Back in the 1830s and 40s, buffalo had roamed the prairies unhindered. 50 or 60 million by one count.
For the Indians of the plains, these huge beasts had provided food to eat, clothing to wear, shelter from
the weather, and medicine for their ills. For thousands of years, the buffalo was a way of life. But
when the whites came, the buffalo became a business, the end was inevitable. And the end came fast. By
1880, for all practical purposes, the buffalo was extinct.