CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
THREE BUFFALOES WITH WINGS.
Our travellers next morning resumed their journey, and for several dayscontinued on without meeting any incident worth recording. They crossedmany large streams, among which may be mentioned the Neches and Trinityof Texas.
On the "divide," between the Trinity and Brazos rivers, an adventurebefell them that came near having a painful result.
In hot weather it was their custom to halt during the noon hours, bothto refresh themselves and rest their animals. This is the custom ofmost travellers through these wild regions, and is called "nooning."
With this intention, one day, they drew bridle by the edge of a tract ofprairie, and dismounted. Behind them was the forest through which theyhad just passed, and before them lay the prairie, which they intended tocross in the cool of the evening. The surface of the latter was quitelevel, covered with a green mantle of young buffalo-grass, with here andthere an island of low timber that broke the monotony of the view. Inthe distance a thick forest of live oak bounded the prairie on the otherside; and although the latter appeared only two or three miles distant,it was not less than ten--so deceptive is the pure atmosphere of theseupland regions. The country in which they now were was what is termed"timber prairie"--that is, a prairie interspersed with groves andcopses.
I say our adventurers had just dismounted, and were about to take offtheir saddles, when an exclamation from Francois drew the attention ofhis brothers.
"_Voila_!" cried he, pointing out to the open ground. "Buffaloes--buffaloes!"
Basil and Lucien looked in the direction pointed out. Three large darkobjects were seen on the crest of a low swell in the prairie. They weremoving about; and one was evidently smaller than the others.
"Of _course_ they are buffaloes," continued Francois. "Look at theirsize! Two bulls and a cow, no doubt."
His brothers agreed with him. None of the three had ever seen buffaloesin their native wilderness; and of course had but an indistinct idea ofhow they might appear from a distance. Buffaloes they must be--elk ordeer would look red--wolves red or white; and they could not be bears,as these last would not likely be out on the prairie in threes, unless,indeed, they might be grizzly bears--who do sometimes go out into theopen ground to dig for the "pomme-blanche" and other roots. This,however, was not probable, as the grizzly bears are seldom or neverfound so far to the eastward. No. They were not "grizzlys." They werenot wild horses neither, that was plain enough. Buffaloes, then, theymust be.
Like all who see buffaloes for the first time in their native pastures,our young hunters were filled with excitement--the more so, since tomeet with these animals was the object of their expedition, of the longand perilous journey they had undertaken.
A hurried consultation followed as to how they should capture thesethree. It was true that none of them was a _white_ buffalo; but nomatter. Our hunters wanted to taste buffalo-beef; and the chase afterthese would give them practice, which might serve them afterwards. How,then, were they to set about it?
"Why, run them, of course," counselled the ready Francois, with the airof an experienced buffalo-hunter.
Now, there are several methods of hunting buffaloes, practised upon theprairies, both by whites and Indians. The most common is that of whichFrancois spoke, "running." This is done by simply overtaking thebuffalo, galloping alongside of him--the hunter, of course, being onhorseback--and shooting him through the heart while he runs. Shoot himin the region of the heart you must; for you may put twenty bullets intohis great body elsewhere, and he will still manage to get away from you.The hunters aim a little above the brisket, and behind thefore-shoulder. The white hunters use the rifle, or sometimes a largepistol--which is better for the purpose, as they can load it more easilywhile going in a gallop. The Indians prefer the bow--as they can shootarrow after arrow in quick succession, thus slaying many buffaloes in asingle "run." So expert are they with this weapon, that their arrowshave been known to pierce through the bodies of large buffaloes, andpass clear out on the other side! At times the Indians use spears withwhich they thrust the buffaloes, while galloping alongside of them.
Another method of hunting these animals, is termed "approaching."
"Approaching" buffaloes is nothing else than creeping stealthily on themuntil within range, when the hunter fires, often loads again and fires,and so on, until many of them are killed, before their companions takethe alarm and scamper off. Indeed, the hunter will sometimes crawl upto a herd; and concealing himself behind the bodies of those he hasalready killed, fire away until many have fallen. In doing this hetakes care to keep to leeward; for if otherwise, and these animals--whohave much keener scent than sight--should happen to "wind" him, as it istermed, they are off in a moment. So keen is their scent, that they candetect an enemy to windward at the distance of a mile or more. In"approaching," the hunter sometimes disguises himself in the skin of awolf or deer; when the buffaloes, mistaking him for one of theseanimals, permit him to get within shooting distance. An Indian has beenknown to creep up in this manner into the midst of a buffalo herd, andwith his bow and arrows, silently shoot one after another, until thewhole herd lay prostrate! "Approaching" is sometimes a better methodthan "running." The hunter thus saves his horse--often a jaded one--andis likely to kill a greater number of buffaloes, and get so many morehides, if that be his object, as it sometimes is. When he is atraveller only, or a beaver-trapper, who wants to get a buffalo for hisdinner, and cares for no more than one, then "running" is the morecertain mode of obtaining it. In this way, however, he can kill onlyone, or at most two or three; for, while he is shooting these, andloading between times, the herd scatters, and runs out of his reach; andhis horse is apt to be too much "blown" to allow him to overtake themagain.
