Before the arrival of the Europeans, over fifty million bison roamed freely through North America.
By the 1890's there were less than a thousand left.
A very long time ago, bison came to North America from Asia, crossing a land bridge that connected Siberia to Alaska. These early bison (Bison latifrons) were enormous beasts, weighing up to 5,000 pounds. As the ice age waned and the climate warmed, buffalo evolved. B. latifrons were replaced by two new species: Bison antiquus, which became extinct 10,000 years ago, and Bison occidentalis, which further evolved into the two distinct races that exist today: Bison athabascae (wood buffalo) and Bison bison (plains buffalo).
Early inhabitants were largely nomadic hunters, following their prey on seasonal migrations. By the time that they had established villages (about 20,000 years ago), buffalo dominated the grasslands and hillsides that covered the central part of the United States. An adult male buffalo stood seven feet tall, weighed 2,000 pounds, and was capable of running up to 35 miles per hour. They were not easy prey.
Before horses and guns, stealthy hunters chased buffalo on foot using arrows and machetes. Before long they began using their wits to devise more effective ways to hunt. After observing that a wolf could approach a herd without causing a stampede because the buffalo sensed that the wolf would not attack in a herd, they would dress in wolf skins, allowing them to kill selectively.
Knowing that bison blindly followed their leader, they would dress as buffalo and lead an entire herd off of a steep cliff to their deaths. These stampedes were carefully organized and orchestrated to deal with the hundreds of carcasses that had to be processed quickly. Even amid the extravagant slaughter, nothing was wasted.
The Plains Indians relied on buffalo for nearly every aspect of their existence. Besides being a primary source of food where flesh, fat, blood, guts, organs and even hooves were cooked, dried, or smoked; their hair was used for bedding and ropes; hides for shoes, clothing and teepee covering. Buffalo brains were used to cure hides. Bones were made into tools and weapons. Sinews were dried for cordage and bowstrings. Horns were used to transport hot embers. Bladders were employed as cooking vessels. Because the buffalo gave so much, the Native Americans honored them in songs, dances, and prayers, considering them as their spiritual relatives.
In the 18th century, European settlers began to move westward, bringing with them horses and guns. To them, the lumbering buffalo were easy prey. Some of them were trappers and traders who made their living from selling buffalo hides that they would send on trains back east. During the winter of 1872-1873 more than 1.5 million hides were harvested and sold for $2.00-$3.00 apiece. As railroads were built for travel to the west, buffalo became the primary food for laborers. After their completion, buffalo were shot from the windows of moving trains as sport and amusement, leaving their carcasses to rot.
At about the same time, government leaders launched a campaign to eradicate the buffalo as a means of bringing the Indians into submission. In 1873, Columbus Delano, the Secretary of Interior, stated "The civilization of the Indian is impossible while the buffalo remains upon the plains. I would not seriously regret the disappearance of the buffalo from our western prairies, in its effect upon the Indians, regarding it as a means of hastening their sense of dependence upon the products of the soil and their own labors."
The slaughter continued until 1894, when President Grover Cleveland made it illegal to kill buffalo, saving them from near extinction.
Bison Jump
bison tartare, juniper ashes, journey cake
bison sausage, wild onion, roasted in juniper
chestnut puree, dried blueberry sauce
Playing with Fire and Water 