g2 Fretp Museum or Natura. History — Zoézoey, Vor. XI. 
says, ‘‘you behold roaming through the prairie herds of Buffalo of 
Tllinois.’’* 
Hennepin writes:| “There must be an innumerable quantity of 
wild Oxen in that Country, since the Earth is cover’d with their Horns. 
The Miamis hunt them towards the latter end of Autumn. 
“We continu’d our Course upon this River very near the whole 
Month of December; but toward the latter end of the said Month, 1679, 
we arriv’d at the Village of the Illinois, which lies near one hundred 
and thirty Leagues from Fort Miamis, on the Lake of the Illinois. 
We suffer’d very much in this Passage, for the Savages having set the 
Herbs of the Plain on Fire, the wild Oxen were fled away, and so we 
cow’d kill but one, and some‘ Turkey-Cocks. God’s Providence 
supported us all the while; and when we thought that the Extremities 
we were reduced to, were past all hope of Remedy, we found a prodigious 
big wild Ox lying fast in the Mud of the River. We kill’d him, and had 
much ado to get him out of the Mud.” (p. 113.) 
“These Oxen have fine Wool instead of Hair, and their Cows have 
it longer than the Males; their horns are almost black, and much bigger, 
tho’ somewhat shorter than those of Europe. Their Head is of a pro- 
digious bigness, as well as their Neck, which is very short, but about 
six Spans broad: They have a kind of a Bump between the two Shoul- 
ders: Their Legs are big and short, covered with long Wool; and they 
have between the two Horns an ugly Bush of Hair, which falls upon 
their Eyes and makes them look horrid. . . . There is also amongst 
them abundance of Stags, Dears, and wild Goats.’’f (pp. 114-115.) 
Audubon and Bachman say, “In the days of our boyhood and 
youth Buffaloes roamed over the small and beautiful prairies of Indiana 
and Illinois and herds of them stalked through the open woods of 
Kentucky and Tennessee, but they have dwindled down to a few 
stragglers, which resorted chiefly to the Barrens towards the years 
1808 and 1809 and soon after entirely disappeared. Their range has 
since that period gradually tended Westward.” (J. c., p. 36.) Regard- 
ing its former range the same authors say, ‘‘The Bison formerly existed 
* New York coll. of MSS., Paris Doc., VII, p. 890. (Copied from J. A. Allen's 
History American Bison, 1877, p. 501.) 
{ Hennepin, L. A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America, London, 1698. 
{ Hennepin makes numerous references to “ Wild Goats,’’ as on page 98, writing 
of his travels along the west shore of Lake Michigan, he says, ‘Our Savage killed 
several Staggs and Wild Goats, and our Men a great many Turkey-Cocks very fat 
and big.” Dr. Hoy suggests the “wild Goats” referred to may have been Antelopes 
(Antilocapra americana), as at a comparatively recent date ‘“‘Antelopes were not 
uncommon in southern Minnesota, only 40 miles west of the Mississippi River.” 
It should be borne in mind, however, that (J. c., p. 65) Hennepin claims to have met 
with “Wild-Goats"’ as far east as New York. Hollister suggests (Bull. Wis. Nat. 
Hist. Soc., 1910, p. 31) that Hennepin’s “wild Goats’? were White-tailed Deer, but 
this explanation is hardly satisfactory, as Hennepin expressly states that with the 
Buffalo were ‘‘Stags, Dears and wild Goats.” . : 
