shouldering each other along at a clumsy gallop.
We followed, spurring our horses to full speed; and
as the herd rushed, crowding and trampling in terror
through an opening in the hills, we were close at
their heels, half suffocated by the clouds of dust.
But as we drew near, their alarm and speed increased;
our horses showed signs of the utmost fear, bounding
violently aside as we approached, and refusing to
enter among the herd. The buffalo now broke into
several small bodies, scampering over the hills in
different directions, and I lost sight of Shaw; neither
of us knew where the other had gone. Old Pontiac
ran like a frantic elephant up hill and down hill,
his ponderous hoofs striking the prairie like sledge-hammers.
He showed a curious mixture of eagerness and terror,
straining to overtake the panic-stricken herd, but
constantly recoiling in dismay as we drew near.
The fugitives, indeed, offered no very attractive
spectacle, with their enormous size and weight, their
shaggy manes and the tattered remnants of their last
winter’s hair covering their backs in irregular
shreds and patches, and flying off in the wind as
they ran. At length I urged my horse close behind
a bull, and after trying in vain, by blows and spurring,
to bring him alongside, I shot a bullet into the buffalo
from this disadvantageous position. At the report,
Pontiac swerved so much that I was again thrown a
little behind the game. The bullet, entering too
much in the rear, failed to disable the bull, for
a buffalo requires to be shot at particular points,
or he will certainly escape. The herd ran up
a hill, and I followed in pursuit. As Pontiac
rushed headlong down on the other side, I saw Shaw
and Henry descending the hollow on the right, at a
leisurely gallop; and in front, the buffalo were just
disappearing behind the crest of the next hill, their
short tails erect, and their hoofs twinkling through
a cloud of dust.
At that moment, I heard Shaw and Henry shouting to
me; but the muscles of a stronger arm than mine could
not have checked at once the furious course of Pontiac,
whose mouth was as insensible as leather. Added
to this, I rode him that morning with a common snaffle,
having the day before, for the benefit of my other
horse, unbuckled from my bridle the curb which I ordinarily
used. A stronger and hardier brute never trod
the prairie; but the novel sight of the buffalo filled
him with terror, and when at full speed he was almost
incontrollable. Gaining the top of the ridge,
I saw nothing of the buffalo; they had all vanished
amid the intricacies of the hills and hollows.
Reloading my pistols, in the best way I could, I galloped
on until I saw them again scuttling along at the base
of the hill, their panic somewhat abated. Down
went old Pontiac among them, scattering them to the
right and left, and then we had another long chase.
About a dozen bulls were before us, scouring over
the hills, rushing down the declivities with tremendous
weight and impetuosity, and then laboring with a weary