American Big-Game Hunting 



is shed, the hair and wool from young ani- 

 mals is almost a dark smoky-gray. The calf 

 when just born is of a bright yellow color, 

 almost a pale red on the line of the back. 

 As it grows older it becomes darker, and by 

 late autumn is almost as dark as the adults. 

 Variations from the normal color are very 

 rare, but pied, spotted, and roan animals are 

 sometimes killed. Blue or mouse-colored buf- 

 falo were occasionally seen, and a bull of this 

 color was observed in the National Park last 

 January. White buffalo — though often re- 

 ferred to as mythical — sometimes occurred. 

 These varied from gray to cream-white. 

 The rare and valuable "silk" or "beaver" 

 robe owes its name to its dark color and its 

 peculiar sheen or gloss. White or spotted 

 robes were highly valued by the Indians. 

 Among the Blackfeet they were presented to 

 the Sun as votive offerings. Other tribes 

 kept them in their sacred bundles. 



Apart from man, the buffalo had but few 

 natural enemies. Of these the most destruc- 

 tive were the wolves, which killed a great 

 many of them. These, however, were prin- 

 cipally old, straggling bulls, for the calves 

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