Long before the first Europeans arrived in America, a strange looking animal lived on the western plains. It looked somewhat like a water buffalo. It had a hump like a camel and a mane(鬃)like a lion. It preferred to eat the rich grass of the plains. The official name of the strange animal is the American Bison. However, nearly everyone calls it a buffalo.In the early days, millions of buffalo moved freely across the continent. They were powerful animals and ran with great speed. The Indians hunted them for food and clothing.In the 19th century, white men hunted the bison for their skins. They seldom killed the bison for meat. One famous frontiersman, however, Buffalo Bill Cody hunted buffalo for meat. The railroads used the meat to feed their workers.The American buffalo could run at a speed of almost 75 kilometers an hour. He was difficult to hurt because he was always for a fight. There were times when five or six bullets would not kill him, and buffalo hunters sometimes had a lot of trouble killing the animal. The buffaloes were hard to control and the hunters would get confused or feel helpless. Finally, in the west the expression, to buffalo, came to mean to make one helpless or to confuse and trick.It is still used today. When a person has you “buffaloed”, he has you in his power. You’re helpless!
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