1 8o SPORTING ADVENTURES 



latter method seems to me to be little better than shooting 1 

 cows, and not half so dangerous as an attack on wild cattle; 

 hence, it is scarcely worth mentioning 1 , for all that is required 

 to be successful is to seek shelter behind a knoll to the leeward 

 of a herd, and fire away to the heart's content, or until the 

 animals get beyond range. 



As nearly all buffalo hunts are alike, and differ only in minor 

 details, such as a fall from a horse, or a charge from an angry 

 or wounded bull, and perhaps a severe bruise, I shall tell how 

 I secured my first two buffaloes, as my experience may prove 

 of use to the novice in the chase. While halting for a few 

 days at a little village in Nebraska, word was brought in that 

 the buffaloes were moving towards the Platte River in im- 

 mense herds, and that the country was black with them. This 

 seemed to cause as much excitement among the men as if it 

 were an announcement of an Indian raid, and all those who 

 had horses and rifles or revolvers made preparations at once to 

 have a dash at the strangers. In the hotel at which I was 

 stopping was a celebrated hunter, Dr. Carver, and at his invi- 

 tation I joined a party which he was to lead. 



Not having a horse, I was advised to procure a buffalo- 

 runner owned by the keeper of a livery stable, and to him I 

 accordingly applied, and made a bargain with him that I was 

 to have his steed at the rate of four dollars per day, and be 

 responsible for his value in case he was injured. At live 

 o'clock in the evening he was brought to the hotel, and when 

 I gazed on him I must say I was sorely disappointed, for he 

 was small, ungainly in form, weedy, and boasted of very little 

 flesh. He bore an old Mexican saddle on his back, and a 

 rusty pair of reins and a curb bit completed his trappings. 

 After gazing at him for a few moments in silent disgust, I 

 asked his owner if he could run a buffalo, and that individual 

 told me in the most emphatic terms possible that he could, 

 and was one of the best horses in the country for such a 

 purpose. 



Assured by his manner that the brute was really excellent, 

 I mounted, and when the remainder of the party, ten in 

 number, rode up, accompanied by a large covered waggon or 



