﻿ALLEx.l 
  BUFFALO 
  DESTINED 
  TO 
  SPEEDY 
  ExKTERMINATION. 
  557 
  

  

  In 
  tbe 
  autumn 
  of 
  1868, 
  while 
  crossing 
  the 
  plains 
  on 
  the 
  Kansas 
  Pacific 
  Railroad, 
  for 
  

   a 
  distance 
  of 
  upward 
  of 
  120 
  miles, 
  between 
  Ellsworth 
  and 
  Sheridan, 
  we 
  passed 
  through 
  

   an 
  almost 
  unbroken 
  herd 
  of 
  buifalo. 
  Tlje 
  plains 
  were 
  blackened 
  with 
  them, 
  and 
  more 
  

   than 
  once 
  the 
  train 
  had 
  to 
  stop 
  to 
  allow 
  the 
  unusually 
  large 
  herds 
  to 
  pass. 
  Standing 
  

   on 
  the 
  crest 
  of 
  a 
  low 
  hill 
  near 
  Monument 
  Station 
  at 
  sunset, 
  on 
  a 
  fine 
  day 
  in'October, 
  

   from 
  whence 
  I 
  could 
  see 
  around 
  me 
  in 
  all 
  directions 
  for 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  from 
  ten 
  to 
  twenty 
  

   miles, 
  there 
  was 
  nothing 
  but 
  herds 
  of 
  buffalo 
  in 
  sight 
  ; 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  see 
  with 
  a 
  pow- 
  

   erful 
  opera-glass, 
  nothing 
  but 
  Indian 
  cattle 
  were 
  visible, 
  quietly 
  browsing 
  in 
  small 
  

   groups 
  of 
  from 
  twenty 
  to 
  fifty 
  each. 
  A 
  few 
  years 
  afterward, 
  when 
  travelling 
  over 
  the 
  

   same 
  line 
  of 
  railroad, 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  rare 
  sight 
  to 
  see 
  a 
  few 
  herds 
  of 
  from 
  ten 
  to 
  twenty 
  buf- 
  

   falo. 
  A 
  like 
  result 
  took 
  place 
  still 
  further 
  southward, 
  namely, 
  between 
  the 
  Arkansas 
  

   and 
  Cimmaron 
  Eivers. 
  In 
  1872, 
  while 
  on 
  a 
  scout 
  for 
  about 
  100 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  Fort 
  Dodge 
  

   into 
  the 
  Indian 
  Territory, 
  we 
  were 
  never 
  out 
  of 
  sight 
  of 
  buffalo. 
  In 
  the 
  following 
  au- 
  

   tumn, 
  on 
  travelling 
  over 
  the 
  same 
  district, 
  while 
  the 
  whole 
  country 
  was 
  whitened 
  with 
  

   bleached 
  and 
  bleaching 
  bones, 
  we 
  did 
  not 
  meet 
  with 
  buifalo 
  until 
  we 
  were 
  well 
  into 
  

   the 
  Indian 
  Territory, 
  and 
  then 
  only 
  in 
  scanty 
  bands. 
  During 
  this 
  autumn, 
  when 
  rid- 
  

   ing 
  for 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  from 
  thirty 
  to 
  forty 
  miles 
  along 
  the 
  north 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  Arkansas 
  

   Eiver 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  Fort 
  Dodge, 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  continuous 
  line 
  of 
  putrescent 
  carcasses, 
  so 
  

   that 
  the 
  air 
  was 
  rendered 
  pestilential 
  and 
  offensive 
  to 
  the 
  last 
  degree. 
  The 
  hunters 
  

   had 
  formed 
  a 
  line 
  of 
  camps 
  along 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  river, 
  and 
  had 
  shot 
  down 
  the 
  buffalo 
  

   night 
  and 
  morning 
  as 
  they 
  came 
  to 
  drink. 
  In 
  order 
  to 
  give 
  an 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   these 
  carcasses, 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  necessary 
  to 
  mention 
  that 
  I 
  counted 
  sixty-seven 
  on 
  one 
  spot 
  

   not 
  covering 
  four 
  acres. 
  

  

  Colonel 
  Dodge 
  gives 
  an 
  instance 
  of 
  having 
  himself 
  counted 
  112 
  carcasses 
  inside 
  a 
  

   semicircle 
  of 
  200 
  yards 
  radius, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  one 
  man 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  spot, 
  

   and 
  in 
  less 
  than 
  three-quarters 
  of 
  an 
  hour. 
  The 
  greatest 
  number 
  of 
  buffalo 
  killed 
  from 
  

   one 
  stand 
  by 
  one 
  man 
  was 
  133. 
  In 
  a 
  conversation 
  I 
  had 
  at 
  Dodge 
  City 
  with 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   leading 
  buffalo-hunters, 
  who 
  was 
  the 
  proprietor 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  " 
  skinning 
  outfits 
  " 
  

   in 
  Kansas, 
  be 
  told 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  usually 
  killed 
  only 
  about 
  eighty 
  per 
  day,, 
  as 
  he 
  found 
  

   that 
  his 
  three 
  men 
  could 
  not 
  well 
  skin 
  more 
  ; 
  and, 
  in 
  reply 
  to 
  my 
  inquiry 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  

   largest 
  number 
  he 
  had 
  ever 
  shot 
  from 
  one 
  stand, 
  he 
  gave 
  me 
  the 
  above 
  figures, 
  adding 
  

   that 
  he 
  had 
  frequently 
  killed 
  all 
  that 
  he 
  wanted 
  for 
  the 
  day's 
  skinning 
  from 
  one 
  

   stand. 
  

