STRENGTH OF THE BISON. 261 



equally numerous in the neighbourhood of St. Louis, 

 between the Mississippi and the Missouri, below their 

 junction in those extensive and fertile meadows 

 which stretch far away to the horizon, and are 

 either bounded by its mighty concave or by some 

 deep forest; but now the elk, and deer, and bison, 

 the native inhabitants of these delightful scenes, 

 are chased away by the incursions of the white 

 settlers, whose dwellings extend over the vast plain 

 at wide intervals. Hence in many parts the dense 

 and uniform growth of grass has risen untrodden and 

 uncropped, and is seen to wave in ceaseless undula- 

 tions as the wind sweeps lightly across it, while the 

 slender and graceful Heuchera Americana rises 

 above the grass, and resembles a grove of spears 

 bristling over an embattled host. 



The strength of the bison is proverbial, and his 

 heavy tread is often apparent in those broad shallow 

 excavations of four or five feet broad, and from six 

 to eighteen inches deep, which abound in countries 

 frequented by these animals. They are of rare 

 occurrence near the Missouri, as far as Engineer 

 Cantonment, and in districts where the bison is now 

 seldom seen, yet the traces remain, though over- 

 grown with grass. But as you approach such coun- 

 tries as are still the residence of these magnificent 

 creatures, the hollows become more numerous; be- 

 side the Platte especially, they present considerable 

 impediments to the traveller, and are without her- 

 bage, being covered with dust. They are made by 

 the bisons in scraping up the earth with their fore- 

 feet while dusting themselves; they serve also as 

 places for rolling and wallowing, a gratification 



