14 STALKS ABROAD 



in the hope of some big buck. And how I loved 

 those rides ! What stories he told me of the days 

 when he was an Indian scout, when the bison were 

 in such numbers, that, in his own words, "the face 

 of the earth moved." He and his type, like the bison 

 of whom he loved to talk, are nearly gone. In a 

 few short years there will be none left to charm 

 camp-fire audiences with their simply-told tales of 

 stirring scenes, long since buried in the grey mists 

 of the advancing years. Yet those yarns as he told 

 them were vivid enough ! Of Kit Carson and the 

 arrow which brought him to his death ; of Buffalo 

 Bill and the wager which gave him his name ; of 

 Jim Beckwith and his hundred mile race for life, 

 accomplished between sunrise and sunset ; of Ouster 

 and that wound in the temple which some say no 

 Indian gave ; of Drannan, the boy-scout ; and many 

 another. 



The exploit of which he was most proud occurred 

 on 3rd July 1874. He was out scouting with his 

 party of troops, who had run short of meat. There 

 were Indians close by and hunting was forbidden. 

 At last one morning a dark speck appeared on the 

 distant horizon, which, as it came nearer, resolved 

 itself into a big buffalo bull. Old Yarnall got leave 

 to kill it provided he made no noise. Borrowing 

 an Indian's bow and arrow he waited until the bull 

 was near the camp, then riding out, killed it with 

 a single arrow through the heart. This feat he 

 declared had never been performed by any other 



