CHAPTER XIV. 
THE BISON OR BUFFALO— DESCRIPTION— INDIAN MODES OF CAP- 
TURE-EARLY ’DESCRIPTION OF IT— BUFFALO HUNT— ITS HAUNTS 
AND ENEMIES. 
The next Genus is the Ox, of which the first species is the 
Bison ( Bos Americanus ') , better known under the name of 
Buffalo. 
Description . — Great disproportion between the fore and 
hind quarters, partly occcasioned by the hump over its shoul- 
ders, which diminishing as it extends backwards, gives obli- 
quity to the outline of its back. The horns are shorter than 
in any other species, nearly straight, exceedingly strong, and 
planted widely asunder at the base. The tail is almost a foot 
long, terminating in a tuft. The eyes large and fierce, and 
its appearance altogether grim, savage, and formidable. 
The Bison is clothed on its forequarters with long shaggy 
hair, forming a beard beneath its lower jaw, and descending 
below the knee in a tuft, forming a dense mass on the top of 
his head, which is so thickly matted as to cause a rifle ball to 
rebound, or lodge only in the hair by deadening its force* 
The ponderous head, rendered terrific by this thick shaggy 
hair, is supported upon a massive neck or shoulders, the 
apparent strength of which is more imposing from the aug- 
mentation produced by the hump, and the long fall of hair by 
which the fore parts of the body are covered. 
It is peculiar to America, formerly inhabiting the prairies and 
forests in vast numbers ; they have been seen in herds of 
three, four, and five thousand, blackening the plain as far as 
the eye could reach. They generally seek their food in the 
morning and evening, retiring during the heat of the day to 
