A ball striking the shagged frontlet
of a bull produces no other effect than a toss of the head and
greater exasperation; on the contrary, a ball striking the
forehead of a cow is fatal. Several instances occurred during
this great hunting bout, of bulls fighting furiously after having
received mortal wounds. Wyeth, also, was witness to an instance
of the kind while encamped with Indians. During a grand hunt of
the buffaloes, one of the Indians pressed a bull so closely that
the animal turned suddenly on him. His horse stopped short, or
started back, and threw him. Before he could rise the bull rushed
furiously upon him, and gored him in the chest so that his breath
came out at the aperture. He was conveyed back to the camp, and
his wound was dressed. Giving himself up for slain, he called
round him his friends, and made his will by word of mouth. It was
something like a death chant, and at the end of every sentence
those around responded in concord. He appeared no ways
intimidated by the approach of death. "I think," adds Wyeth, "the
Indians die better than the white men; perhaps from having less
fear about the future."
The buffaloes may be approached very near, if the hunter keeps to
the leeward; but they are quick of scent, and will take the alarm
and move off from a party of hunters to the windward, even when
two miles distant.
The vast herds which had poured down into the Bear River Valley
were now snow-bound, and remained in the neighborhood of the camp
throughout the winter. This furnished the trappers and their
Indian friends a perpetual carnival; so that, to slay and eat
seemed to be the main occupations of the day. It is astonishing
what loads of meat it requires to cope with the appetite of a
hunting camp.
The ravens and wolves soon came in for their share of the good
cheer. These constant attendants of the hunter gathered in vast
numbers as the winter advanced. They might be completely out of
sight, but at the report of a gun, flights of ravens would
immediately be seen hovering in the air, no one knew whence they
came; while the sharp visages of the wolves would peep down from
the brow of every hill, waiting for the hunter's departure to
pounce upon the carcass.
Besides the buffaloes, there were other neighbors snow-bound in
the valley, whose presence did not promise to be so advantageous.
This was a band of Eutaw Indians who were encamped higher up on
the river. They are a poor tribe that, in a scale of the various
tribes inhabiting these regions, would rank between the
Shoshonies and the Shoshokoes or Root Diggers; though more bold
and warlike than the latter. They have but few rifles among them,
and are generally armed with bows and arrows.
