slaughter of all
game during the last few months. lie
was asked in reference to the killing of
buffaloes
There arc now very few of thcm,"
no stated, and these, in our feeble
and crippled condition, we are cndeav-
oring to protect That five of them
were killed recently is IL fact, but 1
found that we could not convict the
guilty if we brought him to trial. He
admitted having killed five of them and
boasted of the fact to his friends, but
we could find no one, after n careful in
vestigation, who would testify against
him, and if he were arraigned lie
would, of course, say not guilty.
81 Judge that we have now in the
state something less than fifty buffa-
loes, and these are in four lunches.
One of these has recently been seen in
Middle park, and numbers but five.
Another, and possibly the largest, is
in the Kenosha range, and numbers
possibly twenty. The third, of ten or
fifteen head. is at Hahn's peak, in Routt
county. The fourth, and the smallest
except that at Middle park, is ct
Dolores"