BISON. 147 



twenty yards. Eeloading, we proceeded to bombard it in 

 the usual way with sticks, gradually approaching step by 

 step. After about a minute it jumped up again, and had 

 taken a few steps towards the river, when a bullet through 

 the heart laid it low a cow nearly seventeen hands high 

 with twenty-three inch horns. The bullet, fired as it 

 charged, struck the left horn close to its base, rolling 

 it over as if dead, the core inside the horn being greatly 

 damaged by the shot. Next day we started eastwards 

 over Desperation Hill, and soon met with a herd, which 

 was very much on the look out, and stampeded forthwith. 

 For two hours we followed them over hill and dale 

 without getting a view, and then they halted on a bamboo- 

 dad hill, and I sighted one browsing about sixty yards 

 distant ; at the same instant a large cow, starting up 

 within thirty yards, stared fixedly in our direction ; we 

 immediately sank slowly to the ground, and remained 

 perfectly still for some minutes, the cow still gazing 

 at us, although she evidently had not got our wind. The 

 further bison appeared to be the bull from its size and 

 dark colour, but the thick covert prevented his head being 

 seen. On firing I heard the bullet tell, and we followed 

 up the traces for three hours, but they were too much on 

 the alert, and never let us within one hundred yards, 

 although the wounded one had twice laid down. At the 

 end of that time we came to the foot of a steep hill ; up 

 which the tracks led, and, after a stiff climb for half a 

 mile, found ourselves on a plateau, covered with thick 

 sholah, where, within twenty yards, I saw what was 

 evidently the bull staring out at us, head thrown back and 

 nose projected in the usual bison fashion. It was an 

 awkward shot, but, aiming below the level of the eyes, I 



pressed the trigger, but when the smoke cleared away the 



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