258 BUFFALO LAND. 



ino- record would have been saved us had we known 

 that a buffi\lo's charges never extend beyond a short 

 distance. Either his adversary or his attack is speed- 

 ily terminated. He does not pursue, in the " long, 

 deep gallop" style at all. Yet I scarcely remember a 

 single instance mentione^l in those old books of west- 

 ern adventure, in which a buffalo's charge was for 

 a less distance than a mile. In one case that I now 

 recall, the race was nip and tuck between man and 

 bison for over an hour, and the biped was finally en 

 abled to save his life only by leaving the saddle and 

 swinging into a tree ! Such stories are simply bal- 

 derdash. 



As soon as possible after checking our horses, we 

 rode back toward the wagon and the game, seeing 

 in the former, the grinning faces of our men. The 

 buffalo was still on his feet, but while we looked he 

 slowly sunk to his knees, like an ox lying down to 

 rest, and then quietly reposed on his belly, in the same 

 attitude one sees domestic cattle assume when wish- 

 ing a quiet chew of the cud. Had it not been for his 

 bloody nose and wild eyes, he would have looked as 

 peaceful as any bovine that ever breathed. 



Wishing to put the poor brute out of misery, we 

 approached closer, and several of us dismounted, 

 when a general fire was opened. Like a cat, the 

 old fellow was on his feet again almost instantly. 

 By a singular coincidence, our entire party just then 

 discovered that we were out of ammunition, and in a 

 body started for the wagon, to get some. Muggs af- 

 terward assured us that, at the time, he had just got 

 his hand in, " so that every shot told, you know," and 



