The Last of tJie Buffalo 



curiously turned up and bent backward, 

 not unlike a ram's, but quite unlike the 

 bend of the horn in the common buffalo." 

 It is possible that this description may re- 

 fer to the musk ox and not to a buffalo. 

 The " mountain " and " wood " buffalo 

 seem to be very much alike in habit and 

 appearance. They are larger, darker, and 

 heavier than the animal of the plains ; but 

 there is no reason for thinking them spe- 

 cifically distinct from it. Such differences 

 as existed were due to the conditions of 

 their environments. 



The color of the buffalo in its new coat 

 is a dark liver-brown. This soon changes, 

 however, and the robes, which are at their 

 best in November and in early December, 

 begin to grow paler toward the spring ; 

 and when the coat is shed, the hair and 

 wool from the young animals are almost a 

 dark smoky-gray. The calf when first 

 born is of a bright yellow color, almost a 

 pale red on the line of the back. As it 

 grows older it becomes darker, and by late 

 autumn is almost as dark as the adults. 

 Variations from the normal color are very 

 rare ; but pied, spotted, and roan animals 

 were sometimes killed. Blue or mouse- 

 colored buffalo were occasionally seen ; and 

 a bull of this color was observed in the 



223 



