The Buffalo: The Story of American Bison and Their Hunters from Prehistoric Times to the Present

In this broad survey of buffalo from prehistoric times to the twentieth century, Francis Haines focuses on the relationship between buffalo and the Plains Indians. He describes in detail how the Indians utilized the buffalo for clothing, bedding, and various tools and as their principal source of food. The Indians hunted buffalo before and after they acquired horses, and they followed the migrations to survive. In the nineteenth century, however, massive buffalo hunts spurred on by the westward expansion of the United States drove the buffalo nearly to extinction. In his foreword, David Dary summarizes more than a century of scholarship on the buffalo. He also provides an updated state-by-state listing on where interested readers can find buffalo today in nearly every state.