224 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 
having reached it, they must scramble uj the 
bank, ere they can gain the open prairie be 
yond. 
There we may also witness severe combats 
between the valiant bulls, hear their angry bel 
lowing, anu observe their sagacity, as well as 
courage, when disturbed by the approach ol 
man. 
‘The American bison is much addicted to 
wandering, and the various herds annually re- 
move from the North at the approach of winter, 
although many may be found, during that sea- 
son, remaining in high Tatfindles their thick 
woolly coats enabling them to resist a low tem- 
perature, without suffering greatly. During a 
severe winter, however, numbers of them perish 
especially the old, and the very young ones. 
When the buffalo bull is working himself up 
to a belligerent state, he paws the ground, bel- 
lows loudly, and goes through nearly all the 
» actions we may see performed by the domesti- 
cated bull under similar circumstances, and 
finally rushes at his foe head foremost, with all 
his speed and strength. Notwithstanding the 
violent shock with which two bulls thus meet 
in mad career, these encounters have never been 
known to result fatally, probably owing to the 
strength of the spinous process commonly called 
