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Show 96 THE CALIFOR NIA AND OREGON TRAIL. 1 f1 • behind as incumbrances. \Ve Wl.th him, while we e t oms rode for some five or Sl.X ml. 1e s, and saw no living thing but wo 1v es, Snakes ' and prairie-dogs. 'This won't do at all,' said Shaw. 'vVhat won't do?' ' There's no woo d a bo u t here to make a . litter for the wounded man: I have an l. d ea that one of us w1ll need some. ' thina of the sort before the day lS over. . 5 There was some [I'O Un dation for such an apprehenswn, for the around was none of th e best for a race, and grew worse cont~nually as we proceeded; indeed it soon became despe· . t ly bad consisting of abrupt hills and deep hollows, cut by 1 a e , ·1 · d frequent ravines. not easy t o pass. ..i. \t length ' a m1 e m .a · vance, we saw a band of bulls · SOlne were scattered grazmg over a green declivity, while the rest were crowded. mo~·e densely together in the wide hollow below. Making a qucmt, to keep out of sight, we rode toward them, until we ascended a hill within a furlong of them, beyond w h1. c h no th m· g inter· vene~ that could possibly screen us from their view· We dis· mounted behind the ridge just out of sight, drew our saddlegirths, examined our pistols, and moun:ing again, rode over the hill, and descended at a canter toward them, bending close to our horses' necks. Instantly they took the alarm ; those on the hill descended; those below gathered into a mass, and the whole got in motion, shouldering each other along at a clumsy gallop. We followed, spurring our horses to full speed ; and as the herd rushed, crowding and trampling in terror through an opening in the hills, we were close at their heels, half suffocated by the clouds of dust. But as we drew near, their alarm and speed increased ; our horses showed signs of the utmost fear, THE BUFFALO. 97 bounding violently aside as we approached, and refusing to enter among the herd. The buffalo now broke into several small bodies, scampering over the hills in different directions, and I lost sight of Shaw; neither of us knew where the other had gone. Old Pontiac ran like a frantic elephant up hill and down hill, his ponderous hoofs striking the prairie like sledge-ham~ mers. He showed a curious mixture of eagerness and terror, straining to overtake the panic-stricken herd, but constantly recoiling in dismay as we drew near. The fugitives, indeed, offered no very attractive spectacle, with their enormous size and weight, their shaggy manes and the tattered remnants of their last winter's hair covering their backs in irregular shreds and patches, and flying off in the wind as they ran. At length I urged my horse close behind a bull, and after trying in vain, by blows and spurring, to bring him along side, I shot a bullet into the buffalo from this disadvantageous position. At the report, Pontiac swerved so much that I was a,aain thrown a little behind the game. The bullet entering too much in the rear, failed to disable the bull, for a buffalo requires to be shot at particular points, or he will certainly escape. The herd ran up a hill, and I followed in pursuit. As Pontiac rushed headlong down on the other side, I saw Shaw and Henry descending the hollow on the right, at a leisurely gallop; and in front, the buffalo were just disappearing behind the crest of the next hill, their short tails erect, and their hoofs twinkling through a cloud of dust. At that moment, I heard Shaw and I-Ienry shouting to me; but the muscles of a stronaer arm than mine could not have b checked at once the furious course of Pontiac, whose mouth Was as insensible as leather. Added to this, I rode him that 5 |
