The Bison or American Buffalo n 



of darkness; one night they came up so close 

 that the frightened horses had to be hobbled 

 and guarded. On another occasion a large 

 wolf actually crept into camp, where he was 

 seized by the dogs, and the yelling, writhing 

 knot of combatants rolled over one of the 

 sleepers; finally, the long-toothed prowler 

 managed to shake himself loose, and vanished 

 in the gloom. One evening they were almost 

 as much startled by a visit of a different kind. 

 They were just finishing supper when an In- 

 dian stalked suddenly and silently out of the 

 surrounding darkness, squatted down in the 

 circle of firelight, remarked gravely, "Me 

 Tonk," and began helping himself from the 

 stew. He belonged to the friendly tribe of 

 Tonkaways, so his hosts speedily recovered 

 their equanimity; as for him, he had never 

 lost his, and he sat eating by the fire until 

 there was literally nothing left to eat. The 

 panic caused by his appearance was natural; 

 for at that time the Comanches were a scourge 

 to the buffalo-hunters, ambushing them and 

 raiding their camps; and several bloody fights 

 had taken place. 



Their camp had been pitched near a deep 

 pool or water-hole. On both sides the bluffs 

 rose like walls, and where they had crumbled 



