TRAINED nOHSES. 61 



close upon the herd, when I at once felt a change 

 take place in his behaviour. He fairly trembled with 

 excitement as, with head thrown forward and ears laid 

 back, he bit ^dciously at the air and hurried forward, 

 with a fire and determination which not even a chain- 

 cable would have restrained. I could only guide him, 

 and, indeed, felt pleased w^hen I found that I still 

 possessed the power to direct his headlong career. 



We were going at a most awful pace when I selected 

 a monster bull, and ranged alongside of him. Throw- 

 ing the gun over the forepart of my bridle-arm, I 

 pressed the trigger. The moment the report was 

 heard, my horse turned on his heels as on a pivot, 

 nearly throwing me, so sudden was the movement. 

 At that instant the buffalo rolled over, raising a cloud 

 of dust in its fall. The animal was shot through the 

 backbone, just beyond the hips ; but the wound, 

 though severe, was not immediately mortal. The 

 huge beast raised himself up on his forelegs, shook 

 his shaggy mane savagely as he uttered a low growl 

 of defiance, while his eyes flashed with anger, terrible 

 to behold. 



It will be a long time before the image of that 

 animal is absent from my mind. Dismounting, as 

 soon as I was well satisfied that the shaggy monster 

 was too much injured to be able to rise, I gazed 

 upon him. His head and shoulders seemed like the 

 fore-quarters of a lion fearfully caricatured, to which 



