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Show 406 THE CALIFORNIA AND OREGON TRAIL. When Shaw left me he had walked down for some distance under the river-bank to find another bull. At length he saw the plains covered with the host of buffalo, and soon after heard the crack of I-Ienry's rifle. Ascendjng the Lank, he era w led through the grass, which for a rod or two from the river was very high and rank. He had not crawled far before to his astonishment he saw Henry standing erect upon the prairie, almost surrounded by the buffalo. Henry was in his appropriate element. Nelson, on the deck of the 'Victory,' hardly felt a prouder sense of mastery than he. Quite uncon. scious that any one was looking at him, he stood at the full height of his tall, strong figure, one hand resting upon his side, and the other arm leaning carelessly on the muzzle of his rifle. His eyes was r anging over the singular assemblage around him. Now and then he would select such a cow as suited l1im, level his rifle, and shoot her dead ; th en quietly re-loading, he would resume his former position. The buffalo seemed no more to regard his presence than if he were one of them. selves; the bulls were bellowing and butting at each other, or else rolling about in the dust. A group of buffalo would gather about the carcass of a dead cow, snuffing at her wounds; and sometimes they would come behind those that had not yet fallen, and endeavor to push them from the spot. Now and then some old bull would face towaTd I-Ienry with an air of stupid amazement, but none seemed inclin ed to attack or fly from him. For some time Shaw lay among the grass, looking in surprise at this extraordinary sight; at length he crawled cautiously forward, and spoke in a low voice to Henry, who • told him to rise and come on. Still the buffalo showed no sign of fear; they remained gathered about their dead companions. • THE BUFFALO CAMP. 407 Henry had already killed as many cows as we wanted for use, and Shaw, knPeling behind one of the carcasses, shot five bulls before the rest thought it nccesssary to disperse. The frequent stupidity and infatuation of the buffalo seems the more remarkable from the contrast it offers to their wildness and wariness at other times. Henry knew all their peculiarities; he had studied them as a scholar studies his books, and he derived quite as much pleasure from the occupation. The buffalo were a kind of companions to him, and, as he Raid, he never felt alone when they were about him. He took great pride in his skill in hunting. Henry was one of the mo~t modest of men ; yet in the simplicity nnd frankness of h1s character, it was quite clear that he looked upon his pre-emience in this respect as a thing too palpable anu well-established ever to be disputed. But whatever may have been his estimate of his own skill, it was rather below than above that which others placed upon it. The only time that I ever saw a shade of scorn dark en h1· s wc. ee, was w 11 en t wo vo 1u nteer soldiers ' who had just killed a buffulo for the first time, undertook to instruct him as to the best method of 'approa.c hm. g. ' T 0 borrow an I. llustra.t1.0 n from an oppos1· te S·l1l e o f 11'1"e , "u.n Eton-boy might as well have sourrht to enliahten Persons on the formation of a t:J b Greek verb, or a Fl ct-street shopkeeper to instruct Chester-field concerning a point" of etiquelte. Henry always seemed to think that he hnrl a sort of prescriptive right to the buffalo, and to look upon them as someth·m g b e l ong·m g pecul iarly to himself. Nothincr excited his indianation so much as any wanton b b . destruct1.0 n comm1. ttecl among t h e cows, an d w· his view shootmg a calf was a cardina.l sin. Henry Chatillon and Tete Rouge were of the same age |