﻿ALLEX.] 
  GRADUAL 
  EESTEICTION 
  TO 
  PRESENT 
  LIMITS. 
  52 
  1 
  

  

  nal 
  thus 
  speaks 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo, 
  the 
  locality 
  referred 
  to 
  being 
  somewhere 
  

   in 
  the 
  southeastern 
  part 
  of 
  Texas 
  : 
  " 
  Cattle 
  come 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  this. 
  I 
  hav^e 
  

   seen 
  them 
  three 
  times 
  and 
  eaten 
  of 
  their 
  meat. 
  I 
  think 
  they 
  are 
  about 
  

   the 
  size 
  of 
  those 
  of 
  Spain. 
  They 
  liave 
  small 
  horns 
  like 
  those 
  of 
  Morocco, 
  

   and 
  the 
  hair 
  long 
  and 
  flocky 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  merino. 
  Some 
  are 
  light 
  

   brown 
  {pardiUas), 
  and 
  others 
  black. 
  To 
  my 
  judgment 
  the 
  flesh 
  is 
  finer 
  

   and 
  sweeter 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  this 
  country. 
  The 
  Indians 
  make 
  blankets 
  of 
  

   those 
  that 
  are 
  not 
  full-grown, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  they 
  make 
  shoes 
  and 
  

   bucklers. 
  They 
  come 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  seacoast 
  of 
  Florida, 
  and 
  in 
  a 
  direc- 
  

   tion 
  irom 
  the 
  north, 
  and 
  range 
  over 
  a 
  district 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  four 
  hun- 
  

   dred 
  leagues. 
  In 
  the 
  wliole 
  extent 
  of 
  plain 
  over 
  which 
  they 
  roam, 
  the 
  

   people 
  who 
  live 
  bordering 
  upon 
  it 
  descend 
  and 
  kill 
  them 
  for 
  food, 
  and 
  

   thus 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  skins 
  are 
  scattered 
  throughout 
  the 
  country." 
  * 
  

  

  They 
  were 
  also 
  found 
  in 
  immense 
  herds 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Texas, 
  at 
  the 
  

   Bay 
  of 
  St. 
  Bernard 
  (Matagorda 
  Bay), 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Col- 
  

   orado 
  (Eio 
  Grande, 
  according 
  to 
  some 
  authorities), 
  by 
  La 
  Salle, 
  in 
  1685, 
  

   and 
  thence 
  northward 
  across 
  the 
  Colorado, 
  Brazos, 
  and 
  Trinity 
  Eivers. 
  

   Joutel 
  says 
  that 
  when 
  in 
  latitude 
  28° 
  51', 
  " 
  the 
  sight 
  of 
  abundance 
  of 
  

   goats 
  and 
  bullocks, 
  differing 
  in 
  shape 
  from 
  ours, 
  and 
  running 
  along 
  the 
  

   coast, 
  heightened 
  our 
  earnestness 
  to 
  be 
  ashore." 
  t 
  They 
  afterwards 
  

   landed 
  in 
  St. 
  Louis 
  Bay 
  (now 
  called 
  Matagorda 
  Bay), 
  where 
  they 
  found 
  

   buffaloes 
  in 
  such 
  numbers 
  on 
  the 
  Colorado 
  Eiver 
  that 
  they 
  called 
  it 
  La 
  

   Eiviere 
  aux 
  Boeufs. 
  " 
  These 
  bullocks," 
  says 
  the 
  account, 
  " 
  are 
  very 
  

   like 
  ours; 
  there 
  are 
  thousands 
  of 
  them, 
  but 
  instead 
  of 
  hair 
  they 
  have 
  a 
  

   very 
  long 
  curled 
  sort 
  of 
  wool."| 
  

  

