American Bison

The American bison (Bison bison), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. They became nearly extinct by a combination of westward expansion, commercial hide hunting and introduction of diseases from cattle. Their historical range roughly comprised a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in Canada’s far northwest, south to the Mexican states, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard.  Two subspecies  have been described: the plains bison (B. b. bison), smaller in size and with a more rounded hump, and the wood bison (B. b. athabascae)—the larger of the two and having a taller, square hump. The wood bison is one of the largest wild species of bovid in the world

 

1919

<< Previous  Next>> / The Montana Standard Butte, Montana Jan 6, 1919 INCREASE SHOWN IN BISON HERDS Story of How C.J. Jones captured Eight Calves from Wolves and Coyotes: Buffalo in Parks in Many States.   Remnants of Buffalo Herds Are Increasing American Bison Society’s Report Shows 6,523 Animals Living Under Government Protection In 29 States “Buffalo” Jones’ Story. The annual report of the American Bison Society just issued tells that the herds of buffalo under the United States government supervision not only show a satisfactory increase but a noticeable improvement in quantity and appearance over the original stock. Among … Read more

1914

<< Previous  Next>> Profits in Bones The Kinsley Graphic Kinsley Kansas, Jan 1, 1914  Profits in Bones. From the Hutchinson News. The Santa Fe handled a shipment this week which reminded one of the similar shipments made frequently forty years ago. It was a car of bones picked up on the prairie. John Seaberg and Peter Neufeld, who live above the hills in McPherson County, gathered the bones and at odd times within a couple of weeks, they succeeded In gathering up a carload of the bones, which had whitened on the prairie, in pastures and on stock farms. The … Read more

1913

<< Previous  Next>> /   / Wichita Daily Times Wichita Falls, Texas Jan 14 1913 New Herd of Bison of Interest to Scientists WASHINGTON –Government scientists in Washington displayed real interest in a dispatch from Winnipeg a few days ago, announcing that Harry V Radford, the American explorer had discovered more than 350 (? 850) wild buffalo in the Slave lake district of the Hudson Bay country. The wild buffalo of the American plains are gone and nothing remains of them save a few museum and zoological park specimens. Outside of the national zoological park in Washington, the Bronx Zoo, … Read more

1910

<< Previous  Next>> STARTING A BISON HERD   Butte, Montana by J. A. Elliot / “A Daring Act” by E.M. Hegglund Pierre S.D. / “American Bison. New York Zoological Park” “Copyrighted – New York Zoological Society, Publishers. Quadri-Color Co., New York” Original vintage color lithograph postcard, c. 1910 On Loan from the Galerii / / Daily Press Wisconsin Feb 16 1910 BUFFALO RAPIDLY BECOMING EXTINCT ……It is probably that during the present session of congress there be a renewal of the effort to have the national government establish and maintain a herd of American bison, or buffaloes as the nucleus for … Read more

1908

<< Previous  Next>> / After The Swim -N.A. Forsyth- Montana Memory.org 1908 / The Inter Ocean Jan 12, 1908 Will the Buffalo Survive? ……The American bison, or so-called buffalo, is peculiar to this continent. Its story is inseparable from that of the Indian and of the American pioneer. It provided food, clothing and even fuel, for the explorers and early settlers of the great plains. If it had not been there their work would have been more difficult and their hardships greater. It had a vital part in “The Winning of the West.” The bison once roamed in countless herds … Read more

1905

<< Previous  Next>> / Evening Star Washington DC Jan 7, 1905 Written for The Evening Star. The millionaire is the wild animal’s hope. Not only in, this country, but in Europe as well, he is taking the leading part in preserving rare species threatened with extinction, such as the buffalo, the giraffe, and the Altai wapiti. In this country, a number of well-known and wealthy men are spending immense sums to preserve herds of American bison on their large country estates, which are sometimes as large as the hunting ground of a small tribe in the olden days when the … Read more

1800’s

<< Previous  Next>> Plains Bison Mysteries That Remain Part I:  The Buffalo Population and Why It Crashed By Gene Gade President, Vore Buffalo Jump Foundation Volumes have been written about buffalo. Most emphasis has been placed on the historic period, immediately after the use of the Vore Buffalo Jump stopped (about 1800) through the era of Anglo American expansion into the Plains to the near-extinction of bison some 80 years later. How Many Buffalo Were There? Estimates of bison numbers vary from 30 to 75 million. 50,000,000 to 60,000,000 are the most common numbers cited as total buffalo population in … Read more

1901

<< Previous  Next>> The Times, Pa., Jan. 21 1901 AMERICAN BISON ……Naturalist Declare the Animals Are Increasing in Number. While it is naturally in possible to obtain figures as to the exact number of American bisons that are now alive, it is not difficult to obtain approximate figures, and from these and other data which had been recently collected, European naturalist maintain that there are more bison alive now then there have been for many years and that the number of these animals will steadily increase if only do care be taken of them, says the New York Journal. ……About … Read more

1900’s

<< Previous  Next>> / Sante Fe New Mexico Feb 8 1900 To Grab the Staked Plains. “Buffalo Jones” of Kansas long ago achieved fame as the grower of buffalo upon his farm in the sunflower state, and for his theory that by a cross between the bison and the domestic cattle he could produce a hardy animal which would combine the qualities of both. But the latest scheme of the Kansas man should entitle him to rank as the great practical joker of the wide west. He conceived a plan for grabbing the staked plains in New Mexico, ostensibly for … Read more

1898

<< Previous  Next>> Painted by Russell, The Cowboy Artist The Saint Paul Globe., -LOC St Paul Minnesota March 20, 1898 BUFFALO FARMING THE NOVEL EREEBING PLAN OF A WESTERNER  It Is Bringing Him a Fortune After a Few Years’, Experimenting Difficulties He Has Encountered How the Unruly Bison Are Taught to Be Docile by Means of a Unique Kicking and Butting Preventer Correspondence The St. Paul Globe. COCHRANE. Wis., March 19.—It will be a surprise to most people to know that the lordly buffalo that once roamed the Western plains in countless numbers have come down in these days to … Read more