within a radius of 5 miles at the time her calf was discovered. Nor did
she return to look for it, as two of us proved by spending the night in
the sage-brush at the very spot where the calf was taken. Colonel Dodge
declares that "the cow seems to possess scarcely a trace of maternal
instinct, and, when frightened, will abandon and run away from her calf
without the slightest hesitation. * * * When the calves are young they
are always kept in the center of each small herd, while the bulls
dispose themselves on the outside."[28]

[Note 28: Plains of the Great West, pp. 124, 125.]

Apparently the maternal instinct of the cow buffalo was easily mastered
by fear. That it was often manifested, however, is proven by the
following from Audubon and Bachman:[29]

[Note 29: Quadrupeds of North America, vol. II, pp. 38, 39.]

"Buffalo calves are drowned from being unable to ascend the steep banks
of the rivers across which they have just swam, as the cows cannot help
them, although they stand near the bank, and will not leave them to
their fate unless something alarms them.

"On one occasion Mr. Kipp, of the American Fur Company, caught eleven
calves, their dams all the time standing near the top of the bank.
Frequently, however, the cows leave the young to their fate, when most
of them perish. In connection with this part of the subject, we may add
that we were informed, when on the Upper Missouri River, that when the
banks of that river were practicable for cows, and their calves could
not follow them, they went down again, after having gained the top, and
would remain by them until forced away by the cravings of hunger. When