182 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



painted braves came within rifle-range, when they opened 

 a deadly fire on them. This was evidently a most unex- 

 pected encounter to the red thieves, for they were thrown 

 into a momentary panic, but they soon recovered them- 

 selves; and while some drove the horses away toward the 

 right flank, the others opened a brisk fire to cover their 

 retreat, and kept it up for half an hour, when they broke 

 away terror-stricken. The cause of their flight was soon 

 made evident by the appearance of a body of cavalry who 

 had been pursuing them for several days; and on seeing 

 these, the miners and ranchers ran from cover, mounted 

 their horses, and dashed after the foe. A running fight 

 was kept up for three miles, when a vigorous charge from 

 opposite quarters finished the contest by scattering the In- 

 dians in every direction, and forcing them to leave nearly 

 all their plunder behind. The captured horses were driven 

 toward the village, while the cavalry pursued the fugitives, 

 and kept them running until they sought the shelter of the 

 Wind River Mountains, sadly depleted in numbers, and 

 perfectly demoralized. I received, as the result of my coy- 

 ote-hunt and subsequent Indian hunt, a slight flesh-wound 

 in the side, and two months of as hard campaigning as any 

 person would care to have; and these have so indelibly 

 marked that chase in my mind, that I doubt if I shall soon 

 forget it. 



One of the most exciting, interesting, and laughable 

 hunts after the coyote that I ever enjoyed came off on the 

 great plains of the Columbia River, east of the Cascade 

 Range. The region in which it occurred afforded ample 

 scope for testing the pace, endurance, and cunning of the 

 long- tailed quadruped, and also the sagacity of its very 

 near and dear kindred, the Indian cur ; for the former is 

 frequently the size of the latter, and the two are more like- 

 ly to play with each other than to quarrel, unless hounded 

 on by man, or the coyote is too intrusive in its familiarity. 

 I have known even the civilized dogs of the feminine gen- 

 der, belonging to the pale-faces, to pay visits of courtesy 

 and good-fellowship to the prairie roamers, and play with 



