The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-07-28
RARE SPECIMEN
FOR SMITHSONIAN
Explorer Sends Skeleton Of
Wildwood Bison from Only
Herd IN the World.
FOUND In CANADA
Harry v. Radfoed, American Explorer,
Who Discovered Animals, Con-
tinues Explorations.

Edmonton, Alta, July T.-Harry v.
Radford. the American explorer. who
discovered a large herd of wild bison
in the Great Slave Lake District Of the
Hudson Bay county recently sent a
note to the outpost on Herschel
Island telling the factor in charge
OF the trading station that he in
tended to work farther north and prob
ably would remain in the country until
1915. He has adopted the dress of the
Eskimos and will live with them the
latter part of his stay.
Howard Allen, who Is interested in
two whaling outfits which 90 out from
Herschel every year. and who has passed
the last four years on the Arctic Coast
brought the foregoing news to Edmon-
ton yesterday. This is the first authentic
word received on the outside in several
years from the explorer who has been
in the North four years. making a
special study of animal life
Winters in Barren Lands.
1.-THE half-breed guide laid in a stock
OF supplies at Herschel" Allen said
He brought word that Radford would
not need any more provisions until he
was ready to take the homeward trail,
as he intended to stay with the Eski-
mos.
There was a report two years ago
that Radford had lost his mind. also
that the guide. who accompanied him
from Edmonton. had deserted him close
to the Barren Lands The last part is
true, but we were told that Radford had
secured native guides. and is now con-
tinuing his investigations"
Radford spent the winter of 19Il-l2
along the Trenton River. across the Bar
rem Lands. after leaving Fort Resolution.
J. Harding. factor for the Hudson's Bay
Company at the last-named trading post,
on Great Slave Lake. brought news to
Edmonton last September that Radford
was alive and well at Trenton River,
where he made investigations. The ex-
p!orer was seen by ,fur-traders, who
talked with him and carried his message
to the outside world
Radford, who is widely known in sci
entific circles. had as the object of his
expedition to visit the home of the wood
bison in the almost unknown region of
Northwestern Canada, west of the Slave
River and north of the lower Peace
River. This expedition started in 1903
and has included track surveys over
many hundreds of miles. and furnished
Radford the opportunity of closely study
ing the wood bison in its haunts. and
of making the first recorded observations
of this rare animal in life.
Specimen for Smithsonian.
Eighteen specimens were seen by him
during the first part of his exploration
tour, and under a permit from the |
Canadian government one was killed by |
him. 1t weighed 2, p2 pounds Both the |
skin and skeleton were preserved The
skin was presented by Radford to the |
provincial museum in Edmonton, while |
-
al Museum in Washington. The skeleton |
and the skull are fine specimens. and
the skeleton is probably the only one
of wild buffalo IN any museum. |
The existence of this race OF buffalo |
has been asserted by hunters and tray-
elers in this portion of the Great West |
and many have been the opinions of |
naturalists as to the relations of this |
so-called wood buffalo to that of the |
plains. Until recently the subject has |
been confined to theory and hunters |
stories |
DR.. Gerritts Miller, curator of the de- |
partment of mammals of the United !
States National Museum. and one of the |
worlds greatest authorities. says that |
the credit for establishing as fact the 1
existence of wood buffalo belongs to
Samuel Nicholson Rhoads, life member
of the Academy of Natural Sciences, o.
specimens of natural history in evtty |
State of the Union, Canada, British Co |
lumbia, Mexico, and South America.
Bisons Are DiGer~u
In a paper prepared f~r the Philadel-
phia Academy of Natural Sciences, in
1897. Rhoads gave the results of his ex-
tended search through all literature
touching on the subject, and also gave
the results of his examinations of |
specimen of the Canadian wood bison.
This description convinced him. and most
scientific men, that the wood bison and
the American prairie bison are of diff
ferent varieties.
The records of the department of man.
mails of the National Museum show that
DIR. William T. Hornaday. director of the
New York Geological Park. in his mono
graph on the American bison, written in
1889, while he was chief taXidermist of
the National Museum at Washington, re-
fused to assent to the claim that the
wood bison belonged to a different race
from the American prairie bison
At that time DIR. Hornaday had never
seen a wood bison. and, in the absence
of facts based on personal observation |
he contended there was not the slightest