by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
THE BISON.
The bison--universally, though improperly, called buffalo--is, perhaps,the most interesting animal in America. Its great size and strength--the prodigious numbers in which it is found--its peculiar _habitat_--thevalue of its flesh and hide to the traveller, as well as to the manytribes of Indians--the mode of its chase and capture--all thesecircumstances render the buffalo an interesting and highly-prizedanimal.
Besides, it is the largest ruminant indigenous to America, exceeding inweight even the moose-deer, which latter, however, equals it in height.With the exception of the musk-ox, it is the only indigenous animal ofthe bovine tribe, but the latter being confined to a very limited range,near the Arctic Sea, has been less subject to the observation andattention of the civilised world. The buffalo, therefore, may beregarded as the representative of the ox in America.
The appearance of the animal is well-known; pictorial illustration hasrendered it familiar to the eyes of every one. The enormous head, withits broad triangular front--the conical hump on the shoulders--the smallbut brilliantly-piercing eyes--the short black horns, of crescentshape--the profusion of shaggy hair about, the neck and foreparts of thebody--the disproportioned bulk of the smaller hind-quarters--the shorttail, with its tufted extremity; all these are characteristics. Thehind-quarters are covered with a much shorter and smoother coat of hair,which adds to their apparent disproportion, and this, with the longhirsute covering of the breast, neck, hump, and shoulders, gives to thebuffalo--especially when seen in a picture--a somewhat lion-like figure.The naked tail, with its tuft at the end, strengthens this similarity.
Some of the characteristics above enumerated belong only to the bull.The cow is less shaggy in front, has a smaller head, a less fierceappearance, and is altogether more like the common black cattle.
The buffalo is of a dark brown colour--sometimes nearly black--andsometimes of a burnt or liver hue; but this change depends on theseason. The young coat of hair is darker, but changes as the seasonadvances. In autumn it is nearly black, and then the coat of the animalhas a shiny appearance; but as winter comes on, and the hair lengthens,it becomes lighter and more bleached-like. In the early part of summerit has a yellowish brown hue, and at this time, with rubbing andwallowing, part of it has already come off, while large flakes hangraggled and loose from the flanks, ready at any moment to drop off.
In size, the American buffalo competes with the European species (_Bosaurochs_), now nearly extinct. These animals differ in shapeconsiderably, but the largest individuals of each species would verynearly balance one another in weight. Either of them is equal in sizeand weight to the largest specimens of the common ox--prize oxen, ofcourse, excepted.
A full-grown buffalo-bull is six feet high at the shoulders, eight feetfrom the snout to the base of the tail, and will weigh about 1500pounds.
Rare individuals exist whose weight much exceeds this. The cows are, ofcourse, much smaller than the bulls, and scarcely come up to theordinary standard of farm-cattle.
The flesh of the buffalo is juicy and delicious, equal, indeed superior,to well-fed beef. It may be regarded as beef with a _game flavour_.
Many people--travellers and hunters--prefer it to any other species ofmeat.
The flesh of the cow, as may be supposed, is more tender and savourythan that of the bull; and in a hunt when "meat" is the object, the cowis selected as a mark for the arrow or bullet.
The parts most esteemed are the tongue, the "hump-ribs" (the longspinous processes of the first dorsal vertebra), and the marrow of theshank bones. "Boudins" (part of the intestines) are also favourite"tit-bits" among the Indians and trappers.
The tongues, when dried, are really superior to those of common beeves,and, indeed, the same may be said of the other parts, but there is abetter and worse in buffalo-beef, according to the age and sex of theanimal. "Fat cow" is a term for the super-excellent, and by "poorbull," or "old bull," is meant a very unpalatable article, only to beeaten by the hunter in times of necessity.
The range of the buffalo is extensive, though not as it once was. It isgradually being restricted by hunter-pressure, and the encroachments ofcivilisation. It now consists of a longitudinal strip, of which thewestern boundary may be considered the Rocky Mountains, and the easternthe Mississippi River, though it is only near the head waters of thelatter that the range of this animal extends so far east. Below themouth of the Missouri no buffalo are found near the Mississippi, norwithin two hundred miles of it--not, in fact, until you have cleared theforests that fringe this stream, and penetrated a good distance into theprairie tract. At one period, however, they roamed as far to the eastas the Chain of the Alleghanies.
