Chapter XIII: Part III: The Smithsonian Expedition for Museum Specimens (2)

Counting the specimens taken in the spring, our total catch of buffalo amounted to twenty-five head, and constituted as complete and fine a series as could be wished for. I am inclined to believe that in size and general quality of pelage the adult bull and cow selected and mounted for our Museum group are not to be surpassed, even if they are ever equaled, by others of their kind.

The different ages and sexes were thus represented in our collection: 10 old bulls, 1 young bull, 7 old cows, 4 young cows, 2 yearling calves, 1 three-months calf[80]; total, 25 specimens.

[Note 80: Caught alive, but died in captivity July 26, 1886, and now in the mounted group.]

Our total collection of specimens of _Bison americanus_, including everything taken, contained the following: 24 fresh skins, 1 head skin, 8 fresh skeletons, 8 dry skeletons, 51 dry skulls, 2 foetal young; total, 94 specimens.

Our collection as a whole also included a fine series of skins and skeletons of antelope, deer of two species, coyotes, jack rabbits, sage grouse (of which we prepared twenty-four rough skeletons for the Department of Comparative Anatomy), sharp tailed grouse, and specimens of all the other species of birds and small mammals to be found in that region at that season. From this _matériel_ we now have on exhibition besides the group of buffaloes, a family group of antelope, another of coyotes, and another of prairie dogs, all with natural surroundings.

III. THE MOUNTED GROUP IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.

The result of the Smithsonian expedition for bison which appeals most strongly to the general public is the huge group of six choice specimens of both sexes and all ages, mounted with natural surroundings, and displayed in a superb mahogany case. The dimensions of the group are as follows: Length, 16 feet; width, 12 feet, and height, 10 feet. The subjoined illustration is a very fair representation of the principal one of its four sides, and the following admirable description (by Mr. Harry P. Godwin), from the Washington _Star_ of March 10, 1888, is both graphic and accurate:

A SCENE FROM MONTANA--SIX OF MR. HORNADAY'S BUFFALOES FORM A PICTURESQUE GROUP--A BIT OF THE WILD WEST REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM--SOMETHING NOVEL IN THE WAY OF TAXIDERMY--REAL BUFFALO-GRASS, REAL MONTANA DIRT, AND REAL BUFFALOES.

A little bit of Montana--a small square patch from the wildest part of the wild West--has been transferred to the National Museum. It is so little that Montana will never miss it, but enough to enable one who has the faintest glimmer of imagination to see it all for himself--the hummocky prairie, the buffalo-grass, the sage-brush, and the buffalo. It is as though a little group of buffalo that have come to drink at a pool had been suddenly struck motionless by some magic spell, each in a natural attitude, and then the section of prairie, pool, buffalo, and all had been carefully cut out and brought to the National Museum. All this is in a huge glass case, the largest ever made for the Museum. This case and the space about it, at the south end of the south hall, has been inclosed by high screens for many days while the taxidermist and his assistants have been at work. The finishing touches were put on to-day, and the screens will be removed Monday, exposing to view what is regarded as a triumph of the taxidermist's art. The group, with its accessories, has been prepared so as to tell in an attractive way to the general visitor to the Museum the story of the buffalo, but care has been taken at the same time to secure an accuracy of detail that will satisfy the critical scrutiny of the most technical naturalist.

THE ACCESSORIES.

