lllsiiN. 



BISON. 



190 



another of these grand spectacles, say " If it be not impossible to 

 calculate the moving multitude which darkened the whole plains, we 

 are convinced that 20,000 would be no exaggerated number." Catesby, 

 after stating that they range in droves, feeding on the open savannahs 

 morning and evening, says that in the sultry time of the day they 

 retire to shady rivulets and streams of clear water gliding through 

 thickets of tall canes. Dr. James had an opportunity of observing 

 them on such occasions, and he thus describes their march : " In the 

 middle of the day countless thousands of them were seen coming in 

 from every quarter to the stagnant pools ;" and in another place he 

 says that their paths are as frequent and almost as conspicuous as 

 the roads in the most populous parts of the United States. 



The Bisons, in truth, are a wandering race, the motives of their 

 restlessness being either disturbance by hunters or change of pasture. 

 After the fire has cleared the prairie of all the old herbage, the deli- 

 cately tender grass which springs up in the room of the old wiry 

 bents that fed the flame offers the most grateful food to the migratory 

 Bisons: such spots are well known to the hunter as points of 

 attraction to these animals. In the winter, when the snow lies deep 

 over the vegetation, they scrape it away with their feet to get at the 

 fam, 



Fierce and terrible are the fights among the bulls in the rutting 

 season, and perilous is the condition of the man whp then approaches 

 them. For the greatest part of the year the bulls and cows live in 

 separate herds, but at all seasons, according to Sir John Richardson, 

 one or two old bulls generally accompany a large herd of cows. 



These powerful beasts are in general shy, and fly from the face of 

 man till they are wounded ; they then become furious, and pursue 

 their enemy with the most vindictive spirit, as we shall presently see ; 

 but we must first say a word or two on some of the different modes 

 of hunting them. Du Pratz and Charlevoix give several particulars 

 of the chase of these animals by the Indians. If the rifle be used the 

 hunter is careful to go against the wind, for the sense of smelling is 

 so exquisite hi the Bison that it will otherwise get scent of him-, and 

 precipitately retire. If he gets within rifle-distance he is careful so to 

 take his aim that the beast may drop at once, and not be irritated by 

 an ineffectual wound. 



But the great hunting is, or rather was, somewhat after the manner 

 of the Scottish ' tincheL' A great number of men divide and form a 

 vast square. Each band sets fire to the dry grass of the savannah 

 where the herds are feeding. When the affrighted beasts perceive the 

 fire approaching on all sides they retire in confusion to the centre of 

 the square, where tin- Uuids close upon them and kill them, as they 

 are huddled together in heaps, without hazard : 1500 or 2000 beeves 

 have been given as the produce of such an expedition. 



Sir John Franklin, in his account of his first voyage, gives us the 

 following information. After stating that the Stone Indians are so 

 expert with the bow and arrow that they can strike a very small object 

 at a considerable distance, and shoot with sufficient force to pierce 

 through the body of a buffalo when near, he thus describes a buffalo 

 or bison pound : 



" The buffalo-pound was a fenced circular space of about 100 yards 

 in diameter ; the entrance was banked up with snow to a sufficient 

 height to prevent the retreat of the animals that once have entered. 

 For about a mile on each side of the road leading to the pound, stakes 

 were driven into the ground at nearly equal distances of about 20 

 yards ; these were intended to represent men, and to deter the animals 

 from attempting to break out on either side. Within 50 or 60 yards 

 from the ]xmnd branches of trees were placed between these stakes to 

 screen the Indians, who lie down behind them to await the approach 

 of the buffalo. The principal dexterity in this species of chase ia 

 shown by the horsemen, who have to manoeuvre round the herd in 

 the plains so an to urge them to enter the roadway, which is about a 

 quarter of a mile broad. When this has been accomplished they raise 

 li >u<l shouts, and, pressing close upon the annuals, so terrify them that 

 they rush heedlessly forward towards the snare. When they have 

 advanced as far as the men who are lying in ambush, they also rise, 

 and increase the consternation by violent shouting and firing guns. 

 The affrighted beasts having no alternative run directly to the pound, 

 "where they are quickly dispatched either with an arrow or gun. 

 There was a tree in the centre of the pound on which the Indians 

 had hung Htrips of buffalo flesh and pieces of cloth, as tributary or 

 grateful offering!* to the Great Master of life ; and we were told that 

 they occasionally place a man in the tree to sing to the presiding 

 spirit as the buffaloes are advancing, who must keep his station until 

 the whole that have entered nn- killed. " 



The same author further proceeds as follows : " Other modes of 

 killing the buffalo are practised by the Indians with success; of these, 

 the hunting them on horseback requires most dexterity. An expert 

 hunter, when well mounted, dashes at the herd, and chooses an indi- 

 vidual wliu'li he endeavours to separate from the rest. If he succeeds 

 he contrives to keep him apart by the proper management of his 

 horse, though going at full speed. Whenever he can get sufficiently 

 near for a ball to penetrate the beast's hide he fires, and seldom fails 

 nf bringing the animal down ; though of course he cannot rest the 

 piece against the shoulder nor take a deliberate aim. On this service 

 the hunter is often exposed to considerable danger from the fall < >f hi* 

 horse in the numerous holes which the badgers niaki; in these plains, 



and also from the rage of the buffalo, which, when closely pressed, 

 often turns suddenly, and, rushing furiously on the horse, frequently 

 succeeds in wounding it or dismounting the rider. Whenever the 

 animal shows this disposition, which the experienced hunter will 

 readily perceive, he immediately pulls up his horse, and goes off in 

 another direction." The reader will find some animated descriptions 

 of such encounters in ' The Tour on the Prairies,' before alluded to. 

