﻿ALLEN.J 
  RANGE 
  BETWEEN 
  UPPER 
  MISSOURI 
  AND 
  PLATTE. 
  541 
  

  

  on 
  one 
  side 
  to 
  the 
  other, 
  had 
  sunk 
  in 
  the 
  snow 
  which 
  filled 
  the 
  ravine, 
  

   and 
  lost 
  many 
  of 
  their 
  number. 
  The 
  buffaloes 
  are 
  more 
  expert 
  and 
  

   venturesome 
  climbers 
  than 
  their 
  unwieldy 
  forms 
  would 
  indicate. 
  Upon 
  

   the 
  summits 
  of 
  the 
  Sweet 
  Grass 
  Hills, 
  inaccessible 
  on 
  horseback, 
  and 
  

   where 
  a 
  man 
  can 
  only 
  go 
  about 
  by 
  scrambling, 
  their 
  dung 
  and 
  bones 
  

   are 
  found, 
  with 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  sheep. 
  The 
  hillsides 
  here, 
  and 
  

   the 
  equally 
  steep 
  banks 
  in 
  places 
  along 
  the 
  heads 
  of 
  the 
  Milk 
  Elver 
  and 
  

   its 
  tributaries, 
  too 
  declivous 
  in 
  their 
  natural 
  state 
  to 
  afford 
  footing 
  to 
  a 
  

   horse 
  or 
  mule, 
  are 
  cut 
  by 
  innumerable 
  hoofs 
  into 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  narrow 
  

   terraces, 
  each 
  a 
  buffalo 
  trail. 
  

  

  "In 
  the 
  whole 
  region 
  just 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Milk 
  Eiver, 
  absolutely 
  treeless 
  

   excepting 
  along 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  stream, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  Sweet 
  Grass 
  Hills, 
  

   buffalo 
  chips 
  are 
  everywhere 
  at 
  hand 
  for 
  fuel. 
  

  

  " 
  In 
  descending 
  the 
  Missouri 
  Eiver 
  from 
  Fort 
  Benton, 
  buffalo 
  were 
  

   seen 
  almost 
  daily 
  during 
  that 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  voyage 
  which 
  embraced 
  the 
  

   rapid 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  flowing 
  between 
  the 
  bluffs 
  of 
  the 
  Bad 
  Lands. 
  

   Small 
  droves 
  were 
  seen 
  surmounting 
  peaks 
  which, 
  it 
  would 
  seem, 
  only 
  

   a 
  mountain 
  sheep 
  could 
  scale; 
  and 
  in 
  one 
  instance, 
  indeed, 
  the 
  attempt 
  

   was 
  a 
  failure, 
  and 
  the 
  animal 
  rolled 
  down 
  hill 
  in 
  a 
  cloud 
  of 
  dust. 
  No 
  

   more 
  were 
  seen 
  below 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Musselshell, 
  where 
  the 
  Missouri 
  

   widens 
  and 
  enters 
  a 
  flatter 
  country. 
  The 
  limit 
  on 
  the 
  Missouri 
  corre- 
  

   sponds 
  in 
  longitude, 
  in 
  a 
  general 
  way, 
  with 
  that 
  above 
  noted 
  on 
  the 
  

   parallel 
  of 
  49°." 
  

  

  It 
  thus 
  appears 
  that 
  twenty 
  years 
  ago 
  buffaloes 
  were 
  accustomed 
  to 
  

   frequent 
  the 
  whole 
  region 
  between 
  the 
  Missouri 
  Eiver 
  and 
  the 
  49th 
  par- 
  

   allel, 
  from 
  the 
  western 
  boundary 
  of 
  Dakota, 
  or 
  the 
  104th 
  meridian, 
  

   westward 
  to 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains, 
  occurring 
  even 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   foot-hills 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  over 
  the 
  head- 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Bitter 
  Eoot, 
  

   or 
  St. 
  Mary's 
  Eiver, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  sources 
  of 
  Clarke's 
  Fork 
  of 
  the 
  Columbia, 
  

   but 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  now 
  restricted 
  to 
  the 
  region 
  between 
  Frenchman's 
  

   Creek, 
  near 
  Ihe 
  107th 
  meridian, 
  and 
  the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains, 
  over 
  much 
  

   of 
  which 
  area 
  their 
  occurrence 
  is 
  merely 
  irregular 
  and 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  for- 
  

   tuitous, 
  their 
  main 
  range 
  being 
  between 
  the 
  110th 
  and 
  the 
  112 
  Lh 
  merid- 
  

   ians. 
  

  

  Region 
  betiveen 
  the 
  Upper 
  Missouri 
  and 
  Platte 
  Rivers. 
  — 
  It 
  is 
  so 
  well 
  

   known 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  formerly 
  ranged 
  throughout 
  this 
  region, 
  that 
  

   there 
  is 
  little 
  need 
  of 
  presenting 
  further 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  than 
  will 
  

   be 
  given 
  incidentally 
  in 
  tracing 
  the 
  boundaries 
  of 
  their 
  present 
  range, 
  

   and 
  in 
  sketching 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  their 
  extirpation 
  over 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  

   of 
  this 
  extensive 
  territory. 
  Beginning 
  at 
  thQ 
  eastward, 
  we 
  find 
  that 
  

   Bradbury 
  in 
  1810, 
  in 
  crossing 
  from 
  the 
  Platte. 
  Eiver 
  northward 
  to 
  the 
  

   Mandan 
  Villages, 
  met 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  buffaloes 
  in 
  what 
  is 
  now 
  Eastern 
  Ne- 
  

   braska, 
  on 
  the 
  Elk 
  Horn 
  Eiver, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  then 
  plentiful 
  on 
  

   the 
  Canon 
  Ball 
  and 
  Heart 
  Eivers, 
  in 
  what 
  is 
  now 
  Southwestern 
  Dakota.* 
  

   They 
  lingered 
  in 
  Southwestern 
  Dakota 
  till 
  within 
  a 
  very 
  short 
  time. 
  

   The 
  last 
  buffalo 
  killed 
  near 
  Fort 
  Eice 
  was 
  taken 
  in 
  1869, 
  when 
  three 
  

   were 
  killed 
  from 
  a 
  herd 
  of 
  ten 
  old 
  bulls 
  that 
  had 
  wandered 
  considerably 
  

   to 
  the 
  eastward 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  herds. 
  According 
  to 
  Dr. 
  W. 
  J. 
  Hoffman, 
  

   to 
  whom 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  for 
  other 
  interesting 
  facts 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   ject 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  paper, 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  disappeared 
  from 
  the 
  region 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  the 
  Cheyenne 
  and 
  Grand 
  Eiver 
  Agencies 
  at 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  

   (1869), 
  although 
  occasional 
  stragglers 
  frequented 
  the 
  plains 
  toward 
  the 
  

   Black 
  Hills 
  till 
  somewhat 
  later. 
  He 
  states 
  that 
  fresh 
  hides 
  were 
  brought 
  

   into 
  the 
  Grand 
  Eiver 
  Agency 
  in 
  1872, 
  that 
  were 
  obtained 
  about 
  one 
  

  

  * 
  Bradbury 
  (John), 
  Travels 
  in 
  the 
  Interior 
  of 
  North 
  America 
  in 
  the 
  years 
  1809, 
  1810, 
  

   and 
  1811, 
  pp. 
  53, 
  134. 
  

  

  