150 TEN DAYS IN MONTANA. 



danger. Little do they dream that within the next thirty 

 seconds each one of them is to feel half a dozen leaden mes- 

 sengers of death crashing through his majestic frame. And 

 still we pause. We are unwilling to break the spell to de- 

 stroy this grand picture this picture to look upon which men 

 would come and have come from all parts of the civilized 

 world. Yes, to gaze but for a moment on this picture on 

 these grand old bisons, roaming at will here upon their native 

 heaths, would well repay a trip from the remotest part of 

 Europe or the Orient. It is the event of a lifetime. It is a 

 privilege for y;hich men would give hundreds, yes, thousands of 

 dollars, and yet it is a privilege which but one man in a 

 thousand ever enjoys. 



But our reverie is interrupted by the voice of our leader : 

 "Let them have it," he says, and the response is spoken by 

 our rifles. Spat, spat, spat, go the bullets into the huge car- 

 casses of the buffaloes, at square broadside, and they break 

 into their heavy, rolling run. They are all hit, and perhaps 

 fatally ; but he who looks to see a buffalo fall from the first 

 shot, or even the first volley, is sure to be disappointed. We 

 slip in fresh cartridges and give them another round, and an- 

 other, and another, until they are out of range. Then our 

 horsemen mount and pursue them. One of the wounded 

 animals turns out of the file and circles away to the right. 

 The great gouts of blood issuing from his nostrils, tell us 

 plainly that he has been shot through the lungs, and cannot 

 go far. After running, perhaps a quarter of a mile, he stops, 

 and a bullet from Mr. Van Vleck's rifle finishes him. Major 

 Bell, with characteristic courtesy, orders four of his men to 

 pursue the other wounded animals and not to shoot at them, 

 but to turn them back, if possible, that we, his guests, may 

 further enjoy the sport. But they are so thoroughly panic- 

 stricken that, although the gallant troopers ride directly 



