4 SJ'OKTLYG ADVENTURES 



possible. I remember meeting- a party of English tourists 

 once in Nebraska who were out on a buffalo hunt, and although 

 they were travelling 1 three clays and had met herds of buffaloes 

 every day, they were not able to get a shot at one; but, with 

 characteristic pluck, they were still following the moving 1 

 throngs, hoping to be able at some time to have a dash on 

 horseback after them. As they had two good scouts and 

 some experienced waggon-drivers with them, I was rather 

 surprised at their ill-luck, but my surprise ceased when I spoke 

 of the matter to the leader of the expedition. His explanation, 

 which was made with many expletives, and in exceedingly 

 vigorous lang-uage, was, that the tourists, who knew nothing 

 about the business on which they were engaged, were constantly 

 dictating to himself and his companions what they should and 

 should not do in the most frigid and supercilious manner; 

 that they never spoke to them except to give some command 

 or make an impatient inquiry ; that they kept entirely to 

 themselves both in camp and on the march, and never once 

 offered to share the contents of their flask with them ; that 

 their English servants were even as consequential as their 

 masters, and evidently looked upon them (the guides) as 

 barbarians and mudsills, and would obey no order unless it 

 came from "mawster;" and, that all, when by themselves, 

 were overheard running down the country in every way. 

 "T'aint likely/' was the scout's comment, "that we're going 



to trouble ourselves much about of that sort, so we drive 



the buffaloes away before they get up to Bill and myself; and if 

 they keep up their foreign style as they have done, they won't 

 get any nearer to a buffalo than the}' have so far for the 

 fortnight for which they engaged us." As two friends and 

 myself were in the region on a buffalo hunt, we asked the 

 gentlemen to join us for a day or two if they wished, and to 

 leave their teams and guides in camp, and we hinted that 

 they could kill all the animals they would care to; but they, 

 in a fro/.enly polite manner, refused our invitation on the 

 ground that they had their own tents and guides, and could 

 not accept favours from unknown strangers. AVe became 

 frozen ourselves after that assertion, inasmuch as we thought 



