﻿ALLEN. 
  1 
  FORMER 
  GEOGRAPHICAL 
  DISTRIBUTION. 
  475 
  

  

  the 
  coutiueiit, 
  being 
  largely 
  dependent 
  for 
  sustenance 
  upon 
  the 
  chase, 
  

   have 
  naturally 
  recorded 
  in 
  the 
  narratives 
  of 
  their 
  explorations 
  the 
  wild 
  

   animals 
  they 
  met 
  with. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  an 
  animal 
  so 
  important 
  as 
  the 
  

   buffalo, 
  it 
  is 
  presumable 
  that 
  they 
  would 
  usually 
  state 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  first 
  

   encountered, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  would 
  refer 
  frequently 
  to 
  its 
  presence 
  or 
  ab- 
  

   sence, 
  as 
  the 
  case 
  might 
  be, 
  at 
  subsequent 
  periods 
  of 
  their 
  journeys. 
  

   When 
  no 
  reference 
  whatever 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo 
  in 
  the 
  narratives 
  of 
  

   different 
  travelers 
  who 
  passed 
  at 
  different 
  times 
  over 
  the 
  same 
  region, 
  

   it 
  has 
  been 
  assumed, 
  in 
  the 
  total 
  absence 
  also 
  of 
  all 
  other 
  evidence 
  to 
  

   the 
  contrary, 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  did 
  not, 
  during 
  that 
  period 
  at 
  least, 
  exist 
  

   over 
  the 
  special 
  area 
  in 
  question. 
  

  

  The 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  term 
  vaeJies 
  sauvages 
  by 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  French 
  

   Jesuit 
  writers, 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  wild 
  cows 
  by 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  English 
  ex- 
  

   plorers, 
  and 
  also 
  the 
  terms 
  huffe, 
  buffle, 
  and 
  bceuf 
  sauvage, 
  for 
  the 
  desig- 
  

   nation 
  of 
  the 
  moose 
  {Alces 
  malcMs) 
  and 
  the 
  elk 
  (Cerviis 
  canadensis) 
  as 
  

   well 
  as 
  the 
  buffalo, 
  has 
  resulted 
  in 
  erroneous 
  conclusions 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  

   the 
  former 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  Difficulties 
  have 
  also 
  often 
  arisen 
  in 
  

   respect 
  to 
  the 
  identification 
  of 
  localities 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  

   rivers, 
  lakes, 
  etc., 
  were 
  often 
  differently 
  applied 
  by 
  different 
  writers, 
  

   and 
  were 
  frequently 
  entirely 
  different 
  from 
  those 
  now 
  employed 
  to 
  des- 
  

   ignate 
  the 
  same 
  landmarks. 
  Care, 
  however, 
  has 
  been 
  taken 
  to 
  trace 
  

   out, 
  in 
  such 
  cases, 
  the 
  modern 
  equivalents 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  geographical 
  

   names. 
  

  

  For 
  convenience 
  of 
  treatment 
  the 
  former 
  supposed 
  habitat 
  of 
  the 
  buf- 
  

   falo 
  is 
  divided 
  into 
  several 
  districts, 
  which 
  are 
  treated 
  separately 
  in 
  what 
  

   has 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  their 
  most 
  natural 
  order. 
  

  

  THE 
  EASTERN 
  BOUNDARY 
  OF 
  THE 
  FORMER 
  HABITAT 
  OF 
  THE 
  BUFFALO 
  

   CONSIDERED, 
  INCLUDING 
  AN 
  EXAMINATION 
  OP 
  THE 
  ALLEGED 
  EVI- 
  

   DENCE 
  OF 
  ITS 
  OCCURRENCE 
  IN 
  NEW 
  ENGLAND, 
  THE 
  CANADAS, 
  THE 
  

   MARITIME 
  PARTS 
  OF 
  THE 
  MIDDLE 
  STATES, 
  VIRGINIA, 
  THE 
  CARO- 
  

   LINAS, 
  AND 
  FLORIDA. 
  

  

  As 
  already 
  stated, 
  many 
  prominent 
  authorities 
  have 
  regarded 
  the 
  

   range 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  as 
  formerly 
  extending 
  eastward 
  to 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  

   Coast, 
  including 
  the 
  Middle 
  States, 
  and 
  even 
  portions 
  of 
  New 
  England 
  

   and 
  the 
  Cauadas, 
  while 
  others 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  no 
  doubt 
  of 
  its 
  former 
  

   existence 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  along 
  the 
  seaboard 
  to 
  Florida. 
  Its 
  former 
  oc- 
  

   currence 
  in 
  the 
  western 
  parts 
  of 
  North 
  and 
  South 
  Carolina, 
  Georgia, 
  Vir- 
  

   ginia, 
  and 
  Pennsylvania 
  is 
  established 
  beyond 
  question 
  ; 
  but 
  its 
  presence 
  

   elsewhere 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  slope 
  is 
  highly 
  questionable. 
  Dr. 
  Eichardson, 
  

   writing 
  in 
  1829, 
  says: 
  "At 
  the 
  period 
  when 
  Europeans 
  began 
  to 
  form 
  set- 
  

   tlements 
  in 
  North 
  America 
  this 
  animal 
  [the 
  American 
  Bison] 
  was 
  occa- 
  

   sionally 
  met 
  with 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Coast," 
  etc.* 
  De 
  Kay, 
  writing 
  in 
  1842, 
  

   also 
  leaves 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  inferred 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  existed 
  generally 
  along 
  the 
  

   Atlantic 
  slope 
  south 
  of 
  New 
  York. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  "The 
  bison, 
  or 
  American 
  

   buffalo, 
  has 
  long 
  since 
  been 
  extirpated 
  from 
  this 
  State 
  [New 
  York] 
  ; 
  and 
  

   although 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  at 
  present 
  found 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  yet 
  there 
  is 
  

   abundant 
  testimony 
  from 
  various 
  writers 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  this 
  animal 
  was 
  

   formerly 
  numerous 
  along 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast, 
  from 
  New 
  York 
  to 
  Mexico."! 
  

   Unfortunately, 
  however, 
  he 
  gives 
  no 
  reference 
  to 
  any 
  of 
  this 
  "abundant 
  

   testimony." 
  Captain 
  E. 
  B. 
  Marcy, 
  writing 
  in 
  1853, 
  says: 
  "Formerly, 
  

   buffaloes 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  countless 
  herds 
  over 
  almost 
  the 
  entire 
  northern 
  

  

  * 
  Richardson, 
  Faun. 
  Bor. 
  Americana. 
  Vol. 
  I. 
  p. 
  279, 
  1829. 
  

   t 
  Zoology 
  of 
  Xew 
  York, 
  Vol. 
  1, 
  p. 
  110, 
  1842. 
  

  

  