The Buffalo Ranch, Click the pic
The American Frontier or the Old Wild West lasted from the end of the Civil War until the close of the frontier in 1890. This was the time of the cowboy, Indians, buffalo hunting, bank robbers, gunfighters, lawmen and many more. There have been many movies made about this time period that have grace the big screen as well as in the 1950's and 1960's on the small screen.
The Buffalo Ranch, Click the pic
The American bison once number over 60,000,000. The sad reality was that in the decade of the 1870's these magnificent animals were killed almost to extinction. In 1886 a cencus was done that found only 541 bison alive in many romotes parts of the west. The buffalo as they became known as were killed mainly for their hides. A hide hunter could get as much as $3.00 per hide. The rest of the animal was left to rot on the Great Plains. The killing of the buffalo was also a way for the government of the United States to finally get the Plains Indians under their control. The government encouraged this massacre of the king of the plains. Today the buffalo number over 200,000 thanks to efforts of many conservationist. The largest private ownership of buffalo today is by billionaire Ted Turner. He owns well over 10,000.
To Yellowstone National Park, Click the pic
The transcontinental railroad enabled the country to be crossed in a matter of days instead of months. The Donner Party left Springfield, Illinois in 1846 only to become stranded in the mountains. This illfated party missed their destination by one day. The snows came blocking the mountain pass making it impossible to cross. They were forced to kill their animals for food. When all of their animals had been eaten they ate hides, twigs, tree bark or anything else they could consume. In the end some even resorted to consuming human flesh. This was the American frontier in its early stages.
| Buffalo in 1800: 60,000,000 | Buffalo in 1886: 541 | Buffalo today: 250,000 |