﻿ALLEx.J 
  FOKMER 
  RANGE 
  EAST 
  OF 
  THE 
  MISSISSIPPI. 
  507 
  

  

  killed 
  tbe 
  first 
  and 
  last 
  buffalo 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  emigrants 
  from 
  France 
  who 
  

   settled 
  the 
  town 
  of 
  Gallipolis." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Graham 
  adds 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  " 
  no 
  information 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  relied 
  

   upon 
  of 
  buffalo 
  being 
  killed 
  in 
  Ohio 
  after 
  the 
  year 
  1795 
  or 
  1796." 
  In 
  a 
  

   later 
  letter 
  he 
  saj-s, 
  " 
  From 
  all 
  that 
  I 
  know 
  of 
  the 
  early 
  settlement 
  and 
  

   history 
  of 
  the 
  West, 
  I 
  am 
  under 
  the 
  impression 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  disap- 
  

   peared 
  from 
  Ohio, 
  Illinois, 
  Indiana, 
  and 
  Kentucky 
  about 
  the 
  year 
  1800."' 
  

  

  Its 
  former 
  occurrence 
  over 
  considerable 
  portions 
  of 
  Kentucky 
  is 
  also 
  

   most 
  abundantly 
  substantiated, 
  as 
  the 
  subjoined 
  extracts 
  from 
  trust- 
  

   worthy 
  authorities 
  sufficiently 
  attest. 
  

  

  M'Clung, 
  in 
  his 
  sketch 
  of 
  Simon 
  Kenton, 
  "taken 
  from 
  a 
  manuscript 
  

   account, 
  dictated 
  by 
  the 
  venerable 
  pioneer 
  himself," 
  relates 
  the 
  follow- 
  

   ing: 
  "Kenton, 
  with 
  two 
  companions, 
  set 
  out 
  from 
  Cabin 
  Creek, 
  a 
  few 
  

   miles 
  above 
  Maysville, 
  apparently 
  about 
  1773 
  and 
  1774, 
  to 
  explore 
  the 
  

   neighboring 
  country. 
  In 
  a 
  short 
  time 
  they 
  reached 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  May's 
  

   Lick, 
  where 
  they 
  fell 
  in 
  with 
  the 
  great 
  buffalo 
  trace, 
  which 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  

   hours 
  brought 
  them 
  to 
  the 
  Lower 
  Blue 
  Lick. 
  The 
  flats 
  upon 
  each 
  side 
  

   of 
  the 
  river 
  were 
  crowded 
  with 
  immense 
  herds 
  of 
  buffalo, 
  that 
  had 
  come 
  

   down 
  from 
  the 
  interior 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  salt 
  ; 
  and 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  elk 
  were 
  

  

  seen 
  upon 
  thie 
  bare 
  ridges 
  which 
  surround 
  the 
  springs 
  After 
  

  

  remaining 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  at 
  the 
  lick, 
  and 
  killing 
  an 
  immense 
  number 
  of 
  

   deer 
  and 
  buffalo, 
  they 
  crossed 
  the 
  Licking, 
  and 
  passed 
  through 
  the 
  pres- 
  

   ent 
  counties 
  of 
  Scott, 
  Fayette, 
  Woodford, 
  Clarke, 
  Montgomery, 
  and 
  

   Bath, 
  where, 
  falling 
  in 
  with 
  another 
  buffalo 
  trace, 
  it 
  conducted 
  them 
  to 
  

   the 
  upper 
  Blue 
  Lick, 
  where 
  they 
  again 
  beheld 
  elk 
  and 
  buffalo 
  in 
  im- 
  

   mense 
  numbers."* 
  

  

  In 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  adventures 
  of 
  Colonel 
  Daniel 
  Boone, 
  published 
  

   by 
  Filsoaj, 
  BoOne 
  states 
  that 
  he 
  left 
  his 
  "family 
  and 
  peaceable 
  habita- 
  

   tion 
  on 
  the 
  Yadkin 
  Eiver, 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina, 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  May, 
  1769, 
  to 
  

   wander 
  through 
  the 
  wilderness 
  of 
  America, 
  in 
  quest 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  of 
  

   Keutucke." 
  Crossing 
  the 
  " 
  mountain 
  wilderness," 
  he 
  and 
  his 
  five 
  com- 
  

   panions 
  found 
  themselves 
  on 
  Red 
  River, 
  on 
  the 
  seventh 
  of 
  June 
  follow- 
  

   ing. 
  Here 
  they 
  encamped 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  reconnoitre 
  the 
  country. 
  

   Boone 
  writes: 
  "We 
  found 
  everywhere 
  abundance 
  of 
  wild 
  beasts 
  of 
  all 
  

   sorts, 
  through 
  this 
  vast 
  forest. 
  The 
  buffaloes 
  were 
  more 
  frequent 
  than 
  

   I 
  have 
  seen 
  cattle 
  in 
  the 
  settlements, 
  browzingon 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  cane, 
  

   or 
  cropping 
  the 
  herbage 
  on 
  those 
  extensive 
  plains, 
  fearless, 
  because 
  

   ignorant, 
  of 
  the 
  violence 
  of 
  man. 
  Sometimes 
  we 
  saw 
  hundreds 
  in 
  a 
  

   drove, 
  and 
  the 
  numbers 
  about 
  the 
  salt 
  springs 
  were 
  amazing." 
  t 
  During 
  

   the 
  severe 
  winter 
  of 
  1780 
  and 
  1781, 
  Boone 
  says 
  that 
  the- 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  

   Kentucky 
  "lived 
  chiefly 
  on 
  the 
  flesh 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo." 
  

  

  Filson 
  says 
  (writing 
  in 
  1784) 
  : 
  " 
  I 
  have 
  heard 
  a 
  hunter 
  assert, 
  he 
  saw 
  

   above 
  one 
  thousand 
  buffaloes 
  at 
  the 
  Blue 
  Licks 
  at 
  once 
  ; 
  so 
  numerous 
  

   were 
  they 
  before 
  the 
  first 
  settlers 
  had 
  wantonly 
  sported 
  away 
  their 
  

   lives. 
  There 
  still 
  remain 
  a 
  great 
  number 
  in 
  the 
  exterior 
  jjarts 
  of 
  the 
  

   settlement."! 
  Again 
  he 
  says, 
  after 
  describing 
  the 
  salt 
  licks 
  of 
  Ken- 
  

   tucky 
  : 
  "To 
  these 
  [the 
  licks] 
  the 
  cattle 
  repair, 
  and 
  reduce 
  high 
  hills 
  

   rather 
  to 
  valleys 
  than 
  plains. 
  The 
  amazing 
  herds 
  of 
  Buffaloes 
  which 
  

   resort 
  thither, 
  by 
  their 
  size 
  and 
  number, 
  fill 
  the 
  traveller 
  with 
  amazement 
  

   and 
  terror, 
  especially 
  when 
  he 
  beholds 
  the 
  prodigious 
  roads 
  they 
  have 
  

   made 
  from 
  all 
  quarters, 
  as 
  if 
  leading 
  to 
  some 
  populous 
  city; 
  the 
  vast 
  

  

  * 
  Western 
  Adveutures, 
  jj. 
  86. 
  

  

  tFilfeon 
  (John), 
  Discovery, 
  Settlement, 
  and 
  Present 
  State 
  of 
  Kentucky, 
  1784, 
  pj). 
  50^ 
  

   51. 
  

  

  t 
  Filson 
  (Jubu), 
  Discovery, 
  Settlement, 
  and 
  Present 
  State 
  of 
  Kentucky, 
  1784, 
  pp. 
  27,. 
  

   28. 
  

  

  