Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-06
A TENDERFOO1sS LUCK.
HOW HE SHOT HIS FIRST BUFFALO
AND WHAT BECAME OF 1T.


Giving an Indian Chew of Tobacco.
One day, while was ticket agent Of th
Kansas Pacific railroad at Wallace, Kan.
during the years that buffalo were still roam
ing in vast herds over the plains, the tele
graph operator at the station came into m,
office in great state OF excitement.
There's million buffalo feeding on tn
prairie only three miles below here" he ex
claimed, land not more than quarter Of
mile from the railroad track. Let's go dow
and bag few"
was still tenderfoot In the region, and
was crazy to kill buffalo So in less thai
ten minutes after the operator brought mt
the news we mounted hand car, and, accom-
panied by one of the track repairers, were
spinning aleng toward the spot where the buf
faloes were reported to be feeding.
BUFFALO GUvERN1ENr.
The report hadn't been exaggerated, e1cep,
that the butfaloes were feeding no nearer
than a mile from the track. That was the
first herd of buffalo had seen. saw many
a big one afterward, but never one that could
compare II vastness with this great bison
gathering. The prairie seemed filed with
them. They formed one black, unbroken, I'M
dulating mass that seemed bounded only at
the horizon and stretched eastward and west
ward as far as the eye could follow it The
herd was on the north side Of the railroad
and feeding toward 1t. Derailing our hand
car and taking our guns, we proceeded eau
tiously across the prairie, half creeping, half
crawling, until we had succeeded In ap-
preaching to within quarter of q mile of
the advance guard Of the mighty host.
We then lay fiat on the grass and spent
some minutes in curious observation Of the
throng. We noticed, as far as the move
ments of the herd could be distinctly seen,
that it was divided up into detachments,
each one Of which was composed of bunch
of COWS and half grown calves, around which
was formidable Gordon of sleek young spike
bulls, who had won their places In the royal
body guard by more than one hard fought
battle with contending rivals. In advance
Of all these guarded detachments ranged an
endless line. Of old bulls, immense specimens
of their race, but sullen and tattered-de-
posed monarchs, serving where they had
once ruled, and plainly showing that they
felt their degradation By the inevitable
and memorable laws Of buffalo government
they had been forced to abandon all partici-
patton in the direction of affairs, and were
now simply doing duty as outposts to the
usurpers in their realms, watching out for
signs Of danger and keeping at a distance
the packs Of coyotes that hung about the
herd on the lookout for a chance to run off
some stray calf OF exhausted cow.
As we lay there watching the systematic
arrangement and conduct of the vast herd,
its divisions and subdivisions and line of out
posts, our attention was attracted by the pc
culiar actions Of various members of one of
the punches which was feeding nearest to U.s.
First one buffalo would give a sudden jump,
run several steps, stop and look back, and
then, giving his body a thorough shaking,
would resume his feeding again, only to re-
peat his strange maneuvers a few seconds
later. Another and another were affected
In the same way, and, one after another,
they finally fell abruptly to the ground, and
lay stretched motionless there at full length.
To solve the mystery, we concluded to fire
into that particular bunch, which would
stampede it, and in turn send the entire herd
speeding away over the plain. was allowed
the privilege of first fire. l crawled up to
within 800 yards Of the bunch. A magnifi-
cent spike bull stood within easy range, broad
side to me. | aimed at him and fired. He
fell where he stood His immediate compan-
ions fed. The alarm spread along the herd,
and soon the vast body was laundering away
to the northward, shaking the prairie by
their mighty trend.
THE MYSTERY SOLVED.
Followed by my comrades, rushed up to
my trophy. l put my foot on his massive
neck, and felt proud of my achievement l
looked back at my companions. They were
standing stock still ten feet behind me, their
eyes staring at something beyond me and
their Jaws dropping. | turned to see what
they were looking at and my eyes instantly
became as staring wide open as theirs were
i never knew where he could have come
from, but there at the other side of the buff
falo had shot stood an Indian. He was at
least feet 6 inches tall He was entirely
naked, except that he wore strip Of buck
skin around his loins and CULVER of arrows
at his back. His eyes flashed wickedly as he
drew himself up to his full height, placed his
foot on the buffalo, and shifting himself on
his bare breast, exclaimed in a naughty and
imperative tone:
MA boofalo-o-oTn
Before the Indian had finished making bis
positive claim to the buffalo became pain
fully aware that he was not alone, but that
not less than six other Indians, as big and as
ugly as he was, had appeared on the scene as
quietly and mysteriously as he had had
no intention whatever of disputing the red
tilefs claim, and | know that neither Of my
companions had took my foot off the dead
bull, which was all Che Indian knew for re-
signing my right to the trophy The Indian
folded his arms and looked, thought, con-
temptuously at US, and then exclaimed:
''Tabac"
We interpreted this rightly to mean that
the Indian wanted a chew of tobacco. ST.
all three of Us produced big
plug and reached it toward bin He took
them all, bit of a chew from ons and slowed
the three away somewhere In his breech
cloth. Then, with a wicked leer, he waved
his hand toward the railroad We interpret
ed this TO mean that We had better go, and
we went. The mystery of the strange ac-
tions OF the buifaloes we had seen fall was
explained The Indians had been in hiding
on the edge of the herd, and were picking of
the choicest of them with their noiseaess and
deadly arrows
Wenever looked back until we had reached
JILL us4iu CSti vi Inc lIdcA ana were ready 20
start for home. Then we saw the Indians
squatted in an excited group on the ground
''rhey are gambling for our tobacco said
the trscilnan.
That is the way shot and lost my first
buffalo, and have often congratulated my
self since that didn't lose my scalp, and al
ways wondered why that villainous redshin
happened TO let me keep it.-Cor. New York
Sun
The Oriental Woman.
1t Is rather curious reflection that In