This image was published in Harper’s Weekly on Nov. 10, 1888. The steel engraving was produced from a photograph by H. R. Farr, a photographer from Minneapolis. Far was primarily a stereoscopic view photographer. In this image there are 11 men and three dogs. Waterfowl are piled on the ground and attached to side of a railroad car. Also attached to the rail car is a fox and buffalo skulls.
The article that goes with this photograph states that “no other known section of this or any other civilized country rivals Dakota in the number and excellence of wild geese and ducks.” The author concludes the article with “The illustration is no exaggeration. The writer has known five guns in six days’ shooting to bag five hundred and sixty geese, besides so many ducks that it was not thought worthwhile to count them.” The article does not state what became of the ducks and geese; if they were used as food, as trophies or just left to rot. Like the buffalo, the waterfowl and wildlife were hunted to near extinction or until their numbers severely depleted.