The Bison or American Buffalo. 249 



existence only the wariest of the bison and those gifted 

 with the sharpest senses. That this was true of the last 

 lingering individuals that survived the great slaughter on 

 the plains is well shown by Mr. Hornaday in his graphic 

 account of his campaign against the few scattered buffalo 

 which still lived in 1886 between the Missouri and the 

 Yellowstone, along the Big Dry. The bison of the plains 

 and the prairies have now vanished ; and so few of their 

 brethren of the mountains and the northern forests are left, 

 that they can just barely be reckoned among American 

 game ; but whoever is so fortunate as to find any of these 

 animals must work his hardest, and show all his skill as a 

 hunter if he wishes to get one. 



In the fall of 1889 I heard that a very few bison were 

 still left around the head of Wisdom River. Thither I 

 went and hunted faithfully ; there was plenty of game of 

 other kind, but of bison not a trace did we see. Never- 

 theless a few days later that same year I came across these 

 great wild cattle at a time when I had no idea of seeing 

 them. 



It was, as nearly as we could tell, in Idaho, just south 

 of the Montana boundary line, and some twenty-five miles 

 west of the line of Wyoming. We were camped high 

 among the mountains, with a small pack-train. On the 

 day in question we had gone out to find moose, but had 

 seen no sign of them, and had then begun to climb over 

 the higher peaks with an idea of getting sheep. The old 

 hunter who was with me was, very fortunately, suffering 

 from rheumatism, and he therefore carried a long staff 

 instead of his rifle ; I say fortunately, for if he had carried 



