Term: Buffalo Depletion (scroll down for definition)

Definition: Buffalo Depletion

Rather than rid the country of Native Americans, the US Army and citizens of the west decided to kill the buffalo population. The buffalo were vital for the Native American survival. In 1870 there were about 13 million buffalo in the west. By 1883, there were only a few hundred left. Buffalo killers were hailed as American heroes. Buffalo Bill Cody was one. Trains would offer hunting trips where people would blast guns off the sides of the railroad cars, and litter the plains with buffalo carcasses.

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