This senery already rich pleasing and beautiful was still farther hightened by immence herds of Buffaloe deer Elk and Antelopes which we saw in every direction feeding on the hills and plains. I do not think I exagerate when I estimate the number of Buffaloe which could be comprehended at one view to amount to 3,000.An observation of Meriwether Lewis when his expedition was west of what is now Oacoma, South Dakota, on September 17, 1804.
At one time, some 70 million buffalo roamed the plains from Alaska to northern Mexico. In less than 80 years after Lewis and Clark's historic journey, the immense herds had been destroyed and only about 350 animals survived.
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