278 Hunting Trips on the Prairie 



be able to touch it with the hand, and fired the heavy 

 revolver into the loins or small of the back, the bul- 

 let ranging forward. At the instant of firing, the 

 trained pony swerved off to the left, almost at right 

 angles to its former course, so as to avoid the lung- 

 ing charge sometimes made by the wounded brute. 

 If the animal kept on, the hunter, having made a 

 half circle, again closed up and repeated the shot; 

 very soon the buffalo came to a halt, then its head 

 dropped, it straddled widely with its forelegs, 

 swayed to and fro, and pitched heavily forward on 

 its side. The secret of success in this sort of hunting 

 is to go right up by the side of the buffalo; if a 

 man stays off at a distance of fifteen or twenty feet 

 he may fire a score of shots and not kill or cripple 

 his game. 



While hunting this, the largest of American ani- 

 mals, on horseback is doubtless the most exciting 

 way in which its chase can be carried on, we must 

 beware of crying down its pursuit on foot. To 

 be sure, in the latter case, the actual stalking and 

 shooting the buffalo does not need on the part of 

 the hunter as much skill and as good marksmanship 

 as is the case in hunting most other kinds of large 

 game, and is but a trifle more risky; yet, on the 

 other hand, the fatigue of following the game is 

 much greater, and the country is usually so wild 

 as to call for some hardihood and ability to stand 

 rough work on the part of the man who pene- 

 trates it. 



One September I determined to take a short trip 



