518 THE AMERICAN BISON. 



the forehead very broad $ the horns are short* and sharp, 

 turned sideways and upwards, and placed wide apart from 

 each other ; the eyes are small, black, and piercing ; the withers 

 are greatly elevated in the form of a huge hump, which extends 

 for some distance along the back and consists of flesh and fat 

 supported by the spinous processes of the back-bone, which 

 are highly developed in order to give greater space and leverage 

 to the powerful muscles of the neck which sustain and move 

 the ponderous head ; the fore-quarters and the head are covered 

 with a thick shaggy coat of long woolly hair, forming a lion- 

 like mane, which greatly contributes to the animal's grim and 

 savage appearance -, the hair is longest in winter ; the legs are 

 short ; the tail is little more than a foot in length, and termi- 

 nated by a tuft of long black hairs. The female is much 

 smaller than the male 5 her mane is not so full, and her 

 horns are not so strong. The present species differs from 

 the European in several outward particulars ; but its skeleton 

 exhibits a more striking distinction in the number of its 

 ribs, which is fifteen, being one more than the latter species 

 possesses. 



In the southern districts of their range, immense herds of 

 these animals have been seen extending over several miles of 

 the vast open plains. Captains Lewis and Clarke, speaking 

 of a large herd they saw on the banks of the Missouri, express 

 their conviction that this moving multitude, which darkened 

 the whole plains, must have comprised at least twenty thousand 

 head. Dr. James tells us that " countless thousands of them 

 were seen, during the middle of the day, arriving from every 

 quarter to the stagnant pools," and that " their paths were as 

 frequent and almost as conspicuous as the roads in the more 

 populous parts of the United States." 



They feed in the morning and evening, and the long rank 



* Townsend, in his Journey across the Rocky Mountains, speaks of an 

 immense herd of " buffaloes," meaning bisons, I presume ; but he says they 

 had " enormous horns." With this exception, his description clearly refers 

 to the bison. 



