THE BISON, OR BUFFALO, 281 



over, to this catalogue of destructiveness, that the 

 caravans which traverse those prairies vie with each 

 other in the number of buffaloes killed on the road. 

 It is the task of the eagles to whiten the bones of 

 those innumerable skeletons that give to certain 

 passes among the Rocky Mountains the title of 

 " The Buffaloes Cemetery." 



On reading this, many of my readers may feel 

 incredulous about the accuracy of my statements. 

 In order to leave no room for doubt on that head, 

 I cojDy here a passage from a letter addressed by 

 Governor Stevens, one of the most experienced 

 explorers of the American prairie, to one of the 

 editors of the New Orleans Daily Picayune : — 



"The Foot op the Rocky Mountains, 

 May 8th, 1859. 



" On Sunday, after a ten-mile march, we came 

 np to the buffaloes. The herd extended before us, 

 and on each side, as far as we could see. Our 

 most enthusiastic companions judged them to be 

 500,000 strong, and the most, no doubt, of us, did 

 not put them below 200,000. At midday, when we 

 made our customary halt, an immense quantity of 

 them approached ovir camp, and immediately six 

 hunters, mounted on fresh horses which had been 

 reserved for the purpose, dashed on, and treated 

 the whole party to the spectacle of a buffalo hunt. 

 The hunters galloped as fast as their horses could 



