﻿474 
  KEPORT 
  UXITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  that 
  poitiou 
  of 
  tbe 
  western 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains 
  contained 
  

   within 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  The 
  purpose 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  article 
  is 
  not 
  

   only 
  to 
  determine, 
  as 
  definitely 
  as 
  can 
  now 
  be 
  done, 
  its 
  former 
  extreme 
  

   limit 
  of 
  distribution, 
  but 
  to 
  give 
  also 
  a 
  detailed 
  history 
  of 
  its 
  extermina- 
  

   tion 
  over 
  the 
  area 
  from 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  disappeared. 
  Although 
  hundreds 
  

   of 
  volumes 
  and 
  distinct 
  papers 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  early 
  exploration 
  and 
  

   settlement 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  embraced 
  within 
  the 
  former 
  range 
  of 
  this 
  

   animal 
  have 
  been 
  consulted 
  in 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  this 
  paper, 
  there 
  

   probably 
  still 
  exist 
  many 
  important 
  facts, 
  incidentally 
  recorded 
  in 
  little- 
  

   known 
  documents 
  and 
  in 
  works 
  in 
  which 
  such 
  facts 
  would 
  hardly 
  be 
  

   expected 
  to 
  occur, 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  overlooked, 
  and 
  which 
  will 
  ulti- 
  

   mately 
  serve 
  to 
  indicate 
  still 
  more 
  definitely 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  its 
  extinction 
  

   at 
  particular 
  localities, 
  though 
  little 
  probably 
  that 
  will 
  materially 
  affect 
  

   th© 
  general 
  results 
  herewith 
  presented. 
  

  

  Frobahle 
  extent 
  of 
  its 
  former 
  habitat. 
  — 
  The 
  boundaries 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  

   habitat 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  about 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  Beginning 
  

   with 
  the 
  region 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  Kiver, 
  its 
  extension 
  to 
  the 
  north- 
  

   ward 
  was 
  limited 
  by 
  the 
  Great 
  Lakes, 
  while 
  the 
  Alleghanies 
  may 
  be 
  

   taken 
  as 
  its 
  general 
  eastern 
  limit, 
  its 
  occurrence 
  in 
  the 
  mountainous 
  

   and 
  more 
  elevated 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  Carolinas 
  being 
  due 
  rather 
  to 
  the 
  

   occasional 
  wandering 
  of 
  small 
  bands' 
  through 
  the 
  mountains 
  from 
  the 
  

   immense 
  herds 
  that 
  formerly 
  inhabited 
  the 
  valleys 
  of 
  West 
  Virginia 
  and 
  

   the 
  adjacent 
  parts 
  of 
  Kentucky 
  and 
  Tennessee, 
  than 
  to 
  this 
  region 
  hav- 
  

   ing 
  been 
  regularly 
  embraced 
  within 
  its 
  habitat. 
  To 
  the 
  southward 
  it 
  

   seems 
  never 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  met 
  with 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Tennessee 
  Eiver. 
  It 
  is 
  

   well 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  ranged 
  over 
  jSTorthern 
  and 
  Western 
  Arkansas, 
  and 
  

   thence 
  southward 
  over 
  the 
  greater 
  r)art 
  of 
  Texas 
  and 
  across 
  the 
  Eio 
  

   Grande 
  into 
  Mexico. 
  Westward 
  it 
  extended 
  over 
  Northern 
  New 
  Mexico 
  

   and 
  then 
  westward 
  and 
  northward 
  throughout 
  the 
  Great 
  Salt 
  Lake 
  

   Basin, 
  and 
  probably 
  to 
  the 
  Sierra 
  Nevada 
  Mountains 
  in 
  California 
  and 
  

   the 
  Blue 
  Mountains 
  in 
  Oregon. 
  North 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  its 
  western 
  

   boundary 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  formed 
  by 
  the 
  main 
  chain 
  of 
  the 
  Eocky 
  

   Mountains, 
  among 
  the 
  foot-hills 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  

   as 
  the 
  sources 
  of 
  the 
  Mackenzie 
  Eiver. 
  Its 
  most 
  northern 
  limit 
  ap- 
  

   pears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  northern 
  shore 
  of 
  the 
  Great 
  Slave 
  Lake 
  in 
  about 
  

   latitude 
  62° 
  to 
  04°. 
  In 
  the 
  British 
  Possessions 
  its 
  range 
  to 
  the 
  eastward 
  

   did 
  not 
  extend 
  beyond 
  the 
  plains 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Hudson's 
  Bay 
  highlands. 
  

   Thence 
  southward 
  it 
  occupied 
  the 
  valleys 
  of 
  the 
  Saskatchewan 
  and 
  its 
  

   tributaries 
  to 
  Lake 
  Winnipeg 
  and 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Eed 
  Eiver 
  of 
  the 
  North. 
  

   It 
  ranged 
  thence 
  southward 
  over 
  the 
  head-waters 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  

   extending 
  eastward 
  nearly 
  to 
  the 
  western 
  shore 
  of 
  Lake 
  Michigan, 
  and 
  

   thence 
  still 
  eastward 
  over 
  the 
  prairies 
  of 
  Northern 
  Indiana, 
  and 
  along 
  

   the 
  southern 
  shore 
  of 
  Lake 
  Erie 
  into 
  Western 
  Pennsylvania, 
  where, 
  as 
  

   already 
  stated, 
  the 
  Alleghanies 
  formed, 
  in 
  general, 
  its 
  eastern 
  limit. 
  It 
  

   was 
  hence 
  wholly 
  absent 
  from 
  the 
  region 
  immediately 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Great 
  

   Lakes, 
  and 
  consequently 
  from 
  every 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  Canadas 
  ; 
  its 
  

   existence 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  continent 
  being 
  also 
  confined 
  to 
  

   the 
  highlands 
  of 
  North 
  and 
  South 
  Carolina. 
  With 
  this 
  preliminary 
  

   statement 
  respecting 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  its 
  former 
  habitat, 
  we 
  will 
  pass 
  novr 
  

   to 
  the 
  details 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  presenting 
  not 
  only 
  the 
  evidence 
  on 
  which 
  

   this 
  general 
  statement 
  rests, 
  but 
  also 
  investigating 
  the 
  numerous 
  sup- 
  

   posed 
  references 
  to 
  its 
  occurrence 
  outside 
  of 
  these 
  boundaries. 
  

  

  The 
  evidence 
  bearing 
  upon 
  the 
  general 
  subject 
  is, 
  of 
  course, 
  resolva- 
  

   ble 
  into 
  two 
  kinds: 
  first, 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  positive 
  character, 
  or 
  direct 
  state- 
  

   ments 
  touching 
  the 
  points 
  at 
  issue; 
  secondly, 
  inferential 
  evidence, 
  mainly 
  

   of 
  a 
  negative 
  character. 
  The 
  first 
  explorers 
  of 
  the 
  different 
  parts 
  of 
  

  

  k 
  

  

  