The buffalo hunt.
Five of our hunting party were on horseback, and the rest on foot. We proceeded over a hilly country for two days, meeting with no other game than a single deer, which was shot by one of the party, thrown across one of the horses, and carried onward. We came, at length, to the borders of an extensive prairie, which lay spread out like the sea before us. In taking a general view of its surface, it seemed to be almost perfectly level. But as we advanced, I perceived that it was undulating, like the ocean thrown into long waves by a gale of wind.
It was now late in the autumn, but the prairie was covered with a great variety of flowers, some of them exceedingly brilliant and beautiful. I hardly noticed these objects then. I was with savages, and they never perceive anything lovely in flowers, or landscapes, or nature’s fairest scenes. It might seem that those who live always in the midst of nature’s works would feel their beauty and admire them. But it is not so. The exquisite emotions excited in a refined mind by beautiful landscapes and the picturesque objects of nature, belong only to those who have enjoyed the advantages of civilization. No savage is ever either a painter or a poet. You never see these dwellers in the wilderness culling bouquets, or making wreaths of blossoms.
We held a straight course for several hours, until, at last, we reached a little dell which was covered with trees. At a distance, this appeared like an island in the sea. Here we paused, and preparations were made to remain for some days. Early on the ensuing morning, most of the party were roused and went forth in quest of game; but the only result was the killing of two or three deer. Several days now passed, but on the fifth day after our arrival we met with more stirring adventures.
Soon after the sun arose, one of the Indians announced that a herd of buffaloes was coming. We all looked in the direction to which he pointed, and, at the distance of nearly two miles, we saw an immense number of objects, seeming like small black spots on the surface of the prairie. These gradually approached us, and we could soon hear a confused noise, like the distant roar of a tempest. The Indians were immediately on the alert.
As the wind was blowing toward the herd, they were afraid that the quick scent of the buffaloes would perceive us, and that the affrighted animals would take to flight. To avoid this danger, we immediately determined to shift our position. Those who had horses mounted them and departed, and those who were on foot followed them. Some proceeded to the right and some to the left, making a wide sweep, and intending to come in upon the herd in the opposite direction.
We were not long in performing this manœuvre. I shall never forget the scene that was now presented. Before us and near at hand were several thousands of these huge animals, many of them equal in size to the largest ox. They had also an aspect entirely distinct from our tame cattle. Their swarthy color, their wild, shaggy hair, their thick mane, the profusion of rough and bristling hair about the face, the enormous hump upon the shoulders, together with the fierce countenance of these animals, rendered them objects at once interesting and formidable.
And if this was their appearance, taken singly, the spectacle of thousands of these huge beasts was hardly short of sublime. The whole mass were moving slowly forward. Some paused occasionally, to nip the herbage, or devour the leaves from a favorite shrub, and others sauntered on with a careless and indifferent air. But many of the bulls, and some of the rest, seemed to be almost constantly occupied in fighting.
Some were pawing the earth, and scattering the dust in the air; some were kneeling and plunging their horns into the little hillocks of earth, lowing at the same time, and seeming desirous of giving a challenge to mortal combat; some were already fighting, and, with their horns locked, were straining every nerve for the mastery; others were leaping and frisking as they went; and others still were plunging their horns into the sides of such of their brethren as came within their reach. The lowing of the herd was incessant, and came upon the ear with a deafening roar. The air was filled with confused sounds, and the earth was shaken beneath our feet by the trampling multitude.
Accustomed as I was to scenes of adventure, I was still startled at this spectacle, and, for a time, my mind was somewhat confused. My excitement was increased by an incident which immediately followed. The Indians who had accompanied me had dispersed themselves, and being upon the flank of the herd, and sheltered by the tall grass, were stealing towards their unsuspecting victims.