﻿ALLEN.] 
  EXTIRPATION 
  IN 
  TEXAS 
  AND 
  NEW 
  MEXICO. 
  527 
  

  

  be 
  duly 
  clirouicled.* 
  We 
  are 
  farther 
  led 
  to 
  infer 
  the 
  entire 
  absence 
  at 
  

   this 
  time 
  of 
  buffaloes 
  in 
  Texas 
  by 
  some 
  remarks 
  made 
  by 
  Captain 
  Pope 
  

   in 
  his 
  General 
  Report, 
  respecting 
  the 
  Comanche 
  Indians, 
  whose 
  country 
  

   was 
  on 
  the 
  bead-waters 
  of 
  the 
  Canadian 
  and 
  Eed 
  Rivers, 
  in 
  the 
  extreme 
  

   northern 
  part 
  of 
  Texas. 
  He 
  says 
  : 
  " 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  months 
  nearly 
  

   the 
  whole 
  tribe 
  migrates 
  to 
  the 
  north 
  to 
  hunt 
  buffalo 
  and 
  wild 
  horses 
  on 
  

   the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  Arkansas.'' 
  t 
  

  

  Captain 
  H. 
  M. 
  Lazelle, 
  8th 
  U, 
  S. 
  Infantry, 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  in 
  1859 
  

   there 
  were 
  no 
  buffaloes 
  in 
  New 
  Mexico, 
  nor 
  in 
  Texas 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  99th 
  

   meridian, 
  but 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  vast 
  numbers 
  in 
  ISTorthern 
  Texas 
  between 
  

   the 
  meridians 
  of 
  99° 
  and 
  96°; 
  but 
  that 
  they 
  did 
  not 
  extend 
  so 
  far 
  south 
  

   as 
  Pope's 
  old 
  trail 
  of 
  1854. 
  | 
  

  

  Hence 
  it 
  appears 
  that 
  for 
  quite 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  years 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  nearly 
  

   abandoned 
  Texas, 
  or 
  visited 
  only 
  its 
  northwestern 
  i)ortions, 
  and 
  were 
  of 
  

   somewhat 
  uncertain 
  occurrence, 
  in 
  summer 
  at 
  least, 
  as 
  far 
  north 
  as 
  the 
  

   Canadian. 
  Of 
  late, 
  however, 
  they 
  have 
  again 
  become 
  common 
  over 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  northwestern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  State, 
  occasionally 
  

   extending 
  southward 
  along 
  the 
  100th 
  meridian 
  almost 
  to 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande. 
  

   Major-General 
  M. 
  C. 
  Meigs, 
  Quartermaster-General 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   Army, 
  says, 
  in 
  some 
  valuable 
  MS. 
  notes 
  on 
  the 
  buffalo,§ 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  win- 
  

   ter 
  of 
  1889-70 
  he 
  saw 
  their 
  carcasses 
  near 
  Fort 
  Concho, 
  Texas, 
  " 
  showing 
  

   that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  had 
  been 
  abundant 
  in 
  that 
  neighborhood 
  the 
  previous 
  

   year." 
  The 
  x)rairies 
  having 
  been 
  extensively 
  burned 
  that 
  winter 
  about 
  

   Conclio, 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  had 
  not 
  appeared 
  within 
  twenty 
  miles 
  of 
  the 
  post 
  

   that 
  season. 
  He 
  also 
  says 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1871-72 
  they 
  extended 
  

   their 
  migrations 
  westward 
  to 
  the 
  Staked 
  Plains. 
  |1 
  

  

