2017 Spring Newsletter

Finally a er the scope of the slaughter became bet ter known, a few congressmen, and concerned ci zens began to realize that the numbers were being reduced so fast that soon the buffalo would become ex nct like the dodo and the passenger pigeon. Despite trea es with the Indians for the protec on of the buffalo, the hunters s ll illegally reduced the numbers and white se lers also played a part as they advanced westward. The buffalo was almost gone before people realized that their endless numbers were actually a thing of the past. In the late 1880’s only a few remained and many of those were in very secluded areas or were held by private ci zens.

In 1889, William Hornaday, of the Smithsonian es - mated that there were only about 1,000 le through out the en re United States. A few were held in zoos and railroad displays and parks. CJ Jones of Garden City was and early hunter of the buffalo but by 1890 began to see that in order to prevent their total de struc on, he must start gathering animals held by indi viduals, and any other sources and make efforts to get others interested to preserving the species. Finally in 1924 Kansas established a refuge for the animals on some government owned lands. But it was not un l 1955 before Kansas made the buffalo our of ficially named state animal. We can now look to the “Monarchs of the Plains” as being a magnificent re minder of our past history. As the designer of the buf falo nickel said in 1913 “there is no mo f within the boundaries of the United States so dis nc ve as the American buffalo.” By Larry Lybarger, with material taken from “The Buf falo in Kansas” by David Dary, published in the 1973 fall edi on of the Kansas Historical Quarterly.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Front Desk (1/2 or full day), computer input, arrang ing displays, moving help, grant writers, interview ers, history researchers

Page9