e it is hard for the experienced hunters
to detect any decrease in their numbers.

Some of the methods employed to slay bisons are cruel in the extreme.
Many a time a large herd has been stampeded in the direction of some
precipice. When the leaders found themselves on the edge, they have
endeavored to recoil; but there was no stemming the tide behind them.
The terrified animals literally pushed the leaders over the rocks and
then tumbled upon them. In a little while the gully or stream would be
choked with the furiously struggling creatures and hundreds would be
killed within a few minutes.

The bison is as fond as the hog of wallowing in mud. When he comes upon
a marshy spot he lies down and rolls about until he has worn out a large
and shallow excavation into which the water oozes through the damp soil.
Lying down again he rolls and turns until he is plastered from head
to tail with mud. Though it cannot be said that it adds to his
attractiveness, yet the coating no doubt serves well as a protection
against the swarms of insects, which are sometimes terrible enough to
sting animals to death.

Those who have viewed the scraggy specimens in the menageries and
zoological gardens would scarcely suspect the activity and power of
running possessed by them. The body is covered with such an abundance
of hair that it looks larger than it really is, while the legs appear
smaller. But the bison not only can run swiftly, but possesses great
endurance. They will often dash at full speed over ground so rough that
the more graceful horse will stumble.

When wounded by the hunters, a bull will sometimes turn in desperation
on his persecutor. Then, unless the horse is well trained, serious
consequences are likely to follow. The plunging thrust of his stumpy
horns perhaps rips open the steed, sending the rider flying over the
back of the furious bison, who may turn upon him and slay him before he
can escape.

This rarely happens, however, the bison being a huge, cowardly creature
which prefers to run rather than fight, and a hunt of the game in these
days often takes the character of wholesale butchery in which no true
sportsman would engage.

CHAPTER XIV.

A Strange Occurrence--Arrival of Friends--Carson Joins a Large
Company--Trapping on the Yellowstone--The Blackfeet--A Dreadful
Scourge--In Winter Quarters--The Friendly Crow Indians--Loss of Two
Trappers--On the Head Waters of the Missouri.

A singular occurren