COMPARATIVE SAGACITY. 299 



too good a horseman, however, to let go the rein, and 

 horse and man gained their feet together as the bull, in 

 his rush, was on them. With that cool determination so 

 graceful as well as useful in the soldier, gentleman, and 

 hunter, Bayard resolved to let his horse save himself, 

 and to bear the risk alone, aided by the one barrel left 

 of his heavy revolver a poor chance against the head of 

 an enraged buffalo so he loosed the rein. His steed, 

 too happy to save himself by flight, bounded off, leaving 

 his master standing erect and motionless, and confront 

 ing his hirsute foe. For an instant the huge bull and 

 Bayard stood stock still on the plain within a few yards 

 of each other, Bayard with his eye, hand, and revolver 

 on the beast, but the beast stedfastly staring after the 

 retreating steed. It was a frightful pause, and Bayard 

 never stirred hand nor foot, when to his intense satisfac 

 tion, the bull (taking no notice of him whatever, his 

 entire attention having been fixed on the horse) turned 

 round and trotted off to rejoin the herd, Bayard taking 

 very good care not to disturb him in that gregarious 

 intention by any further molestation. 



The single-handed chase of mine with the bison gave 

 me a very good insight into the animal's capability and 

 inclination, and proved to me that which I had observed 

 before that with the size of animals, from the mouse to 

 the elephant, with very few exceptions, power of observ 

 ation is very apt to increase with size, and the larger the 

 brain the greater the intellectual power. The elephant is 

 decidedly the most sensible beast in existence ; and nothing 

 could be more curious than the fact of the bison couching 

 in the reeds, with the evident intention of getting me and 

 my horse to such close quarters as would give him the ad 

 vantage. The slackening of his speed, too, whenever I 



