Ho, ho, he—ho—ho!’
This is sometimes accompanied by the banjoe, a kind of rude fiddle. ‘Possum up a gum stump,’ is a great favorite with these choristers.
Buffalo hunting was once, as deer hunting is now, a favorite amusement of the backwoodsmen. The wild cattle have long since receded beyond the Mississippi, and now furnish sport only to the wandering Indians, their traders, and the no less hardy bands of trappers and hunters. Some account of the manner of taking this huge animal may not be out of place here.
The scent of the buffalo, though otherwise it is a very stupid animal, is exceedingly acute. It will scent a man more than a league, and flee in alarm, though it is not terrified at the sight of the human race. Hence it is necessary for the pedestrian hunter to get to leeward of the object of his pursuit. Having approached the animal as nearly as he well may, he stoops, then gets upon all fours, and finally drags himself along prone, pushing his firelock before him. If there be long grass, or if, in winter, the snow be deep, the circumstance much facilitates his operations. If the animal ceases to feed to look at him, he stops and remains motionless till it begins to graze again. By observing these precautions, the buffalo may be approached to within a few yards. When the hunter is nigh enough, he directs his aim behind the beast’s fore-shoulder, and inflicts a mortal wound. This, however, is but a slow and unsatisfactory mode of hunting, inasmuch as it consumes much time, and only one buffalo can be killed in many hours. The best and most experienced hunters follow the chase on horseback.
The mounted sportsman dashes into the thick of the herd, and singles out the best and fattest. The buffalo, when frightened, runs fast, but awkwardly. His gait is that of a swine, and this peculiar gait the trained horse acquires, and assumes when beside the game, obeying the least pressure of the rider’s foot or knee. The hunter takes care to keep at least his horse’s length from the buffalo, in order that, if the latter should turn upon him, which he will certainly do if wounded, he may have time and space to escape. All precautions being duly taken, the horseman throws the reins on his steed’s neck, holds his gun stiffly with both hands, and fires. The horse swerves at the flash, and the rider directs him tonew game, himself loading at full speed. An expert huntsman will kill as many as half a score of buffaloes at one race, and rarely misses the heart.
When an Indian wounds a buffalo, he leaves it to die or separate from the herd, and his companions never interfere with what has thus become his property. Few of the skins of the animals so killed are taken, and the greater part of the flesh remains a prey to the wolves and ravens. When the cattle are in plenty, they are slain merely for their tongues, humps, and other delicate morsels. Vast havoc is made of them every year.
The more remote Indians, not being provided with fire arms, use bows and arrows in the chase, and with great effect. A single arrow is often known to go through and through a buffalo, and it is seldom a shaft stops short of the feather. But whether it strike deep or not, if it does but stick, the animal’s fate is sealed. It works inward as he runs, and eventually reaches the vitals.
It is a cheering sight to see an Indian buffalo hunt. The tread of the herd shakes the solid earth; the hunters animate each other with loud shouts, and the guns flash incessantly. Here a rider is seen fleeing for life before some infuriated animal; there a buffalo stands at bay. Altogether, the scene produces an excitement which those only who have felt can conceive. The passion for this chase increases with time, and few professed buffalo hunters leave it before age disables them.
There are many apparent dangers in buffalo hunting. The prairies are full of holes dug by badgers and other burrowing animals, in which the horse may stumble, and there is some risk from the horns of the chase. Nevertheless, it is seldom that any serious accident occurs.
Another mode of taking the buffalo was formerly in use among the Indians of the Mississippi. Two rows of stakes were planted in the prairie, gradually converging, till at their extremity they barely left a passage into an inclosure of a few yards in area. These rows were a league or more in length, and on the top of each stake was placed a piece of turf, which frightened the cattle, and prevented them from attempting to escape in a lateral direction. The herd, being pursued by horsemen to the entrance of this artificial defile, were driven onward till they reached the pound, when the entrance was closed, and the work of destruction began. Few ever escaped, for the buffalo has little sagacity, and, being thus shut up, will run round and round, without attempting to break through the barriers which inclose them.This mode of hunting is still practised by some of the more remote tribes.[92]