SLAUGHTER OF BUFFALOES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1188, 5 September 1874, Page 6

SLAUGHTER OF BUFFALOES.

Great fears are expressed by the Turf, Field, and Farm, that the buffaloes of the North American plains are rapidly being exterminated. Only a few years ago countless herds roamed at will over the boundless prairies east of the Rocky Mountains, but during the last few years such a determined war has beeD waged against them that scarcely any are now ever to be seen, the only visible traces left being the countless millions of their bones which whiten the plain. A Mr. Lessig, who has for several months been on a surveying expedition in the regions where two or thi'ee years ago buffaloes were to be see in vast herds, says 6,500 carcases, from which the hides had been stripped, were counted on one spot. The meat was not touched, but left to rot on the plains. Only a short distance further on hundreds more of carcases were found ; and, in fact, the plains were literally clotted with theseputrefying masses. Mr. Lessig estimates that on the Rickaree River there are at least 2,000 hunters in camps waiting for the buffaloes ; and he came across one party of sixteen, who stated that they alone had killed no less than 28,000 buffaloes during the past summer. Taking this as an average, the numbers killed in a year would be incredible. Although the prices for hides (now one dollar for a bull's, sixty oents for a cow's, and forty for a calf's) have greatly decreased, yet sixch large quantities are thus wantonly destroyed that even the hunters Bay it is a very paying business.