454 BUFFALO LAND. 



horseback hunting, should stop at the point where they may 

 best procure mounts, even if it necessitate a journey in the 

 saddle of twenty miles. Great Bend, Ft. Larned, and Ft. 

 Dodge are the places where such outfits may be generally 

 obtained. 



For shooting bison, the hunter should come prepared with 

 some other weapon than a squirrel rifle or double barreled 

 shot gun. I have known several instances in which persons 

 appeared on the ground armed with ancient smooth-bores or 

 fowling-pieces ; and in one of these cases the object of attack, 

 after receiving a bombardment of several minutes' duration, 

 tossed the squirrel hunter and injured him severely. A breech- 

 loading rifle, with a magazine holding several cartridges, is by 

 far the best weapon. In my own experience I became very 

 fond of a carbine combining the Henry and King patents. 

 It weighed but seven and one-half pounds, and could be fired 

 rapidly twelve times without replenishing the magazine. 

 Hung by a strap to the shoulder, this weapon can be dropped 

 across the saddle in front, and held there very firmly by a 

 slight pressure of the body. The rider may then draw his 

 holster revolvers in succession, and after using them, have left 

 a carbine reserve for any emergency. Twenty-four shots can 

 thus be exhausted before reloading, and, with a little practice, 

 the magazine of the gun may be refilled without checking the 

 horse. So light is this Henry and King weapon that I have 

 often held it out with one hand like a pistol, and fired. 



When a herd of buffalo is discovered, the direction of the 

 wind should be carefully ascertained. The taint of the hunter 

 is detected at a long distance, and the bison accepts the evi- 

 dence of his nose more readily than even that of his eyes. 

 This delicacy of smell, however, is becoming either more 

 blunted or less heeded than formerly, owing probably to the 



