168 



THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 



BUFFALO HUNT. 



We set out on the 24th July from Lake Travers, of 

 which we took leave with a salute of musketry; this same 

 day the buffaloes made their appearance. My horse gave 

 notice of their approach by the ardour with which he was 

 animated. He was the finest horse of <he party, and as I 

 had often dismounted and walked a little to rest him, he 

 was in the best condition, and the most spirited in this extra- 

 ordinary chase. 



Following the traces of Mr. Renville, who is renowned 

 as a hunter, even among the Indians, I gave my horse the 

 reins, and let him go in pursuit of the first buffalo we saw. 

 I soon came up with and passed him, though he was two 

 miles off, and having turned him, we drove him towards our 

 people, to give them the pleasure of so new a scene, and I 

 shot him before their eyes. At the same time, Mr. Yef- 

 fray, one of the gentlemen of Lake Travers, who was our 

 guide, killed another at a little distance; and in the even- 

 ing the driver, who carried my baggage in his wagon, 

 brought us a third. For the first time, plenty reigned in 

 our camp; — there was no wood, but the buffalo's dung, 

 which lay scattered about in abundance, formed an admira- 

 ble substitute. It makes an astonishingly strong fire. 



The surprise I felt on a near view of this animal was 

 equal to my pleasure in hunting it; its appearance is truly 

 formidable. In size it approaches the elephant. Its flow- 

 ing mane, and the long hair which covers its neck and 

 head, and falls over its eyes, are like those of the lion. It 

 has a hump like a camel, its hind quarters and tail are like 

 those of the hippopotamus, its horns like those of the large 

 goat of the Rocky Mountains, and its legs like those of 

 an ox. 



The following day we found the great chief encamped in 

 this prairie, near the Sioux river, Ciantapa-TVatpa, which 

 serves as an outlet to the waters of Lake Travers. He was 

 in a new and very clean tent; he oflered us the tongues and 

 humps of buffaloes, which are great delicacies, very nicely 

 cured; but he preserved a most invincible gravity and taci- 

 turnity. Whenever we turned our eyes, we saw innume- 

 rable herds of buflaloes. I begged the major to endeavour 

 to induce the chief to give us the sight of a buffalo hunt with 

 bows and arrows, but he replied, with his usual com- 

 plaisance, that he could not stop. 



I let him go on: and Mr. Renville prevailed on the 

 chief to satisfy my curiosity. We galloped towards a 

 meadow which was perfectly black with them. My horse, 

 who now regarded neither rein nor voice, plunged into the 

 centre of the herd, dividing it into halves, and turned seve- 

 ral of them. The chief, vs^ho followed me with Mr. Ren- 

 ville, let fly his arrow and shot a female buflalo; she still 

 endeavoured to escape, but the motion of her body in run- 



ning caused the arrow to sink deeper into the wound, and 

 when she fell the whole barb had entered. 



Never did I see attitudes so graceful as those of the chief. 

 They alternately reminded me of the equestrian statue of 

 Marcus Aurelius on the capitol at Naples, and that of the 

 great Numidian king. Altogether it was the most astonishing 

 spectacle I ever saw. I thought I beheld the games and com- 

 bats of the ancients. I played nearly the same part as the 

 Indians of former ages, who thought the first European they 

 saw on horseback was a being of a superior order; while 

 the chief with his quiver, his horse, and his victim, formed 

 a group worthy the pencil of Raphael or the chisel of 

 Canova. I was so enchanted by this living model of classi- 

 cal beauty, that I forgot m}- part in the chase, and was only 

 aroused to a recollection of it by the voice of the chief, who 

 pointed to a young buffalo, which I fired at and killed. 

 His majesty did me the honour to say I was an excellent 

 shot. Any of our grands veneurs who should receive 

 such a compliment from one of our kings, would be immor- 

 talized, and the court poets would dispute the honour of 

 celcbi-ating his glories. Mr. Renville killed a buffalo. 



Wolves also appeared on the scene, and formed very 

 curious episodes, intimately connected with the principal 

 action, according to all the rules of the Elpopea. 



These animals are as fond of the delicious flesh of the 

 buffalo as man; but as they are too weak to attack, they 

 employ cunning to entrap him. Wherever they see hun- 

 ters, they immediately follow in their track, and take what- 

 ever advantage circumstances may chance to afford. Some- 

 times they regale themselves upon the offal which is left on 

 the field; sometimes they follow those which they see have 

 been wounded, and which the hunters do not go in pursuit 

 of; on this occasion they showed quite a new contrivance. 

 Three of them joined our charge upon the great herd, and 

 at the moment the females were so occupied in making 

 their own escape that they could not defend their young 

 ones, each wolf seized upon a calf, strangled it, and dragged 

 it off the field: when we had got to a little distance they 

 returned and regaled themselves with their prey. When 

 they are pressed by hunger, and no hunters come to their 

 aid, they have recourse to another stratagem still more sur- 

 prising. They approach five or six of a herd without 

 appearing to have any design of attacking them. The buf- 

 faloes, who do not condescend to be afraid, pay no attention 

 to them whatever — they neither avoid nor attack them. 

 The wolves then single out their victim, which is always a 

 female, as the most delicious food, and invariably the fattest 

 of the herd. Whilst two or three keep her attention en- 

 gaged in front by pretending to play with her, one of the 

 strongest and most active seizes her behind by the teats, and 

 when she turns round to drive him off, those in front fly at 

 her throat and strangle her. — Beltrami. 



