FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010

CONTACT: Wanda Goodman, 605-773-3301, wanda.goodman@state.sd.us

 

 

PIERRE, S.D. – James “Scotty” Philip is known as the man who helped save the American bison from extinction in the 1900s. For this, he is one of South Dakota’s Great Faces.

 

Born in Scotland, Philip immigrated to the United States as a teenager and first called Kansas home. Philip, like many men in the mid-1870s, was lured to the Black Hills of South Dakota by the prospect of finding gold. His time in the Black Hills only lasted one year before he moved to Wyoming to first work for the government and later work as a cowboy.

 

Philip eventually became acquainted with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. He married Sarah Larribee, who was a Cheyenne. The couple moved to a ranch in 1881 near the present day city of Philip, S.D, which was named after James Philip in 1907.

 

The Philip ranch quickly grew, and soon he was known from the Black Hills to the Mexican border for driving 15,000 to 23,000 head of cattle.

 

In the late 1890s, the American bison – commonly called buffalo – was at risk of becoming an extinct species. To prevent the extinction of bison, Philip purchased a small herd of about 50 head.

 

When Philip died on July 23, 1911, his herd had grown to nearly 1,000 head and was one of largest herds in the world. Bison from his herd were distributed across the United States to stock national and state parks, including Custer State Park.