The Extermination of the American Bison
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.
THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON.
BY
WILLIAM T. HORNADAY,
Superintendent of the National Zoological Park.
Inscription
From the Report of the National Museum, 1886-’87, pages 369-548, and plates I-XXII.
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1889.
CONTENTS.
Group of American Bisons in the National Museum. Collected and mounted by W. T. Hornaday.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
MAPS.
PREFATORY NOTE.
THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON,
Superintendent of the National Zoological Park.
PART I.—LIFE HISTORY OF THE BISON.
I. Discovery of the species.
II. Geographical Distribution.
Head of Buffalo Bull From specimen in the National Museum Group. Reproduced from the Cosmopolitan Magazine, by permission of the publishers.
III. Abundance.
Slaughter of Buffalo on the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Reproduced from “The Plains of the Great West,” by permission of the author, Col. R. I. Dodge.
IV. Character of the species.
BISON AMERICANUS. (Male; four months old.)
From photograph of group in National Museum. Engraved by R. H. Carson. Buffalo Cow, Calf (Four Months Old), and Yearling. Reproduced from the Cosmopolitan Magazine, by permission of the publishers.
BISON AMERICANUS. (Male yearling, taken Oct. 31, 1886. Montana.)
BISON AMERICANUS.
(“Spike” bull, two years old; taken October 14, 1886. Montana.)
Spike Bull. From the group in the National Museum. Reproduced from the Cosmopolitan Magazine, by permission of the publishers.
Bull Buffalo in National Museum Group. Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
BISON AMERICANUS.
(Male, eleven years old. Taken December 6, 1866. Montana.)
BISON AMERICANUS.
(Young cow, in third year. Taken October 14, 1886. Montana.)
From a photograph. Engraved by Frederick Juengling. Bull Buffalo. (Rear View.) Reproduced from the Cosmopolitan Magazine, by permission of the publishers.
BISON AMERICANUS.
(Adult cow, eight years old. Taken November 18, 1886. Montana.)
LENGTH OF THE HAIR OF BISON AMERICANUS.
V. The Habits of the Buffalo.
Development of the Horns of the American Bison. 1. The Calf. 2. The Yearling. 3. Spike Bull, 2 years old. 4. Spike Bull, 3 years old. 5. Bull, 4 years old. 6. Bull, 11 years old. 7. Old "stub-horn" Bull, 20 years old.
VI. The Food of the Bison.
VII. Mental Capacity and Disposition.
VIII. Value of the Buffalo to MAN.
Memorandum of buffalo robes and hides bought by Messrs J. & A. Boskowitz, 101-105 Greene Street, New York, and 202 Lake street, Chicago, from 1876 to 1884.
Total number of buffalo skins handled in nine years, 246,175; total cost, $924,790.
UTILIZATION OF THE BUFFALO BY WHITE MEN.
Fig. 1. A Dead Bull. From a photograph by L. A. Huffman.
Fig. 2. Buffalo Skinners at Work. From a photograph by L. A. Huffman.
Fig. 1. Five Minutes’ Work. Photographed by L. A. Huffman.
Fig. 2. Scene on the Northern Buffalo Range. Photographed by L. A. Huffman.
IX. The Present Value of the Bison to Cattle-Growers.
Half-breed (Buffalo-Domestic) Calf.—Herd of C. J. Jones, Garden City, Kansas. Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
Half-breed (Buffalo-Domestic) Cow.—Herd of C. J. Jones, Garden City, Kansas. Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
Young Half-breed (Buffalo-Domestic) Bull.—Herd of C. J. Jones, Garden City, Kansas. Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.
Statistics of full-blood buffaloes in captivity January 1, 1889.
PART II.—THE EXTERMINATION.
I. Causes of the Extermination.
II. Methods of Slaughter.
Still-hunting Buffaloes on the Northern Range. From a painting by J. H. Moser, in the National Museum.
The Chase on Horseback. From a painting in the National Museum by George Catlin.
Number of carts assembled for the first trip.
Cree Indians Impounding Buffaloes. Reproduced from Prof. H. Y. Hind’s—“Red River, Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Expedition.”
The Surround. From a painting in the National Museum by George Catlin.
III. Progress of the Extermination.
A. The Period of Desultory Destruction, from 1730 to 1830.
Indians on Snow-shoes Hunting Buffaloes. From a painting in the National Museum by George Catlin.
B. The Period of Systematic Slaughter, from 1830 to 1838.
Buffalo product.
Southern buffaloes slaughtered by southern Indians.
The slaughter of the southern herd.
Where the Millions Have Gone. From a painting by J. H. Moser in the National Museum.
IV. Congressional Legislation for the Protection of the Bison.
V. Completeness of the Extermination.
Number of American bison running wild and unprotected on January 1, 1889.
VI. Effects of the Extermination.
VII. Preservation of the Species from Absolute Extinction.
PART III.—THE SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITION FOR MUSEUM SPECIMENS.
I. The Exploration.
II. The Hunt.
Sketch Map of the Hunt for Buffalo. Montana 1886.
Trophies of the Hunt. Mounted by the author in the U. S. National Museum. Reproduced from the Cosmopolitan Magazine, by permission of the publishers.
III. The Mounted Group in the National Museum.
THE ACCESSORIES.
THE SIX BUFFALOES.
THE TAXIDERMIST’S OBJECT LESSONS.
Map Illustrating the Extermination of the American Bison. Prepared by W. T. Hornaday.
FOOTNOTES.
INDEX.
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