BUFFALOES 



the dead and dying, or floating with the current, 

 at last reached the opposite shore and started up 

 the hill only to be met by a party of robe- 

 hunters who were camped near by. The un- 

 fortunate animals fell thick and fast under the 

 deadly aim of these plains huntsmen. In less 

 than half an hour there were nearly two hundred 

 dead animals strewn upon the hillside. Many 

 of the noble creatures that succeeded in getting 

 away foolishly returned and stood in the distance 

 stupidly gazing at their dead companions until 

 they were again pursued and fared the same 

 fate. The following day all that was left of this 

 great herd were the hideless bodies surrounded 

 by wolves, vultures and other animals; and 

 those that floated in the current, with their large, 

 white, sightless eyes turned heavenward. One 

 old bull was held in a vise of sand where he had 

 died in a struggle to free himself while all around 

 him his struggling companions sank lower and 

 lower in the bottomless sand groaning and snort- 

 ing for breath until they were at last engulfed. 

 For days the old bull stood in midstream a last 

 reminder of the great mass of life that in a single 

 day had been swept from the prairie. This was 



