The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-17
HOW THE BISON Persisted.
MILLIONS or 7HEI SLAIN Br BUNT-
LRs ~ 4 REV YEARS.
One Herd That WAS fifty Miles wide and
Took Five Days to Pass Another That
Overturned II railroad Train In Kansas
A DrpIorabIe War OF determination.

From me SctthtDtc imeTicIn.
Onc Of the most extraordinary events that
has characterized the last half Of the present 7
century is the determination, tho wiping out /
Of the American bison There Isl little use in .
resorting to inycctivc or cndcoyorng to stigmatle
those who arc guilty Of this crime, but II would
be well il the acts could b. held up In bright /
light that those VINO committed them might !
b. cxcoriatcd in the time To- come, when n few /
bones aud pictures will alone tell the story Of
mighty race swept from Ia, face of the earth by |
the civilized people Of the nineteenth century.
In 1870, and later said an army officer to
the writer the plains We're alive with bison. and
in crossing at places had difficulty in avoiding
them So vast were the herds II any one had
told me then that in twenty or thirty years they
would have become almost entirely extinct |
should have regarded the statement rs that OF
an insane person
That 50 many of these animals could have been
killed in mere wantOnncss seems incredible when
their vast numbers are realized. We ht5t hear
OF the bison from COrtcz and his followers in lo2l
Mont, yuma had Que In geological garden the
specimen, In all probability, having brcn caught
in Coahuila. In 1880 CHb'La saw them in Texas:
aud in 1912 Coronado found u herd in what Il
now the Indian Territory, one of his officers
drgcribirE them ns horrible blasts that demon.
allied The horses In 1912 Sir Samuel Mgol
nl,srtl I'd herds oi bison near the national capital
and, III oil probability, 2S7 years ego hrrdH Of
Al Washington In 1873 Father llcnncuin Oh
served them in what Is now northern Illinois,
md in Octob'r lT29 Col W. Bird saw herds in
North Carolina rrG Virginia.
Thee and other facts have provided data by
which TIC early geographical distribution OF the
bison has been determined. and il is known that
this grand animnl, that Is to-day rcprcscnted
tv a few individuals, formerly ranged IN mil.
lions rom the Atlantic SehhuHrd to the hulf OF
Mexico. rom Texas To the Great slave Lake.
anj az far west Hs Central Nevada. Us 90 their
hunters they were like the sands ~ the ecashutc,
and the accounts given 10y those who hunted them
twenty or thirty wears agn To day seen like NGgh
RIGS o! dienrdcred Inauguration, VI l!yrnsdny,
who has hunted in South and Central Africa,
where game is remarkably plentiful states that
the bison -. thls country pfcrinS To- 1870 cSrccucd
in all probability, ell the Arirhn game o every
kind An army officer IN scrNic" on The plains
In 1867 stated 10 the writer that On one occasion
hc was surrounded hy buiialUcs aud TINT from
tic top ol q small hill he could see nothing but
q black mass u their bodies Il was impossible
70 estimate tuet numbers @nh TIC party were In
pedc the rush 5oac irresistible col Dodge In
Ills memoirs, states that un urr occasion he rode
twenty Ave miles la Arkansas, always being in
herd o. buis!"rs ~ many small hrtis, Win but
a small separating strip between them. The ON.
mails paid but little attention T. him merely NOV.
