THE AMERICAN I! I SOX. 2S3 



also from the rage of the buffalo, which, when closely pressed, often turns .suddenly, and, rushing 

 furiously on the horse, frequently succeeds in wounding it, nr dismounting the; rider. \Vliem-\er the 

 animal shows this disposition, which the experienced hunter will readily perceive, he immediately pulls 

 up his horse and goes off in another direction, 



"When the buffaloes are on their guard, horses cannot be used in approaching them : but th>. 

 hunter dismounts at some distance, and crawls in the snow towards the herd, pushing his gun before 

 him. If the buffaloes happen to look towards him, he stops, and keeps quite motionless, until their 

 eyes are turned in another direction ; by this cautious proceeding a skilful person will get so near as 

 to be able to kill two or three out of the herd. It will easily be imagined this service cannot be very 

 agreeable when the thermometer stands 30 or 40 below zero, which sometimes happen* in. this 

 country." 



At other times a great number of men divide and form a vast square. Each band 1 sets, fire to 

 the dry grass of the savannah where the herds are feeding. When the affrighted beasts perceive- the 

 fire approaching on all sides, they retire in confusion to the centre of the square, when, the bands close 

 upon them and kill them as they are huddled together in heaps, without hazard. 1,500 or 2,000 

 beeves have been given as the produce of such an expedition. 



According to Sir John Richardson, the bisons are less wary when they are assembled together in 

 numbers, and they will then often blindly follow their leaders, regardless of, or trampling down, 

 .the hunters posted in their way. Though the gait of these animals may appear heavy and. awkward, 

 they have no great difficulty in overtaking the fleetest runner; and Sir John gives tli following 

 account of the determined violence with which a wounded, bison assails his enemy : " While I resided 

 at Carleton House an accident of this kind occurred. Mr. Finnan M'Donald, one of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company's clerks, was descending the Saskatchewan in a boat, and one evening,, having pitched 

 his tent for the night, he went out in the dusk to look for game. It had become nearly dark when he 

 fired at a bison bull which was galloping over a small eminence, and, as he was hastening forward to 

 see if his shot had taken effect, the wounded beast made a rush at him. He had the presence of mind 

 to seize the animal by the long hair on. its forehead, as it struck him on the side with its horn, and, 

 being a remarkably tall and powerful man, a struggle ensued, which continued till his wrist was 

 severely sprained and his aim was rendered powerless ; he then fell, and, after receiving two or three 

 blows, became senseless. Shortly afterwards he was found by his companions lying bathed in 

 blood, being gored in several places, and the bison was couched beside him, apparently waiting to 

 renew the attack, had he shown any signs of life. Mr. M'Donald recovered from the immediate effects 

 of the injuries he received, but died a few months afterwards. Many other instances might be 

 mentioned of the tenaciousness with which this animal pursues its revenge ; and I have been told of 

 a hunter having been detained for many hours in a tree by an old bull which had taken its post below 

 to watch him. When- it contends with a dog, it strikes violently with its fore feet, and in that way 

 proves more than a match for an English bull-dog." 



Few animals minister more largely to the wimts, and even the comforts, of man, than the 

 American bison. Catlin says : " There are, by a; fair cakmlation, more than 300,000 Indians who are 

 now subsisting on the flesh of the buffaloes, and by these animals supplied with all the luxuries of life 

 which they desire, as they know of none others. The flesh of a bison in good condition is very juicy 

 and well-flavoured, much resembling that of well-fed beef." Others describe it as Bearing the same 

 relation to common beef that venison bears to mutton. The tongue, when well cured, is said *o 

 surpass that of the common ox, as a relih. All travellers concur in praising the hump as rieli, 

 savoury, tender, and delicious. This is the fleshy part that covers the long, spinous processes of the 

 anterior dorsal vertebrae, and is called " bos" by the Canadian voyagers, and " wig" by the Orkney 

 men in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Sir John Richardson, to whom we owe the fact, 

 says al.so that much of the pemmican used by the voyagers attached to the fur companies is made of 

 bison meat, procured at their posts on the Red River and Saskatchewan, and that one bison cow in 

 good condition furnishes dried meat and fat enough to make a bag of pemmiean weighing I" 1 U>-. 



A great quantity of tallow is yielded by the fat bulls. I)u Prat/ slates that ].~>ll]l, s . have, been 

 procured from a single beast. Pennant says that these overfed animals usua'ly become the prey of 

 wolves, for, by reason of their great imwieldiness, they cannot keep up with the herd. As to their 



