Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-03-23
WHOLESALE BUFFALO HUNTING.
Narrow Escape of rarty of White Men.
A Thrilling sight.

Narrow Escape of n Tarty of White Men.
A Thrilling sight.
They heard strange noises, and looking
toward the west beheld a great black
surging mass. waving and rolling up
across the prairie, half hidden by great
clouds of dust, which were only OCCASION
ally blown away by the brisk autumn
wind. 1t was the great herd of buffalo
and they had been stampeded by the In
dian hunters. The roar of the hoofs
upon the dry earth was like the low and
sullen thunder The vanguard of the
herd was yet more than mile away, but
the dark line stretched to right and left
almost as far as the eye could reach, and
our hunters saw that instant and precipi-
tate flight was necessary in order to save
their lives. They specially chose the
northward as Offering the shortest and
best direction by which TO escape the
coming avalanche, and, sinking the spurs
deep into their terror stricken beasts, they
flew with the velocity of an arrow across
the wild prairie. A mile was covered in
few seconds, and yet they were not
past the herd, which was rapidly closing
in upon them.
They turned their horses heads partly
in the direction the buffaloes were going,
and, urging them to their utmost speed,
finally passed the outer line of the herd
just as the leaders passed by, Then,
having reached a place of safety, they
dismounted, and, throwing their bride
reins over their arms, commenced to
load and fire into the herd with all pos
sible rapidity, nearly every shot killing
or disabling an animal. 1t took nearly
half an hour for the rolling, surging,
angry horde to pass the point where our
hunters stood, and as the rear guard
came in sight there came new and still
more terrible scene in the great tragedy
More than 100 Indians were in hot
pursuit of the savage beasts. They were
mounted ON wild and almost ungovern-
able bronchos, who were frothing at the
mouth, charging and cavorting among
the fleeing game. The white foam
dropped in flakes and bubbles from all
parts of their bodies. Their nostrils were
distended, their eyes flashed fire, and
they seemed as eager as their wild mas
tiers to deal death to their victims. The
savage riders seemed beside themselves
with mad. ungovernable passion.
glaring colors, their bright and many
colored blankets fiuttered in the wind,
secured to the saddle only by an end or
corner their long black hair streaming
back like the pennant at the mast head
of a ship, and their deep, black eyes
cleaned like diamonds in dungeon.
Arrow after arrow flew from deep strung
bows and sunk to the feathered end in the
quivering flesh of the shaggy monsters.
Ponderous spears were hurled with the
power and precision of giants and struck
down the defenseless victims as sturdy
woodman strikes down the frail sapling
in his path.
"Crack'' ''crack!' came from rifles,
and 'pingr' ping" from carbines and
revolvers. Hundreds of shots were fired
by those who carried firearms, and be-
fore these murderous weapons the poor
bison sank like ripened grain before the
reapers blade.
One young warrior, more ardent and
fearless than the rest, had forced his high
strung steed far into the middle of the
solid phalanx. where the horse was finally
impaled upon the horns of a monster
bull. He and his rider We're tossed like
sheaves of wheat into the air; then both
sank TO earth, and We're instantly trod-
den into the dust.
AT last the great storm had passed, and
our friends watched until it faded away
into the distance and disappeared from
their view. Then came the squaws, the
boys and the old men, to dispatch the
wounded and to skin and cut up the
dead. These were strewn all over the
prairie, and not 1.-THE of them were or
could be saved by all the people, white
and red, assembled there. &c. o. Shields
in Outing.