234 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



After I had marked the position of the slain animals, I 

 rode back in search of my companions, and, on reaching a 

 piece of rising ground, beheld one of the most spirited 

 hunting scenes imaginable. The prairie as far as I could 

 see was dotted with rushing herds, and running after them 

 were several bodies of horsemen, while numerous puffs of 

 blue smoke hung around them in clouds. I could see some 

 fall occasionally, and knew that a havoc was being com- 

 mitted among them. It seemed a pity to destroy them so 

 mercilessly; and on stating my opinion to a farmer at a 

 later hour in the day, he responded to my sentiment by 

 saying that he would be very glad to see the day that the 

 buffaloes disappeared in the Republican Valley, as they ate 

 up grass enough to support thousands and perhaps millions 

 of domestic cattle, and they brought thieving Indians and 

 unprincipled hide-hunters in their train; and between all 

 three the farmers suffered more than their share of annoy- 

 ance. He had no sentimental love for the shaggy quad- 

 ruped, for, in his estimation, it " wasn't nothin' but a good- 

 for-nothin' critter, that wasn't good for nothin' but to feed 

 Injuns and eat up the food of the reg'lar cattle." Others 

 in the same region held his opinion ; so it is evident that 

 the presence of the buffalo is not considered an unmixed 

 blessing. 



While walking back I noticed that wolves were making 

 it rather lively for wounded animals, or those that strayed 

 from the herds. I overtook one of the gray species, and 

 as it did not attempt to escape, I dismounted and gave 

 it a kick; but the poor brute was evidently sick, for it 

 yelped with pain, but did not accelerate its pace. Knowing 

 that it would soon be out of its misery, I did not molest 

 it further, and passed on. In a short time afterward I 

 noticed a pack of prairie-wolves chasing a calf that looked 

 thoroughly pumped, and was bleeding from wounds in the 

 nose, throat, and ears, while one eye was dangling down by 

 a single muscle. On seeing me, they stopped short, and 

 gazed at me with something akin to curiosity, and, before 

 they were done scrutinizing, I dashed at them and emptied 



