Native Americans

• It was very difficult for the Native Americans and the pioneers to coexist. The railroad was beyond the understanding of the Native Americans who had always lived in that part of the world, mostly isolated from the white man. When the pioneers started heading west in droves, the concept of "owning land" was created, which the Native Americans didn't understand at all. Their philosophy was that they were stewards of the earth -- they didn't own it. The white man had an entirely different concept, which, of course, created conflict.
  
  

Buffalo

• The pioneers had perceived buffalo as something to eat, particularly for the crews working on the railroad. They would shoot buffalo using rifles. The Native Americans also ate buffalo and used its skin, but they killed the beasts with bows and arrows. The pioneers were much more interested in cultivating the land, and didn't consider the buffalo important. They hunted them for sport. This was the total opposite of the way the Native Americans perceived and valued the buffalo because the animals were culturally and ceremonially important to them.
  
  

Extinction

• After the transcontinental railroad was established, the buffalo was on its way to near extinction because of the white man. There were approximately 60 million buffalo before the advent of the railroad. That number dwindled to less than 1,000 by the end of the 19th century.
  
  

Permanent Corridor

• When the railroad tracks were put in, this depleted and destroyed the surrounding natural habitats. Trees were cut down and used to make bridges and railroad ties. The railroad that led to the West is sometimes referred to as a permanent corridor, which resulted in the near extinction of buffalo.
  
  

Manifest Destiny

• Along with the railroad came railroad technology. In addition, the pioneers were mining for silver and gold and they were also ranching, all of which resulted in an upheaval in the ecology and affected the habitats of the buffalo. Towns popped up, which also disrupted the land the buffalo had previously roamed. The Manifest Destiny, which is the term used for the expansion into the West, changed the balance of nature forever in the West.
  
  

Forever Changed

• Americans were eager to move west where they could get free land. The railroads not only carried people, but carried cattle also. The railroads actually hired buffalo hunters, who forevermore altered the lives of the Native Americans because of the destruction of the buffalo. The railroad resulted in the organization of Western territories, and a vast increase in the population of the West. These areas eventually became states.