﻿ALLEN] 
  INFLUENCE 
  OF 
  RAILROADS 
  UPON 
  THE 
  BUFFALO. 
  535 
  

  

  foot 
  of 
  the 
  mountains, 
  and 
  jparallel 
  therewitli. 
  The 
  herds 
  are 
  thin 
  on 
  

   the 
  edge, 
  thickening 
  to 
  the 
  eastward. 
  Small 
  bands 
  occasionally 
  wander 
  

   ten 
  or 
  twenty 
  miles 
  further 
  west, 
  but 
  the 
  line 
  is 
  quite 
  distinctly 
  marked. 
  

   In 
  the 
  fall 
  they 
  move 
  gradually 
  but 
  slowly 
  southward, 
  and 
  in 
  late 
  winter 
  

   and 
  spring 
  return 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  north 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  eastern 
  edge 
  of 
  Col- 
  

   orado 
  is 
  really 
  occupied 
  all 
  the 
  winter 
  by 
  herds 
  that 
  come 
  from 
  and 
  re- 
  

   turn 
  to 
  the 
  north. 
  In 
  summer 
  very 
  few 
  remain 
  upon 
  the 
  Colorado 
  range. 
  

   I 
  have 
  no 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  relative 
  movement 
  of 
  individual 
  herds 
  north 
  and 
  

   south 
  during 
  the 
  year, 
  but 
  there 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  regular 
  ebb 
  and 
  flotc 
  once 
  

   a 
  year. 
  There 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  marked 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  limit 
  of 
  the 
  range 
  

   westward 
  in 
  the 
  last 
  five 
  years, 
  but 
  the 
  columns 
  have 
  been 
  thinned 
  /mr- 
  

   fully, 
  — 
  certainly 
  one-half." 
  

  

  Influence 
  of 
  tJie 
  Railroads 
  upon 
  the 
  Decrease 
  of 
  the 
  Buffalo. 
  — 
  Three 
  rail- 
  

   roads 
  now 
  enter 
  or 
  pass 
  near 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  Southern 
  Herd. 
  Their 
  

   influence, 
  though 
  immense 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  its 
  decrease, 
  seems 
  not 
  to 
  have 
  

   very 
  greatly 
  affected 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  its 
  range. 
  The 
  railroads, 
  of 
  course, 
  

   primarily 
  affect 
  the 
  buffalo 
  by 
  affording 
  to 
  the 
  hunters 
  easy 
  access 
  to 
  

   its 
  haunts, 
  and 
  by 
  placing 
  the 
  hunters 
  in 
  communication 
  with 
  ready 
  

   markets 
  for 
  the 
  products 
  of 
  the 
  chase. 
  They 
  also 
  open 
  up 
  the 
  country 
  

   they 
  traverse 
  to 
  permanent 
  settlement, 
  thus 
  rendering 
  the 
  extirpation 
  

   of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  from 
  the 
  country 
  bordering 
  these 
  avenues 
  of 
  travel 
  not 
  

   only 
  speedy 
  but 
  permanent. 
  Although 
  the 
  buffalo 
  has 
  no 
  little 
  fear 
  of 
  

   these 
  iron 
  highways 
  and 
  their 
  thundering 
  trains, 
  this 
  alone 
  would 
  not, 
  

   for 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  at 
  least, 
  seriously 
  influence 
  its 
  range 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  herds 
  

   have 
  not, 
  except 
  through 
  the 
  thinning 
  of 
  their 
  ranks 
  by 
  the 
  hunters 
  who 
  

   make 
  these 
  roads 
  the 
  bases 
  of 
  their 
  operations, 
  materially 
  changed 
  their 
  

   range 
  since 
  the 
  opening 
  of 
  the 
  Union 
  Pacific 
  Eailroad 
  in 
  1869. 
  The 
  

   buffaloes 
  still 
  range 
  northward 
  to 
  thi^ 
  road 
  between 
  Fort 
  Kearney 
  and 
  

   the 
  Forks 
  of 
  the 
  Platte, 
  but 
  they 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  of 
  late 
  rarely 
  passed 
  

   north 
  of 
  it. 
  At 
  this 
  point 
  the 
  buffalo 
  range 
  is 
  still 
  within 
  easy 
  drive 
  

   from 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  the 
  road, 
  and 
  is 
  often 
  chosen 
  by 
  Eastern 
  hunting-parties 
  

   for 
  their 
  field 
  of 
  operations. 
  

  

  The 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Eailway, 
  traversing 
  as 
  it 
  does 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  favorite 
  

   and 
  formerly 
  most 
  populous 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  Southern 
  

   Herd, 
  has 
  given 
  opportunity, 
  since 
  it 
  was 
  opened 
  in 
  1870, 
  for 
  the 
  de- 
  

   struction 
  of 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands 
  of 
  buffaloes. 
  After 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  

   years 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  this 
  wholesale 
  slaughter 
  began 
  to 
  be 
  apparent 
  in 
  

   the 
  thinning 
  of 
  the 
  herds 
  and 
  in 
  their 
  erratic 
  movements 
  and 
  changed 
  

   habits, 
  especially 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  their 
  migrations. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1871 
  straggling 
  bands 
  occurred 
  as 
  far 
  east- 
  

   ward 
  in 
  Northern 
  Kansas 
  as 
  Fossil 
  Creek, 
  while 
  the 
  great 
  herds 
  were 
  

   rarely 
  met 
  with 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  meridian 
  of 
  Fort 
  Hays. 
  In 
  June 
  of 
  that 
  

   year 
  they 
  blackened 
  the 
  prairies 
  from 
  the 
  Saline 
  Eiver 
  to 
  the 
  Republi- 
  

   can 
  Fork. 
  In 
  January, 
  1872, 
  they 
  had 
  receded 
  several 
  hundred 
  miles 
  

   to 
  the 
  westward 
  of 
  their 
  summer 
  limit, 
  ranging 
  then 
  over 
  Eastern 
  Colo- 
  

   rado. 
  Between 
  the 
  Union 
  Pacific 
  and 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railroads 
  they 
  

   at 
  this 
  time 
  migrated 
  east 
  v. 
  ard 
  in 
  summer 
  and 
  westward 
  in 
  winter, 
  

   passing 
  with 
  reluctance 
  either 
  of 
  these 
  great 
  highways. 
  At 
  times, 
  

   however, 
  they 
  swept 
  across 
  the 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railway 
  in 
  immense 
  

   herds, 
  obliging 
  the 
  trains 
  to 
  await 
  their 
  passage.* 
  In 
  consequence 
  of 
  

   this 
  eastward 
  and 
  westward 
  migration 
  they 
  had 
  already 
  worn 
  deep 
  

   trails 
  running 
  in 
  this 
  direction, 
  and 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  the 
  older 
  set 
  

  

  * 
  General 
  Meigs 
  writes 
  that 
  a 
  conductor 
  of 
  the 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railway 
  informed 
  

   him 
  in 
  the 
  winter 
  of 
  1872-73, 
  that 
  " 
  while 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  several 
  times 
  delayed 
  by 
  the 
  

   crossing 
  of 
  immense 
  herds 
  going 
  south 
  he 
  had 
  never 
  seen 
  any 
  buffalo 
  returning." 
  — 
  

   MS. 
  Notes 
  on 
  tht 
  Buffalo. 
  

  

  