THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE HUNTERS' FEAST
 
 other Books by MAYNE REID, uniform with this volume. 
 
 AFLOAT IN THE FOREST 
 
 BOY HUNTERS 
 
 BOY TAR 
 
 BRUIN 
 
 BUSH BOYS 
 
 CLIFF CLIMBERS 
 
 DEATH SHOT 
 
 FLAG OF DISTRESS 
 
 FREE LANCES 
 
 CASPAR THE GAUCHO 
 
 GIRAFFE HUNTERS 
 
 HEADLESS HORSEMAN 
 HUNTERS' FEAST 
 MAROON 
 NO QUARTER 
 PLANT HUNTERS 
 RIFLE RANGERS 
 SCALP HUNTERS 
 YOUNG VOYAGEURS 
 WAR TRAIL 
 WHITE CHIEF 
 YOUNG YAGERS
 
 SWKI'T MY GUN AROUND ANU ClIASElJ TUKM. 
 Front. The Hunter i Fcast.\ 
 
 p. 28
 
 THE 
 
 HUNTERS' FEAST 
 
 OR 
 
 CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE 
 CAMP-FIRE 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN MAYNE REID 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited 
 
 NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON AND CO.
 
 PR 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I A HUNTING-PARTY 
 II THE CAMP AND CAMP-FIRE 
 
 III BESANfON'S ADVENTURES IN THE SWAMPS 
 
 IV THE PASSENGER PIGEONS 
 V HUNT WITH A HOWITZER 
 
 VI KILLING A COUGAR 
 VII THE COUGAR 
 VIII OLD IKE'S ADVENTURE 
 IX THE MUSQUASH . 
 
 X A RAT-HUNT 
 XI MOSQUITOES AND THEIR ANTIDOTE 
 XII THE 'COON AND HIS HABITS 
 
 XIII A 'COON CHASE . 
 
 XIV WILD HOGS OF THE WOODS 
 XV TREED BY PECCARIES 
 
 XVI A DUCK-SHOOTING ADVENTURE 
 XVII HUNTING THE VICUNA . 
 XVIII A CHACU OF VICUNAS 
 XIX SQUIRREL SHOOTING 
 XX TREEING A BEAR . 
 XXI THE BLACK BEAR OF AMERICA 
 XXII THE TRAPPER TRAPPED . 
 
 XXIII THE AMERICAN DEER 
 
 XXIV DEER HUNT IN A ' DUG-OUT ' 
 XXV OLD IKE AND THE GRIZZLY 
 
 XXVI A BATTLE WITH GRIZZLY BEARS 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 i8 
 
 33 
 41 
 50 
 54 
 59 
 69 
 76 
 
 83 
 89 
 94 
 102 
 108 
 120 
 ^ZZ 
 US 
 
 156 
 
 163 
 
 169 
 
 174 
 182 
 
 193 
 
 210 
 
 220
 
 Vlll 
 
 Contents 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 XXVII THE SWANS OF AMERICA . 
 XXVIII HUNTING THE MOOSE 
 XXIX THE PRAIRIE WOLF AND WOLF-KILLER 
 XXX HUNTING THE TAPIR 
 XXXI THE BUFFALOES AT LAST 
 XXXII THE BISON 
 
 XXXIII TRAILING THE BUFFALO . 
 
 XXXIV APPROACHING THE BUFFALO 
 XXXV UNEXPECTED GUESTS 
 
 XXXVI A SUPPER OF WOLF-MUTTON 
 XXXVII HARE HUNTING AND CRICKET DRIVING 
 XXXVIII A GRAND BATTUE 
 XXXIX THE ROUTE HOME 
 
 rAOB 
 
 230 
 240 
 256 
 267 
 277 
 288 
 296 
 304 
 309 
 
 319 
 324 
 329
 
 THE HUNTERS' FEAST 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A HUNTING PARTY 
 
 On the western bank of the Mississippi, twelve miles 
 below the emboucJmre of the Missouri, stands the large 
 town of St. Louis, poetically known as the ' Mound 
 City.' Although there are many other large towns 
 throughout the Mississippi Valley, St. Louis is the 
 metropolis of the ' far west ' — of that semi-civilised, 
 ever-changing belt of territory known as the ' Frontier.' 
 
 St. Louis is one of those American cities in the his- 
 tory of which there is something of peculiar interest. 
 It is one of the oldest of North-American settlements, 
 having been a French trading port at an early period. 
 
 Though not so successful as their rivals the English, 
 there was a degree of picturesqueness about French 
 colonisation, that, in the present day, strongly claims 
 the attention of the American poet, novelist, and 
 historian. Their dealings with the Indian aborigines, 
 the facile manner in which they glided into the habits 
 of the latter — meeting them more than halfway between 
 civilisation and savage life — the handsome nomen- 
 clature which they have scattered freely, and which still 
 holds over the trans- Mississipian territories — the 
 introduction of a new race (the half-blood — peculiarly 
 French) — the heroic and adventurous character of their 
 earliest poineers De Salk, Marquette, Father Hennepin, 
 &c. — their romantic explorations and melancholy fate 
 
 A
 
 2 The Hunters' Feast •■ 
 
 — all these circumstances have rendered extremely 
 interesting the early history of the French in America. 
 Even the Quixotism of some of their attempts at 
 colonisation cannot fail to interest us, as at Gallipolis 
 on the Ohio, a colony composed of expatriated people 
 of the French court — perruquiers, coach - builders, 
 tailors, modistes, and the like. Here, in the face of 
 hostile Indians, before an acre of ground was cleared, 
 before the slightest provision was made for their future 
 subsistence, the first house erected was a large log 
 structure to serve as the salon du bal ! 
 
 Besides its French origin, St. Louis possesses many 
 other points of interest. It has long been the entrepot 
 and depot of commerce with the wild tribes of prairie- 
 land. There the trader is supplied with his stock for 
 the Indian market — his red and green blankets — his 
 beads and trinkets — his rifles, and powder, and lead ; 
 and there, in return, he disposes of the spoils of the 
 prairie collected in many a far and perilous wandering. 
 There the emigrant rests on the way to his wilderness 
 home ; and the hunter equips himself before starting 
 forth on some new expedition. 
 
 To the traveller, St. Louis is a place of peculiar 
 interest. He will hear around him the language of 
 every nation in the civilised world. He will behold 
 faces of every hue and variety of expression. He will 
 meet with men of every possible calling. 
 
 All this is peculiarly true in the latter part of the 
 summer season. Then the motley population of New 
 Orleans fly from the annual scourge of the yellow fever, 
 and seek safety in the cities that lie further north. Of 
 these, St. Louis is a favourite 'city of refuge,' the 
 Creole element of its population being related to that 
 kindred race in the South, and keeping up with it this 
 annual correspondence. 
 
 In one of these streams of migration I had found my 
 way to St. Louis, in the autumn of i8 — . The place 
 was at the time filled with loungers, who seemed to 
 have nothing else to do but kill time. Every hotel had 
 its quota, and in every verandah, and at the corners of
 
 A Huntirig Party 3 
 
 the streets, you might see small knots of well-dressed 
 gentlemen trying to entertain each other, and laugh away 
 the hours. Most of them were the annual birds of 
 passage from New Orleans, who had fled from ' yellow 
 Jack,' and were sojourning here till the cold frosty winds 
 of November should drive the intruder from the 
 ' crescent city ' ; but there were many other flaneurs as 
 well. There were travellers from Europe — men of 
 wealth and rank who had left behind them the 
 luxuries of civilised society to rough it for a 
 season in the wild West — painters in search of the 
 picturesque — naturalists whose love of their favourite 
 study had drawn them from their comfortable closets to 
 search for knowledge under circumstances of extremest 
 difficulty — and sportsmen, who, tired of chasing small 
 game, were on their way to the great plains to take part 
 in the noble sport of hunting the buffalo. I was 
 myself one of the last-named fraternity. 
 
 There is no country in the world so addicted to the 
 table d'hote as America, and that very custom soon 
 makes idle people acquainted with each other. I was 
 not very long in the place before I was upon terms of 
 intimacy with a large number of these loungers, and I 
 found several, like myself, desirous of making a hunting 
 expedition to the prairies. This chimed in with my 
 plans to a nicety, and I at once set about getting up 
 the expedition. I found five others who were willing 
 to join me. 
 
 After several conversaziones, with much discussion, we 
 succeeded at length in 'fixing' our plan. Each was to 
 'equip' according to his own fancy, though it was 
 necessary for each to provide himself with a riding 
 horse or mule. After that, a general fund was to be 
 ' raised,' to be appropriated to the purchase of a waggon 
 and team, with tents, stores, and cooking utensils. A 
 couple of professional hunters were to be engaged ; men 
 who knew the ground to be traversed, and who were to 
 act as guides to the expedition. 
 
 About a week was consumed in making the necessary 
 preparations, and at the end of that time, under the
 
 4 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 sunrise of a lovely mornincr, a small cavalcade was seen 
 to issue from the back suburbs of St. Louis, and, climb- 
 ing the undulating slopes in its rear, head for the far- 
 stretching wilderness of the prairies. It was our hunting 
 expedition. 
 
 The cavalcade consisted of eight mounted men, and a 
 waggon with its full team of six tough mules. These 
 last were under the manege of 'Jake' — a free negro, 
 with a shining black face, a thick, full mop, and a set of 
 the best ' ivories,' which were almost always uncovered 
 in a smile. 
 
 Peeping from under the tilt of the waggon might be 
 seen another face strongly contrasting with that of Jake. 
 This had been originally of a reddish hue, but sun-tan, 
 and a thick sprinkling of freckles, had changed the red 
 to golden yellow. A shock of fiery hair surmounted 
 this visage, which was partially concealed under a badly- 
 battered hat. Though the face of the black expressed 
 good-humour, it might have been called sad when 
 brought into comparison with that of the little red man, 
 which peeped out beside it. Upon the latter, there was 
 an expression irresistibly comic — the expression of an 
 actor in broad farce. One eye was continually on the 
 wink, while the other looked knowing enough for both„ 
 A short clay-pipe, stuck jauntily between the lips, added 
 to the comical expression of the face, which was that of 
 Mike Lanty from Limerick. No one ever mistook the 
 nationality of Michael. 
 
 Who were the eight cavaliers that accompanied the 
 waggon ? Six of them were gentlemen by birth and 
 education. At least half that number were scholars. 
 The other two laid no claim either to gentleness or 
 scholarship — they were rude trappers — the hunters and 
 guides of the expedition. 
 
 A word about each one of the eight, for there was not 
 one of them without his peculiarity. First, there was an 
 Englishman — a genuine type of his countrymen — full 
 six feet high, well-proportioned, with broad chest and 
 shoulders, and massive limbs. Hair of a light brown, 
 complexion florid, moustache and whiskers full and hay-
 
 A Hunting Party 5 
 
 coloured, but suiting well the complexion and features. 
 The last were regular, and if not handsome, at least 
 good humoured and noble in their expression. The 
 owner was in reality a nobleman — a true nobleman — X ^ 
 one of that class who, while travelling through the ^r 
 ' States,' have the good sense to carry their umbrella 
 along, and leave their title behind them. To us he was 
 known as Mr. Thompson, and, after some time, when 
 we had all become familiar with each other, as plain 
 * Thompson.' It was only long after, and by accident, 
 that I became acquainted with his rank and title ; some 
 of our companions do not know it to this day, but that 
 is of no consequence. I mention the circumstance here 
 to aid me in illustrating the character of our travelling 
 companion, who was 'close' and modest almost to a 
 fault. 
 
 His costume was characteristic. A ' tweed ' shooting 
 jacket, of course, with eight pockets — a vest of the same 
 material with four — tweed trousers, and a tweed cap. 
 In the waggon was t/ie hat-box, of strong yellow leather, 
 with straps and padlock. This was supposed to contain 
 the dress hat ; and some of the party were merry about 
 it. But no, Mr. Thompson was a more experienced 
 traveller than his companions thought him at first. The 
 contents of the hat-case were sundry brushes — including 
 one for the teeth — combs, razors, and pieces of soap. 
 The hat had been left at St. Louis. 
 
 But the umbrella had not. It was then under Thomp- 
 son's arm, with its full proportions of whalebone and 
 gingham. Under that umbrella he had hunted tigers 
 in the jungles of India — under that umbrella he had 
 chased the lion upon the plains of Africa — under that 
 umbrella he had pursued the ostrich and the vicuna 
 over the pampas of South America ; and now under 
 that same hemisphere of blue gingham he was about to 
 carry terror and destruction among the wild buffaloes of 
 the prairies. 
 
 Besides the umbrella — strictly a weapon of defence — 
 Mr. Thompson carried another, a heavy double-barrelled 
 gun, marked ' Bishop, of Bond Street,' no bad weapon
 
 6 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 with a loading of buck shot, and with this both barrels 
 were habitually loaded. 
 
 So much for Mr. Thompson, who may pass for No. i 
 of the hunting party. He was mounted on a strong 
 bay cob, with tail cut short, and English saddle, both of 
 which objects — the short tail and the saddle — were 
 curiosities to all of the party except Mr. Thompson and 
 myself. 
 
 No. 2 was as unlike No. i as two animals of the same 
 species could possibly be. He was a Kentuckian, full 
 six inches taller than Thompson, or indeed than any of 
 the party. His features were marked, prominent and 
 irregular, and this irregularity was increased by a 
 'cheekful' of half-chewed tobacco. His complexion 
 was dark, almost olive, and the face quite naked, without 
 either moustache or whisker, but long straight hair, 
 black as an Indian's, hung down to his shoulders. In 
 fact, there was a good deal of the Indian look about 
 him, except in his figure. That was somewhat slouched, 
 with arms and limbs of over-length loosely hung about 
 it. Both, however, though not modelled after the Apollo, 
 were evidently full of muscle and tough strength, and 
 looked as though their owner could return the hug of a 
 bear with interest. There was a gravity in his look, 
 but that was not from any gravity of spirits ; it was his 
 swarth complexion that gave him this appearance, aided, 
 no doubt, by several lines of 'ambeer' proceeding from 
 the corners of his mouth in the direction of the chin. 
 So far from being grave, this dark Kentuckian was as 
 gay and buoyant as any of the party. Indeed, a light 
 and boyish spirit is a characteristic of the Kentuckian 
 as well as of all the natives of the Mississippi Valley — 
 at least such has been my observation. 
 
 Our Kentuckian was costumed just as he would have 
 been upon a cool morning riding about the * woodland ' 
 of his own plantation, for a ' planter ' he was. He wore 
 a ' Jeans ' frock, and over that a long-tailed overcoat of 
 the best green blanket, with side pockets and flaps. 
 His jeans pantaloons were stuck into a pair of heavy, 
 horse-leather pegged boots, sometimes known as
 
 A Hunting Party 7 
 
 'nigger' boots, but over these were 'wrappers' of 
 green baize, fastened with a string above the knees. 
 His hat was a ' broad-brimmed felt,' costly enough, but 
 somewhat crushed by being sat upon and slept in. He 
 bestrode a tall raw-boned steed that possessed many 
 of the characteristics of the rider; and in the same 
 proportion that the latter overtopped his companions, 
 so did the steed outsize all the other horses of the 
 cavalcade. Over the shoulders of the Kentuckian were 
 suspended, by several straps, pouch, horn, and haver- 
 sack, and resting upon his toe was the butt of a heavy 
 rifle, the muzzle of which reached to a level with his 
 shoulders. 
 
 He was a rich Kentucky planter, and known in his 
 native state as a great deer-hunter. Some business or 
 pleasure had brought him to St. Louis. It was hinted 
 that Kentucky was becoming too thickly settled for 
 him — deer becoming scarce, and bear hardly to be 
 found — and that his visits to St. Louis had something 
 to do with seeking a new 'location 'where these animals 
 were still to be met with in greater plenty. The idea of 
 buffalo-hunting was just to his liking. The expedition 
 would carry him through the frontier country where he 
 might afterwards choose his 'location' — at all events 
 the sport would repay him, and he was one of the most 
 enthusiastic in regard to it. 
 
 He that looms up on the retrospect of my memory 
 as No. 3 was as unlike the Kentuckian as the latter 
 was to Thompson. He was a disciple of Esculapius — 
 not thin and pale, as these usually are, but fat, red, and 
 jolly. I think he was originally a ' Yankee,' though his 
 long residence in the Western States had rubbed the 
 Yankee out of him to a great extent. At all events he 
 had few of their characteristics about him. He was 
 neither staid, sober, nor, what is usually alleged as a 
 trait of the true-bred Yankee, ' stingy.' On the contrary, 
 our doctor was full of talk and joviality — generous to a 
 fault. A fault, indeed ; for, although many years in 
 practice in various parts of the United States, and 
 having earned large sums of money, at the date of our
 
 8 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 expedition we found him in St. Louis almost without a 
 dollar, and with no great stock of patients. The truth 
 must be told : the doctor was of a restless disposition, 
 and liked his glass too well. He was a singer too, a fine 
 amateur singer, with a voice equal to Mario's. That 
 may partly account for his failure in securing a fortune. 
 He was a favourite with all — ladies included — and so 
 fond of good company, that he preferred the edge of the 
 jovial board to the bed-side of a patient. 
 
 Not from any fondness for buffalo-hunting, but rather 
 through an attachment to some of the company, had 
 the doctor volunteered. Indeed, he was solicited by all 
 to make one of us — partly on account of his excellent 
 society, and partly that his professional services might 
 be called into requisition before our return. 
 
 The doctor still preserved his professional costume of 
 black — somewhat russet by long wear — but this was 
 modified by a close-fitting fur cap, and wrappers of brown 
 cloth, which he wore around his short, thick legs. He was 
 not over-well mounted — a very spare little horse was all 
 he had, as his funds would not stretch to a better. It was 
 quite a quiet one, however, and carried the doctor and 
 his 'medical saddle bags' steadily enough, though not 
 without a good deal of spurring and whipping. The 
 doctor's name was ' Jopper ' — Dr. John Jopper. 
 
 A very elegant youth, with fine features, rolling black 
 eyes, and luxuriant curled hair, was one of us. The 
 hands were well formed and delicate ; the complexion 
 silky, and of nearly an olive tint ; but the purplish-red 
 broke through upon his cheeks, giving the earnest of 
 health, as well as adding to the picturesque beauty 
 of his face. The form was perfect, and full of manly 
 expression, and the pretty sky-blue plaited pantaloons, 
 and close-fitting jacket of the same material, sat grace- 
 fully on his well - turned limbs and arms. These 
 garments were of ' cottonade,' that beautiful and durable 
 fabric peculiar to Louisiana, and so well suited to the 
 southern climate. A costly Panama hat cast its shadow 
 over the wavy curls and pictured cheek of this youth, 
 and a cloak of fine broad cloth, with velyet facings, hung
 
 A Hunting Party 9 
 
 loosely from his shoulders. A slight moustache and 
 imperial lent a manlier expression to his chiselled 
 features. 
 
 This young fellow was a Creole of Louisiana — a 
 student of one of the Jesuite Colleges of that State — 
 and although very unlike what would be expected from 
 such a dashing personage, he was an ardent, even 
 passionate, lover of nature. Though still young, he 
 was the most accomplished botanist in his State, and 
 had already published several discoveries in the Flora 
 of the South, 
 
 Of course the expedition was to him a delightful 
 anticipation. It would afford the finest opportunity for 
 prosecuting his favourite study in a new field ; one as 
 yet almost unvisited by the scientific traveller. The 
 young Creole was known as Jules Besan^on. 
 
 He was not the only naturalist of the party. Another 
 was with us; one who had already acquired a world- 
 wide fame ; whose name was as familiar to the savans 
 of Europe as to his own countrymen. He was already 
 an old man, almost venerable in his aspect, but his 
 tread was firm, and his arm still strong enough to 
 steady his long, heavy, double-barrelled rifle. An ample 
 coat of dark blue covered his body ; his limbs were 
 enveloped in long-buttoned leggings of drab cloth, and 
 a cap of sable surmounted his high, broad forehead. 
 Under this his bluish -grey eye glanced with a calm 
 but clear intelligence, and a single look from it satisfied 
 you that you were in the presence of a superior mind. 
 Were I to give the name of this person, this would 
 readily be acknowledged. For certain reasons I cannot 
 do this. Suffice it to say, he was one of the most dis- 
 tinguished of modern zoologists, and to his love for the 
 study we were indebted for his companionship upon our 
 
 hunting expedition. He was known to us as Mr. A , 
 
 the ' hunter-naturalist.' There was no jealousy between 
 him and the young Besangon. On the contrary, a 
 similarity of tastes soon brought about a mutual friend- 
 ship, and the Creole was observed to treat the other 
 with marked deference and regard.
 
 10 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 I may set myself down as No. 6 of the party. Let a 
 short description of me suffice. I was then but a young 
 fellow, educated somewhat better than common ; fond 
 of wild sports ; not indifferent to a knowledge of nature; 
 fond almost to folly of a good horse, and possessing one 
 of the very best ; not ill-looking in the face, and of middle 
 stature; costumed in a light hunting-shirt of embroidered 
 buckskin, with fringed cape and skirt ; leggings of 
 scarlet cloth, and cloth forage-cap covering a flock of 
 dark hair. Powder-flask and pouch of tasty patterns ; 
 belt around the waist, with hunting-knife and pistols — 
 revolvers. A light rifle in one hand, and in the other a 
 bridle rein, which guided a steed of coal blackness ; one 
 that would have been celebrated in song by a troubadour 
 of the olden time. A deep Spanish saddle of stamped 
 leather ; holsters with bearskin covers in front ; a scarlet 
 blanket, folded and strapped on the croup ; lazo and 
 haversack hanging from the ' horn ' — voila tout ! 
 
 There are two characters still undescribed. Characters 
 of no mean importance were they — the 'guides.' They 
 were called respectively, Isaac Bradley and Mark 
 Redwood. A brace of trappers they were, but as 
 different from each other in personal appearance as two 
 men could well be. Redwood was a man of large 
 dimensions, and apparently as strong as a buffalo, while 
 his co?ifrere was a thin, wiry, sinewy mortal, with a 
 tough, weasel-like look and gait. The expression of 
 Redwood's countenance was open and manly, his eyes 
 were grey, his hair light - coloured, and huge brown 
 whiskers covered his cheeks. Bradley, on the other 
 hand, was dark — his eyes small, black, and piercing — 
 his face as hairless as an Indian's, and bronzed almost 
 to the Indian hue, with the black hair of his head 
 closely cropped around it. 
 
 Both these men were dressed in leather from head to 
 foot, yet they were very differently dressed. Redwood 
 wore the usual buckskin hunting - shirt, leggings, and 
 moccassins, but all of full proportions and well cut, 
 while his large 'coon-skin cap, with the plume-like tail, 
 had an imposing appearance, Bradley's garments, on
 
 A Hunting Party il 
 
 the contrary, were tight -fitting and 'skimped.' His 
 hunting-shirt was without cape, and adhered so closely 
 to his body that it appeared only an outer skin of the 
 man himself. His leggings were pinched and tight. 
 Shirt, leggings, and moccassins were evidently of the 
 oldest kind, and as dirty as a cobbler's apron. A close- 
 fitting otter cap, with a Mackinaw blanket, completed 
 the wardrobe of Isaac Bradley. He was equipped with 
 a pouch of greasy leather hanging by an old black strap, 
 a small buffalo-horn suspended by a thong, and a belt 
 of buffalo-leather, in which was stuck a strong blade 
 with its handle of buckhorn. His rifle was of the ' tallest ' 
 kind — being full six feet in height — in fact, taller than 
 he was, and at least four-fifths of the weapon consisted 
 of barrel. The straight, narrow stock was a piece of 
 manufacture that had proceeded from the hands of the 
 trapper himself 
 
 Redwood's rifle was also a long one, but of more 
 modern build and fashion, and his equipments — pouch, 
 powder-horn and belt — were of a more tasty design and 
 finish. 
 
 Such were our guides, Redwood and Bradley. They 
 were no imaginary characters these. Mark Redwood 
 was a celebrated ' mountain-man ' at that time, and 
 Isaac Bradley will be recognised by many when I give 
 him the name and title by which he was then known, 
 viz : * Old Ike, the wolf-killer.' 
 
