206 SHOOT AN INDIAN'S HORSE AND ESCAPE. 



them their horses being bigger and better than mine, so on 

 coming to a large rock I jumped off and dropped behind it, 

 on which they stopped, being now about a hundred and fifty 

 yards from me. One of them was ahead of the others, and 

 stood facing me on a tall bay horse, so I fired at his chest, 

 using a twelve-bore double rifle and a Metford shell. I 

 suppose the horse must have raised his head for, as I ascer- 

 tained afterwards, I hit him in the neck, making a huge hole 

 in it, on which he reared and fell sideways on his rider, and as 

 he fell I fired again at a second man, but missed him, the 

 whole of them making off at once, not even stopping to help 

 the man whose horse lay on him, and who was some moments 

 in extricating himself. I could very easily have shot him in 

 the back as he limped off, but it seemed to be so like murder 

 that I could not do it, so let him go, merely shouting to hurry 

 him a little. I at once started for camp, as there might be 

 more Indians in the neighbourhood, and found all safe on 



my arrival. F had come in, having found no road but 



plenty of fresh Indian sign ; and H , about whom we began 



to be anxious, returned late having lost his way, but happening 

 to strike the river had followed it to camp. 



As this country was too full of Indians we started the next 

 morning, the road consisting of a mass of stones, and came to a 

 second deserted post, not more than two miles from the other ; 

 and this we supposed was Camp Cooper, so that we were going 

 right so far. We ought to have found buffalo here, but they 

 seemed to have been all driven away, which was a bad sign ; 

 deer, too, were very scarce, so that we were short of meat and 

 had to kill quail for food. 



We came one evening to a small muddy stream, which we 







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