594 Transactions of the American Institute. 



them to congregate in such immense numbers in the western country. 

 The buffalo requires kind treatment. It takes a great deal of evi- 

 dence to make him believe that you are his friend and not his enemy, 

 but when he believes it he never backslides. My buffaloes were 

 tamed ; they would come at my call with the speed of tlie racehorse 

 and feed out of my hand. The buffalo is capable of enduring the 

 severest winter without shelter, but does better with. He is more- 

 over a profitable animal. The cows weigh from six to eight hundred, 

 I killed one cow, the quarters of which weighed 742 pounds. The 

 beef is better than any other beef, and if it was as plenty as any 

 other beef it would sell for more, owing to its superiority. The 

 robes are valuable, and when tanned in bark are worth double than 

 when tanned by the Indian process. The fur of the buffalo is very 

 useful. It can be manufactured into cloth, mittens, socks, comfortei's, 

 &c., and is finer and softer than the finest wool, and much warmer. 

 The buffalo will feed on anything that other cattle will eat, and will 

 put on flesh much quicker. They increase in number about as fast 

 as cattle. I had one cow from which I raised seven calves in seven 

 years. 



" The object for writing is, that the subject may become agitated 

 until some man who is sufficiently able, or some company or com- 

 panies, will engage in the enterprise and try to perpetuate the exis- 

 tence of that noble animal. I have no doubt. that if judiciously 

 managed it will be attended with entire success." 



Mr. Horace Greeley. — The first question that the letter suggests is, 

 is this a new experiment ? I remember seeing the buffaloes in quite 

 large numbers among tame animals on the Oampagna around Rome. 

 I apprehend that the buffalo is a tame, domesticated animal in Europe, 

 and has been. There must be thousands of bufiiiloes in Italy among 

 domesticated animals. I recollect seeing them there eighteen years 

 ago. I used to eat the meat on the plains. It is a very dry and tough 

 meat. It tastes like half-boiled chips (laughter), and the biiffalo 

 calves, that ought to have been tender, had the same dry taste ; it 

 was not as tough as the full grown animal. I doubt if you can make 

 the meat equal to the domesticated cattle. It does not produce the 

 same juicy, tender, succulent qualities that our beef does. 



Chainnan, — A gentleman has been stopping with me who says 

 that the meat of the buffalo on the plains of Mexico is more delicious 

 than any beef he had ever tasted. 



Mr. W. S. Caqjenter. — Experiments are being made in m}^ town 



