Aug. 8, 1908.] 
—--- - 
The marching of the hosts went on across 
ligh dry plateaus, under the white light of the 
;i-erce burning sun. The air had lost its motion 
nd a vast cloud of dust hovered over the herd 
lirough which the sun is seen as in an eclipse, 
'here was the tinkling sounds and rattle from the 
.isplacement of iron rock with the grinding into 
lust of the softer particles from the crush of 
he multitude of sharp hoofs. 
W hen the moan of the mountain trade winds 
iegan, the cloudless sky took on a livid appear- 
nce. A few dark lowering clouds began to 
oil into space. The wind suddenly gained force 
nd quickly shifted from west to northwest, 
nd then to the north as if marshaling all the 
orces of the electric storm king to hurl back 
he columns of dust, laden with animal heat. A 
ash of lightning was followed by the sharp 
iackling peals of thunder, and the first gun 
red by the storm king’s army was quickly fol- 
iwed by rushing, chilly wind, scattering huge 
roppings of rain, screaming defiance, hurling 
ack the dense clouds of dust, mixed with peb- 
les, stones and the earth’s debris. Wonder- 
al forms of flashing zig-zag lightning were fol¬ 
ded by deafening peals of crashing thunder, 
le terrific concussions, causing the very earth 
) tremble. Flash after flash of lightning, with 
le booming thunders of the warring elements 
Crashing into collision with each other, rumbled 
way from the terrific impact in long resonant 
jail. 
Obedient to the spirit that moves them, the 
uffalo hosts sturdily braced themselves to meet 
le terrific impact of driving winds, and to the 
mnderous applause of the electric artillery the 
! iarch went on. From such terrific storms all 
iher animal life seeks refuge in shelter, 
j Through great canons and rocky defiles of 
ithered water courses, through wide valleys of 
; ?autiful rolling prairie, across swift-rushing 
j vers, with wild tumbling rapids, the approaches 
>r ingress and egress both difficult and danger- 
is, these magnificent hordes of shaggy beasts 
ent on. None of the physical conditions of 
ie land could halt them. With swinging, pon- 
'rous stride they went on while the mountains 
• hoed in time to their wonderful march. In 
derly formation came column after column, 
f ’ith steady step, head and body swinging in 
j fison, they marched by regiments and brigades 
j - by corps, as the topography of the country 
| lmitted. The buffalo as a rule had trails that 
I ey followed in somewhat single file when the 
j ovement to water was made, but in a raove- 
j ent of this kind they covered the whole face 
the country. 
j When the spirit of unrest had begun to wane 
j d nature again asserted itself, the buffalo, as 
e shades of night covered them, grazed and 
; enched their thirst. With the dawn of day 
i e march began again, until at last the move¬ 
nt ended, perhaps leaving them gaunt and 
iary, but with their wonderful vitality soon 
j recuperate and in a short time to be in their 
; ual form. 
! To the Indian hunter the migration of the 
j ffalo was a matter of the most grave concern, 
was always dreaded, for it was fraught with 
ch far-reaching possibilities to all the people, 
dee a flash the alarm spread from village to 
lage by swiftly-mounted runners, and at once 
great council was held. A picked party of 
nter scouts was called for. The council chiefs 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
instructed the scouts as to the country, show¬ 
ing them the line of demarcation between their 
country and that of the enemy, cautioning them. 
1 hey were not on a trip to war and should avoid 
an attack from the enemy, that they might re¬ 
turn in safety. 
1 hen, in the presence of all the people, the 
great medicine man of the tribe, with much 
formality, directed the scouts to form in a circle 
with each face uplifted in supplication to their 
Sun God. Over the great Indian village fell a 
hush. The mystic man of medicine, with slow 
and measured step advanced toward the scouts, 
holding his medicine wand poised in the air, 
while with high-pitched voice he called out the 
names of each scout, and uttering a fervent 
prayer for the speedy return of the buffalo, he 
slowly and reverently went around the circle 
of scouts, passing his medicine wand over the 
eyes and face of each, blessing them in the name 
of the Sun God and asking for each the grace 
of the Sun’s wonderful powers, that they 
might find the buffalo in their country. The 
ceremony over, the scouts mounted their best 
horses and set off. They traveled long and far, 
and then at .last when they had arrived on de¬ 
batable ground, the enemy’s country, their leader 
called them about him at the foot of a high 
butte. With face uplifted in supplication, he 
prayed to the Sun God to take pity on their peo¬ 
ple, on the earth on which they lived, on the 
horses they rode, and that he would give them 
success in their search. The scouts ascended 
the butte and with hands shading their eyes, 
long and wistfully scanned the distant hori¬ 
zon. It was many miles to where earth and sky 
seemed to blend together, but no signs of buf 
falo met their anxious gaze. 
