﻿584 
  REPORT 
  UNITED 
  STATES 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SURVEY. 
  

  

  for 
  agricultural 
  pursuits."* 
  He 
  adds 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  is 
  very 
  intracta- 
  

   ble, 
  and 
  is 
  not 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  domesticated 
  by 
  the 
  Indians, 
  f 
  

  

  Sibley 
  observes, 
  in 
  speaking 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  of 
  the 
  Eed 
  Elver 
  of 
  the 
  

   !North, 
  that 
  " 
  in 
  spring 
  the 
  calves 
  are 
  easily 
  weaned, 
  and 
  when 
  trained 
  

   to 
  labor 
  become 
  quite 
  useful. 
  One 
  farmer, 
  who 
  had 
  broken 
  a 
  bull 
  to 
  the 
  

   plough, 
  performed 
  the 
  whole 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  field 
  with 
  his 
  aid 
  alone." 
  | 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Robert 
  Wickliffe, 
  in 
  a 
  letter 
  addressed 
  to 
  Messrs. 
  Audubon 
  and 
  

   Bachman, 
  dated 
  Lexington, 
  Kentucky, 
  November 
  6, 
  1843, 
  has 
  quite 
  fully 
  

   recorded 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  his 
  own 
  efforts 
  at 
  domesticating 
  the 
  buffalo. 
  He 
  

   says 
  : 
  " 
  The 
  herd 
  of 
  buffalo 
  I 
  now 
  possess 
  have 
  descended 
  from 
  one 
  or 
  

   two 
  cows 
  that 
  I 
  purchased 
  from 
  a 
  man 
  who 
  brought 
  them 
  from 
  the 
  

   country 
  called 
  the 
  Upper 
  Missouri 
  ; 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  them 
  for 
  about 
  thirty 
  

   years, 
  but 
  from 
  giving 
  them 
  away 
  and 
  the 
  occasional 
  killing 
  of 
  them 
  by 
  

   mischievous 
  persons, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  other 
  causes, 
  my 
  whole 
  stock 
  does 
  not 
  

   exceed 
  ten 
  or 
  twelve. 
  I 
  have 
  sometimes 
  confied 
  them 
  in 
  separate 
  parks 
  

   from 
  other 
  cattle, 
  but 
  generally 
  they 
  herd 
  and 
  feed 
  with 
  my 
  stock 
  of 
  

   farm-cattle. 
  . 
  . 
  .. 
  On 
  getting 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  tame 
  buffaloes, 
  I 
  

   endeavored 
  to 
  cross 
  them 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  with 
  my 
  common 
  cows, 
  to 
  

   which 
  experiment 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  tame 
  bull 
  unwilling 
  to 
  accede, 
  and 
  he 
  

   was 
  always 
  shy 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  cow, 
  but 
  the 
  buffalo 
  bull 
  was 
  willing 
  

   to 
  breed 
  with 
  the 
  common 
  cow. 
  

  

  " 
  From 
  the 
  domestic 
  cow 
  I 
  have 
  crossed 
  half 
  breeds, 
  one 
  of 
  which 
  

   was 
  a 
  heifer 
  ; 
  this 
  I 
  put 
  with 
  a 
  domestic 
  bull, 
  and 
  it 
  produced 
  a 
  bull- 
  

   calf. 
  This 
  I 
  castrated 
  and 
  it 
  made 
  a 
  very 
  fine 
  steer, 
  and 
  when 
  killed 
  

   produced 
  very 
  fine 
  beef. 
  I 
  bred 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  heifer 
  several 
  calves, 
  

   and 
  then, 
  that 
  the 
  experiment 
  might 
  be 
  perfect, 
  I 
  put 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  to 
  

   the 
  buffalo 
  bull, 
  and 
  she 
  brought 
  me 
  a 
  bull 
  calf, 
  which 
  I 
  raised 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  

   very 
  fine 
  large 
  animal, 
  perhaps 
  the 
  only 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  of 
  his 
  blood, 
  