 Redwood rode a strong horse of the half-hunter breed, 
 while the 'wolf-killer' was mounted upon one of the 
 scraggiest looking quadrupeds it would be possible to 
 imagine — an old mare ' mustang.'
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE CAMP AND CAMP-FIRE 
 
 Our route was west by south. The nearest point with 
 which we expected to fall in with the buffalo was two 
 hundred miles distant. We might travel three hundred 
 without seeing one, and even much further at the 
 present day ; but a report had reached St. Louis that 
 the buffalo had been seen that year upon the Osage 
 River, west of the Ozark Hills, and towards that point 
 we steered our course. We expected in about twenty 
 days to fall in with the game. Fancy a cavalcade of 
 hunters making a journey of twenty days to get upon 
 the field ! The reader will, no doubt, say we were in 
 earnest. 
 
 At the time of which I am writing, a single day's 
 journey from St. Louis carried the traveller clear of 
 civilised life. There were settlements beyond ; but 
 these were sparse and isolated — a few small towns or 
 plantations upon the main watercourses — and the whole 
 country between them was an uninhabited wilderness. 
 We had no hope of being sheltered by a roof until our 
 return to the mound city itself, but we had provided 
 ourselves with a couple of tents, part of the freight of 
 our waggon. 
 
 There arc but few parts of the American wilderness 
 where the traveller can depend upon wild game for a 
 subsistence. Even the skilled hunter when stationary is 
 sometimes put to his wits' end for ' daily bread.' Upon 
 the 'route' no great opportunity is found of killing game, 
 which always requires time to approach it with caution. 
 Although we passed throughwhat appeared to beexcellent 
 cover for various spieces of wild animals, we reached 
 our first camp without having ruffled either hair or 
 
 12
 
 The Camp and Camp-Fire 13 
 
 feathers. In fact, neither bird nor quadruped had been 
 seen, although almost every one of the party had been 
 on the look-out for game during most of the journey. 
 
 This was rather discouraging, and we reasoned that if 
 such was to be our luck until we got into the buffalo 
 range we should have a very dull time of it. We were 
 well provisioned, however, and we regretted the absence 
 of game only on account of the sport. A large bag of 
 biscuit, and one of flour, several pieces of 'hung bacon,' 
 some dry ox-tongues, a stock of green coffee, sugar, and 
 salt, were the principal and necessary stores. There 
 were * luxuries,' too, which each had provided according 
 to his fancy, though not much of these, as everyone of 
 the party had had some time or other in his life a little 
 experience in the way of ' roughing it.' Most of the 
 loading of the waggon consisted of provender for our 
 horses and mules. 
 
 We made full thirty miles on the first day. Our road 
 was a good one. We passed over easy undulations, most 
 of them covered with ' black-jack.' This is a species 
 of dwarf oak, so called from the very dark colour of its 
 wrinkled bark. It is almost worthless as a timber, being 
 too small for most purposes. It is ornamental, however, 
 forming copse-like groves upon the swells of the prairie, 
 while its dark green foliage contrasts pleasantly with the 
 lighter green of the grasses beneath its shade. The 
 young botanist, Besangon, had least cause to complain. 
 His time had been sufficiently pleasant during the day. 
 New foliage fell under his observation — new flowers 
 opened their corollas to his delighted gaze. He was 
 aided in making his collections by the hunter-naturalist, 
 who of course was tolerably well versed in this kindred 
 science. 
 
 We encamped by the edge of a small creek of clear 
 water. Our camp was laid out in due form, and every- 
 thing arranged in the order we designed habitually to 
 follow. 
 
 Every man unsaddled his own horse. There are no 
 servants in prairie-land. Even Lanty's services extended 
 not beyond the cuisine^ and for this department he had
 
 14 The H miters' Feast 
 
 had his training as the cook of a New Orleans trading 
 ship. Jake had enough to do with his mules ; and to 
 have asked one of our hunter-guides to perform the task 
 of unsaddling your horse, would have been a hazardous 
 experiment. Menial service to a free trapper ! There 
 arc no servants in prairie-land. 
 
 Our horses and mules were picketed on a piece of 
 open ground, each having his ' trail rope,' which allowed 
 a circuit of several yards. The two tents were pitched 
 side by side, facing the stream, and the waggon drawn 
 up some twenty feet in the rear. In the triangle between 
 the waggon and the tents was kindled a large fire, upon 
 each side of which two stakes, forked at the top, were 
 driven into the ground. A long sapling resting in the 
 forks traversed the blaze from side to side. This was 
 Lanty's * crane ' — the fire was his kitchen. 
 
 Let me sketch the camp more minutely, for our first 
 camp was a type of all the others in its general features. 
 Sometimes indeed the tents did not front the same way, 
 when these openings were set to ' oblige the wind,' but 
 they were always placed side by side in front of the 
 waggon. They were small tents of the old-fashioned, 
 conical kind, requiring only one pole each. They were 
 of sufficient size for our purpose, as there were only 
 three of us to each — the guides, with Jake and Lanty, 
 finding their lodgment under the tilt of the waggon. 
 With their graceful shape, and snowy -white colour 
 against the dark green foliage of the trees, they formed 
 an agreeable contrast ; and 3. coup d' ceil oiWio. camp would 
 have been no mean picture to the eye of an artist. The 
 human figures may be arranged in the following manner. 
 
 Supper is getting ready, and Lanty is decidedly at this 
 time the most important personage on the ground. He 
 is stooping over the fire, with a small but long-handled 
 frying-pan, in which he is parching the coffee. It is 
 already browned, and Lanty stirs it about with an iron 
 spoon. The crane carries the large coffee-kettle of sheet 
 iron full of water upon the boil ; and a second frying- 
 pan, larger than the first, is filled with sliced ham, ready 
 to be placed upon the hot cinders.
 
 The Camp and Camp-Ftre 1 5 
 
 Our English friend Thomson is seated upon a log 
 with the hat-box before him. It is open, and he has 
 drawn out from it his stock of combs and brushes. He 
 has already made his ablutions, and is now giving the 
 finish to his toilet by putting his hair, whiskers, 
 moustache, teeth, and even his nails, in order. Your 
 Englishman is the most comfortable traveller in the 
 world. 
 
 The Kentuckian is differently engaged. He is upon 
 his feet ; in one hand gleams a knife with ivory handle 
 and long shining blade. It is a ' bowie,' of that kind 
 known as an ' Arkansas toothpick.' In the other hand 
 you see an object about eight inches in length, of the 
 form of a parallelogram, and of a dark brown colour. 
 It is a 'plug' of real 'James's River tobacco.' With 
 his knife the Kentuckian cuts off a piece — a * chunk,' as 
 he terms it — which is immediately transferred to his 
 mouth, and chewed to a pulp. This is his occupation 
 for the moment. 
 
 The doctor, what of him ? Doctor Jopper may be 
 seen close to the water's edge. In his hand is a pewter 
 flask, of the kind known as a 'pocket pistol.' That 
 pistol is loaded with brandy, and Dr. Jopper is just in 
 the act of drawing part of the charge, which, with a 
 slight admixture of cool creek water, is carried aloft and 
 poured into a very droughty vessel. The effect, 
 however, is instantly apparent in the lively twinkle of 
 the doctor's round and prominent eyes. 
 
 Besangon is seated near the tent, and the old naturalist 
 beside him. The former is busy with the new 
 plants he has collected. A large portfolio-looking book 
 rests upon his knees, and between its leaves he is deposit- 
 ing his stores in a scientific manner. His companion, 
 who understands the business well, is kindly assisting 
 him. Their conversation is interesting, but every one 
 else is too busy with his affairs to listen to it just now. 
 
 The guides are lounging about the waggon. Old Ike 
 fixes a new flint in his rifle, and Redwood, of a more 
 mirthful disposition, is occasionally cracking a joke 
 with Mike or the ' darkey.'
 
 l6 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 Jake is still busy with his mules and I with my 
 favourite steed, whose feet I have washed in the stream 
 and annointed with a little spare grease. I shall not 
 always have the opportunity of being so kind to him, 
 but he will need it the less as his hoofs become more 
 hardened by the journey. 
 
 Around the camp are strewed our saddles, bridles, 
 blankets, weapons, and utensils. These will all be 
 collected and stowed under cover before we go to rest. 
 Such is a picture of our camp before supper. 
 
 When that meal is cooked, the scene somewhat 
 changes. 
 
 The atmosphere, even at that season, was cool enough, 
 and this, with Mike's announcement that coffee was 
 ready, brought all the party — guides as well — around 
 the blazing pile of logs. Each found his own platter, 
 knife, and cup ; and, helping himself from the general 
 stock, set to eating on his own account. Of course 
 there were no fragments, as a strict regard to economy 
 was one of the laws of our camp. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fatigue, always incidental to a 
 first day's march, we enjoyed this al fresco supper ex- 
 ceedingly. The novelty had much to do with our 
 enjoyment of it, and also the fine appetites which we 
 had acquired since our luncheon at noon halt. 
 
 When supper was over, smoking followed, for there 
 was not one of the party who was not an inveterate 
 burner of the ' noxious weed.' Some chose cigars, of 
 which we had brought a good stock, but several were 
 pipe-smokers. The zoologist carried a meerschaum ; the 
 guides smoked out of Indian calumets of the celebrated 
 steatite, or red claystone. Mike had his dark-looking 
 'dudeen,' and Jake his pipe of corn 'cob' and cane- 
 joint shank. 
 
 Our English friend Thompson had a store of the 
 finest Havannahs, which he smoked with the grace 
 peculiar to the English cigar smoker ; holding his cigar 
 impaled upon the point of his knife-blade. Kentucky 
 also smoked cigars, but his was half-buried within his 
 mouth, slanted obliquely towards the right cheek.
 
 The Camp and Camp-Fire \y 
 
 Besan^on preferred the paper cigarette, which he made 
 extempore, as he required them, out of a stock of loose 
 tobacco. This is Creole fashion — now also the mode de 
 Paris. 
 
 A song from the doctor enlivened the conversation, 
 and certainly so melodious a human voice had never 
 echoed near the spot. One and all agreed that the 
 grand opera had missed a capital * first tenor ' in not 
 securing the services of our companion. 
 
 The fatigue of our long ride caused us to creep into 
 our tents at an early hour, and rolling ourselves in our 
 blankets we went to sleep. Of course everything had 
 been carefully gathered in lest rain might fall in the 
 night. The trail ropes of our animals were looked to, 
 we did not fear their being stolen, but horses on their 
 first few days' journey are easily ' stampeded,' and will 
 sometimes stray home again. This would have been a 
 great misfortune, but most of us were old travellers, and 
 every caution was observed in securing against such 
 a result. There was no guard kept, though we knew the 
 time would come when that would be a necessary duty. 
 
 B
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 BESANCON'S ADVENTURES IN THE SWAMPS 
 
 » 
 
 The prairie traveller never sleeps after daybreak. He 
 is usually astir before that time. He has many ' chores ' 
 to perform, unknown to the ordinary traveller who rests 
 in the roadside inn. He has to pack up his tent and 
 bed, cook his own breakfast, and saddle his horse. 
 All this requires time, therefore an early start is 
 necessary. 
 
 We were on our feet before the sun had shown his 
 disc above the black-jacks. Lanty had the start of us, 
 and had freshened up his fire. Already the coffee- 
 kettle was bubbling audibly, and the great frying-pan 
 perfumed the camp with an incense more agreeable than 
 the odours of Araby. 
 
 The raw air of the morning had brought everybody 
 around the fire. Thomson was pruning and cleansing 
 his nails ; the Kentuckian was cutting a fresh ' chunk ' 
 from his plug of 'James's River'; the doctor had just 
 returned from the stream, where he had refreshed 
 himself by a ' nip ' from his pewter flask ; Besantjon was 
 packing up his portfolios ; the zoologist was lighting his 
 long pipe, and the ' Captain ' was looking to his favourite 
 horse, while inhaling the fragrance of a ' Havannah.' 
 The guides stood with their blankets hanging from their 
 shoulders, silent and thoughtful. 
 
 In half an hour breakfast was over, the tents and 
 utensils were restored to the waggon, the horses were 
 brought in and saddled, the mules ' hitched up,' and the 
 expedition once more on its way. 
 
 This day we made not quite so good a journey. The 
 roads were heavier, the country more thickly timbered, 
 and the ground more hilly. We had several small 
 
 i8
 
 Besanqon^s Adventures in the Swamps 19 
 
 streams to ford, and this retarded our progress. Twenty 
 miles was the extent of our journey. 
 
 We encamped again without any of us having killed 
 or seen game. Although we had beaten the bushes on 
 both sides of our course, nothing bigger than the red-bird 
 (scarlet tanager, Tyranga rubra), a screaming jay, or an 
 occasional flight of finches gratified our sight. 
 
 We reached our camp somewhat disappointed. Even 
 old Ike and Redwood came into camp without game, 
 alleging also that they had not met with the sign of a 
 living quadruped. 
 
 Our second camp was also on the bank of a small 
 stream. Shortly after our arrival on the ground, 
 Thompson started out afoot, taking with him his gun. 
 He had noticed a tract of marsh at no great distance off. 
 He thought it promised well for snipe. 
 
 He had not been long gone when two reports echoed 
 back, and then shortly after another and another. He 
 had found something to empty his gun at. 
 
 Presently we saw him returning with a brace and a 
 half of birds that looked very much like large snipe. 
 So he thought them, but that question was set at rest by 
 the zoologist, who pronounced them at once to be the 
 American ' Curlew ' of Wilson {Numenius longirostris). 
 Curlew or snipe, they were soon divested of the feathery 
 coat, and placed in Lanty's frying-pan. Excellent eating 
 they proved, having only the fault that there was not 
 enough of them. 
 
 These birds formed the topic of our after-supper 
 conversation, and then it generalised to the different 
 species of wading birds of America, and at length that 
 singular creature, the ' ibis,' became the theme. This 
 came round by Besan^on remarking that a species of ibis 
 was brought by the Indians to the markets of New 
 Orleans, and sold there under the name of ' Spanish 
 Curlew.' This was the white ibis {Tantalus albus),\v\\\c\\ 
 the zoologist stated was found in plenty along the whole 
 southern coast of the United States, There were two 
 other species, he said, natives of the warm parts of North 
 America, the 'wood ibis' {Tantalus loculator), which
 
 20 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 more nearly resembles the sacred ibis of Egypt, and the 
 beautiful 'sacred ibis' {Tantalus ruber\ \^\{\z\\. last is 
 rarer than the others. 
 
 Our venerable companion, who had the ornithology 
 of America, if I may use the expression, at his fingers' 
 ends, imparted many curious details of the habits of 
 these rare birds. All listened with interest to his 
 statements — even the hunter-guides, for with all their 
 apparent rudeness of demeanour there was a dash of the 
 naturalist in these fellows. 
 
 When the zoologist became silent, the young Creole 
 took up the conversation. Talking of the ibis, he said, 
 reminded him of an adventure he had met with while in 
 pursuit of these birds among the swamps of his native 
 state. He would relate it to us. Of course we were 
 rejoiced at the proposal. We were just the audience for 
 an ' adventure,' and after rolling a fresh cigarette the 
 botanist began his narration. 
 
 'During one of my college vacations I made a botanical 
 excursion to the south-western part of Louisiana. 
 Before leaving home I had promised a dear friend to 
 bring him the skins of such rare birds as were known to 
 frequent the swampy region I was about to traverse, but 
 he was especially desirous I should obtain for him some 
 specimens of the red ibis, which he intended to have 
 " mounted." I gave my word that no opportunity should 
 be lost of obtaining these birds, and I was very anxious 
 to make good my promise. 
 
 ' The southern part of the State of Louisiana is one 
 vast labyrinth of swamps, bayous, and lagoons. The 
 bayous are sluggish streams that glide sleepily along, 
 sometimes running one way, and sometimes the very 
 opposite, according to the season of the year. Many of 
 them are outlets of the Mississippi, which begins to shed 
 off its waters more than 300 miles from its mouth. 
 These bayous are deep, sometimes narrow, sometimes 
 wide, with islets in their midst. They and their con- 
 tiguous swamps are the great habitat of the alligator and 
 the fresh-water shark — the gar. Numerous species of 
 water and wading fowl fly over them, and plunge through
 
 Besanqon^s Advenhires in the Swamps 21 
 
 their dark tide. Here you may see the red flamingo, 
 the egret, the trumpeter-swan, the blue heron, the wild 
 goose, the crane, the snake-bird, the pelican, and the 
 ibis ; you may likewise see the osprey, and the white- 
 headed eagle robbing him of his prey. Both swamps 
 and bayous produce abundantly fish, reptile, and insect, 
 and are, consequently, the favourite resort of hundreds 
 of birds which prey upon these creatures. In some 
 places their waters form a complete net-work over the 
 country, which you may traverse with a small boat in 
 almost any direction ; indeed, this is the means by 
 which many settlements communicate with each other. 
 As you approach southwards towards the Gulf, you get 
 clear of the timber ; and within some fifty miles of the 
 sea, there is not a tree to be seen. 
 
 ' In the first day or two that I was out, I had succeeded 
 in getting all the specimens I wanted, with the exception 
 of the ibis. This shy creature avoided me ; in fact I 
 had only seen one or two in my excursions, and these at 
 a great distance. I still, however, had hopes of finding 
 them before my return to my friend. 
 
 ' About the third or fourth day I set out from a small 
 settlement on the edge of one of the larger bayous. I 
 had no other company than my gun. I was even un- 
 attended by a dog, as my favourite spaniel had the day 
 before been bitten by an alligator while swimming across 
 the bayou, and I was compelled to leave him at the 
 settlement. Of course the object of my excursion was 
 a search after new flora, but I had become by this time 
 very desirous of getting the rare ibis, and I was 
 determined half to neglect my botanising for that 
 purpose. I went of course in a boat, a light skiff, 
 such as is commonly used by the inhabitants of these 
 parts. 
 
 ' Occasionally using the paddles, I allowed myself to 
 float some four or five miles down the main bayou ; but 
 as the birds I was in search of did not appear, I struck 
 into a " branch," and sculled myself up-stream. This 
 carried me through a solitary region, with marshes 
 stretching as far as the eye could see, covered with
 
 22 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 tall reeds. There was no habitation, nor aught that 
 betokened the presence of man. It was just possible 
 that I was the first human being who had ever found a 
 motive for propelling a boat through the dark waters of 
 this solitary stream. 
 
 ' As I advanced I fell in with game ; and I succeeded 
 in bagging several, both of the great wood-ibis and the 
 white species. I also shot a fine white-headed eagle 
 {Falco lezicocephalus), which came soaring over my boat, 
 unconscious of danger. But the bird which I most 
 wanted seemed that which could not be obtained. I 
 wanted the scarlet ibis. 
 
 * I think I had rowed some three miles up-stream, and 
 was about to take in my oars and leave my boat to float 
 back again, when I perceived that, a little farther up, the 
 bayou widened. Curiosity prompted me to continue ; 
 and after pulling a few hundred strokes, I found myself 
 at the end of an oblong lake, a mile or so in length. It 
 was deep, dark, marshy around the shores, and full 
 of alligators. I saw their ugly forms and long serrated 
 backs as they floated about in all parts of it, hungrily 
 hunting for fish and eating one another ; but all this 
 was nothing new, for I had witnessed similar scenes 
 during the whole of my excursion. What drew my 
 attention most was a small islet near the middle of the 
 lake, upon one end of which stood a row of upright 
 forms of a bright scarlet colour. These red creature's 
 were the very objects I was in search of. They might 
 be flamingoes : I could not tell at that distance. So 
 much the better, if I could only succeed in getting a 
 shot at them ; but these creatures are even more wary 
 than the ibis ; and as the islet was low, and altogether 
 without cover, it was not likely they would allow me to 
 come within range : nevertheless I was determined to 
 make the attempt. I rowed up the lake, occasionally 
 turning my head to see if the game had taken the alarm. 
 The sun was hot and dazzling ; and as the bright scarlet 
 was magnified by refraction, I fancied for a long time 
 they were flamingoes. This fancy was dissipated as I 
 drew near. The outlines of the bills, like the blade of
 
 Besanqon's Adventures in the Swamps 23 
 
 a sabre, convinced me they were the ibis ; besides, I now 
 saw that they were less than three feet in height, while 
 the flamingoes stand five. There were a dozen of them 
 in all. These were balancing themselves, as is their 
 usual habit, on one leg, apparently asleep, or buried in 
 deep thought. They were on the upper extremity of the 
 islet, while I was approaching it from below. It was 
 not above sixty yards across, and could I only reach 
 the point nearest me, I knew my gun would throw shot 
 to kill at that distance. I feared the stroke of the sculls 
 would start them, and I pulled slowly and cautiously. 
 Perhaps the great heat — for it was as hot a day as I can 
 remember — had rendered them torpid or lazy. Whether 
 or not, they sat still until the cut-water of my skiff 
 touched the bank of the islet. I drew my gun up 
 cautiously, took aim, and fired both barrels almost 
 simultaneously. When the smoke cleared out of my 
 eyes, I saw that all the birds had flown off except one, 
 that lay stretched out by the edge of the water. 
 
 ' Gun in hand, I leaped out of the boat and ran 
 across the islet to bag my game. This occupied but 
 a few minutes ; and I was turning to go back to the 
 skiff, when, to my consternation, I saw it out upon the 
 lake, and rapidly floating downward ! 
 
 ' In my haste I had left it unfastened, and the bayou 
 current had carried it off. It was still but a hundred 
 yards distant, but it might as well have been a hundred 
 miles, for at that time I could not swim a stroke. 
 
 ' My first impulse was to rush down to the lake and 
 after the boat. This impulse was checked on arriving 
 at the water's edge, which I saw at a glance was fathoms 
 in depth. Quick reflection told me that the boat was 
 gone — irrecoverably gone ! 
 
 * I did not at first comprehend the full peril of my 
 situation ; nor will you, gentlemen. I was on an islet, 
 in a lake, only half a mile from its shores — alone, it is 
 true, and without a boat ; but what of that ? Many a 
 man had been so before, with not an idea of danger. 
 
 ' These were first thoughts, natural enough ; but they 
 rapidly gave place to others of a far different character.
 
 24 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 When I gazed after my boat, now beyond recovery — 
 when I looked around, and saw that the lake lay in the 
 middle of an interminable swamp, the shores of which, 
 even could I have reached them, did not seem to promise 
 me footing — when I reflected that, being unable to swim, 
 I could not reach them — that upon the islet there was 
 either tree, nor log, nor bush, not a stick out of which 
 I might make a raft — I say, when I reflected upon all 
 these things, there arose in my mind a feeling of well- 
 defined and absolute horror. 
 
 ' It is true I was only in a lake, a mile or so in width ; 
 but so far as the peril and helplessness of my situation 
 were concerned, I might as v/ell have been upon a rock 
 in the middle of the Atlantic. I knew that there was 
 no settlement within miles — miles of pathless swamp. I 
 knew that no one could either see or hear me — no one 
 was at all likely to come near the lake ; indeed, I felt 
 satisfied that my faithless boat was the first keel that 
 had ever cut its waters. The very tameness of the birds 
 wheeling round my head was evidence of this. I felt 
 satisfied, too, that without some one to help me, I should 
 never go out from that lake ; I must die on the islet, or 
 drown in attempting to leave it ! 
 
 ' These reflections rolled rapidly over my startled soul. 
 The facts were clear, the hypothesis definite, the sequence 
 certain ; there was no ambiguity, no suppositious hinge 
 upon which I could hang a hope ; no, not one. I could 
 not even expect that I should be missed and sought for ; 
 there was no one to search for me. The simple habitans 
 of the village I had left knew me not — I was a stranger 
 among them : they only knew me as a stranger, and 
 fancied me a strange individual ; one who made lonely 
 excursions, and brought home bunches of weeds, with 
 birds, insects, and reptiles, which they had never before 
 seen, although gathered at their own doors. My 
 absence, besides, would be nothing new to them, even 
 though it lasted for days ; I had often been absent 
 before, a week at a time. There was no hope of my 
 being missed. 
 
 ' I have said that these reflections came and passed
 
 Besanqoiis Adventures in the Swamps 25 
 
 quickly. In less than a minute, my affrighted soul was 
 in full possession of them, and almost yielded itself to 
 despair. I shouted, but rather involuntarily than with 
 any hope that I should be heard ; I shouted loudly and 
 fiercely : my answer — the echoes of my own voice, the 
 shriek of the osprey, and the maniac laugh of the white- 
 headed eagle. 
 