The pool of water is a typical alkaline water-hole, such as are found on the great northern range of bison, and are resorted to for water by wild animals in the fall when the small streams are dry. The pool is in a depression in the dry bed of a coulée or small creek. A little mound that rises beside the creek has been partially washed away by the water, leaving a crumbling bank, which shows the strata of the earth, a very thin layer of vegetable soil, beneath a stratum of grayish earth, and a layer of gravel, from which protrude a fossil bone or two. The whole bank shows the marks of erosion by water. Near by the pool a small section of the bank has fallen. A buffalo trail passes by the pool in front. This is a narrow path, well beaten down, depressed, and bare of grass. Such paths were made by herds of bison all over their pasture region as they traveled down water-courses, in single file, searching for water. In the grass some distance from the pool lie the bleaching skulls of two buffalo who have fallen victims to hunters who have cruelly lain in wait to get a shot at the animals as they come to drink. Such relics, strewn all over the plain, tell the story of the extermination of the American bison. About the pool and the sloping mound grow the low buffalo-grass, tufts of tall bunch-grass and sage-brush, and a species of prickly pear. The pool is clear and tranquil. About its edges is a white deposit of alkali. These are the scenic accessories of the buffalo group, but they have an interest almost equal to that of the buffaloes themselves, for they form really and literally a genuine bit of the West. The homesick Montana cowboy, far from his wild haunts, can here gaze upon his native sod again; for the sod, the earth that forms the face of the bank, the sage-brush, and all were brought from Montana--all except the pool. The pool is a glassy delusion, and very perfect in its way. One sees a plant growing beneath the water, and in the soft, oozy bottom, near the edge, are the deep prints made by the fore feet of a big buffalo bull. About the soft, moist earth around the pool, and in the buffalo trail are the foot-tracks of the buffalo that have tramped around the pool, some of those nearest the edge having filled with water.

THE SIX BUFFALOES.

The group comprises six buffaloes. In front of the pool, as if just going to drink, is the huge buffalo bull, the giant of his race, the last one that was secured by the Smithsonian party in 1888, and the one that is believed to be the largest specimen of which there is authentic record. Near by is a cow eight years old, a creature that would be considered of great dimensions in any other company than that of the big bull. Near the cow is a suckling calf, four months old. Upon the top of the mound is a "spike" bull, two and a half years old; descending the mound away from the pool is a young cow three years old, on one side, and on the other a male calf a year and a half old. All the members of the group are disposed in natural attitudes. The young cow is snuffing at a bunch of tall grass; the old bull and cow are turning their heads in the same direction apparently, as if alarmed by something approaching; the others, having slaked their thirst, appear to be moving contentedly away. The four months' old calf was captured alive and brought to this city. It lived for some days in the Smithsonian grounds, but pined for its prairie home, and finally died. It is around the great bull that the romance and main interest of the group centers.

* * * * *

It seemed as if Providence had ordained that this splendid animal, perfect in limb, noble in size, should be saved to serve as a monument to the greatness of his race, that once roamed the prairies in myriads. Bullets found in his body showed that he had been chased and hunted before, but fate preserved him for the immortality of a Museum exhibit. His vertical height at the shoulders is 5 feet 8 inches. The thick hair adds enough to his height to make it full 6 feet. The length of his head and body is 9 feet 2 inches, his girth 8 feet 4 inches and his weight is, or was, about 1,600 pounds.

THE TAXIDERMIST'S OBJECT LESSONS.

This group, with its accessories, is, in point of size, about the biggest thing ever attempted by a taxidermist. It was mounted by Mr. Hornaday, assisted by Messrs. J. Palmer and A. H. Forney. It represents a new departure in mounting specimens for museums. Generally such specimens have been mounted singly, upon a flat surface. The American mammals, collected by Mr. Hornaday, will be mounted in a manner that will make each piece or group an object lesson, telling something of the history and the habits of the animal. The first group produced as one of the results of the Montana hunt comprised three coyotes. Two of them are struggling, and one might almost say snarling, over a bone. They do not stand on a painted board, but on a little patch of soil. Two other groups designed by Mr. Hornaday, and executed by Mr. William Palmer, are about to be placed in the Museum. One of these represents a family of prairie-dogs. They are disposed about a prairie-dog mound. One sits on its haunches eating; others are running about. Across the mouth of the burrow, just ready to disappear into it, is another one, startled for the moment by the sudden appearance of a little burrowing owl that has alighted on one side of the burrow. The owl and the dog are good friends and live together in the same burrow, but there appears to be strained relations between the two for the moment.

MAP ILLUSTRATING THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON. Prepared by W. T. Hornaday.

INDEX.

