ON THE PRAIRIE n 9 



was absolutely incompatible with any thing 

 but a very sparse settlement of the country ; 

 and that its destruction was the condition 

 precedent upon the advance of white civili- 

 zation in the West, and was a positive boon 

 to the more thrifty and industrious fron- 

 tiersmen. Where the buffalo were pi 

 they ate up all the grass that could have sup- 

 ported cattle. The country over which the 

 huge herds grazed during the last year or 

 two of their existence was cropped bare, and 

 the grass did not grow to its normal height 

 and become able to support cattle for, in 

 some cases two, in others three, seasons. 

 Every buffalo needed as much food as an ox 

 or cow ; and if the former abounded, the lat- 

 ter perforce would have to be scarce. Above 

 all, the extermination of the buffalo was the 

 only way of solving the Indian question. 

 As long as this large animal of the chase 

 existed, the Indians simply could not be kept 

 on reservations, and always had an ample 

 supply of meat on hand to support them in 

 the event of a war; and its disappearance 



