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Old May 16, 2009, 12:56 AM   #15
Alaskee
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2002
Location: Nelchina Alaska
Posts: 131
Limitations

Plains natives during the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition were limited by their technology on the impact they would have on local game populations. If an area became overhunted by them or by predators they would have to move on to areas of more abundant game.
I would also imagine (since there were no game biologists there taking census numbers) that the game populations of that time followed localized boom and bust patterns similar to remote areas today which see little or no human impact. Game populations would rise, follwed closely by predator numbers, range holding capacity would eventually become degraded along with increased predation disease etc. and the prey population would begin a decline, sometimes precipitous. Been happening for a gazzilion years.
If one wants to read an eye opening story about the technology chasm between the Lewis and Clark expedition and the natives they encountered, find the account where Nez Perce hunters spent hours chasing a small band of pronghorns within view of a parlay between the Expedition and the Nez Perce Cheifs. A couple expedition hunters were then dispatched with long rifles and had two of the animals down within minutes.
I'm also of the opinion that had the Nez Perce been in possesion of those rifles, they would have had at least the same deleterious effect on local game populations as did the Expedition.
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