Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-12
STARED DEATH In FACE
EXPERIENCE eF "a PARTY ON
THE GREAT PLAINS.
Herd of Buffalo Threatened Destruc-
tion-Eortunate Shot at
Solitary Bull.

w H. "A, ttlcusff zCoItiiuISSiOucT VI tnC
land Office, spent many OF his early days on
the great plains of the west. and always
has at hand fundi5f good stories ready to
tap when called upon. This is one of them:
"A party of fourteen III us were going
south from Fort Kearnev. Neb.. on foot.
with two mule teams to- haul our camp
equipment and supplies" related Mr.. Rich
ards. Zone afternoon we were making our
way leisureIy along ridge. when we sud
denly deserted on the summit of another
ridge huge black line at least half mile
In length. Those Of us who had not been on
the plains before could not make out what
this line was, but we were informed by the
chief Of our party that 1t was herd OF
buffalo.
1--WE could see plainly enough. that with
our heavily loaded. teams we could not get
beyond the line before the herd would be
upon U.S. Our chief therefore promptly
called a halt. gave orders that the two
wagons be brought up close together, one
behind the other, and directed that the
mules be unhitched. placed behind the
which the buffalo were coming and securely
fastened to the wheels. Then one man was
detailed to each mule, to keep 1t as quiet as
possible, while ten Of us were instructed TO
fill our pockets with cartridges. form line,
go out to meet the buffalo and try to split
them and keep them divided until they
passed the wagons. = 80
1.-The Spencer carbines with which we
were armed shot so caliher bullet with
a charge Of powder much too light for that
weight Of load AM that kind of game. we
went back some 300 yards from the wagons
and opened fire. The rear end of the herd
had not yet come UP over 1.-The opposite
ridge, so that we were confronted by a
mass of buffalo half a. mile long on the
front and extending at least that far pack.
The animals were coming toward us at
liz anfi1 cd
fire, and then broke into gallop. To stop
them was out of the question. for those In
front were urged forward by those oehlnd.
81 recall distinctly that when I fired my
first shot, the front OF the line peing anout
800 yards from us, l thought had struck
a horn. but when I had fired several shots
and heard them all strike l knew l was
hitting something besides horns. l thought
noise might be of benefit at this time so
having good lungs 1 exerted them to the
utmost, Joined at once by the rest of the
firing party. And my theory worked out
all right. The noise of our guns and of
our voices. with what execution our bullets
were doing, caused the herd to divide and
pass to each side of us. But we soon found
ourselves in a precarious situation. When
the herd was first split, the buffalo could
see as well as hear US. and they Veered on
either way, but those that were following
created such a noise themselves and raised
such cloud of dust that they could hardly
see or hear US, and soon began to crowd
in on us in a way exceedingly disquieting.
Situation Very Disquieting.
The animals were being forced backward
and in and upon each other to such an ex-
tent that it becameEdoubtful whether We
were going to succeAd in our effort. If we
should fail it meant that we would be
trampled under foot AND the entire party
as well as the outfit wiped off the face of
he Va bad into a
solid line and wereJ splitting the herd. be-
cause we would not-be doubled up or give
way on either side eNa had been going
back foot by foot, bad few cartridges left
not hold out much bngeri, when our backs
came in contact with the wagon. and al
most at the same instant we saw day
light ahead of us. and there was the end of
the herd. The most femafkable thing about
the whole affair WaS that when the herd
had passed alfdh the sdusf had settled there
were only two dead, buffaho lying upon the
plains while mere7 than 800 shots had been
fired. -.a- -...-. ,-'
Having small supply of water in our
wagons. we camped at the place where the
fight had taken place, but got little sleep,
as the herd stopped within short distance
of us, On account OF the wounded buffalo
and smell of fresh blood they Were in
state of turmoil all night, while the wolves
both coyotes and the large gray animals
kept up an incessant bowling all night long
We moved on the next morning in good
order with plenty of buffalo meat, the first
we had obtained upon the trip.
THE buffalo Is, under ordinary crcum-
stances" continued Mr.. Richards, "a docile
animal, neither aggressive nor comoative,
but had some experience with the animal
which went to show that when aggravated
they are dangerous. l found that ordnar-
lily buffalo, like any other wild animal
with which have had experience, will run
from a hunter when given an opportunity.
and that when wounded it will not ordi-
narlly charge man from a greater dis
lance than about fifty yards. On one oc-
casion 1 met one which was an exception
to this rule, however. / was hunting on
foot with Henry rifle. Buffalo We're not
plentiful in the locality, but 1 finally sight
ed an old bull lying down on the plains.
Hunting on foot needed meat badly, and
could not afford to let this old fellow get
away. 1 worked around directly behind
him. Buffalo are not wary when lying
down, and / approached to within about
$50 yards, when concluded / was about as
close as l cared to be, took aim and fred.
My bullet struck the sloping surface on
a rib, made slit in the hide and did no
further damage. The old fellow jumped up
and started to run albright angles to the
line l was following, giving me good shot
at his side. 1 fired. but having underesti-
mated the distance, the ball dropped and
struck him just above the hoof of the fore
leg. He then turned and came straight for
me.
A fortunate Shot.
There was nothing for me to do but to
hold my ground and shoot. 1 could here
every ball strike him. He came on without
the least hesitation, and I kept shooting as
fast as I could, bur after few shots be-
came much alarmed respecting the number
Of cartridges remaining In my magazine. I
had no time to look to see whether l was
throwing in a cartridge every time l threw
down the lever. Just as 1 Was about to pull
the trigger for another; shot he stopped. He
was SO near I could have thrown my hat
on his horns
THE old fellow certainly presented a
most terrifying aspect. I found two or
three bullets in his foretop. fiattened on his
skull, while the ball which killed him had
passed along the side of his neck and en-
tered his body between the neck and the
shoulder blade. But for that one fortunate