352 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



mencing not very far from the bottom of the ridge, the herd 

 gradually thickened into long streaks and spots, bands and 

 patches, until near the horizon the whole ground appeared 

 to be covered, as far as the eye could reach, in front and 

 from side to side, about 60° of the circle, with one continuous 

 black mass of animals, which might be perceived to be 

 gently moving in one direction, as they grazed and advanced 

 and grazed again, in a general onward course. 



" I measured a good many skulls which I found from time 

 to time on the plains, and, taking four at random, the dis- 

 tance straight across the forehead, from the root of one horn 

 to that of the other, was in one 9£ inches, another 11 J inches, 

 12 inches, and 12J inches. With such a broad front, 

 and such a mass of wool and hair, which, on the bull's fore- 

 head, is at least 8 or 9 inches long, the bison has a formid- 

 able appearance. Yet I do not consider it a savage animal 

 when let alone. The bulls sometimes allowed us to come 

 very near (say 100 yards) without taking any notice of us, 

 sometimes rolling on their backs or tossing the sand and 

 earth, which the bulls were very fond of doing, as is shown 

 by their horns, which are worn flat and smooth on the out- 

 side, and frayed into fringe at the upper part ; they appear 

 to stand for this purpose in one place, until a flat circular 

 spot on the ground, about the diameter of their own length, 

 is worn quite bare. These spots may be seen anywhere 

 near the herds. When one approaches to within a short dis- 

 tance of the bull, he gives a steady look, and then turns and 

 gallops off, tail in air, and all the others do the same, until 

 there is a general rush/' 



The skull of one of the ancient human aborigines of the 

 district, a Sioux Indian, taken from the site of a battle-field, 

 was also shown in good preservation. The modern inhabitants 

 of the district consist of the descendants of Scottish Suther- 

 land Highlanders, who emigrated at the time of the depo- 

 pulation of that county, about the beginning of the present 

 century; of English settlers, and Americans from the 

 United States. Their labours afford them every substantial 

 necessary of life, but the remote situation precludes any 

 reciprocity of trade with the busy world. The district, how- 