In Texas, the buffalo yet extends its migrations to the head waters ofthe Brazos and Colorado, but it is not a Mexican animal. Following theRocky Mountains from the great bend of the Rio Grande, northward, wefind no buffalo west of them until we reach the higher latitudes nearthe sources of the Saskatchewan. There they have crossed the mountains,and are now to be met with in some of the plains that lie on the otherside. This, however, is a late migration, occasioned by hunter-pressureupon the eastern slope. The same has been observed at differentperiods, at other points in the Rocky Mountain chain, where the buffalohad made a temporary lodgment on the Pacific side of the mountains, butwhere they are now entirely extinct. It is known, from the traditionalhistory of the tribes on the west side, that the buffalo was only anewcomer among them, and was not indigenous to that division of theContinent.
Following the buffaloes north, we find their range co-terminous with theprairies. The latter end in an angle between the Peace River and thegreat Slave Lake, and beyond this the buffalo does not run. There is apoint, however, across an arm of the Slave Lake where buffalo are found.It is called Slave Point, and although contiguous to the primitiverocks of the "Barren Grounds" it is of a similar geology (_stratified_limestone) with the buffalo prairies to the west. This, to thegeologist, is an interesting fact.
From the Slave Lake, a line drawn to the head waters of the Mississippi,and passing through Lake Winnipeg, will shut in the buffalo countryalong the north-east. They are still found in large bands upon thewestern shores of Winnipeg, on the plains of the Saskatchewan and theRed River of the north. In fact, buffalo-hunting is one of the chiefemployments of the inhabitants of that half-Indian colony known as the"Red River Settlements."
One of the most singular facts in relation to the buffalo is theirenormous numbers. Nothing but the vast extent of their pasturage couldhave sustained such droves as have from time to time been seen.Thousands frequently feed together, and the plain for miles is oftencovered with a continuous drove. Sometimes they are seen strung outinto a long column, passing from place to place, and roads exist made bythem that resemble great highways. Sometimes these roads, worn by therains, form great hollows that traverse the level plain, and they oftenguide the thirsty traveller in the direction of water.
Another curious fact about the buffalo is their habit of wallowing. Thecause of this is not well-ascertained. It may be that they are promptedto it, as swine are, partly to cool their blood by bringing their bodiesin contact with the colder earth, and partly to scratch themselves asother cattle do, and free their skins from the annoying insects andparasites that prey upon them. It must be remembered that in theirpasturage no trees or "rubbing posts" are to be found, and in theabsence of these they are compelled to resort to wallowing. They flingthemselves upon their sides, and using their hunch and shoulder as apivot, spin round and round for hours at a time. In this rotatorymotion they aid themselves by using the legs freely. The earth becomeshollowed out and worn into a circular basin, often of considerabledepth, and this is known as a "buffalo wallow." Such curious circularconcavities are seen throughout the prairies where these animals range;sometimes grown over with grass, sometimes freshly hollowed out, and notunfrequently containing water, with which the traveller assuages histhirst, and so
, too, the buffalo themselves. This has led to thefanciful idea of the early explorers that there existed on the AmericanContinent an animal who _dug its own wells_!
The buffaloes make extensive migrations, going in large "gangs." Theseare not periodical, and are only partially influenced by climate. Theyare not regular either in their direction. Sometimes the gangs will beseen straying southward, at other times to the north, east, or west.
The search of food or water seems partially to regulate these movements,as with the passenger-pigeon, and some other migratory creatures.
At such times the buffaloes move forward in an impetuous march whichnothing seems to interrupt. Ravines are passed, and waterless plainstraversed, and rivers crossed without hesitation. In many cases broadstreams, with steep or marshy banks, are attempted, and thousands eitherperish in the waters or become mired in the swamp, and cannot escape,but die the most terrible of deaths. Then is the feast of the eagles,the vultures, and the wolves. Sometimes, too, the feast of the hunter;for when the Indians discover a gang of buffaloes in a difficulty ofthis kind, the slaughter is immense.
Hunting the buffalo is, among the Indian tribes, a profession ratherthan a sport. Those who practise it in the latter sense are few indeed,as, to enjoy it, it is necessary to do as we had done, make a journey ofseveral hundred miles, and risk our scalps, with no inconsiderablechance of losing them. For these reasons few amateur-hunters evertrouble the buffalo.
