The Last of the Buffalo 



most vertical, and this old fellow was 

 having some difficulty in making his way 

 down to the water. He went slowly and 

 carefully, at times having pretty good 

 going, and at others slipping and sliding 

 for thirty or forty feet, sending the clay 

 and stones rolling ahead of him in great 

 quantities. We watched him for a little 

 while, and then it occurred to some ma- 

 licious spirit among us that it would be 

 fun to see whether the bull could go up 

 where he had come down. A shot was 

 fired so as to strike near him, for no 

 one wanted to hurt the old fellow ; and 

 as soon as the report reached his ears, he 

 turned about, and began to scramble up 

 the bluffs. His first rush carried him 

 perhaps a hundred feet vertically, and 

 then he stopped and looked around. He 

 seemed not to have the slightest difficulty 

 in climbing up, nor did he use any cau- 

 tion, or appear to pick his way at all. A 

 second shot caused another rush up the 

 steep ascent ; but this time he went only 

 half as far as before, and again stopped. 

 Three or four other shots drove him by 

 shorter and shorter rushes up the bluffs, 

 until at length he would go no farther, 

 and subsequent shots only caused him to 

 shake his head angrily. Plainly he had 



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