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Half an hour and then an hour went by, and still there was no diminution of the herd. The second hour and the third passed, and still they came, crowding and pushing, blowing and snorting, steaming and reeking.

5 "Won't they ever go by, father?" asked Bennie. "I should think there were a million of them."

"It is the most wonderful thing that I ever saw," replied Mr. Anderson. "I have often heard old hunters tell about the countless herds of buffaloes, but I had always supposed that they were 10 lying. In the future I will believe anything about their numbers."

At last seeing that they were in no immediate danger, Mr. Anderson told the boys to go to sleep if they could, and he would watch. If there was any need of their help, he would call them. 15 Accordingly, all the firearms were loaded and placed by Mr. Anderson, and the boys and Shep curled up near the forward wheels to rest. They were terribly tired, for the excitement and the hard work had told upon their young nerves and muscles.

The last thing Bennie remembered was the thunder of the 20 myriad hoofs, and the rocking and trembling of the earth under him. But even these sounds soon ceased for him, and he and his brother slept.

When he again opened his eyes, the sun was shining brightly, and the clouds of dust that had obscured the moon when he fell 25 asleep had been partly dissipated. Here and there he could see an occasional buffalo galloping southward, but the mighty herd, whose numbers had seemed like the stars, was gone.

"It's the tail end of the procession, boy," called Bennie's father. "The last installment went by about fifteen minutes ago. 30 I did not dream that bison could be found in such numbers in western Missouri at the present time. I had supposed the few scattering head that we saw were all that were left in the state." This conclusion of Mr. Anderson's was quite right, but that autumn, for some unaccountable reason, the great herd had come 35 down for a part of the way on the Missouri River on its southern

migration, following the old trail of two decades before instead of crossing western Nebraska and Kansas. It had been a costly experiment, however, for all the way hunters had swarmed upon their flanks and they had lost thousands of head. But what did 5 that matter? Their number was legion.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

Biography. Clarence Hawkes (1869- ), the naturalist-author, is a native of Massachusetts. He is a member of the American Bison Society, which has for its purpose the conservation of American buffaloes. When he was fourteen years of age, he was made totally blind by an accidental shot in the eyes. In 1893 he began writing and giving public lectures. Among his many books are: Little Foresters; Shaggy Coat; Tenants of the Trees; Black Bruin; The Wilderness Dog; and King of the Thundering Herd, from which "The Thundering Herd" is taken.

Discussion. 1. The events narrated in this story took place, it is said, in 1871. Describe the caravan and tell where the family was going. 2. How long had they been traveling when the incident of the thundering herd occurred? 3. Where did the event occur, and under what conditions? 4. What does this story tell you of the number of buffaloes on the plains at that time? 5. Find in the Glossary the meaning of: dilapidated; inadequate; coulee; eminence; incredulous; butte; annihilation; frontlet; buffer; domicile; veered; diminution; dissipated. 6. Pronounce: coyote; ally; amicable; undulating; pall; impotent; respite; irreparable.

prairie schooner, 44, 1 Missouri Bad Lands, 44, 26

Phrases for Study

belted half the horizon, 46, 20

Class Reading. The plan of escape, page 47, line 13, to page 48, line 3; the description of the approach of the herd, page 48, lines 4 to 23; the passing of the herd, page 48, line 24, to the end.

Outline for Testing Silent Reading. Make an outline to guide you in telling the story.

Library Reading. The other chapters of King of the Thundering Herd (an interesting social exercise may be made by assigning the various chapters to different members, to be read silently and reported on in class); another story by this author: "Passing of the Buffalo" (in Overland Monthly, May, 1915).

Magazine Reading

The author of "The Thundering Herd" contributes stories, articles, and verse to many magazines and newspapers. In like manner Lowell, Holmes, Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier, and Poe were all contributors to the magazines of their time. Many of the masterpieces of American literature were first published in magazines, and doubtless some of the poems and prose stories of today will also be considered masterpieces in the future.

More and more the average American is coming to depend upon current periodicals for his general reading; from the large number of magazines now published he chooses one that suits his particular interest and taste. Examine the magazines in the library and ask the librarian's advice as to which you will be likely to find most useful and enjoyable. You are probably familiar with some or all of the following: The Junior Red Cross News, St. Nicholas, The Youth's Companion, The Saturday Evening Post, The National Geographic Magazine, Popular Mechanics, The Outlook, Good Housekeeping, The World's Work, The Literary Digest. What others do you sometimes read?

Valuable suggestions for magazine reading will be gained if each member of the class chooses some one magazine, agreeing to examine the current numbers as they appear, and to inform the class of the most interesting articles, stories, and poems. In this way the individual reading of each member is placed at the service of the entire class.

Perhaps you have had the experience of reading a story in some magazine, and later, when you wished to refer to it, of being unable to recall in which number or in which magazine you had read it. The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature will help you to locate a story, poem, or article by title, author, or subject. It will also be helpful in showing you what has appeared in current magazines by certain authors or on certain subjects. Ask your teacher or the librarian to show you how to use The Readers' Guide.

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5

TO A WATERFOWL

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT

Whither, midst falling dew,

While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?

Vainly the fowler's eye

Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.

Seek'st thou the plashy brink

10 Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean-side?

54

5

There is a Power whose care

Teaches thy way along that pathless coast-
The desert and illimitable air-

Lone wandering, but not lost.

All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere;
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near.

And soon that toil shall end;

10 Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend
Soon o'er thy sheltered nest.

Thou'rt gone; the abyss of heaven

Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart 15 Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart.

20

He who from zone to zone

Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone

Will lead my steps aright.

NOTES AND QUESTIONS

Biography. William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), the first great American poet, was born in western Massachusetts and educated in the district school. At home he had the use of his father's library, an exceptionally fine one, and he made the most of its advantages. In 1816 he journeyed on foot to Plainfield, Massachusetts, to look for a place to open a law office. He felt forlorn and desolate, and the world seemed big and cold. On his way he paused, impressed by the beauty of the sunset, and saw a solitary wild-fowl wing its way along the horizon until it was lost in the distance. He went on with new courage, and when he stopped for

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