Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1855-03-15

upon the gangs of buffalo. They follow thes
hundreds of miles-in fact, the outskirts of tn
butfalo-herd are, for the time being there home
Ihey lie down on the prairie at a short distance
from the buifaloes, and wait and watch in hope
that some of these animals may get disabled Oh
separated from the rest, or with the expectation
that COW with her new dropped calf may fall
into the rear. In such cases, the pack gather
round the unfortunate individual, and worry il
to DEATH A wounded OF superannuated bull
sometimes falls OUT when the fight is more
desperate, and the ball is sadly mutilated before
he can be brought to the ground Several
wolves, too, are laid hors de combat during the
struggle.
The prairie traveller may often look around
him without seeing single wolf; but let hin
fire off his gun, and as if by magic, score OIL
them will appear. They start from their hid
ing-places, and rush forward in hopes of shar.
ing in the produce of the shot.
AT night, they enliven the prairie-camp with
their dismal bowling, although most travellers
would gladly dispense with such music. Theil
note is bark like that of terrier-dog, repeat
ed three times, and then prolonged into true
VOLTS howl. have heard farmhouse dogs ut
ter very similar bark. From this popularity
some naturalists prefer calling them the bark
ing-wolf, and that is the specific appellatior
given by Say, who first described them Cani.
latrans.)
Prairie-wolves have all the ferocity of theil
race, but no creature could be more cowardly
Of the course no one fears them under ordinary
circumstances; but they have been known tt
make combined attack upon persons disabled
and in severe weather, when they themselves
were rendered unusually fierce by hunger. Blu
they are not regarded with fear either by travel
er or hunter and the latter disdains to vast
his charge upon such worthless game.
l knew one exception to this rule, and tina
was trapper of the name of H. He wa
the only one of his sort that shot prairie wolve
and he did so 'on sight believe if it hat
been the last bullet in his pouch, and an oppor
tunity had offered of sending it into a prairie
wolf, he would have despatched the leaden mis-
sile. | once asked him how many he had killet
in his time He drew small, notched sticl
from his possible SACK and desired me to coun
the notches on it, did SO. There were ON
hundred and forty-fve in all.
You have killed one hundred and forty-fve
then 2 said I, surprised at the number.
8 Yes ideed, replied he, with quiet chuckle
that many dozen; for every 'un o. them notch
es count twelve only make nutch when
have throwed the clar Dozen
"A hundred and forty-fve dozen !! repeated
in astonishment; and yet have no doubt o
the truth of the trapper's statement, for he ha'
no interest in deceiving me. am satisfied from
what knew of him that he had slain the Who'll
number stated-one thousand seven hundre
and forty!
became curious to learn the cause of his an
tipathy to the prairie wolves for knew h
had an antipathy, and it was that that had in
duced him to commit such wholesale havo
among these creatures. By careful manage
ment at last got him on the edge of the story
and quietly pushed him into it. He gave it m
thus
Wal, sir, about ten winters agone, wa
travelin' from Bent's Fort, on the Arkansaw, t.
Laramie, on the Platte, oil alone b myself.
had undertook the journey on some business 70
Bill Bent--no matter what. had crossed th
divide, and got within sight O. the Black Hills
when one night l had to camp out on the ope
prairy, without either bush or store to shelte
me. That war, prehaps, the coolest night thi
niger remembers there war wind kim dow
from the mountains that wud q froze the hal
off an iron dog. gathered my blanket roun
me, but that wind whistled through it as if
had been rail fence. 'Twan't no use lyir
down, so sot up. You may ask why did n
have fre I'll tell you why. Fust, thar wa
not stick O. timber within ten miles O. me
and, secondly, if thar had been, | dasent
made FIRE. war travelin' as bad bit O. In
jun ground as could been found in all the cour
try, and I'd seen Injun signs two or three time
that day. It's true thar war good grist {
buffer chips about tol'ably dry, and mout hs
made some sort O. fire but for that; an Mt lal
I did make fire arter fashion. did it
this way.
Seem that with this cussed cold I wan ago
in to get wink o. sleep, gathered a wheen
the buffer chips I then dug hole in I'll
ground with my bowie, an hard ickin' thu
war but got through the crust at last, an
mode sort O. oven about fut or fut an
half deep. At the bottom laid some dea
grass and dead branches o the sage-plant, an
then settin' it afre, piled the buffer chips @
top. The thing burnt tol'ably wcll, but IL
smoke from the buf1er-dung would choked
skunk. As soon as it had got fairly underwa
| hunkered and sot down over the hole, in sic
a position as to catch all the heat under m
blanket, and then was conf table enough. {
course no lnJun could see the smoke arter nigh
an it would taken sharp eyes to have sighte
the fire, recken. t.L
Wal, sir, the critter rode war young mu
tang colt, about half-broke had bought hi
of Mexican at Bents only the week afore, Al
it war his fust journey, leastwise, with me-
OF course | had him in the larmt but up"
this time had kept the end of the cord in n
hand, because had that same day lost my pic
et-pin and, thinkin' as wasn't agoin' to sle,
mout as well hold on to it. By an by, hoy
ever, begun to feel drowsy. The fire atwe,
my legs promised to keep me from freezin
an thort mout as get nap. So I tied thu
lariat round my ankles sunk my head atween n
Lnees an in the twipklin' ef a poat's tail