THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON. 413 



still sticking tightly to the shoulders, from which it had to be forcibly- 

 plucked away. Under all such patches the new hair was of a different 

 color from that around them. 



The other process of shedding takes place on the body and hind 

 quarters, from which the old hair loosens and drops off in great woolly 

 flakes a foot square, more or less. The shedding takes place very un- 

 evenly, the old hair remaining much longer in some places than in 

 others. During April, May, and June the body and hind quarters pre- 

 sent a most ludicrous and even pitiful spectacle. The island-like patches 

 of persistent old hair alternating with patches of bare brown skin are 

 adorned (?) by great ragged streamers of loose hair, which flutter in 

 the wind like signals of distress. Whoever sees a bison at this period 

 is filled with a desire to assist nature by plucking off the flying stream- 

 ers of old hair ; but the bison never permits anything of the kind, how- 

 ever good one's intentions may be. All efforts to dislodge the old hair 

 are resisted to the last extremity, and the buffalo generally acts as if 

 the intention were to deprive him of his skin itself. By the end of 

 June, if not before, the body and hind quarters are free from the old 

 hair, and as bare as the hide of a hippopotamus. The naked skin has 

 a shiny brown appearance, and of course the external anatomy of the 

 animal is very distinctly revealed. But for the long hair on the fore 

 quarters, neck, and head the bison would lose all his dignity of ap- 

 pearance with his hair. As it is, the handsome black head, which is 

 black with new hair as early as the first of May, redeems the animal 

 from utter homeliness. 



After the shedding of the body hair, the naked skin of the buffalo is 

 burned by the sun and bitten by flies until he is compelled to seek a 

 pool of water, or even a bed of soft mud, in which to roll and make him- 

 self comfortable. He wallows, not so much because he is so fond of 

 either water or mud, but in self-defense ; and when he emerges from his 

 wallow, plastered with mud from head to tail, his degradation is com- 

 plete. He is then simply not fit to be seen, even by his best friends. 



By the first of October, a complete and wonderful transformation has 

 taken place. The buffalo stauds forth clothed in a complete new suit 

 of hair, fine, clean, sleek, and bright in color, not a speck of dirt nor a 

 lock awry anywhere. To be sure, it is as yet a trifle short on the body, 

 where it is not over an inch in length, and hardly that; but it is grow- 

 ing rapidly and getting ready for winter. 



From the 20th of November to the 20th of December the pelage is at 

 its very finest. By the former date it has attained its full growth, its 

 colors are at their brightest, and nothing has been lost either by the 

 elements or by accidental causes. To him who sees an adult bull at 

 this period, or near it, the grandeur of the animal is irresistibly felt. 

 After seeing buffaloes of all ages in the spring and summer mouths the 

 contrast afforded by those seen in October, November, and December 

 was most striking and impressive. In the later period, as different in- 



