462 TRIBES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI [eth. ann. 46 



of a town of 100 houses to a county, and in some places not more to a 

 State of the United States. Moreover, they herd with order, and in 

 the winter, not being able to remain on the plains where there is no 

 fuel, and very deep snow, are obliged to place their camps on the 

 banks of streams and hunt merely the outskirts of these immense 

 herds. 



The increases of buffaloes must be very great. Each cow has a calf 

 yearly and the fourth year these also have calves. Now, supposing 

 a band of 4,000 cows to increase for eight years without accident. 

 The computation would be as follows: 



Say increase One-half 



one-half cows • bulls 



4X4=16-^-2=8 8 



One-half increase 8 



Old stock 4 



12X4=48 



Old stock 12 



One-half bulls 8 



Total in 8 years 68,000 



Now supposing the whole number of buffalo cows in existence to 

 be 3,000,000, which is certainly not an overestimate, then — 



One-half One-half 

 cows bulls 



3X4=12^-2=6 6 



One-half increase in 4 years 6 



Old stock 3 



9X4=36 



Stock 9 



Bulls 6 



Total in S years 51,000,000 



Making every calculation for their reduction in the many ways 

 they are killed, or die by accident, and the consequent loss by propa- 

 gation, yet being so numerous their ratio of increase is too great to 

 diminish the whole number much by any of these means. 



The conclusion is that, in our opinion, both Indians and buffa- 

 loes, with all other game, would disappear in consequence of white 

 immigration and occupation, though the Indians, being the smaller 

 number, would be the first to vanish. Also that commerce, by stim- 

 ulating the exertions of the hunters, can not increase their labor 

 beyond what they now perform, and that, being limited, is too small 

 to hasten the destruction or even diminution of any game as plentif ul 

 as the buffalo. The same argument does not apply to beaver, foxes, 

 or even elk and deer. Should all the Indians be obliged to live on 

 elk and deer only, and have no resources but the furs of the beaver 

 and fox to get their supplies, a diminution of these animals would 



