THE AMERICAN BISON. 31 



fairly out of sight of the herd, is set upon by the vora- 

 cious hunters, which often gather to the number of fifty 

 or more, and are sure at last to torture him to death, and 

 use him up at a meal. The Buffalo, however, is a huge 

 and furious animal, and when his retreat is cut off, makes 

 desperate and deadly resistance, contending to the last 

 moment for the right of life, and oftentimes deals death 

 by wholesale to his canine assailants. 



" During my travels in these regions, I have several 

 times come across such a gang of these animals sur- 

 rounding an old or wounded bull, where it would seem, 

 from appearances, that they had been for several days in 

 attendance, 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 encampment, 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 remarkably good view, where I sat for a few 

 moments and made a sketch in my note-book. After 

 which we rode up, and gave the signal for them to dis- 

 perse, 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, until his eyes were entirely eaten out of his 

 head; the gristle of his nose was mostly gone; his 

 tongue was 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 hos- 

 tilities for a few minutes, to enjoy a sort of parley, 



