XV 
AMERICAN BUFFALO 
83 
hundred fragments, as though it had struck an iron 
target; there would have been an end to it; the 
buffalo would have gone on, not much the worse for 
the encounter. 
It was very interesting to watch these bisons, as 
they almost daily appeared, either near the camp, or 
while I was out shooting. Frequently I saw them 
beneath me, when upon a cliff I was looking for big 
horns (mountain sheep) ; at other times I have come 
upon them suddenly, when they have jumped up from 
a lower terrace, as I descended the mountain side, 
but upon no occasion would I fire at them, as we 
always had plenty of venison in camp and I did not 
want them. 
My fine young fellow Texas Bill was an expert 
hand at the lasso, and he captured a cow upon one 
occasion, but she was too strong for him to manage 
single-handed. I do not consider that the great 
difficulty consists in throwing the lasso, but rather 
in the management of the animal when entangled. 
The Mexican saddle has an upright pillar about 9 
inches long in front; this is called “the horn,” and 
one end of the lasso is secured by a round turn being 
taken when the animal is caught. It is manipulated 
entirely from this horn, as it can be slacked off, or 
drawn tighter, as the occasion may require ; but there 
is considerable danger, as a powerful animal may 
dash away before the hand of the lasso-thrower is 
clear of the coil, in which case it might be caught 
between the loose coils and the wooden pillar or 
horn. While I was there, a man lost two fingers by 
