The Extermination of the American Bison

The Extermination of the
American Bison, by

William T. Hornaday This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at
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Title: The Extermination of the American Bison
Author: William T. Hornaday
Release Date: February 10, 2006 [EBook #17748]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: (Inscription) Mr. Theodore Roosevelt. Author of "Hunting
Trips of a Ranchman," With the compliments of The Author, W.T.
Hornaday.]
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.
* * * * *
THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON.
BY
WILLIAM T. HORNADAY,
Superintendent of the National Zoological Park.
* * * * *
From the Report of the National Museum, 1886-'87, pages 369-548,
and plates I-XXII.
* * * * *
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1889.
[Illustration: GROUP OF AMERICAN BISONS IN THE NATIONAL
MUSEUM. Collected and mounted by W. T. Hornaday.]

CONTENTS.
PREFATORY NOTE

PART I.--THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE
BISON

I. Discovery of the species II. Geographical distribution III. Abundance
IV. Character of the species 1. The buffalo's rank amongst ruminants 2.
Change of form in captivity 3. Mounted specimens in museums 4. The
calf 5. The yearling 6. The spike bull 7. The adult bull 8. The cow in
the third year 9. The adult cow 10. The "Wood" or "Mountain Buffalo"
11. The shedding of the winter pelage V. Habits of the buffalo VI. The
food of the buffalo VII. Mental capacity and disposition of the buffalo
VIII. Value to mankind IX. Economic value of the bison to Western
cattle-growers 1. The bison in captivity and domestication 2. Need of
an improvement in range cattle 3. Character of the buffalo-domestic
hybrid 4. The bison as a beast of burden 5. List of bison herds and
individuals in captivity

PART II.--THE EXTERMINATION
I. Causes of the extermination II. Methods of slaughter 1. The "still
hunt" 2. The chase on horseback 3. Impounding 4. The surround 5.
Decoying and driving 6. Hunting on snow-shoes III. Progress of the
extermination A. The period of desultory destruction B. The period of
systematic slaughter 1. The Red River half-breeds 2. The country of the
Sioux 3. Western railways, and their part in the extermination of the
buffalo 4. The division of the universal herd 5. The destruction of the
southern herd 6. Statistics of the slaughter 7. The destruction of the
northern herd IV. Legislation to prevent useless slaughter V.
Completeness of the wild buffalo's extirpation VI. Effects of the
disappearance of the bison VII. Preservation of the species from
absolute extinction

PART III.--THE SMITHSONIAN
EXPEDITION FOR SPECIMENS
I. The exploration for specimens II. The hunt III. The mounted group in

the National Museum
INDEX

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Group of buffaloes in the National Museum Head of bull buffalo
Slaughter of buffalo on Kansas Pacific Railroad Buffalo cow, calf, and
yearling Spike bull Bull buffalo Bull buffalo, rear view The
development of the buffalo's horns A dead bull Buffalo skinners at
work Five minutes' work Scene on the northern buffalo range
Half-breed calf Half-breed buffalo (domestic) cow Young half-breed
bull The still-hunt The chase on horseback Cree Indians impounding
buffalo The surround Indians on snow-shoes hunting buffaloes Where
the millions have gone Trophies of the hunt
MAPS.
Sketch map of the hunt for buffalo Map illustrating the extermination
of the American bison

PREFATORY NOTE.
It is hoped that the following historical account of the discovery, partial
utilization, and almost complete extermination of the great American
bison may serve to cause the public to fully realize the folly of allowing
all our most valuable and interesting American mammals to be
wantonly destroyed in the same manner. The wild buffalo is practically
gone forever, and in a few more years, when the whitened bones of the
last bleaching skeleton shall have been picked up and shipped East for
commercial uses, nothing will remain of him save his old, well-worn
trails along the water-courses, a few museum specimens, and regret for
his fate. If his untimely end fails even to point a moral that shall benefit
the surviving species of mammals _which are now being slaughtered in
like manner_, it will be sad indeed.

Although Bison americanus is a true bison, according to scientific
classification, and not a buffalo, the fact that more than sixty millions
of people in this country unite in calling him a "buffalo," and know him
by no other name, renders it quite unnecessary for me to apologize for
following, in part,