THE BUFFALO. 209 



readily discern without any comments. Hungry men and 

 hide-hunters generally resort to the former, the true lovers 

 of the chase to the latter. By the former system, all one 

 has to do is to crawl to the leeward of a herd, taking ad- 

 vantage of every rise in the ground, and fire away when a 

 good opportunity is presented ; for buffaloes are such stu- 

 pid creatures that the greater part of a herd may be de- 

 stroyed before the remainder get out of range, provided 

 they do not see or wind the hunter. This is how the hide- 

 hunters make their enormous hauls, and rid a region of the 

 animals in a short time. In a letter which I published in 

 a prominent New York journal in September, 1874,1 made 

 the following statement about the destruction of the buf- 

 falo ; but from what I have learned since, by experience, I 

 should be apt to more than sextuple my estimate, and still 

 be within the bounds. 



"It is estimated that the 'hide-hunters' of Kansas, Tex- 

 as, Colorado, and Southern Nebraska kill 50,000 each year 

 for the skins alone; that the Indians kill three times that 

 number, and that perhaps 10,000 more are killed by sports- 

 men and those pioneers who depend on buffalo for their 

 winter meat; thus we have the enormous figure of 210,000 

 as the annual slaughter. But this even will not represent 

 the grand total, for many calves are captured to be sold to 

 menageries, museums, and to private gentlemen who desire 

 such pets. I cannot approach a summary of the latter, but 

 I think that from five to ten thousand would be an approx- 

 imate estimate, though a low one. I have known instances 

 where a hundred of these creatures were caught in a day 

 by being run down, and not more than one-tenth were alive 

 the next ; for, though apparently strong, they cannot en- 

 dure much hardship. By giving the figures in round num- 

 bers, we may estimate that a quarter of a million bison are 

 destroyed annually. At this rate of destruction, they can- 

 not last long ; so the next generation will probably witness 

 the decimation of the animal most characteristic of the 

 fauna of North America — one with which the history of 

 the plains, pioneers, and trappers is most closely blended." 