 ' I ceased to shout, threw my gun to the earth and 
 tottered down beside it. I can imagine the feelings of 
 a man shut up in a gloomy prison — they are not 
 pleasant. I have been lost upon the wild prairie — the 
 land-sea — without bush, break, or star to guide me — 
 that was worse. There you look around ; you see 
 nothing ; you hear nothing ; you are alone with God, 
 and you tremble in his presence ; your senses swim ; 
 your brain reels ; you are afraid of yourself ; you are 
 afraid of your own mind. Deserted by everything else, 
 you dread lest it, too, may forsake you. There is 
 horror in this — it is very horrible — it is hard to bear ; 
 but I have borne it all, and would bear it again twenty 
 times over rather than endure once more the first hour 
 I spent on that lonely islet in that lonely lake. Your 
 prison may be dark and silent, but you feel that you 
 are not utterly alone ; beings like yourself are near, 
 though they be your jailers. Lost on the prairie, you 
 are alone ; but you are free. In the islet, I felt that I 
 was alone ; that I was not free ; in the islet I 
 experienced the feelings of the prairie and the prison 
 combined. 
 
 ' I lay in a state of stupor — almost unconscious ; how 
 long I know not, but many hours I am certain ; I knew 
 this by the sun — it was going down when I awoke, if I 
 may so term the recovery of my stricken senses. I was 
 aroused by a strange circumstance : I was surrounded 
 by dark objects of hideous shape and hue — reptiles they 
 were. They had been before my eyes for some time, 
 but I had not seen them. I had only a sort of dreamy 
 consciousness of their presence ; but I heard them at 
 length: my ear was in better tune, and the strange 
 noises they uttered reached my intellect. It sounded
 
 26 The Hunters Feast 
 
 like the blowing of j^reat bellows, with now and then a 
 note harsher and louder, like the roaring of a bull. 
 This startled me, and I looked up and bent my eyes 
 upon the objects ; they were forms of the crocodilidce, the 
 giant lizards — they were alligators. 
 
 'Huge ones they were, many of them; and many 
 were they in number — a hundred at least were crawling 
 over the islet, before, behind, and on all sides around 
 me. Their long gaunt jaws and channelled snouts 
 projected forward so as almost to touch my body ; and 
 their eyes, usually leaden, seemed now to glare. 
 
 ' Impelled by this new danger, I sprang to my feet, 
 when, recognising the upright form of man, the reptiles 
 scuttled off, and plunging hurriedly into the lake, hid 
 their hideous bodies under the water. 
 
 ' The incident in some measure revived me. I saw 
 that I was not alone ; there was company even in the 
 crocodiles. I gradually became more myself; and 
 began to reflect with some degree of coolness on the 
 circumstances that surrounded me. My eyes wandered 
 over the islet ; every inch of it came under my glance ; 
 every object upon it was scrutinised — the moulted 
 feathers of wild-fowl, the pieces of mud, the fresh-water 
 mussels (unios) strewed upon its beach — all were 
 examined. Still the barren answer — no means of 
 escape. 
 
 ' The islet was but the head of a sand-bar, formed by 
 the eddy, perhaps gathered together within the year. 
 It was bare of herbage, with the exception of a few 
 tufts of grass. There was neither tree nor bush upon it : 
 not a stick. A raft indeed ! There was not wood 
 enough to make a raft that would have floated a frog. 
 The idea of a raft was but briefly entertained ; such a 
 thought had certainly crossed my mind, but a single 
 glance round the islet dispelled it before it had taken 
 shape. 
 
 ' I paced my prison from end to end ; from side to 
 side, I walked it over, I tried the water's depth ; on 
 all sides I sounded it, wading recklessly in ; everywhere 
 it deepened rapidly as I advanced. Three lengths of
 
 BesanqorCs Adventures in the Stvainps 27 
 
 myself from the islet's edge, and I was up to the neck. 
 The huge reptiles swam around, snorting and blowing ; 
 they were bolder in this element. I could not have 
 waded safely ashore, even had the water been shallow. 
 To swim it — no, even though I swam like a duck, they 
 would have closed upon and quartered me before I 
 could have made a dozen strokes. Horrified by their 
 demonstrations, I hurried back upon dry ground, and 
 paced the islet with dripping garments. 
 
 ' I continued walking until night, which gathered 
 around me dark and dismal. With night came new 
 voices — the hideous voices of the nocturnal swamp ; the 
 qua-qua of the night-heron, the screech of the swamp- 
 owl, the cry of the bittern, the el-l-uk of the great water- 
 toad, the tinkling of the bell-frog, and the chirp of the 
 savanna-cricket — all fell upon my ear. Sounds still 
 harsher and more hideous were heard around me — the 
 plashing of the alligator, and the roaring of his voice ; 
 these reminded me that I must not go to sleep. To 
 sleep ! I durst not have slept for a single instant. 
 Even when I lay for a few minutes motionless, the dark 
 reptiles came crawling round me — so close that I could 
 have put forth my hand and touched them. 
 
 ' At intervals, I sprang to my feet, shouted, swept my 
 gun round, and chased them back to the water, into 
 which they betook themselves with a sullen plunge, but 
 with little semblance of fear. At each fresh demonstra- 
 tion on my part they showed less alarm, until I could 
 no longer drive them either with shouts or threatening 
 gestures. They only retreated a few feet, forming an 
 irregular circle round me. 
 
 'Thus hemmed in, I became frightened in turn. I 
 loaded my gun and fired ; I killed none. They are 
 impervious to a bullet, except in the eye, or under the 
 forearm. It was too dark to aim at these parts ; and 
 my shots glanced harmlessly from the pyramidal scales 
 of their bodies. The loud report, however, and the 
 blaze frightened them, and they fled, to return again 
 after a long interval. I was asleep when they returned ; 
 I had gone to sleep in spite of my efforts to keep
 
 28 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 awake. I was startled by the touch of something cold ; 
 and half-stifled by the strong musky odour that filled 
 the air. I threw out my arms ; my fingers rested upon 
 an object slippery and clammy : it was one of these 
 monsters — one of gigantic size. He had crawled close 
 alongside me, and was preparing to make his attack ; 
 as I saw that he was bent in the form of a bow, and 
 I knew that these creatures assume that attitude when 
 about to strike their victim. I was just in time to 
 spring aside, and avoid the stroke of his powerful tail 
 that the next moment swept the ground where I had 
 lain. Again I fired, and he with the rest once more 
 retreated to the lake. 
 
 * All thoughts of going to sleep were at an end. Not 
 that I felt wakeful ; on the contrary, wearied with my 
 day's exertion — for I had had a long pull under a hot 
 tropical sun — I could have lain down upon the earth, in 
 the mud, anywhere, and slept in an instant. Nothing 
 but the dread certainty of my peril kept me awake. 
 Once again before morning, I was compelled to battle 
 with the hideous reptiles, and chase them away with 
 a shot from my gun. 
 
 ' Morning came at length, but with it no change in 
 my perilous position. The light only showed me my 
 island prison, but revealed no way of escape from it. 
 Indeed, the change could not be called for the better, 
 for the fervid rays of an almost vertical sun poured 
 down upon me until my skin blistered. I was already 
 speckled by the bites of a thousand swamp -flies and 
 mosquitoes, that all night long had preyed upon me. 
 There was not a cloud in the heavens to shade me; and 
 the sunbeams smote the surface of the dead bayou with 
 a double intensity. 
 
 ' Towards evening, I began to hunger ; no wonder 
 at that : I had not eaten since leaving the village settle- 
 ment. To assuage thirst, I drank the water of the 
 lake, turbid and slimy as it was. 1 drank it in large 
 quantities, for it was hot, and only moistened my palate 
 without quenching the craving of my appetite. Of water 
 there was enough; I had more to fear from want of food.
 
 BesanqorHs Adventures in the Swamps 29 
 
 * What could I eat ? The ibis. But how to cook it ? 
 There was nothing wherewith to make a fire — not a 
 stick. No matter for that. Cooking is a modern 
 invention, a luxury for pampered palates. I divested 
 the ibis of its brilliant plumage and ate it raw. I 
 spoiled my specimen, but at the time there was little 
 thought of that : there was not much of the naturahst 
 left in me, I anathematised the hour I had ever 
 promised to procure the bird. I wished my friend up 
 to his neck in a swamp. 
 
 'The ibis did not weigh above three pounds, bones 
 and all. It served me for a second meal, a breakfast ; 
 but at this dejeiiner scms fourcJiette I picked the bones. 
 
 ' What next ? starve ? No — not yet. In the battles 
 I had had with the alligators during the second night, 
 one of them had received a shot that proved mortal. 
 The hideous carcass of the reptile lay dead upon the 
 beach. I need not starve: I could eat that. Such 
 were my reflections. I must hunger, though, before 
 I could bring myself to touch the musky morsel. 
 
 'Two more days' fasting conquered my squeamish- 
 ness. I drew out my knife, cut a steak from the 
 alligator's tail, and ate it — not the one I had first killed, 
 but a second ; the other was now putrid, rapidly 
 decomposing under the hot sun : its odour filled the 
 islet. 
 
 'The stench had grown intolerable. There was not 
 a breath of air stirring, otherwise I might have shunned 
 it by keeping to windward. The whole atmosphere 
 of the islet, as well as a large circle around it, was 
 impregnated with the fearful effluvium. I could bear it 
 no longer. With the aid of my gun, I pushed the half- 
 decomposed carcass into the lake ; perhaps the current 
 might carry it away. It did : I had the gratification 
 to see it float off. 
 
 ' This circumstance led me into a train of reflections. 
 Why did the body of the alligator float? It was 
 swollen — inflated with gases. Ha ! 
 
 'An idea shot suddenly through my mind — one 
 of those brilliant ideas, the children of necessity.
 
 30 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 I thought of the floating alh'gator, of its intestines — 
 what if I inflated them ? Yes, yes ! buoys and bladders, 
 floats and life-preservers ! that was the thought. I 
 would open the alligators, make a buoy of their 
 intestines, and that would bear me from the islet ! 
 
 ' I did not lose a moment's time ; I was full of 
 energy: hope had given me new life. My gun was 
 loaded — a huge crocodile that swam near the shore 
 received the shot in his eye, I dragged him on the 
 beach; with my knife I laid open his entrails. Few 
 they were, but enough for my purpose. A plume- 
 quill from the wing of the ibis served me for a blow-pipe. 
 I saw the bladder-like skin expand, until I was 
 surrounded by objects like great sausages. These 
 were tied together, and fastened to my body, and 
 then, with a plunge, I entered the waters of the lake, 
 and floated downward. I had tied on my life-preservers 
 in such a way that I sat in the water in an upright 
 position, holding my gun with both hands. This I 
 intended to have used as a club in case I should be 
 attacked by the alligators ; but I had chosen the hot 
 hour of noon, when these creatures lie in a half torpid 
 state, and to my joy I was not molested. 
 
 ' Half an hour's drifting with the current carried me 
 to the end of the lake, and I found myself at the 
 debouchure of the bayou. Here, to my great delight, 
 I saw my boat in a swamp, where it had been caught 
 and held fast by the sedge. A i^w minutes more, 
 and I had swung myself over the gunwale, and was 
 sculling with eager strokes down the smooth waters 
 of the bayou. 
 
 ' Of course my adventure was ended, and I 
 reached the settlement in safety, but without the object 
 of my excursion. I was enabled, however, to procure 
 it some days after, and had the gratification of being 
 able to keep my promise to my friend.' 
 
 Besan^on's adventure had interested all of us ; the 
 old hunter-naturalist seemed delighted with it. No 
 doubt it revived within him the memories of many 
 a perilous incident in his own life.
 
 Besafigon's Adventures in the Swamps 31 
 
 It was evident that in the circle of the camp-fire 
 there was more than one pair of lips ready to narrate 
 some similiar adventure, but the hour was late, and 
 all agreed it would be better to go to rest. On to- 
 morrow night, some other would take their turn and, 
 in fact, a regular agreement was entered into that each 
 one of the party who had at any period of his life been 
 the hero or participator in any hunting adventure 
 should narrate the same for the entertainment of the 
 others. This would bring out a regular ' round of 
 stories by the camp-fire,' and would enable us to kill 
 the many long evenings we had to pass before coming 
 up with the buffalo. The conditions were, that the 
 stories should exclusively relate to birds or animals — in 
 fact, any hunted game belonging to the fauna of the 
 American Continent : furthermore, that each should 
 contribute his quota of information about whatever 
 animal should chance to be the subject of the narration 
 — about its habits, its geographical range ; in short, its 
 general natural history, as well as the various modes of 
 hunting it, practiced in different places by different 
 people. This, it was alleged, would render our camp 
 conversation instructive as well as entertaining. 
 
 The idea originated with the old hunter-naturalist, 
 who very wisely reasoned that among so many gentle- 
 men of large hunting experience he might collect new 
 facts for his favourite science — for to just such men, and 
 not to the closet-dreamer, is natural history indebted ■' 
 for its most interesting chapters. Of course every one 
 of us, guides and all, warmly applauded the proposal, 
 for there was no one among us averse to receiving a 
 little knowledge of so entertaining a character. No 
 doubt to the naturalist himself we should be indebted 
 for most part of it ; and his mode of communicating 
 was so pleasant, that even the rude trappers listened to 
 him with wonder and attention. They saw that he 
 was no ' greenhorn ' either in woodcraft or prairie 
 knowledge, and that was a sufficient claim to their 
 consideration. 
 
 There is no character less esteemed by the regular
 
 32 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' mountain man ' than a ' greenhorn,'— that is, one who 
 is new to the ways of their wilderness life. 
 
 With the design of an early start, we once more crept 
 into our several quarters and went to sleep.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE PASSENGER PIGEONS 
 
 After an early breakfast we lit our pipes and cigars, 
 and took to the road. The sun was very bright, and in 
 less than two hours after starting we were sweltering 
 under a heat almost tropical. It was one of those 
 autumn days peculiar to America, where even a high 
 latitude seems to be no protection against the sun, and 
 his beams fall upon one with as much fervour as they 
 would under the line itself The first part of our 
 journey was through open woods of black-jack, whose 
 stunted forms afforded no shade, but only shut off the 
 breeze which might otherwise have fanned us. 
 
 While fording a shallow stream, the doctor's scraggy, 
 ill-tempered horse took a fit of kicking quite frantical. 
 For some time it seemed likely that either the doctor 
 himself, or his saddle-bags, would be deposited in the 
 bottom of the creek, but after a severe spell of whipping 
 and kicking on the part of the rider, the animal moved 
 on again. What bad set it dancing? That was the 
 question. It had the disposition to be ' frisky,' but 
 usually appeared to be lacking in strength. The buzz 
 of a horse-fly sounding in our ears explained all. It 
 was one of those large insects — the ' horse-bug ' — 
 peculiar to the Mississippi country, and usually found 
 near watercourses. They are more terrible to horses 
 than a fierce dog would be. I have known horses 
 gallop away from them as if pursued by a beast of 
 prey. 
 
 There is a belief among western people that these 
 insects are propagated by the horses themselves ; that 
 is, that the eggs of the female are deposited upon the 
 grass, so that the horses may swallow them ; that 
 
 33 c
 
 34 The Hunters Feast 
 
 incubation goes on within the stomach of the animal, 
 and that the chrysalis is afterwards voided. I have 
 met with others who believed in a still stranger 
 theory ; that the insect itself actually sought, and 
 found, a passage into the stomach of the horse, some 
 said by passing down his throat, others by boring a 
 hole through his abdomen ; and that in such cases the 
 horse usually sickened, and was in danger of dying ! 
 
 After the doctor's mustang had returned to proper 
 behaviour, these odd theories became the subject of 
 discussion. The Kentuckian believed in them — the 
 Englishman doubted them — the hunter-naturalist could 
 not endorse them — and Besan^on ignored them entirely. 
 
 Shortly after the incident we entered the bottom 
 lands of a considerable stream. These were heavily 
 timbered, and the shadow of the great forest trees 
 afforded us a pleasant relief from the hot sun. Our 
 guides told us we had several miles of such woods 
 to pass throuf^h, and we were glad of the information. 
 We noticed that most of the trees were beech, and 
 their smooth straight trunks rose like columns 
 around us. 
 
 The beech (Fagiis sylvatica) is one of the most 
 beautiful of American forest trees. Unlike most of 
 the others, its bark is smooth, without fissures, and 
 often of a silvery hue. Large beech trees standing 
 by the path, or near a cross road, are often seen 
 covered with names, initials, and dates. Even the 
 Indian often takes advantage of the bark of a beech 
 tree to signalise his presence to his friends, or com- 
 memorate some savage exploit. Indeed, the beautiful 
 column-like trunk seems to invite the knife, and many 
 a souvenir is carved upon it by the loitering way-farer. 
 It does not, however, invite the axe of the settler. On 
 the contrary, the bcechen woods often remain un- 
 touched, while others fall around them — partly because 
 these trees are not usually the indices of the richest soil, 
 but more from the fact that clearing a piece of beech 
 forest is no easy matter. The green logs do not burn 
 so readily as those of the oak, the elm, the maple, or
 
 The Passenger Pigeons 35 
 
 poplar, and hence the necessity of * roHing ' them on the 
 ground to be cleared — a serious thing where labour is 
 scarce and dear. 
 
 We were riding silently along, when all at once our 
 ears were assailed by a strange noise. It resembled 
 the clapping of a thousand pairs of hands, followed by 
 a whistling sound, as if a strong wind had set suddenly 
 in among the trees. We all knew well enough what 
 it meant, and the simultaneous cry of 'pigeons' was 
 followed by half a dozen simultaneous cracks from the 
 guns of the party, and several bluish birds fell to the 
 ground. We had stumbled upon a feeding-place of the 
 passenger-pigeon {Colinnba migratoi'ia). 
 
 Our route was immediately abandoned, and in a few 
 minutes we were in the thick of the flock, cracking away 
 at them both with shot-gun and rifle. It was not so 
 easy, however, to bring them down in any considerable 
 numbers. In following them up we soon strayed from 
 each other, until our party was completely scattered, 
 and nearly two hours elapsed before we got back to the 
 road. Our game-bag, however, made a fine show, and 
 about forty brace were deposited in the waggon. With 
 the anticipation of roast pigeon and ' pot pie,' we rode 
 on more cheerily to our night camp. All along the 
 route the pigeons were seen, and occasionally large 
 flocks whirled over our heads under the canopy of the 
 trees. Satiated with the sport, and not caring to waste 
 our ammunition, we did not heed them farther. 
 
 In order to give Lanty due time for the duties of the 
 amine, we halted a little earlier than usual. Our day's 
 march had been a short one, but the excitement and 
 sport of the pigeon-hunt repaid us for the loss of time. 
 Our dinner-supper — for it was a combination of both — 
 was the dish known in America as ' pot pie,' in which 
 the principal ingredients were the pigeons, some soft 
 flour paste, with a few slices of bacon to give it a 
 flavour. Properly speaking, the 'pot pie' is not a pie, 
 but a stew. Ours was excellent, and as our appetites 
 were in a similar condition, a goodly quantity was used 
 up in appeasing them.
 
 36 The Htmters' Feast 
 
 Of course the conversation of the evening was the 
 'wild pigeon of America,' and the following facts 
 regarding its natural history — although many of them 
 are by no means new — may prove interesting to the 
 reader, as they did to those who listened to the relation 
 of them around our camp-fire. 
 
 The * passenger ' is less in size than the house pigeon. 
 In the air it looks not unlike the kite, wanting the forked 
 or ' swallow' tail. That of the pigeon is cuneiform. Its 
 colour is best described by calling it a nearly uniform 
 slate. In the male the colours are deeper, and the neck- 
 feathers present the same changeable hues of green, 
 gold, and purple-crimson, generally observed in birds of 
 this species. It is only in the woods, and when freshly 
 caught or killed, that these brilliant tints can be seen to 
 perfection. They fade in captivity, and immediately 
 after the bird has been shot. They seem to form part 
 of its life and liberty, and disappear when it is robbed of 
 either. I have often thrust the wild pigeon, freshly 
 killed, into my game-bag, glittering like an opal. I 
 have drawn it forth a few hours after of a dull leaden 
 hue, and altogether unlike the same bird. 
 
 As with all birds of this tribe, the female is inferior 
 to the male, both in size and plumage. The eye is less 
 vivid. In the male it is of the most brilliant fiery 
 orange, inclosed in a well-defined circle of red. The eye 
 is in truth its finest feature, and never fails to strike the 
 beholder with admiration. 
 
 The most singular fact in the natural history of the 
 * passenger ' is their countless numbers. Audubon saw 
 a flock that contained ' one billion one hundred and 
 sixteen millions of birds ! ' Wilson counted, or rather 
 computed, another flock of 'two thousand two hundred 
 and thirty millions!' These numbers seem incredible. 
 I have no doubt of their truth. I have no doubt that 
 they are under rather than over the numbers actually 
 seen by both these naturalists, for both made most 
 liberal allowances in their calculations. 
 
 Where do these immense flocks come from ? 
 
 The wild pigeons breed in all parts of America.
 
 The Passenger Pigeons 37 
 
 Their breeding-places are found as far north as the 
 Hudson's Bay, and they have been seen in the southern 
 forests of Louisiana and Texas. The nests are built 
 upon high trees, and resemble immense rookeries. In 
 Kentucky, one of their breeding-places was forty miles 
 in length, by several in breadth ! One hundred nests 
 will often be found upon a single tree, and in each nest 
 there is but one ' squab.' The eggs are pure white, like 
 those of the common kind, and, like them, they breed 
 several times during the year, but principally when food 
 is plentiful. They establish themselves in great 'roosts,' 
 sometimes for years together, to which each night they 
 return from their distant excursions — hundreds of miles, 
 perhaps ; for this is but a short fly for travellers who 
 can pass over a mile in a single minute, and some of 
 whom have even strayed across the Atlantic to 
 England ! They, however, as I myself have observed, 
 remain in the same woods where they have been feed- 
 ing for several days together. I have also noticed that 
 they prefer roosting in the low underwood, even when 
 tall trees are close at hand. If near water, or hanging 
 over a stream, the place is still more to their liking ; 
 and in the morning they may be seen alighting on the 
 bank to drink, before taking to their daily occupation. 
 
 The great ' roosts ' and breeding-places are favourite 
 resorts for numerous birds of prey. The small vultures 
 {CatJiartes aura Airatus), or, as they are called in the 
 west, ' turkey buzzard,' and ' carrion crow,' do not 
 confine themselves to carrion alone. They are fond of 
 live 'squabs,' which they drag out of their nests at 
 pleasure. Numerous hawks and kites prey upon them ; 
 and even the great white-headed eagle {Falco leuco- 
 cephalus) may be seen soaring above, and occasionally 
 swooping down for a dainty morsel. On the ground 
 beneath move enemies of a different kind, both biped 
 and quadruped. Fowlers with their guns and long 
 poles ; farmers with waggons to carry off the dead 
 birds ; and even droves of hogs to devour them. Trees 
 fall under the axe, and huge branches break down by 
 the weight of the birds themselves, killing numbers in
 
 38 The Hiinters' Feast 
 
 their descent. Torches are used — for it is usually a 
 night scene, after the return of the birds from feeding, — 
 pots of burning sulphur, and other engines of destruction. 
 A noisy scene it is. The clapping of a million pair of 
 wings, like the roaring of thunder ; the shots ; the shouts ; 
 men hoarsely calling to each other ; women and children 
 screaming their delight ; the barking of dogs ; the 
 neighing of horses ; the crash of breaking branches ; and 
 the 'chuck' of the woodman's axe, all mingled together. 
 
 When the men — saturated with slaughter, and white 
 with ordure — have retired beyond the borders of the 
 roost to rest themselves for the night, their ground is 
 occupied by the prowling wolf and the fox ; the racoon 
 and the cougar ; the lynx and the great black bear. 
 
