Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-06
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buffalo of the American plains,
which roamed the prairies in
countless millions a century ago
and became practically extinct
within a few decades after the
killing of the animals for their
hides became a commercial in
dustry. It is believed that no
other great animal family was
ever wiped out so rapidly.
The American bison was
found by the first colonists of
the Carolinas, and other of the
southern and middle states,
from which parts of the contin-
ent they were soon frightened
away or exterminated. In TIE
latter part of the eighteenth
century they were seen in a
wild state in Kentucky. Early
in the nineteenth century most
of these animals in the region
east of the Mississippi were ex-
terminated or had found their
way to the prairies west Of the
great river. The earliest ac-
count Of buffalo given by white
men is that of Coronado, who
saw great herds of them on his
march northward from Mexico
in 1885, between the Missouri
river and the Rocky mountains.
One Of the earliest buffalo
hunts on a big scale was that
described by M. Nicollet in the
late 30's which took place near
Fort Pierre, in South Dakota.
Horace Greedy, in his journey
across the continent by stage
in 1859, encountered herds es-
timated to number millions in
western Kansas.
The number of buffalo in the West
in the early '70s was estimated rough
ly at from 10 to 20 millions. They
ranged from Mexico north to the Arc
tic circle as far as the Great Slave
lake, but their natural home was on
the plains between the Missouri river
and the Rocky mountains. and not far
Their south than the Rio Grande. Out
side the limits of their real habitat.
the few small herds that existed were
stragglers. Daniel Boone once found
a herd in Kentucky that numbered
1000, but that was a large one for
that territory.
For years a goodly portion of the
meat consumed by early settlers in
the Middle West and West was cut
from the carcass of the shaggy animal
which so long existed as monarch of
the plains. Thousands of people who
crossed the plains in wagon trains
drew their supply of meat from the
same source. Buffalo trails were fol-
lowed westward because it was known
that they would lead to water. "Buf-
falo chips even furnished fuel to the
plainsmen. The hides furnished many
white men with garments and mecca
sins, as well as bedding.
Made Possible Pacific Railroad
The building of the first railroad to
the Pacific was made possible at so
carly a date because the buffalo exist
ed. From the mighty herds the army
of railroad builders drew their daily
supplies of fresh meat. and thousands
of the animals were slaughtered for
food annually while the work of lay
ing rails was pushed forward. For q
few years in the '70s the railroads did
an enormous business carrying train
loads of buffalo hides and bones, which
for a period formed the principal COM
nercial product of the plains. Many
settlers, beset by crop failures, gath
cred bones and sold them to make a
living.
The buffalo In color is brown. but
the shade varies as the seasons adj
vance. 1t is in every respect a pc
crliar animal, unlike any other. A
characteristic of the buffalo is that it
never trots, but either walks or gal
lops. and it usually travels against the
wind. Its sense of scent is so keen
that it can smell a foe two miles away
The best meat Obtainable in the
&c the windward.
Best Meat ObtainabIe
early-day frontier towns was buffalo.
The markets of such places as Atchi-
son. Topeka, L~eavenworth and other
Kansas towns. as early as 1897 and for
some years following were often sup
piled with buffalo meat. The hump
upon the shoulders was an especially
choice morsel. as was also the tongue.
Rich. juicy steaks and roasts of the
buffalo were Inexcelled by any other
meat. ThousApds of tongues were
dried and shipped east to the Boston
and New York markets, where they
were in great demand and brought
fancy prices.
The American bison differs ma
terially from the buffalo of the old
world. At first view, his red. fiery
eyes, shaggy name and long beard. the
long. lustrous hair on his shoulders
and fore quarters and the comparative
nakedness of his hind quarters sug-
gest a strong likeness to the lion. The
buffalo carries his head low and is
enormously powerful in neck and
shoulders. 4
The most promising distinguishing T.;
trait of the American bison from the I
European buffalo is the fact that the s
COW refuses to breed with the European
buffalo. and such is the aversion be- i
tween these creatures chat they always ,
keep separate. even if bred in the same I
pasture and raised together. The Am 7
erican bison. however. breeds freely $