A GREENHORN SCAMPER. 25 
the moment, would leave the teams and keep 
up arunning fire afterthem. I had the good 
fortune to witness the exploits of one of our 
Northern greenhorns, who, mounted upon a 
sluggish mule, and without any kind of wea- 
pon, amused himself by chasing every buffalo 
that came scudding along, as if he expected 
te capture him by laying hold of his tail. 
Plying spur and whip, he would gallop after 
one division till he was left far behind: and 
then turn to another and another with the 
same earnestness of purpose, until they had 
all passed out of sight. He finally came 
back disheartened and sullen, with his head 
anging down like one conscious of having 
done something supremely ridiculous; but 
still eursing his lazy mule, which, he said, 
might have caught the buffalo, if it had hada 
mind to 
The next day the buffalo being still more 
numerous, the chase was renewed with greater 
zest. In the midst of the general hurly-burly 
which ensued, three persons on foot were 
perceived afar off, chasing one herd of buffalo 
and then another, until they completely dis- 
appeared. These were two of our cooks, 
the one armed with a pistol, the other with a 
musket, accompanied by Chuly (the ee i 
who was happily provided with a 
travelled several miles without hearing or see- 
ing anything of them. At last, when we ne 
almost given them up for lost, Frank, the 
French cook, came trudging in, and his rue- 
ful countenance was no bad index of the 
VoL. I. 3 
