AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
171 
utmost strength to restrain him; he recoiled, however, 
a few feet and sunk down upon his hams. The Bison halt- 
ed for a moment, but urged forward by the irresistible 
pressure of the moving column behind, he rushed onward 
by the half-sitting horse. The herd then came swiftly 
on, crowding up the narrow defile. The party had 
now reached the spot, and extended along a considerable 
distance; the Bisons ran in a confused manner, in various 
directions, to gain the distant bluffs, and numbers were 
compelled to pass through the line of march. This scene, 
added to the plungi'ng and roaring of those who were yet 
crossing the river, produced a grand effect, that was 
heightened by the fire opened on them by the hunters. 
To the Indians and visitors of the western regions the 
Bison is almost invaluable; we have mentioned that they 
supply a large part of the food used by the natives, and 
covering to their tents and persons, while in many parts 
of the country there is no fuel to be obtained but the dried 
dung of this animal. The Indians always associate ideas 
of enjoyment with plenty of Bison, and they frequently 
constitute the skull of one of them, their “GreatMedicine.” 
They have dances and ceremonies that are observed pre- 
vious to the commencement of their hunting. 
The herds of Bison wander over the country in search 
of food, usually led by a bull most remarkable for strength 
and fierceness. While feeding, they are often scattered 
over a great extent of country, but when they move in 
mass they form a dense almost impenetrable column, 
which, once in motion, is scarcely to be impeded. Their 
line of march is seldom interrupted even by considerable 
rivers, across which they swim without fear or hesitation, 
nearly in the order that they traverse the plains. When fly- 
ing before their pursuers, it would be in vain for the fore- 
most to halt, or attempt to obstruct the progress of the 
main body, as the throng in the rear still rushing onward, 
the leaders must advance, although destruction awaits the 
movement. The Indians take advantage of this circum- 
stance to destroy great quantities of this favourite game, 
and, certainly, no mode could be resorted to more effec- 
tually destructive, nor could a more terrible devastation 
be produced, than that of forcing a numerous herd of these 
large animals, to leap together from the brink of a dread- 
ful precipice, upon a rocky and broken surface, a hundred 
feet below. 
When the Indians determine to destroy Bison in this 
way, one of their swiftest footed and most active young- 
men is selected, who is disguised in a Bison skin, having 
the head, ears, and horns adjusted on his own head, so as 
to make the deception very complete, and thus accoutred, 
he stations himself between the Bison herd and some of 
the precipices, that often extend for several miles along 
the rivers. The Indians surround the herd as nearly as 
possible, when, at a given signal, they show themselves 
and rush forward with loud yells. The animals being 
alarmed, and seeing no way open but in the direction of 
the disguised Indian, run towards him, and he, taking to 
flight, dashes on to the precipice, where he suddenly se- 
cures himself in some previously ascertained crevice. The 
foremost of the herd arrives at the brink — there is no pos- 
sibility of retreat, no chance of escape; the foremost may 
for an instant shrink with terror, but the crowd behind, 
who are terrified by the approaching hunters, rush for- 
ward with increasing impetuosity, and the aggregated force 
hurls them successively into the gulf, where certain death 
awaits them. 
It is extremely fortunate that this sanguinary and waste- 
ful method of killing Bisons is not very frequently re- 
sorted to by the savages, or we might expect these ani- 
mals in a few years to become almost entirely extinct. 
The waste is not the only unpleasant circumstance conse- 
quent on it; the air for a long time after, is filled with 
the horrible stench arising from the putrifying carcases 
not consumed by the Indians after such an extensive and 
indiscriminate slaughter. For a very considerable time 
after such an event, the wolves and vultures feast sumptu- 
ously and fatten to tameness on the disgusting remains, 
becoming so gentle and fearless, as to allow themselves 
to be approached by the human species, and even to be 
knocked down with a stick, near places where such sacri- 
fices of Bison have been made. Lewis & Clarke bestowed 
the name of Slaughter River on one of the tributaries of 
the Mississippi, in consequence of the precipices along its 
sides having been used by the Indians for this mode of 
killing the Bison. 
A better and more common way of killing Bison is that 
of attacking them on horseback. The Indians, mounted 
and well armed with bows and arrows, encircle the herd 
and gradually drive them into a situation favourable to the 
employment of the horse. They then ride in and single 
out one, generally a female, and following her as closely 
as possible, wound her with arrows until the mortal blow 
is given, when they go in pursuit of others until their 
quivers are exhausted. Should a wounded Bison attack 
the hunter, he escapes by the agility of his horse, which 
is usually well trained for the purpose. In some parts of 
the country, the hunter is exposed to a considerable danger 
of falling, in consequence of the numerous holes made in 
the plains by the badger. 
When the hunting is ended and a sufficiency of game 
killed, the squaws come up from the rear to skin and dress 
the meat, a business in which they have acquired a great 
degree of dexterity, as they can, with very inferior in- 
