40 PRAIRIE AND FOREST. 



as well as man. The wolves seldom leave him alone. Day 

 and night they bestow upon him the most devoted atten- 

 tion. However, as long as he is in good health he has lit- 

 tle to fear from the marauder ; but the moment that acci- 

 dent, sickness, or loss of strength from starvation occurs, 

 the buffalo's unhappy position is known, and half a dozen 

 of these robbers will remain night and day watching for an 

 opportunity to complete the wreck ; and should this not oc- 

 cur as soon as desirable, not unfrequently they will make 

 a simultaneous assault, one pretending to fly at the victim's 

 head, while another attacks in the rear, using every arti- 

 fice to cut the buffalo's hamstring, in which they invariably 

 succeed, unless the presence of man should disturb them. 



On one occasion, while hunting, I obtained an excellent 

 opportunity of witnessing one of these encounters. At the 

 distance of half a mile I perceived an old bull going through 

 a variety of eccentric movements, which were at the mo- 

 ment perfectly incomprehensible. To know what might be 

 the cause, as well as perhaps to learn something new re- 

 garding this race, I left my horse and made a most careful 

 stalk without once exposing myself, retaining the advan- 

 tage of wind till within a hundred yards of the old gentle- 

 man. The ground in the vicinity was much broken, and, 

 before attempting to obtain a survey of the situation, I en- 

 sconced myself behind a boulder. I had been eminently 

 successful, the first glance told me. There was the bull 

 pretending to feed, while four prairie-wolves were lying 

 around him on the sparsely covered soil, tongues out, and 

 evidently short of breath from some excessive exertion. 

 None of the dramatis personce had seen me, and I chuckled 

 in my shoes as I grasped more firmly my double barrel, 

 knowing how soon I could turn the tide of battle. By-the- 

 way, the prairie-wolf has always been a favorite of mine, 

 as well as his half-brother, the coyote. Their bark has oft- 



