These massive shaggy beats were not equipped for self defensive purposes.
They had slow, awkward movements and very poor eyesight, which made the buffalo easy prey for Indians and white hunters alike.
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The scientific name for the buffalo is Bison Americanus
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English settlers first encountered bison in the woodlands of eastern North America in the 1600's.
The buffalo, a grass eater roamed in greatest numbers on the western prairies.
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The animal's hide provided the material for tents, bedding and even clothing, it's sinews provided thread, tools were constructed from it's bones, and fuel came from it's dried chips.
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The Buffalo was truly the greatest animal and supplier to the Indian than most would realize.
Without the buffalo, the Indians would not have survived, and by the 1800's, buffalo hunters had opened the range for white settlement, and the beginning of America's huge cattle industry.
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Buffalo hunting became a popular sport, and railroads crossing the plains featured excursions in which passengers could shoot the animals from their train windows.
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The destruction of the buffalo almost almost to the point of extinction went hand in hand with the defeat of the Plains Indians by the white man.
