154 T'i'^ Bison 



their hands. The good buffalo horses were swift 

 of foot to catch the cow, admirably trained for 

 running over the rough prairie, often dangerous 

 from badger holes or burrows of the prairie dog, 

 and knowing how to approach the buffalo, and 

 also how to avoid its charge — trained, in fact, 

 just as well as the cow-pony is trained, which 

 knows exactly what is expected of him when 

 he is cutting cattle out of a bunch. The chase 

 was conducted in silence, and the only sound 

 heard was the rumble of a thousand hoofs — dull 

 where the ground was soft, and sharp if it hard- 

 ened. If the herd was large, the scene was one 

 of great confusion. Buffalo and horses with their 

 riders were dimly seen amid the cloud of dust 

 thrown up by the fleeing herd. Horses were 

 constantly overtaking the buffalo, riders were 

 bending down, horses were sheering off, buffalo 

 were falling. The old bulls, passed by the swift 

 riders, were turning off and fleeing, singly or in 

 little groups, to right and to left, while the swifter 

 cows, with heads down and tails in air, were press- 

 ing forward in flight to escape the Indians, who 

 were riding with their rearmost ranks. 



Not greatly differing from this, save that guns 

 were used and there was much yelling and noise. 