  Mr. 
  J. 
  Boll, 
  the 
  well-known 
  entomological 
  collector, 
  also 
  informs 
  me 
  

   that 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1874-75 
  they 
  were 
  still 
  more 
  abundant 
  over 
  

   quite 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  Northern 
  Texas, 
  doubtless 
  in 
  consequence 
  of 
  their 
  

   persecution 
  by 
  the 
  hunters 
  in 
  Southwestern 
  Kansas. 
  Respecting 
  the 
  

   eastern 
  boundary 
  of 
  their 
  range 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  (January, 
  1876), 
  he 
  

   says 
  : 
  " 
  So 
  viel 
  mir 
  bis 
  jetzt 
  bekannt, 
  so 
  geht 
  der 
  Bison 
  ostlich 
  im 
  Texas 
  

   nicht 
  mehr 
  liber 
  die 
  Linie 
  hinaus 
  welche 
  von 
  der 
  Miindung 
  der 
  Little 
  

   Wichita 
  in 
  den 
  Red 
  River 
  in 
  gerader 
  Richtung 
  fast 
  siidlich 
  bis 
  zur 
  Miin- 
  

   dung 
  des 
  Pecan 
  Bayou 
  in 
  den 
  River 
  Colorado 
  sich 
  austreckt. 
  Wie 
  sich 
  

   diese 
  Linie 
  vom 
  Colorado 
  River 
  bis 
  zum 
  Rio 
  Grande 
  gestaltet 
  ist 
  schwer 
  

   zu 
  sagen, 
  doch 
  glaube 
  ich 
  dass 
  von 
  der 
  Miindung 
  des 
  Pecan 
  Bayou 
  sie 
  

   mehr 
  eine 
  stark 
  sudwestliche 
  Richtung 
  bis 
  zum 
  30° 
  nordlich 
  Breite 
  

   annehmen 
  wird." 
  

  

  Respecting 
  their 
  present 
  southern 
  limit 
  in 
  Texas, 
  a 
  letter 
  written 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  J. 
  Stevens 
  in 
  answer 
  to 
  my 
  inquiries 
  on 
  this 
  point, 
  and 
  kindly 
  

   transmitted 
  to 
  me 
  by 
  Mr. 
  C. 
  E. 
  Aiken, 
  of 
  Colorado 
  Springs, 
  Colorado, 
  

   states, 
  on 
  the 
  authority 
  of 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  H. 
  Case, 
  who 
  has 
  lived 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  two 
  

   or 
  three 
  years 
  at 
  Fort 
  Concho, 
  that 
  buffaloes 
  have 
  of 
  late 
  been 
  quite 
  

   numerous 
  there 
  in 
  winter, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  especially 
  so 
  last 
  winter. 
  

   He 
  says 
  that 
  " 
  alter 
  severe 
  storms 
  they 
  come 
  in 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  in 
  large 
  

   numbers, 
  at 
  which 
  times 
  he 
  has 
  seen 
  larger 
  herds 
  there 
  than 
  anywhere 
  

   else, 
  not 
  excepting 
  Kansas 
  and 
  the 
  Indian 
  Territory. 
  East 
  of 
  Fort 
  Con- 
  

   cho 
  he 
  says 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  go 
  south 
  of 
  the 
  latitude 
  of 
  that 
  post, 
  but 
  that 
  to 
  

  

  * 
  Pacific 
  R. 
  R. 
  ExploratioDsand 
  Surveys, 
  Vol.11, 
  Pope's 
  Exploration 
  of 
  the 
  32d 
  Par- 
  

   allel, 
  from 
  the 
  Red 
  River 
  to 
  the 
  Rio 
  Grande, 
  pp. 
  51-93. 
  

   . 
  tibid., 
  p. 
  15. 
  

  

  t 
  Pope's 
  trail 
  crosses 
  the 
  96th 
  meridian 
  in 
  about 
  latitude 
  33° 
  30', 
  and 
  strikes 
  tho 
  Pecos 
  

   in 
  longitude 
  103^ 
  and 
  latitude 
  31° 
  30', 
  at 
  Emigrant 
  Crossing. 
  

  

  $ 
  For 
  access 
  to 
  this 
  interesting 
  paper 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  to 
  the 
  kindness 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Elliott 
  

   Cones, 
  the 
  eminent 
  ornithologist. 
  

  

  il 
  MS. 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  Bnffalo. 
  

  

  