The Voice of the American Bison. In 1907 the statement of George
Catlin, to the effect that in the fall the bellowing of buffalo
bulls on the plains resembled the muttering of distant thunder,
was denied and severely criticized in a sportsman's magazine. On
October 4 of that year, while we were selecting the fifteen bison
to be presented to the Government, to found the Wichita National
Bison Herd, four of us heard our best bull _bellow_ five
times, while another did the same thing four times.

The sound uttered was a deep-voiced roar,--not a grunt,--rising
and falling in measured cadence, and prolonged about four or five
seconds. It was totally different from the ordinary grunt of
hunger, or the menace of an angry buffalo, which is short and
sharp. In discussing the quality of the bellow, we agreed that it
could properly be called a low roar. It is heard only in the
rutting season,--the period described by Catlin,--and there is
good reason to believe that Caitlin's description is perfectly
correct.

The Scream of the Puma. This is a subject that will not lie still.
I presume it will recur every five years as long as pumas endure.
Uncountable pages of controversial letters have been expended upon
the question: "Does the puma ever scream, like a woman in
distress?"

The true answer is easy, and uncontestable by people whose minds
are open to the rules of evidence.

Yes; the adult female puma DOES scream,-_in the mating