Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 3.djvu/425

Rh to press upon the buffalo at the first of the race, and when you approach within fifty or sixty yards of them, you will find that they can let out a few more links; but if a bull is wounded, even very slightly, the moment you press hard upon him he will turn short around, curl his tail over his back, bow his neck, and face you for a fight. At this time you had as well keep at a convenient distance. If you keep off about fifty yards he will stand, and you may load and fire several times; but you had better not fire at his head, for you will not hurt him much if you hit him, for the ball will never penetrate through the skull bone. Whenever you bring one to bay, if the country is not too broken, and your horse is good, there is no danger of his escape, as you may shoot as often as you please; and whenever you give the animal a deadly shot he will kick as if kicking at some object that attacks him. The buffalo, when excited, is very hard to kill, and you may put several balls through his heart, and he will then live, sometimes for hours. The best place to shoot him is behind the shoulder, at the bulge of the ribs, and just below the backbone, so as to pass through the thick part of the lungs. This is the most deadly of all shots; and when you see the animal .cough up blood it is unnecessary to shoot him any more. When you shoot them through the lungs the blood smothers them immediately. The lungs of the buffalo are very large and easily hit by any sort of a marksman. If you pursue a buffalo, not wounded, you may run up by his side, and shoot off your horse. The animal becomes tired after running at the top of his speed for two or three miles, and will then run at a slow gallop. The buffalo is a most noble animal—very formidable in appearance—and in the summer has a very short soft coat of fine wool over his body, from behind his shoulders to his tail. His neck and head a*re covered with a thick mass of long black wool, almost concealing his short thick horns (the points of which just peep out), and his small eye. This animal has a great deal of bold daring, and it is difficult to turn him from his course.

On the twenty-seventh of June we had stopped our wagons, about one half mile from the river, to spend the noon, and rest our teams. While there, we discovered seven large buffalo bulls slowly moving up the river on the opposite side; and when they were about opposite to us, they plunged into the river, and swam toward us, in the face of wagons, teams, cattle, horses, men and all. Every man shouldered his gun, and some went up, and some down the river, so as to form a complete semicircle. We were all certain that the buffalo would turn back, and recross the river; but on they came, merely turning their course a little around the wagons. You never heard such a bombardment in all your life. Not a buffalo escaped unhurt; and three or four were killed within a very short distance. The buffalo, being a very large object, can be seen at a very great distance. Perhaps the flesh of no animal is more delicious than that of a young buffalo cow, in