The buffaloes came rushing past me not a hundred yards distant, with the officers about three hundred yards in the rear.  Now, thought I, is the time to “get my work in,” as they say; and I pulled the blind-bridle from my horse, who knew as well as I did that we were out for buffaloes—­as he was a trained hunter.  The moment the bridle was off, he started at the top of his speed, running in ahead of the officers, and with a few jumps he brought me alongside of the rear buffalo.  Raising old “Lucretia Borgia” to my shoulder, I fired, and killed the animal at the first shot.  My horse then carried me alongside the next one, not ten feet away, and I dropped him at the next fire.

As soon as one buffalo would fall, Brigham would take me so close to the next, that I could almost touch it with my gun.  In this manner I killed the eleven buffaloes with twelve shots; and, as the last animal dropped, my horse stopped.  I jumped to the ground, knowing that he would not leave me—­it must be remembered that I had been riding him without bridle, reins or saddle—­and turning round as the party of astonished officers rode up, I said to them: 

“Now, gentlemen, allow me to present to you all the tongues and tender-loins you wish from these buffaloes.”

[Illustration:  TONGUES AND TENDER LOINS.]

Captain Graham, for such I soon learned was his name, replied:  “Well, I never saw the like before.  Who under the sun are you, anyhow?”

“My name is Cody,” said I.

One of the lieutenants, Thompson by name, who had met me at Fort Harker, then recognized me, and said:  “Why, that is Bill Cody, our old scout.”  He then introduced me to the other officers, who were Captain Graham, of the Tenth Cavalry, and Lieutenants Reed, Emmick and Ezekiel.

Captain Graham, who was considerable of a horseman, greatly admired Brigham, and said:  “That horse of yours has running points.”

“Yes, sir; he has not only got the points, he is a runner and knows how to use the points,” said I.

“So I noticed,” said the captain.

They all finally dismounted, and we continued chatting for some little time upon the different subjects of horses, buffaloes, Indians and hunting.  They felt a little sore at not getting a single shot at the buffaloes, but the way I had killed them had, they said, amply repaid them for their disappointment.  They had read of such feats in books, but this was the first time they had ever seen anything of the kind with their own eyes.  It was the first time, also, that they had ever witnessed or heard of a white man running buffaloes on horseback without a saddle or a bridle.

I told them that Brigham knew nearly as much about the business as I did, and if I had had twenty bridles they would have been of no use to me, as he understood everything, and all that he expected of me was to do the shooting.  It is a fact, that Brigham would stop if a buffalo did not fall at the first fire, so as to give me a second chance, but if I did not kill the buffalo then, he would go on, as if to say, “You are no good, and I will not fool away time by giving you more than two shots.”  Brigham was the best horse I ever owned or saw for buffalo chasing.