290 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



411. Buffalo chase ; numerous group ; chasing with bows and lances. 



(Plate No. 108, page 253, vol. 1, Catlin's Eight Years.) 

 In Nos. 410 and 411 1 have represented a party of Indians in chase of a herd, some of 

 whom are pursuing with lance and others with bows and arrows. The group in the 

 foreground shows the attitude at the instant after the arrow has been thrown and 

 driven to the heart ; the Indian at full speed, and the lasso dragging behind his 

 horse's heels. The lasso is a long thong of rawhide, of ten or fifteen yards in length, 

 made of several braids or twists, and used chiefly to catch the wild horse, which is 

 done by throwing over their necks a noose which is made at the end of the lasso, with 

 which they are " choked down." In running the buffaloes, or in time of war, the 

 lasso drags on the ground at the horse's feet, and sometimes several rods behind, so 

 that if a man is dismounted, which is often the case, by the tripping or stumbling of 

 the horse, he has the power of grasping to the lasso, and, by stubbornly holding on to 

 it, of stopping and securing his horse, on whose back he is instantly replaced, and 

 continuing on in the chase. — Page 253, vol. 1, Catlin's Eight Years. 



412. Buffalo chase ; cow and calf; the bull protecting by attacking the assailants. 

 During the season of the year whilst the calves are young, the male seems to stroll 



about by the side of the dam, as if for the purpose of protecting the young, at which 

 time it is exceedingly hazardous to attack them, as they are sure to turn upon their 

 pursuers, who have often to fly to each other's assistance (No. 412). The buffalo calf 

 during the first six months is red, and has so much the appearance of a red calf in 

 cultivated fields that it could easily be mingled and mistaken amongst them. In the 

 fall, when it changes its hair it takes a brown coat for the winter, which it always re- 

 tains. In pursuing a large herd of buffaloes at the season when their calves are but 

 a few weeks old, I have often been exceedingly amused with the curious maneuvers 

 of these shy little things. Amidst the thundering confusion of a throng of several 

 hundreds or several thousands of these animals, there will be many of the calves that 

 lose sight of their dams ; and being left behind by the throng, and the swift passing 

 hunters, they endeavor to secrete themselves, when they are exceedingly put to it on a 

 level prairie, where naught can be seen but the short grass of six or eight inches in 

 height, save an occasional bunch of wild sage, a few inches higher, to which the poor 

 affrighted things will run, and dropping on their knees, will push their noses under 

 it, and into the grass, where they will stand for hours, with their eyes shut, imagin- 

 ing themselves securely hid, whilst they are standing up quite straight upon their 

 hind feet and can easily be seen at several miles' distance. It is a familiar amuse- 

 ment for us accustomed to these scenes, to retreat back over the ground where we 

 have just escorted the herd, and approach these little trembling things, which stub- 

 bornly maintain their positions, with their noses pushed under the grass, and their 

 eyes strained upon us, as we dismount from our horses and are passing around them. 

 From this fixed position they are sure not to move until hands are laid upon them, 

 and then for the shins of a novice we can extend our sympathy ; or if he can preserve 

 the skin on his bones from the furious buttings of its head, we know how to congratu- 

 late him on his signal success and good luck. In these desperate struggles for a mo- 

 ment, the little thing is conquered, and makes no further resistance. And I have 

 often, in concurrence with a known custom of the country, held my hands over the 

 eyes of the calf and breathed a few strong breaths into its nostrils, after which I 

 have, with my hunting companions, rode several miles into our encampment with 

 the little prisoner busily following the heels of my horse the whole way, as closely 

 and as affectionately as its instinct would attach it to the company of its dam. 



This is one of the most extraordinary things that I have met with in the habits of 

 this wild country, and although I had often heard of it, and felt unable exactly to be- 

 lieve it, I am now willing to bear testimouy to the fact from the numerous instances 

 which I have witnessed since I came into the country. During the time that I re- 

 sided at this post, in the spring of the year, on my way up the river, I assisted (in 