A.

Abundance of the American bison, 387-393. Accidents to bison herds, 420. Affection, instinct of, in the bison, 433. _Agropyrum_, 429. Alabama, 380. Albinism in the bison, 411. Allard, Mr. Charles, 461. Allen, Mr. J. A., on the American bison, 377, 381, 385, 387, 450, 480. "American Field," quotation from, 433. Fur Company, 488. Andrews, Mr. Harry, 502. _Andropogon provincialis_, 427, 429. _scoparius_, 429. Argoll, Capt. Sam'l, discovery of bison by, 375, 378. Arkansas, 375. _Aristida purpurea_, 428 Ashe, Mr. Thomas, on the buffalo, 420, 485. _Astragalus molissimus_, 429. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railway, 493, 496, 498, 499. Athabasca, buffaloes in, 523-524. _Atriplex canescens_, 429. Audubon and Bachman, observations by, 400. Aurochs, or European bison, 394.

B.

Bailey, Lieut. H. K., 545.
Baird, Prof. S. F., expedition for buffaloes, sent out by, 529.
Baker & Co., Messrs. I. G., 411, 506.
Bedson, Mr. S. L., buffalo-breeding by, 452, 454-456.
herd owned by, 458, 460.
Berlandier, Dr., on bison in Mexico, 381.
Bismark Grove, Kans., buffaloes at, 461.
Bison, the American.
abundance of, 387-393.
accidents to herds of, 420.
adult bull of, 402-406.
cow of, 406, 436.
affection in the 433.
albinism in the, 414.
as a beast of burden, 457.
bones of the, 445.
breeding habits of, 425.
season of, 396, 415.
calf of the, 366-401, 425, 433.
change of form in, 377, 394, 409.
character of, 393.
color of, 396-403.
courage of, 432.
cow of, 406-436.
Bison, cross-breeding, 451-458.
domestication of, 379, 451-458.
fear in 432.
food of, 426-429.
habits of, 415-426.
in running, 422, 430-431.
in winter, 423.
when wounded, 426.
hair of, 449.
"hide" of, 445, 505-507.
horns of, 405, 406.
hunting the, 405, 470, 478, 480, 483, 484, 536-542.
meat of, 446, 448.
mental capacity of, 429-434.
migrations of, 389, 420, 424-429.
monograph of, by J. A. Allen, 387.
"mountain" form of, 407-412.
mounted skins of, 396, 412, 546-548.
pelage of, 412-414.
protection of, possible, 435.
rank of, with other _Bovidæ_, 393.
reasoning powers of, 429.
robe of, 441-415, 453, 470.
shedding of pelage of, 412-414.
size of, 405, 407.
slaughter of the, 486-513.
Smithsonian expedition for, 529-546.
"spike bull" of, 401.
"wood" variety of, 407-412.
"yearling" of, 401.
Blackford, Mr. E. G., buffaloes presented by, 463, 527.
Bones, buffalo, utilization of, 445.
Boskowitz, Messrs. J. & A., 394.
_Bouteloua oligostachya_, 427, 428.
Boyd, Mr. Irvin, 534, 537, 538, 540.
Breeding of the buffalo, 390, 415, 425.
with domestic cattle, 452-458, 528.
British Possessions, buffalo in the 384, 408, 489, 504, 523.
Brown, Mr. W. Harvey, 534, 535, 541.
_Buchloë dactyloides_, 428.
Buffalo (see Bison, American.)
Buffalo Bill (see Cody, Hon. W. F.)
Buffalo Buttes, 538, 540, 542.
Buffalo "chips," 541.
Buffalo grass, 427, 428.
Byrd, Col. William, 376, 449.

C.

Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Nuñez, 373. Calf of the buffalo, 396-401, 425, 433. pelage of, 396-398. capture of a, 532. Calf Creek, Montana, 535, 536. Canadian Pacific Railway, 504. Captivity, list of buffaloes in, 458-464. Carey, Hon. Joseph M., 522. Carolina, North, 376, 379. South, 379. Castañeda, description of American bison by, 374. Catlin, George, on buffalo calves, 398. on buffalo hunting, 472, 481. on extermination of the buffalo, 488. on habits of the buffalo, 419, 423, 434. stopped by herd, 392. Cattle-growers, value of bison to, 451-458. Cattle, Western range, 452. Central Park menagerie, New York, 463. Change of form in American bison, 377, 394, 409. Character of the American bison, 393. Chase of the buffalo, on horseback, 470-478. Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, courtesies extended by, 530. "Chips," buffalo, 451. Christy, Mr. Miller, on the buffalo, 523. Cochran, Lieut. Col. M. A., 534, 545. Cody, Hon. W. F., 460, 477. Cole, the Hon. Mr., of California, 514. Color of the American bison, 396, 403. Colorado, 488, 523. Completeness of the bison's extermination, 521-525. Conger, the Hon. Mr., 516, 517, 519. Congress, National Zoological Park established by, 528. Congressional legislation to protect the bison, 513-521. Cory, Mr. C. B., 523. Coronado, penetration of buffalo range by, 374, 383. Cortez, American bison first seen by, 373. Courage, instinct of, in the bison, 432. Cow, the adult buffalo, 406, 436. young buffalo, 406. Cox, Hon. S. S., 515, 516. Cree Indians, 478, 489, 504, 505, 527. Cross-breeding between the buffalo and domestic cattle, 451-458.

D.

Dakota, 389, 489, 490, 512. Davis, Mr. J. N., 512. Davis, Mr. Theo. R., 483. Davis, Mr. W. W., records of Coronado's march, by, 383. Dawes, Hon. Henry L., 517. Decoying and driving buffaloes, 483. De Solis, description of bison, by, 373. Destruction of the southern herd, 492-502. northern herd, 502-513. Discovery of the American bison: in captivity, by Cortez, 373. eastern North America, by Argoll, 375. Illinois, by Father Hennepin, 375. Texas, by Cabeza de Vaca, 373. Coronado, 373, 383. District of Columbia, 375, 378. Distribution of the American bison, 376-383, 402, 503, 508. geographical center of, 388. Division of the great buffalo range, 492. Dodge, Col. R. I., observations on the buffalo, by, 389, 392, 400-409, 424, 433, 471, 474, 493, 495, 498. Domestication of the American bison, 379, 452-458, 528. Dry Creek, Big, 512, 530, 534. Little, 532, 533, 535. Dupree. Mr. F., buffaloes owned by, 462.

E.

Eldridge, the Hon. Mr., 516.
Estimate of buffaloes, 391, 504, 509.
Expedition for bison sent by the Smithsonian, 522, 529-546.
Expeditions of the Red River half-breeds, 436, 437, 474.
Extermination of the American bison:
cause of the, 454.
completeness of the, 521-525.
effects of the, 525-527.
methods employed in the, 465, 470, 478, 480, 483, 484.
north of Union Pacific Railway, 502-513.
progress of the, 484.
share of the Indians in the, 478.
south of the Union Pacific Railway, 498-502.
west of the Rocky Mountains, 486.
Extermination of American quadrupeds, 487, 491, 502.

F.

Fear, instinct of, in the bison, 432. Fee, Mr. C. S., favors extended by, 545. _Festuca scabrella_, 429. "Field," the London, quotation from, 523. Fleet, Henry, mention of bison on the Potomac, by, 378. Food of the bison, 426-434. "Forest and Stream," quotations from, 411, 511. Forney, Mr. A. H., 531. Fort Keogh, buffaloes near, 509. Fort, the Hon. Mr., of Illinois, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519.

G.

Gaur, or Indian bison, 393. Geographical distribution of the bison, 376-388, 492. Georgia, 379. Gibson, Col. Geo. M., 544, 545. Godwin, Mr. Harry P., 546. Goode, Prof. G. Brown, 379. Goodnight, Mr. Charles, buffaloes owned by, 460. Great Slave Lake, 384, 408. Group of buffaloes in the National Museum. 546-548.

