100 
ORDERS 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 1S90, 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 
Core x v 
Frontal . 
Bone 
Nasal 
Occipital 
Horn \ CWviral Vert.. n 
Sup. 
Maxillary - 
Ilium 
Sacrum, 5) 
Hip Joint: 
Acetubulum 
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 
