THE STORY OF THE BUFFALO . 
139 
able in delicacy. It is exceedingly tender, and possesses the property of not 
cloying even when eaten in excess. The fat is devoid of that sickening rich¬ 
ness which is usually met with in our domesticated animals. 
The cow is smaller than the bull, and considerably swifter. She is also 
generally in better condition and fatter than her mate, and in consequence the 
hunters who went to “get meat” always selected the cows from the herd. 
The principal use of the flesh of the buffalo was to make “jerked meat” of 
it. This is made by cutting the meat into long - , narrow slips, and drying 
EUROPEAN BUFFALOES FIGHTING. 
them in the sun. There is a peculiar art in cutting these slips. The operator 
takes a large lump of the flesh, and holding his knife firmly in one hand, presses 
the meat against its edge with the other, continually turning it round and 
round, until the whole piece is converted into one long strip. The strips thus 
prepared are pegged out on stakes, as washerwomen peg their clothes, or sus¬ 
pended in festoons on the branches of trees, like red snakes, until they are dry 
enough to be packed up. Three days is considered sufficient for the purpose. 
The cow is preferred to the bull for conversion into jerked meat, while the 
