Date Range

1907-1912

Creator

Copy negatives are created by Charles Jarecki of Poulson, MT.

Physical Description

32 4"x5" negatives

History Biographical

By the 1890’s, the once prospering North American bison herds were almost nonexistent. Few wild bison remained in areas that are now national parks, and the others were later hunted down or captured by ranchers. During one of the last buffalo hunts in Montana in the 1870’s, an Aboriginal man named Samuel Walking Coyote captured and raised four calves. Once his herd had tripled, he sold them to two Métis men, Charles Allard and Michel Pablo. Over the following decades, Pablo and Allard raised the bison, the herd growing to over 700 in captivity. In the early 1900’s, Pablo (Allard now dead) lost the right to graze the bison on reservation land, so he offered to sell the bison to Teddy Roosevelt’s government. When they declined, the Canadian government agreed, offering $250 for each animal delivered to Wainwright, Alberta. The journey of getting Michel Pablo’s bison herd to Canada was no easy task. Rounding them up took far longer than had been planned and were not safe. One summer turned into five years of movement, through rough and unpredictable terrain. Throughout the journey, a photographer was almost trampled to death by the herd. Overall, Pablo had succeeded in his goal in the transfer of the bison, and the financial investment of buying wooden corrals and train cars paid off. Souce: The Great Roundups: Getting Michel Pablo's Bison Herd to Canada, 1907-1912. 'History Research Shenanigans' online blog by Lauren Markewicz historyboots.wordpress.com Feb 1, 2015

Accession No.

20171030

Collection

Archive

Less detail