[Prefatory note]
[Part I.—The life history of the bison]
[I. Discovery of the species]
[II. Geographical distribution]
[III. Abundance]
[IV. Character of the species]
[1. The buffalo’s rank amongst ruminants]
[2. Change of form in captivity]
[3. Mounted specimens in museums]
[4. The calf]
[5. The yearling]
[6. The spike bull]
[7. The adult bull]
[8. The cow in the third year]
[9. The adult cow]
[10. The “Wood” or “Mountain Buffalo”]
[11. The shedding of the winter pelage]
[V. Habits of the buffalo]
[VI. The food of the buffalo]
[VII. Mental capacity and disposition of the buffalo]
[VIII. Value to mankind]
[IX. Economic value of the bison to Western cattle-growers]
[1. The bison in captivity and domestication]
[2. Need of an improvement in range cattle]
[3. Character of the buffalo-domestic hybrid]
[4. The bison as a beast of burden]
[5. List of bison herds and individuals in captivity]
[Part II.—The extermination]
[I. Causes of the extermination]
[II. Methods of slaughter]
[1. The “still hunt”]
[2. The chase on horseback]
[3. Impounding]
[4. The surround]
[5. Decoying and driving]
[6. Hunting on snow-shoes]
[III. Progress of the extermination]
[A. The period of desultory destruction]
[B. The period of systematic slaughter]
[1. The Red River half-breeds]
[2. The country of the Sioux]
[3. Western railways, and their part in the extermination of the buffalo]
[4. The division of the universal herd]
[5. The destruction of the southern herd]
[6. Statistics of the slaughter]
[7. The destruction of the northern herd]
[IV. Legislation to prevent useless slaughter]
[V. Completeness of the wild buffalo’s extirpation]
[VI. Effects of the disappearance of the bison]
[VII. Preservation of the species from absolute extinction]
[Part III.—The Smithsonian expedition for specimens]
[I. The exploration for specimens]
[II. The hunt]
[III. The mounted group in the National Museum]
[Index]

Group of American Bisons in the National Museum.
Collected and mounted by W. T. Hornaday.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

[Group of buffaloes in the National Museum]
[Head of bull buffalo]
[Slaughter of buffalo on Kansas Pacific Railroad]
[Buffalo cow, calf, and yearling]
[Spike bull]
[Bull buffalo]
[Bull buffalo, rear view]
[The development of the buffalo’s horns]
[A dead bull]
[Buffalo skinners at work]
[Five minutes’ work]
[Scene on the northern buffalo range]
[Half-breed calf]
[Half-breed buffalo (domestic) cow]
[Young half-breed bull]
[The still-hunt]
[The chase on horseback]
[Cree Indians impounding buffalo]
[The surround]
[Indians on snow-shoes hunting buffaloes]
[Where the millions have gone]
[Trophies of the hunt]