BUFFALO COW AND HEB CALF. 33 



from age, after a long and happy life, when unable to keep 

 with his companions, dies in a gallant and short struggle, 

 overpowered by his too numerous enemies, a death worthy 

 of a hero. 



The cow calves in spring, although I have, on several 

 occasions, met with a mother as late as the end of July 

 with a youngster by her side, not over a couple of weeks 

 old. The attachment shown by the parent for her off- 

 spring, and the solicitude she evinces for its safety, impart 

 a touching lesson, which even the human family would do 

 well to follow. I remember on one occasion I had been 

 setting traps in a small stream with abundant signs that 

 beaver were numerous in the vicinity. E had waded up 

 this watercourse for upwards of a mile, all the time being 

 hidden from the view of the animals on the prairie by the 

 bluffness of the banks. Having performed my task, I left 

 the stream and ascended to the level of the country. The 

 first glance I took disclosed a beautiful and interesting 

 picture, for a young cow, with her calf almost between her 

 legs, stood determinedly facing several wolves. The baby 

 was evidently sick, and the instinct of the party of prowlers 

 told them so. My sympathies, of course, were not with 

 the aggressors ; and, the better to prove it, I picked out 

 the apparent ringleaders, doubling one up with the first 

 barrel, and accelerating the retreat of another with a 

 second ; for although he did not drop, an ominous " thud " 

 gave me the information that he had received a hint that 

 the neighbourhood was dangerous, and that he had better 

 leave it while he had the power. In September the rutting 

 season commences, and furious encounters between the 



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