266 A STRANGE SIGHT. 



It was motionless, and a long way off. It could not be 

 the stem or root of a large tree, because there were no 

 trees on that part of the plain ; then what could it be ? 

 We stood on a gently rising eminence narrowly watching 

 this odd-looking object, when suddenly from the grass 

 immediately under it a flock of black birds arose, about 

 the size of the English starling, and in habits and flight 

 very like it, and Bayard's glance instantly brightened 

 as he said, " Buffalo it must be a buffalo, for there are 

 the birds that are always about him.' 7 The buffalo, or 

 whatever it was, never moved, and the flock of birds again 

 vanished in the grass. 



Having dismounted, with rifle and carbine under each 

 of my arms, our horses delivered over to the care of Phill, 

 who was only to advance to us if we made a sign for him 

 to do so, Bayard and myself then availed ourselves of 

 wind and low ground, and began to creep to this sus 

 picious-looking excrescence on what seemed to be the 

 level plain. Having approached some distance nearer to 

 the object, we crawled on our hands and knees and peeped 

 over a little hillock. There was no doubt about it then, 

 for the excrescence we had seen was no other than a buf 

 falo's hump, and on the same spot there stood the owner 

 of the hump, now fully confessed, in the shape of a mon 

 strous old bull. We backed ourselves down the little hill 

 again, having taken a needful glance at the ground, and 

 on our hands and knees re-commenced a covert advance. 

 Having my rifle and carbine in my hands, this hand-and- 

 knee work was difficult. Again we came to a little rise 

 in the prairie, which would enable us to make another 

 observation, as from the very slight undulations of the 

 ground and variation of the low parts of it the stalk had 

 to be governed by the greatest caution, for when on 



