64 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. V., No. 103. 



The commission hoped to conclude its labors 

 and to return to England in December, when a 

 detailed report of its work would be passed 

 through the press at once. This report will be 

 read with very great interest, for Dr. Klein's 

 work has heretofore been excellent in its con- 

 scientiousness. It will be seen, however, that 

 all their results are purely negative, so far as 

 can be judged from the abstract before us ; and 

 judgment upon the work should be deferred 

 until the evidence is all in. With Koch's posi- 

 tive results so recently reported, and the re- 

 sult of his further work still to come, the 

 problem cannot yet be considered to be defi- 

 nitely settled. 



Should some serious effort not be made to 

 preserve the American bison from total extinc- 

 tion ? To save some remnant of the vast herds 

 of this noble animal which even a few years 

 ago existed, some speedy and effective action 

 is needed ; and posterity will surely find a just 

 cause of complaint against the present genera- 

 tion if such action is not taken. It is a mis- 

 take to suppose that extensive herds still exist 

 in the Canadian north-west or elsewhere. Last 

 summer a few animals made their way as far 

 north as the Red Deer River, and scattered 

 individuals are still occasionally found in the 

 broken region about Wood Mountain ; but it is 

 doubtful if at the present moment there exist 

 as many as a couple of hundred in all the plain 

 country north of the international boundary. 

 If an}' herds worthy the name are still to be 

 found, it is in the Upper Missouri and Yellow- 

 stone region ; and, judging from published state- 

 ments concerning the trade in robes, these are 

 on the verge of extinction. The preservation 

 of an animal with the roving habits of the bison 

 is undoubtedly a difficult problem, but should 

 not prove an impossible one. Even if the 

 Yellowstone Park were wholly unsuited for the 

 permanent residence of the bison, some other 

 naturally bounded tract might surely be found, 

 in which a small herd of these animals might 

 be allowed, as far as possible, to retain their 

 natural habits and yet be protected from 

 slaughter. A conscientious attempt in this 



direction would at least save us the disgrace of 

 being found altogether supine in the matter. 



While the Yellowstone Park may not afford 

 the environment most natural to the American 

 bison, may it not be in reality the best refuge 

 it is now practicable to offer it ? In order to 

 preserve any number of these animals from 

 slaughter, obviously it would be necessary to 

 restrain their wanderings. In short, any rem- 

 nant of the once numerous herds we may de- 

 sire to preserve would have to be kept in an 

 enclosed park ; and this, in order to enable the 

 animals to retain in any considerable degree 

 their natural habits, should be of large size. 

 It is therefore a matter that the government 

 may very properly be asked to take in hand, 

 it being beyond the ability or means of indi- 

 vidual citizens. So widely scattered are the 

 small remnants of herds which still exist, and 

 so distant are the}' from convenient means of 

 transportation, that even the procurement of a 

 small band of from twenty-five to fifty — a less 

 number would hardly suffice — would entail 

 the expenditure of much time and money, and 

 could even now be accomplished only with 

 great difficulty, while, if delayed much longer, 

 might become practically impossible. 



A bison preserve, wherever located, would 

 necessitate not only a large outlay at first, 

 in securing the herd and providing a properly 

 enclosed park, but also constant expendi- 

 ture in the way of providing proper keepers. 

 Unless some more favorable section of coun- 

 try, both as regards proximity to the herds 

 and environment, can be selected for the pur- 

 pose, a portion of the Yellowstone Park should 

 at once be set aside as a bison preserve, be 

 properly enclosed, and stocked with as large a 

 number of bisons as it may be practicable to 

 procure. In this way, while we should not 

 have the bison in exactly a state of nature, 

 we might be able to preserve indefinitely a 

 respectable remnant in a semi-domestic state ; 

 somewhat as the Auerochs, the old-world con- 

 gener of our bison, is preserved in a govern- 

 ment park in Lithuania. 



