BUFFALO, 
41 
sort of tripe, and found it very good, although at first its appearance was 
rather revolting. 
The Indians sometimes cat the carcasses of Buffaloes that have been 
drowned, and some of those on board the Omega one day asked the cap- 
tain most earnestly to allow them to land and get at the bodies of three 
Buffaloes which we jjassed, that had lodged among the drift-logs and were 
probably half putrid. In this extraordinary request some of the squaws 
joined. That, when stimulated by the gnawings of hunger, Indians, or even 
Whites, should feed upon carrion, is not to be wondered at, since we have 
many instances of cannibalism and other horrors, when men are in a state 
of starvation, but these Indians were in the midst of plenty of wholesome 
food and we are inclined to think their hankering after this disgusting 
flesh must be attributed to a natural taste for it, probably acquired when 
yonng, as they are no doubt sometimes obliged in their wanderings over the 
prairies in winter, to devour carrion and even bones and hides, to preserve 
their lives. In the height of the rutting-season, the flesh of the Buffalo bull is 
quite rank, and unfit to be eaten, except from necessity, and at this time 
the animal can be scented at a considerable distance. 
When a herd of Bisons is chased, although the bulls run with great swift- 
ness their S])eed cannot be compared with that of the cows and yearling 
calves. These, in a few moments leave the bulls behind them, but as they 
are greatly preferred by the hunter, he always (if well mounted) pursues 
them and allows the bulls to escape. During the winter of 1842 and 43, 
as we were told. Buffaloes were abundant around Fort Union, and during 
the night picked up straggling handfuls of hay that happened to be 
scattered about the place. An attempt was made to secure some of them 
alive, by strewing hay as a bait, from the interior of the old fort, which 
is about two hundred yards off, to some distance from the gateway, hoping 
the animals would feed along into the enclosure- They ate the hay to the 
very gate ; but as the hogs and common cattle were regularly placed there, 
for security, during the night, the Buffaloes would not enter, probably on 
account of the various odoui-s issuing from the interior. As the Buffaloes 
generally found some hay scattered around, they soon became accustomed 
to sleep in the vicinity of the fort , but went off every morning, and dis- 
appeared behind the hills, about a mile off. 
One night they were fired at, from a four-pounder loaded with musket- 
balls. Three were killed, and several were wounded, but this disaster did 
not prevent them from returning frequently to the fort at night, and they 
were occasionally shot, during the whole winter, quite near the fort. 
As various accounts of Buffalo-hunts have been already written, we 
will pass over our earliest adventures in that way, which occurred many 
VOL. II . — 6 
