Sunday, August 1, 2010

A Great Book for Hunters

Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West Over the years I've noticed several things about the areas I hunt.  Mostly, they are in the Great Plains (with the exception of Wisconsin).  My travels seem intertwined with the Missouri River, Pecos River, Red River and Canadian River.  Whenever I drive, I try to stop at every roadside historical marker, much to the dismay of my traveling partners, and  read about the history of the place. I've learned some very interesting stuff about this country.  This book looks at the history of the buffalo in this country, the forming of the conservation movement, game laws, National Parks (Yellowstone in 1872- the first).  It is extremely interesting following the mental evolution of the populace from the attitude of "there will always be plenty" to today's laws and conservationist practices.  Once, when my dog Bo took off for an adventure (for 5 days), the last place I saw him was near a buffalo wallow in NM. "Buffalo wallow", I repeated? Sure, it was told to me, this it where the millions of animals would pass through and get on their backs and rub to get off their winter fur.  In NM? Buffalo?  Yep, they were in every state but Vermont, Maine, and NH!  Read this one- it's relevant to us and what we do.