Montana Breakfast
22 x 14
acrylic

$600 unframed

American Bison (Bos bison)

The common name is "Buffalo" for the largest land animal in North America.  The American bison once numbered between 30 to 80 million roaming freely across all areas of North America. They were the main source of clothing, shelter, fuel and food for the Native Americans.  In 1830 the U. S. government began a program to exterminate the bison in order to subdue the Indian tribes.  Then, they were  slaughtered for sport and for something to do while traveling on the new railroads.  Millions of pounds of buffalo meat was ground into fertilizer and used for making bone china.  By 1900 less than 1000 buffalo remained.  

They are now protected in National parks and ranches numbering over 300,000. Many are commercially raised for meat due to the lower fat and cholesterol content compared to cattle.