A DASH AFTER BUFFALO. 253 



that the old fellow was " butting against the bank, as 

 if he was going to break it all to pieces, when in real- 

 ity he had no show at all." 



As we could not approach nearer without frighten- 

 ing him, we stood still for a few minutes and watched 

 him. He would back fifteen or twenty yards from 

 the bluff, paw the ground for an instant, and then 

 fling himself headlong against the wall of earth with 

 a tremendous force, as was abundantly testified by the 

 great clouds of dust that would rise in the air. For 

 a moment afterward he would continue violently 

 hooking the soil, as if the bowels of the earth were 

 those of an adversary. We afterward repeatedly 

 saw bulls engaged in this exercise. It is to the buf- 

 falo what the training school is to the prize-fighter, 

 a developing of brute force for future conflicts. 



The shock of such charges as we witnessed, if made 

 by a domestic ox, would have broken his neck. Even 

 our bison friend finally overdid the matter. Either 

 because his foot tripped or the blow glanced, upon 

 one of his charges, he fell down on his fore legs, and 

 then rolled completely over. We thought this a good 

 time to push forward, and accordingly did so at a gal- 

 lop. Whether thinking himself knocked down by a 

 foe, or because he heard the rattling of hoofs, we 

 could not determine, but he suddenly sprang to his 

 feet, whirled his shaggy head into bearing upon us, 

 then turned and set away at full speed up the can- 

 yon, toward the plains above. The order was given 

 to ply spur and close in upon him, if possible, or he 

 would set the herds above in motion. 



It was a mad ride that we had for the next ten 



