THE BISON 177 



and menacing beast. He is by no means, however, as 

 dangerous as he looks, and is more given to turning 

 and running away than he is to charging. I never re- 

 garded the buffalo as nearly so dangerous to approach, 

 even on foot, as the half-wild cattle of the ranches. 

 Colonel Dodge says : " The domestic cattle of Texas, 

 miscalled tame, are fifty times more dangerous to foot- 

 men than the fiercest buffalo." The calves, which are 

 born about April, are of a light reddish-yellow color. 

 Their flesh makes good veal, and the liver was often 

 cooked with bacon as the domestic calf-liver is. 



The range of the buffalo formerly extended as far 

 east as Virginia and New York and from Canada into 

 Mexico. Within the memory of the present genera- 

 tion, however, they only existed west of the Missis- 

 sippi. The extermination of the bison was largely 

 brought about by the " skin-hunters," who made a 

 business of following them for their skins, which had a 

 commercial value. There were few sleighs during the 

 period, 1865-85, that were not equipped with one or 

 more buffalo-robes. 



There were also many shooters who pursued the 

 animals simply for sport and killed them in great num- 

 bers, often not stopping to take the robe or even the 

 tongue, and leaving many carcasses scattered on the 

 plain. Many wounded animals were permitted to es- 

 cape and were easily captured by the great bands of 

 wolves which were always to be seen in the vicinity of 

 the herd. Buffalo Bill had a contract with a railway 

 to furnish a large number of the animals' heads, to 

 be used as signs at the railway-stations and at ticket- 

 offices throughout the country. The slaughter of the 



