a8 
The Buffalo throws itself on the second, carrying it along with it; 
this again on a third, and so on, till the whole herd, 
which was quietly grazing only a few moments be- 
fore, rushes off in wild flight, seeming one great black 
mass in whirling clouds of dust. A fleeing band is 
irresistible. It blindly follows its leader; with him 
it hurls itself over precipices; it swims rivers after 
him; and even charges through the travelers’ cara- 
vans, so that they must be shot in self defense, to keep 
them from the train. After some miles, if they are 
not pursued, they usually halt, and begin again to 
graze. As I said before, they prefer the short tender 
buffalo grass. It grows on loamy sandy soil, usually 
saturated with salts. Where a buffalo herd has 
grazed for some time the ground is absolutely bare; 
for what they do not eat is trampled with their un- 
gainly feet. Their bellowing can often be heard for 
miles. It is deeper and more muffled than that of our 
cattle, and at a distance not unlike the grunting of a 
great herd of swine. To their watering places they 
form narrow paths, over which they leisurely move 
on, one behind the other. A buffalo region is crossed 
by such paths in every direction. Formerly the buffa- 
lo roamed over the greater part of the United States. 
Civilization has gradually driven them back. Their 
real home now is the immense prairie between the 
boundary of the States and the Rocky Mountains. In 
the mountains themselves, and beyond them, they are 
much rarer. But here, in spite of the fact that many 
thousands are yearly killed by whites and Indians, 
