100 



OKDEKS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS 



a pointed core of very porous bone. The horns 

 grow until the animal reaches old age, and are 

 never shed. If knocked off by accident, the 

 new horn material presently covers the horn core, 

 but never succeeds in forming a perfect weapon 

 like the original. Such a growth is called a 

 " crumpled " horn. The members of this Family 

 eat vegetable food, preferably grass and herbage, 

 and have no upper front teeth. 



The American Buffalo. 

 The American Bison or Buffalo. 1 — Because 

 of its great size, imposing appearance, former 



complete extinction, by appropriating $15,000 

 for the purpose of purchasing and establishing 

 under fence in the Yellowstone Park, a herd of 

 captive Buffaloes. This undertaking has very 

 wisely and appropriately been placed in charge 

 of the Department of Agriculture. 



At this date (1903) there are about 634 wild 

 Buffaloes alive, of which about 600 inhabit a 

 desolate and inhospitable region southwest of 

 Great Slave Lake. In 1890, the Yellowstone 

 Park herd contained about three hundred head; 

 but through inadequate protection, and killing 

 done by unprincipled poachers in quest of 



Dorsal^ - .Vertebrae, 13 



Lumbar Vert., 6 



Occipital >i 



Horn \ Cervical Vert., 7 \ 



Ilium 



Nasal 



Sup, 

 Maxillary 



„ Sacrum, 5) 



; 1- Caudal Vert," 



H - - Ischium 

 I 

 I 



Pastern 



~>dian Phalanx 

 Coffin Bone 



SKELETON OF AN ADULT MALE AMERICAN BISON. 



abundance and value to mankind, this is the 



most celebrated of all American hoofed animals. 



Its practical extermination in a wild state is now 



a source of universal regret. In 1902, Congress 



took the first step toward its preservation from 



1 A true " Buffalo " is an animal with no hump on 

 its shoulders; and is found only in Africa and Asia. 

 Our animal, having a high hump, is really a bison; 

 but inasmuch as it is known to seventy-three mil- 

 lions of Americans as the " Buffalo," it would be 

 quite useless to attempt to bring about a universal 

 change in its popular name. There is but one living 

 species. 



heads to sell, to-day less than thirty buffaloes 

 remain ! The weakness of the efforts to pro- 

 tect that herd is a national disgrace. Through 

 lack of sufficient laws and patrol service the 

 poachers were permitted to rob the American 

 people of a wild herd which no expenditure of 

 money ever can replace. 



There were in captivity, in March, 1903, 1,119 

 pure-bred Buffaloes, and the number is slowly 

 increasing. Of these, the majority are in large 

 private game preserves, and every zoological 



