Fortunately, enough facts and figures were recorded during the hunting operations of the Red River half-breeds to enable us, by bringing them all together, to calculate with sufficient exactitude the value of the buffalo to them from 1820 to 1840.  The result ought to be of interest to all who think it is not worth while to spend money in preserving our characteristic game animals.

In Ross’s “Red River Settlement,” pp. 242-273, and Schoolcraft’s “North American Indians,” Part iv, pp. 101-110, are given detailed accounts of the conduct and results of two hunting expeditions by the half-breeds, with many valuable statistics.  On this data we base our calculation.

Taking the result of one particular day’s slaughter as an index to the methods of the hunters in utilizing the products of the chase, we find that while “not less than 2,500 animals were killed,” out of that number only 375 bags of pemmican and 240 bales of dried meat were made.  “Now,” says Mr. Ross,” making all due allowance for waste, 750 animals would have been ample for such a result.  What, then, we might ask, became of the remaining 1,750! * * * Scarcely one-third in number of the animals killed is turned to account.”

A bundle of dried meat weighs 60 to 70 pounds, and a bag of pemmican 100 to 110 pounds.  If economically worked up, a whole buffalo cow yields half a bag of pemmican (about 55 pounds) and three-fourths of a bundle of dried meat (say 45 pounds).  The most economical calculate that from eight to ten cows are required to load a single Red River cart.  The proceeds of 1,776 cows once formed 228 bags of pemmican, 1,213 bales of dried meat, 166 sacks of tallow, each weighing 200 pounds, 556 bladders of marrow weighing 12 pounds each, and the value of the whole was $8,160.  The total of the above statement is 132,057 pounds of buffalo product for 1,776 cows, or within a fraction of 75 pounds to each cow.  The bulls and young animals killed were not accounted for.

The expedition described by Mr. Ross contained 1,210 carts and 620 hunters, and returned with 1,089,000 pounds of meat, making 900 pounds for each cart, and 200 pounds for each individual in the expedition, of all ages and both sexes.  Allowing, as already ascertained, that of the above quantity of product every 75 pounds represents one cow saved and two and one third buffaloes wasted, it means that 14,520 buffaloes were killed and utilized and 33,250 buffaloes were killed and eaten fresh or wasted, and 47,770 buffaloes were killed by 620 hunters, or an average of 77 buffaloes to each hunter.  The total number of buffaloes killed for each cart was 39.

Allowing, what was actually the case, that every buffalo killed would, if properly cared for, have yielded meat, fat, and robe worth at least $5, the total value of the buffaloes slaughtered by that expedition amounted to $258,850, and of which the various products actually utilized represented a cash value of $72,001 added to the wealth of the Red River half-breeds.