160 The Bison 



killed by them were inconsiderable in comparison 

 with those killed for commercial purposes. This 

 class comprised those who ran buffalo for sport. 

 Buffalo-running was not a difficult art, nor es- 

 pecially exciting, except so far as it is exciting 

 to chase and overtake some creature that is try- 

 ing to escape. Provided a man had a good 

 horse and was fairly accustomed to riding, there 

 was little difficulty and little danger in the buffalo 

 chase. At the same time, the combination of the 

 swift ride, the rough country, the dust and dirt 

 thrown up by the flying herd, and the close prox- 

 imity of the great beasts have reduced many a 

 buffalo runner on his first chase to a pitch of 

 nervousness which made him do precisely the 

 wrong thing. There have been cases, not a few, 

 where riders, trying to kill buffalo with a pistol, 

 have shot their own horses instead of the buffalo ; 

 and at least one case came to my knowledge 

 where the excited hunter, riding up on the right 

 instead of the left side of the bull, and shooting 

 across his own body, managed to shoot himself 

 in the left arm. 



There was something rather exhilarating in 

 the headlong ride after buffalo, a game not un- 

 like "follow my leader," which boys play, where 



