The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1913-10-16

"Who?"
you"
"Me?"
"Yes, mel mean you'll"
oh" At last she understood.
Where are we all three going to
live? You know, Mr.. Bonny-"
A horrible fear smote me. Great
heavens!" l cried, lis he going to
marry you, too?"
That's what he said," averred
Madge.
He never SHALT" l swore. "Tll
kill him like would IA buffalo"
| think Madge laughs too much
sometimes.
The idea of you killing buff
f-a-l-o! I'll tell you what I'll DIDO.
I'll marry the first one of you that
d-does k-kill bufhehehalo!"
l would rather Madge had accepted
me in a more conventional manner,
but suppressing all selfish considera.
ton. ! cried: "Done!" and was off to
challenge Bonny. He accepted read
lily.
A week later found us camped in
the then sparsely buffalo-settled re-
gion Of Colorado. The first day we
spent trying to get suggestions rela-
tive to buffalo hunting. These sugges-
tons We're discussed over our coffee
that evening.
Cowboys Call men west of the Mis-
sissippi were cowboys to HIM are
towards, said Bonny. Il asked one
OF them If you were I where would
you 90 to hunt buffaloes?' Where 1
would be least likely to find them, he
replied. My good man said 1, kind
ly tell me how you do bring down a
/ buffalo He took another chew Of to-
bacco and squirting one eye, re-
/ piled: 4 shoot them in their tracks.
| That is the best place for you TO
/ shoot a buffalo, young man, right in
it's tracks, and the older the tracks
are. the better"
My own information had been more
practical / had been told to lasso my
! buffalo and tie il to the nearest tree,
where l could shoot it without danger,
lat least to the buffalo" my inform
ant added absent mindedly.
Unfortunately, forgot my lasso the
next morning and had to depend en-
tirely upon my gun.
While we lunched Bonny was APP
parently seized with an attack of deli
rum tremens
Buffalo, buffalo!" he shrieked, and
danced about.
"A cluster Of them?" asked.
only a solitaire he shouted, "but
it's NINE" and mounting his horse
he backed rapidly away, presumably
to keep the buffalo in sight while he
circled it. Rival as he was, l had to
admit that it was the tactic of brave
man.
AS for me, l bodily started toward
the buffalo. l had gone but a short
distance when ! came to an old dug
out which had partly filled, leaving
enough ingress for man nearly half
my size to crawl through. The ami
NAL, seeming danger, approached me.
Fearing lest / brighten 1t away, l got
as far as I could into the dugout. The
buffalo came on, its head lowered, it's
tail furiously flashing at the fiies-on,
until it was within twenty feet of me!
slipped the rest Of the way into
the dugout, and though my heart beat
like a sledge hammer, l coolly put
my gun to my shoulder, braced my
self firmly against the farthest wall
and with bated breath watched the
majestic creature move slowly by and
out Of range of my gun. / painted
to pursue, but found that it would re-
quire an hours work with my knife
to enlarge the egress sufficiently for
me to get out. When | did get out,
the buffalo had escaped, and in the
distance / beheld Bonny squirting his
horse to full speed. l was disguised
with Bonny. Why should he sit calmly
on his horse within mile of the buffa
10, let 1t escape him, and then exhibit
such trepidation because 1t had done
SO?
On the return | found a couple OF
men skinning buffaloes. / bought a
hide. went on and was first to reach
camp. Pretty soon Bonny arrived.
"Well?" said he.
WELL" said /.
What do you think of this?" and he
unrolled a fresh hide.
Il think you are about as smart az
am evasfvely answered. Where
did you shoot your buffalo?"
Right in it's tracks!" said Bonny.
While we glared at each other a
collect" telegram was brought US. II
read:
Don't slay buffalo. have married
Madge.-R. Meels."