The Chief Difficulty In Running Buffalo, As It Seems To Me, Is That
Of Loading The Gun Or Pistol At Full Gallop.
Many hunters for
convenience' sake carry three or four bullets in the mouth; the
powder is poured down the muzzle of the piece, the bullet dropped in
after it, the stock struck hard upon the pommel of the saddle, and
the work is done.
The danger of this method is obvious. Should the
blow on the pommel fail to send the bullet home, or should the
latter, in the act of aiming, start from its place and roll toward
the muzzle, the gun would probably burst in discharging. Many a
shattered hand and worse casualties besides have been the result of
such an accident. To obviate it, some hunters make use of a ramrod,
usually hung by a string from the neck, but this materially increases
the difficulty of loading. The bows and arrows which the Indians use
in running buffalo have many advantages over fire arms, and even
white men occasionally employ them.
The danger of the chase arises not so much from the onset of the
wounded animal as from the nature of the ground which the hunter must
ride over. The prairie does not always present a smooth, level, and
uniform surface; very often it is broken with hills and hollows,
intersected by ravines, and in the remoter parts studded by the stiff
wild-sage bushes. The most formidable obstructions, however, are the
burrows of wild animals, wolves, badgers, and particularly prairie
dogs, with whose holes the ground for a very great extent is
frequently honeycombed.
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