Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-28
Sympathy With the Movement.


The interest of scientific bodies is being
aroused and almost every day we hear of
some sportsman's club or natural history
falo and passing resolutions expressing
sympathy with the movement now on foot
to save him.
Some have gone even further than this
and are even now agitating the question
or organizing a national society whose
object shall be to arrange for the preserva-
ton of the typical American mammal. The
first step has been taken, the men and We
men who took it are in earnest, and 1t Is
safe to predict that before the buffalo has
grown his heavy coat to protect him from
next winters cold his friends will have
gathered around him in force for the pur-
pose of protecting him from the colder
hand of the fate which now threatens his
existence. And when these people have
once organized l believe that the preserva
ton of the bison will no longer be one of
the objects which should be accomplish
ed,'' but rather one of those which must
be and shall be" accomplished.
Cooperation Necessary.
In the meantime it is very desirable that
those who are now and who for months
have been working so hard for this cause
should be assured of the cooperation of all
who have the interest of our native animals
at heart. The success of the movement
would be beneficial to the entire nation, and
therefore 1t should have the support of the
nation. That means the support of the
reader of this article, just as much as that
of the man in Cincinnati or st. Louis. The
preservation of the buffalo is probably de-
pendent on governmental action in the mat
ter, since in the hands of the government
will it be quite as safe from those who are
continually offering big prices for heads
and hides. In other words the matter is in
"a hn Anyala and r,atF adAr-i 10
one of these. Every set of resolutions that
is passed favoring the movement, every let
ter addressed to me at Meriden, N. H., will
help the cause of the buffalo and will bring
nearer to us the day when this great ami
NAL will be out of danger
In the entire United States there are now
only 600-odd buffaloes, exclusive of those
confined in public parks and gardens, and
which cannot be counted on to assist in the
perpetuation of the race. The majority of
these are in three herds, the Corbin herd at
Newport, N. H.; the Pablo-Allard herds in
Montana and the James Philips herd in
South Dakota. If tuberculosis or other con-
tagious disease were to carry off any one of
these herds the fate of the race would prob
ably be sealed, as even now there are none
too many strains to allow for the necessary
interchange of blood. This danger could be
avoided at once If the government divided
these herds into smaller ones and provided
for their maintenance on separate reserva-
tons.
A Plainsman's Views.
While talking ON this subject with an old
plainsman the other day he remarked:
well, there is no other native animal
toward which Americans should have so
kindly feeling for. the buffalo; it has
done more toward the civilization of the
country than all the fest put together. To
the explorers and early settlers it was an
unfailing supply of the best kind of food.
and many a hundred times have thirsty
travellers been more than grateful for the
lows. And who shall say how many thou
sands have enjoyed the luxury of a fire on
the treeless plains of the west, when but
for the constant supply OF buffalo chips
they would have been obliged to spend the
days and nights DAM. cold and miserable?
Save the buffalo? Well, should say they
ought to, rather
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.