Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1879-12-12

into the stream and lay down. As we
were anxious to have him on dry
ground, I was to poke him with stick,
and, when he charged me, my partner
was to shoot him down. After good
deal of punching, the animal came out
to interview me. Unfortunately, after
he got on terra frma, Leonard's rifle
missed fire, and I had another foot-race.
We, however, only raced about fifty
yards, when the buffalo, apparently
stricken with remorse, withdrew from
the contest, and returned to the stream.
The next time I coaxed him out sure
shot laid him low.
About once in two weeks We loaded
up our cart with an assortment OF
game, which I used to haul to the sta
ton and exchange for necessaries we
required. This trip of 100 miles all
alone, right through hostile Indian
country, was not pleasant one. There
was no trail, and. as the plains are of a
very monotonous appearance, it was
difficult matter to keep the right
course. 1 generally managed to mako
Brush creek the first night, and, after
preparing supper, no matter how cold
it might be, I had to put out the fire,
as I was afraid it might attract the at
tention of neighboring Indians. On
one of my excursions, when I reached
Brush creek the night was intensely
cold, and I thought, Indians or no In
dams, I'll keep a fire this night. Ny
blankets were stretched near the fire,
and I was doing (sound sleep was out
of the question, when 1 heard crack
Ling among the twigs and dry leaves.
On looking around, about ten feet dis
tant I saw pair of shining eyes glar-
ing right at me. MY first impression
was that it was an Indian crawling on
his hands and knees, and I acknowl-
edge feeling of fear. On reaching
for my rife, I began to think it might
possibly be only wolf, and, if SO, it
was dangerous to fire off a gun at that
time of night, not knowing who my
neighbors mi ht be, or their where
abouts. Finally, becoming satisfied it
was vol, I drew brand from the fire
and threw it at the two eyes. With a
snort and rush, my visitor unceremo~
niously left me.
have read accounts of buffalo bel
lowing and paving the ground before
making a charge; but I never heard
one even moan, and they do not even
lose any time in paving. Ineve1 heard
of them attacking a man, unless badly
wounded. Until bull is 2 years old,
his horns stand up erect, and he is then
called a spike-buu. After that his
horns commence curving toward each
other. The old patriarch bulls, who
have outlived their usefulness, are run
out of the harem and rove around dis
consulate, either singly or in herds.
Buffalo sometimes exhibit astonishi',y
tenacity of life. I have known tl.n''
get clean away with probably pound
of lead in them. Occasionally The first
shot will kill one " too dead to skim
The most noisy animal on the plain,
is the coyote. When about three ci
them congregate at dusk and begin
warbling their evening hymn, instead
of a trio you would imagine it was a
| grand chorus in which 500 voices par
ticipated. The music produced is
about as melodious as what we are &C.
customed to hear rendered by that back
yard artist, the Thomas cat. The coy
ote, although notendowed with superior
musical abilities to the feline, has q
greater compass of voice. As his song
is not productive of sleep, I have often
wished to conclude his serenade by
gently caressing him with club.
During stormy weather we had ample
time to cut up and salt what meat we
had on hand. Although the winte,
passed pleasantly, it was a Robinson.
Crusoe kind of existence. On Christ.
mas day our big camp-kettle contained
the breasts of three or four turkeys, 8
jack-rabbit, small pieces of deer and
antelope, and a portion of buffalo
hump. I doubt whether there was 6
family on the continent which had
such variegated bill of fare. Ny
partner, who had a weakness for eccen
trio costume, during the winter made
himself a cap from badgers skin, s
vest from beaver pelts, and pair Of
pants from the hide of buffalo calf
He also seriously contemplated the
manufacture of coat from wolf-skins
Buffalo-hunting is hard work, but there
is SO much excitement attached to il
that the hunter does not feel tired I'M
til his days work is done and he finds
himself five or six miles. away from
camp.
Toward spring we divided our spoil
and returned to Denver. I never saw
or heard of my partner since.