 A great deal of interesting matter on the habits of these animals will 

 also be found in Catlin's '_Letters and Notes on the North American 

 Indians.' 



" When the buffaloes are on their guard," as Sir John Franklin 

 observes, " horses cannot be used in approaching them ; but the 

 hunter dismounts at some distance, and crawls in the snow towards 

 the herd, pushing his gun before him. If the buffaloes happen to 

 look towards him, he stops, and keeps quite motionless, until their 

 eyes are turned in another direction ; by this cautious proceeding a 

 skilful person will get so near as to be able to kill two or three out of 

 the herd. It will easily be imagined this service cannot be very 

 agreeable when the thermometer stands 30 or 40 below zero, as 

 sometimes happens in this country." 



This chase of the bison is not unattended with danger, " for," says 

 Catesby, " when wounded they are very furious, which cautions the 

 Indians how they attack them in open savannahs, where no trees are 

 to screen them from then- fury. Their hoofs, more than their horns, 

 are then- offensive weapons, and whatever opposes them is in no small 

 danger of being trampled into the earth." 



Sir John Kjchardson, in his ' Fauna Boreali-Americani,' observes 

 that " the bisons are less wary when they are assembled together in 

 numbers, and that they will then often blindly follow their leaders, 

 regardless of, or trampling down, the hunters posted in their way." 

 He further states that, though the gait of these animals may appear 

 heavy and awkward, they will have no great difficulty in overtaking 

 the fleetest runner, and gives the following account of the determined 

 violence with which a wounded Bison assails its enemy : " While I 

 resided at Carlton-House," writes Sir John Richardson, " an accident 

 of this kind occurred. Mr. Finnan M'Donald, one of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company's clerks, was descending the Saskatchewan hi a boat, 

 and one evening, having pitched his tent for the night, he went out 

 in the dusk to look for game. It had become nearly dark when he 

 fired at a bison bull, which was galloping over a small eminence, and 

 as he was hastening forward to sec if his shot had taken effect, the 

 wounded beast made a rush at him. He had the presence of mind to 

 seize the animal by the long hair on its forehead as it struck him on 

 the side with its horn, and, being a remarkably tall and powerful man, 

 a struggle ensued, which continued until his wrist was severely 

 sprained, and his arm was rendered powerless ; he then fell, and after 

 receiving two or three blows became senseless. Shortly afterwards 

 he was found by his companions lying bathed in blood, being gored in 

 several places, and the bison was couched beside him, apparently 

 waiting to renew the attack had he shown any signs of life. Mr. 

 M'Donald recovered from the immediate effects of the injuries he 

 received, but died a few months afterwards. Many other instances 

 might be mentioned of the tenaciousness with which this animal 

 pursues its revenge ; and I have been told of a hunter having been 

 detained for many hours in a tree by an old bull which had taken its 

 post below to watch him. When it contends with a dog, it strikes 

 violently with its fore feet, and in that way proves more than a match 

 for an English bull-dog." 



The same writer says that the favourite Indian method of killing 

 the Bison is by riding up to the fattest of the herd on horseback, and 

 shooting it with an arrow ; and he speaks of the imposing spectacle 

 which is afforded when a large party of hunters are engaged in this 

 way on an extensive plain, and of the skill and agility displayed by 

 the yotmg men on such occasions. The horses, it appears, seem to 

 enjoy the sport as much as their riders, and are very active in eluding 

 the shock of the animal should it turn on its pursuer. It should be 

 remembered, on such occasions, that when the Bison runs it leans 

 very much first to one side for a short time, and then to the other, 

 and so on alternately. This account is confirmed by Catlin in the 

 work above quoted. 



Sir John Richardson also confirms Sir John Franklin in the assertion 

 that the most generally practised plan of shooting the Bisons is by 

 crawling towards them from the leeward, and that in favourable places 

 great numbers are taken in pounds. 



Though the risk of the chase be considerable the reward is great ; 

 for there are few animals that minister more largely to the wants and 

 even to the comforts of man than the American Bison. The horns 

 are converted into powder-flasks ; the hide, which, according to 

 Catesby, is too heavy for the strongest man to lift from the ground, 

 is very valuable, and is used for a variety of purposes. Purehas 

 relates that in old times the Indians made the best of targets of it j 

 and Catesby says that they make their winter moccassins of it also, 

 but that, being too heavy for clothing, it is not often put to that use. 

 Sir John Richardson informs us that the wool has been manufactured 

 in England into a remarkably fine ami beautiful cloth ; and that in 

 the colony of Osnaboyna, on the Red River, a warm and durable coarse 

 cloth is formed of it. Catlin says that " there are by a fair calculation 

 more than 300,000 Indmnrf who are now subsisting on the flesh of the 



