228 HUNTING THE GRISLY, 



ground, when cutting cattle or trying to con* 

 trol a stampeded herd, or by being thrown 

 or rolled on by bucking or rearing horses ; 

 or their horses, and on rare occasions even 

 they themselves, are gored by fighting steers. 

 Death by storm or in flood, death in striving 

 to master a wild and vicious horse, or in 

 handling maddened cattle, and too often death 

 in brutal conflict with one of his own fellows 

 any one of these is the not unnatural end 

 of the life of the dweller on the plains or in 

 the mountains. 



But a few years ago other risks had to be 

 run from savage beasts, and from the Indians. 

 Since I have been ranching on the Little 

 Missouri, two men have been killed by bears 

 in the neighborhood of my range ; and in the 

 early years of my residence there, several men 

 living or travelling in the country were slain 

 by small war-parties of young braves. All the 

 old-time trappers and hunters could tell stir- 

 ring tales of their encounters with Indians. 



My friend, Tazewell Woody, was among the 

 chief actors in one of the most noteworthy 

 adventures of this kind. He was a very quiet 

 man, and it was exceedingly difficult to get 

 him to talk over any of his past experiences ; 

 but one day, when he was in high good-humor 

 with me for having made three consecutive 

 straight shots at elk, he became quite com- 

 municative, and I was able to get him to tell 

 me one story which I had long wished to hear 

 from his lips, having already heard of it 

 through one of the other survivors of the in- 