  In 
  describing 
  the 
  country 
  about 
  their 
  establishment 
  at 
  St. 
  Louis, 
  at 
  

   the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Riviere 
  aux 
  Boeufs, 
  M. 
  Joutel 
  says: 
  " 
  We 
  were 
  in 
  

   about 
  the 
  27th 
  degree 
  of 
  north 
  latitude, 
  § 
  two 
  leagues 
  up 
  the 
  country, 
  

   near 
  the 
  Bay 
  of 
  St. 
  Louis, 
  || 
  and 
  the 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  Eiviere 
  aux 
  Boeufs, 
  on 
  

   a 
  little 
  hillock, 
  whence 
  we 
  discovered 
  vast 
  and 
  beautiful 
  plains, 
  extend- 
  

   ing 
  very 
  far 
  westward, 
  all 
  level, 
  and 
  full 
  of 
  greens, 
  which 
  afford 
  pasture 
  

   to 
  an 
  infinite 
  number 
  of 
  beeves 
  and 
  other 
  creatures." 
  "U 
  Setting 
  out 
  

   from 
  St. 
  Louis 
  on 
  the 
  12th 
  of 
  January, 
  1687, 
  they 
  crossed 
  a 
  succession 
  of 
  

   rivers, 
  between 
  which 
  were 
  " 
  spacious 
  plains" 
  covered 
  with 
  "a 
  multi- 
  

   tude 
  of 
  beeves 
  and 
  wild 
  fowl." 
  In 
  crossing 
  the 
  streams, 
  they 
  were 
  

   often 
  guided 
  by 
  the 
  buffalo 
  paths 
  to 
  the 
  best 
  fords. 
  They 
  crossed 
  the 
  

   Colorado, 
  called 
  by 
  them 
  La 
  Maligne, 
  probably 
  near 
  the 
  present 
  site 
  of 
  

   Austin, 
  and 
  the 
  Brazos 
  probably 
  somewhat 
  below 
  Fort 
  Graham. 
  Before 
  

   they 
  reached 
  the 
  Trinity, 
  the 
  country 
  had 
  become 
  more 
  barren, 
  and 
  

   buffaloes 
  had 
  become 
  scarcer. 
  Here 
  M. 
  de 
  la 
  Salle 
  w^as 
  assassinated, 
  

   and 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  his 
  party 
  under 
  M. 
  Cavelier, 
  his 
  brother, 
  continued 
  

   their 
  northward 
  march, 
  soon 
  reaching 
  the 
  Trinity 
  Eiver. 
  From 
  the 
  

   Trinity 
  they 
  took 
  a 
  northeasterly 
  course, 
  crossing 
  the 
  Eed 
  Eiver 
  near 
  

   the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Sulphur 
  Fork, 
  and 
  bore 
  thence 
  more 
  easterly, 
  crossing 
  

   the 
  Wachita 
  and 
  reaching 
  the 
  Arkansas, 
  which 
  they 
  struck 
  near 
  its 
  

   mouth. 
  During 
  this 
  journey 
  from 
  the 
  Trinity 
  to 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  

   Arkansas, 
  they 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  met 
  with 
  few 
  buffaloes, 
  and 
  these 
  mainly 
  

  

  * 
  Davis's 
  Translation, 
  in 
  his 
  " 
  Conquest 
  of 
  New 
  Mexico," 
  p. 
  67. 
  See 
  also 
  the 
  account 
  

   iu 
  Purcbas 
  (Pilgrims, 
  Vol. 
  IV, 
  p. 
  1513),— 
  an 
  "abbreviated" 
  translatiou 
  from 
  Ramusio. 
  

  

  tJoutel's 
  Historical 
  Journal 
  of 
  Monsieur 
  de 
  la 
  Salle's 
  last 
  voyage 
  to 
  discover 
  the 
  

   Mississippi 
  River, 
  French's 
  Hist. 
  Coll. 
  Louisiana, 
  Part 
  I, 
  p. 
  93. 
  

  

  t 
  Ibid., 
  p. 
  116. 
  

  

  ^ 
  The 
  latitude 
  here 
  given 
  is 
  obviously 
  erroneous, 
  as 
  the 
  context 
  and 
  subsequent 
  

   account, 
  of 
  their 
  jf^urney 
  northward 
  clearly 
  show. 
  The 
  latitude 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  

   nearly 
  29^ 
  instead 
  of 
  27"^'. 
  

  

  II 
  Later 
  called 
  Bay 
  of 
  St. 
  Bernard, 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  the 
  present 
  Matagorda 
  Bay. 
  

  

  il 
  Joutel's 
  Journal, 
  French's 
  Hist. 
  Coll. 
  Louisiana, 
  Part 
  I, 
  pp. 
  120, 
  121. 
  

  

  