engaged, many a skillful man has yielded up his life
for his temerity.

The American bison or buffalo seems to demand at our hands a short
episode from the narrative of Kit Carson's life. This animal has
several traits of character peculiarly his own. If alarmed, he starts
off almost instantly and always runs against the wind, his sense
of smell appearing to be better than his eyesight. What is a most
remarkable fact, a herd of buffalo, when grazing, always post and
maintain a line of sentinels to warn the main body of the approach of
danger. When a strange object comes within sight or smelling distance,
these sentinels immediately give the alarm by tossing up their heads
and tails and bellowing furiously. The whole herd instantly heed the
warning and are soon in motion. Buffalo run with forelegs stiff, which
fact, together with their ugly-looking humps and the lowness of their
heads, gives a rocking swing to their gait. If a herd, when in full
motion, have to cross a road on which wagons are traveling, they
change their course but little; and, it sometimes happens, that large
bands will pass within a stone's throw of a caravan. At night they are
quite systematic in forming their camps. In the centre are placed the
cows and calves; while, to guard against the wolves, large numbers
of which always follow them, they station on their outposts, the old
bulls. The age to which a buffalo may attain is not known; but, it is
certain that they are generally long-lived when not prematurely cut
off. When their powers of life begin to fade, they fall an easy prey
to the small, carnivorous animals of the plains. The attempt has been
made to domesticate and render them useful for agricultural purposes.
Hitherto such efforts have invariably failed. When restrained of their
freedom, they are reduced to mere objects of curiosity.

In hunting buffalo the most important matter for the attention of the
hunter is to provide himself with a suitable horse. The best that can
be selected is a trained Mexican or Indian pony. Their familiarity
with the game and the prairies, over which the hunter must ride at
full speed, renders these horses quite safe. On the other hand a green
horse is sure to be terribly frightened when called upon to face these
ugly-looking animals, and the rider will find he has his hands full
to manage him without thinking of his game. One great danger to be
apprehended is the being led into a prairie-dog town. Here a hor