690 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



be called, in which the visitor to the great Western plains can engage. 

 Unless shot through the heart or some other vital part, this ani- 

 mal is not easily brought down. When the animal is only wounded 

 it becomes very furious, and, if its pursuer be on foot, it at once at- 

 tacks him, and the hunter has all he can do to save himself from 

 destruction. Nor is he always safe even if he be mounted, unless he 

 can manage to keep out of the way of the infuriated animal, for he 

 ferociously attacks both horse and rider. 



Buffaloes wander much from one region to another in search of 

 the best pasturage, and of water, salt, or saline springs. In the 

 winter they move southward, and in spring return again to the north. 

 Their deep and well-trodden paths traverse the plains for hundreds 

 of miles. Vast numbers are destroyed during their spring and au- 

 tumnal migrations. Many perish from starvation ; those that get weak 

 and are left behind, are harassed and at length devoured by wolves. 

 Sometimes the vast herds attempt to cross the rivers upon the ice, 

 and, when they are crowded together, the ice gives way and they 

 perish in the cold waters. 



The male buffaloes have terrible combats. The young are born 

 in April and May, and there is generally only one at a birth. The 

 young are in constant danger from the wolves. 



The buffalo is easily domesticated, and should be added to our 

 stock of domestic cattle. The flesh of the wild ones is extensively 

 used for food, and is regarded with much favor ; and we already 

 know enough to convince us that the flavor of their flesh would be 

 improved when they are fully under the dominion of man. Experi- 

 ments show that the males make excellent oxen, and that they are 

 stronger and swifter of foot than the ordinary oxen ; and, when we 

 consider that it takes the milk of two domestic cows to properly 

 nourish one buffalo-calf, we may safely conclude that the females will 

 make excellent domestic cows. 



The buffalo was once common over most of North America west 

 of the Hudson River. In the Carolinas they were found even on the 

 seaboard. But, like the red man, they have fled westward, before 

 the advance of civilization, and are still fleeing. Their natural feed- 

 ing-grounds become cultivated fields. Enemies are constantly on 

 their track. Man hunts them for their valuable skin and for their 

 flesh. Vast numbers are killed yearly that civilized man may feed 

 upon their tongues. Wolves and bears lurk in ambush to snatch 

 away the young, and more openly to wage a constant warfare against 

 the sick and disabled members of the herd. So that, notwithstanding 

 their vast numbers, the day is not far distant when the buffalo will be 

 as rare a sight on the Plains as the wapiti and the moose are now in 

 our Northern forests. 



