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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



is thus evident that they were at home in the 

 forested country east of the Mississippi River, 

 as well as on the treeless plains of the West. 

 In the northern part of their range .they are 

 larger and darker than elsewhere and form a 

 local geographic race called the wood buffalo. 



Originally buffalo were enormously abundant 

 in America, and it has been variously estimated 

 that when the continent was first discovered 

 their numbers were from 30,000,000 to 6o,000,- 

 000. With the settlement of eastern America, 

 they gradually retreated across the Mississippi 

 River, but continued to exist in great but rap- 

 idly diminishing numbers on the Great Plains 

 up to within the last fifty years. 



The crossing of their range by the first trans- 

 continental railroad quickly brought the re- 

 maining herds to an epd. In 1870 there were 

 still about 5,500,000 head on the plains, but 

 these were so wastefully slaughtered for their 

 hides that in 189S only about 800 remained. 

 The depletion of the herds was so startling 

 that sportsmen and nature lovers awoke to the 

 danger of the immediate extermination of 

 these splendid animals ; the American Bison 

 Society was organized and the surviving buf- 

 falo were saved. 



Although the bison usually has but a single 

 calf a year, these are so hardy and do so well 

 in fenced preserves, and even in the closer con- 

 finement of small parks, that their number has 

 now increased to approximately 4,000, about 

 equally divided between the United States and 

 Canacfa. In the district south of Artillery 

 Lake, northern Canada, a few hundred indi- 

 viduals, remnants of the wild stock of that re- 

 gion, survive and are increasing under the wise 

 protection of the Canadian Government. The 

 only other herd still existing on its original 

 ground is that in Yellowstone National Park. 



Experiments have been made in crossing 

 buffalo with certain breeds of domestic cattle 

 for the purpose of establishing a new and 

 hardier variety of stock for the Western 

 ranges. These have not proved successful, 

 largely owing to the lack of fertility in the hy- 

 brid, which has been called the "cattalo." 



Under primitive conditions, buffalo herds 

 numbering millions of animals regularly mi- 

 grated in spring and fall from one feeding 

 ground to another, often traveling hundreds of 

 miles for this purpose. The herds followed 

 the same routes year after year and made last- 

 ing trails, often from two to three feet in 

 depth. Investigation has shown that many of 

 our highways, and even some of our main rail- 

 way lines, seeking the most convenient grades, 

 follow trails laid down by these early path- 

 finders. When a great migrating herd wns 

 stampeded, the thunder of its countless hoofs 

 shook the earth, and in its flight it rushed like 

 a huge black torrent over the landscape. 



The buffalo was the most important game 

 animal to the Indians over a great area. Sev- 

 eral tribes were mainly dependent upon these 

 animals for food and clothing and the entire 

 tribal economy was built about them. The 

 mode of life, customs, and folk-lore of the In- 

 dians all centered about these animals. Their 



clothing and tepee covers were made of_ the 

 skins. The tanned skins also served as indi- 

 vidual and tribal records of the warrior-hunt- 

 ers, the chronicles being drawn in picture- 

 writing on the smooth surfaces. The passing 

 of the buffalo on the free sweep of the west- 

 ern plains ended forever one of the most pic- 

 turesque phases of aboriginal life in America. 



MUSK-OX (Ovibos moschatus and its sub- 

 species) 



The musk-ox is one of the unique and most 

 interesting of American game animals. In 

 general appearance it suggests a small, odd 

 kind of buffalo, and is, in fact, related to both 

 cattle and sheep. It is a heavily built, round - 

 bodied animal, with short, strong legs and long 

 fringelike hair which hangs so low on the 

 sides that it sometimes trails on the snow. The 

 horns — broad, flat, and massive at the base — 

 curve down and out to a sharp point on each 

 side of the head and form very effective weap- 

 ons for defense. 



Fossil remains prove that musk-oxen lived 

 in northern Europe and Asia during Pleisto- 

 cene times, (but they have long been confined 

 to Arctic America. Up to within a century 

 they have occupied nearly all of the cheerless 

 wilds north of the limit of trees, from the coast 

 of northern Alaska to that of east Greenland. 

 They appear to have become extinct in north- 

 ern Alaska within the last 75 years, and their 

 present range east of the Mackenzie River is 

 becoming more and more restricted. 



They are now limited to that part of the 

 barren grounds of Canada lying north and 

 northwest of Hudson Bay and from the Arctic 

 islands northward and eastward to the north- 

 ern coast of Greenland. Their range extends to 

 beyond 83 degrees of latitude and covers some 

 of the bleakest and most inhospitable lands of 

 the globe. There a short summer, with weeks of 

 continuous sunshine, permits the growth of a 

 dwarfed and scanty Arctic vegetation ; but win- 

 ter brings a long period of night, continuous, in 

 the northernmost parts, through several months. 



Under such rigorous conditions musk-oxen 

 thrive unless hunted_ by civilized man. They 

 are strongly gregarious, usually traveling in 

 herds of from six to twenty, but herds con- 

 taining about 100 have been recorded. Their 

 eyesight is not strong, but their sense of smell 

 is good, and when danger is suspected they 

 dash away with great celerity for such heavily 

 formed animals. If rocky ground is near, they 

 seek refuge in it and ascend steep, broken 

 slopes with astonishing agility. 



When brought to bay, the herd forms a circle 

 about the calves and, with heads out, presents 

 to the enemy an unbroken front of sharp horns. 

 So long as the circle remains unbroken such a 

 defense is extremely effective against both 

 dogs and wolves. The only natural enemies of 

 musk-oxen are wolves, and against these and 

 the primitive weapons of the Eskimos they hold 

 their own very well. 



When the Greely Expedition landed at Lady 

 Franklin Bay in 1881, musk-oxen were encoun- 



