The Last of the Buffalo 



had been broken up and scattered, and the 

 miserable survivors had been so chased and 

 harried that at last they learned to start 

 and run even at their own shadows. 



Another peculiarity of the buffalo was its 

 habit, when stampeded, of dashing blind- 

 ly forward against, over, or through any- 

 thing that might be in the way. When 

 running, a herd of buffalo followed its lead- 

 ers ; and yet these leaders lost the power 

 of stopping, or even of turning aside, be- 

 cause they were constantly crowded upon 

 and pushed forward by those behind. This 

 explains why herds would dash into mire 

 or quicksands, as they often did, and thus 

 perish by the thousands. Those in front 

 could not stop, while those behind could 

 not see the danger toward which they 

 were rushing. So, too, they ran into riv- 

 ers, or into traps made for them by the 

 Indians, or against railroad cars, or even 

 dashed into the rivers, and swam blindly 

 against the sides of steamboats. If an ob- 

 stacle lay squarely across their path, they 

 tried to go through it ; but if it lay at an 

 angle to their course they would turn a 

 little to avoid it. 



The buffalo calf is born from April to 

 June, and at first is an awkward little 

 creature, looking much like a domestic 



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