Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-12-04

preferred them to their firearms for kill
ing buffalo As the grand duke seemed
skeptical, Gen. Custer secretly sent out
two Brule bucks with orders to find a
buffalo, run it into camp, and there kill
it in the presence of the Russians with
an arrow.
Within an hour the Indians, whooping
and yelling. rode back chasing a buffalo
COW. In spite of her efforts to escape she
was guided straight into the camp, where
Two Lance, one of the bucks, swiftly
circled to her left and with bow full
drawn drove his arrow into the body be-
hind the shoulder. The animal fell,
pierced through the heart, and so de
lighted was the grand duke with this
exhibition of skill that he gave the
archer a twenty-dollar gold piece and
then paid as much more for Two Lance
bow and culver of arrows, which he took
to Russia as souvenirs of the plains.
There was a great dinner in camp that
night, and the stories Of former hunts
lost nothing from the champagne which
helped in the telling.
An Indian Sham Battle.
After the feast. the Indians enter
tanned with a sham battle, and then
there was a war dance, and the day
closed with powwow at which Gen.
Sheridan. the Crank Duke Alexis, Spot
ted Tail. and all the rest smoked the
peace pipe. The duke would not make
a speech, although urged to do so by
his hosts. but he pleased the Indians
even more with gifts of silver coins,
blankets and hunting knives.
That ended the buffalo hunting for
which formal arrangements had been
made, and the party went on to Denver,
where there was some sightseeing among
the mines and a grand ball was given in
honor Of the grand duke. G. NJ. Beeson,
a famous buffalo hunter and Indian
4,xrl,4 l, 1Jax,
fiddle that night in the orchestra, told
Gen. Sheridan that a large herd of buff
falo had been reported in the neighbor
hood of Kit Carson, 40 miles east Of
Denver. The general told the duke.
who Immediately became keen for an
other hunt.
There were no mounts available ex-
cept the troop horses of the cavalry in
the Denver region, and those animals
were not used to bison hunting. The
general explained this, and added that an
unframed horse. when confronted by {,
roaring mass of frightened buffalo, be-
comes frantic and very unsafe animal
to be astride of. That only made Alexis
more determined to go after the herd,
so Gen. Sheridan gave the necessary or
ders. and the second expedition set out.
The herd was located without difficulty,
and the same tactics were employed as
before, except that Gen. Custer was the
grand dukes only immediate companion
when the attack was made. The troop
horses were as unruly as had been an"
ticipated, and added more than their
share to the excitement of the chase.
Clusters Fine Horsemanship.
When the general and the grand duke
approached the laundering avalanche of
the herd their mounts became unman-
ageable. Bits and spur were useless,
and, finally, in a frenzy of excitement,
Al ,Ifphf
herd, and to the hunters watching from
the background it seemed as though the
son of the Gar and an American general
were about to be killed in a stampede.
But Clusters matchless Craftsmanship
saved them both. Abandoning useless
attempts to force, the riders lured their
mounts away from the herd by strategy.
Little by little they were guided out of
the danger zone, and when once away
from close contact with the excited bison
the horses were induced to mai a wide
circuit over the plains at top speed, and
then, by means of whips and spurs, the
riders regained control.
In the meantime the herd had escaped,
but after a long chase the hunters again
got within killing distance, and the
grand duke brought down his second
buffalo. Once more the hunt was open
for all hands, and the green troop horses
were ridden hard after the herd, with
the lneVltaDle results. Cle Ol Iue lllCl-
dents Of the fight that followed was the
riding into a prairie-dog town at full
gallop. Scores of horses stumbled, send
! ing their riders over their heads. In
the meantime, everybody was shooting
at will and without much regard for the
mark One horse was grazed by bull
| let. Another shot went through Col.
Mike Sheridan's coat. and after the ex-
element was over Count Bodisco sheep
ishly confessed that he had fired it.
There was hardly a man who did not re-
turn to camp with cut or a bruise of
some sort, but the real wonder of the
day was that nobody had been killed or
seriously hurt
That was the end of the grand dukes
hunting on the American plains. He
travelled afterward in the south with
Gen. and Mrs. Custer as his guests, and
sailed from Pensacola on board the Rus
sian man-of-war Sveltana for Cuba