 With so many enemies, one would think that the 
 ' passengers ' would soon be exterminated. Not so. 
 They are too prolific for that. Indeed, were it not for 
 these enemies, they themselves would perish for want 
 of food. Fancy what it takes to feed them ! The flock 
 seen by Wilson would require eighteen million bushels 
 of grain every day ! — and it, most likely, was only one 
 of many such that at the time were traversing the vast 
 continent of America. Upon what do they feed ? it will 
 be asked. Upon the fruits of the great forest — upon 
 the acorns, the nuts of the beech, upon buck-wheat, and 
 Indian corn ; upon many species of berries, such as the 
 huckleberry {whortleberry), the hackberry {Ccltis crassi- 
 folid), and the fruit of the holly. In the northern regions, 
 where these are scarce, the berries of the juniper tree 
 {Juniperus comnmnis) form the principal food. On the 
 other hand, among the southern plantations, they devour 
 greedily the rice, as well as the nuts of the chestnut-tree 
 and several pieces of oaks. But their staple food is the 
 beechnut, or ' mast,' as it is called. Of this the pigeons 
 are fond, and fortunately it exists in great plenty. In 
 the forests of Western America there are vast tracks 
 covered almost entirely with the beech-tree. 
 
 As already stated, these beechen forests of America 
 remain almost intact, and so long as they shower down 
 their millions of bushels of ' mast,' so long will the
 
 The Passenger Pigeons 39 
 
 passenger pigeons flutter in countless numbers amidst 
 their branches. 
 
 Their migration is semi-annual ; but unlike most 
 other migratory birds, it is far from being regular. 
 Their flight is, in fact, not a periodical migration, but a 
 sort of nomadic existence — food being the object which 
 keeps them in motion and directs their course. The 
 scarcity in one part determines their movement to 
 another. When there is more than the usual fall of snow 
 in the northern regions, vast flocks make their appear- 
 ance in the middle States, as in Ohio and Kentucky. 
 This may in some measure account for the overcrowded 
 ' roosts ' which have been occasionally seen, but which 
 are by no means common. You may live in the west 
 for many years without witnessing a scene such as those 
 described by Wilson and Audubon, though once or twice 
 every year you may see pigeons enough to astonish 
 you. 
 
 It must not be imagined that the wild pigeons of 
 America are so 'tame' as they have been sometimes 
 represented. That is their character only while young 
 at the breeding-places, or at the great roosts when 
 confused by crowding upon each other, and mystified by 
 torchlight. 
 
 Far different are they when wandering through the 
 open woods in search of food. It is then both difficult 
 to approach and hard to kill them. Odd birds you may 
 easily reach ; you may see them perched upon the 
 branches on all sides of you, and within shot-range ; but 
 the tJiick of the flock, somehow or other, always keeps 
 from one to two hundred yards off. The sportsman 
 cannot bring himself to fire at single birds. No. There 
 is a tree near at hand literally black with pigeons. Its 
 branches creak under the weight. What a fine havoc 
 he will make if he can but get near enough ! But that 
 is the difficulty ; there is no cover, and he must approach 
 as he best can without it. He continues to advance ; 
 the birds sit silent, watching his movements. He treads 
 lightly and with caution ; he inwardly anathematises 
 the dead leaves and twigs that make a loud rustling
 
 40 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 under his feet. The birds appear restless ; several 
 stretch out their necks as if to spring off. 
 
 At length he deems himself fairly within range, and 
 raises his gun to take aim ; but this is a signal for the 
 shy game, and before he can draw trigger they are off to 
 another tree ! 
 
 Some stragglers still remain ; and at them he levels 
 his piece and fires. The shot is a random one ; for our 
 sportsman, having failed to ' cover ' the flock, has become 
 irritated and careless, and in all such cases the pigeons 
 fly off with the loss of a few feathers. 
 
 The gun is reloaded, and our amateur hunter, seeing 
 the thick flock upon another tree, again endeavours to 
 approach it, but with like success.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HUNT WITH A HOWITZER 
 
 When the conversation about the haunts and habits of 
 these birds began to flag, some one called for a ' pigeon 
 story.' Who could tell a pigeon story? To our 
 surprise the doctor volunteered one, and all gathered 
 around to listen. 
 
 ' Yes, gentlemen,' began the doctor, ' I have a pigeon 
 adventure, which occurred to me some years ago. I was 
 then living in Cincinnati, following my respectable 
 calling, when I had the good fortune to set a broken leg 
 
 for one Colonel P , a wealthy planter, who lived 
 
 upon the bank of the river some sixty miles from the 
 city. I made a handsome set of it, and won the 
 colonel's friendship for ever. Shortly after, I was 
 invited to his house, to be present at a great pigeon- 
 hunt, which was to come off in the fall. The colonel's 
 plantation stood among beech woods, and he had 
 therefore an annual visitation of the pigeons, and could 
 tell almost to a day when they would appear. The hunt 
 he had arranged for the gratification of his numerous 
 friends. 
 
 'As you all know, gentlemen, sixty miles in our 
 western travel is a mere bagatelle ; and tired of pills 
 and prescriptions, I flung myself into a boat, and in a 
 few hours arrived at the colonel's stately home. A 
 word or two about this stately home and its pro- 
 prietor. 
 
 'Colonel P was a splendid specimen of the back- 
 woods' gentleman — you will admit there are gentlemen 
 in the backwoods.' (Here the doctor glanced good- 
 humouredly, first at our English friend Thompson, and 
 thgn at the Kentuckian, both of whom answered him 
 
 41
 
 42 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 with a laugh.) ' His house was the type of a backwoods' 
 mansion ; a wooden structure, both walls and roof. No 
 matter. It has distributed as much hospitality in its 
 time as many a marble palace ; that was one of its 
 backwoods' characteristics. It stood, and I hope still 
 stands, upon the north bank of the Ohio — that beautiful 
 stream — " La belle riviere" as the French colonists, and 
 before their time the Indians, used to call it. It was in 
 the midst of the woods, though around it were a thousand 
 acres of " clearing," where you might distinguish fields of 
 golden wheat, and groves of shining maize plants waving 
 aloft their yellow-flower tassels. You might note, too, 
 the broad green leaf of the Nicotian " weed," or the 
 bursting pod of the snow-white cotton. In the garden 
 you might observe the sweet potato, the common one, 
 the refreshing tomato, the huge water-melon, cantelopes, 
 and musk melons, with many other delicious vegetables. 
 You could see pods of red and green pepper growing 
 upon trailing plants ; and beside them several species 
 of peas and beans — all valuable for the colonel'g cuisine. 
 There was an orchard, too, of several acres in 
 extent. It was filled with fruit-trees, the finest peaches 
 in the world, and the finest apples — the Newton pippins. 
 Besides, there were luscious pears and plums, and upon 
 the espaliers, vines bearing bushels of sweet grapes. If 
 
 Colonel P lived in the woods, it cannot be said that 
 
 he was surrounded by a desert. 
 
 'There were several substantial log-houses near the 
 main building or mansion. They were the stable — and 
 good horses there were in that stable ; the cow-house, 
 for milk cattle ; the barn, to hold the wheat and maize- 
 corn ; the smoke-house, for curing bacon : a large 
 building for the dry tobacco ; a cotton-gin, with its shed 
 of clap-boards ; bins for the husk fodder, and several 
 smaller structures. In one corner you saw a low-walled 
 erection that reminded you of a kennel, and the rich 
 music that from time to time issued from its apertures 
 would convince you that it was a kennel. If you had 
 peeped into it, you would have seen a dozen of as fine 
 stag-hounds as ever lifted a trail. The colonel wag
 
 Hunt with a Howitzer 43 
 
 somewhat partial to these pets, for he was a " mighty 
 hunter." You might see a number of young colts in an 
 adjoining lot ; a pet-deer, a buffalo-calf, that had been 
 brought from the far prairies, pea-fowl, guinea-hens, 
 turkeys, geese, ducks, and the usual proportion of 
 common fowls. Rail-fences zigzaged off in all 
 directions towards the edge of the woods. Huge trees, 
 dead and divested of their leaves, stood up in the 
 cleared fields. Turkey buzzards and carrion crows 
 might be seen perched upon their grey naked limbs ; 
 upon their summit you might observe the great rough- 
 legged falcon ; and above all, cutting sharply against 
 the blue sky, the fork-tailed kite sailing gently about,' 
 
 Here the doctor's auditory interrupted him with a 
 murmur of applause. The doctor was in fine spirits, 
 and in a poetical mood. He continued. 
 
 ' Such, gentlemen, was the sort of place I had come to 
 visit ; and I saw at a glance that I could spend a few 
 days there pleasantly enough — even without the 
 additional attractions of a pigeon-hunt. 
 
 * On my arrival I found the party assembled. It 
 consisted of a score and a half of ladies and gentlemen, 
 nearly all young people. The pigeons had not yet made 
 their appearance, but were looked for every hour. The 
 woods had assumed the gorgeous tints of autumn, that 
 loveliest of seasons in the " far west." Already the 
 ripe nuts and berries were scattered profusely over the 
 earth, offering their annual banquet to God's wild 
 creatures. The " mast " of the beech-tree, of which the 
 wild pigeon is so fond, was showering down among the 
 dead leaves. It was the very season at which the birds 
 were accustomed to visit the beechen woods that girdled 
 the colonel's plantation. They would no doubt soon 
 appear. With this expectation everything was made 
 ready ; each of the gentlemen was provided with a 
 fowling-piece, or rifle if he preferred it ; and even some 
 of the ladies insisted on being armed. 
 
 ' To render the sport more exciting our host had 
 established certain regulations. They were as follows : 
 The gentlemen were divided into parties, of equal
 
 44 The Hunters Feast 
 
 numbers. These were to go in opposite directions, the 
 ladies upon the first day of the hunt accompanying 
 whichever they chose. Upon all succeeding days, 
 however, the case would be different. The ladies were 
 to accompany that party which upon the day previous 
 had bagged the greatest number of birds. The victorious 
 gentlemen, moreover, were endowed with other privi- 
 leges, which lasted throughout the evening ; such as 
 the choice of partners for the dinner-table and the 
 dance. 
 
 * I need not tell you, gentlemen, that in these con- 
 ditions existed powerful motives for exertion. The 
 colonel's guests were the elite of western society. Most 
 of the gentlemen were young men or bachelors ; and 
 among the ladies there were belles ; three or four of 
 them rich and beautiful. On my arrival I could per- 
 ceive signs of incipient flirtations. Attachments had 
 already arisen ; and by many it would have been es- 
 teemed anything but pleasant to be separated in the 
 manner prescribed. A strong esprit du corps was thus 
 established ; and, by the time the pigeons arrived, both 
 parties had determined to do their utmost. In fact, I 
 have never known so strong a feeling of rivalry to exist 
 between two parties of amateur sportsmen. 
 
 'The pigeons at length arrived. It was a bright 
 sunny morning, and yet the atmosphere was darkened, 
 as the vast flock, a mile in breadth by several in length, 
 passed across the canopy. The sound of their wings 
 resembled a strong wind whistling among tree-tops, or 
 through the rigging of a ship. We saw that they 
 hovered over the woods, and settled among the tall 
 beeches. 
 
 * The beginning of the hunt was announced, and we 
 set forth, each party taking the direction allotted to it. 
 With each went a number of ladies, and even some of 
 these were armed with light fowling pieces, determined 
 that the party of their choice should be the victorious 
 one. After a short ride, we found ourselves fairly " in 
 the woods," and in the presence of the birds, and then 
 the cracking commenced.
 
 Hunt with a Howitzer 45 
 
 ' In our party we had eight guns, exclusive of the 
 small fowling-pieces (two of these), with which a brace 
 of our heroines were armed, and which, truth compels 
 me to confess, were less dangerous to the pigeons than to 
 ourselves. Some of our guns were double-barrelled 
 shot-guns, others were rifles. You will wonder at rifles 
 being used in such a sport, and yet it is a fact that the 
 gentlemen who carried rifles managed to do more 
 execution than those who were armed with the other 
 species. This arose from the circumstance that they 
 were contented to aim at single birds, and, being good 
 shot, they were almost sure to bring these down. The 
 woods were filled with straggling pigeons. Odd birds 
 were always within rifle range ; and thus, instead of 
 wasting their time in endeavouring to approach the 
 great flocks, our riflemen did nothing but load and fire. 
 In this way they soon counted their game by dozens. 
 
 ' Early in the evening, the pigeons, having filled their 
 crops with the mast, disappeared. They flew off to 
 some distant " roost." This of course concluded our 
 sport for the day. We got together and counted our 
 numbers. We had 640 birds. We returned home full 
 of hope ; we felt certain that we had won for that day. 
 Our antagonists had arrived before us. They showed 
 us 726 dead pigeons. We were beaten. 
 
 ' I really cannot explain the chagrin which this defeat 
 occasioned to most of our party. They felt humiliated 
 in the eyes of the ladies, whose company they were to 
 lose on the morrow. To some there was extreme 
 bitterness in the idea ; for, as I have already stated, 
 attachments had sprung up, and jealous thoughts were 
 naturally their concomitants. It was quite tantalising, 
 as we parted next morning, to see the galaxy of lovely 
 women ride off with our antagonists, while we sought 
 the woods in the opposite direction, dispirited and in 
 silence. 
 
 ' We went, however, determined to do our best, and 
 win the ladies for the morrow. A council was held, 
 and each imparted his advice and encouragement : and 
 then we all set to work with shot-gun and rifle.
 
 4^ The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 ' On this day an incident occurred that aided our 
 " count " materially. As you know, gentlemen, the wild 
 pigeons, while feeding, sometimes cover the ground so 
 thickly that they crowd upon each other. They all 
 advance in the same direction, those behind continually 
 rising up and fluttering to the front, so that the surface 
 presents a series of undulations like sea-waves. 
 Frequently the birds alight upon each other's backs, 
 for want of room upon the ground, and a confused mass 
 of winged creatures is seen rolling through the woods. 
 At such times, if the sportsman can only " head " the 
 flock, he is sure of a good shot. Almost every pellet 
 tells, and dozens may be brought down at a single 
 discharge. 
 
 ' In my progress through the woods, I had got 
 separated from my companions, when I observed an 
 immense flock approaching me after the manner 
 described. I saw from their plumage that they were 
 young birds, and therefore not likely to be easily 
 alarmed. I drew my horse (I was mounted) behind a 
 tree, and awaited their approach. This I did more from 
 curiosity than any other motive, as, unfortunately, I 
 carried a rifle, and could only have killed one or two at 
 the best. The crowd came " swirling " forward, and 
 when they were within some ten or fifteen paces distant, 
 I fired into their midst. To my surprise, the flock 
 did not take flight, but continued to advance as 
 before, until they were almost among the horse's feet. 
 I could stand it no longer. I drove the spurs deeply, 
 and galloped into their midst, striking right and left as 
 they fluttered up round me. Of course they were soon 
 off; but of those that had been trodden upon by my 
 horse, and others I had knocked down, I counted no 
 less than twenty-seven ! Proud of my exploit, I 
 gathered the birds into my bag, and rode in search of 
 my companions. 
 
 ' Our party on this day numbered over 800 head 
 killed ; but, to our surprise and chagrin, our antagonists 
 had beaten us by more than a hundred! 
 
 ' The gentlemen of " ours " were wretched. The
 
 Hunt with a Hoivitzer 47 
 
 belles were monopolised by our antagonists ; we were 
 scouted, and debarred every privilege. 
 
 ' It was not to be endured ; something must be done. 
 What was to be done? counselled we. If fair means 
 will not answer, we must try the opposite. It was 
 evident that our antagonists were better shots than 
 we. 
 
 * The colonel, too, was one of them, and he was sure 
 to kill every time he pulled trigger. The odds were 
 against us ; some plan must be devised ; some ruse must 
 be adopted, and the idea of one had been passing 
 through my mind during the whole of that day. It was 
 this : — I had noticed, what has been just remarked, that, 
 although the pigeons will not allow the sportsman to 
 come within range of a fowling-piece, yet at a distance 
 of little over a hundred yards they neither fear man nor 
 beast. At that distance they sit unconcerned, thousands 
 of them upon a single tree. It struck me that a gun 
 large enough to throw shot among them would be 
 certain of killing hundreds at each discharge ; but 
 where was such a gun to be had ? As I reflected thus, 
 " mountain howitzers " came into my mind. I remem- 
 bered the small mountain howitzers I had seen at 
 Covington. One of these loaded with shot would be 
 the very weapon. I knew there was a battery of them 
 at the Barracks. I knew that a friend of mine 
 commanded the battery. By steamer, should one pass, 
 it was but a i^^N hours to Covington. I proposed 
 sending for a " mountain howitzer." 
 
 ' I need hardly say that my proposal was hailed with 
 a universal welcome on the part of my companions ; 
 and without dropping a hint to the other party, it was 
 at once resolved that the design should be carried into 
 execution. It was carried into execution. An " up- 
 river " boat chanced to pass in the nick of time. A 
 messenger was forthwith despatched to Covington, and 
 before twelve o'clock upon the following day another 
 boat on her down trip brought the howitzer, and we had 
 it secretly landed and conveyed to a place in the woods 
 previously agreed upon. My friend, Captain C ,
 
 4S The Hunters' Feast 
 
 had sent a " live corporal " along with it, and we had no 
 difficulty in its management. 
 
 ' As I had anticipated, it answered our purpose as 
 though it had been made for it. Every shot brought 
 down a shower of dead birds, and after one discharge 
 alone the number obtained was 123! At night our 
 " game-bag " counted over three thousand birds ! We 
 were sure of the ladies for the morrow. 
 
 ' Before returning home to our certain triumph, how- 
 ever, there were some considerations. To-morrow we 
 should have the ladies in our company ; some of the 
 fair creatures would be as good as sure to " split" upon 
 the howitzer. What was to be done to prevent this ! 
 
 ' We eight had sworn to be staunch to each other. We 
 had taken every precaution ; we had only used our 
 " great gun " when far off, so that its report might not 
 reach the ears of our antagonists ; but how about 
 to-morrow ? Could we trust our fair companions with 
 a secret ? Decidedly not. This was the unanimous 
 conclusion. A new idea now came to our aid. We saw 
 that we might dispense with the howitzer, and still 
 manage to out-count our opponents. We would make 
 a depository of birds in a safe place. There was a 
 squatter's house near by : that would do. So we took 
 the squatter into our council, and left some 1500 birds 
 in his charge, the remainder being deemed sufficient for 
 that day. From the 1500 thus left, we might each day 
 take a few hundred to make up our game-bag just 
 enough to out-number the other party. We did not 
 send home the corporal and his howitzer. We might 
 require him again ; so we quartered him upon the 
 squatter. 
 
 ' On returning home we found that our opponents 
 had also made a " big day's work of it ; " but they were 
 beaten by hundreds. The ladies were ours ! 
 
 ' And we kept them until the end of the hunt, to the 
 no little mortification of the gentlemen in the "minority:" 
 to their surprise, as well ; for most of them being crack- 
 shots, and several of us not at all so, they could not 
 comprehend why they were every day beaten so
 
 Htint with a Howitzer 49 
 
 outrageously. We had hundreds to spare, and barrels 
 of the birds were cured for winter use. 
 
 ' Another thing quite puzzled our opponents, as well 
 as many good people in the neighbourhood. That was 
 the loud reports that had been heard in the woods. 
 Some argued they were thunder, while others declared 
 they must have proceeded from an earthquake. This 
 last seemed the more probable, as the events I am 
 narrating occurred but a few years after the great 
 earthquake in the Mississippi Valley, and people's 
 minds were prepared for such a thing. 
 
 * I need not tell you how the knowing ones enjoyed 
 the laugh for several days, and it was not until the 
 colonel's rhmion was about to break up, that our secret 
 was let out, to the no small chagrin of our opponents, 
 but to the infinite amusement of our host himself, who, 
 although one of the defeated party, often narrates to his 
 friends the story of the " Hunt with the Howitzer."'
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 KILLING A COUGAR 
 
 Although we had made a five miles' march from the 
 place where we had halted to shoot the pigeons, our 
 night-camp was still within the boundaries of the flock. 
 During the night we could hear them at intervals at no 
 great distance ofif. A branch occasionally cracked, and 
 then a fluttering of wings told of thousands dislodged 
 or frightened by its fall. Sometimes the fluttering com- 
 menced without any apparent cause. No doubt the 
 great-horned owl {Strix virgmiana), the wild cat {Felis 
 rufa), and the raccoon, were busy among them, and the 
 silent attacks of these were causing the repeated alarms. 
 
 Before going to rest, a torch-hunt was proposed by 
 way of variety, but no material for making good torches 
 could be found, and the idea was abandoned. Torches 
 should be made of dry pine knots, and carried in some 
 shallow vessel. The common fr}'ing-pan, with a long 
 handle, is best for the purpose. Link-torches, unless of 
 the best pitch-pine {Pinus rcsinosd), do not burn with 
 sufficient brightness to stultify the pigeons. They will 
 flutter off before the hunter can get his long pole within 
 reach, whereas with a very brilliant light, he may ap- 
 proach almost near enough to lay his hands upon them. 
 As there were no pitch-pine trees in the neighbourhood, 
 nor any good torch-wood, we were forced to give up the 
 idea of a night hunt. 
 
 During the night strange noises were heard by several 
 who chanced to be awake. Some said they resembled 
 the howling of dogs, while others compared them to the 
 screaming of angry cats. One party said they were 
 produced by wolves ; another, that the wild cats (lynxes) 
 made them. But there was one that differed from all 
 
 50
 
 Killing a Cotigar 51 
 
 the rest. It was a sort of prolonged hiss, that all except 
 Ike believed to be the snort of the black bear. Ike, 
 however, declared that it was not the bear, but the 
 ' sniff,' as he termed it, of the ' painter ' (cougar). This 
 was probable enough, considering the nature of the 
 place. The cougar is well known to frequent the great 
 roosts of the passenger-pigeon, and is fond of the flesh 
 of these birds. 
 
 In the morning our camp was still surrounded by the 
 pigeons, sweeping about among the tree-trunks, and 
 gathering the mast as they went. A few shots were 
 fired, not from any inclination to continue the sport of 
 killing them, but to lay in a fresh stock for the day's 
 dinner. The surplus from yesterday's feast was thrown 
 away, and left by the deserted camp — a banquet for the 
 preying creatures that would soon visit the spot. 
 
 We moved on, still surrounded by masses upon the 
 wing. A singular incident occurred as we were passing 
 through a sort of avenue in the forest. It was a narrow 
 aisle, on both sides walled in by the thick foliage of the 
 beeches. We were fairly within this hall-like passage, 
 when it suddenly darkened at the opposite end. We 
 saw that a cloud of pigeons had entered it, flying 
 towards us. They were around our heads before they 
 had noticed us. Seeing our party, they suddenly 
 attempted to diverge from their course, but there was no 
 other open to them, except to rise upward in a vertical 
 direction. This they did on the instant — the clatter of 
 their wings producing a noise like the continued roar of 
 thunder. Some had approached so near, that the men 
 on horseback, striking with their guns, knocked several 
 to the ground ; and the Kentuckian, stretching upward 
 his long arm, actually caught one of them on the wing. 
 In an instant they were out of sight ; but at that instant 
 two great birds appeared before us at the opening of 
 the forest, which were at once recognised as a brace 
 of white-headed eagles {Falco leucoceplialus). This ac- 
 counted for the rash flight of the pigeons ; for the 
 eagles had evidently been in pursuit of them, and had 
 driven them to seek shelter under the trees. We were
 
 52 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 desirous of emptying our guns at the great birds of prey, 
 and there was a simultaneous spurring of horses and 
 cocking of guns : to no purpose, howev^er. The eagles 
 were on the alert. They had already espied us ; and, 
 uttering their maniac screams, they wheeled suddenly, 
 and disappeared over the tree-tops. 
 
 We had hardly recovered from this pleasant little bit 
 of excitement, when the guide Ike, who rode in the 
 advance, was seen suddenly to jerk up, exclaiming : 
 ' Painter, by G — d ! I knovv'd I heerd a painter.' 
 * Where ? where ? ' was hurriedly uttered by several 
 voices, while all pressed forward to the guide. 
 
 'Yander!' replied Ike, pointing to a thicket of young 
 beeches. ' He's tuk to the brush : ride round, fellurs. 
 Mark, boy, round ! quick, d — n you ! ' 
 
 There was a scramble of horsemen, with excited, 
 anxious looks and gestures. Every one had his gun 
 cocked and ready, and in a {^^^ seconds the small copse 
 of beeches, with their golden-yellow leaves, was inclosed 
 by a ring of hunters. Had the cougar got away, or was 
 he still within the thicket? Several large trees grew 
 out of its midst. Had he taken to one? The eyes of 
 the party were turned upwards. The fierce creature 
 was nowhere visible. 
 
