CHAPTER XIV. 



THE BISON OR BUFFALO DESCRIPTION INDIAN MODES OF CAP- 

 TUREEARLY DESCRIPTION OF IT BUFFALO HUNT ITS HAUNTS 

 AND ENEMIES. 



The next Genus is the Ox, of which the first species is the 

 BISON (Bos Americanus'), better known under the name of 

 BUFFALO. 



Description. Great disproportion between the fore and 

 hind quarters, partly occcasioned by the hump over its shoul- 

 ders, which diminishing as it extends backwards, gives obli- 

 quity to the outline of its back. The horns are shorter than 

 in any other species, nearly straight, exceedingly strong, and 

 planted widely asunder at the base. The tail is almost a foot 

 long, terminating in a tuft. The eyes large and fierce, and 

 its appearance altogether grim, savage, and formidable. 



The Bison is clothed on its forequarters with long shaggy 

 hair, forming a beard beneath its lower jaw, and descending 

 below the knee in a tuft, forming a dense mass on the top of 

 his head, which is so thickly matted as to cause a rifle ball to 

 rebound, or lodge only in the hair by deadening its force- 

 The ponderous head, rendered terrific by this thick shaggy 

 hair, is supported upon a massive neck or' shoulders, the 

 apparent strength of which is more imposing from the aug- 

 mentation produced by the hump, and the long fall of hair by 

 which the fore parts of the body are covered. 



It is peculiar to America, formerly inhabiting the prairies and 

 forests in vast numbers ; they have been seen in herds of 

 three, four, and five thousand, blackening the plain as far as 

 the eye could reach. They generally seek their food in the 

 morning and evening, retiring during the heat of the day to 



