The Last Great Buffalo Hunt, Haynes, North Dakota - North Dakota Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This waymark is located a few miles north of the North Dakota-South Dakota border on US Highway 12.

The area consists of rolling flatlands with a few creeks and streams in the area. It is mostly ranch land suited for grazing.

Few buildings or ranches dot the landscape and population is centered around the small towns along the highway.In 1882 and 1883, the American Buffalo made their last stand here in the valley of Hiddenwood and within a 30-mile range of this area. Hiddenwood Cliff, directly opposite across Hiddenwood Creek, was an ancient landmark for buffalo hunting tribes who often camped in these buttes and badlands. The valley was filled with their stone tepee rings.

The last 50,000 free ranging buffalo had migrated into this area, which was then part of the Great Sioux Reservation (shown in yellow and blue)from territories further west. Within 16 months they were gone. Although most of the estimated 60 to 75 million buffalo were likely killed by white hide hunters, these last buffalo were hunted by Native Americans in traditional ways on reservation lands.

The last great buffalo hunt began about June 20, 1882, when 2,000 Teton Lakota men, women, and children traveled from Ft. Yates to this valley on foot and horseback, and saw the hills black with thousands of grazing buffalo. On the first day, 2,000 buffalo were killed, pursued by hunters with rifles. The hunters painted their faces, bodies, and horses in traditional ways for a successful hunt. Very few hunted with bows and arrows.

After the first day, the buffalo remained where they had fallen and hunters returned to camp long after dark, too tired to even celebrate or tell stories. On the second day, the entire tribe worked quickly to butcher and care for the meat. Humps and other tender morsels were removed for immediate feasting, and women sliced the remaining meat into thin sheets to dry and make into pemmican and jerky. On the third day, hunters killed an additional 3,000 buffalo, In three days, the tribal hunters killed 5,000 buffalo on this "last great hunt."

Roadside: yes City: no Other: yes

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