226 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



and want of food rather than trust themselves 

 boldly to the turbulent waters. 



Buffalo calves are often drowned, from being 

 unable to ascend the steep banks of the rivers 

 across which they have just swam, as the cows 

 cannot help them, although they stand near the 

 bank, and will not leave them to their fate un- 

 less something alarms them. 



"When a large herd of these wild animals are 

 crossing a river, the calves or yearlings manage 

 to get on the backs of the cows, and are thus 

 conveyed safely over; but when the heavy 

 animals, old and young, reach the shore, tHey 

 sometimes find it muddy or even deeply miry ; 

 the strength of the old ones struggling in such 

 cases to gain a solid footing, enables them to 

 work their way out of danger in a wonderfully 

 short time. Old bulls, indeed, have been known 

 to extricate themselves when they had got into 

 the mire so deep that but little more than their 

 heads and backs could be seen. On one occa- 

 sion we saw an unfortunate cow that had fallen 

 into, or rather sank into a quicksand only seven 

 or eight feet wide ; she was quite dead, and we 

 walked on her still fresh carcase safely across 

 the ravine which had buried her in its treacher- 

 ous and shifting sands. 



The gaits of the bison are walking, cantering, 

 and galloping, and when at full speed, he can 



