THE BUFFALO OR BISON 131 



with irregular open patches of prairie, a few hundred yards 

 in length and breadth. On the northern range and in the 

 valley of the Salt River there are areas of several square 

 miles of prairie or meadow-land. All are grass-covered, 

 except near the salt springs, where clay flats occur, and 

 cover about thirty square miles of the salt plain. The 

 timber is mainly white poplar, which often reaches two 

 feet in diameter. On the sandy ridges jack-pines are found, 

 and in the lower, wetter portions there are belts of good 

 spruce, with trees up to two feet in diameter. Grass grows 

 everywhere, both in the prairie openings and throughout 

 the woods, affording excellent pasturage. A collection of 

 grasses was made and identified by Mr. J. M. Macoun; 

 among them were found the following: feather, slough, reed- 

 canary, meadow, manna, bromus (introduced), blue- joint 

 and squirrel-tail grasses, wheat and wild rye. Wild vetch, 

 wild pea, and larkspur {Delphinium glaucum), which is 

 poisonous to domestic cattle, were also found. 



From various sources Mr. Camsell gathered the follow- 

 ing information regarding the habits of the buffalo: In the 

 southern range they spend the early part of the summer in 

 the northern part of the range, near the Little Buffalo 

 River. During the greater part of the year they occur in 

 small bands of ten or twelve individuals, but in July and 

 August, when the animals are mating, herds of twenty, 

 thirty, or forty animals have been seen. An Indian in- 

 "ormed Mr. Camsell that he had seen a single herd of about 

 one hundred head. In August the buffalo of the southern 

 herd begin to migrate southward, and they spend the win- 

 ter not far north of Peace River, between Peace Point and 

 Point Providence. In their migration from one part of the 

 range to another they appear to follow the same route 

 every year. This route is marked out by numerous deep 

 trails through the woods, similar to the well-known trails 

 in the prairies made by the plains buffalo. The route is 

 also marked by many wallows on the sides of hills and in 



