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 llj 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, w^hich 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 ofiP, 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- 
