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The Buffalo themselves along and remain standing on their feet 
to the last breath. In this respect the bulls show 
greater vitality than the cows. If the wound is near 
the backbone, they often fall down on the spot; but 
recover after a while and escape, often with the loss 
of the tongue or of some other piece of flesh that has 
been already cut out of them. Much more interest- 
ing than stalking is the hunt on horseback. This re- 
quires a skillful rider and a quick, well-trained horse. 
A good buffalo hunter prefers to ride without a sad- 
dle. He sticks one pistol in his belt, holds the other 
in his right hand, and starts off at top speed. He 
rushes into the midst of the fleeing herd, and for some 
_ minutes buffaloes and rider disappear in a thick cloud 
of dust. But suddenly he reappears at one side close 
behind a buffalo which he has picked for his prey and 
separated from the herd. The hunted animal exerts 
all its strength to escape its pursuer; but the emulous 
horse races with him, following all his turnings, al- 
most without guidance by the bridle. Now he has 
overtaken him; he is racing close to his left side; but 
the buffalo turns sharply and the horse shoots past 
him. The race begins afresh. Again, the horse over- 
takes the buffalo; again they are running parallel, and 
the rider discharges his pistol point-blank in the buf- 
falo’s flank. He now gallops slowly after the ex- 
hausted animal, and, if necessary, gives him a second 
shot. Often the wounded animal turns upon the rider, 
who must then rely on the swiftness of his horse for 
safety. The cows are more agile than the bulls; swift- 
