170 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
may be extended to almost all wild meat, which has a 
peculiar flavour and raciness that renders it decidedly 
more agreeable than that of tame animals, although the 
texture of the flesh may be much coarser and the fibre by 
no means as delicate. 
Of all the parts of the Bison that are eaten, the hump is 
the most famed for its peculiar richness and delicacy; be- 
cause when cooked it is said very much to resemble mar- 
row. The Indian mode of cooking the hump is to cut it 
out from the vertebras, after which the spines of bone are 
taken out, the denuded portion is then covered with skin, 
which is finally sewed to the skin covering the hump. The 
hair is then singed and pulled off, and the whole mass is 
put in a hole dug in the earth for its reception, which has 
been previously heated by a strong fire in and over it the 
evening previous to the day on which it is to be eaten. It 
is then covered with cinders and earth about a foot deep, 
and a strong fire made over it. By the next day at noon 
it is fit for use. The tongues and marrow bones are also 
highly esteemed by the huntei’s. To preserve the flesh 
for future use the hunters and Indians cut it into thin slices 
and dry it in the open air, which is called jerking; this 
process is speedily finished, and a large stock of meat may 
thus be kept for a considerable length of time. 
From the dried flesh of the Bison the fur traders of the 
north-west prepare a food which is very valuable on ac- 
count of the time it may be preserved without spoiling, 
though it will not appear very alluring to those who re- 
side where provisions are obtained without difficulty. The 
dried Bison’s flesh is placed on skins and pounded with 
stones until sufficiently pulverized. It is then separated 
as much as possible from impurities, and one-third of its 
weight of the melted tallow of the animal is poured over 
it. This substance is called pemmican, and being packed 
firmly in bags of skin of a convenient size for transporta- 
tion, may be kept for one year without much difficulty, 
and with great care, perhaps two years. 
During the months of August and September the flesh 
of the Bison bull is poor and disagreeably flavoured; they 
are, however, much more easily killed, as they are not so 
vigilant as the cows, and sometimes allow the hunter to 
come up with them without much difficulty. Lewis & 
Clarke relate that once approaching a large herd, the 
bulls would scarcely move out of their way, and as they 
came near, the animals would merely look at them for a 
moment, as at something new, and then quietly resume 
their grazing. 
The general appearance of the Bison is by no means at- 
tractive or prepossessing, his huge and shapeless form be- 
ing altogether devoid of grace and beauty. His gait is 
awkward and cumbrous, although his great strength en- 
ables him to run with very considerable speed over plains 
in summer, or in winter to plunge expeditiously through 
the snow. 
The sense of smelling is remarkably acute in this ani- 
mal, and it is remarked by hunters that the odour of the 
white man is far more terrifying to them than that of the 
Indian. From the neighbourhood of white settlements 
they speedily disappear: this, however, is very justly 
accounted for by Mr. Say, who attributes it to the im- 
politic and exterminating warfare, which the white man 
wages against all unsubdued animals within his reach. 
As an exemplification of the peculiar strength of their 
sense of smelling, we may here relate a circumstance men- 
tioned by Mr. Say, in that valuable and highly interest- 
ing work, Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, to 
which we are under continual obligations. These we are 
the more happy to acknowledge, because we are well ac- 
quainted with the solicitude of the gentlemen composing 
that expedition, to diffuse, as widely as possible, the know- 
ledge of American Natural History. 
The exploring party were riding through a dreary and 
uninteresting country, which at that time was enlivened 
by vast numbers of Bisons, who were moving in count- 
less thousands in every direction. As the wind was blow- 
ing fresh from the south, the scent of the party was wafted 
directly across the river Platte, and through a distance of 
eight or ten miles, every step of its progress was distinctly 
marked by the terror and consternation it produced 
among the Bisons. The instant their atmosphere was in- 
fected by the tainted gale, they ran as violently as if close- 
ly pursued by mounted hunters, and instead of fleeing 
from the danger, they turned their heads towards the wind, 
eager to escape this terrifying odour. They dashed ob- 
liquely forward towards the party, and, plunging into the 
river, swam, waded, and ran with headlong violence, in 
several instances breaking through the Expedition’s line 
of march, which was immediately along the left branch of 
the Platte. One of the party, (Mr. Say himself,) per- 
ceiving from the direction taken by the bull who led the 
extended column, that he would emerge from the low 
river bottom at a point where the precipitous bank was 
deeply worn by much travelling, urged his horse rapidly 
forward, that he might reach this station in order to gain 
a nearer view of these interesting animals. He had just 
reached the spot when the formidable leader, bounding up 
the steep, gained the summit of the bank with his fore 
feet, and in this position, suddenly halted from his fuil 
career, and fiercely glared at the horse which stood fuil 
in his path. The horse was panic-struck by this sudden 
apparition, trembled violently from fear, and would have 
wheeled and taken to flight, had not his rider exerted his 
