144 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



The i^esults of the destruction of the Buffalo in Canada were pre- 

 dicted with remarkable accuracy in lh79, when a pi'oposal was laid 

 before the Dominion Parliament by Dr. Schultz to prevent their 

 destruction during the winter months. A report then presented 

 stated that, unless the Buffalo were protected, in ten years at the 

 very furthest, the whole number of Indians in the Northwest, who 

 then I'elied on those animals for subsistence, would have to be 

 fed and maintained, principally at the expense of the Dominion 

 Government j and that, compelled by hunger, they would be driven to 

 commit outrages which would result in an Indian war. 



During that year — 1877 — about 160,000 Buffalos were killed in 

 Canada alone, but no effective measures were taken to stay the 

 slaughter. 



The Moose once ranged as far south as Ohio, now it is almost 

 driven out of the Eastern States, but is still common in unsettled 

 portions of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Its range in Canada 

 extends north as far as the McKenzie River, and west to the Rocky 

 Mountains. • 



It would be a great pity for this magnificent creature to disappear, 

 as it certainly must do if the forests are all destroyed. Animals as 

 large have become extinct in Europe since the historic period. The 

 great Wild Ox, described by Julius Csesar in his Commentaries, no 

 longer roams in the Hercynian Forest. The white cattle preserved by 

 Lord Tankerville at Chillingham are the last remnants of a British 

 wild ox. 



The European Bison, or Aurochs, is now only found in the forests 

 of Lithuania, and some parts of the Caucasus. Those in Lithuania 

 are carefully protected by the Emperor of Russia. 



The European Moose, or Elk, was at one time numerous in most 

 parts of Sweden and Norway, but owing to increased population and 

 other causes, it is now only met with in particular districts. 



Beavers were found in England and Scotland in the 1 2th century, 

 and remains of their dams still exist in some parts of Wales. 



A certain amount of protection is afforded to some of our wild 

 animals by the existing game laws, but as the country becomes settled 

 something more will be necessary, and considerable areas of prairie 

 and forest must be maintained in their native wildness and grandeur^ 

 if future generations are to gaze upon the Moose and Buffalo. 



