WESTERN WILD SPORTS. 
149 
cept in the vicinity of a few of the larger western cities, utterly 
unknown and unpractised. 
Of these fine animals, I shall proceed to give brief geologi¬ 
cal descriptions from the best authorities, and shall then close 
this volume and the work, by a short narrative of the various 
modes in use of pursuing and capturing each secundum artem, 
reserving only space for a few hints on the fish and fishing of 
the continent, and for a small appendix on various things re¬ 
garding field sports generally, which could not properly be 
introduced under special heads, or which have casually escaped 
my attention in the body of the work. 
THE BISON — VULGO, BUFFALO. 
Bos. Amencanus; Gemel. Taurus Mexicanus; Hernand. Mex. 
587. Tauri Vaccaeque ; Ibid, Anim. p. 10. The Buffalo ; 
Catesby, Carol. 28, tab. 20. Boeuf. Savage; Dupratz, Loui- 
siane , ii. 66. American Bull; Penn. Quad. 
" From other species of the Ox kind, the Bison is well dis¬ 
tinguished by the following peculiarities. A long, shaggy hair 
clothes the fore parts of the body, forming a well-marked beard, 
beneath the lower jaw, and descending behind the knee in a 
tuft. This hair rises on the top of the head in a dense mass, 
nearly as high as the extremities of the horns. Over the fore¬ 
head it is closely curled, and matted, so thickly, as to deaden the 
force of a rifle ball, which either rebounds, or lodges in the 
hair, merely causing the animal to shake his head as he heavily 
bounds along- 
“ The head of the Bison is large and ponderous, compared to 
the size of the body; so that the muscles for its support, neces- 
