THE BUFFALO AND HIS FATE. 147 



the whole landscape, having formerly been met with con- 

 stantly on the plains. Emigrant trains used to be delayed 

 by the passing of dense herds, and during the first years of 

 the Kansas Pacific Hallway its trains were frequently stop- 

 ped by the same cause. These masses seem to have some 

 sort of organization, consisting of small bands which unite 

 in migration or when pursued, but separate when feeding. 

 The cows, with their calves and the younger animals, are 

 generally toward the middle of the small herd, while the 

 older bulls are found on the outside, and the patriarchs of 

 the herd bring up the rear. Much romancing has been 

 wasted on this simple and natural grouping by writers who 

 have described the supposed regularity and almost military 

 precision of their movements. The sluggish, partly-disa- 

 bled old males constitute the "lordly sentinels" of such 

 tales, who are supposed to watch with fatherly care over 

 the welfare of their " harems." The truth is, that these 

 protectors, fancied so alert, are the most easily approached 

 of any of the flock, and the real guardians are the vigilant 

 cows themselves, who usually lead the movements of the 

 herd. 



The rutting-season is July and August. The period of 

 pregnancy is nine months, and rarely more than a single 

 calf is born, which follows the mother for a year or more. 



