Jack Among the Indians; Or, A Boy's Summer on the Buffalo Plains

by George Bird Grinnell

"Well," said Jack, "I'm going over to take a look those tracks, so I'll know 'em again when I see 'em."

"Well," said Hugh, "you won't have to go across the creek, because there's plenty of 'em right down below here. The first thing I want you to do," and he put his hand in his pocket and drew out his pipe, "is to help me to slice up the rest of this meat, and put it up where it'll dry. With the sun as hot as it is to-day, it won't take long for it to get hard, and maybe toward night we can pack up and travel a few miles further on."

They now returned to the sheep's carcass, and before long almost the whole of it was hanging in the sun to dry. One of the hams and a sirloin were saved, to be eaten as fresh meat; the rest, when dry, would be packed in a sack and carried with them.

By the time they had completed their task it was mid-day, and the sun was blazing down with all its force into the little valley where the camp was.

"Whew!" said Hugh, "it's hot here, ain't it? Now let's go down to the creek and wash up, and then we'll fry some sheep meat, and set in the shade for an hour or two; and then, if you like, we'll take this sheep's head down below here, and maybe get it when we come back in the fall."

"All right," said Jack, "I'd like to put it up somewhere where it will be safe, because I want to take it home with me and have it mounted, and give it to mother. You see, I didn't take anything back with me last year, except those hides, and I'd like real well to be able to point to this head hanging in the house, and tell the fellows how I killed it."

"Well," said Hugh, "there's a safe place to put it, not more'n a mile away, and the only thing is not to forget to come this way when we're going south in the fall."

After a hearty meal, and an hour or two of rest in the shade, Hugh said, "Now, son, round up your horses and we'll start. Suppose you ride the black to-day, and leave Pawnee and the others here; I'll ride the bucking dun."

Jack walked out toward where the horses were standing, and, drawing his whistle from his pocket, blew a shrill blast. At once all the horses raised their heads and looked toward him, and in a moment Pawnee started, trotting across the flat, and all the other horses followed. Pawnee trotted straight up to Jack and reached out his nose toward him, and Jack, taking from his pocket a piece of bread, held it toward the horse, which nosed it for a moment and then took it between his lips and began to eat it. While he was doing this, Jack passed his right arm, which held the rope, around the horse's neck, knotted it through in a bowline, and then stepping quietly around among the other horses, passed the other end of the rope over the neck of the black, and tied that. Hugh, meanwhile, had walked around the horses and up to the bucking dun, on the other side, and attached his rope to its neck. Pawnee was then freed, and the two horses to be ridden were led over to where the saddles were.

Hugh was soon saddled up, but before he finished he noticed that Jack was having trouble. He had dropped the rope on the ground, and holding the bridle open, tried to pass it over the head of the black horse, but whenever he did this the horse threw his head up in the air so high that Jack could not reach it. Hugh watched the performance for a little while, and at last saw Jack throw his right arm around the horse's neck, near the head, and again try to put the bridle on, but again the horse raised its head. Jack held on, and was swung quite off his feet, and when the horse lowered its head again and Jack's feet touched the ground he seemed angry, and struck at the horse's nose with his right hand, but did not hit it, and then, very angrily, tried to kick the horse in the belly. The horse stepped a little to one side and Jack had kicked so hard that he sat down very suddenly in a bunch of sage brush.