In 1882 and 1883, the American buffalo made their last stand in the valley of Hiddenwood and within a 30-mile range of the area. Hiddenwood Cliff across Hiddenwood Creek was an ancient landmark for buffalo-hunting tribes who often camped in the buttes and badlands, and the valley was filled with their stone tepee rings. The last 50,000 free-ranging buffalo had migrated there from territories farther west into what was then part of the Great Sioux Reservation, and within 15 months they were gone. Although most of the estimated 60 to 75 million buffalo were likely killed by white hide hunters, these last buffalo were hunted by Native Americans in traditional ways on reservation lands. The last great buffalo hunt began about June 20, 1882, when 2,000 Teton Lakota men, women, and children traveled 100 miles from Ft. Yates to the valley on foot and horseback and found the hills black with thousands of grazing buffalo. On the first day, mounted hunters with rifles killed 2,000 buffalo, having painted their faces, bodies, and horses in traditional ways for a successful hunt, while very few hunted with bow and arrow. Afterward, the buffalo remained where they had fallen and the hunters returned to camp long after dark, too tired even to celebrate or tell stories. On the second day, the entire tribe quickly butchered and cared for the meat, removing humps and other tender morsels for immediate feasting while women sliced the remaining meat into thin sheets to dry and make into pemmican and jerky. On the third day, the hunters killed an additional 3,000 buffalo, bringing the total in three days to 5,000 buffalo in this last great hunt.