Bison are an ancient species, with fossils tracing their ancestors to over 400,000 years ago in Asia. Scientists believe that at some point, bison began crossing the land bridge that once connected to North America. They spread far and wide, all the way to Mexico and New England. But the largest concentration of bison was here on the Great Plains, with an estimated 60 million of roaming the Midwest. The abundance made bison an excellent source of food and materials for Native Americans. This way of life could have continued, had it not been for the white settlers who hunted the species to near extinction.
The threat to the bison was recognized as early as 1776, but it wasn’t until 1894 under pressure from Theodore Roosevelt and others, that legislation was passed imposing a $1000 fine for anyone who killed a bison. But this only extended to public herds. People with private herds could still do as they pleased. So, on January 24th, 1907, the citizens of Casselton, North Dakota had a celebration when Frank Lynch decided to slaughter his giant bison and share the meat for free.
A newspaper story from the Casselton Reporter praises the animal’s condition, describing long hair, a good hide, and a mass of over 2,000 pounds. The article also explains that bison meat was a rare delicacy in that day, most likely because of the recent conservation legislation that had taken effect. People would pay as much $4 a pound, or over $100 in today’s money, for some bison meat, making the fact that Frank Lynch shared it for free even more amazing. The incident did not pass without national notice. On this date in 1907, Roosevelt wrote a letter to Lynch, thanking him for his generosity, but expressed sadness as well, saying: “…I am really sorry that you had to kill that buffalo bull. I am surprised that there should have been no market for him in the different parks and museums of this country, for I would have thought there would be plenty of people who would like to have him.”
A picture of the bison standing with men is marked, “Last Buffalo killed in North Dakota.” Even if true at the time, today there is more than a half-million bison in North America, including hundreds that roam free in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Dakota Datebook written by Lucid Thomas
Sources:
http://www.digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/uw/id/3890/
https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/nature/bison-buffalo.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison_hunting#Discussion_of_bison_protection
