226 AUDUBON THE NATURALIS®. 
and want of food rather than trust themselves 
boldly to the turbulent waters. 
Buffalo calves are often drowned, from being 
unable to ascend the steep banks of the rivers 
across which they have just swam, as the cows 
cannot help them, although they stand near the 
bank, and will not leave them to their fate un- 
less something alarms them. 
When a large herd of these wild animals are 
crossing a river, the calves or yearlings manage 
to get on the backs of the cows, and are thus 
conveyed safely over; but when the heavy 
animals, old and young, reach the shore, they 
sometimes find it muddy or even deeply miry; 
the strength of the old ones struggling in such 
cases to gain a solid footing, enables them to 
work their way out of danger in a wonderfully 
short time. Old bulls, indeed, have been known 
to extricate themselves when they had got inte 
the mire so deep that but little more than their 
heads and backs could be seen. On one occa- 
sion we saw an unfortunate cow that had fallen 
into, or rather sank into a quicksand only seven 
or eight feet wide; she was quite dead, and we 
walked on her still fresh carcase safely across 
the ravine which had buried her in its treacher- 
ous and shifting sands, 
The gaits of the bison are walking, cantering, 
and galloping, and when at full speed, he can 
