The northern tribune., 1848-04-25

can see you-like to look at a man when he
talks said voice far back among /" the peo-
pie"
| There's an enlightened citizen for you
he talks like one who attends public meetings
and knows the price of putty" said Joe
sprinsing upon the designated elevation
! The appearance Of his head above the crowd
was the signal for yell of approval; this
having settled down, Joe proceeded
Gentlemen, there's the pony and here
am NOW I form small feature in the
story but if there be any credit give it to Dick
One day-no matter when-1 was riding
DICK slowly across one of those Internally
broad prairies, that seem to have neither ends
| nor sides, Qying between Fort Leavenworth
and the Rocky Mountains and thinking about
! the probable chance of losing my traps and
scalp in case l met with the Pawnees, when a
| low. rumbling noise fell upon my ear, like
the muttering OF distant thunder. I looked
| up. but there wasn't a cloud-the sky was
Just as blue and quiet as my wife Pollys eye.
so 1t couldn't be thunder. 1t might be an
earthquake. This wasn't very pleasant re
Election, for, as l had lived in New Madrid,
and seen the ground cape some, I expected
every minute to find myself and Dick beauti-
| fully buried, without the assistance of UNDER
| taker or sexton.
"Ihe sound by this time had increased to
pretty chunck roar, and as there was no chance
| OF being swallo we'd up, thought it only rea-
sonable to take an observation, for things
| began to look as if they would'n mt last long
| turning in my saddle, saw one of the mos,
| interesting spectacles, to man situated as
! was, that ever expect to look on again.
About a half a mile behind me- roaring, snort
ing, blowing, and running as if fends were
after them, was one of the most unrighteous
piles of buffalo ever congregated together
And they put it down as if each fellow was
striving to be the first to get dig at me.
tried to appear COOL but it was no use-my
hair kept rising, till it got SO stiff that each
bristle would have balanced aplate. Heavens
how fierce they looked, with their eyes fam
ing like fre-coals, and their shaggy names
streaming in the wind !!
| "Did'nt you feel awful ;" asked sympa-
thetic spectator, appealing to Joe.
'' Feelf" responded our hero-"I felt like
a stray pig on railroad track with an express
locomotive behind him, and high fence on
both sides of the road. There was no such
thing as running round them, for they were
spread across the prairie as far as the eye
could reach, and came down upon me like Q
great black wave. Time was growing precious
| every SeCOuu CouHteOs Liz oUiy wax
in straight race-Dick and I against the
field. In the twinkling of an eye 1 stripped
Dick to the saddle, and myself to the spurs
The bufaloes were now well up, and doing
their nastest-the pony all of tremble tc
be off. 1t was a sin to hold him, and, to tel
the truth, wasn't very anxious to do so. A
yell did the business, ,anG away We went like {
scared dog.
"On! on! on !-prairies, woods and river
were passed with a perfect rush Still thu
buffaloes were humping themselves just a
my heels. l knew by the slackening thunde
of their tramp, however, that the herd was
growing thinner-this couldn't account fo
till afterwards. Just about that time, one o
Dicks hoofs came off. He limped little
but wouldn't give in an inch. When tht
second slipped, the pace became more even
Then the third went and in half minut,
more, his last hoof pulled off in a quagmire
But when he got off his stumps-snails and
terrapins how he tore along Looking
back, (for felt now just as easy as hungry
dog in potatoe patch,) there lay one OF the
prettiest strings of buffalo, for about five
miles, that YOU ever did see! Gentlemen
we had run every devil of 'em to death, with
the exception of one old bull, who seemed
determined to win, or perish in the attempt
He couldn't quite come 1t, though-we bea
him Just length! Dick fell at last--and sc
did the venerable Eclipse of the prairies. JUS
behind him, with his nose well up to the pony
tail
"I got off, and looked first at Dick, ane
then at the Luffalo, and if there wasn't eigh
of the most beautifully used up and groune
off legs" :.
1.-The bulls legs were not run off, toos
cried an excited spectator, interrupting Joe
YOU'D thought they were, if you'd seer
'em !" replied Joe, coolly.
"Did he lve?' queried another listener.
"He didn't do anything subsequent !-ant
when saw him again he hadn't bit OF leg
at OIL! He had had another race. suppose
and run EN- off smack up to his body!"
81 guess that put an end to his racing! !
| said the last sneaker in the crowd.