46 
BUrPALO. 
high hill, that BufTaloes were in sight ; this is done by walking the hunter’s 
horse backward and forward several times. We hurried on and found 
our scout lying close to his horse’s neck, as if asleep on the back of the ani- 
mal. He pointed out where he had discovered the game, but they had 
gone out of sight, and (as -he said) were travelling fast, the herd being 
composed of both bulls and cows. The hunters mounted at once, and gab 
loped on in rapid pursuit, while we followed more leisurely over hills and 
plains and across ravines and broken ground, at the risk of our necks. 
Now and then we could see the hunter-s, and occasionally the Buffaloes, 
which had taken a direction toward the Fort. At last we reached an emi- 
nence from which we saw the hunters approaching the Buffaloes in order 
to begin the chase in earnest. It seems that (here is no etiquette among 
Buflalo hunters, and this not being understood beforehand by our friend 
Harris, he was disappointed in bis wish to kill a cow. I’he country was 
not as favourable to the hunters as it was to the flying herd. The females 
.separated from the males, and the latter turned in our direction and passed 
within a few hundred yards of us without our lieing able to fire at them. 
Indeed we willingly suffered them to pass unmolested, as they are always 
very dangerous when they have been parted from the cows. Only one 
female was killed on this occasion. On our way homeward we made 
towards the coupee, an opening in the hills, where we expected to find 
water for our horses and mules, as our supply of Missouri water was only 
enough for ourselves. 
The. water found on these prairies is generally unfit to drink, (unless as 
a matter of neces.sity,) and we most frequently carried eight or ten gallons 
from the river, on our journey through the plains. We did not find water 
where we expected, and were obliged to proceed about two miles to the 
eastward, where we luckily found a puddle sufficient for the wants of our 
horses and mules. There was not a hush in sight at this place, and we 
collected Buffalo dung to make a fire to cook with. In the winter this 
prairie fuel is often too wet to burn, and the hunters and Indians have to 
eat their meat raw. It can however hardly be new to our readers to hear 
that they are often glad to get any thing, either raw or cooked, when in this 
desolate region. 
Young Buffalo bulls are sometimes castrated by the Indians, as we were 
told, for the purpose of rendering them larger and fatter; and we were in- 
formed, that when full grown they have been shot, and found to be far su- 
perior to others in the herd, in size as well as flavour. During severe 
winters the Buffaloes become very poor, and when the snow has covered 
the ground for .several months to the depth of two or three feet, they are 
wretched objects to behold. They frequently in this emaciated state lose 
