142 AUDUBON 



called the depouille, are taken out. Then the rihs are 

 broken off at the vertebras, as well as the boss bones. 

 The marrow-bones, which are those of the fore and hind 

 legs only, are cut out last. The feet usually remain at- 

 tached to these ; the paunch is stripped of its covering of 

 layers of fat, the head and the backbone are left to the 

 Wolves, the pipes are all emptied, the hands, faces, and 

 clothes all bloody, and now a glass of grog is often en- 

 joyed, as the stripping off the skins and flesh of three or 

 four animals is truly very hard work. In some cases when 

 no water was near, our supper was cooked without our 

 being washed, and it was not until we had travelled sev- 

 eral miles the next morning that we had any opportunity 

 of cleaning ourselves; and yet, despite everything, we are 

 all hungry, eat heartily, and sleep soundly. When the 

 wind is high and the Buffaloes run towards it, the hunter's 

 guns very often snap, and it is during their exertions to 

 replenish their pans, that the powder flies and sticks to 

 the moisture every moment accumulating on their faces ; 

 but nothing stops these daring and usually powerful men, 

 who the moment the chase is ended, leap from their 

 horses, let them graze, and begin their butcher-like work. 

 August 11, Friday. The weather has been cold and 

 windy, and the day has passed in comparative idleness 

 with me. Squires returned this afternoon alone, having 

 left Provost and La Fleur behind. They have seen only 

 two Bighorns, a female and her young. It was con- 

 cluded that, if our boat was finished by Tuesday next, 

 we would leave on Wednesday morning, but I am by no 

 means assured of this, and Harris was quite startled at 

 the very idea. Our boat, though forty feet long, is, I fear, 

 too small. Nous verrons! Some few preparations for 

 packing have been made, but Owen, Harris, and Bell are 

 going out early to-morrow morning to hunt Buffaloes, and 

 when they return we will talk matters over. The activ- 

 ity of Buffaloes is almost beyond belief; they can climb 



