
Buffalo Coat c 1880
Commercially-made bison coats became popular during the great buffalo hunts of the 1860s-1880s. The coat was also adopted by the US Army for use on the frontier in the 1870s. This coat belonged to Sam Slickpoo. It is a commercial coat with tailored sleeves and a black cotton lining, button loops and side pockets. Bison hide (Bos bison), cotton. H. 131.0, W. 158.0 cm (Photo courtesy: Nez Perce National Historical Park, NEPE 8894)

Elk Island
Photo courtesy Elk Island National Park

Buffalo hide yard
Rath & Wright's buffalo hide yard showing 40,000 buffalo hides baled for shipment Dodge City, Kansas 1878.

Sod house
Sod house with buffalo chips piled beside it.(photo credit Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre # 0255.0032)

Hide Hunters
Trail of the Hide Hunters 1872 courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
“Hide hunting was not practised in Canada, but the robe trade and pemmican production, on top of subsistence hunting, were together quite sufficient to wipe out the herds north of the border." Wilson, Garrett, Frontier Farewell, (Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2007) page 270 Print

Mountain of buffalo skulls
Mountain of buffalo skulls 1870.

Buffalo bones
Loading buffalo bones onto rail car. (photo credit Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre slide collection Industry 7)

Nuttall buffalo
Nuttall Ranch buffalo, 1980s Cypress Hills.
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