454 BUFFALO HERDS. Book II. 
In this neighbourhood we first saw some single buffaloes, 
their numbers increasing as we proceeded. Two days 
before, I had seen at sunrise, standing out against the rosy- 
hue of the eastern horizon, a large black figure, which 
fixed my attention until I discovered it to be a stray 
buffalo, which, for some cause or other, had separated 
from the herds grazing farther west. We, however, saw 
no more of these animals until we reached these herds. 
One evening, as our waggons were driving along in a 
golden glow, we were suddenly surrounded by small bands 
of buffaloes, which formed the commencement of a large 
herd. One of the animals was immediately pursued, and 
the hunter soon returned to the camp, announcing it to 
be killed, and asking some of our people to ride back 
with him and fetch the carcass. Night, however, had 
meanwhile come on, and the animal could not be found; 
nevertheless, our desire for buffalo tongue and marrow- 
bones did not go long unsatisfied, and a few days later 
several of our people even fell sick from feasting immode- 
rately on the flesh. In the morning, on looking around, 
the plain was covered with innumerable buffaloes. The 
herd was immense, but divided into separate bodies. 
From September 1st to the 8th we journeyed through 
them incessantly. They spread chiefly along the north 
bank of the Arkansas, but in some places we saw them 
also covering the opposite shore. Occasionally crowds of 
them approached so close to our caravan as to threaten to 
occasion a disorder, and while the oxen of a train of waggons 
following our caravan were led to drink, it was difficult to 
prevent their mixing with the buffaloes. During the night 
the bellowing of these animals was heard all around our 
camp, accompanied by the howling of innumerable wolves 
which always follow buffalo herds, killing the calves, the 
