A lot of people forget about the Eastern subspecies, but they were very important too.
Often associated only with the Great Plains of the American West, bison were once numerous east of the Mississippi, and were once common in West Virginia. The town of Buffalo, WV, was named after Buffalo Creek, so named because bison were commonly seen along it. Dr. Thomas Walker recorded that 13 buffaloes were killed during the his 1743 expledition of the trans-Allegheny region.
The Native Americans of West Virginia made use of the bison for food, clothing, bedding, war paraphernalia (shields made from hides), utensils, and musical instruments (trumpets made from horns, drum skins from hide.)
Although valued as a source of food by white settlers, many engaged in the wanton killing of bison as as a “sport.” Dr. Walker noted in 1743 that, “game in these parts and would have been of much greater advantage to the inhabitants than it has been if the hunters had not killed the Buffaloes for diversion.”
The bison once roamed in large herds over the entire state, the greatest number of them being found along the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. By 1730, all the wild bison were gone from Virginia and by 1760 they had were no longer found in the Carolinas or eastern Georgia. Daniel Boone wrote in his diary that he hunted buffalo in North Carolina until they “became scarce” in the late 1760’s.
The last buffalo seen in West Virginia were a cow and calf in Webster County in the year 1825. The last wild bison living east of the Mississippi River was shot in 1832.
Bison: Builder of Roads
White hunters and early settlers in the trans-Allegheny region reported sizable populations of bison, that had beaten down traces or paths between salt licks. Many of these paths served as roads that used by Indians, and later by the white settlers. Many decades later, the paths of the bison became the route followed by many of the early turnpikes and road systems.
What’s referenced as Virginia there AFAICT was the limits of the colony at that time, which had not yet expanded west of the Blue Ridge. I am from the New/Kanawha/Ohio drainage, just over the current WV state line, and close to places named after that Dr. Walker (and buffalo place names)–where they held on for almost a century longer as mentioned above. Until after there were larger numbers of settlers and just groups of destructive roving assholes killing them off.
My folks also used to make boats covered with the large, tough hides, which would hold up better to rapids better than wood. Deer skins don’t work for that. Neither would elk probably, but they also got totally wiped out at about the same time anyway.
Did run across this one, though, so bringing it back.
One of the main things that last photoset reminds me of, though, is that I’m stuck in this shithole and unlikely to go home to see anything like that in person again.
(I’m from a little farther up the Blue Ridge, but from here it looks like no difference. Have some distant family down there too, what a surprise.)
I try to focus on things that I do have more control over at this point, but yeah it still gets to me sometimes. Which I know wouldn’t even make much sense to people without the same kind of relationship to place.
Boozhoo (hello), my name is Ken, I am a disabled Ojibwe artist from northern Wisconsin. I am writing this post because I am having a hard time making ends meet and any donations I could possibly receive at this time would be greatly appreciated. Recent events have left my bank account depleted and my cupboards bare, I have some food but it will not last and I still do not know how I will cover all the utility bills.
I do have PayPal, that is really the best way to donate at this time, the email I use for that is: baapimakwa@gmail.com, or you can click here.
Miigwech (thank you) everyone. Working hard to at least get caught up and still coming up short, every little bit helps.
Always something new, the family vehicle is no more, and there’s upcoming doctors appointments that we’ll be needing to find rides to and that’s most likely going to involve gas money.
My cousin is offering to do the delivering if I make frybread and my father smokes fish, hopefully we could sell enough to get repairs done on the van, so that’s the plan there, could still use help, I have some ingredients but I’ll need to get more, all that and we are still short on the water / sewer bill. Miigwech, everything is appreciated.
Hey short version, we just don’t have money to refill my meds and pay for new ones that I’ve just been prescribed for diabetes. Even with my wife’s paycheck, we’re really tight on money and she ended up being out of work for almost two weeks with strep throat pretty recently.
I’m in major need of money asap, as my antidepressant and heartburn meds are almost out. I also need to pick up advair to control my asthma but it’s expensive, and I need to pick up insulin as well (even MORE expensive)
If anyone can spare anything, I would be SO grateful.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 