Buffalo Sabres Alumni Reunion

The Extermination Of The American Buffalo

It is believed that bison, or buffalo, originated in Eurasia then crossed

over the Bering Strait land bridge that at one time connected the Asian

and North American continents. In prehistoric times the massive herds

literally darkened the face of the earth as they roamed and foraged.

Over many centuries the buffalo slowly migrated southward until they

inhabited much of the grasslands of the United States.

It is believed that bison, or buffalo, originated in Eurasia then

crossed over the Bering Strait land bridge that at one time connected

the Asian and North American continents. In prehistoric times the

massive herds literally darkened the face of the earth as they roamed

and foraged. Over many centuries the buffalo slowly migrated southward

until they inhabited much of the grasslands of the United States. Seas

of buffalo herds stretched across the horizon from Canada to Mexico and

from the northwestern Pacific coast in Oregon southeast as far as

Florida.

Bison were the most numerous single species of large wild mammals on

Earth and is the largest land mammal in North America since the end of

the Ice Age. A male buffalo may stand as high as six feet and weigh up

to 2, 000 pounds.

Prior to the white man's desecration of the American wilderness,

Native Americans depended on the buffalo for food, clothing and

shelter. Indian culture had a reverence and respect for the buffalo and

used the meat, hide and bones of the beast.

The major reason for the extermination of the giant herds was the

profitable harvesting of buffalo hides. There was a lucrative export

trade to Europe of buffalo hides to make the luxurious rugs and robes

so coveted by the wealthy elite. Old West buffalo hunting was very

often a massive commercial enterprise, involving organized teams of

professional hunters, backed by a team of skinners, gun cleaners,

re-loaders, camp cooks, wranglers, blacksmiths, teamsters and numerous

horses, mules and wagons. Men were even employed to reclaim and recast

lead bullets taken from the gut piles.

From 1873-83 there were over a thousand of these professional

hunting companies operating in the United States. History records that

as many as 50, 000 - 100, 000 buffalo were executed per day, dependent on

the season. The buffalo hunters left behind carcasses that slowly

decayed into giant piles of buffalo bones, making the prairie so white

some said it looked as if it were covered in snow even during the

summer months. After the carcasses decayed, the buffalo bones were

collected and shipped back east.

Many of these professional hunters, such as Buffalo Bill Cody,

slaughtered hundreds of animals at a single stand and many thousands in

their career. One proud professional hunter massacred over 20, 000 by

his own count. An average quality hide could bring $3 and a prime one

(the heavy winter coat) could sell for $50 in an era when a laborer

would be fortunate to earn a dollar a day. Greed is a great motivator.

Many people denounced the slaughter but few did anything actively to

stop the carnage.

The extermination of the American Buffalo was part of a diabolical

plot by the United States Government to control the American Indian

population. There were government initiatives, at both the local and

federal level, to starve the population of the Plains Indians by

eliminating their main food source, the buffalo. The herds were the

basis of the survival of the Plains tribes. Without buffalo to feed and

clothe them, the Indians would be forced to leave or starve to death.

Because the Indians depended so much on the buffalo for their

survival, their very religions were centered around the buffalo. The

interdependence between Indian and buffalo is exemplified in the poetic

words of John Fire Lame Deer:

"The buffalo gave us everything we needed. Without it we were

nothing. Our tipis were made of his skin. His hide was our bed, our

blanket, our winter coat. It was our drum, throbbing through the night,

alive, holy. Out of his skin we made our water bags. His flesh

strengthened us, became flesh of our flesh. Not the smallest part of it

was wasted. His stomach, a red-hot stone dropped into it, became our

soup kettle. His horns were our spoons, the bones our knives, our

women's awls and needles. Out of his sinews we made our bowstrings and

thread. His ribs were fashioned into sleds for our children, his hoofs

became rattles. His mighty skull, with the pipe leaning against it, was

our sacred altar. The name of the greatest of all Sioux was Tatanka

Iyotake--Sitting Bull. When you killed off the buffalo you also killed

the Indian--the real, natural, "wild" Indian".

The government also actively encouraged buffalo hunting for other

reasons. A reduction in the buffalo population allowed ranchers to

range their cattle without competition from other bovines. The railroad

industry also wanted buffalo herds culled or eliminated. Herds of

buffalo on the railroad tracks could damage or derail locomotives when

the trains failed to stop in time. During winter storms, the massive

herds often sought shelter in the artificial cuts formed by the grade

of the tracks winding though the prairies and hills. As a result,

buffalo herds could delay a train's passage for several days and delays

cost money.

By 1884, the American Buffalo was close to extinction and proposals

were put forth to protect the buffalo. Recognizing the pressure on the

species was too great, Cody was one of the most vocal proponents of

measures to save the waning buffalo population.

In South Dakota, the herd of James "Scotty" Phillips was one of the

earliest reintro-ductions of buffalo to North America. In 1899,

Phillips had a goal to preserve the species from extinction and

purchased a small herd from Doug Carlin. Carlin's son Fred had roped 5

calves in the Last Big Buffalo Hunt on the Grand River in 1881 and

transported them to the family's ranch on the Cheyenne River. At the

time of purchase there were approximately 7 pure buffalo left in the

United States.

At the time of his death in 1911 at 53, Phillips had developed the

herd to an estimated 1, 000 to 1, 200 head. Several other herds were also

established from the 5 calves rescued at Grand River.

During that same time, two Montana ranchers, Charles Allard and

Michel Pablo, invested over 20 years in assembling one of the largest

collections of purebred bison on the continent. At the time of Allard's

death in 1896, the herd numbered 300. In 1907, after the U.S.

government declined to purchase the bison herd, Pablo entered into a

contract with the Canadian government to ship the majority of his herd

north to the newly built Elk Island National Park.

The present American Buffalo population has rebounded rapidly and is

estimated at 350, 000, compared to an estimated 75 to 100 million in the

mid-19th century. However, most of the current herds are genetically

polluted or partly crossbred with cattle. Presently there are only four

genetically unmixed herds and only one that is also free of

brucellious; it resides in the Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

A founder population of 16 animals from the Wind Cave herd was recently

established in Montana by the American Prairie Association.

The only continuously wild buffalo herd in America is located within

Yellowstone National Park. Numbering about 3, 500, this herd is directly

descended from a remnant population of 23 individual buffalo that

survived the mass annihilation of the 1800s by hiding out in the

Pelican Valley of Yellowstone Park.

The buffalo of Yellowstone Park have occasionally descended to lower

elevations outside the park in search of winter forage. The presence of

wild buffalo outside the park is perceived as a threat by many cattle

ranchers, who fear that the small percentage of bison that carry

brucellosis will infect their livestock and cause cows to abort their

calves. However, there has never been a documented case of brucellosis

being transmitted to cattle from wild bison. The controversy that began

in the early 1980s continues to this day. Advocacy groups argue that

the Yellowstone herd should be protected as a distinct population

segment under the Endangered Species Act.

In Montana, where public herds require culling to control the target bison population, hunting was re-established in 2005.

Buffalo live 15 to 20 years in the wild, although the average

lifespan depends on local predators, hunting pressures and natural

disasters. Bison have been known to live up to 40 years in captivity.

The bison remains an icon of American culture, however our past

treatment of this majestic animal is shameful. Hopefully we will

carefully consider how to ensure an ecological future for the buffalo

and all the wild creatures that still inhabit our precious planet.

Article Tags:

American Buffalo, United States, There Were

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

Next page: Buffalo Sabres Alumni Roster

Bookmark/Share This Page: