The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-04-18
A TENDERFOoT's LUCK.
He Relates How He Shot His First
Buffalo.

He Relates How He Shot His First
Buffalo.
To Crcpt Cp on tho Herd. Blaxod Away.
and a Noble Hull BIT tho Dust-An Un-
profitable and Deciietlly Dis
agreeable Surprise.
Ono day, while was ticket agent Of the
Kansas Pacific railroad ut 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 my
Office In great state of excitement, writes
New York Sun correspondent.
THERE'S million buffalo feeding on the
prairie only three miles below here" he
exclaimed, ssand not more than quarter of
mile from the railroad track. Let's go
down and bag few"
Twas still tenderfoot In the region, and
was crazy to kill a buffalo. So, in less thai.
ten minutes after tho operator brought mo
the news, we mounted q hand-car and,
accompanied by one of tho track rcpaircrs,
were spinning along toward the spot where
tho buffalocs were reported to be feeding,
The report hadn't been exaggerated, except
that the buffaloes were feeding no nearer
than mile from the track. That was the
first herd of buffalo had seen. saw many
big one aftcrward, but neversa,y one that
could compare in vastness with this great
bison gathering. The prairie seemed filled
with them. They formed one black, un-
broken, undulating mass that seemed
bounded only at tue horizon and stretched
eastward and westward US far as the eye
could follow it. Tho herd was on the north
side OF the railroad, and feeding toward it.
Derailing our hand-car and taking our guns,
we proceeded cautiously across the prairie,
half creeping, half crawling, until we had
succeeded iii approaching to within a quar-
ter of u milo of the advance guard Of the
mighty host
AS we lay there watching the Systematic
arrangement and conduct Of the vast herd,
lis divisions and subdivisions and line of
outposts, our attention was attracted by the
peculiar actions OF various members OF one
of the punches which was feeding nearest
to us. First one buffalo would give a sud
den jump run several steps, stop and look
back, and then, giving his body u thorough
shaking, would resume his feeding again,
only to repeat his strange mancuvcrs few
seconds later. Another and another were
affected in the same way, and, one after
another, they finally fell abruptly to tho
ground, and lay stretched motionless there
at full length.
sit seems to me-" said in whisper to
my companion, ''that rattlesnakes are
getting in their work on those buffuloes."
'No," said the trackman, who seemed to
know something about buffalo, ssthe prairie
rattlcsnake can't kill buffalo. Not as
quick as those fellows have gone down,
anyhow. never saw any thing like that
before, and can understand it."
To solve the mystery, we concluded to
fire into that particular bunch, which would
stampede 1t, and in turn send the entire
herd speeding away over the plain. was
allowed tho privilege of first fire. crawlcd
upto within three hundred yards of the
bunch. A magnificent spike bull stood
within easy range, broadside to me. l
aimed at him and fired. Flo fell where he
stood. His Immediate companions fed.
The alarm spread along the herd, and soon
tho vast body was laundering away to the
northward, Sinking the prairie by their
rushed up TO my trophy. put my foot on
hls massive neck, and felt proud OF my
achievement looked back ut my COM
panions. They were standing stock still
ten feet behind ME, their eyes staring ut
something beyond me and their Jaws
dropping. turned to see what they were
.cosAt : Az eAhASA CSOo lASIuully UCCilulc lS
staring wide open us theirs were. Inever
knew where he could have come from, but
there ut the other side of the buffalo had
shot stood an Indian. He was ut least six
feet SIX inches tall. He was entirely naked.
"cpt that he wore strip of buckskin
around his loins and a quiver of arrows at
his back. His eyes flashed wickedly as he
drew himself up to his full height, placed
his footo the buffalo, and, shifting himself
on his bare breast, exclaimed in o naughty
and imperative tone:
'Nla boofalo-o-o!'
Before tho Indian had finished making his
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.
1 had no intention whatever of disputing
the red thief's claim, and know that
neither of my companions had. took my
foot of of the dead bull, which was all the
Indian 1 knew for resigning my right to the
trophy. The Indian folded his right arms
and looked, 1 thought, contcmptuously at us,
and then exclaimed:
"Tabac!'
We interpreted this lightly to mean that
tho Indian wanted chew of tobacco. Sim
uitancously all three of us produced big
plug, and reached it toward him. He took
them all, bit off a chew from one, and slowed
tho three away somewhere in his breech-
cloth. Then, with q wicked lccr, he waved
his hand toward the railroad. We inter-
prcted this to mean that We had better go,
and we Went. The mystery of the strange
actions of the buffalocs we had seen fail
was explained The Indians had been III
hiding on the edge of the herd, and were
picking off the choicest of them with their
noiselcss and deadly arrows. We never
looked back until we had reached our hand
car on the track and were to start for home.
Then we saw the Indians squatted in an ex-
cited group on the ground.
.,rhcy nre gambling for our tobacco, - said
the tracknan.
That was the way shot and lost my first
buffalo, and have often congratulated my
self since that l didn't lose my scalp, and
always wondered why that villainous red
skin happened to let me keep it.
Marrying for Money.
| The New York Sun, which is fond of
making surprising statements, says: 1--WE
do not believe that a marriage purely for
money ever really happened" The daugh-
ter of distinguished Massachusetts author
married one of the wealthiest men in Rhode
Island, member Of one Of the ruling fam
lilies of the State, when he was fur ad-
vanced in consumption. The story goes that
when tho young woman announced her en-
gagement to a friend the latter. referring
to the proposed bridal tour, exclaimed:
'tWhy, he won't live to get across the
oceani" "If he'll only live to get up to the
altar that is all will ask!" is reported to
have been the placid response Of the pros