The Bison or American Buffalo 35 



in such seemingly unwieldy ^beasts. A column 

 of dust obscured their passage, and under its 

 cover they disappeared in the forest; but the 

 trail of the bull was marked by splashes of 

 frothy blood, and we followed it at a trot. 

 Fifty yards beyond the border of the forest 

 we found the stark black body stretched mo- 

 tionless. He was a splendid old bull, still in 

 his full vigor, with large, sharp horns, and 

 heavy mane and glossy coat; and I felt the 

 most exulting pride as I handled and examined 

 him; for I had procured a trophy such as can 

 fall henceforth to few hunters indeed. 



It was too late to dress the beast that even- 

 ing; so, after taking out the tongue and cut- 

 ting off enough meat for supper and break- 

 fast, we scrambled down to near the torrent, 

 and after some search found a good spot for 

 camping. Hot and dusty from the day's hard 

 tramp, I undressed and took a plunge in the 

 stream, the icy water making me gasp. Then, 

 having built a slight lean-to of brush, and 

 dragged together enough dead timber to burn 

 all night, we cut long alder twigs, sat down 

 before some embers raked apart, and grilled 

 and ate our buffalo meat with the utmost rel- 

 ish. Night had fallen; a cold wind blew up 

 the valley; the torrent roared as it leaped past 



