4<2 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



with a barbarous Mexican bit, a snaffle will have 

 no more power of control over his actions than 

 officers over a panic - stricken regiment. I once 

 possessed such a beast. The rider with a snaffle 

 might as well have pulled at a stalwart oak as at this 

 creature's mouth. He was a light-necked, star-gazing, 

 hot-tempered beast. The scrapes he got me in were 

 so numerous that to this day I wonder he did not 

 break my neck. Of the arms most suitable for buffalo 

 shooting from, horseback, I believe the large-bore 

 breech-loading revolver the best. They are easily 

 loaded while on the gallop ; for the muzzle can be 

 placed between your thigh and the flap of the saddle, 

 and thus held. For my part, I used a double-barrelled 

 shot gun, with the barrels reduced to twenty-two 

 inches in length. The stock, however, was always 

 inconvenient, particularly when loading while the horse 

 was going at speed. Small-bored arms are to be 

 avoided. The trappers and professional hunters use 

 them ; but the reason is, that they require much less 

 ammunition than those of larger calibre ; and at the 

 same time, in killing fur-bearing animals, the pelt does 

 not become so much torn. A small bullet, when 

 properly placed, will do its work instantaneously ; but 

 deviation of a few inches is so frequent in this, which 

 may be called snap shooting, that the more severe 

 shock and larger wound of the big projectile are 

 eminently more effective. 