The true professional hunters--the white trappers and Indians--pursuethese animals almost incessantly, and thin their numbers with lance,rifle, and arrow.
Buffalo-hunting is not all sport without peril. The hunter frequentlyrisks his life; and numerous have been the fatal results of encounterswith these animals. The bulls, when wounded, cannot be approached, evenon horseback, without considerable risk, while a dismounted hunter hasbut slight chance of escaping.
The buffalo runs with a gait apparently heavy and lumbering--firstheaving to one side, then to the other, like a ship at sea; but thisgait, although not equal in speed to that of a horse, is far too fastfor a man on foot, and the swiftest runner, unless favoured by a tree orsome other object, will be surely overtaken, and either gored to deathby the animal's horns, or pounded to a jelly under its heavy hoofs.Instances of the kind are far from being rare, and could amateur-huntersonly get at the buffalo, such occurrences would be fearfully common. Anincident illustrative of these remarks is told by the traveller andnaturalist Richardson, and may therefore be safely regarded as a fact.
"While I resided at Charlton House, an incident of this kind occurred.Mr Finnan McDonald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's clerks, wasdescending the Saskatchewan in a boat, and one evening, having pitchedhis tent for the night, he went out in the dusk to look for game.
"It had become nearly dark when he fired at a bison bull, which wasgalloping over a small eminence; and as he was hastening forward to seeif the shot had taken effect, the wounded beast made a rush at him. Hehad the presence of mind to seize the animal by the long hair on hisforehead, as it struck him on the side with its horn, and being aremarkably tall and powerful man, a struggle ensued, which continueduntil his wrist was severely sprained, and his arm was renderedpowerless; he then fell, and after receiving two or three blows, becamesenseless.
"Shortly after, he was found by his companions lying bathed in blood,being gored in several places; and the bison was couched beside him,apparently waiting to renew the attack, had he shown any signs of life.Mr McDonald recovered from the immediate effects of the injuries hereceived, but died a few months after." Dr Richardson adds:--"Manyother instances might be mentioned of the tenaciousness with which thisanimal pursues its revenge; and I have been told of a hunter having beendetained for many hours in a tree, by an old bull which had taken itspost below to watch him."
The numbers of the buffalo, although still very great, are annually onthe decrease. Their woolly skins, when dressed, are of great value asan article of commerce. Among the Canadians they are in general use;they constitute the favourite wrappers of the traveller in that coldclimate: they line the cariole, the carriage, and the sleigh. Thousandsof them are used in the northern parts of the United States for asimilar purpose. They are known as buffalo-robes, and are oftenprettily trimmed and ornamented, so as to command a good price. Theyare even exported to Europe in large quantities.
Of course this extensive demand for the robes causes a proportionatedestruction among the buffaloes. But this is not all. Whole tribes ofIndians, amounting to many thousands of individuals, subsist entirelyupon these animals, as the Laplander upon the reindeer, or the GuaraniIndian upon the _moriche_ palm. Their blankets are buffalo-robes, partof their clothing buffalo-leather, their tents are buffalo-hides, andbuffalo-beef is their sole food for three parts of the year. The largeprairie tribes--as the Sioux, the Pawnees, the Blackfeet, the Crows, theChiennes, the Arapahoes, and the Comanches, with several smaller bands--live upon the buffalo. These tribes, united, number at least 100,000souls. No wonder the buffalo should be each year diminishing innumbers!
It is predicted that in a few years the race will become extinct. Thesame has been often said of the Indian. The _soi-disant_ prophet isaddicted to this sort of melancholy foreboding, because he believes bysuch babbling he gains a character for philanthropic sympathy; besides,it has a poetic sound. Believe me, there is not the slightest danger ofsuch a destiny for the Indian: his race is not to become extinct; itwill be on the earth as long as that of either black or white.Civilisation is removing the seeds of decay; civilisation will preservethe race of the red man yet to multiply. Civilisation, too, maypreserve the buffalo. The hunter races must disappear, and give placeto the more useful agriculturist. The prairies are wide--vast expansesof that singular formation must remain in their primitive wildness, atleast for ages, and these will still be a safe range for the buffalo.