456 BUFFALO LAND. 



any injury to yourself or horse. The Frenchman's remark 

 on tiger hunting is very apropos. "Yen ze Frenchman hunt 

 ze tiger, it fine sport; but ven ze tiger hunt ze Frenchman, it 

 is not so." Care should be taken to have the horse perfectly 

 under control, when the bison stands at bay. Unless experi- 

 enced in bull fighting, he does not appreciate the danger, and 

 a sudden charge has often resulted in disembowelment. 



Never dismount to approach the buffalo, unless certain that 

 he is crippled so as to prevent rising. One that is apparently 

 wounded unto death will often get upon his feet nimbly, and 

 prove an ugly customer. I knew a soldier killed at Hays City 

 in this manner thrown several feet into the air, and fearfully 

 torn. Recently near Cayote Station, on the Kansas Pacific 

 Railway, a buffalo was shot from the train, and the cars were 

 stopped to secure the meat, and gratify the passengers. One 

 of the latter, a stout Englishman, ran ahead of his fellows, 

 and shook his fist in the face of the prostrate bison. The 

 American bull did not brook such an insult from the English 

 one, and Johnny received a terrible blow while attempting to 

 escape. He was badly injured, and, when I saw him some time 

 afterward, could only move on crutches. 



Should the hunter on foot ever have to stand a charge, let 

 him fire at what is visible of the back, above the lowered head, 

 or, should he be able to catch a glimpse of the fore-shoulder, 

 let him direct his bullet there. The bone seems to be broken 

 readily by a ball. Against the frontal bone of the bison's 

 skull, the lead falls harmless. To test this fully, with Califor- 

 nia Bill as a companion, I once approached a buffalo which 

 stood wounded in a ravine. We took position upon the hill- 

 side, knowing that he could not readily charge up it, at a dis- 

 tance of only fifteen yards. I fired three shots from tin 



