A couple things don’t quite sound correct. Cattle and oxen pulling wagons west were some of the first critters to hit the west with man. If you ever raised critters you should know how fast an untreated illness can kill just about every critter swiftly. Usually only the ohthe poor Indian types fall for the white man killing all the buffalo.
According to the lead and powder shipments out west there is no way they could have been shot out.Also if numbers are guesses then maybe there was 120 million. Edk
You are right. Disease can spread very quickly and travel long distances. Especially with millions of vulnerable animals in contact with one another.
