﻿ALLEN] 
  PRESENT 
  DIVISION 
  INTO 
  TWO 
  HERDS. 
  533 
  

  

  the 
  greatest 
  abundance 
  between 
  the 
  Smoky 
  Hill 
  Fork 
  and 
  the 
  Arkansas.* 
  

   In 
  1845 
  Lieutenant 
  Turner 
  found 
  buffaloes 
  abundant 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  

   the 
  Arkansas 
  from 
  Bent's 
  Fort 
  tbence 
  eastward 
  for 
  over 
  two 
  hundred 
  

   miles.t 
  The 
  following 
  year 
  (1846) 
  Dr. 
  Wislizenus 
  reports 
  that 
  on 
  Col- 
  

   onel 
  Doniphan's 
  march 
  across 
  the 
  plains 
  all 
  signs 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo, 
  even 
  

   including 
  the 
  bois 
  de 
  vac/ie, 
  disappeared 
  near 
  the 
  meridian 
  of 
  101°, 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  the 
  Arkansas 
  and 
  Cimarron.| 
  

  

  Fremont 
  states 
  that 
  in 
  1842, 
  at 
  103° 
  30', 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  forks 
  of 
  the 
  

   Platte, 
  they 
  absolutely 
  covered 
  the 
  plains, 
  and 
  were 
  abundant 
  thence 
  

   westward 
  to 
  St. 
  Yrain's 
  Fort, 
  situated 
  a 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  southward 
  of 
  the 
  

   present 
  town 
  of 
  Cheyenne. 
  Between 
  the 
  forks 
  of 
  the 
  Platte 
  and 
  along 
  

   the 
  North 
  Platte 
  to 
  Fort 
  Laramie 
  but 
  few 
  were 
  found, 
  but 
  recent 
  signs 
  

   of 
  them 
  were 
  abundant. 
  On 
  the 
  Laramie 
  plains 
  westward 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  

   Laramie 
  River, 
  large 
  herds 
  were 
  constantly 
  met 
  with, 
  but 
  this 
  year 
  none 
  

   were 
  seen 
  on 
  the 
  North 
  Platte 
  above 
  the 
  junction 
  of 
  Laramie 
  Elver, 
  

   the 
  grasshoppers 
  and 
  the 
  dry 
  weather 
  having 
  destroyed 
  every 
  blade 
  of 
  

   grass. 
  § 
  

  

  In 
  June, 
  1844, 
  Fremont 
  found 
  them 
  in 
  immense 
  numbers 
  in 
  North, 
  

   Middle, 
  and 
  South 
  Parks, 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  State 
  of 
  Colorado, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  on 
  

   the 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Green 
  River 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  mount- 
  

   ains, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  Sweet 
  Water, 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  extreme 
  head-waters 
  of 
  

   the 
  North 
  Platte, 
  from 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  extensive 
  region 
  they 
  were 
  nearly 
  

   or 
  quite 
  exterminated 
  during 
  the 
  following 
  twenty 
  years. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  miners 
  first 
  visited 
  the 
  parks 
  and 
  mountains 
  of 
  Colorado, 
  

   in 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1859, 
  they 
  found 
  them 
  occupied 
  by 
  small 
  bands 
  of 
  

   buffaloes, 
  which 
  afforded 
  them 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  meat 
  for 
  several 
  years. 
  

   They 
  have 
  been 
  scarce 
  there, 
  however, 
  for 
  the 
  last 
  ten 
  years, 
  during 
  

   which 
  time 
  only 
  stragglers 
  have 
  been 
  met 
  with. 
  In 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1871 
  

   I 
  found 
  their 
  skulls 
  still 
  frequent 
  in 
  South 
  Park 
  and 
  up 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  

   the 
  South 
  Platte 
  to 
  its 
  extreme 
  source. 
  They 
  were 
  very 
  frequent 
  at 
  and 
  

   above 
  Montgomery, 
  and 
  even 
  on 
  the 
  neighboring 
  mountains 
  above 
  

   timber-line, 
  showing 
  that 
  not 
  many 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  buffalo 
  ranged 
  over 
  

   the 
  grassy 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  mountains 
  even 
  to 
  above 
  the 
  limit 
  of 
  the 
  timber. 
  

   I 
  heard 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  small 
  band 
  of 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  dozen 
  individuals 
  near 
  the 
  

   southern 
  borders 
  of 
  South 
  Park, 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Buffalo 
  Springs, 
  and 
  

   saw 
  a 
  calf 
  at 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  ranches 
  that 
  was 
  captured 
  in 
  June 
  of 
  that 
  year 
  

   as 
  the 
  band 
  passed 
  up 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  Platte 
  into 
  the 
  Park.jl 
  

   Mr. 
  Wm. 
  N. 
  Byers, 
  of 
  Denver, 
  Colorado, 
  writes 
  me 
  that- 
  a 
  band 
  of 
  

   twelve 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  South 
  Park 
  in 
  1873, 
  and 
  that 
  " 
  occasionally 
  a 
  little 
  

   band 
  is 
  still 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  edge 
  of 
  Middle 
  Park 
  and 
  in 
  North 
  

   Park." 
  " 
  About 
  seventy-five 
  wintered 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  Muddy 
  or 
  Milk 
  

   Biver, 
  Middle 
  Park, 
  last 
  winter 
  [1874-75]. 
  Another 
  band 
  was 
  seen 
  on 
  

   the 
  head-waters 
  of 
  Willow 
  Creek, 
  ranging 
  thence 
  over 
  the 
  divide 
  into 
  

   North 
  Park. 
  Most 
  of 
  our 
  people 
  call 
  these 
  mountain 
  animals 
  Bisons, 
  

   and 
  think 
  them 
  smaller 
  than 
  the 
  Plains 
  Buffalo, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  evidently 
  

   the 
  same 
  animal, 
  resorting 
  to 
  the 
  mountains 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  choice." 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  these 
  small 
  parties, 
  according 
  to 
  western 
  newspapers, 
  seems 
  

   to 
  have 
  recently 
  fallen 
  a 
  prey 
  to 
  the 
  Indians, 
  a 
  Denver 
  paper 
  of 
  a 
  recent 
  

  

  * 
  Pike 
  (Z. 
  M.), 
  Expedition 
  to 
  the 
  Sources 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi, 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  Sources 
  of 
  the 
  

   Arkansas, 
  Kansas, 
  i--a 
  Platte, 
  and 
  Pierre 
  Jaune 
  Rivers, 
  etc., 
  in 
  the 
  years 
  1805, 
  1806, 
  and 
  

   1807. 
  

  

  t 
  Cong. 
  Rep., 
  29th 
  Congress, 
  1st 
  Session, 
  House 
  Ex. 
  Doc. 
  No. 
  2, 
  p. 
  217. 
  

  

  t 
  Wislizenus 
  (Dr. 
  A,), 
  Memoir 
  of 
  a 
  Tour 
  to 
  Northern 
  Mexico 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  Colonel 
  

   Doniphan's 
  Expedition 
  in 
  1846-47, 
  Cong. 
  Rep., 
  30th 
  Congress, 
  Ist 
  Session, 
  Miscel. 
  Doc. 
  

   No. 
  26. 
  

  

  $ 
  Fremont's 
  Exploration 
  during 
  1842, 
  1843. 
  and 
  1844, 
  etc. 
  

  

  II 
  Bull, 
  Essex 
  Inst., 
  Vol. 
  VI, 
  pp. 
  54, 
  55. 
  

  

  