The Arkansas advocate., 1835-05-29


 cupied, al least five hundred souls. After travelling through the prairie until nearly night, we found a hollow of good, and, for a rarity, perfectly fresh water Here we encamped, and in the night we were ava kened by the snorting of one of our mules. After gathering our arms and waiting some time for an attack we discovered that the cause of the alarm was simply a deer or two whistling at distance. Tfav- eled this day about eighteen miles east northeast.
 20.-After travelling about five miles in broken prairie couGtry, we discovered two or three buffalo ahead of us, and Lewis and Ish went on and wounded two of them, one of which, an old COW, ran up into the prairie and fell. She was too poor for US to touch, and we left her lying there. We were now fairly in the broad open prairie, and among the buffalo and to the wander CT in the prairie, nothing is so insnirting as the thought of tie immense herds of these animals which are found on is broad bosom Their numbers are truly astonish- ing. You may see them for whole days on each side of you as far as your sight will extend, apparently so thick, that one might easily walk for miles upon their backs, lisllessly feeding along, until they take the wind of you, and then moving off at speed, of which the unwieIdy animals seem hardly capable. Wherever they have passed, the ground looks as if t had been burnt over.
 Except in their faculty of smelling, the buffalo is the most stupid animal in the world; and if you will creep towards them, and obtain two or three shots at them be- fore you are seen, you may then rise and fire half a day at them they will only look stupidly at you ont of their little eyes, and now and then utter q grunt. But when they have once smelt the blood of a con- panion, they are apt to abscond. When an cid bull Is shot in any vital part, and the hunter remains unseen, he will run q little way, and then stand and bleed to death; but let him once see the hunter, and become enraged, and it seems impossible to kill him. have seen them live for d length of time which seemed astonishing, when ball after ball had been shot into their heart and lungs. 4 COW will com monlY stand when shot. until she hleeds to death. The enraged old bull, making fight, has rather formidable appearance, shaking his huge head, matted over with hair; and glaring with his little tvinkling eyes. 4 large herd of them would make a tremendous charge upon body of horse, if they could be brought LID to 1t. Nothing could stand against their hard heads, which a rife bullet will not enter at a distance greater than ten steps. Like all other animals, they take especial care to defend their young; and you may frequently see in the prairie, rings, perhaps fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, made by the bufa- 10. They place their calves in the centre, and tramp round them during the night, to protect them from the wolves.
 The flesh of an old bull is the worst meat in the world during the summer and autumn and that of the fat COW is undoubt- edly the best. l know of nothing edible, which I would not exchange for the hump ribs of fat buffalo COW.
 After leaving the old COW, we went on to a small hollow bordered by cottonwood and willows, and encamped in the bottom of the hollow. We had travelled this forenoon in a course nearly east-north-east thirteen miles, and we now determined 10 change our course and turn to the north. We supposed ourselves to be on tho north side of Red River, and were desirous of reach ing the Nashita. Accordingly, in the af- ternoon we travelled in a north course about eight miles, and encamped in the open prai- rie, OH the edge of hole of water. We saw in the evening, plenty of scattering bulls. all with their faces turned to the south, and we knew that the COWS could not be far behind them. We likewise saw a herd of elk trotting off at a distance; and at night, we made fire, for the first time, of the dry ofdare of the buffalo, which IS the common fuel in the prairie It makes an excellent fire. and has saved me from freezing to death several times. Here we heard also for the first time, the buffalo grunting about Us in the night. Travelled this day in the whole, about twenty-one miles.
 7o De Continued.