BIFFALO HUNTINO. 105 



cision, that suggests the notion that they are a jolly set 

 of dare-devils, fond of fun and extravagances, and dis- 

 posed to have their jokes at the expense of all dignity 

 of carriage, and the good opinion of the grave portion of 

 the world. 



But, upon nearer examination, you quail before the 

 deep destructive instinct expressed in the eye ; the shaggy 

 mane distends, and shows the working of muscles fairly 

 radiant with power ; the fore foot dashes into and fur- 

 rows the hard turf; the tail waves in angry curves ; the 

 eyeballs fill with blood, and with bellowing noise that 

 echoes like the thunder, the white foam covers the 

 shaggy jaws. Then the huge form before you grows 

 into a mountain, then is exhibited an animal sublimity, 

 a world of appetite without thought, and force without 

 reason. 



Standing on one of the immense ppairies of the 

 " south-west," you look out upon what seems to be the 

 green waving swell of the sea, suddenly congealed — and 

 it requires but little fancy to imagine, when the storm- 

 cloud sweeps over it, and the rain dashes in torrents, 

 and the fierce winds bear down upon it, that the magic 

 that holds it immovable, may be broken, and leave you 

 helpless on the billowy wave. 



On such an expanse, sublime from its immensity, 

 roams the buffalo, in numbers commensurate with the 

 extent, and not unfrequently covering the landscape, 

 until their diminishing forms mingle in the opposite 



