THE EXTERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON. 417 



grounds on the divides, would graze there day after day until increas- 

 ing thirst compelled them to seek for water. Then, actuated by a 

 common impulse, the search for a water-hole was begun in a business- 

 like way. The leader of a herd, or " bunch," which post was usually 

 filled by an old cow, would start off down the nearest "draw," or stream- 

 heading, and all the rest would fall into line and follow her. From the 

 moment this start was made there was no more feeding, save as a mouth- 

 ful of grass could be snatched now and then without turning aside. In 

 single file, in a line sometimes half a mile long and containing between 

 one and two hundred buffaloes, the procession slowly marched down the 

 coulee, close alongside the gully as soon as the water-course began to 

 cut a pathway for itself. When the gully curved to right or left the 

 leader would cross its bed and keep straight on until the narrow ditch 

 completed its wayward curve and came back to the middle of the cou- 

 le'e. The trail of a herd in search of water is usually as good a piece of 

 engineering as could be executed by the best railway surveyor, and is 

 governed by precisely the same principles. It always follows the level 

 of the valley, swerves around the high points, and crosses the stream 

 repeatedly in order to avoid climbing up from the level. The same 

 trail is used again and again by different herds until the narrow path, 

 not over a foot in width, is gradually cut straight down into the soil to 

 a depth of several inches, as if it had been done by a 12-inch grooving- 

 plane. By the time the trail has been worn down to a depth of 6 or 7 

 inches, without having its width increased in the least, it is no longer a 

 pleasant path to walk in, being too much like a narrow ditch. Then 

 the buffaloes abandon it and strike out a new one alongside, which is 

 used until it also is worn down and abandoned. 



To-day the old buffalo trails are conspicuous among the very few 

 classes of objects which remain as a reminder of a vanished race. The 

 herds of cattle now follow them in single file just as the buffaloes did a 

 few years ago, as they search for water in the same way. In some parts 

 of the West, in certain situations, old buffalo trails exist which the wild 

 herds wore down to a depth of 2 feet or more. 



Mile after mile marched the herd, straight down-stream, bound for 

 the upper water-hole. As the hot summer drew on, the pools would 

 dry up one by one, those nearest the source being the first to disap- 

 pear. Toward the latter part of summer, the journey for water was 

 often a long one. Hole after hole would be passed without finding a. 

 drop of water. At last a hole of mud would be found, below that a 

 hole with a little muddy water, and a mile farther on the leader would 

 arrive at a shallow pool under the edge of a u cut bank," a white, snow- 

 like deposit of alkali on the sand encircling its margin, and incrusting 

 the blades of grass and rushes that grew up from the bottom. The 

 damp earth around the pool was cut up by a thousand hoof-prints, and 

 the water was warm, strongly impregnated with alkali, and yellow with 

 animal impurities, but it was tvater. The nauseous mixture was quickly 

 H. Mis. 600, pt. 2 27 



