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THE AMERICAN BISONS. 



tain on what authority he based his statement. Wyman further quotes 

 Baird as authority for the occurrence of the buffalo in Florida, but Professor 

 Baird, as previously noticed/ only makes the general statement that it "was 

 formerly found throughout the eastern portion of the United States to 



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" # 



II V 



The first explorers not only did not meet with the buffalo in any part of 

 the present States of Florida or Georgia, but probably had not at this time 

 even heard of its existence anywhere. Among these are Ponce de Leon, 

 who visited Florida in 1512, landing near the present site of St. Augus- 

 tine, and Vasquez de Ayllon, who landed, it is supposed, on the coast of 

 Georgia, in 1520, and again in 1525; but neither of them made extended 

 excursions into the interior, and make no reference to the buffalo. 



In 1528 Pamphilo de Narvaez marched from Tampa Bay northwar 

 into the interior, to the source of the Suwanee Eiver, in Southern Georgia, 

 without, however, either meeting or hearing of the buffalo. De Soto, on the 

 occasion of his journey through Florida, disembarked at Tampa Bay, from 

 which point he made his long journey into the interior, finally crossing the 

 Mississippi and reaching the edge of the plains beyond. His course was first 

 northward through Central Florida, and thence northwestward nearly to the 

 site of the present town of Tallahassee, and then northeastward across Central 

 Georgia to the Savannah River. From this point his course was again north- 

 westward to the mountains of Northern Georgia. In all this long journey 

 he obtained no information of any animal resembling the buffalo, only hear- 

 ing of it later on sending out soldiers to the northward from his camp in the 

 extreme northern parts of Georgia, to search for gold, who returned at length 

 with the report that they had seen in the possession of the Indians ox-hides 



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an inch in thickness, which were undoubtedly skins of the buffalo. f These 





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* Mam. N. Amcr., p. 684. 



t Irving's account of this expedition is as follows : He says two fearless soldiers were sent northward 

 from tlie village of Ichiaha, which is supposed to have been near the site of the modern town of Kome, Ga. 

 " After an absence of ten days they returned to the camp and made their report. Their route had lain 

 part of the way through excellent land for grain and pasturage, where they had been well received and 

 feasted by the natives. They had found among them a buffalo hide an inch in thickness, with hair as soft 

 as the wool of a sheep, which, as usual, they mistook for the hide of a beef. In the course of their Journey 

 they had crossed mountains [supposed to be the Lookout Mountains] so rugged and precipitous that it 

 would be impossible for the army to traverse them." — Irving (Thomas), Conquest of Florida, p. 244. 



The Gentleman of Elvas says (Hakluyt's translation), they "brought an oxe hide, which the Indians 

 gave them, as thinne as a calves slcinne, and the haire like a Soft -wooll, betweene the course and fine wooll 

 of sheepe."— Discovery and Conquest of Terra Florida (Hakluyt Society), p. GQ. 



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