I Spurred On, But
Only To Find The Putrid Carcase Of A Buffalo, With A Wolf
Supping On It.
The brute was gorged, and looked as sleek as
"die schone Frau Giermund"; but, unlike Isegrim's spouse, she
was free to escape, for she wasn't worth a bullet.
I was so
famished, that I examined the carcase with the hope of
finding a cut that would last for a day or two; my nose
wouldn't have it. I plodded on, the water up to the saddle-
girths. The mosquitos swarmed in millions, and the poor
little grey could hardly get one leg before the other. I,
too, was so feverish that, ignorant of bacteria, I filled my
round hat with the filthy stagnant water, and drank it at a
draught.
'At last I made for higher ground. It was too dark to hunt
for tracks, so I began to look out for a level bed. Suddenly
my beast, who jogged along with his nose to the ground, gave
a loud neigh. We had struck the trail. I threw the reins on
his neck, and left matters to his superior instincts. In
less than half an hour the joyful light of a camp fire
gladdened my eyes. Fred told me he had halted as soon as he
was able, not on my account only, but because he, too, had
had a severe fall, and was suffering great pain from a
bruised knee.'
Here is an ordinary example of buffalo shooting:
'JULY 2ND. - Fresh meat much wanted. With Jim the half-breed
to the hills. No sooner on high ground than we sighted game.
As far as eye could reach, right away to the horizon, the
plain was black with buffaloes, a truly astonishing sight.
Jim was used to it. I stopped to spy them with amazement.
The nearest were not more than half a mile off, so we
picketed our horses under the sky line; and choosing the
hollows, walked on till crawling became expedient. As is
their wont, the outsiders were posted on bluffs or knolls in
a commanding position; these were old bulls. To my
inexperience, our chance of getting a shot seemed small; for
we had to cross the dipping ground under the brow whereon the
sentinels were lying. Three extra difficulties beset us -
the prairie dogs (a marmot, so called from its dog-like bark
when disturbed) were all round us, and bolted into their
holes like rabbits directly they saw us coming; two big grey
wolves, the regular camp followers of a herd, were prowling
about in a direct line between us and the bulls; lastly, the
cows, though up and feeding, were inconveniently out of
reach. (The meat of the young cow is much preferred to that
of the bull.) Jim, however, was confident. I followed my
leader to a wink. The only instruction I didn't like when we
started crawling on the hot sand was "Look out for
rattlesnakes."
'The wolves stopped, examined us suspiciously, then quietly
trotted off. What with this and the alarm of the prairie
dogs, an old bull, a patriarch of the tribe, jumped up and
walked with majestic paces to the top of the knoll. We lay
flat on our faces, till he, satisfied with the result of his
scrutiny, resumed his recumbent posture; but with his head
turned straight towards us. Jim, to my surprise, stealthily
crawled on. In another minute or two we had gained a point
whence we could see through the grass without being seen.
Here we rested to recover breath. Meanwhile, three or four
young cows fed to within sixty or seventy yards of us.
Unluckily we both selected the same animal, and both fired at
the same moment. Off went the lot helter skelter, all save
the old bull, who roared out his rage and trotted up close to
our hiding place.
'"Look out for a bolt," whispered Jim, "but don't show
yourself nohow till I tell you."
'For a minute or two the suspense was exciting. One hardly
dared to breathe. But his majesty saw us not, and turned
again to his wives. We instantly reloaded; and the startled
herd, which had only moved a few yards, gave us the chance of
a second shot. The first cow had fallen dead almost where
she stood. The second we found at the foot of the hill, also
with two bullet wounds behind the shoulder. The tongues,
humps, and tender loins, with some other choice morsels, were
soon cut off and packed, and we returned to camp with a grand
supply of beef for Jacob's larder.
CHAPTER XXII
AT the risk of being tedious, I will tell of one more day's
buffalo hunting, to show the vicissitudes of this kind of
sport. Before doing so we will glance at another important
feature of prairie life, a camp of Sioux Indians.
One evening, after halting on the banks of the Platte, we
heard distant sounds of tomtoms on the other side of the
river. Jim, the half-breed, and Louis differed as to the
tribe, and hence the friendliness or hostility, of our
neighbours. Louis advised saddling up and putting the night
between us; he regaled us to boot with a few blood-curdling
tales of Indian tortures, and of NOUS AUTRES EN HAUT. Jim
treated these with scorn, and declared he knew by the 'tunes'
(!) that the pow-wow was Sioux. Just now, he asserted, the
Sioux were friendly, and this 'village' was on its way to
Fort Laramie to barter 'robes' (buffalo skins) for blankets
and ammunition. He was quite willing to go over and talk to
them if we had no objection.
Fred, ever ready for adventure, would have joined him in a
minute; but the river, which was running strong, was full of
nasty currents, and his injured knee disabled him from
swimming. No one else seemed tempted; so, following Jim's
example, I stripped to my flannel shirt and moccasins, and
crossed the river, which was easier to get into than out of,
and soon reached the 'village.' Jim was right, - they were
Sioux, and friendly.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 44 of 105
Words from 43756 to 44782
of 106633
