Hornaday's Bull, the Buffalo Nickel Buffalo

Died 1886 - Fort Benton, Montana

It's rare that a small town can boast of even one famous dead animal. Fort Benton breaks the mold by having two: Old Shep, a locally-famous sheepdog, and the Big Bull, a.k.a. Hornaday's Bull, the most famous dead buffalo in the world.

The Big Bull was killed and stuffed in 1886 (along with five lesser buffalo) by William T. Hornaday, "America's first taxidermist," so that he could preserve the species that had roamed the Plains by the hundreds of thousands until the white man killed and stuffed them.

In 1887, the six buffalo were put on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. The Big Bull became an instant hit with the Treasury Department, who used him as a model for greenbacks, postage stamps, and the Buffalo Nickel. After 70 years (and, apparently, an influx of fresher buffalo), the six were shipped off to the University of Montana.

In 1970, the people of Fort Benton raised $400,000 to have the stuffed buffalo restored and returned to its home town. The Big Bull, a cow and a calf are together again in Fort Benton's Museum of the Upper Missouri.

[ Note: There is an ongoing debate about exactly which bison posed for the nickel. According to visitor Gary Snyder: "this bison was not the bison used as a model for the 'Buffalo' nickel introduced in 1913. The official accounts state that the artist, James Fraser, used a living bison named Black Diamond in a local zoo, rather than a stuffed bull at the Smithsonian, although the model for the 1901 $10 note is disputed." Hornaday's Bull folks nevertheless insist that their bison is the true bison.

It's sort of like the endless debate over who was the real Mona Lisa....]

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