BISON ECOLOGY, BRULE AND YANKTON WINTER HUNTING, AND THE STARVING WINTER OF 1832--33

On 6 February 1833, William Laidlow, the American Fur Company\u27s leading official at Fort Pierre wrote that Brule (Sicangu) and Yankton (Ihanktonwan ) camps have been in a state of starvation all winter, and have suffered most dreadfully. The entire winter of 1832-33 was a starving time on the middle Missouri River in present day south-central South Dakota because these skilled tribal hunters found no bison in a land where the herds were frequently described as immense. Why knowledgeable and efficient professional tribal hunters, as well as post employees, were hungry that winter, in this apparent land of abundance, presents an important environmental historical question