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It is obviously impossible to enumerate all the grasses which
served the bison as food on his native heath without presenting a
complete list of all the plants of that order found in a given
region; but it is at least desirable to know which of the grasses of
the great pasture region were his favorite and most common food. It
was the nutritious character and marvelous abundance of his food
supply which enabled the bison to exist in such absolutely countless
numbers as characterized his occupancy of the great plains. The
following list comprises the grasses which were the bison's
principal food, named in the order of their importance:
Bouteloua oligostachya (buffalo, grama, or mesquite grass). This
remarkable grass formed the pièce de résistance of the bison's bill
of fare in the days when he flourished, and it now comes to us daily
in the form of beef produced of primest quality and in greatest
quantity on what was until recently the great buffalo range. This
grass is the most abundant and widely distributed species to be
found in the great pasture region between the eastern slope of the
Rocky Mountains and the nineteenth degree of west longitude. It is
the principal grass of the plains from Texas to the British
Possessions, and even in the latter territory it is quite
conspicuous. To any one but a botanist its first acquaintance means
a surprise. Its name and fame lead the unacquainted to expect a
grass which is tall, rank, and full of "fodder," like the "blue
joint" (Andropogon provincialis). The grama grass is very short, the
leaves being usually not more than 2 or 3 inches in length and
crowded together at the base of the stems. The flower stalk is about
a foot in height, but on grazed lands are eaten off and but seldom
seen. The leaves are narrow and inclined to curl, and lie close to
the ground. Instead of developing a continuous growth, this grass
grows in small, irregular patches, usually about the size of a man's
hand, with narrow strips of perfectly bare ground between them. The
grass curls closely upon the ground, in a woolly carpet or cushion,
greatly resembling a layer of Florida moss. Even in spring-time it
never shows more color than a tint of palest green, and the
landscape which is dependent upon this grass for color is never more
than "a gray and melancholy waste." Unlike the soft, juicy, and
succulent grasses of the well-watered portions of the United States,
the tiny leaves of the grama grass are hard, stiff, and dry. I have
often noticed that in grazing neither cattle nor horses are able to
bite off the blades, but instead each leaf is pulled out of the
tuft, seemingly by its root.
Notwithstanding its dry and uninviting appearance, this grass is
highly nutritious, and its fat-producing qualities are unexcelled.
The heat of summer dries it up effectually without destroying its
nutritive elements, and it becomes for the remainder of the year
excellent hay, cured on its own roots. It affords good grazing all
the year round, save in winter, when it is covered with snow, and
even then, if the snow is not too deep, the buffaloes, cattle, and
horses paw down through it to reach the grass, or else repair to
wind-swept ridges and hill-tops, where the snow has been blown off
and left the grass partly exposed. Stock prefer it to all the other
grasses of the plains.
On bottom-lands, where moisture is abundant, this grass develops
much more luxuriantly, growing in a close mass, and often to a
height of a foot or more, if not grazed down, when it is cut for
hay, and sometimes yields 1½ tons to the acre. In Montana and the
north it is generally known as "buffalo-grass," a name to which it
would seem to be fully entitled, notwithstanding the fact that this
name is also applied, and quite generally, to another species, the
next to be noticed.
Buchloë dactyloides (Southern buffalo-grass).-This species is next
in value and extent of distribution to the grama grass. It also is
found all over the great plains south of Nebraska and southern
Wyoming, but not further north, although in many localities it
occurs so sparsely as to be of little account. A single bunch of it
very greatly resembles Bouteloua oligostachya, but its general
growth is very different. It is very short, its general mass seldom
rising more than 3 inches above the ground. It grows in extensive
patches, and spreads by means of stolons, which sometimes are 2 feet
in length, with joints every 3 or 4 inches. Owing to its southern
distribution this might well be named the Southern buffalo grass, to
distinguish it from the two other species of higher latitudes, to
which the name "buffalo" has been fastened forever.
Stipa spartea (Northern buffalo-grass; wild oat).-This grass is
found in southern Manitoba, westwardly across the plains to the
Rocky Mountains, and southward as far as Montana, where it is common
in many localities. On what was once the buffalo range of the
British Possessions this rank grass formed the bulk of the winter
pasturage, and in that region is quite as famous as our grama grass.
