Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/150

* BISON. 126 BISON. chiefly in tlic upper districts of orth and South Carolina." Restriction of range and decrease in numbers quiclcly followed the settlement of the interior. By isbo it had disappeared east of the Missis- sippi: by 1850 it had been eoutined to the region of the dry plains; by 1875 it had been swept away from the central plains and limited to the region of northwestern Texas and western Kan- sas in the south, and in the north to Montana and northward, where isolated herds survived, with rapid diminution, until 1888. when the last remnant of the southern herd was nearly ex- tinguished in the 'Panhandle' of Texas, by the capture of the last specimens by C. J. Jones (consult Inman, liiiffalo Jones: Forty Years of Adventure, Topeka, 1899). Small scattered bands remained a few years longer in isolated retreats, but the end of the ccnturv saw uone in freedom south of the North Saskatchewan. There, the extensive and lonely forests south of Great Slave Lake are still tenanted, sparingly, by the forest-ranging, larger and darker variety known as the Wood-Buffalo (subspecies Atha- basca;), which is steadily being reduced by the Indians in spite of the efforts of Canadian offi- cials. A few hundred also survive imder legal protection in the Yellowstone National Park, on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana, and in various parks and zoological gardens in the United States and Europe — probably not more than 500 in all. This is the result of a century of unexampled waste of one of the most numerous, interesting, and valuable animals in the world, and it is an irretrievable national dis- grace. For full particulars, consult Allen's Monograph, heretofore cited, and W. T. Horna- day's "Extermination of the American Bison," in "the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institu- tion for 1SS7. The American bison was preeminently gregari- ous, and on the Western prairies and plains as- sembled in herds of thou.sands and even millions of individuals. So numerous were they that the early travelers on the plains might travel for days without losing sight of them ; wagon-trains, anil een the first railroad trains, were sometimes compelled to stop and wait for their passage; and the present writer has seen steamboats halted by herds swimming the Upper Missouri. These vast herds were made up of coherent bands, which had the habit of marching in files, and the paths thus made, called 'bufl'alo-trails,' are still traceable on the arid plains; also the circular 'wallows' where they rolled and si)un in taking a dust-bath. Each band was accompanied by bulls which, when alarmed, formed a de- fen.sive circle, with lowered heads, about the cows and calves, to protect them from the attacks of the bands of wolves that followed the herds, preying upon the weaklings, or from onslaughts by a. puma or a bear; the grizzly alone was able sometimes to vanqui.sh a bulfalo in single com- bat. During the midsunniier rutting season the bulls were constantly fighting with one an- other also. The .sexes ronuiincd togetluT through- out the year, with the exception of an occasional solitary and morose bull. A single calf was the rule, born in spring, after a gestation of about nine months. The molting of the winter's woolly undercoat occurred early in summer, the hair coming ofT in great flakes; and the hide was in good condition for robes from October till May. The buffaloes were nomadic, wandering in searcli of pasturage, and certain annual migra- tory movements took place under the intluence of regional or seasonal changes in forage or weather. In such movements they sam large rivers fear- lessly, and climbed mountains or made their way over rough ground with amazing agility. As a rule, however, they chose the easiest routes, and their trails were excellent guides to both travelers and engineers. One great defect in their char- acter was their liability to panic, when the whole herd would rush headlong into a bog or over a precipice, taking no heed of the fate of those in front. The Indians of the open interior region sub- sisted mainly upon the butl'alo, and were able to retain their independence as long as it was numerous. The flesh was excellent beef, and was sun-dried in vast quantities for transporta- tion ; and the hides served as material for lodges, winter clothing, harness, boats (in the form of coracles on the Jlissouri), shields, etc. Various uses «cre found for the sinews, bones, and horns, while the dung or 'chi])s' formed the fuel of the jdains. The Indians hunted it in companies, usually mounted, but sometimes on foot, or on snow-shoes, when various stratagems were em- ployed to aid them. The simple chase on horse- back was most exciting and perilous. When large amounts of meat were desired for winter stores, or for making pemmican, pounds were constructed, with guiding fences. At the en- trance to the trap or inclosure a sudden pitch, natural or dug, would compel the animals to leaj) down, whence they could not return and could easily be slaughtered. This was feasible only in a somewhat wooded region. Another method was for a party of men to ride round and round a herd until they were crowded into a bewildered, stationary mass, and then kill them at leisure. White men at first hunted the bulfalo for food, and thousands were recklessly killed for the sake of a single slice from the hump or a tongue. Their hides early became an article of commerce, and the Indians were encouraged to procure them for the traders. To this there was added, from about 1800 onward, an army of white hide-hunters, who made a business of fol- lowing and ruthlessly slaughtering the animals, •and succeeded so well that careful estimates show that on the average 2,000,000 hides a year were sent to market between the years 1805 and 1875. For these they rec^eivcd on the average no mora than $1, out of which sundry expenses nuist be paid. Subsequently, as the product diminished, [irices rose, but never very greatly, and robes continued to sell up to 18ii0, in Eastern cities, for from $15 to $40, and the few remaining are not greatly advanced in i)rice. A great nimiber of jioor hides were tanned for leather, but it was porous and of no great value. The coarse fleece has been spun, and small quan- tities of it have been made into a soft cloth used for gloves, etc. — a service certain Indians found for it prehistorically. The early seUIcrs in the Mississippi Valley looked u])on the biill'alo as likely to prove domesticable and of great service; but although easily subjugated when taken young, it has not proved docile and of practical use, nor have the hybrids frequently produced between it and domestic cattle shown such quali- ties as make them desirable. See article on Blfkalo.