At last their leader turned, and in tones of 
despair and sadness, which his Spartan stoicism 
could not conceal, he spoke: “Our life, the 
buffalo, has thrown our country away; they are 
now far, far off in the country of our enemies. 
We starve.” 
This child of nature was freeborn, self-reliant, 
his blood tingling with the pride of the free¬ 
born. The conqueror—the white man—had never 
been able to make of him either servant or 
slave. In war he neither asked nor gave quarter. 
In peace or war he knew not what it was to 
cringe for concessions from any power. He 
acknowledged no superior in all his land. His 
people had no traditions or legends telling of 
any will before which they should bow, except 
the will of the Sun, their god of life. But now, 
when the buffalo were gone, full of fear of 
spirits of evil beyond their ken, with the fear of 
annihilation hovering over them, these once self- 
reliant freeborn children of nature lay crushed. 
A short time ago we had a national conten¬ 
tion with the most powerful nations of the earth 
over pelagic sealing—about one of nature’s 
limited products that none but the luxuriously 
wealthy could hope to make use of. A boun¬ 
teous nature bad made us heir to a vast fortune, 
to a wonderful product in which all America 
might have shared. This we have wantonly 
squandered. 
The big game of the far North, the food 
fishes of the sea, the fowl of both land and 
water are now fast following in the way of the 
buffalo. In time some historian will tell the 
story of our nation’s shame in the tragedy of 
the buffalo, Chas. Aubrey. 
2 1 7 
Recent Publications. 
1 he Way of the Woods ; a Manual for 
Sportsmen in Northeastern United States 
and Canada, by Edward Breck. Cloth, 436 
pages, 80 illustrations, $1.75. New York, 
G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 
It is a matter of record that one of the most 
famous boat builders began his life work by 
building a boat for himself, to find that a friend 
wanted it and insisted on buying it; and so on 
with every boat he attempted to build for him¬ 
self until he was forced into the business. Rod- 
makers have begun in the same way, and Dr. 
Breck tells us that when, long ago, he wanted 
a manual of woodcraft, and could not find one 
comprehensive enough to answer his require¬ 
ments, he decided to make one. The result, like 
the veteran’s boat, is a very satisfactory one. 
In some respects the doctor’s little manual >'s 
unlike other works of its kind, for he not only 
describes the best articles for woods use, but 
gives an approximate idea of the cost of each, 
and tells where it may be found; he also gives 
a list of the best books on each subject. He 
writes in plain and practical fashion regarding 
these principal subjects, to each one of which 
a chapter is devoted: Planning the Outing; 
Clothing; Personal Outfit; Women in the 
Woods; Camp, Baggage and Tents; Canoes; 
Provisions; Cookery and Kits; Making Camp; 
Woodcraft; Nature Protection; Fishing; Sport¬ 
ing Firearms; Moose, Deer, Caribou and Bird 
Hunting; Game of the Northwest; Trapping; 
Photography; Hygiene, Medicine and Surgery; 
Nature Books. 
“The art of going light and yet be comfort¬ 
able,” he says, “is the very essence of wood¬ 
craft. As Nessmuk insisted, the problem is not 
to ‘rough it,’ but to ‘smooth it.’ Do not be 
bullied by that class whose chief delight is to 
deride the tenderfoot, and who have only scorn 
for anyone who dares to do a thing in any 
other way than just theirs. A vast deal of cant 
has been written about matching one’s strength 
against the forces of nature. The true prob¬ 
lem is to woo nature to help us, to harmonize 
her ways, and thus lead a natural, comfortable 
and wholesome life.” 
We do not agree with Dr. Breck’s sweeping 
assertion that “the wood canoe is far too frail 
to risk in rapid water, and too difficult to re¬ 
pair ;” he prefers the canvas-covered canoe. 
Comparing the best of the two types, the wood 
canoe deserves better commendation. 
The author’s remarks on fishing tackle are 
valuable. He, however, seems doubtful as to 
choice between a six and an eight-strip rod. 
He also advocates the use of the English word 
top instead of the American term tip, meaning 
the upper joint of a fishing rad; and says that 
the tip is, correctly, the metal or agate ring at 
the small end of the, rod. Through long usage 
Americans describe the parts of a three-piece 
rod as butt, joint for middle joint) and tin. 
The top ring is called the top. It seems that 
the English term end ring is less confusing than 
top, but top ring would be still better. 
Books Received: Wilderness Homes, by 
Oliver Kemp; New York, the Outing Publish¬ 
ing Company. The China or Denny Pheasant 
in Oregon, by William T. Shaw; Philadelphia. 
the J. B. Lippineott Company, 
