36 VERTEBRATES: MAMMALS. 



mosses and lichens, which it gets from the steep sides 

 of hills that are blown bare by the winds, and up which 

 it climbs with the agility of the chamois. 



The Bison, or Buffalo, of the Western plains, is the 

 largest quadruped of America, being of the size of a 

 large ox. It is covered with a thick coat of dark hair, 

 that about the head and shoulders being long and 



Fig. 68. Bison, or American Buffalo. 



shaggy. At the time of the discovery of America the 

 Buffalo was found even to the shores of the Atlantic, 

 but it has been driven back until it is now found only 

 beyond the Missouri and the head-waters of the Mis- 

 sissippi. Here it is not uncommon to see the prairies 

 covered with Buffaloes as far as the eye can reach ; and 

 travellers have passed through herds of them for days 

 and days in succession, with scarcely any apparent les- 

 sening of their numbers. Their paths resemble trav- 

 elled roads ; and as their routes, in most cases, extend 

 in a straight line from one convenient crossing-place 

 of a river or ravine to another, taking springs or 



