64 The King of the Thundering Herd 



mile, but on the bank across, which was 

 the Kansas side, it was much more precipi- 

 tate, there probably being one hundred feet 

 fall to three hundred feet slope, which 

 made it very steep. Here the banks were 

 not wooded, but composed of sand and 

 small cobblestones, the work of the water 

 for countless ages, with here and there a 

 large boulder. 



Just as the wagon reached the northern 

 bank, a buffalo bull came out upon the top 

 of the bluff at the other side of the river, 

 and, after looking down the steep descent 

 for a few seconds, to the astonishment of the 

 watching emigrants on the other side, began 

 slowly to descend. 



The bank was so steep that it almost 

 seemed as though he would be pitched 

 headlong, but he dug in his hoofs, and 

 went sliding and slipping for fifteen or 

 twenty feet, carrying down a small ava- 

 lanche of sand and cobblestones with him. 