 It was impossible to see into every part of the jungle 
 from the outside, as we sat in our saddles. The game 
 might be crouching among the grass and brambles. 
 What was to be done? We had no dogs. How was 
 the cougar to be started ? It would be no small peril 
 to penetrate the thicket a-foot. Who was to do it ? 
 
 The question was answered by Redwood, who was 
 now seen dismounting from his horse. 
 
 'Keep your eyes about you,' cried he. 'I'll make 
 the varmint show if he's thur. Look sharp, then ! ' 
 
 We saw Redwood enter fearlessly, leaving his horse 
 hitched over a branch. We heard him no longer, as he 
 proceeded with that stealthy silence known only to the 
 Indian fighter. We listened, and waited in profound 
 suspense. Not even the crackling of a branch broke 
 the stillness. P^ull five minutes we waited, and then the
 
 Killing a Cougar 53 
 
 sharp crack of a rifle near the centre of the copsewood 
 relieved us. The next moment was heard Redwood's 
 voice crying aloud : 
 
 ' Look out thur ! By G — d ! I've missed him.' 
 
 Before we had time to change our attitudes another 
 rifle cracked, and another voice was heard, crying in 
 answer to Redwood : 
 
 ' But, by G— d ! I haint.' 
 
 ' He's hyur,' continued the voice ; * dead as mutton. 
 Come this a way, an' yu'll see the beauty.' 
 
 Ike's voice was recognised, and we all galloped to the 
 spot where it proceeded from. At his feet lay the body 
 of the panther quite dead. There was a red spot run- 
 ning blood between the ribs, where Ike's bullet had 
 penetrated. In trying to escape from the thicket, the 
 cougar had halted a moment, in a crouching attitude, 
 directly before Ike's face, and that moment v/as enough 
 to give the trapper time to glance through his sights, 
 and send the fatal bullet. 
 
 Of course the guide received the congratulations of 
 all, and though he pretended not to regard the thing in 
 the light of a feat, he knew well that killing a ' painter' 
 was no everyday adventure. 
 
 The skin of the animal was stripped off in a trice, and 
 carried to the waggon. Such a trophy is rarely left in 
 the woods. 
 
 The hunter-naturalist performed some farther opera- 
 tions upon the body for the purpose of examining the 
 contents of the stomach. These consisted entirely of 
 the half- digested remains of passenger pigeons, an 
 enormous quantity of which the beast had devoured 
 during the previous night — having captured them no 
 doubt upon the trees. 
 
 This adventure formed a pleasant theme for conver- 
 sation during the rest of our journey, and of course the 
 cougar was the subject. His habits and history were 
 fully discussed, and the information elicited is given 
 below.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE COUGAR 
 
 The cougar {Felis concolor) is the only indigenous long- 
 tailed cat in America north of the parallel of 30 degrees. 
 The 'wild cats ' so called are lynxes with short tails; 
 and of these there are three distinct species. But there 
 is only one true representative of the genus Felis, and 
 that is the animal in question. 
 
 This has received many trivial appellations. Among 
 Anglo-American hunters,it is called the panther — in their 
 patois, ' painter.' In most parts of South America, 
 as well as in Mexico, it receives the grandiloquent 
 title of * lion ' {leoji), and in the Peruvian countries is 
 called the ' puma ' or ' poma.' The absence of stripes, 
 such as those of the tiger — or spots, as upon the leopard 
 — or rosettes, as upon the jaguar, have suggested the 
 name of the naturalists, concolor. Discolor was formerly 
 in use ; but the other has been generally adopted. 
 
 There are few wild animals so regular in their colour 
 as the cougar : very little variety has been observed 
 among different specimens. Some naturalists speak of 
 spotted cougars — that is, having spots that may be seen 
 in a certain light. Upon young cubs, such markings do 
 appear ; but they are no longer visible on the full-grown 
 animal. The cougar of mature age is of a tawny red 
 colour, almost uniform over the whole body, though 
 somewhat paler about the face and the parts underneath. 
 This colour is not exactly the tawny of the lion ; it is 
 more of a reddish hue — nearer to what is termed 
 calf-colour. 
 
 The cougar is far from being a well-shaped creature; it 
 appears disproportioned. Its back is long and hollow, 
 and its tail does not taper so gracefully as in some other 
 
 54
 
 The Cougar 55 
 
 animals of the cat-kind. Its legs are short and stout ; 
 and although far from clumsy in appearance, it does not 
 possess the graceful tournnre of body so characteristic 
 of some of its congeners. Though considered the 
 representative of the Hon in the New World, its 
 resemblance to the royal beast is but slight ; its colour 
 seems to be the only title it has to such an honour. For 
 the rest, it is much more akin to the tigers, jaguars, and 
 true panthers. Cougars are rarely more than six feet in 
 length, including the tail, which is usually about a third 
 of that measurement. 
 
 The range of the animal is very extensive. It is 
 known from Paraguay to the Great Lakes of North 
 America. In no part of either continent is it to be seen 
 every day, because it is for the most part not only 
 nocturnal in its activity, but one of those fierce creatures 
 that, fortunately, do not exist in large numbers. Like 
 others of the genus, it is solitary in its habits, and at the 
 approach of civilisation betakes itself to the remoter 
 parts of the forest. Hence the cougar, although found 
 in all of the United States, is a rare animal everywhere, 
 and seen only at long intervals in the mountain valleys, 
 or in other difficult places of the forest. The appearance 
 of a cougar is sufficient to throw any neighbourhood 
 into an excitement similar to that which would be 
 produced by the chase of a mad dog. 
 
 It is a splendid tree-climber. It can mount a tree 
 with the agility of a cat ; and although so large an 
 animal, it climbs by means of its claws — not by hugging, 
 after the manner of the bears and opossums. While 
 climbing a tree, its claws can be heard crackling along 
 the bark as it mounts upward. It sometimes lies 
 ' squatted ' along a horizontal branch, a lower one, for the 
 purpose of springing upon deer, or such other animals as 
 it wishes to prey upon. The ledge of a cliff is also a 
 favourite haunt, and such are known among the hunters 
 as ' panther-ledges.' It selects such a position in the 
 neighbourhood of some watering-place, or, if possible, 
 one of the salt or soda springs (licks) so numerous in 
 America. Here it is more certain that its vigil will not
 
 56 The Hunters Feast 
 
 be a protracted one. Its pray — elk, deer, antelope, or 
 buffalo — soon appears beneath, unconscious of the 
 dangerous enemy that cowers over them. When fairly 
 within reach, the cougar springs, and pouncing down 
 upon the shoulders of the victim, buries its claws in the 
 flesh. The terrified animal starts forward, leaps from 
 side to side, dashes into the papaw thickets, or breasts 
 the dense cane-brake, in hopes of brushing off" its 
 relentless rider. All in vain ! Closely clasping its 
 neck, the cougar clings on, tearing its victim in the 
 throat, and drinking its blood throughout the wild 
 gallop. Faint and feeble, the ruminant at length 
 totters and falls, and the fierce destroyer squats itself 
 along the body, and finishes its red repast. If the 
 cougar can overcome several animals at a time, it will 
 kill them all, although but the twentieth part may be 
 required to satiate its hunger. Unlike the lion in this, 
 even in repletion it will kill. With it, destruction of life 
 seems to be an instinct. 
 
 There is a very small animal, and apparently a very 
 helpless one, with which the cougar occasionally 
 quarrels, but often with ill success — this is the Canada 
 porcupine. Whether the cougar ever succeeds in killing 
 one of these creatures is not known, but that it attacks 
 them is beyond question, and its own death is often the 
 result. The quills of the Canada porcupine are slightly 
 barbed at their extremities ; and when stuck into the 
 flesh of a living animal, this arrangement causes them to 
 penetrate mechanically deeper and deeper as the animal 
 moves. That the porcupine can itself discharge them 
 to some distance is not true, but it is true that it can 
 cause them to be easily detached ; and this it does when 
 rashly seized by any of the predatory animals. The 
 result is, that these remarkable spines become fast in 
 the tongue, jaws, and lips of the cougar, or any other 
 creature which may make an attack on that seemingly 
 unprotected little animal. The fisher {Mustela 
 Canadensis) is said to be the only animal that can kill 
 the porcupine with impunity. It fights the latter by 
 first throwing it upon its back, and then springing upon
 
 The Cougar , 57 
 
 its upturned belly, where the spines are almost entirely 
 wanting. 
 
 The cougar is called a cowardly animal : some 
 naturalists even assert that it will not venture to attack 
 man. This is, to say the least, a singular declaration, 
 after the numerous well-attested instances in which men 
 have been attacked, and even killed by cougars. There 
 are many such in the history of early settlement in 
 America. To say that cougars are cowardly now when 
 found in the United States — to say they are shy of 
 man, and will not attack him, may be true enough. 
 Strange, if the experience of 200 years' hunting, and by 
 such hunters too, did not bring them to that. We may 
 safely believe, that if the lions of Africa were placed in 
 the same circumstances, a very similar shyness and 
 dread of the upright biped would soon exhibit itself. 
 What all these creatures — bears, cougars, lynxes, wolves, 
 and even alligators — are now, is no criterion of their 
 past. Authentic history proves that their courage, at 
 least so far as regards man, has changed altogether since 
 they first heard the sharp detonation of the deadly rifle. 
 Even contemporaneous history demonstrates this. In 
 many parts of South America, both jaguar and cougar 
 attack man, and numerous are the deadly encounters 
 there. In Peru, on the eastern declivity of the Andes, 
 large settlements and even villages have been abandoned 
 solely on account of the perilous proximity of those 
 fierce animals. 
 
 In the United States, the cougar is hunted by dog 
 and gun. He will run from the hounds, because he 
 knows they are backed by the unerring rifle of the 
 hunter ; but should one of the yelping pack approach 
 too near, a single blow of the cougar's paw is sufficient 
 to stretch him out, When closely pushed, the cougar 
 takes to a tree, and, halting in one of its forks, humps 
 his back, bristles his hair, looks downward with gleaming 
 eyes, and utters a sound somewhat like the purring of a 
 cat, though far louder. The crack of the hunter's rifle 
 usually puts an end to these demonstrations, and the 
 cougar drops to the ground either dead or wounded. If
 
 58 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 only the latter a desperate fight ensues between him and 
 the dogs, with several of whom he usually leaves a mark 
 that distinguishes them for the rest of their lives. 
 
 The scream of the cougar is a common phrase. It is 
 not very certain that the creature is addicted to the habit 
 of screaming, although noises of this kind heard in the 
 nocturnal forest have been attributed to him. Hunters, 
 however, have certainly never heard him, and they 
 believe that the scream talked about proceeds from one 
 of the numerous species of owls that inhabit the deep 
 forests of America. At short intervals, the cougar does 
 make himself heard in a note which somewhat resembles 
 a deep-drawn sigh, or as if one were to utter with an 
 extremely guttural expression the syllables 'Co-oa', or 
 'Cougar.' Is it from this that he derives his trivial 
 name ?
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 OLD ike's adventure 
 
 Now, a panther story was the natural winding-up of 
 this day, and it had been already hinted that old Ike 
 had ' rubbed out ' several of these creatures in his time, 
 and no doubt could tell more than one 'painter' 
 story. 
 
 ' Wal, strengers,' began he, ' it's true thet this hyur 
 ain't the fust painter I've corned acrosst. About fifteen 
 yeern ago I moved to Loozyanny, an' thur I met a 
 painter, an' a queer story it are.' 
 
 ' Let us have it by all means,' said several of the 
 party, drawing closer up and seating themselves to listen 
 attentively. We all knew that a story from Ike could 
 not be otherwise than ' queer ', and our curiosity was on 
 the qui vive. 
 
 * Wal, then,' continued he, ' they have floods dowd 
 thur in Loozyanny, sich as, I guess, you've never seen 
 the like o' in England.' Here Ike addressed himself 
 specially to our English comrade. ' England ain't big 
 enough to hev sich floods. One o' 'm 'ud kiver yur 
 hul country, I hev hecrn said. I won't say that ar's 
 true, as I ain't acquainted with yur jography. I know, 
 howsomdever, they're mighty big freshets thur, as I hev 
 sailed a skift more 'n a hundred mile acrosst one o' 'm, 
 whur thur wan't nothin' to be seen but cypress tops 
 peepin' out o' the water. The floods, as yc know, come 
 every year, but them ar big ones only oncest in a 
 while. 
 
 'Wal, as I've said, about fifteen yeern ago, I located 
 in the Red River bottom, about fifty mile or tharabout 
 below Nackctosh, whur I built me a shanty. I hed left 
 
 59
 
 6o The Hunters' Feast 
 
 my wife an' two young critters in Massissippi state, in- 
 tendin' to go back for 'em in the spring ; so, ye see, I 
 wur all alone by meself, exceptin' my ole mar, a Collins's 
 axe, an' of coorse my rifle. 
 
 ' I hed finished the shanty all but the chinkin' an' the 
 buildin' o' a chimbly, when what shed come on but one 
 o' 'm tarnation floods. It wur at night when it begun 
 to make its appearance. I wur asleep on the floor o' 
 the shanty, an' the first warn in' I hed o' it wur the feel 
 o' the water soakin' through my ole blanket. 1 hed 
 been a-dreamin', an' thort it wur rainin', an' then agin 
 I thort that I wur bein' drownded in the Massissippi ; but 
 I vvan't many seconds awake, till I guessed what it wur 
 in raality ; so I jumped to my feet like a started buck, 
 an' groped my way to the door. 
 
 ' A sight that wur when I got thur. I hed clurred a 
 piece o' ground around the shanty — a kupple o' acres 
 or better — I hed left the stumps a good three feet high : 
 thur wan't a stump to be seen. My clearin', stumps an' 
 all, wur under water ; an' I could see it shinin' among 
 the trees all round the shanty. 
 
 ' Of coorse, my fust thoughts wur about my rifle ; an 
 I turned back into the shanty, an' laid my claws upon 
 that quick enough. 
 
 * I next went in search o' my ole mar. She wan't 
 hard to find ; for if ever a critter made a noise, she did. 
 She wur tied to a tree close by the shanty, an' the way 
 she wur a-squealin' wur a caution to cats. I found her 
 up to the belly in water, pitchin' an' flounderin' all 
 round the tree. She hed nothin' on but the rope that 
 she wur hitched by. Both saddle an' bridle hed been 
 washed away : so I made the rope into a sort o' halter, 
 an' mounted her bare-backed. 
 
 'Jest then I begun to think whur I wur a-goin'. The 
 hul country appeared to be under water : an' the nearest 
 neighbor I hed lived acrosst the parairy ten miles off. 
 I knew that his shanty sot on high ground, but how wur 
 I to get thur ? It wur night ; I mout lose my way, an' 
 ride chuck into the river. 
 
 ' When I thort o' this, I concluded it mout be better
 
 Old Ikes Adventure 6i 
 
 to stay by my own shanty till mornin'. I could hitch 
 the mar inside to keep her from bein' floated away ; an' 
 for meself, I could climb on the roof. 
 
 ' While I wur thinkin' on this, I noticed that the 
 water wur a deepenin', an' it jest kim into my head, that 
 it ud soon be deep enough to drownd my ole mar. For 
 meself I wan't frightened. I mout a clomb a tree, an' 
 stayed thur till the flood fell ; but I shed a lost the mar, 
 an' that critter wiir too valleyble to think o' such a 
 sacryfize ; so I made up my mind to chance crossin' the 
 parairy. Thur wan't no time to be wasted — ne'er a 
 minnit ; so I gin the mar a kick or two in the ribs an' 
 started. 
 
 ' I found the path out to the edge of the parairy easy 
 enough. I hed blazed it when I fust come to the place ; 
 an', as the night wur not a very dark one, I could see 
 the blazes as I passed atween the trees. My mar knew 
 the track as well as meself, an' swaltered through at a 
 sharp rate, for she knew too thur wan't no time to be 
 wasted. In five minnites we kim out on the edge o' the 
 parairy, an' jest as I expected, the hul thing wur kivered 
 with water, an' lookin' like a big pond. I could see it 
 shinin' clur acrosst to the other side o' the openin'. 
 
 ' As luck ud hev it, I could jest git a glimp o' the 
 trees on the fur side o' the parairy. Thur wur a big 
 clump o' cypress, that I could sec plain enough ; I knew 
 this wur clost to my neighbor's shanty ; so I gin my 
 critter the switch, an' struck right for it. 
 
 ' As I left the timmcr, the mar wur up to her hips. 
 Of coorse, I expected a good grist o' heavy wadin' ; but 
 I hed no idee that the water wur a-gwinc to git much 
 higher ; thur's whur I made my mistake. 
 
 • I hedn't got morc'n a kupple o' miles out when I 
 diskivercd that the thing wur a-risin' rapidly, for I seed 
 the mar wur a-gettin' deeper and deeper. 
 
 "Twan't no use turnin' back now. 1 'ud lose the mar 
 to a dead sartinty, if I didn't make the high ground ; so 
 I spoke to the critter to do her best, an' kep on. The 
 poor beest didn't need any whippin' — she knew as well's 
 I did meself thur wur danger, an' she wur a-doin' her
 
 62 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 darndest, an' no mistake. Still the water riz, an' kep 
 a-risin', until it come clur up to her shoulders. 
 
 ' I begun to git skeart in airnest. We wan't more'n 
 half acrosst, an' I seed if it riz much more we 'ud hev to 
 swim for it. I wan't far astray about that. The minnit 
 arter it seemed to deepen suddintly, as if thur wur a 
 hollow in the parairy : I heerd the mar giv a loud gouf, 
 an' then go down, till I wur up to the waist. She riz 
 agin the next minnit, but I could tell from the smooth 
 ridin' that she wur off o' the bottom. She wur swimmin', 
 an' no mistake. 
 
 * At fust I thort o' headin' her back to the shanty ; 
 an' I drew her round with that intent ; but turn her 
 which way I would, I found she could no longer touch 
 bottom. 
 
 ' I guess, strengers, I wur in a quandairy about then. 
 I 'gun to think that both my own an' my mar's time 
 wur come in airnest, for I hed no idee that the critter 
 could iver swim to the other side, 'specially with me on 
 her back, an' purticklarly as at that time these hyur ribs 
 had a sight more griskin upon 'em than they hev now. 
 
 ' Wal, I wur about reckinin' up. I hed got to thinkin' 
 o' Mary an' the childer, and the old shanty in the Mas- 
 sissippi, an' a heap o' things that I hed left unsettled, 
 an' that now come into my mind to trouble me. The 
 mar wur still plungin' ahead ; but I seed she wur sinkin' 
 deeper an' deeper an' fast loosin' her strength, an' I 
 knew she couldn't hold out much longer. 
 
 ' I thort at this time that if I got off o' her back, an' 
 tuk hold o' the tail, she mout manage a leetle better. 
 So I slipped backwards over her hips, an' grupped the 
 long hair. It did do some good, for she swum higher ; 
 but we got mighty slow through the water, an' I hed 
 but leetle behopes we should reach land. 
 
 ' I wur towed in this way about a quarter o' a mile 
 when I spied somethin' floatin' on the water a leetle 
 a-head. It hed growed considerably darker ; but thur 
 wur still light enough to show me that the thing wur 
 a log. 
 
 'An idee now entered my brain-pan, that I mout save
 
 Old Ike's Adventure 63 
 
 meself by takin' to the log. The mar 'ud then have a 
 better chance for herself; an' maybe, when eased o' 
 draggin' my carcass, that wur a-keepin' her back, she 
 mout make footin' somevvhur. So I waited till she got 
 a leetle closter ; an' then, lettin' go o' her tail, I clasped 
 the log, an' crawled on to it, 
 
 ' The mar swum on, appeerintly 'ithout missiii' me. 
 I seed her disappear through the darkness ; but I didn't 
 as much as say good-bye to her, for I wur afeard that 
 my voice mout bring her back agin', an' she mout strike 
 the log with her hoofs, an' whammel it about. So I lay 
 quiet, an' let her hev her own way. 
 
 ' I wan't long on the log till I seed it wur a-driftin', 
 for thur wur a current in the water that set tol'uble 
 sharp across the parairy. I hed crawled up at one eend, 
 an' got stridelegs ; but as the log dipped considerable, I 
 wur still over the hams in the water. 
 
 ' I thort I mout be more comfortable towards the 
 middle, an' wur about to pull the thing more under me, 
 when all at once I seed thur wur somethin' clumped up 
 on t'other eend o' the log. 
 
 ''Twan't very clur at the time, for It had been a- 
 growin' cloudier ever since I left the shanty, but 'twur 
 clur enough to show me that the thing wur a varmint : 
 what sort, I couldn't tell. It mout be a bar, an' it mout 
 not ; but I had my suspects it wur eyther a bar or a 
 painter. 
 
 ' I wan't left long in doubt about the thing's gender. 
 The log kep' makin' circles as it drifted, an' when the 
 varmint kim round into a different light, I caught a 
 glimp o' its eyes. I knew them eyes to be no bar's 
 eyes : they wur painter's eyes, an' no mistake. 
 
 ' I reckin, strengers, I felt very queery jest about then. 
 I didn't try to go any nearer the middle o' the log ; but 
 instead of that, I wriggled back until I wur right plum 
 on the eend of it, an' could git no further. 
 
 ' Thur I sot for a good long spell 'ithout movin' hand 
 or foot. I dasen't make a motion, as I wur afeard it 
 mout tempt the varmint to attackt me. 
 
 * I hed no weepun but my knife ; I hed let go o' my
 
 64 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 rifle when I slid from the mar's back, an' it hed gone to 
 the bottom long since. I wan't in any condition to 
 stand a tussle with the painter nohow ; so I wur 
 detarmined to let him alone as long's he 'ud me. 
 
 * Wal, we drifted on for a good hour, I guess, 'ithout 
 ayther o' us stirrin'. We sot face to face ; an' now an 
 then the current ud set the log in a sort o' up-an'-down 
 motion, an' then the painter an' I kep bovvin' to each 
 other like a pair o' bob-sawyers. I could see all the 
 while that the varmint's eyes wur fixed upon mine, an' 
 I never tuk mine from hisn ; I know'd 'twur the only 
 way to keep him still. 
 
 * I wur jest prospectin' what ud be the eendin' o' the 
 business, when I seed we wur a-gettin' closter to the 
 timmer: 'twan't more 'n two miles off, but 'twur all 
 under water 'ceptin' the tops o' the trees. I wur 
 thinkin' that when the log shed float in among the 
 branches, I mout slip off, an' git my claws upon a tree, 
 'ithout sayin' anythin' to my travelling companion. 
 
 * Jest at that minnit somethin' appeared dead ahead 
 o' the log. It wur like a island ; but what could hev 
 brought a island thur? Then I recollects that I hed 
 seed a piece o' high ground about that part o' the 
 parairy — a sort o' mound that hed been made by 
 Injuns, I s'pose. This, then, that looked like a island, 
 wur the top o' that mound, sure enough. 
 
 ' The log wur a-driftin' in sich a way that I seed it 
 must pass within twenty yards o' the mound. I 
 detarmined then, as soon as we shed git alongside, to 
 put out for it, an' leave the painter to continue his 
 voyage 'ithout me. 
 
 * When I fust sighted the island I seed somethin' that 
 I hed tuk for bushes. But thur wan't no bushes on the 
 mound — that I knowd. 
 
 * Howsomdevcr, when we get a lectle closter, I 
 diskivered that the bushes wur beests. They wur deer ; 
 for I spied a pair o' buck's horns atween me an' the sky. 
 But thur wur a somethin' still bigger than a deer. It 
 mout be a boss, or it mout be an Opelousa ox, but I 
 thort it wur a boss.
 
 Old Ike's Adventure 65 
 
 'I wur right about that, for a horse it wur, sure 
 enough, or rayther I shed say, a mar, an' that mar no 
 other than my ole crittur ! 
 
 ' Arter partin' company, she hed turned with the 
 current ; an', as good-luck ud hev it, hed swum in a 
 bee Hne for the island, an' thur she stood lookin' as 
 slick as if she hed been greased. 
 
 'The log hed by this got nigh enough, as I kalklated; 
 an', with as little rumpus as possible, I slipped over the 
 eend an' lot go my hold o' it. I wan't right spread in 
 the water, afore I heerd a plump, an' lookin' round a 
 bit, I seed the painter hed left the log too, an' tuk to 
 the water. 
 
