112 THE BUFFALO. 



in herds of immense size, many thousands in number. Their 

 dark forms may often be seen extending over the prairie as 

 far as the eye can reach, a mighty moving mass of life. 

 Onward they rush, moved by some sudden impulse, making 

 the ground tremble under their feet, while their course may 

 be traced by the vast cloud of dust which floats over them as 

 they sweep across the plain. They are invariably followed 

 by flocks of wolves, who pounce on any young or sick mem- 

 bers of the herd which may be left behind. They range 

 throughout the whole prairie country, from the '' Fertile Belt," 

 which extends from the Red River settlement to the Rocky 

 Mountains in British Central America, to Mexico in the south. 

 The bulls ai'e at times excessively savage. They often quar- 

 rel among themselves, and then, falling out of the herd, they 

 engage in furious cr»mbats, gTcatly to the advantage of the 

 pursuing wolves. In the summer, the buftalo delights in 

 wallowing in mud. Reaching some marshy spot, he throws 

 himself down, and works away till he excavates a mud-hole 

 in the soil. The water from the surrounding ground rapidly 

 drains into this, and covers him up, thus freeing him from 

 the stings of the gnats and flies which swarm in that season. 



The buftalo is hunted on horseback both by whites and 

 by Indians, though the sport is one in which a considerable 

 amount of danger must be braved. Let us set off' from 

 a farm in the Western States, on the border of the prairie. 

 We have one or two nights to camp out before we reach the 

 buffalo grounds. Mounting our horses by l)reak of day, after 

 n.n early breakfast, we ride on with the wind in our faces, and 

 at length discover across the plain a numl)er of dark objects 

 moving slowly. They are buffaloes, feeding as they go. We 

 see throiiijfh our field-Qflasses that there are calves amonof them. 



