+4 d5 ook. Yi 
mountains, and their extraordinary diminution, will be made clearly evi- 
dent from the following statement: At any time between the years 1824 
and 1836, a traveller might start from any given point south or north in the 
Rocky mountain range, journeying by the most direct route to the Missouri 
river ; and, during the whole distance, his road would be always sare 
large bands of buffalo, which would never be out of his oie? until 
rived almost within sight of the abodes of civilization. 
At thistime, the buffalo occupy but a very limited space, prigeipaliy along 
the eastern base of the Rocky mountains, sometimes extending at their 
southern extremity to a considerable distance into the plains between the 
Platte and Arkansas rivers, and along the eastern frontier of New Mexico 
as far south as Texas. 
The following statement, which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Sanford, 
a partner in the American Fur Company, will further illustrate this subject, 
by extensive knowledge acquired during several years of travel wrong the 
— inhabited by the buffalo: 
“The total amount of robes annually traded by ourselves and others 
will not be found to differ much from the following statement : 
Robes. 
American Fur Company a - of - 70,000 
Hudson’s’ Bay Company - - nen te, AO 
_ All other companies, prohably ee ee - 10,000 
Making a total of +» - - 90,000 
5 
as an average annual return for the last eight or ten Pears. 
“In the northwest, the Hudgon’s Bay Company purchase from the In- 
dians but a very small number—their only market being Canada, to which 
the cost of transportation nearly equals the produce of the furs; and it is only 
within a very recent period that they have received buffalo robes in trade ; 
and out of the great number of buffalo annually killed throughout the ex- 
tensive regions ‘inhabited by the Camanches and other kindred tribes, no 
tobes whatever are furnished for trade. During only four months o é 
ably not more than one-third of the skins are taken from ies animals ki alles 
even | when they are in good season, the labor of preparing and dressing ah 
robes being very great; and it is seldom that a lodge trades more ‘than & 
twenty skins ina year. It is during the summer months, andintheearly 
part of autumn, that the greatest number of buffalo are killed, and Is! at 
this time a skin i is never taken for the purpose of trade. 
. ~ From. iene data, which-are certainly limited, and decidedly within 
bo nds, the att is left to draw his own inference of the immense num- 
exit 
1842, | sales the Sioux Indians of the Upper Platte demontés, as their 
French traders pores it, with the failure of the buffalo ; and in the fol- 
lowing year, large villages fevstt the Upper Missouri came over to th : 
tains at the heads of th of the Platte, in search of them. The rapidly p 
failure of their principal and almost their only means of sub: 
created great alarm among them ; and at this time there are onl, 
thee to ede by which they see a good prospect for esea 
