60 THE BISON. 



^Yhile the horses trained to the sport strive, equally 

 with their riders, to separate some special object of 

 pursuit. This once accomplished, it would be easy 

 work to range alongside the huge quarry and bring 

 it to the ground by a well-directed fire. 



' Go it ! ' yelled the Colonel, as he endeavoured to 

 force a fine fat cow from the rest of the herd. 



' Lay on ! ' shouted Harris, the hunter ; ' Stir 'em 

 up, they're all a-boiling I' 



As he spoke he pulled his horse right up on its 

 haunches; his long rifle was raised for an instant, and 

 as the white smoke puffed from the barrel, the bull 

 rolled over and over in a cloud of dust. 



The earth trembled beneath the rapid gallop of 

 the countless herd, and a dull rumbling sound was 

 heard, which entirely deadened all other sounds. 

 Dense clouds of dust were raised by the thousands of 

 fl3'ing hoofs, which, together with the crack of rifle 

 and pistol, made the scene resemble in some degree a 

 battle-field. The hunters were all, with the exception 

 of m3^self, peppering away as rapidly as they could, 

 the revolvers of the two subalterns being heard con- 

 stantly, as they 'plied the flying herd with leaden 

 bullets. It was time to begin action myself, if I 

 would earn any laurels in the chase. My horse 

 was luckily well-trained to the sport, and I soon 

 found that he understood it quite as well as I did. 

 He galloped along at a pretty pace till we came 



