﻿ALLEN.] 
  DISTEIBUTION 
  IN 
  BRITISn 
  AMERICA. 
  545 
  

  

  That 
  this 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  case 
  seems 
  very 
  probable 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  I 
  found, 
  in 
  returning 
  over 
  these 
  plains 
  in 
  December, 
  1871, 
  the 
  snow 
  

   so 
  deep 
  and 
  so 
  heavily 
  encrusted 
  that 
  the 
  herds 
  of 
  domestic 
  stock 
  were 
  

   dying 
  from 
  starvation 
  whenever 
  it 
  happened 
  that 
  their 
  owners 
  had 
  not 
  

   provided 
  for 
  such 
  an 
  emergency 
  by 
  laying 
  in 
  a 
  good 
  supply 
  of 
  hay. 
  

   Many 
  animals 
  perished 
  from 
  lack 
  of 
  food 
  and 
  shelter, 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  

   such 
  conditions 
  as 
  a 
  deep 
  snow 
  heavily 
  encrusted 
  being 
  wholly 
  unlooked 
  

   for 
  ; 
  and 
  had 
  buffaloes 
  been 
  then 
  living 
  on 
  these 
  plains 
  they 
  could 
  hardly 
  

   have 
  survived 
  the 
  long 
  period 
  during 
  which 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  inaccessi- 
  

   ble 
  to 
  grazing 
  animals. 
  

  

  The 
  buffalo 
  has 
  also 
  become 
  exterminated 
  over 
  a 
  large 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  

   country 
  to 
  the 
  northward 
  of 
  the 
  Sweet 
  Water 
  along 
  the 
  eastern 
  base 
  of 
  

   the 
  Eocky 
  Mountains, 
  extending 
  northward, 
  in 
  fact, 
  over 
  the 
  head- 
  

   waters 
  of 
  the 
  Yellowstone 
  and 
  Missouri 
  Rivers. 
  Dr. 
  Hayden 
  informs 
  

   me 
  that 
  but 
  few 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  1871 
  and 
  1872 
  on 
  the 
  Upper 
  Yellowstone, 
  

   and 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  now 
  rarely 
  seen 
  above 
  Shield's 
  Eiver, 
  although 
  they 
  

   occurred 
  in 
  the 
  Wind 
  Eiver 
  Valley 
  in 
  18G0. 
  He 
  says, 
  moreover, 
  that 
  

   very 
  tew 
  are 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  Three 
  Forks 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri, 
  where 
  they 
  have 
  

   been 
  nearly 
  all 
  destroyed 
  or 
  driven 
  out 
  by 
  the 
  miners. 
  Those 
  that 
  re- 
  

   main 
  are 
  chiefly 
  old 
  bulls, 
  the 
  scattered 
  survivors 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  large 
  

   herds, 
  and 
  which 
  of 
  course 
  will 
  not 
  long 
  reinaiTri. 
  He 
  also 
  says 
  that 
  a 
  

   few 
  were 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Gros 
  Ventres 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  1860, 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Snake 
  Eiver 
  Valley 
  in 
  1870, 
  — 
  the 
  

   two 
  latter 
  localities 
  of 
  course 
  being 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  slope 
  of 
  the 
  Eocky 
  

   Mountains. 
  

  

  It 
  thus 
  appears 
  that 
  the 
  present 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  between 
  the 
  

   Platte 
  and 
  the 
  Missouri 
  is 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  comparatively 
  small 
  area 
  

   drained 
  by 
  the 
  principal 
  southern 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Yellowstone, 
  namely, 
  

   the 
  Powder, 
  the 
  Tongue, 
  and 
  the 
  Big 
  Horn 
  Elvers, 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  

   range 
  northward 
  over 
  the 
  middle 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  Yellowstone 
  and 
  the 
  

   Musselshell 
  Eivers 
  to 
  the 
  Missouri. 
  

  

  PORMER 
  BOUNDARIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  RANGE 
  OF 
  THE 
  BUFFALO 
  WITHIN 
  THE 
  

   BRITISH 
  POSSESSIONS, 
  AND 
  ITS 
  PRESENT 
  DISTRIBUTION 
  WITHIN 
  

   THAT 
  AREA. 
  

  

  The 
  range 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo, 
  as 
  previously 
  remarked, 
  formerly 
  extended 
  

   continuously 
  from 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  northward 
  to 
  Great 
  

   -Slave 
  Lake, 
  in 
  latitude 
  62° 
  to 
  64° 
  north, 
  being 
  apparently 
  almost 
  as 
  

   numerous 
  over 
  the 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  Eed 
  Eiver, 
  the 
  Assinniboiue, 
  Qu'appelle, 
  

   both 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  Saskatchewan, 
  and 
  the 
  Peace 
  Eiver, 
  as 
  over 
  the 
  

   plains 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri. 
  Franklin, 
  in 
  1820, 
  met 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  at 
  Slave 
  Point, 
  

   on 
  the 
  north 
  side 
  of 
  Great 
  Slave 
  Lake,* 
  and 
  Dr. 
  Eichardson 
  states 
  that 
  

   in 
  1829 
  they 
  had 
  recently, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  testimony 
  of 
  the 
  natives, 
  

   wandered 
  to 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  Great 
  Marten 
  Lake, 
  in 
  latitude 
  63° 
  or 
  Gl^.t 
  

   In 
  respect 
  to 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  in 
  the 
  " 
  F^ur 
  Countries," 
  Dr. 
  

   Eichardson 
  speaks 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  "As 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  ascertain, 
  

   the 
  limestone 
  and 
  sandstone 
  formations 
  lying 
  between 
  the 
  great 
  Eocky 
  

   Mountain 
  ridge 
  and 
  the 
  lower 
  eastern 
  chain 
  of 
  primitive 
  rocks, 
  are 
  the 
  

   onlv 
  districts 
  in 
  the 
  fur 
  countries 
  that 
  are 
  frequented 
  by 
  the 
  bison. 
  In 
  

   these 
  comparatively 
  level 
  tracts 
  there 
  is 
  much 
  prairie-land, 
  on 
  which 
  

  

  * 
  "A 
  few 
  frequent 
  Slave 
  Point, 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  lake, 
  but 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  

   northern 
  situation 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  observed 
  by 
  Captain 
  Franklin's 
  party."— 
  Sabixe, 
  

   Zoological 
  Appendix 
  to 
  FraiikUn's 
  Journeij, 
  p. 
  668. 
  

  

  t 
  Fauna 
  Boreali-Americana, 
  Vol. 
  I, 
  p. 
  279. 
  See 
  also 
  Zoological 
  Appendix 
  to 
  Parry 
  s 
  

   Second 
  Voyage, 
  p. 
  33;2. 
  

   35 
  G 
  S 
  

  

  