What Happened To Buffalo Joe

[Aide Broeckel]

The heroism of the soldiers has been celebrated by filmmakers, musicians, military reenactors, and descendants who want to preserve their legacy. Yet that legacy is a complex one and raises challenging questions about the relationship of the soldiers to the government they served as well as to the native peoples they fought.

The buffalo robe, a type of fur overcoat, is an iconic object linking African American soldiers with Native Americans and white explorers in the nineteenth century, in both fact and myth. Native Americans made buffalo robes from the skin and hair of buffaloes and some wrapped their dead in the robes before placing them on scaffolds. White explorers on the Lewis and Clark trail coveted the robes for the warmth provided and African American soldiers were known for wearing the buffalo robes on the western frontier.

American bison hide coat, mid-19th to early 20th century: The Army first purchased American buffalo (bison) overcoats in 1869 but never officially adopted them. Because winter supplies were inadequate, many soldiers independently acquired buffalo robes to stay warm. See more.

Buffalo Soldiers were among the first rangers in what became the National Park Service. Duties would have included protecting against the poaching of wildlife, preventing private livestock from grazing on federal lands, and building roads and trails. See more.

A photograph in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian offers a snapshot of the difficult story of the Ute Indians removal from Colorado, in which Buffalo Soldiers played a small yet ironically heroic part. Pictured in this photo (below) are Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre band of Ute and the Colorado railroad developer Otto Mears.

Chief Ouray and Otto Mears, photographed by William Henry Jackson in Denver, CO, circa 1879: Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre band of Ute (left) and Colorado railroad developer Otto Mears (right) pose for this photo.

Ute Delegation, photographed by Matthew Brady Studio: Eight members of the 1868 Ute delegation to Washington, D.C. stand alongside nine government officials. Chief Ouray, who the U.S. authorities regarded as the tribe's principal spokesman, is fourth from the right. See more

The Ute today are divided among three federally recognized nations with reservations in Utah, southern Colorado, and northern New Mexico. All three Ute nations continue to pursue sovereign rights and the protection of their lands through the legislature and courts.

In 2013, the National Museum of the American Indian worked with the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum to produce a short film about how Ute artists are preserving their history and culture in the 21st century.

African American men have fought in every American war, yet the Buffalo Soldiers, two cavalry and four infantry regiments, have a unique place in place in history and memory. They helped the United States become a vast continental nation and ultimately a world power. Facing discrimination in the Army and in the towns where they were stationed, Buffalo Soldiers persevered to be a credit to their people and the nation.

The National Museum of American History acquired two collections documenting the Buffalo Soldiers and sometimes their families. As a curator in the Division of Home and Community Life, I see these collections as more than records of military service, but as an entry point into the lives and legacies of these remarkable men.

Samuel Bridgwater joined the 24th Infantry Regiment in the 1880s. In 1892, he married Mamie Anderson and brought her to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. After being wounded fighting in the Philippines, he served as a cook. Eventually, the Bridgwaters established themselves in Helena, Montana, buying property, raising their children, and becoming active in community affairs. In 2016, their great-grandchildren donated a collection documenting six generations of black family life in the West.

Cabinet card of Mamie Bridgwater, circa 1900: This formal portrait of Mamie Bridgwater and her three oldest children was displayed in a number of Bridgwater family homes over more than a hundred years.

Born in the Indian territory of Oklahoma in 1897, Benjamin B. Blayton and his twin brother joined the 92nd Division in 1918. Having left their small town for Washington, D.C., both men were eager to see the world. Blayton fought in the 365th regiment which saw combat in the decisive Meuse-Argonne battle in France. For his heroic service, Blayton garnered two battle clasps on his World War I Victory Medal.

Following the war, Blayton married Oletha Brown who had come to the capital to help the war effort by sewing uniforms. Blayton went on to work in the Patent Office and Postal Service. In 1994, his daughter donated his uniform, medals, and record of service.

