1872: Destruction of the Buffalo

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The American Bison, or buffalo as it was commonly called, was a staple of life for the Indians of the Great Plains, whose entire existence was dependent upon it. These tribes relied on the buffalo’s meat for sustenance and their hides were used for both clothing and lodging (teepees) ^[1]. Beginning in the 1860s, the United States began employing buffalo hunters as a means of destroying the Indians’ way of life, and thus, destroying the Indians themselves ^[2]. The decision to obliterate the buffalo population was a conscious decision on the part of the United States to defeat the Indians ^[3]. Buffalo hunters were paid, on average, $1 per hide ^[4]. Aside from professional buffalo hunters, the bison were also seen as an object of sport for ordinary citizens. Men traveling across the Plains in railroad cars often shot them simply for fun. By 1874, buffalo populations were largely nonexistent on the Great Plains. This also marked the end of the Plains Indians’ way of life ^[5].

Sources

^[1] W.W. Newcomb Jr., The Indians of Texas: From Prehistoric to Modern Times, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1961), 98.

^[2] David La Vere, The Texas Indians, (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2004), 212.

^[3] W.W. Newcomb Jr., The Indians of Texas: From Prehistoric to Modern Times, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1961), 95.

^[4] "Wanton Butchery. The Evils of Buffalo Hunting - Letter to Mr. Heary Bergh, from Kansas," New York Times, 26 January 1872, p. 5, ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851- ).

^[5] W.W. Newcomb Jr., The Indians of Texas: From Prehistoric to Modern Times, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1961), 94, 95.

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