Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-05-19
SOME WHITE "BUFFALCES."
Animals Seen in the Northwest in
Early Times Were in All Prob
ability Antelope.
In the year 1901 Alexander Macken-

In the year 1901 Alexander Macken-
zie published his remarkable "Voy-
ages from Montreal" and revealed to
the world a vast amount OF new infor-
nation as to what existed in the in
terror of northwestern America. 1:s
gave a detailed account of his long
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 Column
bia to the Pacific ocean north of Van
couver island, says Forest and Stream.
The record is one of infinite toll, re-
curing 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 n of the greatest streams Of the
continent his undying name. The ac-
count of his journey is to-day almost
as interesting reading as 100 years ago,
and it abounds in curious and fascinat-
ing statements.
One of them possesses especial in
terest, as showing how easy it is to
be misled by statements made in per-
feet good faith, and we'll exemplifies
the human characteristics of compar-
ing unknown objects which are de-
scribed to us with objects which we
know well, even though this COMPARE
son may, in fact, be altogether errone-
GUS and misleading.
In M~ackenzie's account of his de-
scent of the river which has since
borne his name, he speaks of a range
of mountains seen to the west, con-
corning which he was told that bears
were there abundant, and also small
white buffalo. Again he says that
certain of the natives said that they
had never been beyond these noun
tains, 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
on 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 fol
trade.
Mackenzie could not speak the
tongue used by these natives, but hs
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 h
came from the lower country we ma!
feel sure that he knew nothing of thu
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 woui
have told of an animal covered wit
long, shaggy hair, especially in from
MORT of tbn hnIv with 1ppu hair ~
the fore legs down to the knees, witt
a beard, with a hump on its back
holding its head low, and with blacl
horns. In other words, an anima
which, except for its size and color
would be described in terms tina
would exactly fit the buffalo. 0
course, if the detail of the horns o
the tail had been injured about, i
would at one have appeared tina
these were not buffalo, but omittin
particular inquiry as to these part
J it is not strange that the interprete
told the explorer that there wer
: white buffalo in the mountains, an
that the explorer believed 1t.
!, The naturalist of that day, if aske
what these white buffalo were, coul
not have replied; for at that date tn
white antelope goat of the Rock
mountains had not been described. Ye
this is unq~uestionably 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, i
bears and white goats.