Tlie Bison or American Buffalo. 241 



five or fifty yards away. They fired together, each 



mortally wounding his animal, and then, rushing in as the 



herd halted in confusion, and following them as they ran, 



impeded by numbers, hurry, and panic, they eventually 



got three more. 



On another occasion the same two hunters nearly met 



with a frightful death, being overtaken by a vast herd of 



stampeded buffaloes. All animals that go in herds are 



subject to these instantaneous attacks of uncontrollable 



terror, under the influence of which they become perfectly 



mad, and rush headlong in dense masses on any form of 



death. Horses, and more especially cattle, often sufier 



from stampedes ; it is a danger against which the cowboys 



are compelled to be perpetually on guard. A band of 



stampeded horses, sweeping in mad terror up a valley, 



will dash against a rock or tree with such violence as to 



leave several dead animals at its base, while the survivors 



race on without halting ; they will overturn and destroy 



tents and wagons, and a man on foot caught in the rush 



has but a small chance for his life. A buffalo stampede 



is much worse — or rather was much worse, in the old days 



— because of the great weight and immense numbers of 



the beasts, which, in a fury of heedless terror, plunged 



over cliffs and into rivers, and bore down whatever was 



in their path. On the occasion in question, my brother 



and cousin were on their way homeward. They were just 



mounting one of the long, low swells, into which the 



prairie was broken, when they heard a low, muttering, 



rumbling noise, like far-off thunder. It grew steadily 



louder, and, not knowing what it meant, they hurried for- 

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