The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-03-11
MISCELLA A N E O U s.
From the Northern Ligh
THE DEATH CHASE;
THE HUNTERS LAST BULLET.
BY CAPT A. T. MAXWELL, U. s. A.
A WESTERN ADVENTURE

One bright, beautiful forenoon, some Tour
days and three hundred miles after we had
passed the last outpost, some five or six OF the
old veterans of the Northwest Company's
men, who were returning with us from the
lower station on the Yellow Stone, proposed.
as the steamer drew up along side the bank to
wood-whch for the last four days had been
done by cutting and splitting the green scrub
oak, poplar, and such other small growth as
grew along the bank most convenient to the
boat, and placing so much as we could oil 1t on
the top of boilers to kiln dry-these old
hunters proposed, as was about to say, to
have short buffalo hunt while the steamer
was woodng.
"Now then lads,'' said Old Judah Calmly,
as he led his Indian mustang ashore
4 and flung himselfinto the saddle the last Of our
party" now lads we're all ready, and we'll
keep this trail right on up the river to the
Little Walnut Bottom where, we shall find
buffalo any time after noon" .sa......
%. Offw went at brisk canter, all excellently
mounted and each armed with prime rife,
besides the usual outfit peculiar to the frontier,
consisting of pistols, and delicate bit OF
steel some fourteen inches in length, half an
inch thick in the back, and keen enough to
shave very cleverly with, which arbitrary
custom had christened and made famous as
the Arkansas tooth-pick. ''.|....
1t was about ten A. M. when we left the
steamer, and so we'll did our horses perfor m
after their six days rest, that by half-past
twelve weraised the sharp ridge which cut
the course of the river at right angles, nearly
twenty miles by the channel, and over fifteen
by the route we had come, from the steamer;
and ten minutes thereafter we were tearing
headlong down the northern slope ot'the
ridge, urging our horses like very mad men to
fall upon htri of full thousand buffaloes
smost of which were drinking when we first
discovered them. .-. Gil.
At first old Judah raved and shouted ant
<cursed us for crazy. know-nothing fools, fol
thus driving right inamong herd Of buffaloes
.amongwhich there were doubtless at leas
thirty monster bulls, who would trample III
to death as easily as mastif could crust
a mouse beneath his paw.
But the old hunters warning was lost upor
my companions, who had sucked at ther sid
arms during the ride till they were utterly
reckless of everything. AS for myself, tina
was my first appearance on a prairie stage il
the character Of a buffalo hunter, and LITTLE
did know or care of thei danger attendan
upon an experiment like ours.
When Calmly saw that all warning wa
useless, he gave . tremendous whoop, an
dashing forward at the. e.head -four little troop
he shouaed:-- 4 i..A
oI "Come on ye GUESSED fools! ye'll lear
something before ye git out of this bottom, o
my name amt Judah Calmly" ....a
On the level bottom, and about haudre
rods from the base Of the ridge, was a belt G
wood, or rather brush, which hid the buf.aloe
from our sight as we gained the level ground
but from the great tramp which he could hes