Once a symbol of the seemingly limitless opportunity of America’s westward expansion, the bison eventually symbolized the dark realities of “manifest destiny.” Before European settlers arrived on the North American continent, there were at least 30 million buffalo roaming the land. Between 1800 and 1900, that number was reduced to around 325.
This disturbing historical photo taken in 1892 in Michigan shows an actual mountain of buffalo skulls waiting to be ground down for uses such as refining sugar, producing fertilizer, and making bone china. More disturbing still is the fact that the U.S. government purposefully slaughtered some buffalo in order to deprive Native Americans of this crucial natural resource.
