Unlike the Europeans who preserved
meat by salting and smoking, Native Americans cured meat in the sun.
The women cut the flesh into strips and dried it on elevated racks in
the sun. This was called 'jerky' a derivative of the Spanish word Charqui.
In the Journals of Lewis and Clark, we learn that early explorers adopted
the jerky as a means of keeping meat on hand.
A second method of preservation
was pemmican, (the word derives from the Cree pimii meaning grease
or fat). Pemmican was a well-preserved and calorie rich dish. Jerky
was put into the tough hides made from the bison's skin, and a hot marrow
fat was poured in with it. When slightly cooled but still pliable, the
dried meat was broken into pieces for storage and for easy transport.
It was a staple.
History of the Bison or
Buffalo during the Exploration of North America
Though Cortez may have been the
first European to have viewed the bison, this in Moctezuma's zoo, it
was Coronado who encountered large herds in Texas, describing them as
"hunchbacked cows." At that time herds numbering an extraordinary
60, possibly 70 million head thundered across the plains.
The first bison was seen in Washington,
DC. Daniel Boone mentioned eating fresh buffalo at a point between the
Appalachians and the Mississippi. Though the bison ranged over the Eastern
seaboard, by 1810 there were none left east of the Mississippi River.
When the Native American tribes
ruled the open spaces of North America, the plains rang with the sound
of the bison's hooves. But the land was being overtaken by white settlers
and explorers. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, sent by Thomas Jefferson
in 1803 to find a water route to the Pacific, recorded in their journals
that ". . . this scenery already rich pleasing and beatiful was
still farther hightened by immence herds of Buffaloe, deer Elk and Antelopes
which we saw in every direction feeding on the hills and plains. I do
not think I exagerate when I estimate the number of Buffaloe which could
be compre{hend}ed at one view to amount to 3000."
Lewis and Clark set off in 1803,
but by 1870 the large herds of Kansas were gone, by 1878, they had disappeared
from Texas. By 1900, only about 300 animals still lived in the United
States. Ironically, the buffalo head nickel was issued in 1913.
History of the Near Extinction
of the Bison or Buffalo
What happened? How do 60 million
animals disappear? Unfortunately, we can only say that the white man
happened, expansion happened, greed happened. As early as 1820, commercial
hunting had taken root. The hides wee valuable, but the prime goal was
tongues, considered a delicacy. The bison were slaughtered, their tongues
ripped away, while the carcass was left to rot in the sun. Cattle ranchers
began to move into the territory and they didn't want bison grazing
on their land. Construction of the Transcontinental Railroad began,
and the buffalo, traveling in herds, blocked the rails. Professional
hunters were employed to rid the land of the bison, among them the popular
"Buffalo Bill" Cody who bragged of having exterminated 4,280
in less than two years.
Worse yet, killing off the bison
was considered a way to deal with the Native Americans. Listen to this
speech by General Philip Sheridan, addressing the Texas Legislature:
"The hide hunters were doing more to settle the Indian question
than the entire Army had done in thirty years, by destroying the Indians'
commissary."
Conservation of the Buffalo
or Bison
We may thank the mostly forgotten
Charles J. Jones for the conservation of this fine animal. Jones was
appointed warden of Yellowstone in 1905. Horrified to see the mighty
beast disappearing from the landscape, he bought bison from private
holders, segregating them into herds of wild or tame. Theodore Roosevelt
joined with Jones and served as honorary president of the American Bison
Society.
Native Americans joined in a conservation
effort. In the 1930's the Crow and Sioux maintained herds, but in 1990
the Intertribal Bison Cooperative was formed, counting 31 tribes in
13 states, all working to preserve the bison.
Today there are private ranchers
maintaining herds that are domesticated for sale as meat. There are
international organizations as well as national ones working to conserve
this fine animal. Many are concerned that the bison remain a 'natural'
product.
Conservation efforts have not arrived
at a peaceful resolution. Since 1985, more than 3,000 free-roaming bison
have been slaughtered when they migrated out of Yellowstone National
Park in search of food. In charge of the slaughter are Montana state
livestock officials and other government agents who claim they are protecting
local cattle herds from the spread of the disease brucellosis. But many
believe the real issue is over control of public lands - and the classic,
age-old American conflict between commerce and conservation.
Bison or Buffalo Nutrition
Buffalo meat has a similar taste
to good beef, though it is a slightly sweeter and a richer flavor. The
good news is that bison offers us both less and more. It contains less
cholesterol, less calories and less fat than either beef, pork or skinless
chicken. In the more category, bison contains more iron and more vitamin
B-12 than either of those three. Less AND more - both are reasons to
try the meat, whether it is called buffalo or bison.
Additionally, bison require less
food and far less water than cattle. Being less prone to disease than
beef, they are not subject to the amount of antibiotics and hormones
that cattle are given. They are sold in cuts similar to beef and can
often be used interchangeably in a recipe.
The National Bison Association now
provides a USDA Process Verified System, and the "Certified American
Buffalo" marketing label. This Source Verified marketing program
provides a reliable, third-party audited system that will allow producers
to effectively promote the fact that your products are:
* Source Verified;
* Raised without growth hormones;
* Never fed any antibiotics; and
* Never fed any animal byproducts.
To visit their web site, please
go to The Nation Bison Association
Please try this recipe from The
Lewis and Clark Cookbook honey
and beer-braised buffalo ribs
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