168 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
BUFFALO HUNT. 
We set out on the 24th July from Lake Travers, of 
which we took leave with a salute T»f musketry; this same 
day the buffaloes made their appearance. My horse gave 
notice of their approach by the ardour with which he was 
animated. He was the finest horse of the party, ancl as I 
had often dismounted and walked a little to rest him, he 
was in the best condition, and the most spirited in this extra- 
ordinary chase. 
Following the traces of Mr. Renville, - who is renowned 
as a hunter, even among the Indians, I gave my horse the 
reins, and let him go in pursuit of the first buffalo we saw. 
I soon came up with and passed him, though he was two 
miles off, and having turned him, we drove him towards our 
people, to give them the pleasure of so new a scene,* and I 
shot him before their eyes. At the same time, Mr. Yef- 
fray, one of the gentlemefi of Lake Travers, who was our 
guide, killed another at a little distance; and in the even- 
ing the driver, who carried my baggage in his wagon, 
brought us a third. For the first time, plenty reigned in 
our camp; — there was no wood, but the buffalo’s dung, 
which lay scattered about in abundance, formed an admira- 
ble substitute. It makes an astonishingly strong fire. 
The surprise I felt on a near view of this animal was 
equal to my pleasure in hunting it; its appearance is truly 
formidable. In size it approaches the elephant. Its flow- 
ing mane, and the long hair which covers its neck and 
head, and falls over its eyes, are like those of the lion. It 
has a hump like a camel, its hind quarters and tail are like 
those of the hippopotamus, its horns like those of the large 
goat of the Rocky Mountains, and its legs like those of 
an ox. 
The following day we found the great chief encamped in 
this prairie, near the Sioux river, Cianiapa-Watpa , which 
serves as an outlet to the waters of Lake Travers. He was 
in a new and very clean tent; he offered us the tongues and 
humps of buffaloes, which are great delicacies, very nicely 
cured; but he preserved a most invincible gravity and taci- 
turnity. Whenever we turned our eyes, we saw innume- 
rable herds of buffaloes. I begged the major to endeavour 
to induce the chief to give us the sight of a buffalo hunt with 
bows and arrows, but he replied, with his usual com- 
plaisance, that he could not stop. 
I let him go on: and Mr. Renville prevailed on the 
chief to satisfy my curiosity. We galloped towards a 
meadow which was perfectly black with them. My horse, 
who now regarded neither rein nor voice, plunged into the 
centre of the herd, dividing it into halves, and turned seve- 
ral of them. The chief, who followed me with Mr. Ren- 
ville, let fly his arrow and shot a female buffalo; she still 
endeavoured to escape, but the motion of her body in run- 
ning caused the arrow to sink deeper into the wound, and 
when she fell the whole barb had entered. 
Never did I see attitudes so graceful as those of the chief. 
They alternately reminded me of the equestrian statue of 
Marcus Aurelius on the capitol at Naples, and that of the 
great Numidian king. Altogether it was the most astonishing 
spectacle I ever saw . I thought I beheld the games and com- 
bats of the ancients. I played nearly the same part as the 
Indians of former ages, who thought the first European they 
saw on horseback was a being of a superior order; while 
the chief with his quiver, his horse, and his victim, formed 
a group worthy the pencil of Raphael or the chisel of 
Canova. I was so enchanted by this living model of classi- 
cal beauty, that I forgot my part in the chase, and was only 
aroused to a recollection of it by the voice of the chief, who 
pointed to a young buffalo, which I fired at and killed. 
His majesty did me the honour to say I was an excellent 
shot. Any of our grands veneurs who should receive 
such a compliment from one of our kings, would be immor- 
talized, and the court poets would dispute the honour of 
celebrating his glories. Mr. Renville killed a buffalo. 
Wolves also appeared on the scene, and formed very 
curious episodes, intimately connected with the principal 
action, according to all the rules of the Epopea. 
These animals are as fond of the delicious flesh of the 
buffalo as man; but as they are too weak to attack, they 
employ cunning to entrap him. Wherever they see hun- 
ters, they immediately follow in their track, and take what- 
ever advantage circumstances may chance to afford. Some- 
times they regale themselves upon the offal which is left on 
the field; sometimes they follow those which they see have 
been wounded, and which the hunters do not go in pursuit 
of; on this occasion they showed quite a new contrivance. 
Three of them joined our charge upon the great- herd, and 
at the moment the females were so occupied in making 
their own escape that they could not defend their young 
ones, each wolf seized upon a calf, strangled it, and dragged 
it off the field: when we had got to a little distance they 
returned and regaled themselves with their prey. When 
they are pressed by hunger, and no hunters come to their 
aid, they have recourse to another stratagem still more sur- 
prising. They approach five or six of a herd without 
appearing to have any design of attacking them. The buf- 
faloes, who do not condescend to be afraid, pay no attention 
to them whatever — they neither avoid nor attack them. 
The wolves then single out their victim, which is always a 
female, as the most delicious food, and invariably the fattest 
of the herd. Whilst two or three keep her attention en- 
gaged in front by pretending to play with her, one of the 
strongest and most active seizes her behind by the teats, and 
when she turns round to drive him off, those in front fly at 
her throat and strangle her. — Beltrami. 
