﻿ALLEN.] 
  FOEMER 
  RANGE 
  SOUTH 
  OF 
  THE 
  RIO 
  GRANDE. 
  519 
  

  

  and 
  from 
  that 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande 
  del 
  

   Norte 
  from 
  a 
  period 
  antedating 
  the 
  sixteenth 
  century 
  till 
  the 
  present 
  

   time. 
  Why 
  it 
  may 
  not 
  during 
  some 
  earlier 
  period 
  have 
  existed 
  throughout 
  

   this 
  whole 
  region 
  would 
  be 
  hard 
  to 
  say, 
  since, 
  as 
  will 
  be 
  soon 
  shown, 
  its 
  

   existence 
  on 
  the 
  Yaqui 
  River 
  would 
  not 
  carry 
  its 
  range 
  south 
  of 
  points 
  

   the 
  buffalo 
  is 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  reached 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  slope. 
  

  

  FORMER 
  RANGE 
  SOUTH 
  OF 
  THE 
  RIO 
  GRANDE 
  DEL 
  NORTE. 
  

  

  Most 
  writers 
  give 
  the 
  southern 
  limit 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  habitat 
  of 
  the 
  

   buffalo 
  as 
  latitude 
  28° 
  to 
  30°, 
  believing 
  it 
  never 
  to 
  have 
  extended 
  south 
  

   of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande. 
  There 
  is, 
  however, 
  sufficient 
  proof 
  of 
  its 
  former 
  

   extension 
  over 
  the 
  northeastern 
  provinces 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  including 
  certainly 
  

   portions 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  States 
  of 
  Tamaulipas, 
  Nuevo 
  Leon, 
  Coahuila, 
  

   Chihuahua, 
  and 
  Durango. 
  It 
  thus 
  extended 
  southward 
  to 
  at 
  least 
  the 
  

   25th 
  parallel. 
  It 
  seems 
  not, 
  however, 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  abundant 
  over 
  much 
  

   of 
  this 
  region, 
  and 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  mainly 
  extirpated 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  begin- 
  

   ning 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  century. 
  As 
  late 
  as 
  1806, 
  however. 
  Pike 
  enumer- 
  

   ated 
  the 
  buffalo 
  among 
  the 
  animals 
  of 
  "Oogquilla"* 
  (a 
  province 
  then 
  

   extending 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande, 
  and 
  embracing 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  

   what 
  is' 
  now 
  Southwestern 
  Texas), 
  but 
  whether 
  found 
  north 
  or 
  south 
  of 
  

   the 
  Rio 
  Grande 
  is 
  not 
  stated. 
  The 
  buffalo 
  is 
  not 
  enumerated 
  by 
  Pike 
  in 
  

   his 
  lists 
  of 
  the 
  animals 
  of 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  Mexican 
  Provinces 
  situated 
  

   south 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande.t 
  

  

  De 
  Laetf 
  mentions 
  the 
  buffalo 
  (under 
  the 
  name 
  "Armenta"), 
  on 
  the 
  

   authority 
  of 
  Gomara, 
  as 
  an 
  inhabitant 
  of 
  Quivira, 
  which 
  he 
  describes 
  

   as 
  a 
  country 
  consisting 
  of 
  plains 
  destitute 
  of 
  trees, 
  and 
  well 
  known 
  as 
  

   situated 
  far 
  to 
  the 
  northward 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  northern 
  boundary 
  of 
  Mex- 
  

   ico. 
  It 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  noticed 
  also 
  that 
  all 
  the 
  references 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo 
  by 
  the 
  

   older 
  writers 
  on 
  the 
  natural 
  history 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  including 
  Hernandez, 
  

   and 
  Nieremburg, 
  and 
  even 
  Clavigero, 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  Quivira. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Berlandier, 
  who 
  was 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  a 
  resident 
  of 
  the 
  northeast- 
  

   ern 
  provinces 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  and 
  who 
  at 
  his 
  death 
  left 
  in 
  MSS. 
  a 
  large 
  

   work§ 
  on 
  the 
  Mammals 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  speaks 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  as 
  formerly 
  

   ranging 
  far 
  to 
  the 
  southward 
  of 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande. 
  I 
  am 
  unable 
  to 
  say, 
  

   however, 
  what 
  are 
  his 
  authorities. 
  In 
  his 
  chapter 
  on 
  this 
  animal 
  he 
  

   thus 
  refers 
  to 
  its 
  former 
  range 
  in 
  Mexico 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  ^'Au 
  Mexique, 
  lorsque 
  les 
  espagnols, 
  toujours 
  avides 
  de 
  richesses, 
  pous- 
  

   saient 
  leurs 
  excursions 
  dans 
  le 
  nord 
  ouest, 
  ils 
  ne 
  tarderent 
  pas 
  a 
  rencon- 
  

   trer 
  des 
  bisons. 
  En 
  1602, 
  les 
  moines 
  Franciscains 
  qui 
  decouvrirent 
  le 
  

   Nouveau 
  Leon, 
  rencontrerent 
  dausles 
  environs 
  de 
  Monterey 
  de 
  nombreux 
  

   troupeaux 
  de 
  ces 
  quadrupedes. 
  lis 
  6taient 
  aussi 
  assez 
  r6pandus 
  dans 
  la 
  

   Kouvelle 
  Biscaye 
  (etats 
  de 
  Chihuahua 
  et 
  Durango) 
  et 
  s'avan9aient 
  quel- 
  

   quefois 
  tresausuddece 
  pays. 
  Dansle 
  dix-huitieme 
  siecle,ilsseconcentre- 
  

   rent 
  de 
  plus 
  en 
  plus 
  vers 
  le 
  nord, 
  et 
  restaient 
  encore 
  fort-commuus 
  dans 
  

   les 
  environs 
  du 
  presidio 
  de 
  Bexar. 
  Au 
  commencement 
  du 
  dix-neuvieme 
  

  

  *" 
  Animals. 
  —Beer, 
  wild 
  horse, 
  a 
  few 
  buffalo, 
  and 
  wild 
  hogs."— 
  Pike's 
  (Z. 
  M.) 
  Western 
  

   Exj>ediiio)is, 
  App. 
  to 
  Part 
  III, 
  p. 
  28, 
  1810. 
  

  

  t 
  Catlin 
  in 
  his 
  " 
  North 
  American 
  Indians," 
  Vol. 
  I, 
  gives 
  a 
  map 
  illustrative 
  of 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   tribution 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  in 
  1833. 
  On 
  this 
  map 
  an 
  attempt 
  is 
  made 
  to 
  also 
  show 
  

   the 
  rano-e 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  Although 
  this 
  is 
  done 
  very 
  imperfectly, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  worthy 
  ot 
  

   mention 
  in 
  this 
  connection 
  that 
  he 
  here 
  represents 
  the 
  buffalo 
  as 
  ranging 
  over 
  the 
  

   greater 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  above-named 
  provinces 
  of 
  Northeastern 
  Mexico. 
  

  

  t 
  America, 
  p. 
  303. 
  , 
  ,, 
  . 
  . 
  , 
  . 
  uro 
  t 
  

  

  §Now 
  in 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution. 
  For 
  access 
  to 
  this 
  important 
  MS. 
  I 
  am 
  in- 
  

   debted 
  to 
  the 
  kindness 
  of 
  Professor 
  S. 
  F. 
  Baird, 
  Assistant 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  

   Institution. 
  

  

  