April 5, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



203 



grass to get a standing shot at the sharp-eyed rascal. A 

 red streak speeding over the opposite sandhill rewarded 

 our eager gaze, and having vainly sent a couple of bullets 

 in chase of the flying brute we shouldered our guns and 

 marched dejectedly back, to the wagons. The antelope 

 in this part of the country had been much hunted and 

 had long ago been educated beyond the point of paying 

 any attention to flags, lures, etc., further than to fly like 

 the wind in the opposite direction at the first sight of 

 them, and had taught a crest-fallen hunter about my size 

 that the sharpest-eyed brute that ever wore hair is the 

 well-hunted antelope of the plains. I have on many 

 occasions caught first sight of them on ground favorable 

 for stalking, but never yet have I been able to creep up 

 and deliver my fire without being caught by that gaze 

 that seems to sweep the horizon without an effort. 



About half way between the Platte and Republican 

 rivers, we sa w our first buffalo. A band of half a dozen 

 bulls, chased by a mounted hunter, crossed our trail half 

 a mile in front of the wagons, and although we tried 

 hard to head them off, we failed to secure one. A few 

 miles further on we met a hunting party starting from 

 the range, and leading behind their wagon a horse that 

 had evidently been used for running buffalo, and whose 

 breast was ripped open in a most horrible maimer, a long 

 slit commencing between the forelegs and running up to 

 the bottom of the neck. We inquired the cause of the 

 horse's wound and were told that it was caused by the 

 collar of the harness: the unlucky hunter being evidently 

 unwilling to confess his failure to stop the charge of an 

 infuriated buffalo bull, with the breast of his untrained 

 horse. 



Nearing the Republican River, we met a man driving a 

 pony team, and inquired of him where the main herd of 

 buffalo was. He replied, "Cross the river at the first ford 

 you can find, go out on the hills to the south and the 

 whole world is black!'' 



Eagerly we passed on, forded the shallow stream that 

 ran swiftly over its wide bed of sand, and gaining the 

 south bank of the river drove toward a grove of cotton- 

 woods a mile above, to find fuel necessary for camp use. 

 As we turned the horses' heads up stream, a large bull 

 buffalo appeared, walking rapidly from a ravine in the 

 low hills to our left, across the bottom land to the river. 

 The day was fearfully hot and the great brute was mani- 

 festly eager for water. Catching sight of the approach- 

 ing wagons, he stopped to look, but apparently reassured 

 by the slowness of our approach he again walked swiftly 

 on. He was now les3 than half a mile distant, and while 

 Y., who had seen such sights a thousand times, coolly 

 continued the advance, driving the leading team, the 

 other team was left to follow the wagon in front, while 

 three excited tenderfeet snatched their guns from the 

 wagons, and crept along close behind the leading wagon, 

 watching with beating hearts the advance of the mighty 

 bull. He was- very uneasy, and again he stopped and 

 gazed a few seconds at his advancing foes, and once 

 again his thirst overcame his fears, and with stately step 

 and head held high in air, the kingly brute came on. 

 His course was diagonally across the bottom land down 

 the stream, and we neared each other rapidly. It seemed 

 impossible for him now to escape us, and at a low signal 

 we ran swiftly forward in front of the wagons to get 

 squarely across the path of his return to the hills. 

 Quickly as though on a pivot he turned, and for the first 

 time in our lives we saw the speed of a thoroughly 

 frightened buffalo, as he dashed across the level ground, 

 still far in advance, and in spite of our useless bullets 

 gained the hills unscathed. 



The whole western sky was now rapidly filling with 

 angry-looking clouds, and as the sun sank to the horizon, 

 the darkness came on quickly. Reaching the camp 

 ground, we had only time, after a hurried supper, to put 

 things to right* and fasten the wagon covers more -e- 

 curely (for we had uo tent ), wh?n it grew dark and the 

 storm burst upon us. Nearly ail night th* storm raged. 

