88 THE AMERICAN BISONS. 



accept these terms as implying the presence of buffaloes in the region under 

 consideration, we must allow, on similar evidence, that wild goats were found 

 in the seventeenth century along the whole length of the St. Lawrence. 

 throughout the Mississippi Valley and in Florida ; * that wild wine were found 

 in Canada at the mouth of the Saguenay River, and in the Middle States:! 

 also wild horses in Newfoundland prior to the year 1600 ; monkeys and 

 apes in Virginia ;t and that wild lemons formerly grew in Southern Michi- 

 gan^ Goat Island, at the Falls of Niagara, probably derives its name from 

 the custom of calling the deer that frequented it wild goats. The name of 

 Buffalo River (Riviere mix Bceufs) in New York, || and the name of the city 

 on Lake Erie now called Buffalo, are not necessarily, though probably, tra- 

 ditional evidences ", of the occurrence of the buffalo at those localities, since 

 it is not very improbable, as will be shown later, that the buffalo formerly 

 ranged along the southern shore of Lake Erie to its eastern end. 



A< previously stated, there is good reason also for assuming that the buffalo 

 was not found in New England, nor along the coast of the Middle States. 

 during a long period antedating the exploration of the continent hy Europeans, or 

 during the period of the formation of the Indian shell mounds of the North 

 Atlantic coast, which contain no traces of the remains of the buffalo, as they 

 probably would do if it had existed here at the time of their formation, since 

 they do contain the bones of all the larger mammals found here by the earli- 

 est European travellers. There still remains to he examined, however, one 

 supposed evidence of its existence in New England in prehistoric times. 



Shortly before the second visit of Sir Charles Lyell to the United States. 

 some teeth of a species of the ox tribe were found in a clay-bank at (iardiner. 



he various accounts of the voyages of De Soto, I .a Salle, Hennepin, Marquette, ami others, whew 

 tin' tern wild goat i< probably used for deer, but sometime! aa though it referred to a distinct animal, both 

 wild go id deer being mentioned in the same sentence. 



t Thai bears were mistaken for swine, in the following account, i-- of coarse evident : " Wit might see 

 in -i. inr places where Deere and Hans had beene, and by the rooting of the Ground, we supposed wilde 

 Hogs had ranged there, but we could disceme no Beast, because our Noise Mill chased them awaj from 

 m." — George Weymouth'i Voyage, 1608, in Purchas, Pilgrims, Vol. IV, p I 



Bistorie ol ["ravaile into Virginia, p. 86 j Hakiuyl Society, Volume for 1841 

 $ "There also grow in the Sirait [Detroit River] Lemon-Trees in tin- natural Soil, the Fruit of 

 which hare the Shape and Colour of those of PorfupoA but they are smaller, and of a Bat Taste, They 

 ■ 1 1. ni in conserve." — Qbarlkvoix, Lt tit -. p, 178. 

 U Supposed (■» Ih. the present <>ak Orchard Creek, Orleans Co, N. V. Bee lw. toll. Iti-t N i .Vol 

 IX. p • 



;,.„,], i ,ft. II; Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United Stat ,Parl i\ 



