Seeds of Imagination

The Buffalo
                 Europeans claimed that Americn wildlife was sparse compared to what was on other continents.  Americans thought the bison was proof that America was a great land.  Buffalo herds covered the land for miles and miles.
                 Many people thought it was good to wipe out or remove the buffalo so new Americans could have the land.  A hunter might kill 150 to 200 buffalo in a week.  When he sold their hides, he would earn $10 to $20 a day, which was more than most people earned at regular jobs.
                 The railroad companies set up buffalo hunts where sports hunters could shoot from the trains.
                 People began to protest the killing of the buffalo.  But they were too late.  Within about 60 years, Americans had wiped out the giant herds.  Only a few hundred buffalo were left.
Niagara Falls
                Niagara Falls was seen as a symbol of power and beauty.  It was also a symbol of freedom.
                Escaping slaves had to cross a dangerous bridge across the falls to reach Canada.  Sometimes the bridge seemed scarier than staying in the United States.  Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman is said to have made people cross by pointing a pistol at them.
The Giant Sequoia
                In 1850, a gold prospector discovered a forest of giant redwood trees in California.  A tree trunk was wider than a steamship, and the trees rose about 300 feet to the sky.
                At first, no one believed the tales of these trees.  But in 1862, a photographer brought pictures of them to New York.  People were amazed.
                The huge forests were seen as another sign that America's wealth was for all the people.  In Europe, only the rich and royalty had forests.