 * At fust, I thort he wur arter me ; an' I drawed my 
 knife with one hand, while I swum with the other. 
 But the painter didn't mean fight that time. He made 
 but poor swimmin' himself, an' appeared glad enough 
 to get upon dry groun' 'ithout molestin' me ; so we 
 swum on side by side, an' not a word passed atween us. 
 
 * I didn't want to make a race o' it ; so I let him pass 
 me, rayther than he should fall behind, an' get among 
 my legs. 
 
 ' Of coorse, he landed fust ; an' I could hear by the 
 stompin' o' hoofs, that his suddint appearance hed 
 kicked up a jolly stampede among the critters upon 
 the island. I could see both deer and mar dancing all 
 over the groun', as if Old Nick himself hed got among 'em. 
 
 ' None 'o 'em, howsomdever, thort o' takin' to the 
 water. They hed all hed enough o' that, I guess. 
 
 ' I kep a leetle round, so as not to land near the 
 painter; and then, touchin' bottom, I climbed quietly 
 up on the mound. I hed hardly drawed my drippin' 
 carcass out o' the water, when I heerd a loud squeal, 
 which I knew to be the whigher o' my ole mar ; an' 
 jest at that minnit the critter kim runnin' up, an' 
 rubbed her nose agin my shoulder. I tuk the halter in 
 my hand, an' sidling round a leetle, I jumped upon her 
 back, for I still wur in fear o' the painter ; an' the mar's 
 back appeared to me the safest place about, an' that 
 wan't very safe, cyther. 
 
 £
 
 66 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 ' I now looked all round to see what new company I 
 hed got into. The day wur jest breakin', an' I could 
 distinguish a leetle better every minnit. The top o' the 
 mound which wur above water wan't over half an acre 
 in size, an' it wur as clur o' timmer as any other part o' 
 the parairy, so that I could see every inch o' it, an' 
 every thin' on it as big as a tumble-bug. 
 
 ' I reckin, strengers, that you'll hardly believe me 
 when I tell you the concatenation o' varmints that wur 
 then an' thur caucused together. I could hardly believe 
 my own eyes when I seed sich a gatherin', an' I thort I 
 hed got aboard o' Noah's Ark. Thur wur — listen, 
 strengers — fust my ole mar an' meself, an' I wished both 
 o' us anywhur else, I reckin — then thur wur the painter, 
 yur old acquaintance — then thur wur four deer, a buck 
 an' three does. Then kim a catamount ; an' arter him 
 a black bar, a'most as big as a buffalo. Then thur wur 
 a 'coon an' a 'possum, an' a kupple o' gray wolves, an' 
 a swamp rabbit, an', darn the thing ! a stinkin' skunk. 
 Perhaps the last wan't the most dangerous varmint on 
 the groun', but it sartintly wur the most disagreeableest 
 o' the hul lot, for it smelt only as a cussed polecat kin 
 smell. 
 
 ' I've said, strengers, that I wur mightily tuk by 
 surprise when I fust seed this curious clanjamfrey 
 o' critters ; but I kin tell you I wur still more 
 dumbfounded when I seed thur behaveyur to one 
 another, knowin' thur different naturs as I did. Thur 
 wur the painter lyin' clost up to the deer — its nat'ral 
 prey ; an' thur wur the wolves too, an' thur wur the 
 catamount standin' within three feet o' the 'possum an' 
 the swamp rabbit ; an' thur wur the bar an' the cunnin' 
 old 'coon ; an' thur they all wur, no more mindin' one 
 another then if they hed spent all thur days together 
 in the same penn, 
 
 ' 'Twur the oddest sight I ever seed, an' it remembered 
 me o' bit o' Scripter my ole mother hed often read from 
 a book called the Bible, or some sfch name — about a 
 lion that wur so tame he used to squat down beside a 
 lamb, 'ithout layin' a claw upon the innocent critter.
 
 Old Ike's Adventure 6y 
 
 * Wal, strengers, as I'm sayin', the hul party behaved 
 in this very way. They all appeared down in the 
 mouth, an' badly skeart about the water ; but for all 
 that, I hed my fears that the painter or the bar — I wan't 
 afeard o' any o' the others — mout git over thur fright 
 afore the flood fell ; an' thurfore I kept as quiet as any 
 one o' them during the hul time I wur in thur company, 
 an' stayin' all the time clost by the mar. But neyther 
 bar nor painter showed any savage sign the hul o' the 
 next day, nor the night that follered it. 
 
 ' Strengers, it ud tire you wur I to tell you all the 
 movements that tuk place among these critters durin' 
 that long day an' night. Ne'er a one o' 'em laid tooth 
 or claw on the other. I wur hungry enough meself, and 
 ud a liked to hev taken a steak from the buttocks o' one 
 o' the deer, but I dascn't do it. I wur afeard to break 
 the peace, which mout a led to a general shindy. 
 
 ' When day broke next mornin' arter, I seed that the 
 flood wur a fallin' ; and as soon as it wur shallow 
 enough, I led my mar quietly into the water, an' 
 climbin' upon her back, tuk a silent leave o' my 
 companions. The water still tuk my mar up to the 
 flanks, so that I knew none o' the varmint could follow 
 'ithout swimmin', an' ne'er a one seemed inclined to try 
 a swim. 
 
 ' I struck direct for my neighbour's shanty, which I 
 could see about three miles oft, an' in an hour or so, I 
 wur at his door. Thur I didn't stay long, but borrowin' 
 an extra gun which he happened to hev, an' takin' him 
 along with his own rifle, I waded my mar back to the 
 island. 
 
 ' We found the game not exactly as I hed left it. 
 The fall o' the flood had given the painter, the cat, an' 
 the wolves courage. The swamp rabbit an' the 'possum 
 wur clean gone — all but bits o' thur wool — an' one o' 
 the does wur better 'n half devoured. 
 
 ' My neighbour tuk one side, an' I the other, an' 
 ridin' clost up, we surrounded the island. 
 
 • I plugged the painter at the fust shot, an' he did the 
 same for the bar. We next layed out the wolves, an'
 
 68 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 arter that cooney, an' then we tuk our time about the 
 deer — these last and the bar bein' the only valley'ble 
 things on the island. The skunk we kilt last, as we 
 didn't want the thing to stink us off the place while we 
 wur a-skinnin' the deer. 
 
 'Arter killin' the skunk, we mounted an' left, of 
 coorse loaded with our bar-meat an' venison. 
 
 ' I got my rifle arter all. When the flood went down, 
 I found it near the middle of the parairy, half-buried 
 in the sludge. 
 
 * I saw I hed built my shanty in the wrong place ; 
 but I soon looked out a better location, an' put up 
 another. I hed all ready in the spring, when I went 
 back to Massissippi, an' brought out Mary and the two 
 young uns,' 
 
 The singular adventure of old Ike illustrates a point 
 in natural history that, as soon as the trapper had 
 ended, became the subject of conversation. It was 
 that singular trait in the character of predatory animals, 
 as the cougar, when under circumstances of danger. 
 On such occasions fear seems to influence them so 
 much as to completely subdue their ferocity, and they 
 will not molest other animals sharing the common 
 danger, even when the latter are their natural and 
 habitual prey. Nearly every one of us had observed 
 this at some time or other ; and the old naturalist, as 
 well as the hunter-guides, related many incidents con- 
 firming the strange fact. Humboldt speaks of an 
 instance observed by him on the Orinoco, where the 
 fierce jaguar and some other creatures were seen quietly 
 and peacefully floating together on the same log — all 
 more or less frightened at their situation ! 
 
 Ike's story had very much interested the doctor, who 
 rewarded him with a ' nip ' from the pewter flask ; and 
 indeed, on this occasion the flask was passed round, as 
 the day had been one of unusual interest. The killing 
 of a cougar is a rare adventure, even in the wildest 
 haunts of the backwoods' country.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE MUSQUASH 
 
 Our next day's march was unenlivened by any parti- 
 cular incident. We had left behind us the heavy 
 timber, and again travelled through the ' oak openings.' 
 Not an animal was started during the whole day, and 
 the only one seen was a muskrat that took to the water 
 of a small creek and escaped. This occurred at the spot 
 where we had halted for our night camp, and after the 
 tents were pitched, several of the party went ' rat hunting.' 
 The burrow of a family of these curious little animals 
 was discovered in the bank, and an attempt was made 
 to dig them out, but without success. The family 
 proved to be 'not at home.' 
 
 The incident,however,brought the muskrat on the tapis. 
 
 The 'muskrat' of the States is the musquash of the 
 fur-traders {Fiber zibethiciis). He is called muskrat, from 
 his resemblance to the common rat, combined with the 
 musky odour which he emits from glands situated near 
 the anus. Musquash is said to be an Indian appellative 
 — a strange coincidence, as the word ' musk ' is of 
 Arabic origin, and ' musquash ' would seem a compound 
 of the French musque, as the early Canadian fur-traders 
 were French, or of French descent, and fixed the nomen- 
 clature of most of the fur-bearing animals of that region. 
 Naturalists have used the name of ' Musk Beaver' on 
 account of the many points of resemblance which this 
 animal bears to the true beaver {Castor fiber). Indeed, 
 they seem to be of the same genus, and so Linnaeus 
 classed them ; but later systematists have separated 
 them, for the purpose, I should fancy, not of simplifying 
 science, but of creating the impression that they them- 
 selves were very profound observers. 
 
 69
 
 70 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 The teeth — those great friends of the closet naturalist, 
 which help him to whole pages of speculation — have 
 enabled him to separate the beaver from the musquash, 
 although the whole history and habits of these creatures 
 prove them to be congeners, as much as a mastiff is the 
 congener of a greyhound — indeed, far more. So like 
 are they in a general sense, that the Indians call them 
 ' cousins,' 
 
 In form the muskrat differs but little from the beaver. 
 It is a thick, rounded, and flat-looking animal, with 
 blunt nose, short ears almost buried in the fur, stiff 
 whiskers like a cat, short legs and neck, small dark eyes, 
 and sharply-clawed feet. The hinder ones are longest, 
 and are half-webbed. Those of the beaver are full- 
 webbed. 
 
 There is a curious fact in connection with the tails of 
 these two animals. Both are almost naked of hair, and 
 covered with ' scales,' and both are flat. The tail of 
 the beaver, and the uses it makes of this appendage are 
 things known to every one. Every one has read of its 
 trowel-shape and use, its great breadth, thickness, and 
 weight, and its resemblance to a cricket-bat. The tail 
 of the muskrat is also naked, covered with scales, and 
 compressed or flattened ; but instead of being hori- 
 zontally so, as with the beaver, it is the reverse ; and 
 the thin edges are in a vertical plane. The tail of the 
 former, moreover, is not of the trowel-shape, but tapers 
 like that of the common rat. Indeed, its resemblance 
 to the house-rat is so great as to render it a somewhat 
 disagreeable object to look upon. 
 
 Tail and all, the muskrat is about twenty inches in 
 length ; and its body is about half as big as that of a 
 beaver. It possesses a strange power of contracting its 
 body, so as to make it appear about half its natural size, 
 and to enable it to pass through a chink that animals of 
 much smaller dimensions could not enter. 
 
 Its colour is reddish brown above, and light-ash 
 underneath. There are eccentricities, however, in this 
 respect. Specimens have been found quite black, as 
 also mixed and pure white. The fur is a soft, thick
 
 The Musquash 71 
 
 down, resembling that of the beaver, but not quite so 
 fine. There are long rigid hairs, red-coloured, that 
 overtop the fur ; and these are also sparely scattered 
 over the tail. 
 
 The habits of the muskrat are singular — perhaps not 
 less so than those of his ' cousin ' the beaver, when you 
 strip the history of the latter of its many exaggerations. 
 Indeed the former animal, in the domesticated state, 
 exhibits much greater intelligence than the latter. 
 
 Like the beaver, it is a water animal, and is only 
 found where water exists ; never among the dry hills. 
 Its 'range' extends over the whole continent of North 
 America, wherever ' grass grows and water runs.' It is 
 most probable it is an inhabitant of the Southern Con- 
 tinent, but the natural history of that country is still 
 but half told. 
 
 Unlike the beaver, the race of the muskrat is not 
 likely soon to become extinct. The beaver is now 
 found in America, only in the remotest parts of the un- 
 inhabited wilderness. Although formerly an inhabitant 
 of the Atlantic States, his presence there is now 
 unknown ; or, if occasionally met with, it is no longer 
 in the beaver dam, with its cluster of social domes, but 
 only as a solitary creature, a ' terrier beaver,' ill-featured, 
 shaggy in coat, and stunted in growth. 
 
 The muskrat, on the contrary, still frequents the 
 settlements. There is hardly a creek, pond or water- 
 course, without one or more families having an abode 
 upon its banks. Part of the year the muskrat is a social 
 animal; at other seasons it is solitary. The male differs 
 but little from the female, though he is somewhat larger, 
 and better furred. 
 
 In early spring commences the season of his loves. 
 His musky odour is then strongest, and quite perceptible 
 in the neighbourhood of his haunt. He takes a wife, to 
 whom he is for ever after faithful ; and it is believed the 
 connection continues to exist durinor life. After the 
 ' honeymoon ' a burrow is made in the bank of a stream 
 or pond ; usually in some solitary and secure spot by 
 the roots of a tree, and always in such a situation that
 
 72 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 the rising of the water cannot reach the nest which is 
 constructed within. The entrance to this burrow is 
 frequently under water, so that it is difficult to discover 
 it. The nest within is a bed of moss or soft grasses. 
 In this the female brings forth five or six 'cubs,' which 
 she nourishes with great care, training them to her own 
 habits. The male takes no part in their education ; but 
 during this period absents himself, and wanders about 
 alone. In autumn the cubs are nearly full grown, and 
 able to ' take care of themselves.' The ' old father ' 
 now joins the family party, and all together proceed to 
 the erection of winter quarters. They forsake the 
 ' home of their nativity,' and build a very different sort 
 of a habitation. The favourite site for their new house 
 is a swamp not likely to freeze to the bottom, and if 
 with a stream running through it, all the better. By 
 the side of this stream, or often on a little islet in the 
 midst, they construct a dome-shaped pile, hollow within, 
 and very much like the house of the beaver. The 
 materials used are grass and mud, the latter being 
 obtained at the bottom of the swamp or stream. The 
 entrance to this house is subterranean, and consists of 
 one or more galleries debouching under the water. In 
 situations where there is danger of inundation, the floor 
 of the interior is raised higher, and frequently terraces 
 are made to admit of a dry seat, in case the ground- 
 floor should get flooded. Of course there is free egress 
 and ingress at all times, to permit the animal to go after 
 its food, which consists of plants that grow in the water 
 close at hand. 
 
 The house being completed, and the cold weather 
 having set in, the whole family, parents and all, enter it, 
 and remain there during the winter, going out only at 
 intervals for necessary purposes. In spring they desert 
 this habitation and never return to it. 
 
 Of course they are warm enough during winter while 
 thus housed, even in the very coldest weather. The 
 heat of their own bodies would make them so, lying as 
 they do, huddled together, and sometimes on top of one 
 another, but the mud walls of their habitations are a
 
 The Musquash 73 
 
 foot or more in thickness, and neither frost nor rain can 
 penetrate within. 
 
 Now, a curious fact has been observed in connection 
 with the houses of these creatures. It shows how 
 nature has adapted them to the circumstances in which 
 they may be placed. By philosophers it is termed 
 ' instinct ; ' but in our opinion it is the same sort of 
 instinct which enables Mr. Hobbs to pick a ' Chubb ' 
 lock. It is this : — 
 
 In southern climates — in Louisiana, for instance — the 
 swamps and rivers do not freeze over in winter. There 
 the muskrat does not construct such houses as that 
 described, but is contented all the year with his burrow 
 in the banks. He can go forth freely and seek his food 
 at all seasons. 
 
 In the north it is different. There for months the 
 rivers are frozen over with thick ice. The muskrat 
 could only come out under the ice, or above it. If the 
 latter, the entrance of his burrow would betray him, and 
 men with their traps, and dogs, or other enemies, would 
 easily get at him. Even if he had also a water entrance, 
 by which he might escape upon the invasion of his 
 burrow, he would drown for want of air. Although an 
 amphibious animal, like the beaver and otter, he cannot 
 live altogether under water, and must rise at intervals 
 to take breath. The running stream in winter does not 
 perhaps furnish him with his favourite food — the roots 
 and stems of water-plants. These the swamp affords to 
 his satisfaction ; besides, it gives him security from the 
 attacks of men and preying animals, as the wolverene 
 and fisher. Moreover, his house in the swamp cannot 
 be easily approached by the hunter — man — except when 
 the ice becomes very thick and strong. Then, indeed, 
 is the season of peril for the muskrat, but even then he 
 has loopholes of escape. 
 
 How cunningly this creature adapts itself to its geo- 
 graphical situation ! In the extreme north — in the hyper- 
 borean regions of the Hudson's Bay Company — lakes, 
 rivers, and even springs freeze up in winter. The shallow 
 marshes become solid ice, congealed to their very bottoms.
 
 74 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 How is the muskrat to get under water there ? Thus, 
 then, he manages the matter : — 
 
 Upon deep lakes, as soon as the ice becomes strong 
 enough to bear his weight, he makes a hole in it, and 
 over this he constructs his dome - shaped habitation, 
 bringing the materials up through the hole, from the 
 bottom of the lake. The house thus formed sits pro- 
 minently upon the ice. Its entrance is in the floor — the 
 hole which has already been made — and thus is kept 
 open during the whole season of frost, by the care and 
 watchfulness of the inmates, and by their passing 
 constantly out and in to seek their food — the water- 
 plants of the lake. 
 
 This peculiar construction of the muskrat's dwelling, 
 with its water-passage, would afford all the means of 
 escape from its ordinary enemies — the beasts of prey — 
 and, perhaps, against these alone nature has instructed 
 it to provide. But with all its cunning it is, of course, 
 outwitted by the superior ingenuity of its enemy — 
 man. 
 
 The food of the muskrat is varied. It loves the roots 
 of several species of nymplicB, but its favourite is calamus 
 root {calamus or acorus aromaticus). It is known to eat 
 shellfish, and heaps of the shells of fresh-water mussels 
 {ufiios) are often found near its retreat. Some assert 
 that it eats fish, but the same assertion is made with 
 regard to the beaver. This point is by no means clearly 
 made out ; and the closet naturalists deny it, founding 
 their opposing theory, as usual, upon the teeth. For 
 my part, I have but little faith in the ' teeth,' since I have 
 known horses, hogs, and cattle greedily devour both fish, 
 flesh, and fowl. 
 
 The muskrat is easily tamed, and becomes familiar 
 and docile. It is very intelligent, and will fondly caress 
 the hand of its master. Indians and Canadian settlers 
 often have them in their houses as pets ; but there is so 
 much of the rat in their appearance, and they emit such 
 a disagreeable odour in the spring, as to prevent them 
 from becoming general favourites. They are difficult to 
 cage up, and will eat their way out of a deal box in a
 
 The Musquash 75 
 
 single night. Their flesh, although somewhat musky, 
 is eaten by the Indians and white hunters, but these 
 gentry eat almost everything that * lives, breathes, and 
 moves.' Many Canadians, however, are fond of the 
 flesh. 
 
 It is not for its flesh that the muskrat is so eagerly 
 hunted. Its fur is the important consideration. This 
 is almost equal to the fur of the beaver in the manu- 
 facture of hats, and sells for a price that pays the Indians 
 and white trappers for the hardships they undergo in 
 obtaining it. It is, moreover, used in the making of 
 boas and muffs, as it somewhat resembles the fur of the 
 pine marten or American sable {Mtistela martes), and 
 on account of its cheapness is sometimes passed off for 
 the latter. It is one of the regular articles of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company's commerce, and thousands of 
 muskrat skins are annually obtained. Indeed, were it 
 not that the animal is prolific and difficult to capture, its 
 species would soon suffer extermination. 
 
 The mode of taking it differs from that practised in 
 trapping the beaver. It is often caught in traps set for 
 the latter, but such a ' catch ' is regarded in the light of 
 a misfortune, as until it is taken out the trap is rendered 
 useless for its real object. As an amusement it is some- 
 times hunted by dogs, as the otter is, and dug out of its 
 burrow ; but the labour of laying open its deep cave is 
 ill repaid by the sport. The amateur sportsman fre- 
 quently gets a shot at the muskrat while passing along 
 the bank near its haunts, and almost as frequently misses 
 his aim. The creature is too quick for him, and dives 
 almost without making a bubble. Of course once in the 
 pool it is seen no more. 
 
 Many tribes of Indians hunt the muskrat both for its 
 flesh and skin. They have peculiar modes of capturing 
 it, of one of which the hunter-naturalist gave an account. 
 A winter which he had spent at a fort in the neighbour- 
 hood of a settlement of Ojibways gave him an opportunity 
 of witnessing this sport in perfection.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 A RAT-HUNT 
 
 'Chingawa,' began he, 'a Chippeway or Ojibway Indian, 
 better known at the fort as " Old Foxey," was a noted 
 hunter of his tribe. I had grown to be a favourite with 
 him. My well-known passion for the chase was a sort of 
 masonic link between us ; and our friendship was further 
 augmented by the present of an old knife for which I 
 had no farther use. The knife was not worth twopence 
 of sterling money, but it made " Old Foxey " my best 
 friend ; and all his " hunter-craft " — the gatherings of 
 about sixty winters — became mine. 
 
 ' I had not yet been inducted into the mystery of" rat- 
 catching," but the season for that " noble " sport at length 
 arrived, and the Indian hunter invited me to join him in 
 a muskrat hunt. 
 
 ' Taking our " traps " on our shoulders, we set out for 
 the place where the game was to be found. This was a 
 chain of small lakes or ponds that ran through a marshy 
 valley, some ten or twelve miles distant from the fort. 
 
 * The traps, or implements, consisted of an ice-chisel 
 with a handle some five feet in length, a small pick-axe, 
 an iron-pointed spear barbed only on one side, with a 
 long straight shaft, and a light pole about a dozen feet in 
 length, quite straight and supple. 
 
 ' We had provided ourselves with a small stock of 
 eatables as well as materials for kindling a fire — but no 
 Indian is ever without these. We had also carried our 
 blankets along with us, as we designed to make a night 
 of it by the lakes. 
 
 ' After trudging for several hours through the silent 
 winter forests and crossing both lakes and rivers upon 
 the ice, we reached the great marsh. Of course, this, as 
 
 76
 
 A Rat-Hunt 77 
 
 well as the lakes, was frozen over with thick ice ; we 
 could have traversed it with a loaded waggon and horses 
 without danger of breaking through. 
 
 ' We soon came to some dome-shaped heaps rising 
 above the level of the ice. They were of mud, bound 
 together with grass and flags, and were hardened by the 
 frost. Within each of these rounded heaps. Old Foxey 
 knew there was at least half a dozen muskrats — perhaps 
 three times that number — lying snug and warm and 
 huddled together. 
 
 ' Since there appeared no hole or entrance, the question 
 was how to get at the animals inside. Simply by digging 
 until the inside should be laid open, thought I. This of 
 itself would be no slight labour. The roof and sides, as 
 my companion informed me, were three feet in thickness; 
 and the tough mud was frozen to the hardness and 
 consistency of a fire-brick. But after getting through 
 this shell, where should we find the inmates ? Why, 
 most likely, we should not find them at all after all this 
 labour. So said my companion, telling me at the same 
 time that there were subterranean, or rather subaqueous, 
 passages, by which the muskrats would be certain to 
 make off under the ice long before he had penetrated 
 near them. 
 
 ' I was quite puzzled to know how we should proceed. 
 Not so Old Foxey. He well knew what he was about, 
 and pitching his traps down by one of the " houses," 
 commenced operations. 
 
 ' The one he had selected stood out in the lake, some 
 distance from its edge. It was built entirely upon the 
 ice ; and, as the hunter well knew, there was a hole in 
 its floor by which the animals could get into the water at 
 will. How then was he to prevent them from escaping 
 by the hole, while we removed the covering or roof.? 
 This was what puzzled me, and I watched his movements 
 with interest. 
 
 ' Instead of digging into the house, he commenced 
 cutting a hole in the ice with his ice-chisel about two 
 feet from the edge of the mud. That being accomplished, 
 he cut another and another, until four holes were pierced,
 
 78 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 forming the corners of a square, and embracing the house 
 of the muskrat within. 
 
 ' Leaving this house, he then proceeded to pierce a 
 similar set of holes around another that also stood out 
 on the open lake. After that he went to a third one, 
 and this and then a fourth were prepared in a similar 
 manner. 
 
