ved off, except one bull, who, when I came up, still kept
the Indians at bay. 'You are warriors,' said I, as I rode up, 'going far
from your own country, to seek an enemy, but you cannot take his wife
from that old bull, who has nothing in his hands.' So saying, I passed
them directly towards the bull, then standing something more than two
hundred yards distant. He no sooner saw me approach, than he came
plunging towards me with such impetuosity, that, knowing the danger to
my horse and myself, I turned and fled. The Indians laughed heartily at
my repulse, but they did not give over their attempts to get at the cow.
By dividing the attention of the bull, and creeping up to him on
different sides, they at length shot him down. While we were cutting up
the cow, the herd were at no great distance; and an old cow, which the
Indians supposed to be the mother of the one we had killed, taking the
scent of the blood, came running with great violence towards us. The
Indians were alarmed and fled, many of them not having their guns in
their hands; but I had carefully reloaded mine, and had it ready for
use. Throwing myself down close to the body of the cow, and behind it, I
waited till the other came up within a few yards of the carcase, when I
fired upon her; she turned, gave one or two jumps, and fell dead. We had
now the meat of two fat cows, which was as much as we wanted;
accordingly we repaired, without delay, to the appointed place, where we
found our party, whose hunger was already somewhat allayed by a deer one
of them had killed."

In hunting the Bison, the spear and the arrow are still much in use
among the Indians. The following sketch (after Catlin) represents an
Indian in the act of shooting a Bison with the arrow:--

[Illustration]

In the 'Letters and Notes on the North-American Indians,' by Catlin,
there are a great many interesting details of the Bison (or Buffalo, as
it is there called).

"Six days of severe travelling have brought us from the Camanchee
village to the north bank of the Canadian, where we are snugly encamped
on a beautiful plain, and in the midst of countless numbers of
buffaloes; and halting a few days to recruit our horses and men, and dry
meat to last us the remainder of our journey.

"The plains around this, for many miles, seem actually speckled, in
distance and in every direction, with herds of grazing buffaloes; and
for several days, the officers and men have been indulged in a gener