354 HOW THE SIOUX HUNT. 



mishers to the caravan, which extended over a distance of 

 two miles. The aged women cried, the children wept, 

 the innumerable dogs barked loudly ; in a word, such an 

 uproar and confusion had never before struck my eyes 

 and ears. It is customary on these occasions to halt at 

 the end of a couple of leagues, for the purpose of unloading 

 the horses, and allowing them to graze for half an hour. 



After the second halt, the hunters of the tribe, that 

 is to say, the youngest and nimblest, separate from the 

 main body of the troop, and scatter themselves over the 

 surface of the prairies, tracking the game with as much 

 sagacity as the most skilful pointer ever trained by a 

 European hunter. The Redskins know nothing of our 

 peaceful mode of hunting ; and instead of following the 

 trail as we do in silence, they dash, with a whoop and a 

 shout, headlong into the midst of almost impenetrable 

 thickets. So, as soon as they have started a stag or an 

 antelope, if it escape the carbine of him who first descries 

 it, it cannot go far ; at a few paces it encounters another 

 Indian, who proves more adroit or more fortunate than his 

 comrade. 



If the snow is on the ground, however, the Sioux hun- 

 ters proceed very differently. One of them follows up the 

 traces of a stag until he arrives near the lair where he 

 has taken refuge ; he goes round it carefully, to make 

 sure that the animal is within it ; then he strikes into the 

 middle of the copse, describing a circle which he gradually 

 narrows until he alights upon the retreat of the noble 

 beast; and keeping himself constantly on the qui-vive, he 

 is especially careful not to meet the animal full face. 

 The stag springs forth, and, swifter than lightning, the 

 Indian's rifle stretches him on the soil. 



