﻿466 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  and 
  absolutely 
  certain 
  that 
  for 
  twenty-five 
  years 
  they 
  have 
  not 
  passed 
  

   as 
  far 
  south 
  even 
  as 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Platte. 
  Doubtless 
  the 
  same 
  indi- 
  

   viduals 
  never 
  moved 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  few 
  hundred 
  miles 
  in 
  a 
  north 
  and 
  

   south 
  direction, 
  the 
  annual 
  migration 
  being 
  doubtless 
  merely 
  a 
  moder- 
  

   ate 
  swaying 
  northward 
  and 
  southward 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  mass 
  with 
  the 
  

   changes 
  of 
  the 
  seasons. 
  We 
  certainly 
  know 
  that 
  buffaloes 
  have 
  been 
  

   accustomed 
  to 
  remain 
  in 
  winter 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  their 
  habitat 
  extends. 
  

   North 
  of 
  the 
  Saskatchewan 
  they 
  are 
  described 
  as 
  merely 
  leaving 
  the 
  

   more 
  exposed 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  plains 
  during 
  the 
  deepest 
  snows 
  and 
  

   severest 
  periods 
  of 
  cold 
  to 
  take 
  shelter 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  woods 
  that 
  border 
  

   the 
  plains. 
  We 
  have, 
  for 
  instance, 
  numerous 
  attestations 
  of 
  their 
  

   former 
  abundance 
  in 
  winter 
  at 
  Carlton 
  House, 
  in 
  latitude 
  5d<^, 
  as 
  well 
  

   as 
  at 
  other 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson's 
  Bay 
  Company's 
  posts. 
  

  

  The 
  local 
  movements 
  of 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  formerly 
  

   very 
  regular, 
  and 
  the 
  hunters 
  conversant 
  with 
  their 
  habits 
  knew 
  very 
  

   well 
  at 
  what 
  points 
  they 
  were 
  most 
  likely 
  to 
  find 
  them 
  at 
  the 
  different 
  

   seasonsof 
  the 
  year. 
  Of 
  late, 
  however, 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  have 
  become 
  much 
  

   more 
  erratic, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  constant 
  persecutions 
  to 
  which 
  they 
  have 
  

   been 
  for 
  so 
  long 
  a 
  time 
  subjected. 
  In 
  Northern 
  Kansas 
  the 
  old 
  trails 
  

   show 
  that 
  their 
  movements 
  were 
  formerly 
  in 
  the 
  usual 
  north 
  and 
  south 
  

   direction, 
  the 
  trails 
  all 
  having 
  that 
  course. 
  Since 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  

   the 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Eailway, 
  however, 
  their 
  habits 
  have 
  considerably 
  

   changed, 
  an 
  east 
  and 
  west 
  migration 
  having 
  recently 
  prevailed 
  to 
  such 
  

   an 
  extent 
  that 
  a 
  new 
  set 
  of 
  trails, 
  running 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  the 
  earlier, 
  

   have 
  been 
  deeply 
  worn. 
  Until 
  recently 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  ranged 
  eastward 
  

   in 
  summer 
  to 
  Fort 
  Harker, 
  but 
  retired 
  westward 
  in 
  winter, 
  few 
  be- 
  

   ing 
  fourid 
  at 
  this 
  season 
  east 
  of 
  Fort 
  Hays. 
  In 
  summer 
  and 
  early 
  au- 
  

   tumn, 
  hunting-parties, 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  1872, 
  made 
  their 
  headquarters 
  at 
  Hays 
  

   City; 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  at 
  Ellis 
  and 
  Park's 
  Fort 
  ; 
  while 
  in 
  midwinter 
  

   they 
  had 
  to 
  move 
  their 
  camps 
  as 
  far 
  west 
  as 
  Coyote, 
  Grinnell, 
  and 
  Wal- 
  

   lace, 
  or 
  to 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  one 
  hundred 
  to 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  fifty 
  miles 
  west 
  

   of 
  their 
  fall 
  camps, 
  in 
  consequence 
  of 
  the 
  westward 
  winter 
  migration 
  of 
  

   the 
  buffaloes. 
  Two 
  reasons 
  may 
  be 
  assigned 
  for 
  this 
  change 
  of 
  habit 
  : 
  

   first, 
  their 
  reluctance 
  to 
  cross 
  the 
  railroad, 
  and 
  secondly, 
  the 
  greater 
  

   mildness 
  of 
  the 
  winters 
  to 
  the 
  westward 
  of 
  Ellis 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  the 
  

   region 
  east 
  of 
  this 
  point. 
  During 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1871-72 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  

   for 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  several 
  weeks, 
  in 
  December 
  and 
  January, 
  the 
  country 
  

   east 
  of 
  Ellis 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  ice 
  and 
  encrusted 
  snow 
  sufficiently 
  deep 
  

   to 
  bury 
  the 
  grass 
  below 
  the 
  reach 
  of 
  either 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  or 
  the 
  domestic 
  

   cattle. 
  In 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Ellis 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  snow 
  and 
  ice 
  began 
  rapidly 
  

   to 
  diminish, 
  while 
  a 
  little 
  further 
  westward 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  almost 
  

   wholly 
  bare. 
  I 
  was 
  informed, 
  furthermore, 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  the 
  usual 
  dis- 
  

   tribution 
  of 
  the 
  snow 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  whenever 
  any 
  iell 
  there. 
  Although 
  

   occasionally 
  the 
  snow 
  does 
  not 
  accumulate 
  in 
  sufficient 
  quantity 
  to 
  ren- 
  

   der 
  grazing 
  difficult 
  over 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  west 
  of 
  Fossil 
  Creek, 
  the 
  

   buffaloes 
  regularly 
  abandon 
  this 
  region 
  in 
  winter 
  for 
  the 
  country 
  fur- 
  

   ther 
  west, 
  where 
  snow 
  is 
  of 
  more 
  exceptional 
  occurrence. 
  

  

  The 
  wanderings 
  of 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  often 
  render 
  it 
  necessary 
  for 
  them 
  to 
  

   cross 
  large 
  streams, 
  which 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  reckless 
  fearlessness 
  

   and 
  at 
  almost 
  any 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  though 
  frequently 
  at 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  

   the 
  lives 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  and 
  feeble 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  of 
  the 
  young. 
  Lewis 
  

   and 
  Clarke 
  speak 
  of 
  their 
  crossing 
  the 
  Upper 
  Missouri 
  in 
  such 
  numbers 
  

   as 
  to 
  delay 
  their 
  boat, 
  the 
  river 
  being 
  filled 
  with 
  them 
  as 
  thick 
  as 
  they 
  

   could 
  swim 
  for 
  the 
  distance 
  of 
  a 
  mile.* 
  Other 
  Western 
  travellers 
  men- 
  

  

  * 
  Lewis 
  and 
  Clarke's 
  Esped., 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  p. 
  395. 
  

  

  