 Rain fell in sheet-, while the almo-t incessant flashes of 

 lightning dluuiinated the w.ld scene. The cowering 

 horses, arching their backs to the falliug rain, turned 

 away from the coming blast, and the great cotton woods 

 writhed and twisted as they wrestled with the gale, and 

 the hunters drew the damp blankets closer around' their 

 ears and wished for the day. With the darkness of night 

 the storm passed away, and the morning sun shone 

 brightly on the water-soaked plain. 



All our plans for the hunt were now changed. Here- 

 tofore we had planned to lie in ambush j'or the thirsty 

 buffalo as they came down from the hot plains to drink; 

 but now, when every ravine ran full of water and every 

 old buffalo wallow was a brimming cistern, it was very 

 evident that if we were to secure buffalo meat sufficient 

 to load our wagons, we must climb the hills for it. M. 

 and E. accordingly climbed the hills to the southeast, G. 

 remained to take care of camp, and I, shovddering the 

 formidable Gallagher, wandered southward. 



Following up the deep ravine or valley for a couple of 

 miles, straggling buffalo began to appear on the hills, 

 and a herd of several hundred came in sight on the 

 divide to the right, and a band equally large soon showed 

 up on the divide to the left. This began to look like 

 business, and I stopped to plan an approach to the strange 

 game, of whose habits I knew nothing, when I saw two 

 large bulls leave the herd on the right and walk down 

 the hill, as though intending to cross the valley to the 

 herd on my left. Here was my opportunity. They 

 would evidently cross the ravine half a mile in front of 

 me, yet as they were nearly a mile dista,nt I would have 

 plenty of time to run forward under cover of the bank, 

 and secrete myself in front of them. Hurrying forward, 

 I took position where I thought they would cross, and 

 not without considerable anxiety, awaited their approach. 



There was no chance of escaping the possible charge of 

 a wounded bull should he sight me, nor could the oldest 

 man in America tell where the Gallagher would carom 

 on the buffalo, should he be either more or less than 

 100yds. distant. After a long time, and when I began to 

 hope that they had turned back, they suddenly appeared 

 in the ravine 200yds. above me. One was the hardest 

 looking "mossback" — a term applied to the very old 

 bulls which were late in shedding their old coat of hair 

 — I have ever seen, while the other was a splendid speci- 

 men. Full grown, glossy black, fat and round, I deter- 

 mined as he stepped quickly across the bottom of the 

 ravine and began climbing the opposite hfll to get him if 

 possible. It was useless to fire at that distance, so observ- 

 ing that they were keeping on the crest of a hogback or 

 ridge that rose between two small ravines, tributary to 



the main one, I crept forward into the little ravine run- 

 ning parallel with their line of march, and as they slowly 

 climbed to the high plateau above, vainly tried to get a 

 fair shot at the big black fellow without being seen by 

 them. The black one walked in front, while the old 

 mossback, whose wrinkled hide had apparently shed the 

 snows of sixty winters, and whose races with the ponies 

 of many a Pawnee and Ogallalla, long since dead, had 

 stiffened his rheumatic old knees, crept wearily after 

 him, as though in seaich of a good place to lie down and 

 die. Near the head of the ravine they stopped, and for 

 an hour I waited for the old skeleton to walk on and give 

 me a shot at the other, which stood just beyond him, and 

 at which I could not shoot without exposing myself, 

 which I dreaded to do with the wretched gun I carried. 

 Finally I grew weaiy of waiting and determined to start 

 him. Raising up, 1 judged the distance at 100yds. (it 

 afterward proved to be about 50) and fired. 



