BISON: “Bison at Port Allegany” read the headline on the article sent in to us by Clyde Johnson, Port Allegany historian.

“We read a great deal about the bison of the western plains, where it was estimated at one time that there were from fifteen to twenty million, but there are very few people who know that a little more than a hundred years ago a herd of these animals came through Port Allegany.”

We’re guessing Clyde’s article comes from the early 1900s.

“This herd, consisting of about 300 animals, was seen by Lodowick Lillibridge in the summer of 1818. In the early winter they traveled up the Portage and were joined by another herd at Keating Summit. The combined herds passed through Emporium, headed south.

“Fred Yentzer of Emporium and Milo Lyman of Roulette tell of the story being handed down by the early settlers of this section, that this was the same herd which was killed south of Emporium later under dramatic circumstances. Henry W. Shoemaker, in his book on ‘A Pennsylvania Bison Hunt,’ tells the same story but says that is happened in 1800. He says that the herd was killed in Union County, near Troxelville. If the herd was killed in 1800, it could not be the same as was seen by Lodowick Lillibridge, but the dates may have become confused.

“The story is that winter was very severe and that the herd was hard put to obtain food for themselves. Arriving at the farm of Martin Bergstrasser, they trampled to death a number of cows and sheep and devoured a stack of hay near his barn. Aided by his daughter, Katie, Bergstrasser killed four of the animals, and they rushed away. Returning to his home, Bergstrasser found about 300 of the animals snorting and trotting around the area where his cabin stood. He rushed bravely through the surging mass of animals, only to find a huge bull bison standing in front of his door.

More on the story tomorrow.