is coincident with the death of the last buffalo known to have been
killed in a given State or Territory; in others, where records are
meager, the date given is the nearest approximation, based on existing
records. In the preparation of this map I have drawn liberally from Mr.
J. A. Allen's admirable monograph of "The American Bison," in which the
author has brought together, with great labor and invariable accuracy, a
vast amount of historical data bearing upon this subject. In this
connection I take great pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness to
Professor Allen's work.

While it is inexpedient to include here all the facts that might be
recorded with reference to the discovery, existence, and ultimate
extinction of the bison in the various portions of its former habitat,
it is yet worth while to sketch briefly the extreme limits of its range.
In doing this, our starting point will be the Atlantic slope east of the
Alleghanies, and the reader will do well to refer to the large map.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.--There is no indisputable evidence that the bison
ever inhabited this precise locality, but it is probable that it did. In
1612 Captain Argoll sailed up the "Pembrook River" to the head of
navigation (Mr. Allen believes this was the James River, and not the
Potomac) and marched inland a few miles, where he discovered buffaloes,
some of which were killed by his Indian guides. If this river was the
Potomac, and most authorities believe that it was, the buffaloes seen by
Captain Argoll might easily have been in what is now the District of
Columbia.

Admitting the existence of a reasonable doubt as to the identity of the
Pembrook River of Captain Argoll, there is yet another bit of history
which fairly establishes the fact that in the early part of the