TEN DAYS IN MONTANA. 155 



The half-breed is a native of the plains. Lance has seen 

 several years' of frontier service, and consequently both are 

 accustomed to seeing and hunting buffaloes. It is not likely, 

 therefore that they overestimated the size of the herd. They 

 killed several choice young bulls and heifers and said they 

 could have slaughtered a hundred of them had they chosen 

 to do so. But they only killed such a number as the teams 

 could take care of the next morning. 



This is said to be about the only great herd of this noble 

 animal now remaining in the Northwest. Twenty years ago 

 such herds could be found in every valley, in every good grazing 

 district in all the great West, but the constant and yearly 

 increasing slaughter by market hunters, those who kill them 

 merely for their hides, has reduced them to this one herd in 

 the North and one or two smaller herds in the South. The 

 progress of civilization westward is yearly curtailing their 

 range, and the building of railroads into the very heart of 

 their country is rendering the killing of them for marketing 

 purposes still more lucrative. In view of all these facts I repeat 

 that he who would kill a buffalo or even see one alive on his 

 native range, must do so within the next five years, or the 

 opportunity will be forever past. I believe that ten years 

 hence they will be almost entirely extinct if not protected. 



On Thursday morning, the 23d, I crawled out of the tent 

 at daylight without disturbing my companions, and, equipped 

 for action, I made a bee-line for the place where I had seen 

 the two herds the night before. But when I reached the top 

 of the ridge from which I had seen them and eagerly scanned 

 the valley to the north, south and west as far as I could see, I 

 was sadly disappointed to find that they were nowhere to be 

 seen. They had left for parts unknown. But while looking 

 for them I saw two very large bulls grazing in the valley half- 

 a-mile below me, and proceeded to lay my plans for stalking 



