THE BISON, OR BUFFALO. 257 



finds himself upon those vast and verdant savannas, 

 that flourishing Sahara the great American desert, 

 of which no words can give an adequate description. 

 The prairies (as they are called in the United States) 

 are not immense flat plains, carpeted with clover, 

 sainfoin, and lucern ; they are undulating surfaces 

 divided by innumerable streams, on whose banks 

 gi'ow stunted cotton-bushes and buffalo grass, — that 

 plant which serves as forage for the ruminants of 

 the desert, and whose long stalk is crimped like a 

 lettuce, — with all manner of other kinds of plants, 

 whose blue, red, white, and yellow flowers enamel 

 the uncultivated soil and transform it into a splendid 

 Aubusson carpet. These oceans of verdure, which 

 sometimes attain a growth of four to five feet in 

 height, are rippled by the breezes like the waves of 

 the sea. 



Nothing presents a more charming variety than 

 the Flora of these blooming steppes. There the 

 botanist may gather, as they are crowded up to- 

 gether, euphorbias and lilies of every tint and shade, 

 some with white petals striped with black and rose 

 colour, others with crimson edges and poppy- 

 coloured calices. The flowers are all of the most 

 brilliant colours ; and myriads of butterflies hover 

 among them upon painted wings, and bees search 

 about for materials for their perfumed honey. 



And 3'et, lively as the aspect of the prairies may 

 be, it is impossible to avoid a feeling of melancholy 



