I happened to notice that Dances with Wolves was running on one of the cable stations recently. That 1990 film starring Kevin Costner had some great scenes of bison herds and a bison hunt. I could not help but imagine what those immense herds of bison looked like before European settlement.
The historical range of bison covered much of North America including, of course the Northern Great Plains. Historical estimates vary widely, with some estimates coming in at between 30 to 60 million or even more. That is hard to imagine, but we do have written accounts that provide insight to the bison’s abundance.
In the summer of 1853 Isaac Stevens was in what is now North Dakota exploring a route for a Pacific Railroad. On July 10, his expedition was camped near present day Binford in Griggs County. Stevens wrote in his journal, and I quote: …“crossed the Sheyenne…every square mile seemed to have a herd of buffalo upon it. …I had heard of the myriads of these animals inhabiting these plains, but I could not realize the truth of these accounts till today, when they surpassed anything I could have imagined…”
Alexander Henry the Younger ran a trading post near the confluence of the Park River with the Red River for a few years around 1800. He kept a journal, and here are some quotes from his journal during the spring of 1801.
- Imagine the scenes he experienced beginning with the ice going out on the Red River on March 30 (make a note of that date). “…great numbers of dead buffalo which come from above, must have been drowned in attempting to cross the river while the ice was in a weak state.”
- April 1: “one continual line in the middle of the river for two days and two nights.”
- April 18: “drown’d buffalo still continue to drift down the river, but not in such vast numbers as in the beginning, as many are lodged on the banks and along the beach.”
- April 30: “buffalo continue to drift as usual.”
- May 4: “annoyed by the stench arising from the vast numbers of drown’d buffalo that lay on the banks, and are now in a state of putrifaction, I was actually prevented from taking my supper. “
Other observations in the journals of Lewis and Clark expedition, Charles Fremont, Charles Chaboillez, and others attest to the historical abundance of the bison on their native range. And although we can imagine those immense herds of bison, it is still difficult to put it into perspective, particularly in light of the slaughter that came afterwards.