Tom Hood, describing the sudden release of boys from 

 the school-room, says: 



"There were some that ran and some that, leapt 

 Like troutlets in a pool I" 



Not a boy of all the class, however, could have skipped 

 with this suddenly rejuvenated animal. The man who 

 would "caper with him for a thousand mark" would be 

 badly left, indeed. He seemed to rise up on his hindfeet 

 and pirouette with the agility of a Fanny Ellsler, while 

 he looked hungrily around for the man who had trod on 

 the tail of his coat: and had an observer been convenient 

 a solitary horseman might have been seen on foot, with 

 hair uprisiug and an old Gallagher in his hand, as he 

 sped down the ravine, looking eagerly for a chance to 

 crawl into a prairie dog hole or climb up among the top 

 limbs of a sage bush. The buffalo had evidently been hit 

 up in the hump, with the result of making him fighting 

 mad. When my heart had gone down in my body and I 

 was enabled to draw air into my lungs again, I found 

 that they had both run on and joined the herd on the 

 divide, and on trying to crawl within gunshot once more 

 some stragglers caught sight of me and gave the alarni, 

 when the whole herd ran southward out of sight. The 

 firing and the panic among them had alarmed the others 

 far away on the west side of the valley, and they all 

 moved off southward. 



Slowly and quite crestfallen I tramped back to camp. 

 M. and E. coming in, reported having killed a buffalo at 

 the first fire; but this proved to be a wounded one, and 

 unfit to eat. Wounded buffalo were to be found every- 

 where. The settlers along the frontier came with all 

 known weapons in search of .meat, and buffalo were shot 

 with anything that would burn powder. Skin-hunters 

 had been on the ground ahead of us, as the stripped car- 

 casses proved, but we did not meet any. In fact, the 

 land stank with rotting buffalo, as the breeze many times 

 testified when not a carcass was in sight. 



Around the camp-fire t hat night the situation was dis- 

 cussed at length. Y., who did not care to hunt, as it was 

 old sport to him, and as he knew his gun was worthless, 

 kindly volunteered to haul meat to camp and let us 

 tenderfeet do the hunting. In fact he killed only two 

 buffalo on the trip. E., the boy, was a gentlemanly 

 fellow, and although eager to hunt expressed his willing- 

 ness to do whatever the others wished. M., whom we 

 had for some time observed, was not averse to letting us 

 know that he thought Y. and myself very small potatoes 

 as hunters, now volunteered the statement that E. and 

 him elf would have to do the killing. This was gall and 

 wormwood to me, and although nothing was said in reply 

 1 inwardly vowed that the morning light would see the 

 beginning of an effort to kill buffalo, the best I was 

 capable of making. 



In the morning E. expressed a wash to hunt with me, 

 but excusing my elf I sallied forth alone. M. and E. 

 hunted together to the southwest, while Y. still kept the 

 camp. A m ile or two from camp I saw a very large 

 antelope feeding just at the brink of a ravine half a mile 

 m front, and as he for a wonder had not seen me, I ran 

 down mto the ravine, and followed it uo untd opposite 

 him, then crawled to the top of the bank, laid off my cap, 

 and p ered carefully over the crest of the hdl and saw 

 him lying down, 100yds. distant, looking backward over 

 his right shoulder at me. I had never yet killed an 

 antelope, and taking very careful aim, fired. The ball 

 struck just behind the shoulder, passed forward between 

 the shoulder blade and ribs into his neck, and passing 

 parallel with the windpipe, clipped three of the ridge- 

 like projections on the si e of the windpipe, and stopped 

 in the flesh of the neck. Jumping to his feet he ran 

 rapidly for 50yds., and I thought him unhurt, when, 

 trying to draw his breath and the blood runniug into his 

 lungs, he lowered his head to the ground, and the 

 wheezing sound of his breathing gave notice of a hit. 

 Still, he ran on over the hill. -Following on, I jumped 

 him again, shot him through the paunch as he ran. 

 jumped him still again and shot him through the heart, 

 when be ran 150yds., and was not done struggling when 

 I ran up. The hardest lived animal I ever saw, for be it 

 remembered the gun was .56-cal. This was a lucky 

 beginning of the day's hunt, and dressing him, I hurried 

 on after buffalo. A herd soon appearing. I crawled up, 

 and being careful of distance, succeeded in killing a noble 

 bull, and repeated the operation twice more during the 

 day. Feeling jubilant at my success, I returned to camp, 

 and had just told Y. the story of my good luck when the 

 others returned. 



