The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-20
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fBege were eHagt taNH efO fhfftt' I'VE
tesfe tes Ssw Nee'ty ~ NsNe
sine me t~eeittiNs ~ ne nos elite
spfsHd nsaveHeu, w pfes~fve IN" htHfals
ANT haferuGafly sine~ ihs ofeantsa,'on
sof tho lwsflssn Ham sucir'f N i in'ef
estins Nv ~enrsitlrf ih~ ilartveff ~ ihN art
msi is NE history ami ms'ipWla ~ W.
estsfmiea'loa, ssys Hfneat Hatnh 8tvn"a
In tHr hss'cp HsfsN
Although authorities diaef ~ this su'''
Je~t. the mtfelo pas prubabiv hff' ae'n NJ
white men In AhGhttae, the Aster capital
, ~ htsslco, In 1871, whsn Cortss n HE men
raid their ire, visit to The manaaaris ~
King Slon,etuma NlBs yesra later tho
anltnal xas nFs, aeon In q wilt state In sdish'
arm fssar by y shipwtrcked Spanish sallof
VIM had Very little 10 ny about " beyond
ramarhlha ihat IN had eaten The flesh, which
In Ma Judgment was finer n swre'et
than the meat ~ IN had In spain
The nest explorer 10 penetfate Tho bur.
faio country was Coronado. WIN crossed
Arizona and New Mealco and the southern
part NJ the Panhandle ~ Texas. IN ist2
the expedition was crossing Tho plains.
which were Described ~ beinE "Aa full
Of crooked hacked oxen ~ the mountain
. OFIFNN w FlNhu w HN"NfV'
sune ~ C~orunadn'a men that the nrHt pub
lished descriptions Of buffalo are given,
How many bunaloes there were NJ this
time no one knows.a and probably M one
ever will know, hut there must have been
many. many millions. The bufalo's range
extended over about one-third 81 the entire
continent of North America. from tho
inhospitablr shores Of tho Great silver
. 4 IL. -. a.. 18Th D., Nha afNnNThlnD nlRina
! Of north western Mexico on the south, and
from a line following closely but never
touching the Atlantic coast on the east
and across the Rocky Mountains into New
Mexic o, Utah end Idaho in the west, These
boundar ies, Of course, marked the limits
Of it's ranac; it's cen 10 Of abundance was
the great plains region OF the West where
at cert ain times, notably in the breeding
no ason. the animals gathered in countless
thousan ds. darkening the earth as far
az the eve could reach when at rest, and
when in motion filing the air With dust
and with the thunder notes Of their gaiiop,,
ing hoofs. Even az late as 1871 this animal
was present in this country IN numbers
almost beyond belief.
faint idea of the vast hordes which
made the prairies tremble beneath their
tread at that time may be had from an
account given by Col. X. ]. Dodge in
his plains of the Great Vest"
Elm Nav, ISL" he says. Il drove in a
light wagon from Did Fort lara to Fort
larned, On the Arkansas, thirty-four miles.
At least twenty-five miles OF this distance
was through an immense herd, composed 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 one great
mass of buffalo, moving. slowly to the
- - a~I Il ,rn an w yEhnn NE
among them that it could be ascertained
that the apparently solid mass was an ag-
glomeration Of innumerable small herds OF
from SO to 200 animals, separated from
the surrounding herds by greater or less
space, but still separated"
1t is oonservatively estimated that Col:
Dodge saw at least 500 600 buffaloes. and
these were but a fraction OF a great herd OF
at least 4 y0O0, 900, an army greater N NUMBER
than all the men, women and children OF
Greater New York put together. The In
dams of some Of the tribes used to think that
the bufTaloes issued from the earth In an I'M
failing stream, and indeed, 1T might readily
seem difficult to account for such numbers
in any other way. Is it any wonder that
many men believed that it was quite impos-
sihle to exterminate the bison? Yet in the
short space of a dozen years from the date
on which Col. Dodge passed through that
herd OF 1000, 600 the buffalo had ceased to
exist as n wild animal in this country.
This buffalo was g~regarious in its habits
and at certain seasons the herds were
larger and more compact than at others
Especially was this true OF the breeding sea
son, which came chiefly in July and August.
Then vast hordes gathered on the plains,
which were the scenes Of the greatest activ-
ity for several weeks, during which the
roaring Of the bulls was continuous and
much fighting among the bulls, After the
breeding season the herds became less
densely massed. The compact herds dis
solved into groups OF from twenty TO q
hundred or two, and the usual peaceful
life was resumed.
There is no doubt that buffaIoes were
migratory, but their migrations were prob
ably not nearly 80 extensive as many people
have supposed. In their ordinary wander
ings, buffaloes frequently travelled far away
from water, but as they became thirsty
the herd would start in search Of some
spring or water course. The, principal
trails usually extended north and south
and connected the rivers which, In the
led to the great salt ticks, such as the Big
Bone Lick in Kentucky, which was fire.
ouented by buffaloes in vast numbers up to
the beginning Of the last century, when,
Of course. the animal disappeared forever
Considering the great weight OF the
animal, the gallop Of q buffalo is a very
easy, elastic movement. In the wild state
the buffalo wa a very sure footed animal
steep mountains, along narrow lodges.
where it would have been impossible for
a horse or even a mule to have followed,
but wa able to leap downward in places
where there was a sheer descent OF several
feet and alight in safety or the rocks below.
The bufaloes now In Corbin Park, New
Hampshire, where I nave been studying
them for the last two years, do not seem
TO have lost any Of this old time agility, as
they seem to delight in journeying up
otaan aaranfs RI aOrna NJ tho hi0baat Vn;pfa
Of Croydon Mountain, and l nave seen them
leaping nimbly down from points four feet
above the ground, where they have landed
safely.
The Oldest Whaling Vessel.