﻿514 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  and 
  Lewis's 
  Fork 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia 
  Eiver 
  ; 
  the 
  meridian 
  of 
  Fort 
  Hall 
  

   tlaeu 
  forming 
  the 
  western 
  limit 
  of 
  their 
  range. 
  The 
  buffalo 
  then 
  re- 
  

   mained 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  in 
  that 
  country, 
  and 
  frequently 
  moved 
  down 
  the 
  

   valley 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia, 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  river, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  Fishing 
  

   Falls. 
  Below 
  this 
  point 
  they 
  never 
  descended 
  in 
  any 
  numbers.* 
  About 
  

   1834 
  or 
  1835 
  they 
  began 
  to 
  diminish 
  very 
  rapidly, 
  and 
  continued 
  to 
  de- 
  

   crease 
  until 
  1838 
  or 
  1840, 
  when, 
  with 
  the 
  country 
  we 
  have 
  just 
  described, 
  

   they 
  entirely 
  abandoned 
  all 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  north 
  of 
  Lewis's 
  

   Fork 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia. 
  At 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  Flathead 
  Indians 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  

   habit 
  of 
  finding 
  their 
  buffalo 
  on 
  the 
  heads 
  of 
  Salmon 
  Eiver 
  and 
  other 
  

   streams 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia, 
  but 
  now 
  [1843] 
  they 
  never 
  meet 
  with 
  them 
  

   farther 
  west 
  than 
  the 
  three 
  forks 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri 
  or 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  

   Yellowstone 
  liivcr. 
  

  

  '• 
  In 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  our 
  journey 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  remarked 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  

   have 
  not 
  so 
  entirely 
  abandoned 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific, 
  in 
  the 
  Kocky 
  

   Mountain 
  region 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  Sweet 
  Water, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  north 
  of 
  

   the 
  Great 
  Pass. 
  This 
  partial 
  distribution 
  can 
  only 
  be 
  accounteti 
  for 
  in 
  

   the 
  great 
  pastoral 
  beauty 
  of 
  that 
  country, 
  which 
  bears 
  marks 
  of 
  having 
  

   long 
  been 
  one 
  of 
  their 
  favorite 
  haunts, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  white 
  

   hunters 
  have 
  more 
  frequented 
  the 
  northern 
  than 
  the 
  southern 
  region 
  — 
  

   it 
  being 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  Pass 
  that 
  the 
  hunters, 
  trappers, 
  and 
  traders 
  

   have 
  had 
  their 
  rendezvous 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  past; 
  and 
  from 
  that 
  section 
  

   also 
  the 
  greater 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  beaver 
  and 
  rich 
  furs 
  were 
  taken, 
  although 
  

   always 
  the 
  most 
  dangerous, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  most 
  profitable, 
  hunting- 
  

   ground. 
  

  

  " 
  In 
  that 
  region 
  lying 
  between 
  the 
  Green 
  or 
  Colorado 
  River 
  and 
  the 
  

   head-waters 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  del 
  Norte, 
  over 
  the 
  Yampalc, 
  Kooyah, 
  White, 
  

   and 
  Grand 
  Rivers, 
  — 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Colorado, 
  — 
  the 
  

   buffalo 
  never 
  extended 
  so 
  far 
  westward 
  as 
  they 
  did 
  on 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  

   the 
  Columbia; 
  and 
  only 
  in 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  instances 
  have 
  they 
  been 
  known 
  

   to 
  descend 
  as 
  far 
  west 
  as 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  White 
  River. 
  In 
  travelling 
  

   through 
  the 
  country 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  observation 
  readily- 
  

   led 
  me 
  to 
  the 
  impression 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  had 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  crossed 
  

   that 
  range 
  to 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  

   period 
  we 
  are 
  considering 
  ; 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  opinion 
  I 
  am 
  sustained 
  by 
  Mr. 
  

   Fitzpatrick, 
  and 
  the 
  older 
  trappers 
  in 
  that 
  country. 
  In 
  the 
  region 
  west 
  

   of 
  the 
  Rock^' 
  Mountains 
  we 
  never 
  meet 
  with 
  any 
  ancient 
  vestiges 
  which, 
  

   throughout 
  all 
  the 
  country 
  lying 
  upon 
  their 
  eastern 
  waters, 
  are 
  found 
  

   in 
  the 
  great 
  highivays, 
  continuous 
  for 
  hundreds 
  of 
  miles, 
  always 
  several 
  : 
  

   inches 
  and 
  sometimes 
  several 
  feet 
  in 
  depth, 
  which 
  the 
  buffalo 
  have 
  : 
  

   made 
  in 
  crossing 
  from 
  one 
  river 
  to 
  another, 
  or 
  in 
  traversing 
  the 
  mount- 
  ; 
  

   ain 
  ranges. 
  The 
  Snake 
  Indians, 
  more 
  particularly 
  those 
  low 
  down 
  upon 
  ■ 
  

   Lewis's 
  Fork, 
  have 
  always 
  been 
  very 
  grateful 
  to 
  the 
  American 
  trappers 
  \ 
  

   for 
  the 
  great 
  kindness 
  (as 
  they 
  frequently 
  expressed 
  it) 
  which 
  they 
  did 
  : 
  

   to 
  them 
  in 
  driving 
  the 
  buffalo 
  so 
  low 
  down 
  the 
  Columbia 
  River."t 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  thus 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  Fremont's 
  belief 
  that 
  their 
  occupation 
  of 
  the 
  . 
  

   Snake 
  River 
  country 
  was 
  temporary, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  pass 
  west 
  of 
  

   the 
  mountains 
  till 
  driven 
  thither, 
  at 
  a 
  comparativelj" 
  recent 
  period, 
  by 
  , 
  

   persecution 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  mountains. 
  That 
  they 
  were 
  absent 
  from 
  thisjjj 
  

   region 
  not 
  long 
  previously 
  appears 
  evident 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  Lewis 
  

   aud 
  Clarke, 
  in 
  1805, 
  met 
  with 
  no 
  buffaloes 
  west 
  of 
  ^he 
  mountains, 
  nor 
  ■ 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  locality 
  at 
  which 
  Professor 
  Marsh 
  found 
  the 
  crumbliug 
  bones 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  (re- 
  

   ferred 
  to 
  on 
  a 
  preceding 
  page) 
  is 
  some 
  two 
  hundred 
  and 
  fifty 
  miles 
  further 
  northwest, 
  

   or 
  lower 
  down 
  the 
  river. 
  

  

  t 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Exploring 
  Expedition 
  to 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  1842, 
  and 
  

   to 
  Oregon 
  and 
  California, 
  in 
  the 
  years 
  1843-'44, 
  p. 
  144. 
  

  

  