Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-04-06

xciting Moments for Horses as Well IA
Men-Plan of Attack Upon Herd-A
Big Bunch of sleepy Eik-A shower q
Snow Balls.
Not more than a hundred yards away wa.
ine grouping of game that would have do
lighted the heart of Landsecr, and certainly
delighted mine Slowly retreating until tbs
friendly ridge once more covered us, We
crawled back through the cactus to rcJoln
our horses and our impatient comrades As
mounted | said briefly that our time was
at hand and the battle not far off. believe
the horses knew this better than the men, for
as came crawling back through the snow
every equine ear in the party followed me as
closely as if | had a bushel of oats in my
possession; and when | mounted my own
little sorrel he was trembling from head to
foot, and he laid his nose against my knee as
If to gain Information in his own peculiar
way Every horse in that platoon knew as
well as every man what was ahead Of him.
and better, too, for all of them had been in
those exciting chases more times than two
thirds of the party. The only noises that
broke the hush of the still morning were u
few hurried whispers and the ominous clicks
of the breech locks as the cartridges fell
lOllt III lIltll All llpI oe9 D
were as rigidly set toward the crest, about n
hundred yards away, as if they We're charge
of fixed bayonets, and the red dilated nos
trils, the fixed eyes and the heaving breasts
showed that they, too, felt all the excitement
Of their masters.
THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.
We had arranged our plans the night be-
fore, and now we hurried to carry them out.
nnurt, ha hp1Inr.y e hn bn
separated from one another by a space of
from three to four yards and facing the
ridge that hid us from the unsuspecting elk,
were stretched like a skirmish line, while
rode out in front of the center of the line
just far enough to be easily seen by all,
Looking hurriedly along the little line, l saw
that all were ready, with the loaded carbines
pointing in the air, the butts resting on the
right thighs, and a couple of spare cartridges
in each mans hand. Raising the butt of my
carbine high in the air as a signal for start
ing, took half dozen steps forward at a
prancing walk, brought the carbine down to
n level, and the line took up a trot for
dozen yards. Then raised the carbine muz-
zle up and the party broke into a long,
swinging gallop. Half way across the
frosted slope, the carbine was raised to full
arms length, and we burst over the ridge at
a gait that Hanover or Iroquois might envy,
and with an unbroken line worthy of the
Cent Gardes The swift impetus carried the
sweeping crowd half way from the ridge to
the sleepy elk before the latter gained their
feet, and by the time the dumfounded brutes
had 'bunched"-the first act of an atfrighted
herd-we were right in among them.
Many of the older hunters dropped their
carbines across their saddle bows, and, draw,
ing their revolvers, delivered deadly fire at
binding range. Dashing through this little
bewildered herd like a gust of wind, the
hunting party swung to the left of the slope
of the long ridge where, from 100 to 200
yards away, the main herd had "bunched,"
600 to 500, if not l 200, strong With all tho
rough rattle of shots, the hard hitting of
horns against horns, and the drumlike clatter
Of the hoofs, there was a singular silence,
incongTuous with so much rapidly varying
for orders had been given that
not whisper should be heard till the elk
had broken in an organized run in definite
course. As the western wall of elk horns
opened in that direction, with a princely
buck at the head, there went up from us
yell that Glove the very clouds, and scattered
The band only to bunch again. That shout
delayed them hardly three seconds, but that
ihree seconds made a success of the hunt,
and before it ended we were among them,
every citizen and soldier now his own indi-
gidual commander, and responsible for his
)wn success.