130 The Bison 



stood sentry over the herd, constantly on the 

 watch for danger. There is not and never was 

 any foundation for these stories, which were mere 

 creations of the writer's imagination. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, the cows were much more alert and 

 watchful than the bulls, were always the first to 

 detect danger and to move away from it, while the 

 bulls were dull and slow, and often did not start 

 to run until the herd at large was in full flight. 

 Moreover, the cows and younger animals of the 

 herd were much swifter than the bulls, and so 

 pressed constantly to the front, while the bulls 

 brought up the rear. The disposition of the 

 males had nothing to do with any desire to pro- 

 tect the herd, but resulted from the fact that they 

 were slower than the others. The earlier writers 

 on the habits of these and other animals, credited 

 them with human motives and aspirations, which 

 of course they do not possess. A somewhat simi- 

 lar fashion of writing about animals is current at 

 the present day, but is false and unnatural, and 

 will pass. 



The hides of the buffalo are in their best 

 condition in the early part of the winter, and it 

 was the practice of the Indians to collect their 

 robes at that time of the year, — namely, between 



