Audiobook · read by volunteers
Extermination of the American Bison
William T. Hornaday (1854–1937)
Read by Availle, Eric Szyjka, Maria Kasper, J. M. Smallheer, Carol, Greg Fuhs, Jairus Amar, Matthew Hinman, Bill Boerst, JenMitchell · 32 chapters · 10 h 27
About the book
In the early nineteenth century, enormous herds of American bison roamed the grasslands of North America. By the end of the century, only a small remnant survived. William T. Hornaday, a zoologist and museum man, set out to document how this happened. His book begins with the discovery of the species, its geographic distribution and its original abundance, and then follows the hunting that brought it to the brink of extinction. It is a work of natural history, but also a work of urgent argument, based on research and on Hornaday’s own observation. Thirty-two recordings, over ten hours, in a landmark of early conservation writing. Its figures are sobering, its tone is earnest, and its subject remains of real concern to anyone who cares about wildlife.
Introduction
William T. Hornaday (1854-1937) was an American zoologist, taxidermist and conservationist. His book The Extermination of the American Bison appeared in 1889 and is an early and influential account of how a species that had numbered in the millions was reduced almost to nothing in a few decades. The American bison, often called the buffalo, was brought close to extinction by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter during the nineteenth century, together with other pressures.
The book is organised in parts. The first deals with the natural history of the animal: its discovery by Europeans, its range and its abundance. Later sections turn to the causes of its decline. Hornaday writes both as a scientist and as an advocate, and his purpose is plainly to persuade readers that the survivors should be protected.
It is a book of its time, and some of its attitudes and language will seem dated. It is nevertheless a valuable record, both for the facts it gathered and as a reminder of how early conservationists argued their case.
This recording has thirty-two files, beginning with a prefatory note and the first chapters of Part I, and lasts about ten and a half hours. It was read by LibriVox volunteers. Anyone interested in American history, zoology or the origins of the conservation movement will find it absorbing. For anyone who has seen the animal in a park or museum, the book supplies a striking background, and its numbers still have the power to shock after more than a century.
Public domain
William T. Hornaday died in 1937: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text