midnight
The moon had risen , and I had no difficulty in following my own trail ; but before I had got half-way , I met several of my companions shouting , and at intervals firing off their guns . My horse had got back a little before sunset . His appearance had , of course , produced alarm , and the camp had turned out in search of me . Several who had a relish for fresh meat galloped back to strip the two bulls of the remaining tit-bits ; but before midnight all had returned ; and to the accompaniment of the hump-ribs spurting in the cheerful blaze , I recounted the details of my adventure . The bison -- universally , though improperly , called buffalo -- is , perhaps , the most interesting animal in America . Its great size and strength -- the prodigious numbers in which it is found -- its peculiar _ habitat _ -- the value of its flesh and hide to the traveller , as well as to the many tribes of Indians -- the mode of its chase and capture -- all these circumstances render the buffalo an interesting and highly-prized animal . Besides , it is the largest ruminant indigenous to America , exceeding in weight even the moose-deer , which latter , however , equals it in height .