Because of their heroism, some Buffalo Soldiers were able to get better jobs, own property, and gain access to higher education. At the same time, some returning Buffalo Soldiers were lynched. African Americans realized that even their sacrifices for the war had not yet made them equal citizens.

When the Pan-American Exposition closed on midnight of November 2, 1901, then what happened? The process of dismantling Exposition buildings, clearing the grounds, filling in the canals, and subdividing the parcel into streets and house lots took several years. Today, the former Exposition grounds are completely replaced by residences, commercial and industrial buildings, and parking lots.

May, 1902: Chicago House Wrecking Co. issues a special Pan-American catalog listing materials available for sale from the Exposition. The Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site owns a copy of this catalog and has digitized it. Science & Industry, May, 1902, p. 271

July 1, 1902: Pan-Am Company President John Milburn successfully lobbies Congress to pass the Pan-American Relief bill, which will compensate creditors and bondholders. Buffalo Sunday Courier, July 13, 1902.

August, 1903: George W. Jennings assumes the contract from the Chicago House Wrecking Co. to clear the grounds of the Exposition, anticipating that the process will take another year. The Temple of Music is finally demolished. Buffalo Enquirer, Aug. 1, 1903.

1909: The S. B. Nye Company begins residential development of the former Exposition grounds between Elmwood, Nottingham, Lincoln Parkway, and Amherst Streets, calling the subdivision Nye Park. The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library has digitized a Nye Park promotional brochure.

Great question! The Chicago House Wrecking Company got the contract to dismantle the Exposition, clear the grounds, and resell usable materials, including electrical wire. They released this catalog of what they salvaged. It is from the collection of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site:

Last year, the bison was chosen as America's first national mammal, joining the bald eagle as a symbol of America. I started writing this post with only a mild interest in bison. But the more I learned, the more I want to learn, and this blog post took on a life of it's own. The bison have a fascinating history, unique appearance, and they present complex challenges in the present day. They are a symbol of the untamed West. Their near-extinction is a testament to the self-centeredness of "civilized" men and their resurgence shows that we can learn from and try to correct our mistakes.

To settle the West, early settlers needed to conquer the Native Americans, and the bison were everything to the Natives. The bison provided meat for food and hides for tepees. So the US Army launched a campaign to kill the bison so they could control the Native Americans. Without this sad and complicated part of our history, many of us would not live in the homes we live in today. We live here at the expense of the people and the animals that used to call this home.

Yellowstone is the only place in the continental US where wild, free ranging bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. It is also the largest bison population in the country. And it's one of the only purebread (no cattle genes) herds left. The other two other locations with purebred buffalo are in Utah and in South Dakota.

Limited space, and disease. When not facing mass destruction by man, bison are actually pretty good at reproducing; most adult females get pregnant every year. But the Park land is finite and inevitably the bison population wants to spread outside the Park. They do leave, since there is no fence around the exterior of the Park, and cattle ranchers in Montana do not want the bison roaming around and spreading disease to the cattle. The current solution to this problem is for Yellowstone to regularly capture about 1,000 bison per year and ship them to Native American tribes where they are slaughtered.

Up to 60% of Yellowstone bison test positive for brucellosis, which ironically, the bison got from cattle in the early 1900s. Brucellosis has been mostly eliminated from cattle across the US, but persists in the Yellowstone ecosystem's bison and elk.

Yes (heard of beefalo? Cattalo?) but human intervention is required. Even though bison and cattle are different genus (usually animals need to be same genus to have offspring), they are able to breed and produce offspring that, surprisingly, are fertile (unlike some other hybrids like the mule). The study of hybrids is a whole different subject.

Mostly muscle and bone. The spinous processes and associated muscles of the buffalo are much longer than those of similar mammals. The hump is one reason they are able to survive tough winters. It enables them to use their heads as snowplows in the winter so they can find grass.

The bison is a great symbol for America for many reasons. For better or for worse, it's a history of our determination to settle the West. The resurgence of the bison shows that every once in a while, man does something that is not just for himself.

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