White House, Washington. 



Oyster Bay, N. Y., Sept. i6, 1904. 

 Personal. 

 My dear Mr. Baynes: — 



I am much impressed with your letter, and I agree 

 with every word you say. I remember you well. I have 

 written Secretary Wilson, sending him your letter and 

 requesting him to take the matter up with me, and I shall 

 treat of it in my annual message. 



With great regard, Sincerely yours, 



Theodore Roosevelt. 



Mr. Ernest Harold Baynes, 

 Cornish Flat, N. H. 



Then followed a series of some forty articles on the 

 Buffalo, some illustrated and published in the magazines, 

 but most of them syndicated and printed simultaneously 

 in about twenty of the leading newspapers in different 

 parts of the country. The press was sympathetic and 

 generous, and these articles were the subjects of many 

 editorials favorable to the cause of Bison preservation. 



On Jan. 18, 1905, Mr. Baynes delivered before the 

 Boston Society of Natural History an illustrated lecture 

 entitled "The American Buffalo — A Plea for His Preser- 

 vation." On the day after the lecture several gentlemen 

 who had become interested met informally and discussed 

 plans for the organization of a society which should have 

 for its object the preservation of the Buffalo. Most of 

 those present are now members of the American Bison 

 Society, and some of them are among its most active 

 workers. 



The above lecture was repeated before the Brooklyn 

 Institute of Arts and Sciences, the Camp-Fire Club of 

 America, the Harvard Travelers' Club, the Boone and 

 Crockett Club, and many other organizations. At the 

 Camp-Fire Club Mr. Baynes talked over with its Presi- 

 dent, Mr. William T. Hornaday, the advisability of 

 organizing the proposed society, and Mr. Hornaday 

 agreed that if the society were organized he would accept 

 its presidency. Later, President Roosevelt was invited to 



