w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
47
THE
BUFFALO
HUNTERS
by JOSEPH SHELTON
T
HE SLAUGHTER OF THE BISON WAS CONDONED,
IF NOT ENCOURAGED, BY MANY. They were a nui-
sance to the transcontinental railroad, the establish-
ment of which divided the millions of bison into a so-called
northern and southern herd. And for others, such as Colonel
Richard Irving Dodge, the near extermination of the bison was
part of a different slaughter. Speaking to a visiting English-
man who was lamenting having witnessed the death of 30
bison, Dodge reassured him that it was the right thing to do.
"Kill every buffalo," Dodge told him. "Every buffalo dead is
an Indian gone." As the herds dwindled, the army handed out
free bullets to those who might help mop up the remaining
population.
In addition, owing to new methods of chemically treating
bison hides, their skin, previously stiff and hard to work with,
could be made into far tougher leather than that from cattle.
