254 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



In 1 812 the first brigade of Scotch families arrived to found 

 Red River colony. Strange to say, this was the first year when 

 the Bufi^alo did not graze over the site of modern Winnipeg. 



In 181 7 Buffalo were "far off" from Red River.'' 



In 181 8, according to tradition, a large band came for the 

 last time within a day's ride of Fort Garry, ■ 



In 1 819 they could still kill some Buffalo in the country 

 adjacent to Fort Pembina.'^ 



In 1 821 Buffalo were scarce at Pembina.'* 



In 1826 Buffalo were not found apparently until 150 or 

 200 miles beyond Pembina.'^ 



In 1849 the hunters went 250 miles from Pembina in the 

 direction of Cheyenne River before finding the Buffalo herds.''' 



In 1852 the end of the Buffalo was evidently not far dis- 

 tant.'' 



Nevertheless, there were at that time many Buffalo still 

 roaming the Big Plain where Carberry now stands. Cap- 

 tain John Schott, of Athabaska Landing, tells me that in 

 1852, when he was a boy eleven years old, he went with a 

 party of Buffalo hunters (Saint Pierre Pierrot, Louison Bonnot, 

 and Pierre Pierrot) in search of Buffalo westward of Winnipeg. 

 They found plenty of them on the Big Plain, and camped in 

 the sandhills to the south where there was a good place to 

 herd the horses and also high hills from which to see the 

 Buffalo. Little John's job was to watch the horse herd from 

 some sandhill, and if they strayed too far he would go on his 

 pony to round them up. 



The more recent skulls that strewed the Big Plain in 1882 

 for the most part dated chiefly from that hunt of thirty years 

 before. 



In the winter of 1856-7, according to H. Y. Hind, the 

 Buffalo were very numerous on the banks of the Souris.'* 



In 1858 Hind found abundance of fresh Buffalo signs 

 along the International Boundary, near Souris River.'^ He 



'^ Ross, Red River Settl., 1856, p. 47. " Ibid., p. 50. 



''Ibid., p. 58. '"Ibid., p. 99. 



'«76i(f., p. 255. " Ibid., p. 267. 



'® Ass. & Sask. Expl. Exped., 1859, p. 43. '^ Ibid., pp. 44-45. 



