﻿ALLEN.] 
  FOEMER 
  RANGE 
  WEST 
  OF 
  THE 
  ROCKY 
  MOUNTAINS. 
  515 
  

  

  even 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  forks 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  although 
  

   there 
  was 
  evidence 
  of 
  their 
  former 
  existence 
  in 
  immense 
  herds 
  on 
  the 
  

   Jefferson 
  Fork. 
  In 
  their 
  enumeration 
  of 
  the 
  animals 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  

   slope 
  these 
  travellers 
  make 
  no 
  allusion 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  They 
  also 
  state 
  

   that 
  the 
  Indians 
  on 
  Clarke's 
  Eiver 
  crossed 
  the 
  mountains 
  in 
  spring 
  to 
  

   traffic 
  for 
  buffalo 
  robes 
  with 
  the 
  Indians 
  of 
  the 
  eastern 
  slope.* 
  

  

  In 
  1820 
  Major 
  Long 
  also 
  states 
  : 
  " 
  They 
  have 
  not 
  yet 
  crossed 
  the 
  en- 
  

   tire 
  breadth 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  though 
  they 
  

   penetrate, 
  in 
  some 
  parts, 
  far 
  within 
  that 
  range, 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  accessible 
  

   fertile 
  valleys, 
  particularly 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  Lewis's 
  Eiver. 
  It 
  was 
  there 
  

   that 
  Mr. 
  Henry 
  and 
  his 
  party 
  of 
  hunters 
  wintered, 
  and 
  subsisted 
  chiefly 
  

   upon 
  the 
  flesh 
  of 
  these 
  animals, 
  which 
  they 
  saw 
  in 
  considerable 
  herds, 
  

   but 
  the 
  Indians 
  affirmed 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  unusual 
  for 
  the 
  bisons 
  to 
  visit 
  that 
  

   neighborhood." 
  This 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  fix 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  their 
  arrival 
  at 
  the 
  

   head-waters 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia 
  between 
  1805, 
  when 
  Lewis 
  and 
  Clarke 
  vis- 
  

   ited 
  them, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Henry's 
  visit, 
  about 
  1817. 
  

  

  From 
  Washington 
  Irving's 
  entertaining 
  narrative 
  of 
  Captain 
  Bonne- 
  

   ville's 
  tour 
  across 
  the 
  continent 
  t 
  we 
  learn 
  that 
  Captain 
  Bonneville 
  first 
  

   met 
  with 
  the 
  buftalo 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains 
  on 
  the 
  head-waters 
  

   of 
  Bear 
  Eiver, 
  in 
  November, 
  1833.| 
  Passing 
  thence 
  northward, 
  they 
  

   found 
  these 
  animals 
  in 
  abundance 
  on 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  Portneuf, 
  where 
  the 
  

   Bannack 
  Indians 
  were 
  engaged 
  in 
  hunting 
  them.§ 
  But 
  in 
  his 
  subse- 
  

   quent 
  long 
  winter 
  march 
  up 
  the 
  Snake 
  Eiver, 
  no 
  buffaloes 
  appear 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  met 
  with. 
  Eeturning, 
  however, 
  to 
  Bear 
  Eiver 
  Valley, 
  he 
  

   again 
  encountered 
  large 
  herds. 
  The 
  following 
  summer 
  (July, 
  1834) 
  

   they 
  again 
  found 
  them 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  on 
  the 
  sources 
  of 
  the 
  Blackfoot 
  

   Eiver, 
  1 
  1 
  but 
  in 
  a 
  subsequent 
  long 
  journey 
  northwestward, 
  from 
  the 
  Upper 
  

   Snake 
  Eiver 
  nearly 
  to 
  Fort 
  Walla 
  Walla 
  and 
  back, 
  they 
  met 
  with 
  none, 
  

   and 
  rejoiced 
  to 
  find 
  them 
  again 
  " 
  in 
  immense 
  herds" 
  near 
  their 
  old 
  

   cam 
  ping- 
  ground 
  on 
  an 
  eastern 
  tributary 
  of 
  the 
  Snake 
  Eiver. 
  Captain 
  

   Bonneville's 
  party 
  passed 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1834-35 
  in 
  camp 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  

   part 
  of 
  Bear 
  Eiver, 
  surrounded 
  by 
  immense 
  herds 
  of 
  buffaloes, 
  which 
  

   came 
  down 
  to 
  them 
  from 
  the 
  north. 
  " 
  The 
  people 
  upon 
  Snake 
  Eiver," 
  

   says 
  the 
  narrative, 
  " 
  having 
  chased 
  off 
  the 
  buffalo 
  before 
  the 
  snow 
  had 
  

   become 
  deep, 
  immense 
  herds 
  now 
  came 
  trooping 
  over 
  the 
  mountains, 
  

   forming 
  dark 
  masses 
  on 
  their 
  sides, 
  from 
  which 
  their 
  deep-mouthed 
  

   bellowing 
  sounded 
  like 
  the 
  peals 
  and 
  mutterings 
  from 
  a 
  gathering 
  thun- 
  

   der-cloud. 
  In 
  effect, 
  the 
  cloud 
  broke, 
  and 
  down 
  came 
  the 
  torrent 
  into 
  

   the 
  valley. 
  It 
  is 
  utterly 
  impossible, 
  according 
  to 
  Captain 
  Bonneville, 
  

   to 
  convey 
  an 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  effect 
  produced 
  by 
  the 
  sight 
  of 
  such 
  countless 
  

   throngs 
  of 
  animals 
  of 
  such 
  bulk 
  and 
  spirit, 
  all 
  rushing 
  forward 
  as 
  if 
  

   swept 
  on 
  by 
  a 
  whirlwind."^ 
  In 
  the 
  autumn 
  of 
  1835 
  Parker 
  met 
  with 
  

   great 
  herds 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  fork 
  of 
  the 
  Salmon 
  Eiver 
  and 
  on 
  other 
  tributaries 
  

   of 
  the 
  Snake 
  Eiver.** 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  S. 
  Newberry, 
  writing 
  in 
  1855, 
  says: 
  "The 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  

   does 
  not 
  noiv 
  extend 
  beyond 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains, 
  but 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  

   Indian 
  hunters 
  who 
  have 
  killed 
  them 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  

  

  * 
  Lewis 
  and 
  Clarke's 
  Expedition 
  to 
  the 
  Sources 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  aud 
  down 
  the 
  Co- 
  

   lumbia 
  to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Ocean, 
  Vol. 
  I, 
  p. 
  469. 
  

  

  t 
  The 
  Rocky 
  Mountains 
  ; 
  or, 
  Scenes, 
  Incidents, 
  and 
  Adventures 
  in 
  the 
  Far 
  West, 
  — 
  

   a 
  Digest 
  of 
  the 
  Journal 
  of 
  Captain 
  B. 
  L. 
  E. 
  Bonneville. 
  2 
  vols., 
  12mo, 
  1837. 
  

  

  tlUid., 
  Vol. 
  I, 
  pp. 
  125,129. 
  

  

  ^ 
  Ibid., 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  p. 
  33. 
  

  

  II 
  Irving's 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  p. 
  179. 
  

  

  11 
  Irving's 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  pp. 
  208, 
  211. 
  

  

  ** 
  Parker 
  (Samuel),- 
  Journal 
  of 
  an 
  Exploring 
  Tour 
  beyond 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  pp. 
  

   83, 
  107, 
  108. 
  

  

  