H.

Habits of the bison, 415-426. Hair of the buffalo, uses of the, 449. Half-breeds of the Northwest Territories, 436, 474, 488, 504. Hannaford, Mr. J. M., letter from, 507. "Harper's Magazine," quotation from, 483. Harris, Capt. Moses, 521. Harris, Mr. Robert, courtesies extended by, 530. Haskins, Mr. Edward, train-master, 544. Hawley, Hon. J. R., 517. Hazen, General W. B., on buffalo slaughter, 514, 516. Hedley, Mr. George H., with expedition for bison 531. Hennepin, Father, bison seen in Illinois by, 388. Herds, list of captive bison, 458-464. Hides, buffalo, 445, 505, 506, 507. High Divide, 535, 536, 538, 542. Hind, Prof. H. Y., 407, 476, 478. Holman, Hon. W. S., 516. Hornaday, W. T., group of bison by, 546-548. Horns of the American bison, 405, 407. Huguenot settlers, domestication of bison by, 379, 451. Hunting the buffalo, method of decoying and driving, 483. horseback, 470. impounding, 478. on snow shoes, 484. "still-hunt," 465. "surround," 480. Hunting on the Musselshell River, 539. Hybrid, the buffalo-domestic, 454-457.

I.

Idaho, 383.
Illinois, 385-388.
Impounding buffaloes, 478.
Indiana, 385.
Indians:
responsibility of, for buffalo slaughter, 506.
robes marketed by northern, 505.
share of the, in buffalo destruction, 478, 480, 483, 484,
489, 490, 500, 505, 506, 512.
starving for lack of the buffalo, 526.
who subsisted on the buffalo, 526.

J.

Jones, Mr. C. J., breeding of buffaloes, by, 452, 454, 456.
buffaloes captured by, 458, 523.
buffalo herd owned by, 458.

K.

Kansas, 391, 424, 496, 501. Kasson, Hon. J. A., 517. Kenaston, Prof. C. A., 505. Kentucky, 388, 420. Keogh, Fort, 509, 531. _Koeleria cristata_, 429.

L.

Lewis and Clark, buffaloes seen by, 389, 483. Lincoln Park, Chicago, buffaloes in, 462. Loco weed not eaten by the buffalo, 429. Louisiana, 380.

M.

Macoun, Prof. John, 524, 526. "Manitoba and the great Northwest," 524, 526. Maryland, 378. McCormick, Hon. R. C., 514, 516, 518. McGillycuddy, Dr. V. T., buffaloes owned by, 462. McNaney, Mr. James, 421, 424, 467, 534, 537, 538, 540, 542. Meat of the buffalo, 446, 448. Mental capacity of the American bison, 429-434. Merrill, Dr. J. C., 530, 545. Mexico, 381. Migrating habits of the buffalo, 389, 420, 424-425. Miles City, Montana, 531, 534, 541. Miller, Mr. Roswell, courtesies extended by, 530. Minnesota, 385. Mississippi, 380. Monograph on "The American Bison," 387. Montana, 421, 508, 509, 510, 511. "Mountain buffalo," 407-412. Mounted skins of buffaloes, 396, 412, 546-548. Museum, National, 395, 527, 546. Musselshell River, 535, 539.

N.

National Museum, live buffaloes at the, 395, 463, 527. mounted buffaloes in the, 396, 397, 401, 402, 405, 406, 407, 546-548. Nelson, Mr. E. W., 385. New Mexico, 383. New York, 385. Northern herd, destruction of the, 502-513. Northern Pacific Railway, 502, 507, 511, 513. courtesies extended by, 530. Northwest Territories (British), 384, 408, 489, 523.

O.

Ohio, 385. Omaha Indians, buffalo hunting by, 477. Oregon, 389. Oregon trail, 491.

P.

