I was just forcing my way out of such a damp spot overgrown with thorns, when the crack of a rifle rang from the hill side in front of me, and I at the same time heard Tiger's hunting yell, though a long way off. I fired again, and was again answered by two shots. I breathed freely and hurried over the slippery rocks, and just as I came under a hill slope I heard Tiger's shrill yell over me; I answered with all my might, and ere long this faithful friend and the equally worthy Königstein welcomed me. Their joy, their delight were indescribable. Trusty sprang round us as if mad in order to display his sympathy, and I was obliged to call to him repeatedly and order him to be quiet, ere he mastered his delight. It was a strange meeting among these wild mountains, whose dark forms we could now distinguish against the starlit sky, while the deepest night lay around us. Tiger proposed to light a fire; but when I told him that Indians had passed me and gone to the fire, he said it was better for us to keep moving. I was too tired, however, and must rest first, so we lay down under some large rocks where the wind did not reach us. I took Trusty in my arms and pressed him to me to keep him warm.
In order not to fall asleep, I now told my comrades how I had fared, and heard that Tiger had explained my disappearance to my friends precisely in this way. At length the first gleam of coming day showed itself, and was saluted in the valley by the voices of numerous turkeys. We leapt up, went down to the wood, where these early birds were standing on the trees, and brought two of them down. A fire blazed, and the breasts of the turkeys twirled before it while we warmed ourselves at it. Königstein had a tin pot and coffee with him, which improved our meal, and when the sun was beginning to shine warmly we started for the camp, from which we were about five miles distant, and where news of me was anxiously awaited.
The joy at meeting again was great. From a distance we were welcomed with shots: all ran to meet us, and each wanted to be the first to shake my hand and express his joy at my rescue, as they all except Tiger had given me up for lost. Czar raised his head and the forefoot buckled to it, and neighed in delight at seeing me, while Trusty ran up to him and leapt on his back. All were in the most cheerful temper, and a thousand questions and answers flew round our camp fire.
My friends had gone in search of me on the evening when I did not return to camp, and Tiger had found the turkey shot by me, and followed my trail to the first stony knoll over which I pursued the wounded stag; but from this point he had been unable to find my track, and returned to camp when darkness set in. The next morning at daybreak he returned to the same spot, and had gone ahead of my trail in a wide curve, in order if possible to recognise it in crossing. Toward evening he had really succeeded in finding first Trusty's trail and then mine in the valley where I shot the deer on the first morning, and reached the spot where I made my breakfast off its meat. But from this point every sign disappeared, and any further search would be useless as night had set in. Afterwards they lit a large fire on the nearest height, and kept it up all night, though I had not noticed it. On the next morning Tiger left camp at an early hour with Königstein, and told the others that they would be back in eight days if they did not find me before. They looked for me during the whole day, and had just collected wood on a knoll over the river to light a signal fire, when they saw mine flashing against the dark sky, and hurried toward me.
After all the events of the last restless days had been sufficiently discussed, I longed for rest. I made my bed in the shade of a live oak, covered myself with a buffalo robe, and giving my comrades directions not to wake me under any pretext, I slept undisturbed till the sun withdrew its last beams from the valley, and sank behind the glittering peaks of the Andes. I felt strengthened, and after dipping my head in the river to refresh me, I sat down with my friends and ate a hearty supper composed of all the dainties of hunters' fare.
The next morning found us mounted at an early hour to scale the heights on the other side of the river, whence we followed its course in the next valley. Toward noon, however, the road became fatiguing, as we had to climb rather large hills that jutted out from the mountain chain on our right, and we were soon so wedged in among steep precipices that we saw no prospect of advancing. After many attempts nothing was left us but to turn back and recross the saddle we had last surmounted, after which we followed the valley to the north-west. Here, too, our road was rendered very tiring and dangerous by huge scattered masses of rock, as we often had to lead our horses over them, and they might easily have been injured by slipping upon them. We wound our way through, however, without any accident, and were riding towards evening over grassy meadows under a steep precipice, when we noticed on the top of it a herd of about twenty buffaloes, following a path that ran over a plateau several hundred feet above our heads. It was remarkable with what certainty these apparently clumsy creatures followed the path which was at times hardly a foot in breadth, close to an abyss on which a man might have hesitated to venture.
I dismounted and aimed at an old bull which led the file, while I shouted to my comrades to fire at the fifth head in the herd, which was a cow that would not bear a calf this year, and hence must be very plump, which can be easily seen by the dark glistening hair. We shot nearly together. My buffalo made a spring forward, rose on its hind legs, and fell over the abyss, falling on projecting rocks till it came down to us in the valley regularly smashed. The cow, hit by many bullets, fell on its knees, and, as if foreseeing its fate, remained in this position for some minutes, till its strength deserting it, it lost its balance and fell head-foremost from rock to rock down to us. Both animals were frightfully smashed, their ribs and bones protruded from their torn hides, and large pieces of rock had been forced into their monstrous carcases. The other buffaloes trotted along the path till they disappeared from sight behind a knoll. The smashed animals were perfectly suited for our use, as we only took the best bits, and especially the loins from the spine, cut the tongues out of the broken jaws, and removed the marrow-bones, leaving the rest to the vultures and buzzards which soon circled over our heads.
Towards evening we reached a small stream which wound through the mountains to Canadian River, and offered us a very pleasant camping-place through the fine grass on its flat banks, as well as an abundance of dry wood.
We were lying in the twilight round our fire, when we heard a long way up the valley the hoot of an owl, and at the same time saw a large very white bird flying along the dark precipice. We all seized our rifles to bring it down, when it settled on a projecting rock opposite to us. None of us had ever seen a bird like it before. Several of my comrades ran up nearer to it, and fired simultaneously; it swung itself in the air, however, with a loud flapping of wings, and circled round our camp, flying no great distance above me. I had more luck than my friends, for I tumbled it over with a broken wing. It was a snow white owl of extraordinary size, and with such beautiful plumage that I kept its skin to stuff. I therefore killed it, hung it up, and on the next morning skinned it, and prepared the skin for carriage.
