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Show • 426 THE CALIFORNIA AND OREGON TRAIL. prairie. When in . a dangerou~ part of the country, it is con. sidered highly imprudent to fire a gun after encamping, lest the report should reach the ears of the Indians. The horses were saddled in the morning, and the last ·man had lighted his pipe at the dying ashes of the fire. The beauty of the day enlivened us all. Even Ellis felt its inf:lu. ence, and occasionally made a remark as we rode along, and Jim Gurney told endless stories of his cruisings in the United States service. The buffalo were abundant, and at length a large band of them went running up the hills on the left. ' Do you see them buffalo ?' said Ellis, ' now I'll bet any man I'll go and kill one with my yager.' • And leaving his horse to follow on with the party, he strode up the hill after them. I-Ienry looked at us with his peculiar humorous expression, and proposed that we should follow Ellis to see how he would kill a fat cow. As soon as he was out of sight we rode up the hill after him, and waited behind a little ridge till we heard the report of the unfailing yager. Mounting to the top, we saw Ellis clutching his favorite weapon with both hands, and staring after the buffalo, who one and all were galloping off at full speed. As we descended the hill we saw the party straggling along the trail below. When we joined them, another scene of amateur hunting a waited us. I forgot to say that when we met the volunteers, Tete Rouge had obtained a horse from one of them, in exchange for his mule, whom he feared and detested. This horse he christened James. James, though not worth so much as the mule, was a large and strong animal. T~te Rouge was very proud of his new acquisition, and suddenly became ambitious to run a buffalo with him. At DOWN THE ARKANSAS. 427 his request, I lent him my pistols, though not without great misgivings, since when T~te Rouge hunted buffalo the pursuer was in more danger than the pursued. He hung the holsters at his saddle-bow ; and now as we passed along, a band of bulls left their grazing in the meadow, and galloped in a long file across the trail in front. 'Now's your chance, Tete; come, let's see you kill a bull.' Thus urged, the hunter cried, 'get up !' and James, obedient to the signal, cantered deliberately forward at an abominably uneasy gait. Tete Rouge, as we contemplated him from behind, made a most remarkable figure. He still wore the old buffalo-coat ; his blanket which was tied in a loose bundle behind his saddle, went jolting from one side to the other, and a large tin canteen half full of water which hung from his pommel, was jerked about his leg in a manner which greatly embarrassed him. ' Let out your horse, man ; lay on your whip!' we called out to him. The buffalo \vere getting farther off at every instant. James being ambitious to mend his pace, tugged hard at the rein, and one of his rider's boots escaped from the stirrup. 'Wah ! I say, wah !' cried T€!te Rouge, in great perturbation, and after much effort James' progress was arrested. The hunter came trotting back to the party, disgusted with buffalorunning, and he was received with overwhelming congratula. tions. · 'Too good a chance to lose,' said Shaw, po·m tm· g t o a nother band of bulls on the left. We lashed our horses and galloped upon them. Shaw killed one with each barrel of his gun. I |