Partello, Lieut. J. M. T., 509. Peace River, buffaloes on the, 524. Pelage of the American bison, 396, 414, 415, 442, 453. Pemmican, 447. Pennsylvania, the buffalo in, 386, 387, 420, 485. Pennsylvania Railway, courtesies extended by, 530. Phillips, Mr. Henry R., courtesies extended by, 531, 545. "Plains of the Great West," 389, 391, 409. _Poa tenuifolia_, 429. Porcupine Creek, buffaloes on, 512, 522, 532. Products of the buffalo, 434-451. Protection of American animals, 435, 520, 521. the bison possible, 435, 520.

R.

Ranch, LU-bar, 532, 543. the HV, 534, 544. Railways, influence of the, in buffalo slaughter, 490-493, 507. Rank of the American bison, 393. Reasoning faculty of the bison, 429-430. Recuperative power of the bison, 426. Red Buttes, 531. Red River half-breeds, 474, 488. "Red River Settlement," 436, 450, 474, 475. Regan, the Hon. Mr., 518. Robe of the American bison, 441-445, 453, 470. best season for taking, 442. preparation of the, 442, 443, 470. trade in, 513. utilization of, 411, 505. value of, 394, 444, 445. varieties and classification of, 443, 444. Ross, Mr. Alexander (_see_ "Red River Settlement.") "Running" buffaloes, 470. Running power and habits of the buffalo, 422, 430, 431. Russell, Mr. L. S., 534, 536, 537, 538.

S.

Sage brush, 547. Sand Creek, Montana, 534, 535, 538. Schulz, Dr., on the buffalo in Athabasca, 523-524. Secretary of War, favors extended by, 530-545. Shufeldt, Dr. R. W., on mountain buffaloes, 411. Sibley, Hon. H. H., 474. "Sioux City Journal," quotation from, 503. Sioux Indiana, destruction of buffaloes by, 490, 497, 500, 505. Slaughter of the buffalo, 486-513. Smith, Mr. V., 510, 512. Smithsonian Butte, 539. Smithsonian Institution expedition for buffaloes, 522, 529-546. Snow-shoes, hunting buffaloes on, 484. Southern buffalo herd, destruction of, 492-502. "Spike" bull buffalo, 401. "Star, Washington," description from the, 546-548. Starin, Mr. J. H., buffaloes owned by, 463. Statistics of the slaughter of the southern herd, 498-502. buffaloes now living, 458-461, 525. Stephenson, Dr. William, 522. Still hunt, 465-510. _Stipa comata_, 429. _sparica_, 428. _viridula_, 429. Stub-horn bull, killed by author, 542.

T.

Tepee, hides required for a, 505. Temper of the bison, 434. Tennessee, 388. Texas, existence the bison in, 374, 381, 501, 502. Thompson, Lieut. C. B., 545. Thompson, Mr. Frank, courtesies extended by, 530. "Times, Kansas City," quotation from, 461.

U.

Ullman, Mr. Joseph buffalo product handled by, 394. Utah, 383. Utilization of the buffalo, 437.

V.

Value of the bison to man, 434-451, 526. Value of a single bison on the range, 435, 436. buffalo to cattle-growers, 451, 458. buffalo-robe, 498. products handled by two firms, 439-440. Varner, Mr. Allen, 491. Virginia, the buffalo in, 376, 378, 379.

W.

Wastefulness in buffalo slaughter, 494, 496-498, 510. Weapons used in buffalo hunting, 466, 467, 470, 477. West, Mr. C. S., 534, 538, 541, 543. Wichita (Kansas) "World," 500. Wilkins, Col. John D., 545. Wilson, the Hon. Mr., 514. Winston, Mr. B. C., 463, 522. Winter habits of the buffalo, 423. Wisconsin, 385. Wood buffaloes, 407-412. Wounded bison, habits of, 426. Wyoming, 522.

Y.

Yearling of the buffalo, 401. Yellowstone Park, buffaloes in, 512, 521, 522, 527. Yellowstone Rivers, 531, 544. Young Mr. Harrison, S., 524.

Z.

Zoological Garden of Cincinnati, 462.
Philadelphia, 461.
Park at Washington, establishment of, by Congress, 528.