. The big game of North America. Its habits, habitats, haunts, and characteristics; how, when, and where to hunt it .. . ne. When withintwo hundred yards of the brink, to our amazement, a Buf-falo appeared, clambering up the face of the other wall ofthe ravine, at a point that we afterward found taxed theclimbing powers of a footman. Another and another camebobbing up, and we drew up the horses, utterly dumb-founded to see that every one, even to the calves, had madethe plunge in safety. This, to me, was one of the most noteworthy things thatever came under my observation. Many times afterward
. The big game of North America. Its habits, habitats, haunts, and characteristics; how, when, and where to hunt it .. . ne. When withintwo hundred yards of the brink, to our amazement, a Buf-falo appeared, clambering up the face of the other wall ofthe ravine, at a point that we afterward found taxed theclimbing powers of a footman. Another and another camebobbing up, and we drew up the horses, utterly dumb-founded to see that every one, even to the calves, had madethe plunge in safety. This, to me, was one of the most noteworthy things thatever came under my observation. Many times afterwardwe saw Buffalo-tracks on the slight projections of the wallsof these deep gullies, in places where we could only stopand stare. The shape of their limbs, too, seemed utterly toforbid their climbing such walls. As the bulls at this season of the year were fatter thanthe cows, a fact which was apparent ■ at a glance, wenaturally chose them for beef, and as, like all tenderfeet,we were ambitious to kill the largest specimen to be found,it followed that nearly all we killed were large bulls. Yet^ zo n. THE BUFFALO. 299 when standing over the body of my first Buffalo, andnoticing the extreme slenderness of the legs just above thehoof, I then and there began to measure each and every onewe killed for meat, beside large ones found dead—whenthey did not smell too badly. I found only one the hmdleg of which I failed to siDan with the middle finger andthumb of one hand, and this one was a dead and swollenanimal, killed several days before. The fore leg was a triflelarger, having a circumference about three-fourths of aninch greater. The size and weight of the Buffalo would seem to neces-sitate a leg as strong as steel for the down-hill i^lungesthis animal can safely make. The ability of the Buffalo to climb up the most imprac-ticable steeps is noted by Fremont; and that fascinatingwriter, George Bird Grinnell ( Yo), who hunted Buttalow^ith the Pawnee Indians on this same hunting-grou
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectg, booksubjecthunting
