t the green turf around them was torn and
furrowed by their hoofs. It was in the middle of the meadow that this
indiscriminate contest was carried on--in the open ground--and a finer
spot for such an exhibition they could hardly have chosen, had they
wished to accommodate a large number of spectators. The valley itself,
with the ridges that encircled it, was not unlike one of the great
Spanish amphitheatres, where bull-fights are carried on; while the
smooth, level surface of the meadow represented the arena. The
combatants, however, were engaged in no mock encounter to gratify the
curiosity of an idle crowd; nor did they apprehend that there were
spectators present.

The contest in which they were engaged was a _real_ fight; and their
angry roars, their hurried rushing backwards and forwards, and the loud
cracking of their skulls as they came together, proved them to be in
earnest.

That the animals were buffaloes was apparent at first sight. Their
great bulk, the lion-like form of their bodies, but, above all, their
bellowing, that resembled the "routing" of enraged bulls, convinced our
young hunters that they could be no other than buffaloes--and buffaloes
they were--a "gang" of old buffalo bulls engaged in one of their
terrible tournaments.

I have said that our hunters, on first seeing them, were influenced by
feelings of terror. But why so? What was there in the appearance of a
herd of buffaloes to frighten them, since that was the very thing they
had so long been in search of? Was it the angry attitudes of the
animals, or their loud roaring? Nothing of the sort? No. That was not
what had inspired them with fear, or, as I should rather term it, with
awe. No. The reason was very different indeed. It was not because
they were buffaloes, or because they were engaged in a fierce battle,--
it was because _they were white buffaloes_!

You will again ask, why this should have been a cause of terror. Was a
_white_ buffalo not the very object of the expedition? Should the sight
of one not have produced _joy_ rather than _fear_? So the sight of
_one_ would; but it was the sight of _so many_--the mysterious spectacle
of nearly a dozen of these animals together--a thing unparalleled,
unheard of--it was this that inspired our adventurers with awe.

It was some time before any of the three could find words to express
their astonishment. They sat in silence, gazing down into the valley.
They could hardly b