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THE EPIC TRUE STORY OF THE AMERICAN BUFFALO—BY MICHAEL PUNKE, THE AUTHOR OF THE REVENANT, NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING LEONARDO DICAPRIO
In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to twelve. It was the era of Manifest Destiny, a Gilded Age that treated the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of resources to be dug up or shot down. The buffalo in this world was a commodity, hounded by legions of swashbucklers and unemployed veterans seeking to make their fortunes. Supporting these hide hunters, even buying their ammunition, was the U.S. Army, which considered the eradication of the buffalo essential to victory in its ongoing war on Native Americans.
Into that maelstrom rode young George Bird Grinnell. A scientist and a journalist, a hunter and a conservationist, Grinnell would lead the battle to save the buffalo from extinction. Fighting in the pages of magazines, in Washington's halls of power, and in the frozen valleys of Yellowstone, Grinnell and his allies sought to preserve an icon from the grinding appetite of Robber Baron America.
Grinnell shared his adventures with some of the greatest and most infamous characters of the American West—from John James Audubon and Buffalo Bill to George Armstrong Custer and Theodore Roosevelt (Grinnell's friend and ally). A strikingly contemporary story, the saga of Grinnell and the buffalo was the first national battle over the environment. In Grinnell's legacy is the birth of the conservation movement as a potent political force.
In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to twelve. It was an age that treated the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of natural resources to be dug up or shot down. The U.S. Army aided those who hunted buffalo, considering its eradication to be essential to victory in the Army’s ongoing war on American Indians.
Into that maelstrom rode young George Bird Grinnell, a scientist, journalist, hunter and conservationist. In the first national battle over the environment, Grinnell and his allies sought to preserve an American icon from extinction. Grinnell shared his adventures with some of the most famous — and infamous — characters of the day, from John James Audubon and Buffalo Bill to George Armstrong Custer and Theodore Roosevelt. Last Stand is a classic Western tale, full of adventure, danger, and a hero who helped keep the West wild. Michael Punke is a former partner in a Washington law firm, his diverse professional experience including work on the White House National Security Council and on Capitol Hill. He is the history correspondent for Montana Quarterly magazine. His books include Fire and Brimstone: The North Butte Mining Disaster of 1917, a finalist for the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award, as well a novel, The Revenant. He lives with his family in Montana. “Last Stand is all that western history should be.” — Alan K. Simpson, Former U.S. Senator from Wyoming