   namely, 
  a 
  three-quarter, 
  half 
  quarter, 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  quarter 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  

   blood. 
  After 
  making 
  these 
  experiments, 
  I 
  have 
  left 
  them 
  to 
  propagate 
  

   their 
  breed 
  themselves, 
  so 
  that 
  I 
  have 
  only 
  had 
  a 
  few 
  half 
  breeds, 
  and 
  

   they 
  alwaj's 
  proved 
  the 
  same, 
  even 
  by 
  a 
  buffalo 
  bull. 
  The 
  full-blood 
  is 
  

   not 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  the 
  improved 
  stock, 
  but 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  the 
  ordinary 
  stock 
  

   of 
  the 
  country. 
  The 
  crossed 
  or 
  half-blood 
  are 
  larger 
  than 
  either 
  

   the 
  half-blood 
  or 
  common 
  cow. 
  The 
  hump, 
  brisket, 
  ribs, 
  and 
  tongue 
  of 
  

   the 
  full 
  and 
  half-blooded 
  are 
  preferable 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  beef, 
  

   but 
  the 
  round 
  and 
  other 
  parts 
  are 
  much 
  inferior. 
  The 
  udder 
  or 
  bag 
  of 
  

   the 
  buffalo 
  is 
  smaller 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  cow, 
  but 
  I 
  have 
  allowed 
  

   the 
  calves 
  of 
  both 
  to 
  run 
  with 
  their 
  dams 
  upon 
  the 
  same 
  pasture, 
  and 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  buffalo 
  were 
  always 
  the 
  fattest 
  ; 
  and 
  old 
  hunters 
  have 
  told 
  

   me 
  that 
  when 
  a 
  young 
  buffalo 
  calf 
  is 
  taken, 
  it 
  requires 
  the 
  milk 
  of 
  two 
  

   cows 
  to 
  raise 
  it. 
  Of 
  this 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt, 
  having 
  received 
  the 
  same 
  

   information 
  from 
  hunters 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  veracity. 
  The 
  bag 
  or 
  udder 
  of 
  

   the 
  half-breed 
  is 
  larger 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  full-blooded 
  animals, 
  and 
  they 
  

   would, 
  I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt, 
  make 
  good 
  milkers. 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  wool 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  buffalo 
  grows 
  on 
  their 
  descendants 
  when 
  domes- 
  

   ticated, 
  but 
  I 
  think 
  they 
  have 
  less 
  of 
  wool 
  than 
  their 
  progenitors. 
  The 
  

   domesticated 
  buffalo 
  still 
  retains 
  the 
  grunt 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  animal, 
  and 
  is 
  in- 
  

   capable 
  of 
  making 
  any 
  other 
  noise, 
  and 
  they 
  will 
  observe 
  the 
  habit 
  of 
  

   having 
  select 
  places 
  within 
  their 
  feeding-grounds 
  to 
  wallow 
  in. 
  

  

  "The 
  buffalo 
  has 
  a 
  much 
  deeper 
  shoulder 
  than 
  the 
  tame 
  ox, 
  but 
  is 
  

  

  * 
  Gallatin 
  (Albert), 
  A 
  Synopsis 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  Tribes 
  of 
  North 
  America 
  ; 
  Trans. 
  Amer. 
  

   Antiquarian 
  Soc, 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  p. 
  139, 
  footnote. 
  

  

  f 
  Dr. 
  Woodhouse 
  states 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  seen 
  " 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  these 
  animals 
  tamed 
  in 
  the 
  Creek 
  

   nation, 
  running 
  with 
  the 
  common 
  cattle." 
  — 
  Sitgreaves's 
  Eeport 
  of 
  an 
  Exited, 
  down 
  the 
  

   ZuM 
  and 
  Colorado 
  Rivers, 
  p. 
  .57. 
  

  

  t 
  Sibley 
  (H. 
  H.), 
  in 
  Schoolcraft's 
  History, 
  Condition, 
  and 
  Prospects 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  

   Tribes 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  Vol. 
  IV, 
  p. 
  110. 
  

  

  