The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-02-24
A Buffalo Hunt.

Inc second afternoon out, a buffalo. herd
was discovered feeding fur to the south.
resembling flock of black sheep in the
distance. a halt was at once called, and
preparations made for a descent upon tho
game III the morning. The, horses were
tethercd by long raw-hidos, And tho men
proceeded TO put their guns And ammuni-
Slon IN order. The next m6tning dawneti
fresh and clear. The bufralocs were still
in sight, though farther away and. as the
WIND blew from the hunters toward the
herd, long detour was made in order 70
approach them from the opposite side. At
length, the hunters dashetU among them
and commenced the work Of destruction
Wits horse, the unreliabloi; Bonnnzo. ho'
haved well while among his companions
but no sooner did they scatter than bc hc'
came unmanageable,, and his ruler heartily
wished nc had taken his fathers advice in
relation to the animal, as he found he was
gong TO be left. out Of the, sport. There
were no breech- loading gums in the party.
ana 1t would astonish crack SPORTSMAN
with his repeating Winchester and ready
loaded shells in a convenient bct-to sec y
horseman charge a muZzlc-loadcr from the
saddle. The report OF the hunters rifles
gradually ditfused uneasiness amonp tho
ou1laloes, which numbered two thousand
or more, and they began tomovc, followed
Dy the relentless horscnlcn. In their course
'iey again approached the horse of our dis
appointed friend. Will tried desperately
70 9ct close enough for shot, He sue
ceeacu' Dut scared bull, with shaggy
'front.' ana furious, twinkling eyes, charged
'oward bonanza, aud that animal turned
and fed lgnominiously. The now terrified
rlOSph in tl>o
horse, and soon Will was surrounded ~,
the shaggy herd. lie tuggcd va,nlv ut tho
bit; and the loud laughter If his comnan
ions, who remembered his boas, on startnn
out, grew fainter as lie was borne swirtlS
away. He was not at all alarmed I'm hc
looked back and saw that he was fast lcav-
Ing the men out of sight. Then flashed
upon him the thought of how powcrlrss bo
was III the midst of tho unwicldv herd
He was completely surrounded. and the
frightened buffaloes were running at their
swittest speed, which they would probably
continue for hours. He'thought of stop.
ping his horse by taking Off his coat and
putting it over the ANNALS ewes. But
Chch, should the horse stop, he would bc |
knocked down by the butfalocs, and then
uoIn OF Them be pounded TO death beneath
Tue 1eet OF the herd. So powerful are |
tnese clumsy beasts that in Il large herd
ehcy are almost invinclblc They leave a |
track behind which much resembles 81 |
ploweu field. Should one of the number
iosc Its footing it is almost sure to be killed
W hs companions, as those in the rear.
cr'wdlng upon the forward ranks, makes
pause impossible. Crocker observed his
sons peril first He was heard to crv ont
suddenly, and then, applying his spurs, he
gallopeu IN the rear of the fast-rctrcat,np
herd. Leclerc and Dutch followed hor1
upon his heels, but the cooler -blooded Mex
leans le.u remained M TO- skin The ,bBs!rol llssvths
looked his peril in the face, with courage |
bcgotten Of life among dangers. Sud
denly desperate thought occurred to him
He had heard drovcrs and trappers tell of |
Indian hunters whose mode of killing buf- |
falocs was by running on their backs, and |
spearing them as they ran. Why could |
not he escape that way2 The animals were |
close together and, though misstcp would |
be fatal, to remain in his present position |
was certain death. A dense cloud of black |
dust hung over the htrd, through which
IA Ight was visible but the tossing sea Of
beasts near him. He, therefore, had no
idea how many animals interviewed between
himself and safety His chances of es-
cape seemed not one III ten, but the stun
bling of his horse decided him to make the
attempt. More thoughtful than most boys
would have been in the face of danger
like this, he unbucklcd his horses bride
and tied it around his gun (Which he car
ried strapped to his back), and then, get
ting Off his saddle on TO the horses withers,
he looscd the glrth and let it fall to the
ground, intending, should he make his cs-
cape, to 90 back and pick it up. He now
rose to his feet on the horse back, holding
to the animals name, and in an instant
lcaped to the nearest buffalo, holding his
gun, like balancing-poe, in both hands.
The animal plunged, but he jumped to the
next and the next, like Eliza, crossing tho
Ohio On the ice, in "Unclc Toms Cabin"
lie had accomplished half the distance,
when one of the butfalocs, seeing him COM
ing, jumped to ono side. The boy fell
between, but dropped his gun in time to
grasp the animal by its long hair, and with
difficulty he climbed upon the terrified and
plunging creature, and jumped desperately
| on till he reached tho outside Of the herd,
when he fell to the ground and rolled over
and over, with his head swimming and a
heart lcapng for joy. He was yet in dan
ger from the straggcrs On the edge Of the
herd, but the cloud of dust and the animals
it obscurcd passed by and faded into a
smokc-lke bllow, leaving him uninjured.
Ten minutes after. Crocker and his two
followers galloped up and, to their great
joy, found the boy unhurt beyond few
bruises. Will rode home behind his
fathers saddle, but whether or not the ad-
| venture had any effect for good on his
stubborn nature, the chronicle saith not.
| HOW to Hang Thermometers.