Ing slowly out n ne way nr "dyon,iar. bringing
the whole herd o. thousands down ca atGi with
the roar " an nvalanch". This h" net bv stand
ing fast and firing when hey came within short
range the shot causing them TO divide. In one
day Col Dodge hillci twenty six bison from his
wagon. not IN spur1 but a, y prIte,iipn Olhrr
wisr they would have run him down aud crushed
msp. hursrS ana wagon
This herd Observed is col puigc was later
found 10 Lc fay miles wide and to occupy iiyn
!'Geys IN passing given point on IT'S Way north
From "a high rn.s, rom Wn,n points ten miles
distant could he seen 90 every GlrD n 30 the earth
seemed to le covered with bison To make m
accurate estimate " e." rnmtor' seen would
lr impossible but Mr liarngdly. rs O cpnScrva-
tive ralrulaton, cSumGtrs 'hat COL D"dg" must
have zen four hundred and eighty Thousand md
that the herd coupr.sed hall million 5uIal rcs
4 train on the Nau-H- Pacific 81 ~ that state
In iSDS passed between tAr towns If Ellsworth
ana sheridan 10 mcs through continuous
. herd OF hUiIaluC- They Wrrs packed - that
the earth was llack and more than orrc IN, Iratu
MAS stopped, ne NufElrg mass becoming menace
~ uu cannot believe the facts o., they c,is.cd
Ia the days of 1871 - SAID M army officer
i WAS at tnGt time IN duty 100 no" r.' Gr'ar''o =,
d Attnisbu IpJrke and Santa ir Railroad one
day the tram entered large hCru which scattered
Whsle enc. and tie fnm q tie, %' iii ~ We Vent INT
. on tic thicker they became uutl the very rHrtv
: aplc.ted 60 he a rolling mass NJ humps - lar
/ as We could see suddenly some ni the animals
ncrrc,t ~ turned anG CHANGED othrr, 'rll IN
/ behind. and down "a US they came like an ava
/ lanche The engineer STOPPED Gle engine, let
! of steam and whistcd To- stop them while we
fired rom the 81 t.urIas and windows with rifles
q and r., Overs but u was Ike irving 10 stay n
E to swat tn" crash some ui ne non going - tho
/ rear on they 'am" I'll" Garth 'f"uhl.nc. and
" plunged heads down Iuipus Some wcr" weiwri
b in hctw""n the rar>. others beneath and g." great
WAS the crush tHnt it"y ippulcd inr"" cars over
becoming begged 10y having his legs caught m
the window such rr"l,"ui~ occurred several
los charging DuliDl,r- who's" numbers d wIs
imuoss,'l" O. rrmnui"
dstru-c ui irunI three To g." rIil.s rrr tI1t In"
b earth Urmb."d wl'n ,I.y charged w" can Vol
. irnyiu" when tho IErE" hul'. az known u w,.Eu
2UrI rounds. thu cow 100 pounds III"
question II interest t. day Is how wa, It uo,, 'Ul'
and yuat II, th"ts w,r. "mrloyrd Thr natural
f.r.N aTsi
rumb-Ts IN" rrU bison dHrlH%s little aii'c-
ton fo- her Young, and many calves were l"s'
/ extremely fayorHh." 20 them an th"ir increase
wss enormous Many ".f" d. .trwy"d By '!am-
or hall herd h'camc cntanri"d m IA" quick
san ) uf III" Platte River II nuuIhr- Tim" -
herd was lost by breaking through ihr ic" II Lac
On lnrlc in Minnesota. m" cold winters some
times killed many that remained IN thu FAR North;
but thrs' dangers w'rr az n",h'p. compare!
To man. Man soon found that the bunalws Ind
a value Thr Indians slaughtered them by tho
Thousand for their skins, bon" and for foot. they
Liilcd 100 ottcntmcs 10 s'cur" 1--WE, and waste
thrir numbers th0t doubtless tho Indian lnrOAde
upou th"m had littlc effect so for ,as "NtcEmina
ton H. conc r"'i Iiu' Win IN" whit" E'Nn II was
different. SOM wished Ia maxi r"curdS ard
li"d for sporG some llllcd Tor tn hides and herd,
SOM become pro-. sSi"uM buffalo butchers tC
rroyid" the gar. ~ railroad m.n WI'h meat
.laughtrrinu u magnificent animal for ITS tonru,
nlDu" II has been estimated that previous Il
1870 nearly three Gnnrt"ra Of million iGlo',
. r,uld have been Killed v"etly and III" herds ken
inart; how many Mcr killed ami wasted Ell
rovrr b known En'h gnignl however had :
| yrlur nj Ibis time cStiUHt. d by llrrnedey ~ 81
the robe. So 30; Tho tongue % rcnts. hird0u'rtc
meat So. homes horn and horts % cents, nNC
Ills was ~ licirnt tpu''rect IN army ofd,Strovrrs
The hides w,r' IA. greatest feature, Pud one
Am in New ork between 1870 aLI 1881 nj,
th" Ei'icrs nearly 81 600 600 or tohr xlct. SOa9
) | O7O fur tho rub.g aud hides which represent
The nnNi extinction Of III" animal, The Goyr,n
'tcrrgtcd I,,-sl,tprs and III rcr''c ol hl~h"
olhri-ls Another firm p",d S2lGoO0 for rob-"