---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Historically the buffalo had more…"
description: "\"Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than all other Plains animals combined. It was life, food, raiment, and shelter to the Indians. The ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png"
---

#  Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than…

![“Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than all other Plains animals combined. It was life, food, raiment, and shelter to the Indians. The buffalo and the Plains Indians lived together, and together passed away. The year 1876 marks practically the end of both.” quote by Walter Prescott Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png)

> “Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than all other Plains animals combined. It was life, food, raiment, and shelter to the Indians. The buffalo and the Plains Indians lived together, and together passed away. The year 1876 marks practically the end of both.”

[Walter Prescott Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The buffalo was central to Plains life; its disappearance marked a cultural collapse for both animal and people.

**In simple terms:** Buffalo shaped Plains culture; its loss ended an era.

Key Takeaway

Preserve ecological and cultural heritage.

Themes

history environment culture

Mood

reflective somber

Type

historical environmental

When to use this quote

- historical education
- environmental policy
- cultural preservation

Key Concepts

interdependence colonial impact sustainability

Questions to Reflect On

- What lessons does this loss teach today?
- How can we restore lost ecological relationships?

A Different Perspective

Modern society may overlook past interdependence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Buffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buffalo/) [Buffalo Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buffalo-influence-5065437/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Historically Buffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historically-buffalo-5065439/) [Indians Buffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-buffalo-5065438/) [Indians Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-lived-1693717/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Passed away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passed-away/) [Shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelter/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [“In the West the land was level, and there were no trees. The grass grew thick and high. There the wild animals wandered and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/in-the-west-the-land-was-level-and-there-were-no-trees-the-grass-grew/)

[Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/)

> [Many Anglo-Indians who had lived through the last days of the Raj were old, and I felt it was important to meet them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-kapoor/many-anglo-indians-who-had-lived-through-the-last-days-of-the-raj/)

[Karan Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-kapoor/)

> [There the wild animals wandered and fed as though they were in a pasture that stretched much farther than a man could see, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/there-the-wild-animals-wandered-and-fed-as-though-they-were-in-a/)

[Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/)

> [A long time ago a very powerful race of Indians lived here. They were from another cycle; their being was of another composition. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-long-time-ago-a-very-powerful-race-of-indians-lived-here-they-were/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [At last, after almost fifty years in the hopper, the most famous unpublished novel in America is in print. Who Shot the Water Buffalo?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcclanahan/at-last-after-almost-fifty-years-in-the-hopper-the-most-famous/)

[Ed McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcclanahan/)

> [I believe there are two sides to the phenomenon known as death, this side where we live, and the other side where we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/i-believe-there-are-two-sides-to-the-phenomenon-known-as-death-this/)

[Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/)

> [ \[For American consumer society\], the country's reserves of ignorance constitute a natural resource as precious as the Mississippi River or the long-lost herds of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/for-american-consumer-society-the-country-s-reserves-of-ignorance/)

[Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/)

> [How'd you communicate?" "Paper and pen. Amazing inventions. Anyway, once we were in Buffalo, I led him here. We couldn't figure out a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/how-d-you-communicate-paper-and-pen-amazing-inventions-anyway-once-we/)

[Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/)

> [I will remain what I am until I die, a hunter, and when there are no buffalo or other game I will send my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sitting-bull/i-will-remain-what-i-am-until-i-die-a-hunter-and-when-there-are-no/)

[Sitting Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sitting-bull/)

> [I love Buffalo. The people here are wonderful, genuine; they look you straight in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gillan/i-love-buffalo-the-people-here-are-wonderful-genuine-they-look-you/)

[Ian Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gillan/)

> [For a healthy alternative to buffalo wings, slide the bone of a human finger into a block of tofu and bake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giada-de-laurentiis/for-a-healthy-alternative-to-buffalo-wings-slide-the-bone-of-a-human/)

[Giada De Laurentiis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giada-de-laurentiis/)

> [I learned about the market's power when I was traded to the Buffalo Bills for $100.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kemp/i-learned-about-the-market-s-power-when-i-was-traded-to-the-buffalo/)

[Jack Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kemp/)

> [Dan Brister's book bears witness to the last fifteen years of this bureaucratic madness to tame the last vestige of wild America and domesticate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-peacock/dan-brister-s-book-bears-witness-to-the-last-fifteen-years-of-this/)

[Doug Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-peacock/)

> [The only thing you know about Buffalo is, it's cold. I mean, that's about it. Until you get here and you see the players…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesean-mccoy/the-only-thing-you-know-about-buffalo-is-it-s-cold-i-mean-that-s/)

[LeSean McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesean-mccoy/)

> [I certainly know that on our first tour of America in 1968, David Crosby came to see us backstage at the Fillmore East in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-hayward/i-certainly-know-that-on-our-first-tour-of-america-in-1968-david/)

[Justin Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-hayward/)

## More by Walter Prescott Webb

> [“It would be very interesting to speculate on what the human imagination is going to do with a frontierless world where it must seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/it-would-be-very-interesting-to-speculate-on-what-the-human/)

[Walter Prescott Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/)

> [In their efforts to provide a sufficiency of water where there was not one, men have resorted to every expedient from prayer to dynamite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/in-their-efforts-to-provide-a-sufficiency-of-water-where-there-was/)

[Walter Prescott Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/)

> [“The real scholar must choose truth and somehow it is better if it is made so ugly that nobody could doubt its virginity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/the-real-scholar-must-choose-truth-and-somehow-it-is-better-if-it-is/)

[Walter Prescott Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/)

[Explore all 4 Walter Prescott Webb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/)

## More Animal quotes

> [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/)

[Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/)

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/)

[Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/)

> [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/)

[Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/)

[Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/)

[Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/)

> [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/)

[Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/)

[Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than all other Plains animals combined. It was life, food, raiment, and shelter to the Indians. The buffalo and the Plains Indians lived together, and together passed away. The year 1876 marks practically the end of both.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Walter Prescott Webb"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influence-on-man-than-all-other/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Animal"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influence-on-man-than-all-other/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/walter-prescott-webb-74042_animal_historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influe_627650.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Historically the buffalo had more influence on man than all other Plains animals combined. It was life…” — Walter Prescott Webb",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Walter Prescott Webb",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-prescott-webb/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Historically the buffalo had more influence...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influence-on-man-than-all-other/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-prescott-webb/historically-the-buffalo-had-more-influence-on-man-than-all-other/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
