In Buffalo Days 



sive, and dull. In its ways of life and intel- 

 ligence it closely resembled our domestic 

 cattle. It was slow to learn by experience, 

 and this lack of intelligence greatly hastened 

 the destruction of the race. Until the very 

 last years of its existence as a species, it did 

 not appear to connect the report of firearms 

 with any idea of danger to itself, and though 

 constantly pursued, did not become wild. If 

 he used skill and judgment in shooting, a 

 hunter who had "got a stand" on a small 

 bunch could kill them all before they had 

 moved out of rifle-shot. It was my fortune, 

 one summer, to hunt for a camp of soldiers, 

 and more than once I have lain on a hill 

 above a little herd of buffalo, shot down what 

 young bulls I needed to supply the camp, 

 and then walked down to the bunch and, by 

 waving my hat and shouting, driven off the 

 survivors, so that I could prepare the meat 

 for transportation to camp. This slowness 

 to take the alarm, or indeed to realize the 

 presence of danger, was characteristic of the 

 buffalo almost up to the very last. A time 

 did come when they were alarmed readily 

 enough, but this was not until all the large 



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