What do our horses and cattle eat? Where do we get their food? What
do wild cattle and horses eat? See if you can find out whether wild
cattle or horses have ever lived in a place where the ground is
covered with snow part of the year.
Did you ever see cattle pawing the ground? Did you ever see horses
pawing the ground? Did you ever see them paw the snow?
See if you can find out something about the great herds of bison
that used to live in this country. What has become of them?
Can you think why bison live in herds? What officers does a herd of
bison have? Can you think how the officers of a herd of bison are
chosen?
_The Return of the Bison_
Ever since the reindeer went away the Cave-men had been looking for
the return of the bison. Each summer the herds came up the valley to
feed on green grass and tender shoots. Each winter they went to the
forests of the lowlands where they found shelter from the cold.
The snow was now gone from the wooded hills and the days were warm
again. The dingy brown coats of the hillsides were changing to the
palest green. The buds were beginning to swell. Everything seemed to
say that summer was coming.
Each day the Cave-men watched for signs of the coming of the great
herd. Each night they danced the bison dance and tried to make the
bison come.
One morning Straightshaft climbed the cliff and looked far up and down
the valley. Looking north he could see the River of Stones with high
cliffs on one or both banks. He could see dense forests of evergreen
that grew on the low banks. He could see hills and valleys beyond the
cliffs where many wild animals lived.
Looking south, near at hand, was the Fork of the River where Little
River joined the River of Stones. Here the cliffs were not very high;
farther down, they became lower, and at last there were no cliffs. The
edge of the lowland forest where the bison wintered could be seen far
away. Grassy lowlands near the forests stretched farther than the eye
could see. It was here that the bison and cattle found the best
winter pastures. It was in the lowland forests that they found
shelter from the cold.
[Illustration: "_Straightshaft saw the herd at sunrise and made a sign
to the men._"]
Straightshaft looked toward the lowlands, hoping to see a bison.
Mammoths were feeding not far away, and beyond were woolly
rhinoceroses. But there was not one bison.
[Illustration: _An ibex._]
As Straightshaft watched the second day, chamois and ibexes played on
the hills. Herds of horses came from the grassy uplands and returned
after drinking at the ford. But no sign of a bison yet appeared.
The third day Straightshaft saw a black spot in the distance. It was
far down on the river trail. As he watched, it became larger and
larger. And then Straightshaft knew that it was a bison coming in
advance of the great herd.
The morning of the fourth day the great herd came. A powerful bison
led the way. Strong sentinels guarded either side. The herd followed
blindly, galloping eight or ten abreast.
Straightshaft saw the herd at sunrise and made a sign to the men.
Those who saw it passed it along, and soon all the people had seen the
sign. Then everybody climbed up a hill or a high cliff and watched the
coming of the bison.
Nearer and nearer the great herd came, like a sea of tossing manes and
horns. The earth trembled beneath their tread and the air was filled
with their bellowing.
When the bison reached the ford, the foremost creatures stopped to
drink. But the solid mass, pressing on from the rear, crowded them up
the river. Soon the ford was packed with struggling beasts. Some tried
to escape by swimming up the river. Others swam down the stream. And
still the solid mass from the rear kept crowding on and on.
At length the herd divided. One part followed the river trail,
while the other went up the narrow valley. Whenever a herd reached a
branching valley, a big bison led off a small herd. This happened many
a time. And at the close of the day there was not a little valley in
the surrounding country that did not have a herd of two or three
hundred bison.
#THINGS TO DO#
_Play you are a herd of bison, and show how the herd marched. Show
how it divided. Show how you think it would come together again._
_Show in your sand-box where Straightshaft stood while he watched.
Show the trails the bison followed._
_Think of the herd as it galloped up the river trail. Draw the
picture._
_Make such a sign as you think Straightshaft made._
_Plan a bison dance._