ball that does not strike it fairly.

Hundreds of thousands of bisons are killed annually -- myriads of them
in pure wantonness -- and yet enormous droves may be encountered
today in many portions of the west, where it is hard for the
experienced hunters to detect any decrease in their numbers.

Some of the methods employed to slay bisons are cruel in the
extreme. Many a time a large herd has been stampeded in the direction
of some precipice. When the leaders found themselves on the edge,
they have endeavored to recoil; but there was no stemming the tide
behind them. The terrified animals literally pushed the leaders over
the rocks and then tumbled upon them. In a little while the gully
or stream would be choked with the furiously struggling creatures
and hundreds would be killed within a few minutes.

The bison is as fond as the hog of wallowing in mud. When he comes
upon a marshy spot he lies down and rolls about until he has worn
out a large and shallow excavation into which the water oozes
through the damp soil. Lying down again he rolls and turns until
he is plastered from head to tail with mud. Though it cannot be
said that it adds to his attractiveness, yet the coating no doubt
serves well as a protection against the swarms of insects, which
are sometimes terrible enough to sting animals to death.

Those who have viewed the scraggy specimens in the menageries and
zoological gardens would scarcely suspect the activity and power
of running possessed by them. The body is covered with such an
abundance of hair that it looks larger than it really is, while
the legs appear smaller. But the bison not only can run swiftly,