OUR FIRST BUFFALO. 17 



and swim, and more than once he wetted all I had on him by 

 doing so. 



The first buffalo we met with was a great excitement to us 

 all, though he was a miserable old fellow whom we would not 

 have touched a week later. All the large herds had been 

 driven south that summer, and many solitary old bulls had 

 been left behind as worthless, this being one of them. 



We had started early in the morning, having found fresh 

 buffalo sign, and were all of us mounted on our best horses, 

 meaning to have a struggle for first blood. My horse was the 



fastest, but M had one nearly as fast, and an old hand at 



the work, knowing as much about it as any man. This horse, 

 having been carefully trained by Laronde, knew exactly the 

 position to take up when chasing a buffalo, ranging up close to 

 him on the off side, with his head opposite to the buffalo's 

 quarters, so that when the animal charged he passed behind 

 him to the left, and the buffalo had to turn completely round 

 to follow him, by which time the horse was safe. We came 

 on this bull suddenly on riding over some rising ground, and 

 were not more than 200 yards from him. We were none 

 of us ready, our guns being slung on our backs, but away we 

 went helter-skelter, each man doing his best and getting 

 his gun ready for action. I had a double ten- bore shot- 

 gun, a muzzle-loader, and I do not suppose I could have had 

 a worse weapon for the purpose; but breech-loaders were 

 only just then coming into use, and the only one I had was 

 a new one, and I did not like to risk it over rough ground. 



M had a 16-bore breech-loading gun, carrying ball, and 



C a single breech-loading rifle. 



For the first quarter of a mile we were nearly neck and neck, 



c 



