Several buffaloes had now been slain, and others were wounded. As I was passing along, I saw a buffalo that had received a bullet in his side, and was severely hurt. The creature seemed exhausted and incapable of flight. As if understanding the exact nature of the case, several wolves had gathered around him, and, squatting upon their haunches at a respectful distance, were waiting the moment when the animal should be sufficiently feeble to render it safe for them to make the attack. At my approach, however, the buffalo made a new effort, and galloped beyond my reach, followed, however, by his unrelenting and greedy attendants.
In about half an hour after the attack commenced, it was all over. The herd had passed on; but scattered along, for the space of three or four miles, lay no less than sixteen dead buffaloes, the fruit of our efforts. I must say, however, that the packs of wolves, which constantly hung around the buffaloes, devoured two or three that we had killed before we could secure them.
Several days were spent in skinning our game; in cutting off the best parts of the meat, and in preparations for our return. At last, having loaded our horses with the hides and a portion of the meat, and each man taking what he could carry, we set out upon our journey, and, after a laborious march, reached the settlement.
The new London Exchange.
The bank of England is the focus of the money operations of London. It is situated in that part of the metropolis called the city, about a mile and a half to the east of Temple Bar.
This bank is an immense quadrangular building, with a large court in the centre. The number of rooms in the edifice are numerous, and a person without a guide would inevitably get lost amid its labyrinth of staircases, passages, rooms, entries, and offices. During the business hours of the day, there are constant streams of people passing in and out of this great temple of mammon.
The number of officers and clerks employed in the bank is very great, and, in some of the rooms, you see them shovelling heaps of gold, almost as freely and as abundantly as if it were Indian corn. Near the bank is the post-office, which is also an immense edifice. The number of persons at work within the bustle and activity that are exhibited there, the marking of parcels, the tumbling about of mail-bags, the running hither and thither, seem almost to render the place a city in itself.
Near these two great buildings are the offices of the chief bankers of London, who receive and pay out immense sums of money at their counters every day. All the streets in this region are mainly occupied by persons who are engaged in the great money operations of the metropolis. Nothing can exceed the bustle and activity of this part of the city. The streets are thronged with cabs, coaches, omnibuses, and other vehicles, and with a ceaseless flood of people, passing rapidly on, as if they thought the world was speedily coming to an end.
