Mabch 4, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



295 



Saturday, 19lh. 'Wolves howling, and bulls roai" 

 ing, just like the long continued roll of a hundred 

 drums. Saw large gangs of Buffaloes walking along 

 the river. * * * 



Sunday, SOlh. Thousands upon thousands of Buf- 

 faloes ; the roaring of these animals resembles the 

 grunting of hogs, with a roaring sound from the 

 throat. * * * 



Monday, 31st. Buffaloes all over the bars and 

 prairies, and many swimming ; the roaring can be 

 heard for miles. The wind stopped us again at e'ght 

 o'clock ; breakfasted near the tracks of Bears sur- 

 rounded by hundreds of Buffaloes. We left our safe 

 anchorage and good hunting grounds too soon ; the 

 wind blew high, and we were obliged to land again 

 on the opposite shore, where the gale has proved very 

 annoying. Bear-tracks led us to search for these an- 

 imals, but in vain. 



Tuesday, S3d. * * * In the afternoon we started 

 again and went below the Little Missouri, returned 

 to the bull and took his horns, etc. Coming back to 

 the boat Sprague saw a Bear ; we went towards the 

 spot ; the fellow had turned under the high bank and 

 was killed in a few seconds. * * * 



Thursday, 34th. A bad night of wind, very cloudy 

 * * * traveled about twenty miles when we were 

 again stopped by the wind. Hunted but found 

 nothing. The fat of our Bear gave us seven bottles 

 of oil. We heard what some thought to be guns, but 

 I believed it to be the falling of the banks. Then 

 the wolves howled so curiously that it was supposed 

 they were Indian dogs. We went to bed all pre- 

 pared for action in case of an attack ; pistols, knives, 

 etc., but I slept very well, though rather cold. * * 

 Thursday, Slst. Started early ; fine and calm. Saw 

 large flocks of Ducks, Geese, and Swans ; also four 

 Wolves. Passed Mr. Primeau's winter trading house ; 

 reached Cannon Ball River at half-past twelve. No 

 game ; water good-tasted, but warm. Dinner on 

 shore. Saw a Rook Wren on the bluffs here. Saw 

 the prairie on fire, and signs of Indians on both 

 sides. * * * 



Thursday [«Sepi.] 7th. About eleven o'clock last 

 night the wind shifted suddenly to northwest, and 

 blew so violently that we all left the boat in a hurry. 

 Mrs. Culbertson [Indian wife of the Ft. Union 

 trader], with her child in her arms, made for the 

 willows, and had a shelter for her babe in a few 

 minutes. Our guns and amunition were brought on 

 shore, as we were afraid of our boat sinking. We re- 

 turned on board after a while ; but I could not sleep, 

 the motion making me very seasick ; I went back to 

 the shore and lay down after mending our fire. It 

 rained hard for about two hours ; the sky then be- 



came clear, and the wind wholly subsided, so I went 

 again to the boat and slept till eight o'clock. A sec- 

 ond gale now arose ; the sky grew dark ; we removed 

 our boat to a more secure position, but I fear we are 

 here for another day. Bell shot a Caprimulgus, so 

 small that I have no doubt it is the one found on the 

 Rocky Mountains by Nuttall, after whom I have 

 named it. [Now known as Nuttall's Poor-will.] * * 

 Thursday, [Sepf^ 3Sth. A beautiful morning, and 

 we left at eight. The young man who brought me 

 the calf at Fort George has married a squaw, a 

 handsome girl, and she is here with him. Antelopes 

 are found about twenty-five miles from this fort, but 

 not frequently. Landed fifteen miles below on Elk 

 Point. Cut up and salted the cow. Provost and I 

 went hunting, and saw three female Elks, but the 

 order was to shoot only bucks ; a large one started be- 

 low us, jumped into the river, and swam across, car- 

 rying his horns flat down and spread on each side of 

 his back; the neck looked tome about the size of a 

 flour-barrel. Harris killed a hen Turkey, and Bell 

 and the others saw plenty but did not shoot, as Elks 

 were the order of the day. I cannot eat beef after 

 being fed on Buffaloes. 



In another place he speaks of beef as 

 ' very inferior to Buffalo.' 



Notwithstanding the incredible abun- 

 dance of Buffaloes at this time Audubon 

 foresaw their inevitable doom, as shown by 

 a prophetic sentence in his journal : " But 

 this cannot last ; even now there is a per- 

 ceptible difference in the size of the herds, 

 and before many years the Buffalo, like the 

 Great Auk, will have disappeared." 



One is everywhere impressed by the 

 voluminousness and vigor of the journals. 

 Those who have felt the strain and fatigue 

 of arduous field work know what it costs 

 to write up one's notes at night, when as 

 a rule physical weariness renders literary 

 work out of the question. Manuscripts pre- 

 pared under such conditions should be read 

 between the lines and criticised with a 

 lenient hand. As a rule the briefest entries 

 follow the busiest days, and when Audu- 

 bon exclaims, as he does in one place, " I 

 could write a book on the experiences of 

 to-day," it is easy to understand why he 

 wrote so little. In fact, the marvel is that 



