Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-09-14
DAYS ON THE
PLAINS OF The WEST
Thousands of Buffaloes in q
Single Herd Was No
Uncommon Sight.
uNC OF OVER 1000, 900
indians Held a Superstitious Belief
That the Bison Issued from the
Earth in a Never Ending
Column.

Since the beginning Of the now wide
spread movement to preserve the buff
falo, and particularly since the organ
ization of the American Bison society,
it is interesting to consider the dis
covery of the animal, its life history
and methods of its eXtermination. says
Ernest Harold Baynes in the Boston
Herald.
Although authorities differ on this
subject. the buffalo was probably first
seen by white men In A~anahuac. tho
Aztec capital of Mexico, in 1921. when
CorteZ and his men paid their first
visit TO the menagerie of King Monte-
zuma Nine years later the animal was
first seen in a wild state in southern
Texas by a ship-wrecked Spanish sailor
who had very little to say about it
beyond remarking that he had eaten
the flesh, which in his Judgment was
finer and sweeter than the meat to be
had I'm Spain.
The next explorer to penetrate the
buffalo country was Coronado, who
crossed Arizona and New Mexico and
the southern part Of the Panhandle OF
Texas. In 1912 the expedition was
crossing the plains. which were de-
scribed as being ''as full of crooked
packed oxen as the mountain Serena in
Spain of sheep 1t Is from some OF
Coronado's. men that the first published
descriptions OF buffalo are given.
ir Countless Hordes.
How many buffaloes there were at
this time no one knows, and probably
no one ever will know, but there must
have been many. many millions. The
bufralo's range extended yer about
one-third of the entire continent OF
North America, from the inhospitable
shores Of the Great Silver lake on the
north to the scorching plains OF north
western Mexico on the south, n from
a line following closely but touch
ing the Atlantic coast on the east, and
across the Rocky mountains into New
Mexico, Utah and Idaho In the west.
These boundaries, OF course, marked
the limits of his range; It's center OF
abundance was the great plains region
of the west, where at certain times,
notably in the breeding season. the AMI
mails gathered in countless thousands,
darkening the earth as far as the eye
could reach when at rest, and when In
motion filling the air with dust n
with the thunder notes of their gallop-
ing hoofs. Even as late as 1871 this
animal was present In this country In
umbers almost beyond belief.
A faint idea OF the vast hordes which
made the prairies trembie beneath their
tread at that time may be had from an
account given by Colonel r. i. Dodge in
his plains OF the Great West"
I'm May, 1871, he says, Il drove in a
light wagon from old Fort cara to Fort
Larned on the Arkansas, thirty-four
miles. AT least twenty-five miles OF this
distance was through an immense herd
of countless smaller herds OF
buffalo then on their journey north.
The road ran along the broad, level
bottom. or valley of the river.
THE whole country appeared n
great mass of buffalo, moving slowly
to the northward. and 1t was only
when actually among them that II could
be ascertained that the apparently solid
mass was an agglomeration OF innum-
erable small herds of from fifty to 200
animals, separated from the surround
ing herds by greater or less space. but
still separated"
More Than 1000, 000.
It IS c~onservativeiy estimated that
Colonel Dodge saw at least 500, 900 buff
faloes, and these were but a fraction
Of q great herd of at least 4,OO0, 900, an
army greater in number h all the
men. women and children of Greater
New York put together. The Indians
OF some OF the tribes used to think that
the buffaloes issued from the earth In
an ~unfailing stream. and, indeed, IL
might readily seem difficult to account
for such number In any other way.
Is It any wonder that many men be-
lieyed thai II was quite impossible to
exterminate the bison? Yet In the short
space Of a dozen years from he date
on which Colonel Dodge passed through
the herd of 1000. 900 the buffalo had
ceased to exist as a wild animal In this
country.
This buffalo was gregarious In its
habits and at certain seasons the herds
were larger and more compact than al
others. Especially was this true OF the
breeding season, which came chiefly in
July and August. Then vast hordes
rntharaI nn thu nlafnc which vera the
scenes Of the greatest activity for sew
eral weeks, during which the roaring
Of the bulls was continuous n could
be heard for miles. There was also
much fighting mons the bulls. After
the breeding season the herds became
less densely massed. The compact
herds dissolved into groups of from
twenty to a hundred or two and the
usual peaceful life was resumed.
How They Travelled.
There Is no doubt that buffaloes were
migratory, but their migrations were
probably not nearly so extensive as
many people have supposed. In their
ordinary wandering buffaloes frequent
~ traveled for away from water, but
as they became thirsty the herd would
start to search for some spring or wa
ter course. The principal trails usual
Iy extended north and south and con
nected the rivers which, In the main,
hl GaoL Gin fN,oks ~ $500
led to the great salt ticks. such az the
Big Bone lick In Kentucky. WHICH was
frequented by buffaloes in vast num-
bers up to the beginning of the last
century, when, of course, the animal
disappeared forever from the country
east of the Mississippi.
Considering the great weight of thu
animal, the gallop OF a buffalo is a
very easy. elastic movement. In tho
wild state the buffslo was a very sure
footed animal and n good climber. 1t
not only ascended steep mountains,
along narrow lodges, where 1t would
have been impossible for a horse or
even a mule TO have followed, but was
able TO leap downward In places where
there was a sheer descent of several
feet and alight in safety In the rocks
below.
The buffaloes now in Corbin Park.
New Hampshire. where / have been
studying them for the last two years.
do not seem TO have lost any OF this
old time agility. az they seem to de-
light In tourneying up steep ascentn
to some OF the highest points OF Croy-
don mountain. and I have seen them
Ieaptng nimbly down from points fonr
feet above the ground. where thex hsvo
1xnded safely.
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