An allied species
Stipa viridula, bunch-grass) is "widely diffused over our Rocky
Mountain region, extending to California and British America, and
furnishing a considerable part of the wild forage of the region"
Stipa spartea bears an ill name among stockmen on account of the
fact that at the base of each seed is a very hard and sharp-pointed
callus, which under certain circumstances (so it is said) lodges in
the cheeks of domestic animals that feed upon this grass when it is
dry, and which cause much trouble. But the buffalo, like the wild
horse and half-wild range cattle, evidently escaped this annoyance.
This grass is one of the common species over a wide area of the
northern plains, and is always found on soil which is comparatively
dry. In Dakota, Minnesota, and northwest Iowa it forms a
considerable portion of the upland prairie hay.
Of the remaining grasses it is practically impossible to single
out any one as being specially entitled to fourth place in this
list. There are several species which flourish in different
localities, and in many respects appear to be of about equal
importance as food for stock. Of these the following are the most
noteworthy:
Aristida purpurea (Western beard-grass; purple "bunch-grass" of
Montana).-On the high, rolling prairies of the Missouri-Yellowstone
divide this grass is very abundant. It grows in little solitary
bunches, about 6 inches high, scattered through the curly
buffalo-grass (Bouteloua oligostachya). Under more favorable
conditions it grows to a height of 12 to 18 inches. It is one of the
prettiest grasses of that region, and in the fall and winter its
purplish color makes it quite noticeable. The Montana stockmen
consider it one of the most valuable grasses of that region for
stock of all kinds. Mr. C. M. Jacobs assured me that the buffalo
used to be very fond of this grass, and that "wherever this grass
grew in abundance there were the best hunting-grounds for the
bison." It appears that Aristida purpurea is not sufficiently
abundant elsewhere in the Northwest to make it an important food for
stock; but Dr. Vesey declares that it is "abundant on the plains of
Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas."
Kœleria cristata. Very generally distributed from Texas and New
Mexico to the British Possessions; sand hills and arid soils;
mountains, up to 8,000 feet.
Poa tenuifolia (blue-grass of the plains and mountains). A valuable
"bunch-grass," widely distributed throughout the great pasture
region; grows in all sorts of soils and situations; common in the
Yellowstone Park.
Festuca scabrella (bunch-grass). One of the most valuable grasses of
Montana and the Northwest generally; often called the "great
bunch-grass." It furnishes excellent food for horses and cattle, and
is so tall it is cut in large quantities for hay. This is the
prevailing species on the foot-hills and mountains generally, up to
an altitude of 7,000 feet, where it is succeeded by Festuca ovina.
Andropogon provincialis (blue stem).-An important species, extending
from eastern Kansas and Nebraska to the foot-hills of the Rocky
Mountains, and from Northern Texas to the Saskatchewan; common in
Montana on alkali flats and bottom lands generally. This and the
preceding species were of great value to the buffalo in winter, when
the shorter grasses were covered with snow.
Andropogon scoparius (bunch grass; broom sedge; wood-grass).-Similar
to the preceding in distribution and value, but not nearly so tall.
None of the buffalo grasses are found in the mountains. In the
mountain regions which have been visited by the buffalo and in the
Yellowstone Park, where to-day the only herd remaining in a state of
nature is to be found (though not by the man with a gun), the
following are the grasses which form all but a small proportion of
the ruminant food: Kœleria cristata; Poa tenuifolia (Western
blue-grass); Stipa viridula (feather-grass); Stipa comata; Agropyrum
divergens; Agropyrum caninum.
When pressed by hunger, the buffalo used to browse on certain
species of sage-brush, particularly Atriplex canescens of the
Southwest. But he was discriminating in the matter of diet, and as
far as can be ascertained he was never known to eat the famous and
much-dreaded "loco" weed (Astragalus molissimus), which to ruminant
animals is a veritable drug of madness. Domestic cattle and horses
often eat this plant; where it is abundant, and become demented in
consequence.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language
of a particular period or place. These items are presented as part of the
historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in
any way endorse the stereotypes implied.
Source:
The
Extermination of the American Bison,
1886-’87, By William T. Hornaday, Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1889
Extermination of the American Bison
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