THE BISON. 
43 
THE 
fur is long, thick, and warm, and many people, when 
they travel in the winter, wrap themselves in one, or 
more, of these skins, by which they are kept comfortable 
in the coldest weather. The flesh of this animal is said 
to be well-tasted, and to the Indians and others, who 
travel through the foresls of America, affords good and 
wholesome food. 
What is the difl'erence between the Bison and buffalo ? 
The Bison differs a good deal from the buffalo, as will 
be seen by the pictures of these two animals. The 
horns of the Bison grow out of the sides of his head, are 
short, and are crooked only in one direction, while those 
of the buffalo grow out of the top of his head, very near 
each other, and are crooked in two directions, first turn¬ 
ing down, and then upwards, towards their points. The 
Bison has a large hump on his shoulders, and his fore 
parts are covered with long hair, while the buffalo has 
neither hump nor long hair about him. The Bison 
holds his head low, and looks exceedingly fierce and 
dangerous, while the buffalo holds his head high, and 
looks formidable and disgusting. The Bison cannot be 
tamed, so as to woik, but the buffalo, when taken young, 
may be tamed, and made a good servant to man. The 
Bison never attacks any person, except when be is 
wounded, but the wild buffalo attacks every person he 
nffiets, without the least provocation. 
ANECDOTE I. 
The following story is from Long’s Expedition to the 
BISON. 
' Rocky Mountains, and gives a pretty good idea of the 
appearance and actions of a herd of Bisons. 
The gentlemen, while on their journey through the 
wilderness of America, came to a part of the country 
that was flat and level, and where they saw nothing 
worthy of attention, except now and then a vast herd of 
j Bisons. Some of these droves consisted of several thou- 
) sands, moving in every direction. The scent of these 
animals, it appears, is so acute, that they can smell a 
\ man, when the wind blows towards them, at the distance 
: of several miles. At the time of which we are speak- 
i ing, the wind was blowing from the south, while the 
! Bisons were at the north of the travelers, so that the scent 
' was wafted directly to them. And it was interesting 
and curious to observe the fear and disturbance which 
i the herd exhibited, although several miles distant, as 
they snuffed the wind which carried the terrifying scent 
to their nostrils. The instant they smelled it, they ran 
' to and fro, with the utmost violence, and expressed as 
i much fear as though they had been actually pursued by 
<j hunters. They did not run away from the travelers, 
\ but, anxious to know more about this fearful smell, they 
ran towards them, snuffing the wind, and as the smell 
grew stronger, showing every sign of agitation and alarm. 
Some of them, which were most alarmed, dashed for¬ 
ward, and plunged headlong into a river, on the banks 
of which the gentlemen were traveling. One of the 
party, seeing a large old Bison go into the river, who 
* seemed to be the leader of the herd, determined to ride 
