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6 



THE AMERICAN BISONS. 



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animals surrounding an old or wounded bull^ where it would seem, from ap- 

 pearanceSj that tliej had been for several days in attendancej and at intervals 

 desperately engaged in the effort to take his life. But a short time since. 



as one of my hunting companions and myself were returning to our encamp- 



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ment with our horses loaded with meat, we discovered at a distance a huge 

 bull, encircled with a gang of white wolves; we rode up as near as we could 

 without driving them away, and, being within pistol-shot, we had a remark- 



ably good view, where I sat for a few moments and made a sketch in my 



note-book (plate cxiv) ; after which we rode up and gave the signal for them 

 to disperse, which they instantly did, withdrawing themselves to the distance 

 of fifty or sixty rods, when we found, to our great surprise, that the animal 

 had made desperate resistance, his eyes being entirely eaten out'of his head, 

 the gristle of his nose mostly gone, his tongue half eaten off, and the skin 

 and flesh of his legs torn almost literally into strings. In this tattered 

 and torn condition, the poor old veteran stood bracing up in the midst 

 of his devourers, who had ceased hostilities for a few minutes to enjoy a sort 

 of parley, recovering strength and preparing to resume the attack in a few 

 moments again. In this group, some were reclining to gain breath, whilst 

 others were sneaking about and licking their chops iii anxiety for a renewal 

 of the attack ; and others, less lucky, had been crushed to death by the feet 



or the horns of the bull. I rode nearer to the pitiable object as he stood 

 bleeding and trembling before me, and said to him, ^Now is your time, 

 fellow, and you had better be off' Though blind and nearly destroyed, 

 there seemed evidently to be a recognition of a friend in me, as he straight- 

 ened up, and, trembling with excitement, dashed off at full speed upon the 

 prairie, in a straight line. We turned our horses and resumed our march, 

 and when we had advanced a mile or more we looked back, and on our left, 

 where we saw again the ill-fated animal surrounded by his tormentors, to 

 whose insatiable voracity he unquestionably soon fell a victim." 



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The buffalo, when taken young, is easily tamed, and soon becomes thor- 

 oughly domesticated. With this fact so well known, 



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it seems remarkable 



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that this animal should not have long since been added to our list of domes- 

 ticated and useful animals. The few experiments that have been made seem 

 to have met with encouraging results, as will be shown in a later portion of 

 the present memoir,* and to have f^iiled simply through lack of interest and 

 persistency. Through crossing them with domestic cattle they have even 



* See the chapter on '^ The Domestication of the Buffalo." 



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