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and tedious: 
i At night it is impossible for persons to sleep near 
BISON. 
slaughter. For a very considerable time after 
such an event, the wolves and vultures feast 
sumptuously and fatten to tameness on the dis- 
gusting remains, becoming so gentle and fearless 
as to allow themselves to be approached by the 
human species, and even to be knocked down 
with a stick, near places where such sacrifices 
of bison have been made. Lewis and Clarke be- 
stowed the name of Slaughter River on one of the 
tributaries of the Mississippi, in consequence of 
the precipices along its sides having been used 
by the. Indians for this mode of killing the bison. 
A better and more common way of killing 
bison is that of attacking them on horseback. 
The Indians, mounted and well armed with bows 
and arrows, encircle the herd and gradually drive 
them into a situation favourable to the employ- 
ment of the horse. They then ride in and single 
out one, generally a female, and following her as 
closely as possible, wound her with arrows until 
the mortal blow is given, when they go in pur- 
suit of others until their quivers are exhausted. 
Should a wounded bison attack the hunter, he 
escapes by the agility of his horse, which is 
usually well trained for the purpose —In some 
parts of the country, the hunter is exposed to a 
considerable danger of falling, 1 in consequence of 
the numerous holes made in the plains by the 
badger. 
The skins of the bison furnish the Indians and 
Whites with excellent robes, for bedding, cloth- 
ing, and various purposes. These are most 
usually the skin of cows, as the hide of the bull 
is too thick and heavy to be prepared in the way 
practised by the squaws, which is both difficult 
This consists in working the hide, 
moistened with the brains of the animal, be- 
tween the hands, until it is made perfectly sup- 
ple, or till the thick texture of the skin is re- 
duced to a porous and cellular substance. These 
robes form an excellent protection from rain, 
when the woolly side is opposed to it, and against 
the cold when the woolly surface is worn next 
the skin, But when these robes are wet, or for 
a considerable time exposed to ines, they 
are apt to spoil and become unpleasant, as the 
Indian mode of dressing has no other effect than 
to give a softness and a pliancy to the weather. 
On these robes the Indians frequently make 
drawings of their great battles and victories; a 
great variety of such painted robes are to be seen 
in the Philadelphia Museum. The hair of the 
bison has been used in the manufacture of a 
coarse cloth, but this fabric has never been ex- 
tensively employed. 
We have already adverted to the great num- 
bers of these animals which live together. They 
have been seen in herds of three, four, and five 
thousand, blackening the plains as far as the eye 
could view. Some travellers are of opinion that 
‘they have seen as many as eight or ten thousand 
in the same herd, but this is merely a conjecture. 
cinal plant, of the polygonum genus. 
_BISTORT. 
them who are unaccustomed to their noise, which 
from the incessant lowing and roaring of the 
bulls, is said very much to resemble distant thun- 
der. Although frequent battles take place be- 
tween the bulls, as among domestic cattle, the 
habits of the bison are peaceful and inoffensive, 
seldom or never offering to attack man or other 
animals, unless outraged in the first instance. 
They sometimes, when wounded, turn on the ag- 
gressor, but it is only in the rutting season that 
any danger is to be apprehended from the fero- 
city and strength of the bison bull. At all other 
times, whether wounded or not, their efforts are 
exclusively directed towards effecting their es- 
cape from their pursuers, and at this time it does 
not appear that their rage is provoked particu- 
larly byjgm attack on themselves, but their un- 
usual epidity is indiscriminately directed 
against all suspicious objects.—Godman’s Natural 
History. 
BISTORT, or SyaxEwEED,—Dbotanically Poly- 
gonum Bistorta. A perennial, herbaceous, medi- 
It grows 
in moist shady places, and in meadows and pas- 
tures of Great Britain; and occurs in Siberia, 
Japan, and many parts of continental Hurope, 
generally in similar situations as in Britain, but 
occasionally on alpine ground, at the elevation of 
even about 4,500 feet above sea-level. Its root 
is ligneous, contorted, thick, and creeping; its 
stem is solid, smooth, leafy, jointed, swelling at 
the joints, somewhat nodding at the top, and 
usually from 18 to 24 inches high; its leaves 
are entire, waved in the edge, a fine green above, 
smooth below, the lower ones heart-shaped, lan- 
ceolate, and standing on long winged footstalks, 
and the upper ones ovate and almost sessile; and 
its flowers are small, of a pale rose colour, and | 
collected into a close oblong spike of one inch and ||. 
a half in length, and appear from May till Sep- 
tember. 
The dried root has a very austere taste, but no 
smell; contains a large proportion of tannin, 
some gallic acid, and much starch, and gives up 
its medicinal principles in the form of extract in 
water. It is employed externally, in human 
pharmacy, in the form of lotion, for spongy 
gums and bad ulcers; and internally, in various 
forms, for dyspepsia, hemorrhage, prolonged dy- 
sentery, and, in general, as a tonic and an astrin- 
gent. White says respecting the use of bistort 
in farriery, “‘ The roots of this plant are consi- 
dered the most powerful of the vegetable astrin- 
gents; they have been recommended as a styp- 
tic to restrain hemorrhages; but ought never 
to be depended on for this purpose. Many ima- 
-ginary virtues have been attributed to this plant; 
perhaps as a powerful astringent, it may be use- 
ful in certain cases of diarrhoea, particularly that 
to which horned cattle are subject. The dose is 
from half an ounce to an ounce, and may be given 
either in powder, or boiled in water and mone 
into a drench. . 
2. 