  

  This 
  great 
  loss 
  of 
  good 
  and 
  wholesome 
  animal 
  food, 
  all 
  of 
  which, 
  with 
  a 
  little 
  judg- 
  

   ment 
  and 
  foresight, 
  and 
  by 
  imposing 
  reasonable 
  restrictions 
  on 
  the 
  slaughter 
  of 
  this 
  

   game, 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  utilized, 
  will 
  be 
  better 
  understood 
  by 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  statistics 
  

   of 
  cattle 
  in 
  other 
  countries. 
  On 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  ofiicial 
  agricultural 
  returns 
  of 
  Great 
  

   Britain, 
  the 
  United 
  Kingdom, 
  British 
  Possessions, 
  and 
  foreign 
  countries, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  

   seen 
  that 
  the 
  wanton 
  and 
  wasteful 
  slaughter 
  for 
  the 
  three 
  years 
  in 
  question 
  (and 
  in 
  

   making 
  the 
  comparison 
  I 
  am 
  keeping 
  to 
  the 
  illegitimate 
  slaughter 
  for 
  hides, 
  and 
  not 
  

   legitimate 
  slaughter 
  for 
  food) 
  swept 
  away 
  more 
  buffaloes 
  than 
  there 
  are 
  cattle 
  in 
  Hol- 
  

   land 
  and 
  Belgium, 
  or 
  three-fourths 
  of 
  the 
  cattle 
  in 
  Ireland, 
  or 
  one-half 
  of 
  the 
  cattle 
  of 
  

   Great 
  Britain. 
  

  

  The 
  result, 
  therefore, 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  if 
  a 
  fearful 
  murrain 
  in 
  one 
  year 
  had 
  de- 
  

   stroyed 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  cattle 
  in 
  Holland 
  and 
  Belgium, 
  or 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  if 
  either 
  

   three-fourths 
  of 
  the 
  cattle 
  of 
  Ireland 
  or 
  one-half 
  of 
  those 
  of 
  Great 
  Britain 
  had 
  been 
  

   swept 
  away 
  by 
  a 
  plague 
  as 
  great 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  Egypt. 
  

  

  The 
  citizens 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  will 
  better 
  realize 
  this 
  great 
  waste 
  if 
  they 
  consider 
  

   that 
  this 
  destruction 
  amounted 
  annually 
  to 
  nearly 
  three 
  times 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  an- 
  

   nual 
  drives 
  of 
  cattle 
  from 
  Texas, 
  which 
  range 
  from 
  350,000 
  to 
  500,000 
  head 
  per 
  annum, 
  

   or 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  same 
  during 
  the 
  three 
  years 
  as 
  if 
  all 
  the 
  cattle 
  in 
  Can- 
  

   ada 
  or 
  half 
  of 
  those 
  in 
  Texas 
  had 
  been 
  carried 
  off 
  by 
  some 
  dire 
  disease. 
  

  

  The 
  mere 
  loss 
  of 
  food, 
  however, 
  is 
  not 
  the 
  only 
  evil 
  which 
  has 
  resulted 
  from 
  this 
  

   wastefulness 
  and 
  wantonness. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  Indians 
  of 
  the 
  plains, 
  deprived 
  of 
  

   their 
  ordinary 
  sustenance. 
  Government 
  rations 
  not 
  being 
  forthcoming, 
  and 
  driven 
  to 
  

   desperation, 
  have 
  taken 
  to 
  the 
  war-path, 
  so 
  that 
  during 
  the 
  present 
  war 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  

   Cheyennes, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  braves 
  from 
  the 
  friendly 
  Red 
  Cloud 
  and 
  Spotted 
  

   Tail 
  agencies, 
  have 
  left 
  their 
  reservations 
  and 
  joined 
  the 
  hostile 
  Sioux 
  under 
  Sitting 
  

   Bull. 
  The 
  hardy 
  settler 
  and 
  pioneer 
  of 
  the 
  plains, 
  w^ho 
  always 
  looked 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo 
  

   for 
  his 
  winter 
  supply 
  of 
  meat, 
  has 
  been 
  deprived 
  of 
  this 
  resource, 
  and 
  complains 
  as 
  

   bitterly 
  as 
  any 
  of 
  this 
  slaughter 
  for 
  pelts. 
  

  

  In 
  1873, 
  when 
  the 
  settlers 
  in 
  Kansas 
  were 
  suffering 
  from 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  their 
  

   crops 
  by 
  the 
  ravages 
  of 
  the 
  grasshoppers, 
  troops 
  were 
  considerately 
  sent 
  by 
  the 
  Gov- 
  

   ernment 
  to 
  the 
  Republican 
  to 
  kill 
  meat 
  for 
  the 
  starving 
  families. 
  When 
  the 
  soldiers 
  

   arrived, 
  however, 
  at 
  their 
  hunting-grounds 
  there 
  was 
  but 
  little 
  meat 
  for 
  them 
  to 
  kill, 
  

   as 
  the 
  "buffalo-skinners" 
  had 
  anticipated 
  them, 
  and 
  had 
  slaughtered 
  nearly 
  every 
  

   buffalo 
  in 
  the 
  district. 
  

  

  The 
  necessity, 
  as 
  suggested 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Allen, 
  for 
  protection 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  by 
  legislation 
  

   is 
  self-apparent. 
  With 
  the 
  great 
  economy 
  endeavored 
  to 
  be 
  introduced 
  into 
  each 
  de- 
  

   partment 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  understand 
  how 
  the 
  

  

  