PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF NEW YORK 299 
of our territory. Still I am persuaded that it was occasionally here. It is 
true that it did not like either the forest or the mountains. But still I think 
that it might have migrated from Ohio and entered this state through 
the narrow strip of level land in Chautauqua county, along the shore 
of Lake Erie, and thus have avoided the higher grounds and the foothills 
of the Alleghanies. I think it would have found food sufficient for its 
wants in several of the western counties of New York where flat lands 
occur. This would harmonize with the fact that on an early French 
map of western New York, a stream discharging into Lake Erie is laid 
down, to which the name “ Riviere des boeufs” was given. The Indian 
name of this stream has never come to my knowledge. The name of 
this city and of the creek where its settlement began gives no evidence 
of the existence of the bison in this vicinity. The city was named after 
the creek and the creek after an old Indian named Buffalo who lived 
near its mouth.” 
Mr Savage writes, “ In regard to the bison and the naming of our city, 
Buffalo certainly got its name from Buffalo creek, but the origin of the 
name of the creek is still a mooted question. Some contend that it came 
from an Indian named Buffalo (but where did he get his name?) who 
lived on the banks of the creek. Other streams near here were named in 
this way, as for instance Smokes creek and Scajaquada creek. The 
latter flows through our principal park, and the Indian for whom it is 
named was formerly a well known character. I think that the persons 
who investigated the matter about 20 years ago failed to find in the 
writings of the early travellers through this region any record of the bison 
having been seen in New York. ‘The Seneca Indians are said to have 
had a tradition that the bison formerly visited a salt lick on Buffalo 
creek. About two months ago I was discussing the matter with the 
Hon. David F. Day, who suggested that perhaps the only way to settle 
the question would be to dig over the site of the supposed lick in search 
of bones. ‘There is evidence that the bison formerly paid summer visits 
to licks in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, but it is probable that 
they came into our state as straggling, transient visitors only.” 
Odocoileus americanus ,(Erxleben) , Virginia deer ou 
1777 [Cervus dama] americanus Erxleben, Syst. regn. anim. 312. 
1842 Cervus virginianus De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia. p.113. 
1884 Cariacus virginianus Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. Trans. 2: 9. 
1896 Cariacus americanus Fisher, The Observer, May 1896, 7: 198. 
1898 Dorcelaphus virginianus Mearns, Am. mus. nat. hist. Bul. 9 Sep. 
1898, 10 :345. 
