, 1886-09-24
ON A BUFFALO HUNT.


Nv NV ffOiNi
A Narrow Escape from Death by tho
Hoofs Of a stampeded Herd.
We came in sight OF one herd as day
was breaking, and Immediately gave
chase. h bison fled before us, we
tearing after them like mad. but in a
few minutes the nerd scattered and so
we selected a certain bunch. which we
followed up. l had gotten pretty close
upon my quarry, when, whisk-out OF
sight they went, and in a l had
followed them. They had gone over a
bank into a creek so suddenly that, not
observing 1t, / followed close upon their
heels: and there we were. buffaloes,
pony and myself. uninjured, but houn-
dering and swimming about in deep
water. By the time l got to the opposite
bank and secured my pony the buffaloes
were gone out of sight, scampering
across the prairie to join the main herd,
and my orderly stood IN the bluff be-
hind where we had just tumbled from.
laughing at my predicament. He had
luckily checked himself and steed just
in time to save both from following us.
Ia OIL HUI lhtttA
ened out and we rode to the top OF a
neighboring knoll to get a view Of the
surroundings. Our original herd was
dim in the distance. a cloud OF lust on
the horizon telling where they were still
going at full speed. While regretfully
watching them my orderly suddenly ex-
claimed:
Look, lieutenant, here comes another
herd across the country and making
straight for u.s."
Casting my eyes in the direction indi-
Gated. sure enough another tremendous
herd was pointing in the direction of our
knoll and coming directly at us like a
thunder cloud. No use to fly. for there
was no place to fly to. One solid black
mass was sweeping towards us like a
whirlwind. and it became necessary for
US to do something. and do it quickly.
too, or have the life trampled out OF us
in a few minutes.
-Dismount!7 / cried; sling the bride
over your arm, and. when / give the
word. fire as rapidly as you AN"
We both dismounted and, drawing u
-four revolvers, opened fire on the solid
phalanx at long range. The great drove
of animals were plunging wildly for
ward, with their heads down. almost
sweeping the ground, and consequently
did not see us. Our hope was to attract
their attention and by so doing TO
brighten them ard endeavor to throw
them out of their course. Had they seen
us in the first place they would probably
have halted or turned their course to one
side. AS it happened, they kept madly
on until our bullets began to sting them,
when the leaders looked up and. seeing
the strange sight in front of them, actu-
ally paused or attempted to do so, but it
was at their peril, for the foremost were
Immediately trampled beneath the feet
of the rushing. crushing multitude be-
hind. The pile of bodies was our saliva
ton, for it served as an impeachment to
those In the rear and together with our
rapid fire sort OF stampeded the whole
outfit. The pile became higher
and higher as buffalo after buffalo came
rolling on to the heap, and this blockade
actually caused the tremendous mass to
split and divide, a moiety gong each
side of it. The center mad been checked,
but the wings were still sweeping by at
railroad speed. We hurried down to
the pile of carcasses as being our safest
point and stood there watching the sea
of animals raging and tearing by like
the pillows of an angry sea. A hundred
yards or 50 further on the wings came
together again. and there we were, in the
mids of that living mass, safe and free
from harm.
1t was p strange, remarkable sight
lna x.tl.al, II 80, $500, t.FnA1 @,a -
again. My mead turned dizzy with 80
much motion all about me, but both my
self and the orderly had sense enough to
blaze away necessarily directly in front
of us, which had the effect to throw the
successive leaders in still more confu-
sion, and no doubt was the means of saw
ing us from being trainpled to death.
After this tremendous herd OF bison. GO
ing at about twelve miles an hour, had
passed. which consumed some forty min
utes of time, we found ourselves among
the scattered tail end Of the herd. Here
was our chance. Quickly singing out
an animal. was NJ dashing alongside
of him and pumping cold lead into his
bosom from my revolver. My pony. well
trained to such sport, never left his side
uilh VIC pooi OiuS otdBbcItu III HIS
tracks. When he rolled over on the
prairie in the last throes Of death. l
singled out another big fellow and was
Don pouring leaden pills into his shaggy
hide also. | had dropped an ever dozen
before my little cayuse or | became
winded.
Then l looked around for my orderly.
but he was nowhere to be seen. One old
bull o nc less than twenty cartridges
before he yielded up the ghost. which
compelled me to reload both revolvers
from horseback while going at a tearing
pace. The buffalo dies very hard. Even
though m~urtally wounded, an individual
u~nacquainted with its nature, though
never 30 good a marksman. is much sur
prised not to see him fall at once. One
would suppose that a shot about the
head or central part Of the body would
prove fatal, but such 5 not the case. To
kill a bison the ball must either divide
his spine or enter his body behind the
shoulder, a few inches above the brisket,
this being the only point through which
the heart or lungs can be reached. Even
with a fortv-lve bal. through the most
vital part l ave known a bull to run for
half a mile before falling. although shot
to the death.-Cor Philadelphia Times.
Mineral Wax for Raiiroad Ties,
On the Transcaspian railroad in Russia,
now approaching Merv. it is claimed
that ah.nt xQn0 mar p,ila 10 ha,nu .oval