The subspecific division of the Plains Bison by one of the authors (Krumbiegel, 1980) into a Southern Plains Bison Bison bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) and a Northern Plains Bison Bison bison montanae Krumbiegel, 1980, is here corroborated by reference to early illustrations and reports unknown to mammalogists, thereby proving that the authors' historiographical approach can be used in establishing taxonomic reconstructions of recently exterminated species or subspecies.