 ' He now returned to the first, this time taking care 
 to tread lightly upon the ice and make as little stir as 
 possible. Having arrived there, he took out from his 
 bag a square net made of twisted deer-thongs, and not 
 much bigger than a blanket. This in a most ingenious 
 manner he passed under the ice, until its four corners 
 appeared opposite the four holes ; where, drawing them 
 through, he made all fast and " taut " by a line 
 stretching from one corner to the other. 
 
 ' His manner of passing the net under the ice I have 
 pronounced ingenious. It was accomplished by reeving 
 a line from hole to hole by means of the long slender 
 pole already mentioned. The pole, inserted through 
 one of the holes, conducted the line, and was itself 
 conducted by means of two forked sticks that guided it, 
 and pushed it along to the other holes. The line being 
 attached to the corners of the net made it an easy 
 matter to draw the latter into its position. 
 
 * All the details of this curious operation were per- 
 formed with a noiseless adroitness which showed " Old 
 Foxey " was no novice at " rat-catching." 
 
 ' The net being now quite taut along the lower surface 
 of the ice, must of course completely cover the hole in 
 the "floor." It followed, therefore, that if the muskrats 
 were " at home," they were now " in the trap." 
 
 ' My companion assured me that they would be found 
 inside. The reason why he had not used the net on 
 first cutting the holes, was to give any member of the 
 family that had been frightened out, a chance of 
 returning ; and this he knew they would certainly do, 
 as these creatures cannot remain very long under the 
 water. 
 
 ' He soon satisfied me of the truth of his statement.
 
 A Rat-Hunt 79 
 
 In a few minutes, by means of the ice-chisel and pick- 
 axe, we had pierced the crust of the dome ; and there, 
 apparently half asleep, — because dazzled and blinded by 
 the sudden influx of light — were no less than eight 
 full-grown musquashes ! 
 
 ' Almost before I could count them, Old Foxey had 
 transfixed the whole party, one after the other, with his 
 long spear. 
 
 ' We now proceeded to another of the houses at which 
 the holes had been cut. There my companion went 
 through a similar series of operations ; and was rewarded 
 by a capture of six more "rats." 
 
 ' In the third of the houses only three were found. 
 
 ' On opening a fourth, a singular scene met our eyes. 
 There was but one muskrat alive, and that one seemed 
 to be nearly famished to death. Its body was wasted to 
 mere " skin and bone ; " and the animal had evidently 
 been a long time without food. Beside it lay the naked 
 skeletons of several small animals that I at once saw 
 were those of the muskrat. A glance at the bottom of 
 the nest explained all. The hole, which in the other 
 houses had passed through the ice, and which we found 
 quite open, in this one was frozen up. The animals had 
 neglected keeping it open, until the ice had got too thick 
 for them to break through ; and then, impelled by the 
 cravings of hunger, they had preyed upon each other, 
 until only one, the strongest, survived ! 
 
 * I found upon counting the skeletons that no less 
 than eleven had tenanted this ice-bound prison. 
 
 ' The Indian assured me that in seasons of very severe 
 frost such an occurrence is not rare. At such times the 
 ice forms so rapidly, that the animals — perhaps not 
 having occasion to go out for some hours — find them- 
 selves frozen in ; and are compelled to perish of hunger, 
 or devour one another ! 
 
 ' It was now near night — for we had not reached the 
 lake until late in the day — and my companion proposed 
 that we should leave farther operations until the follow- 
 ing morning. Of course I assented to the proposal, and 
 we betook ourselves to some pine-trees that grew on a
 
 8o The Htmters' Feast 
 
 high bank near the shore, where we had determined to 
 pass the night. 
 
 ' There we kindled a roaring fire of pine-knots ; but 
 we had grown very hungry, and I soon found that of the 
 provisions I had brought, and upon which I had already 
 dined, there remained but a scanty fragment for supper. 
 This did not trouble my companion, who skinned several 
 of the " rats," gave them a slight warming over the 
 fire, and then ate them up with as much, goiit as if they 
 had been partridges. I was hungry, but not hungry 
 enough for that ; so I sat watching him with some 
 astonishment, and not without a slight feeling of disgust. 
 
 ' It was a beautiful moonlight night, one of the clearest 
 I ever remember. There was a little snow upon the 
 ground, just enough to cover it ; and up against the 
 white sides of the hills could be traced the pyramidal 
 outlines of the pines, with their regular gradations ot 
 dark needle-clothed branches. They rose on all sides 
 around the lake, looking like ships with furled sails and 
 yards square-set. 
 
 * I was in a reverie of admiration, when I was suddenly 
 aroused by a confused noise, that resembled the howling 
 and baying of hounds. I turned an inquiring look upon 
 my companion. 
 
 ' " Wolves ! " he replied, unconcernedly, chawing away 
 at his " roast rat." 
 
 ' The howling sounded nearer and nearer ; and then 
 there was a rattling among dead trees, and the quickly- 
 repeated " crunch, crunch," as of the hoofs of some 
 animal breaking through frozen snow. The next 
 moment a deer dashed past in full run, and took to the 
 ice. It was a large buck, of the " Caribou " or reindeer 
 species {Ccrvus taratidus), and I could see that he was 
 smoking with heat, and almost run down. 
 
 ' He had hardly passed the spot when the howl again 
 broke out in a continued strain, and a string of forms 
 appeared from out the bushes. They were about a 
 dozen in all ; and they were going at full speed like a 
 pack of hounds on the view. Their long muzzles, erect 
 ears and huge gaunt bodies, were outlined plainly against
 
 A Rat- Hunt 8 1 
 
 the snowy ground. I saw that they were wolves. They 
 were white wolves, and of the largest species. 
 
 ' I had suddenly sprung to my feet, not with the 
 intention of saving the deer, but of assisting in its capture, 
 and for this purpose I seized the spear, and ran out. I 
 heard my companion, as I thought, shouting some caution 
 after me ; but I was too intent upon the chase to pay 
 any attention to what he said. I had at the moment a 
 distinct perception of hunger, and an indistinct idea of 
 roast venison for supper. 
 
 ' As I got down to the shore, I saw that the wolves 
 had overtaken the deer, and dragged it down upon the 
 ice. The poor creature made but poor running on the 
 slippery track, sprawling at every bound ; while the sharp 
 claws of its pursuers enabled them to gallop over the ice 
 like cats. The deer had, no doubt, mistaken the ice for 
 water, which these creatures very often do, and thus 
 become an easy prey to wolves, dogs, and hunters. 
 
 'I ran on, thinking that I would soon scatter the 
 wolves, and rob them of their prey. In a few moments 
 I was in their midst, brandishing my spear ; but to my 
 surprise, as well as terror, I saw that, instead of 
 relinquishing the deer, several of them still held on it, 
 while the rest surrounded me with open jaws, and eyes 
 glancing like coals of fire. 
 
 ' I shouted and fought desperately, thrusting the spear 
 first at one and then at another ; but the wolves only 
 became more bold and fierce, incensed by the wounds I 
 was inflicting. 
 
 ' For several minutes I continued this unexpected 
 conflict. I was growing quite exhausted ; and a sense 
 of terrible dread coming over me, had almost paralysed 
 me, when the tall, dark form of the Indian, hurrying over 
 the ice, gave me new courage ; and I plied the spear with 
 all my remaining strength, until several of my assailants 
 lay pierced upon the ice. The others, now seeing the 
 proximity of my companion with his huge ice-chisel, 
 and frighted, moreover, by his wild Indian yells, turned 
 tail and scampered off. 
 
 ' Three of them, however, had uttered their Jast 
 
 F
 
 82 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 howl, and the deer was found close by — already half 
 devoured ! 
 
 'There was enough left, however, to make a good 
 supper for both myself and my companion ; who, 
 although he had already picked the bones of three 
 muskrats, made a fresh attack upon the venison, eating 
 of it as though he had not tasted food for a fortnight.'
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 MOSQUITOES AND THEIR ANTIDOTE 
 
 Our next day's journey brought us again into heavy 
 timber — another creek bottom. The soil was rich and 
 loamy, and the road we travelled was moist, and in some 
 places very heavy for our waggon. Several times the 
 latter got stalled in the mud, and then the whole party 
 were obliged to dismount, and put their shoulders to the 
 wheel. Our progress was marked by some noise and 
 confusion, and the constant din made by Jake talking to 
 his team, his loud sonorous * woha ! ' as they were 
 obliged to halt, and the lively 'gee up— gee up/ as 
 they moved on again — frightened any game long before 
 we could come up with it. Of course we were compelled 
 to keep by the waggon until we had made the passage 
 of the miry flat. 
 
 We were dreadfully annoyed by the mosquitoes, 
 particularly the doctor, of whose blood they seemed to 
 be especially fond ! This is a curious fact in relation 
 to the mosquitoes — of two persons sleeping in the same 
 apartment, one will sometimes be bitten or rather 
 punctured, and half bled to death, while the other remains 
 untouched ! Is it the quality of the blood or the thick- 
 ness of the skin that guides to this preference ? 
 
 This point was discussed amongst us — the doctor 
 taking the view that it was always a sign of good blood 
 when one was more than usually subject to the attack of 
 mosquitoes. He was himself an apt illustration of the 
 fact. This statement of course produced a general 
 laugh, and some remarks at the doctor's expense, on 
 the part of the opponents of his theory. Strange to say, 
 old Ike was fiercely assailed by the little blood-suckers. 
 This seemed to be an argument against the doctor's 
 
 83
 
 84 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 theory, for in the tough skinny carcass of the old trapper, 
 the blood could neither have been very plenteous nor 
 delicate. 
 
 Most of us smoked as we rode along, hoping by that 
 means to drive off the ferocious swarm, but although 
 tobacco smoke is disagreeable to the mosquitoes, they 
 cannot be wholly got rid of by a pipe or cigar. Could 
 one keep a constant tiinibus of the smoke around his 
 face it might be effective, but not otherwise. A sufficient 
 quantity of tobacco smoke will kill mosquitoes out- 
 right, as I have more than once proved by a thorough 
 fumigation of my sleeping apartment. 
 
 These insects are not peculiar, as sometimes supposed, 
 to the inter-tropical regions of America. They are 
 found in great numbers even to the shores of the Arctic 
 Sea, and as fierce and bloodthirsty as anywhere else — 
 of course, only in the summer season, when, as before 
 remarked, the thermometer in these Northern latitudes 
 mounts to a high figure. Their haunts are the banks of 
 rivers, and particularly those of a stagnant and muddy 
 character. 
 
 There is another singular fact in regard to them. 
 Upon the banks of some of the South American rivers, 
 life is almost unendurable on account of this pest — the 
 ' plaga de inosquitos' as the Spaniards term it — while 
 upon other streams in the very same latitude mosquitoes 
 are unknown. These streams are what are termed ' rios 
 negros] or black-water rivers — a peculiar class of rivers, 
 to which many tributaries of the Amazon and Orinoco 
 belong. 
 
 Our English comrade, who had travelled all over 
 South America, gave us this information as we rode 
 along. He stated that he had often considered it a 
 great relief, a sort of escape from purgatory, while on his 
 travels he parted from one of the yellow or white water 
 streams, to enter one of the ' rios negros^ Many Indian 
 tribes settled upon the banks of the latter solely to get 
 clear of the ^ plaga de mosquitos.^ The Indians who 
 reside in the mosquito districts habitually paint their 
 bodies, and smear themselves with oil, as a protection
 
 Mosquitoes and their Antidote 85 
 
 against their bites ; and it is a common thing among 
 the natives, when speaking of any place, to inquire into 
 the ' character ' of the mosquitoes ! 
 
 On some tributaries of the Amazon the mosquitoes 
 are really a life torment, and the wretched creatures who 
 inhabit such places frequently bury their bodies in the 
 sand in order to get sleep ! Even the pigments with 
 which they anoint themselves are pierced by the poisoned 
 bills of their tormentors. 
 
 Besangon and the Kentuckian both denied that any 
 species of ointment would serve as a protection against 
 mosquitoes. The doctor joined them in their denial. 
 They asserted that they had tried everything that could 
 be thought of — camphor, ether, hartshorn, spirits of 
 turpentine, etc. 
 
 Some of us were of a different opinion, and Ike settled 
 the point soon after in favour of the dissentients by a 
 practical illustration. The old trapper, as before stated, 
 was a victim to the fiercest attacks, as was manifested 
 by the slapping which he repeatedly administered to his 
 cheeks, and an almost constant muttering of bitter 
 imprecations. He knew a remedy he said in a ' sartint 
 weed,' if he could only ' lay his claws upon it.' We 
 noticed that from time to time as he rode along his 
 eyes swept the ground in every direction. At length 
 a joyous exclamation told that he had discovered the 
 * weed.' 
 
 ' Thur's the darned thing at last,' muttered he, as he 
 flung himself to the ground, and commenced gathering 
 the stalks of a small herb that grew plentifully about. 
 It was an annual, with leaves very much of the size and 
 shape of young garden box-wood, but of a much brighter 
 green. Of course wc all knew well enough what it was, 
 for there is not a villaqie ' common ' in the Western 
 United States that is not covered with it. It was the 
 well-known ' penny-royal ' {Hedeoma piilcgioidcs), not 
 the English herb of that name, which is a species of 
 mentha. 
 
 Redwood also leaped from his horse, and set to pluck- 
 ing the 'weed.' He, too, from experience, knew its virtues.
 
 S6 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 We all drew bridle, watching the guides. Both 
 operated in a similar manner. Having collected a 
 handful of the tenderest tops., they rubbed them 
 violently between their palms — rough and good for such 
 service — and then passed the latter over the exposed 
 skin of their necks and faces. Ike took two small 
 bunches of the stalks, crushed them under his heel, and 
 then stuck them beneath his cap, so that the ends hung 
 down over his cheeks. This being done, he and his 
 comrade mounted their horses and rode on. 
 
 Some of us — the hunter-naturalist, the Englishman, 
 and myself — dismounted and imitated Ike — of course 
 under a volley of laughter and ' pooh-poohs ' from 
 Besan^on, the Kentuckian, and the doctor ; but we had 
 not ridden two hundred paces until the joke changed 
 sides. From that moment not a mosquito approached 
 us, while our three friends were bitten as badly as ever. 
 
 In the end they were convinced, and the torment of 
 the mosquitoes proving stronger than the fear of our 
 ridicule, all three sprang out of their saddles, and made 
 a rush at the next bed of penny-royal that came in sight. 
 
 Whether it is the highly aromatic odour of the penny- 
 royal that keeps off these insects, or whether the juice 
 when touched by them burns the delicate nerves of their 
 feet I am unable to say. Certain it is they will not alight 
 upon the skin that has been plentifully anointed with 
 it. I have tried the same experiment often since that 
 time with a similar result, and in fact have never since 
 travelled through a mosquito country without a provision 
 of the ' essence of penny-royal.' This is better than the 
 herb itself, and can be obtained from any apothecary. 
 A single drop or two spilled in the palm of the hand is 
 sufficient to rub over all the parts exposed, and will often 
 ensure sleep, where otherwise such a thing would be 
 impossible. I have often lain with my face so smeared, 
 and listened to the sharp hum of the mosquito as it 
 approached, fancying that the next moment I should feel 
 its tiny touch, as it settled down upon my cheek, or brow. 
 As soon, however, as it came within the influence of the 
 penny-royal I could hear it suddenly tack round and
 
 Mosquitoes and their Antidote 87 
 
 wing its way off again, until its disagreeable * music ' was 
 no longer heard. 
 
 The only drawback in the use of the penny-royal lies 
 in the burning sensation which the fluid produces upon 
 the skin ; and this in a climate where the thermometer 
 is pointing to 90° is no slight disqualification of the 
 remedy. The use of it is sometimes little better than 
 ' Hobson's choice.' 
 
 The application of it on the occasion mentioned 
 restored the spirits of our party, which had been some- 
 what kept under by the continuous attacks of the 
 mosquitoes, and a lively little incident that occurred 
 soon after, viz., the hunt and capture of a raccoon, made 
 us all quite merry. 
 
 Cooney, though a night prowler, is sometimes abroad 
 during the day, but especially in situations where the 
 timber is high, and the woods dark and gloomy. On the 
 march we had come so suddenly upon this one, that 
 he had not time to strike out for his own tree, where he 
 would soon have hidden from us in its deep cavity. He 
 had been too busy with his own affairs — the nest of 
 a wild turkey upon the ground, under some brush and 
 leaves, the broken eggs in which told of the declicious 
 meal he had made. Taken by surprise — for the guides 
 had ridden nearly on top of him — he galloped up the 
 nearest tree, which fortunately contained neither fork 
 nor cavity in which he could shelter himself ; and a 
 well-directed shot from Redwood's rifle brought him 
 with a heavy 'thump' back to the ground again. 
 
 We were all stirred up a little by this incident ; in 
 fact, the unusual absence of game rendered ever so 
 trifling an occurrence an ' event ' with us. No one, 
 however, was so pleased as the black waggoner Jake, 
 whose eyes fairly danced in his head at the sight of 
 a ' coon.' The ' coon ' to Jake was well-known game 
 — natural and legitimate — and Jake preferred 'roast 
 coon ' to fried bacon at any time. Jake knew that none 
 of us would care to eat of his ' coonship.' He was 
 therefore sure of his supper ; and the ' varmint' was 
 carefully deposited in the corner of the waggon.
 
 88 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 Jake did not have it all to himself. The trappers 
 liked fresh meat too, even ' coon-meat ' ; and of course 
 claimed their share. None of the rest of the party had 
 any relish for such a fox-like carcass. 
 
 After supper, cooney was honoured with a description, 
 and for many of the facts of his history we are indebted 
 to Jake himself.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE 'COON, AND HIS HABITS 
 
 Foremost of all the wild creatures of America in point 
 of being generally known is the raccoon {Procyon lotor). 
 None has a wider geographical distribution, as its 
 ' range ' embraces the entire Continent, from the Polar 
 Sea to Terra del Fuego. Some naturalists have denied 
 that it is found in South America. This denial is 
 founded on the fact, that neither Ulloa nor Molina have 
 spoken of it. But how many other animals have these 
 crude naturalists omitted to describe ? We may safely 
 assert that the raccoon exists in South America, as 
 well in the tropical forests of Guiana as in the colder 
 regions of the Table Land — everywhere that there 
 exists tree-timber. In most parts where the Spanish 
 language is spoken, it is known as the ^ zorro negro* 
 or black fox. Indeed, there are two species in South 
 America, the common one [Procyon lotor'), and the 
 crab-eater {^Procyon cancrivorus). 
 
 In North America it is one of the most common 
 of wild animals. In all parts you may meet with it. In 
 the hot lowlands of Louisiana — in the tropical 
 ' chaparals' of Mexico — in the snowy regions of Canada 
 — and in the vernal valleys of California. Unlike 
 the deer, the wild cat, and the wolverene, it is never 
 mistaken for any other animal, nor is any animal taken 
 for it. It is as well-known in America as the red fox is 
 in England, and with a somewhat similar reputation. 
 
 Although there is a variety in colour and size, 
 there is no ambiguity about species or genus. 
 Wherever the English language is spoken it has but 
 one name, the ' raccoon.' In America every man, 
 woman and child knows the ' sly ole 'coon '. 
 
 89
 
 90 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 This animal has been placed by naturalists in the 
 family Ursidcs, genus Procyon. Linnaeus made it a 
 bear, and classed it with Ursus. It has, in our opinion, 
 but little in common with the bear, and far more re- 
 sembles tiie fox. Hence the Spanish name oi ' zorro 
 negro' (black fox). 
 
 A writer quaintly describes it thus : — ' The limbs of a 
 bear, the body of a badger, the head of a fox, the nose 
 of a dog, the tail of a cat, and sharp claws by which it 
 climbs trees like a monkey.' We cannot admit the 
 similarity of its tail to that of a cat. The tail of the 
 raccoon is full and bushy, which is not true of the cat's 
 tail. There is only a similarity in the annulated or 
 banded appearance noticed in the tails of some cats, 
 which in that of the raccoon is a marked characteristic. 
 The raccoon, to speak in round terms, is about the size 
 of an English fox, but somewhat thicker and ' bunchier ' 
 in the body. Its legs are short in proportion, and as it 
 {^plantigrade in the hind feet, it stands and runs low, and 
 cat-like. The muzzle is extremely pointed and slender, 
 adapted to its habit of prying into every chink and 
 corner, in search of spiders, beetles, and other creatures. 
 The general colour of the raccoon is dark-brown 
 (nearly black) on the upper part of the body, mixed with 
 iron-grey. Underneath it is of a lighter hue. There is, 
 here and there, a little fawn colour intermixed. A 
 broad black band runs across the eyes and unites under 
 the throat. This band is surrounded and sharply defined 
 with a margin of greyish-white, which gives a unique 
 expression to the ' countenance ' of the ' 'coon.' 
 
 One of the chief beauties of this animal is its tail, 
 which is characteristic in its markings. It exhibits 
 twelve annulations or ring-bands, six black and six 
 greyish-white, in regular alternation. The tip is black, 
 and the tail itself is very full or ' bushy.' When the 
 'coon skin is made into a cap — which it often is among 
 hunters and frontiersmen — the tail is left to hang as a 
 drooping plume, and such a head-dress is far from 
 ungraceful. In some 'settlements' the 'coon skin cap 
 is quite the fashion among the young ' backwoodsmen.'
 
 The 'Coon, and his Habits 9 1 
 
 The raccoon is an animal of an extremely amorous 
 disposition ; but there is a fact connected with the sex 
 of this creature which is curious : the female is larger 
 than the male. Not only larger, but in every respect a 
 finer-looking animal. The hair, long on both, is more 
 full and glossy upon the female, its tints deeper and 
 more beautiful. This is contrary to the general order of 
 nature. By those unacquainted with this fact, the female 
 is mistaken for the male, and vice versa, as in the case of 
 hawks and eagles. 
 
 The fur of the raccoon has long been an article of 
 commerce, as it is used in making beaver hats ; but as 
 these have given place in most countries to the silk 
 article, the 'coon skin now commands but a small price. 
 
 The raccoon is a tree-climber of the first quality. It 
 climbs with its sharp-curved claws, not by hugging, as is 
 the case with the bear tribe. Its lair, or place of retreat, 
 is in a tree — some hollow, with its entrance high up. 
 Such trees are common in the great primeval forests of 
 America. In this tree-cave it has its nest, where the 
 female brings forth three, four, five, or six * cubs ' at a 
 birth. This takes place in early spring — usually the first 
 week in April. 
 
 The raccoon is a creature of the woods. On the 
 prairies and in treeless regions it is not known. It 
 prefers heavy 'timber,' where there are huge logs and 
 hollow trees in plenty. It requires the neighbourhood 
 of water, and in connection with this may be mentioned 
 a curious habit it has, that of plunging all its food into 
 the water before devouring it. It will be remembered 
 that the otter has a similar habit. It is from this 
 peculiarity that the raccoon derives its specific name of 
 Lotor (washer). It does not always moisten its morsel 
 thus, but pretty generally. It is fond, moreover, of 
 frequent ablutions, and no animal is more clean and tidy 
 in its habits. 
 
 The raccoon is almost omnivorous. It eats poultry or 
 wild fowls. It devours frogs, lizards, larvae, and insects 
 without distinction. It is fond of sweets, and is very 
 destructive to the sugar-cane and Indian corn of the
 
 92 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 planter. When the ear of the maize is young, or, as it is 
 termed, * in the milk/ it is very sweet. Then the 
 raccoon loves to prey upon it. Whole troops at night 
 visit the corn-fields and commit extensive havoc. These 
 mischievous habits make the creature many enemies, 
 and in fact it has but few friends. It kills hares, rabbits, 
 and squirrels when it can catch them, and will rob a 
 bird's nest in the most ruthless manner. It is particu- 
 larly fond of shell-fish ; and the unios, with which many 
 of the fresh-water lakes and rivers of America abound, 
 form part of its food. These it opens as adroitly with 
 its claws as an oysterman could with his knife. It is 
 partial to the ' soft-shell ' crabs and small tortoises 
 common in the American waters. 
 
