204 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



to the very head : the bull vomits blood and falls : be- 

 yond him on the grass is the arrow ; it passes through, 

 where a rifle ball would have stopped and flattened ere 

 it had made half the journey. 



Here are two buffalo bulls side by side ; they make 

 the earth tremble by their measured tread ; their sides 

 are reeking with sweat. Already have they been sin- 

 gled out. Approaching them are two horsemen ; upon 

 the head of one glistens the silvery hair of age ; the 

 small leggins also betray the old man : the other is just 

 entering the prime of life ; every thing about him is 

 sound, full, and sleek. The old man compresses his 

 mouth into a mere line ; the eye is open and steady as a 

 basilisk ; the skin inanimate. The eyes of the young 

 man dance with excitement, the blood flows quickly 

 through the dark skin ; and gives a feverish look to his 

 lip and cheek. What a tale is told in these differences 

 of look ! how one seems reaching into the future, and 

 the other going back to the past ! 



He of the flushed cheek touches his quiver, the bow 

 is bent, the arrow speeds its way and penetrates its vic- 

 tim. The old man — he too takes an arrow, slowly he 

 places it across his bow, then bending it as if to make 

 its ends meet, he leans forward — sends the arrow home 

 — the bull falls, while the one first wounded pursues his 

 way. The old man gives a taunting shout as a token 

 of his success. 



The young warrior, confused by his want of skill, 



