It is believed that bison, or buffalo, originated in Eurasia then crossed over the Bering Strait land bridge that at one time connected the Asian and North American continents. In prehistoric times the massive herds literally darkened the face of the earth as they roamed and foraged. Over many centuries the buffalo slowly migrated southward until they inhabited much of the grasslands of the United States. Seas of buffalo herds stretched across the horizon from Canada to Mexico and from the northwestern Pacific coast in Oregon southeast as far as Florida.

Bison were the most numerous single species of large wild mammals on Earth and is the largest land mammal in North America since the end of the Ice Age. A male buffalo may stand as high as six feet and weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

Prior to the white man’s desecration of the American wilderness, Native Americans depended on the buffalo for food, clothing and shelter. Indian culture had a reverence and respect for the buffalo and used the meat, hide and bones of the beast.

In the 19th century buffalo were hunted to near extinction. In the 1880’s only a few hundred of the magnificent creatures still survived.

The major reason for the extermination of the giaint herds was the profitable harvesting of buffalo hides. There was a lucrative export trade to Europe of buffalo hides to make the luxurious rugs and robes so coveted by the wealthy elite. Old West buffalo hunting was very often a massive commercial enterprise, involving organized teams of professional hunters, backed by a team of skinners, gun cleaners, re-loaders, camp cooks, wranglers, blacksmiths, teamsters and numerous horses, mules and wagons. Men were even employed to reclaim and recast lead bullets taken from the gut piles.

From 1873-83 there were over a thousand of these professional hunting companies operating in the United States. History records that as many as 50,000 - 100,000 buffalo were executed per day, dependent on the season. The buffalo hunters left behind carcasses that slowly decayed into giant piles of buffalo bones, making the prairie so white some said it looked as if it were covered in snow even during the summer months. After the carcasses decayed, the buffalo bones were collected and shipped back east.

Many of these professional hunters, such as Buffalo Bill Cody, slaughtered hundreds of animals at a single stand and many thousands in their career. One proud professional hunter massacred over 20,000 by his own count. An average quality hide could bring $3 and a prime one (the heavy winter coat) could sell for $50 in an era when a laborer would be fortunate to earn a dollar a day. Greed is a great motivator. Many people denounced the slaughter but few did anything actively to stop the carnage.

The extermination of the American Buffalo was part of a diabolical plot by the United States Government to control the American Indian population. There were government initiatives, at both the local and federal level, to starve the population of the Plains Indians by eliminating their main food source, the buffalo. The herds were the basis of the survival of the Plains tribes. Without buffalo to feed and clothe them, the Indians would be forced to leave or starve to death.

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