The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1904-06-03
SOME WHITE "BuFrALoEs."
Animals Seen in the Northwest Il
Early Times Were in All Prob
ability Antelope.

In the year 1sVl Alexander MacKeL
lie published his remarkable .'Voy-
ages from Montreal" and revealed to
the world vast amount of new. infor-
nation as to what existed in the in.
terror of northwestern America. Rs
gave a detailed account of his lon4
and arduous voyage from the Lake
of the Hills, or Athabasca lake, down
the great river, through Great Slave
lake to the frozen ocean, and Of his
subsequent journey up Peace river,
across the Rocky mountains, through
what is now Central British Colum-
bia to the Pacific ocean north of Van
couver island, says Forest and Stream.
The record is one of infinite toll, re-
quiring unfaltering determination and
splendid hardihood, for the journey
was through unknown wastes among
unknown people to an unknown sea,
and the man who accomplished it gave
to one of the greatest streams of the
continent his undying name. The &C
count of his journey is to-day almost
rs interesting reading as 100 years ago,
and it abounds in curious and fascinat-
ing statements.
One of them possesses especial in
ierest, as showing how easy it is to
De misled by statements made in per-
.ect good faith, and well exemplifies
he human characteristics OF 'compar-
ng unknown objects which are de-
icribed to us with objects which We
Inow we'll, even though this compari-
ION may, in fact, be altogether errone-
GUS and misleading.
In Mackenzie's account of his de-
scent of the river which has since
borne his name, he speaks of range
If mountains seen to the west, con.
.erning which he was told that bears
we're there abundant, and also small
white buffalo. Again he says tina.
| certain of the natives said that they
nad never, been beyond these noun
aims, to which, however, 1t was their
custom to go to hunt the small white
| buffalo which were there abundant.
IN other places in his narrative these
small white buffalo are mentioned.
Many of the natives whom he met
IN this river had never before seen a
white man. They were still using
Knives and other cutting implements
made Of. stone, and some of them
seemed to care very little for iron,
though expressing the greatest ad-
miration and desire for the beads
which Mackenzie had taken along for
| trade.
| Mackenzie could not speak the
tongue used by these natives, but he
had with him an Interpreter who was
of the linguistic stock to which they
belonged, and who could speak, be-
sides, the Cree language. Mackenzie
| talked in Cree with the Interpreter
| who then turned the Cree into Chip
pewayan. This interpreter was famil-
lar enough with buffalo, but since hs
came from the lower country we may
feel sure that he knew nothing of the
mountains or of the animals inhab.
| iting them, and when the small whit;
buffalo were spoken of by their Chip
| pewayan name We may feel quite GER
| tain also that he did not know wha
the animals were, and that it wa:
necessary for the Indians to describ:
these white buffalo to him. Wha
would they have said? They wouiC
|
long, shaggy hair, especially in from
part of the body, with long hair OF
the fore legs down to the knees, will
beard, with hump on its back
holding it's head low, and with blacl
horns. In other words, an ANNA
which. except for its size and color
would be described in terms tina
would exactly fit the buffalo. o
course, if the detail of the horns o.
the tail had been injured about, i
would at once have appeared tina
these were not buffalo but omittins
particular inquiry as to these part
it is not strange that the interpretel
told the explorer that there wer
white buffalo in the mountains, ans
that the explorer believed it.
The naturalist of that Gay, If asked
what these white buffalo were, coult
not have replied; for at that date tn,
white antelope goat of the Rock,
mountains had not been described. Ye
this is unquestionably what the In
dams referred to, for even at the pres
ent day the mountains in question ar,
said to abound, as they did then, il
bears and white goats.