Buffalo: North American Bison

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I’ve been posting some information about early American history and came across something that I researched several years ago and I thought I would share it with you today. At one time, according to the stories passed down to generations of Native Americans, there were perhaps 50 million or more bison roaming the Great Plains of America, in the 1800s. However, by the end of that century, there were not many left. When the transcontinental railroad was being built, in the 1860s “sportsmen” riding on the top of the trains, on specially constructed seats, shot thousands of bison and left their carcasses to rot. Professional hunters shot millions of bison and sold their hides for leather. The Native Americans killed the bison ONLY when they needed meat to eat and they used the hides for clothing, tents and canoes. They even used the bones for weapons and tools. And they used the dried dung for fuel for fires. Can you imagine how they felt about the slaughter of all of these buffalos? By the year 1870, there were about 5 million bison left. Then, in 1873, 3 million more were slaughtered. By 1889, there were only about 600 bison left. Finally, some laws were passed to protect the herds and increase the numbers. Today, there are about 25,000 bison in the USA. I have seen the buffalos up close when we visited Custer State Park in South Dakota. Have you ever seen a buffalo? From 1913 to 1938, the U.S. Mint began to stamp an image of the buffalo on the reverse side of the Indian-head nickel, to acknowledge the importance of this animal. This nickel is now a collector’s item.