In 1867 the total number of buffaloes in the trans-Missouri region was conservatively estimated at fifteen million. By the end of the 1880's the number had dwindled to a fe hundred. The destruction of the great herds is the theme of this book.

Mari Sandoz's canvas is vast, but it is charged with color and excitement -- accounts of Indian ambushes, hair's breadth escapes, gambling and gunfights, military expeditions, and famous frontier characters.