forest to find some spot for their noontide rest.

It was a very still day, and there were nearly three hours of daylight
left. Without a word my silent companion, who had been scanning the
whole country with hawk-eyed eagerness, took the trail, motioning
me to follow. In a moment we entered the woods, breathing a sigh of
relief as we did so; for while in the meadow we could never tell that
the buffalo might not see us, if they happened to be lying in some
place with a commanding lookout.

It was not very long before we struck the day-beds, which were made
on a knoll, where the forest was open, and where there was much down
timber. After leaving the day-beds the animals had at first fed
separately around the grassy base and sides of the knoll, and had then
made off in their usual single file, going straight to a small pool in
the forest. After drinking they had left this pool and traveled down
toward the mouth of the basin, the trail leading along the sides of
the steep hill, which were dotted by open glades. Here we moved with
caution, for the sign had grown very fresh, and the animals had once
more scattered and begun feeding. When the trail led across the
glades, we usually skirted them so as to keep in the timber.

At last, on nearing the edge of one of these glades, we saw a movement
among the young trees on the other side, not fifty yards away. Peering
through some thick evergreen bushes, we speedily made out three bison,
a cow, a calf, and a yearling, grazing greedily on the other side of
the glade. Soon another cow and calf stepped out after them. I did not
wish to shoot, waiting for the appearance of the big bull which I knew
was accompanying them.