' What luck?'' said M. "The boy has got three buffalo 

 and an antelope," replied G., before I could speak, 

 "What luck did you have?" he continued. "We have 

 shot eight," replied M. My heart sauk, for I had hoped 

 to equal his score, and had worked hard for it. Not until 

 I felt thoroughly humbled did we learn that they had 

 shot at eight buffalo, and succeeded in killing only one, 

 which proved to be a wounded one, and E. afterward told 

 me it smelled so badly that they did not go within thirty 

 yards of it. Naturally enough, I felt better, and as M. 

 soon afterward began telling, in a very modified tone of 

 voice, of his ability to dry meat properly, and of his wil- 

 lingness to let E, and me kill the meat, while G. hauled 

 it in. I began wondering what had happened to him dur- 

 ing the day to frighten him into giving up the hunt without 

 killing a single buffalo. He. never shot at another buffalo 

 from that day to this. Peace again reigned in Warsaw, 

 for I was perfectly willing to hunt with E. . who was a 

 very pleasant companion; and though he hunted alone 

 the following day, while I piloted G. to the dead animals, 

 yet during the three succeeding days we were side by 



side, and he was only prevented from accompanying me 

 the last day by the fact that his feet were too badlyblis- 

 tered to go. 



Next morning G. took the team, and with nothing in 

 the wagon box save a five-gallon keg of drinking water, 

 we set out for the dead buffalo. We drove up the hdl 

 and out on the great plateau stretching southward, and 

 driving slowly along over the smooth prairie, making 

 tut little noise, had just reached the crest of a low ridge, 

 when right in front, within 800yds., appeared a herd of a 

 hundred or more buffalo, bulls, cows and calves. Away 

 they went; and seeing that the ground was smooth in 

 front, G. put whip to the horses, which seemed to enter 

 instantly into the spirit of the chase and sprang forward 

 at a full run, while the wagon bounded over the turf, 

 causing us to cling tightly to the spring seat, and the 

 water-keg bounded and rattled from side to side of the 

 wagon box, making a fearful racket, as we slowly gained 

 on the flying herd. Coming within ?5yds., G. threw the 

 horses on their haunches in his hurry "to stop them, and 

 just as soon as I dared, overboard I went, Gallagher in 

 hand, A big bull was sighted in rear of the crowd, but 

 instead of lading at the report of the gun he sped on 

 more swiftly than before. Another cartridge was quickly 

 inserted and the grin elevated and fired at the herd, now 

 huddled together in one solid mass. A fine young bull 

 was seen to stagger a few steps and fall, shot through 

 the heart. 



On rushed the herd, now thoroughly frightened, and 

 as we hurried on after them we fairly shouted in triumph, 

 as we saw that right in front of them ran a ravine which 

 we could see at a point beyond, was at least 40ft. deep. 

 The ravines in this light subsoil, torn out by the deluging 

 rains that occasionally fall on the plains, were cr-mmrnly 

 broken off at the edges just as steep as soil could hang, 

 and as the buffalo were sweeping on Jike a tornado, with 

 little time to look before they leaped, I felt sure that our 

 hunt was ended, the meat supply assured, and only re- 

 gretted the unnecessary slaughter sure to follow as the 

 fated herd plunged down the steep. 1 would not have 

 thanked any man to insure us fifty head of dead or 

 crippled buffalo. Over they went, 300yds. ahead of us, 

 and we slackened our pace to a walk and began planning 

 how to get the meat of the slaughtered herd up the 

 nearly perpendicular walls of the ravine. When within 

 200yds. of the brink, to our amazement a buffalo ap- 

 peared clambering up the face of the other wall of the 

 ravine, at a point that we afterward found taxed the 

 climbing powers of a footman. Another and another 

 came bobbing up, and yve drew up the horses, utterly 

 dumbfounded, to see that every one, even to the calves, 

 had made the plunge in safety. 



