But my father,
feeling the importance of obtaining some fresh meat, volunteered to
go,--directing a light cart to follow, in order to bring back our
game,--and I obtained leave to accompany him.

One of the Indians could speak English sufficiently well to make himself
understood by us. Talking to my father, and finding that even he had
never shot any buffalo, the Indian advised that we should allow him and
his people to attack the herd in their own manner, as the animals might
take alarm before we could get up to them, and escape us altogether. My
father agreed to this, saying that, should they fail, he would be ready
with his rifle to ride after the herd and try to bring down one or more
of them. This plan was agreed to, and we rode forward.

I observed our Indian friend dismount and put his ear to the ground
several times as we rode forward. My father asked him why he did this.
He replied that it was to ascertain how far off the buffalo were: he
could judge of the distance by the sound of their feet, and their
occasional roars as the bulls engaged in combat. Not an animal, however,
was yet visible.

At last we caught sight of a number of dark objects moving on the
prairie in the far distance.

"There is the herd!" exclaimed the Indian; "we must now be wary how we
approach."

Still we went on, the animals being too busily engaged in grazing, or in
attacking each other, to observe us. At last the Indian advised that we
should halt behind a knoll which rose out of the plain, with a few
bushes on the summit. Here we could remain concealed from the herd. So,
having gained the foot of the knoll, we dismounted; and leaving our
horses in charge of the men with the cart, my father and I climbed up to
the top, where by crouching down we were unseen by the herd, although we
could observe all that was going forward.

The Indian hunters now took some wolf-skins which had been hanging to
their saddles, and completely covering themselves up, so as to represent
wolves, they began to creep towards the herd, trailing their rifles at
their sides; thus they got nearer and nearer the herd. Whenever any of
the animals stopped to look at them, they stopped also; when the buffalo
went on feeding, they advanced. At length each hunter, having selected a
cow, suddenly sprang to his knees and fired, and three fine animals
rolled over; though, had the buffalo bulls known their power, they
might, with the greatest ease, have crushed their h