A third method of hunting buffaloes is the "surround." This ispractised only by the Indians--as the white hunters of the prairies arerarely ever in such numbers as would enable them to effect a "surround."The name almost explains the nature of this hunt, which is practised asfollows:--When a hand of Indian hunters discover a herd of buffaloes,they scatter and deploy into a circle around them. They soon accomplishthis on their swift horses, for they are mounted--as all prairie-huntersare sure to be, whether whites or Indians. As soon as the circle isformed, the Indians ride inward with loud yells, and drive the buffaloesinto a thick clump in the centre. They then dash upon them with bowsand lances--each hunter killing as many as he can. The buffaloes becomeconfused, run to and fro, and but few of them in the end get off. Aherd of hundreds, and even thousands, is sometimes slaughtered at one ofthese _battues_. The Indians make this wholesale destruction for twoobjects; first, to get the meat, which they preserve by "jerking"--thatis, by cutting into thin strips and drying in the sun--and, secondly,for the skins with which they cover their tents, make their beds, andpart of their clothing. Many of them they barter at the trading-housesof the whites--established in remote regions for this purpose--wherethey receive in exchange knives, rifles, lead, powder, beads, andvermilion.
Another method the Indians have of hunting the buffalo, is not unlikethe last, but is still more fearful to witness.
Most of the region where the buffaloes range consists of high uplandprairies, such as in Asia are called "steppes," and in Mexico and SouthAmerica "mesas," or "table-lands." Such plains are elevated from threeto six thousand feet above the level of the sea. In many places onthese table-lands there are deep rifts called "canons," or more properly"barrancas," that have probably been formed by running water duringrain-storms. These are often dry, and look like vast fissures openingdown into the earth--often for a thousand feet or more--and extendingaway for scores of miles across the prairie. Sometimes two of themintersect each other, forming a triangular space or peninsula between;and the traveller on reaching this point is obliged to turn back, as hefinds himself almost encircled by precipices yawning downward into theearth. Whenever the Indians get a herd of buffaloes near on
e of thesecanons, they surround them on three sides, and guide them towards theprecipice; and when they are near enough, gallop forward with wildshouts, causing the buffaloes to dash madly and blindly over. A wholeherd will sometimes leap a precipice in this way--those in the frontbeing forced over by the others, and, these in turn pressed, either totake the leap or be thrust by the spears of the pursuing horsemen.Sometimes when the Indians are not insufficient numbers to make a"surround" of buffalo, they collect buffalo chips, and build them inlittle piles so as to represent men. These piles are placed in tworows, gradually converging towards each other, and leading to one of theaforementioned bluffs. Between these two rows they drive the buffaloes,that, mistaking the piles of their own "chips" for Indians, are guidedonwards to the edge of the precipice, when the hunters make their noisyrush, and force them over.
There are other methods of buffalo-hunting, such as pursuing them in thesnow, when the hunters in their snow-shoes easily overtake and slaughterthem. Some Mexican buffalo-hunters (in the southern prairies called"ciboleros") capture the buffalo with the lasso; but this method is notoften practised, except when they wish to catch the young calves alivefor the purpose of raising them.
Now, all these methods were familiar to our three young hunters--thatis, familiar from descriptions--as they had often heard about them fromold trappers who came down among the settlements of Louisiana, and whosometimes spent the night under their father's roof--for the Colonelliked very much to entertain these old trappers, and get a talk out ofthem. It was from this source then, that Francois derived his ideas ofbuffalo-hunting, which led him in the pride of his knowledge to exclaim,"Run them, of course."
Basil and Lucien took a little time to consider it, all the whilekeeping their eyes fixed upon the three buffaloes. There was just onea-piece, which they could separate, and run down--they were far from anycover, and it might therefore be difficult to "approach" them--moreoverthe horses were fresh, for the day before had been Sunday, and ouradventurers had always made it a rule to lie by on that day, to restboth themselves and their animals. This they did in accordance with acommand given to them by their father at starting. All thingsconsidered, then, "running" was the best plan, and it was the one theyresolved to adopt.
Jeanette was tied to a tree, and left behind with her packs, that hadnot yet been taken off. Marengo, of course, was taken along with them,as he might prove useful in pulling down one of the old bulls ifwounded. Everything that might encumber the hunters was left withJeanette; and all three rode out upon the prairie, and made direct forthe animals. It was agreed that each should choose one of them, andthen do his best with gun and pistols. Francois had put buck-shot intoboth barrels, and was full of confidence that he was about to "throw"his first buffalo.
As they drew nearer, a lustrous appearance upon the bodies of thestrange animals attracted their attention. Were they buffaloes, afterall?
The brothers rode quietly onward, observing them with attention. No,buffaloes they were not. The rough shaggy bodies of these would notshine so, for they glittered in the sun as they moved about. Buffaloesthey could not be.
"That they are not," said Lucien, after a deliberate look through hisfingers.
"What are they then?" inquired Francois.
"Listen!" replied Lucien; "do you hear that?"
All three had drawn bridle. A loud "_gobble_--_obble_--_obble_,"proceeded from the animals, evidently uttered by some one of the three.
"As I live," exclaimed Francois, "that's the gobble of an oldturkey-cock!"
"Neither more nor less," replied Lucien, with a smile. "_They areturkeys_!"
"Turkeys!" echoed Basil, "turkeys taken for buffaloes! What a granddeception!"
And all three at first looked very blank at each other, and thencommenced laughing heartily at the mistake they had made.
"We must never tell of this," said Basil, "we should be laughed at, Ireckon."
"Not a bit of it," rejoined Lucien, "such mistakes are often made, evenby old travellers on the prairies. It is an atmospheric illusion verycommon. I have heard of a worse case than ours--of a raven having beentaken for a buffalo!"
"When we meet the buffaloes then, I suppose we shall mistake them formammoths," remarked Francois; and the disappointed hunters now turnedtheir attention to the capturing of birds instead of buffaloes.