| 5547
ralists have not too soon become alive to the remarkable fact that those shaggy monarchs of the prairie, the ponderous buffalo tribe, are well-nigh extinct. They have dwindled away before the exterminating tread of the hunter and the march of the pioneer of civilization. The prairie no longer shakes beneath the impetuous advance of the mighty herd, and even individual specimens are becoming scarce. The representatives of the Smithsonian Museum in America therefore sent out an expedition into the West in search of what buffaloes there might be remaining, in order that the country might preserve some memento of the millions of the American papers describes this as the transference of a little bit of Montana--a small square patch from the wildest part of the Wild West--to the National Museum. The idea is one which is exactly applicable to COLONEL W. F. CODY's collection, which is approaching its last days of residence among us. Those scenes in which the primeval forest and the vast expanse of prairie are represented, with elk and bison careering about, chased by the hunter and the scout, is a transference from the Wild West which, as we now learn, should be even more interesting to the naturalist than it is to either the artistic or the historical student. We leave out of view for the moment the ordinary spectator who goes only to be amused or entertained, independently of any instruction that may be afforded. These scenes, moreover, are all the more interesting to the ethnological student because of the association with them of the red men who have been indigenous to the prairies and their surroundings. The occupation of Uncas, like Othello's, is gone; palatial buildings and busy streets have succeeded to the wigwam and the hunting grounds, and the successor of Fenimore Cooper may find his representative Indians, not where the hunting knife and tomahawk are needed, but in the arena of mimic battle and adventure. The Indian is going out with the buffalo; mayhap we shall ere long see the last of his descendants, with the contemplative gaze of Macaulay's New Zealander, sitting before the group in the Smithsonian Museum, looking upon the last representatives of the extinct buffalo, fixed in its prairie-like surroundings. These considerations of facts which force themselves upon the imagination, distinctly enhance the interest of those "pictures" from the Wild West presented with such force and realism by the ruling genius who, anent the purport of these relections, is so appropriately named "BUFFALO BILL." In the course of a very short time these pictures will permanently vanish from English soil, as they are to be produced in America soon, and it may be expected that those in arrears in information respecting them, and who appreciate, as they deserve to be appreciated, their instructive features, will give to them a conecentrated attention ere it is too late.
A POSITION DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN.--A "PLAINS CELEBRITY."--A TITLE
IMPERISHABLE.
To gain great local and national fame as a "plains celebrity" in the days of old was
not an easy task; rather one the most competetive struggles that a young man could
possibly engage in. The vast, comparatively unknown, even called Great American Desert of twenty-five and thirty years ago was peopled only by the descendants of the sturdy pioneers of the then Far West--Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, etc., born, raised, and used to hardships and danger--and attracted only the resolute, determined adventurers of the rest of the world, seeking an outlet for pent-up natures, imbued with love of daring adventure. Hundreds of men achieved local, and great number national fame for the possession of every manly quality that goes to make up the romantic hero of that, once dark and bloody ground. When is brought to mind the work engaged in, the carving out of the
advance paths for the more domestically inclined settler, of the dangers and excitements of hunting and trapping, of carrying dispatches, stage driving, freighting cargoes of immense value, guiding successfully the immense wagon trains, gold hunting--it is east to conceive what a class of sturdy, adventurous young spirits entered the arena to struggle in a daily, deadly, dangerous game to win the "bubble reputation." When such an army of the best human material battled for supremacy, individual distinction gained by the unwritten law of unprejudiced popular promotion possessed unless fairly, openly, and justly won a prize so pure that its ownership, while envied, crowned the victor with the friendship, following an admiration of the contestants. Thus Boone, Crockett, Carson, Beal, Fremont,
Cody, Bridger, Kinman, Hickok, Cosgrove, Comstock, Frank North, and others, will live in | 5547
ralists have not too soon become alive to the remarkable fact that those shaggy monarchs of
the prairie, the ponderous buffalo tribe, are well-nigh extinct. They have dwindled away
before the exterminating tread of the hunter and the march of the pioneer of civilization.
The prairie no longer shakes beneath the impetuous advance of the mighty herd, and even
individual specimens are becoming scarce. The representatives of the Smithsonian Museum
in America therefore sent out an expedition into the West in search of what buffaloes there
might be remaining, in order that the country might preserve some memento of the millions
of the American papers describes this as the transference of a little bit of Montana--a small
square patch from the wildest part of the Wild West--to the National Museum. The idea is
one which is exactly applicable to COLONEL W. F. CODY's collection, which is approaching its
last days of residence among us. Those scenes in which the primeval forest and the vast
expanse of prairie are represented, with elk and bison careering about, chased by the hunter
and the scout, is a transference from the Wild West which, as we now learn, should be even
more interesting to the naturalist than it is to either the artistic or the historical student. We
leave out of view for the moment the ordinary spectator who goes only to be amused or
entertained, independently of any instruction that may be afforded. These scenes, moreover,
are all the more interesting to the ethnological student because of the association with them
of the red men who have been indigenous to the prairies and their surroundings. The occu-
pation of Uncas, like Othello's, is gone; palatial buildings and busy streets have succeeded
to the wigwam and the hunting grounds, and the successor of Fenimore Cooper may find
his representative Indians, not where the hunting knife and tomahawk are needed, but in
the arena of mimic battle and adventure. The Indian is going out with the buffalo; mayhap
we shall ere long see the last of his descendants, with the contemplative gaze of Macaulay's
New Zealander, sitting before the group in the Smithsonian Museum, looking upon the last
representatives of the extinct buffalo, fixed in its prairie-like surroundings. These considera-
tions of facts which force themselves upon the imagination, distinctly enhance the interest of
those "pictures" from the Wild West presented with such force and realism by the ruling
genius who, anent the purport of these relections, is so appropriately named "BUFFALO
BILL." In the course of a very short time these pictures will permanently vanish from
English soil, as they are to be produced in America soon, and it may be expected that those in
arrears in information respecting them, and who appreciate, as they deserve to be appreciated,
their instructive features, will give to them a conecentrated attention ere it is too late.
A POSITION DIFFICULT TO ATTAIN.--A "PLAINS CELEBRITY."--A TITLE
IMPERISHABLE.
To gain great local and national fame as a "plains celebrity" in the days of old was
not an easy task; rather one the most competetive struggles that a young man could
possibly engage in. The vast, comparatively unknown, even called Great American Desert
of twenty-five and thirty years ago was peopled only by the descendants of the sturdy pioneers
of the then Far West--Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, etc., born, raised,
and used to hardships and danger--and attracted only the resolute, determined adventurers
of the rest of the world, seeking an outlet for pent-up natures, imbued with love of daring
adventure. Hundreds of men achieved local, and great number national fame for the pos-
session of every manly quality that goes to make up the romantic hero of that, once dark and
bloody ground. When is brought to mind the work engaged in, the carving out of the
advance paths for the more domestically inclined settler, of the dangers and excitements of
hunting and trapping, of carrying dispatches, stage driving, freighting cargoes of immense
value, guiding successfully the immense wagon trains, gold hunting--it is east to conceive
what a class of sturdy, adventurous young spirits entered the arena to struggle in a daily,
deadly, dangerous game to win the "bubble reputation." When such an army of the best
human material battled for supremacy, individual distinction gained by the unwritten law of
unprejudiced popular promotion possessed unless fairly, openly, and justly won--
a prize so pure that its ownership, while envied, crowned the victor with the friendship, fol-
lowing an admiration of the contestants. Thus Boone, Crockett, Carson, Beal, Fremont,
Cody, Bridger, Kinman, Hickok, Cosgrove, Comstock, Frank North, and others, will live in |