This, to me, was one of the most noteworthy things 

 that ever came under my observation. Many times after- 

 ward we saw buffalo tracks on the slight projections tftf 

 the walls of these deep gnllies, in places where we could 

 only stop and stare. The shape of the limbs, too, seemed 

 utterly to forbid it. As the bulls at this season of the 

 year were fatter than the cows, a fact which was aj 'par- 

 ent at a glance, we very naturally chose them for I eef , 

 and as, like all tenderfeet, we were ambitious to kill the 

 largest specimen to be found, it followed that nearly all 

 we killed were large bulls. Yet, when standing over the 

 body of my first buffalo, andnoticingthe extreme slender- 

 ness of the legs just above the hoof, I then and there 

 began to measure each and every one we killed for mt at, 

 besides large ones found dead— when they did not smefl 

 t >o badly. I found only one whose foreleg I failed to 

 span with the midole finger and thumb of one hand. Tl e 

 size and weight of the animal would seem to necessitate 

 a leg as strong as steel for the downhill plunges the 

 buffalo can safely make. 



A word of explanation may here be necessary, even at' 

 the risk of making this article too long, in order to show 

 why we were en tbled to outrun a flying herd of buffalo 

 with a two horse wagon. 



The buffalo is — or was — a strange animal, and in some 

 respects closely resembles the pig. One of his pec lhr- 

 ilies cropped out of this race. Had there been net more 

 than a dozen animals they would doubtless have outrun 

 us with ease, but the stupid brutes in the front and center 

 of the herd seemed to lose fear with the consciousness 

 that others were between them and their enem.es, and 

 galloped steadily forward without hurry, while the thor- 

 oughly frightened ones in the rear, unable to force their 

 way forward through the mass of then - fellows, fan 

 around the herd to the front, only to drop quickly into 

 the steady pace of the leaders and gallop doggedly on, 

 untd they once more found themselves in the rear of 

 the procession, ready to repeat the roundabout race again. 



Leaving the herd that had fairly gained their freedom, 

 we took the hams of the young bull and drove on. A 

 mile further on we saw, half a mile in front of us, four 

 large bulls, two of which were lying down, and the others 

 standing, and aU, as it afterward "proved, fast asleep in 

 the warm sunshine. Although we had no intention of 

 running them, yet as they were directly in our course, 

 naturally enough we were anxious for a shot. As we 

 slowly approached, driving at a gentle walk over the 

 smooth ground, carpeted with buffalo grass, we saw that 

 they were asleep, and actually drove within 25yds. before 

 the one standing nearest us, hearing a slight noise, opened 

 his little pig-like eyes, and from under their heavy cur- 

 tain of black hair, for an instant stared stupidly at the 

 strange apparition. The glance of indifference, quickly 

 changing to wonderment and abject terror, was posi- 

 tively ludicrous. Away they went. Two balls failed to 

 check the speed of the fattest, and they disappeared be- 

 yond a rise of ground half a mile away. 



Plenty of meat in camp that night caused general re- 

 joicing, and from that time all were kept busy. I found 

 E. a splendid comrade, a true hunter, a good shot, and 

 fully able and willing to do his part. The night of the 3d 

 of July E. and I bivouacked on the range about five miles 

 from camp, in order to be near buffalo early in the morn- 

 ing, and were awakened on the morning" of the ever- 

 memorable Fourth of July by the howling cf the buffalo 

 wolves. 



Seventeen head of buffalo were kdled (not counting 

 cripples), of which Y. killed two, E. five, and ten fell 

 to my Gallagher. The hot weather was the worst draw- 

 back to an otherwise pleasant trip, but a goodly quan- 

 tity of dried meat was loaded in the wagons when we le t 

 the range. Some peculiarities of the extinct bison of 

 America may be worth recording, for the sake of these 

 readers of Forest and Stream who have never seen him 

 "on his native heath." 