 Jake told us of a trick which the 'coon puts in practice 
 for catching the small turtles of the creek. We were 
 not inclined to give credence to the story, but Jake 
 almost swore to it. It is certainly curious if true, but it 
 smacks very much of Buffon. It may be remarked, 
 however, that the knowledge which the plantation 
 negroes have of the habits of the raccoon surpasses 
 that of any mere naturalist. Jake boldly declares 
 that the 'coon fishes for turtles ! that it squats upon 
 the bank of the stream, allowing its bushy tail to hang 
 over into the water ; that the turtles swimming about in 
 search of food or amusement, spies the hairy appendage 
 and lays hold of it ; and that the 'coon, feeling the 
 nibble, suddenly draws the testaceous swimmer upon 
 dry land, and then ' cleans out de shell ' at his leisure ! 
 
 The 'coon is often domesticated in America. It is 
 harmless as a dog or cat except when crossed by 
 children, when it will snarl, snap, and bite like the most 
 crabbed cur. It is troublesome, however, where poultry 
 is kept, and this prevents its being much of a favourite. 
 Indeed, it is not one, for it is hunted everywhere, and 
 killed — wherever this can be done — on sight. 
 
 There is a curious connection between the negro and 
 the raccoon. It is not a tie of sympathy, but a link 
 of antagonism. The 'coon, as already observed, is the 
 negro's legitimate game. 'Coon-hunting is peculiarly a
 
 The 'Coon, and his Habits 93 
 
 negro sport. The negro is the 'coon's mortal enemy. 
 He kills the 'coon when and wherever he can, and eats 
 it too. He loves its * meat,' which is pork-tasted, and 
 in young 'coons palatable enough, but in old ones rather 
 rank. This, however, our ' darkle ' frienH does not 
 much mind, particularly if his master be a ' stingy old 
 boss,' and keeps him on rice instead of meat rations. 
 The negro, moreover, makes an odd 'bit'(i2| cents) 
 by the skin, which he disposes of to the neighbouring 
 storekeeper.' 
 
 The 'coon-hunt is a ' nocturnal ' sport, and therefore 
 does not interfere with the negro's regular labour. By 
 right the night belongs to him, and he may then dispose 
 of his time as he pleases, which he often does in this 
 very way. 
 
 The negro is not allowed to carry fire-arms, and for 
 this reason the squirrel may perch upon a high limb, 
 jerk its tail about and defy him ; the hare may run 
 swiftly away, and the wild turkey may tantalise him with 
 its incessant 'gobbling.' But the 'coon can be killed 
 without fire-arms. The 'coon can be overtaken and 
 ' treed.' The negro is not denied the use of an axe, and 
 no man knows better how to handle it than he. The 
 'coon therefore, is his natural game, and much sport does 
 he have in its pursuit. Nearly the same may be said 
 of the opossum {Didelphis Virginiana) ; but the 
 ' 'possum ' is more rare, and it is not our intention now 
 to describe that very curious creature. From both 'coon 
 and 'possum does the poor negro derive infinite sport — 
 many a sweet excitement that cheers his long winter 
 nights, and chequers with brighter spots the dull and 
 darksome monotony of his slave-life. I have often 
 thought what a pity it would be if the 'coon and the 
 opossum should be extirpated before slavery itself 
 became extinct. I had often shared in this peculiar 
 sport of the negro, and joined in a real 'coon chase, but 
 the most exciting of all was the first in which I had been 
 engaged, and I proffered my comrades an account of it.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A 'COON CHASE 
 
 * My 'coon chase took place in Tennessee, where I was 
 sojourning for some time upon a plantation. It was 
 the first affair of the kind I had been present at, and I 
 was somewhat curious as to the mode of carrying it on. 
 My companion and inductor was a certain " Uncle Abe," 
 a gentleman very much after the style and " complexion " 
 of our own Jake here. 
 
 ' I need not tell you, gentlemen, that throughout the 
 Western States every neighbourhood has its noted 'coon 
 hunter. He is usually a wary old " nigger," who knows 
 all the tricks and dodges of the 'coon. He either owns 
 a dog himself, or has trained one of his master's, in that 
 peculiar line. It is of little importance what breed the 
 dog may be. I have known curs that were excellent 
 " 'coon-dogs." All that is wanted is, that he have a good 
 nose, and that he be a good runner, and of sufficient bulk 
 to be able to bully a 'coon when taken. This a very 
 small dog cannot do, as the 'coon frequently makes a 
 desperate fight before yielding. Mastiffs, terriers, and 
 half-bred pointers make the best " 'coon dogs." 
 
 ' Uncle Abe was the mighty hunter, the Nimrod of the 
 neighbourhood in which I happened to be ; and Uncle 
 Abe's dog — a stout terrier — was esteemed the " smartest 
 'coon-dog " in a circle of twenty miles. In going out with 
 Uncle Abe, therefore, I had full confidence that I should 
 see sport. 
 
 ' On one side of the plantation was a heavily-timbered 
 " bottom," through which meandered a small stream, 
 called, of course, a " creek." This bottom was a favourite 
 habitat of the 'coons, as there were large trees growing 
 near the water, many of which were hollow cither in 
 
 94
 
 A 'Coon Chase 95 
 
 their trunks or some of their huge limbs. Moreover, 
 there were vast trellises of vines extending from tree to 
 tree ; some of them, as the fox and muscadine ( Vitis 
 labnisca), yielding sweet grapes, of which the raccoons are 
 very fond. 
 
 ' To this bottom, then, we directed our course, Abe 
 acting as guide, and holding his dog, Pompo, in the leash. 
 Abe carried no other weapon than an axe, while I had 
 armed myself with a double-barrel. Pompo knew as well 
 as either of us the errand on which we were bent, as 
 appeared from his flashing eyes and the impatient leaps 
 which he now and then made to get free. 
 
 ' We had to cross a large cornfield, a full half-mile in 
 breadth, before we reached the woods. Between this 
 and the timber was a zigzag fence — the common "rail" 
 fence of the American farmer. For some distance 
 beyond the fence the timber was small, but further on 
 was the creek " bottom," where the 'coons were more 
 likely to make their dwelling-place. 
 
 ' We did not, however, proceed direct to the bottom. 
 Abe knew better than that. The young corn was just then 
 " in the milk," and the 'coon-hunter expected to find his 
 game nearer the field. It was settled, therefore, that we 
 should follow the line of the fence, in hopes that the dog 
 would strike a fresh trail, leading either to or from the 
 corn-field. 
 
 ' It was now night — two hours after sundown. The 
 'coon-chase, I have already said, is a nocturnal sport. 
 The raccoon does range by day, but rarely, and only in 
 dark and solitary woods. He often basks by day upon 
 high limbs, or the broken tops of trees. I have shot 
 several of his tribe while asleep, or sunning themselves in 
 such situations. Perhaps before they knew their great 
 enemy man, they were less nocturnal in their activity. 
 
 ' We had a fine moonlight ; but so far as a view of the 
 chase was concerned, that would benefit us but little. 
 During the hunt there is not much to be seen of either 
 dog or 'coon, as it is always a scramble through trees and 
 underwood. The dog trusts altogether to his nose, and 
 the hunter to his ears ; for the latter has no other guide
 
 96 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 save the yelp or bark of his canine assistant. Never- 
 theless, moonlight, or a clear night, is indispensable ; 
 without one or the other, it would be impossible to follow 
 through the woods. A view of a 'coon-chase is a luxury 
 enjoyed only by the bats and owls, 
 
 ' Pompo was now let loose in the corn ; while Abe and 
 I walked quietly along the fence, keeping on different 
 sides. Abe remained in the field for the purpose of 
 handing over the dog, as the fence was high — a regular 
 " ten rail, with stalks and riders." A 'coon could easily 
 cross it, but not a dog, without help. 
 
 ' We had not gone more than a hundred yards, when 
 a quick sharp yelp from Pompo announced that he had 
 come suddenly upon something in the corn-field. 
 
 ' " A varmint ! " cried Abe ; and the next moment 
 appeared the dog, running up full tilt among the maize 
 plants and up to the fence. I could see some dark object 
 before him, that passed over the rails with a sudden 
 spring, and bounded into the timbers. 
 
 * " A varmint, massa ! " repeated Abe, as he lifted the 
 dog over, and followed himself. 
 
 ' I knew that in Abe's vocabulary — for that night at 
 least — a "varmint" meant a 'coon ; and as we dashed 
 through the brushwood, following the dog, I felt all the 
 excitement of a 'coon-chase. 
 
 * It was not a long one — I should think of about five 
 minutes' duration ; at the end of which time the yelp 
 of the dog which had hitherto guided us, changed into 
 a regular and continuous barking. On hearing this, Abe 
 quietly announced — 
 
 ' " The varmint am treed." 
 
 ' Our only thought now was to get to the tree as 
 speedily as possible, but another thought entered our 
 minds as we advanced ; that was, what sort of a tree 
 had the 'coon taken shelter in ? 
 
 ' This was an important question, and its answer 
 involved the success or failure of our hunt. If a very 
 large tree, we might " whistle " for the 'coon. Abe knew 
 this well, and as we passed on, expressed his doubts 
 about the result.
 
 A 'Coon Chase 97 
 
 * The bark of Pompo sounded some hundred yards 
 off, in the very heaviest of the bottom timber. It was 
 not likely, therefore, that the 'coon had taken to a small 
 tree, while there were large ones near at hand. Our 
 only hope was that he had climbed one that was not 
 "hollow." In that case we might still have a chance 
 with the double-barrel and buck-shot. Abe had but 
 little hope. 
 
 ' " He hab reach him own tree, massa ; an' that am 
 sartin to be a big un wi' a hole near um top. Wagh ! 
 'twar dat ar fence. But for de dratted fence ole Pomp 
 nebber lot um reach um own tree. Wagh ! " 
 
 ' From this I learned that one point in the character 
 of a good 'coon-dog was speed. The 'coon runs well for 
 a few hundred yards. He rarely strays further from his 
 lair. If he can beat his pursuer for this distance he is 
 safe, as his retreat is always in a hollow tree of great 
 size. There is no way of getting at him there, except 
 by felling the tree, and this the most zealous 'coon- 
 hunter would not think of attempting. The labour of 
 cutting down such a tree would be worth a dozen 'coons. 
 A swift dog, therefore, will overtake the raccoon, and 
 force him to the nearest tree — often a small one, where 
 he is either shaken off or the tree cut down. Some- 
 times the hunter climbs after and forces him to leap 
 out, so as to fall into the very jaws of the watchful 
 dog below. 
 
 ' In Abe's opinion Pompo would have " treed " his 
 'coon before reaching the bottom, had not the fence 
 interfered, but now — 
 
 ' " Told ye so, massa ! " muttered he, interrupting my 
 thoughts. " Look dar ! dar's de tree — trunk thick as a 
 haystack. Wagh ! " 
 
 ' 1 looked in the direction indicated by my companion. 
 I saw Pompo standing by the root of a very large tree, 
 looking upward, shaking his tail, and barking at intervals. 
 Before I had time to make any further observations 
 Abe's voice again sounded in my ears. 
 
 '" Gollies ! it am a buttonwood ! Why, Pomp, ole 
 fellur, you hab made a mistake — de varmint ain't dar. 
 
 G
 
 98 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 'Cooney nebber trees upon buttonwood — nebber — you 
 oughter know bettcr'n dat, ole fool ! " 
 
 ' Abe's speech drew my attention to the tree. I saw 
 that it was the American sycamore {Platanus 
 Occidentalis), famih'arly known by the trivial name, 
 " buttonwood," from the use to which its wood is 
 sometimes put. But why should the 'coon not " tree " 
 upon it, as well as any other? I put the question to my 
 companion. 
 
 ""Cause, massa, its bark am slickcry. De varmint 
 nebber takes to 'im. He likes de oak, an' de poplum, 
 an' de scaly-bark. Gosh ! but he am dar ! " continued 
 Abe, raising his voice and looking outward — " Look 
 yonder, massa ! He had climbed by de great vine. 
 Dat's right, Pomp! you am right after all, and dis 
 nigga's a fool, tiee — up, ole dog ! hee up! " 
 
 'Following the direction in which Abe pointed, my 
 eyes rested on a huge parasite of the lliana kind, that, 
 rising out of the ground at some distance, slanted 
 upward and joined the sycamore near its top. This had 
 no doubt been the ladder by which the 'coon had climbed. 
 
 ' This discovery, however, did not mend the matter as 
 far as we were concerned. The 'coon had got into the 
 buttonwood, fifty feet from the ground, where the 
 tree had been broken off by the lightning or the wind, 
 and where the mouth of a large cavity was distinctly 
 visible by the light of the moon. The trunk was one of 
 the largest, and it would have been sheer folly (so we 
 concluded) to have attempted felling it. 
 
 ' We left the spot without farther ado, and took our 
 way back to the corn-field. 
 
 ' The dog had now been silent for some time, and we 
 were in hopes that another "varmint" might have stolen 
 into the corn. 
 
 'Our hopes were not doomed to disappointment. 
 Pompo had scarcely entered the field when a second 
 'coon was sprung, wliich, like the other, ran directly for 
 the fence and the woods. 
 
 ' Pomp followed as fast as he could be flung over ; 
 and this 'coon was also " treed " in a few minutes.
 
 A ^Coon Chase 99 
 
 ' From the direction of the barking, we calculated that 
 it must be near where the other had escaped us ; but 
 our astonishment equalled our chagrin, when upon 
 arriving at the spot, we found that both the " varmints " 
 had taken to the same tree ! 
 
 * With some rather emphatic ejaculations we returned 
 to the corn-field, and after a short while a third 'coon 
 was raised, which, like the others, made of course for 
 the timber. 
 
 ' Pomp ran upon his trail with an angry yelping, that 
 soon changed into the well-known signal that he had 
 treed the game. 
 
 ' We ran after through brush and brake, and soon 
 came up with the dog. If our astonishment was great 
 before, it was now beyond bounds. The identical 
 buttonwood with its great parasite was before us, the 
 dog barking at its foot ! The third 'coon had taken 
 shelter in its capacious cavity. 
 
 * " Wagh ! massa ! " ejaculated Abe, in a voice of 
 terror, " it's de same varmint. It ain't no 'coon, it's de 
 debil ! For de lub o' God, massa, let's get away from' 
 here!" 
 
 ' Of course I followed his advice, as to get at the 
 'coons was out of the question. 
 
 ' We returned once more to the corn-field, but we 
 found that we had at last cleared it of 'coons. It was 
 still early, however, and I was determined not to give 
 up the hunt until I had assisted in killing a 'coon. By 
 Abe's advice, therefore, we struck into the woods with 
 the intention of making a circuit where the trees were 
 small. Some 'coon might be prowling there in search 
 of birds' nests. So thought Abe, 
 
 * He was right in his conjecture. A fourth was 
 started, and off went Pompo after him. In a few 
 minutes the quick constant bark echoed back. This 
 time we were sure, from the direction in a new tree. 
 
 'It proved to be so, and such a small one that, on 
 coming up, we saw the animal squatted upon the 
 branches, not twenty feet from the ground. 
 
 * We were now sure of him, as we thought ; and I had
 
 100 The Htuiters' Feast 
 
 raised my gun to fire ; when all at once, as if guessing 
 my intent, the 'coon sprang into another tree, and then 
 ran down to the ground and off again, with Pompo 
 yelling in his track. 
 
 ' Of course we expected that the dog would speedily 
 tree him again, which after a few minutes he did, but 
 this time in the heavy timber. 
 
 ' We hastened forward, guided by the barking. To the 
 extreme of my astonishment, and I fancy to the very 
 extreme of Abe's terror, we again found ourselves at the 
 foot of the buttonwood. 
 
 ' Abe's wool stood on end. Superstition was the butt- 
 end of his religion ; and he not only protested, but I am 
 satisfied that he believed, that all the four 'coons were 
 one and the same individual, and that individual " de 
 
 debil." 
 
 'Great 'coon-hunter as he was,he would now have gone 
 home, if I had let him. But I had no thoughts of giving 
 up the matter in that easy way. I was roused by the 
 repeated disappointment. A new resolve had entered 
 my mind. I was determined to get the 'coons out of the 
 buttonwood, cost what it might. The tree must come 
 down, if it should take us till morning to fell it. 
 
 ' With this determination I caught hold of Abe's axe, 
 and struck the first blow. To my surprise and delight 
 the tree sounded hollow. I repeated the stroke. The 
 sharp axe went crashing inwards. The tree was hollow 
 to the ground ; on the side where I had commenced 
 chopping, it was but a shell, 
 
 ' A few more blows, and I had made a hole large 
 enough to put a head through. Felling such a tree 
 would be no great job after all, and I saw that it 
 would hardly occupy an hour. The tree must come 
 down. 
 
 ' Abe seeing me so resolute, had somewhat recovered 
 his courage and his senses, and now laid hold of the 
 axe. Abe was a " first hand " at " chopping," and the 
 hole soon gaped wider. 
 
 '" If de hole run clar up, massa," said he, resting for a 
 moment, " we can smoke out de varmint — wid dc punk
 
 A 'Coon Chase loi 
 
 and de grass here we can smoke out de debil himself. 
 S'pose we try him, massa ? " 
 
 ' " Good ! " cried I, catching at Abe's suggestion ; and 
 in a few minutes we had made a fire in the hole, and 
 covered it with leaves, grass, and weeds. 
 
 * The smoke soon did its work. We saw it ooze out 
 above at the entrance to the 'coon hole — at first in a 
 slight filmy stream, and then in thick volumes. We 
 heard a scraping and rattling within the hollow trunk, 
 and a moment after a dark object sprang out upon the 
 lliana, and ran a short way downward. Another followed, 
 and another, and another, until a string of no less than 
 six raccoons squatted along the parasite threatening to 
 run downward ! 
 
 ' The scene that followed was indescribable. I had 
 seized my gun, and both barrels were emptied in a 
 " squirrel's jump." Two of the 'coons came to the ground, 
 badly wounded. Pompo tackled another, that had run 
 down the lliana, and was attempting to get off; while 
 Abe with his axe clove the skull of a fourth, that had 
 tried to escape in a similar manner. 
 
 ' The other two ran back into the " funnel," but only to 
 come out again just in time to receive a shot each from 
 the reloaded gun, which brought both of them tumbling 
 from the tree. We succeeded in bagging the whole 
 family ; and thus finished what Abe declared to be the 
 greatest " 'coon chase on de record." 
 
 ' As it was by this time far in the night, we gathered 
 up our game, and took the " back track to hum." '
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WILD HOGS OF THE WOODS 
 
 Next day while threading our way through a patch of 
 oak forest — the ground covered thickly with fallen 
 leaves — we were startled by a peculiar noise in front 
 of us. It was a kind of bellows-like snort, exactly 
 like that made by the domestic swine when suddenly 
 affrighted. 
 
 Some of the party cried out ' bear,' and of course this 
 announcement threw us all into a high state of excite- 
 ment. Even the buffalo itself would be but secondary 
 game, when a bear was upon the ground. 
 
 The 'snuff' of the bear has a very considerable 
 resemblance to that of terrified hogs, and even our 
 guides were deceived. They thought it might be ' bar' 
 we had heard. 
 
 It proved we were all wrong. No wonder we fancied 
 the noise resembled that made by hogs. The animal 
 that uttered it was nothing else than a wild boar. 
 
 ' What ! ' you will exclaim, ' a wild boar in the forests 
 of Missouri ? Oh ! a peccary, I suppose.' 
 
 No, not a peccary ; for these creatures do not range 
 so far north as the latitude of Missouri — not a wild boar, 
 neither, if you restrict the meaning of the phrase to the 
 true indigenous animal of that kind. For all that, it 
 was a wild boar, or rather a boar ruyi wild. Wild 
 enough and savage too it appeared, although we had 
 only a glimpse of its shaggy form as it dashed into the 
 thicket with a loud grunt. Haifa dozen shots followed 
 it. No doubt it was tickled with some of the ' leaden 
 hail ' from the double-barrelled guns, but it contrived to 
 escape, leaving us only the incident as a subject for 
 conversation. 
 
 I02
 
 Wz/d Hogs of the Woods 1 03 
 
 Throughout the backwoods there are large numbers 
 of half-wild hogs, but they are usually the denizens of 
 woods that are inclosed by a rail fence, and therefore 
 private property. One part of the year they are tamer, 
 when a scarcity of food renders it necessary for them to 
 approach the owner's house, and eat the corn placed for 
 them in a well-known spot. At this season they answer 
 to a call somewhat similar to the ' milk oh ! ' of the 
 London dairyman, but loud enough to be heard a mile 
 or more through the woods. A traveller passing 
 through the backwoods' settlements will often hear this 
 singular call sounding afar off in the stillness of the 
 evening. 
 
 These hogs pick up most of their subsistence in the 
 forest. The ' mast ' of the beech-tree, the nut of the 
 hickory, the fruit of the Chinquapin oak, the acorn, and 
 many other seeds and berries, furnish them with food. 
 Many roots besides, and grasses, contribute to sustain 
 them, and they make an occasional meal off a snake 
 whenever they can get hold of one. Indeed it may be 
 safely asserted, that no other cause has contributed so 
 much to the destruction of these reptiles, as the introduc- 
 tion of the domestic hog into the forests of America. 
 Wherever a tract of woods has been used as the ' run ' 
 of a drove of hogs, serpents of every kind become 
 exceedingly scarce, and you may hunt through such a 
 tract for weeks without seeing one. The hog seems to 
 have the strongest antipathy to the snake tribe ; without 
 the least fear of them. When one of the latter is 
 discovered by a hog, and no crevice in the rocks, or 
 hollow log, offers it a shelter, its destruction is inevitable. 
 The hog rushes to the spot, and, bounding forward, 
 crushes the reptile under his hoofs. Should the first 
 attempt not succeed, and the serpent glide awa)', the hog 
 nimbly follows, and repeats his efforts until the victim 
 lies helpless. The victor then goes to work with his 
 powerful jaws, and quietly devours the prey. 
 
 The fondness of the hog for this species of food proves 
 that in a state of nature it is partially a carnivorous 
 animal. The peccary, which is the true representative
 
 i04 The Ihifiters' Feast 
 
 of the wild hog in America — has the very same habit, 
 and is well-known to be one of the most fatal enemies 
 of the serpent tribe to be found among American 
 animals. 
 
 The hog shows no fear of the snake. His thick hide 
 seems to protect him. The ' skin ' of the rattlesnake or 
 the ' hiss ' of the deadly ' moccassin,' are alike unheeded 
 by him. He kills them as easily as he does the 
 innocent * chicken snake ' or the black constrictor. The 
 latter often escapes from its dreaded enemy by taking to a 
 bush or tree ; but the rattlesnake and the moccassin are 
 not tree-climbers, and either hide themselves in the 
 herbage and dead leaves, or retreat to their holes. 
 
 It is not true that the hog eats the body of the 
 snake he has killed, leaving the head untouched, and 
 thus avoiding the poisoned fangs. He devours the 
 whole of the creature, head and all. The venom 
 of the snake, like the ' curari ' poison of the South- 
 American Indians, is only effective when coming in 
 contact with the blood. Taken internally its effects are 
 innoxious — indeed there are those who believe it to 
 be beneficial, and the curari is often swallowed as a 
 medicine. 
 
 Most of this information about the half-wild hogs 
 of the backwoods was given by our Kentucky comrade, 
 who himself was the proprietor of many hundreds of 
 them. An annual hog-hunt was part of the routine 
 of his life. It was undertaken not merely for the sport 
 of the thing — though that was by no means to be despised 
 — and the season of the hog-hunting is looked forward 
 to with pleasant anticipation by the domestics of the 
 plantation, as well as a few select friends or neighbours 
 who are invited to participate in it. 
 
 When the time arrives, the proprietor, with his pack 
 of hounds, and accompanied by a party mounted and 
 armed with rifles, enters the large tract of woodland — 
 perhaps miles in extent, and in many places covered 
 with canebrakes, and almost impenetrable thickets of 
 undergrowth. To such places the hogs fly for shelter, 
 but the dogs can penetrate wherever hogs can go ; and
 
 Wt/d Hogs of the Woods 105 
 
 of course the latter are soon driven out, and forced into 
 the more open ground, where the mounted men are 
 waiting to receive them with a volley of bullets. 
 Sometimes a keen pursuit follows, and the dogs in full 
 cry are carried across the country, over huge logs, and 
 through thickets and ravines, followed by the horsemen 
 — ^just as if an old fox was the game pursued. 
 
 A large waggon with drivers and attendants follows 
 the chase, and in this the killed are deposited, to be 
 ' hauled ' home when the hunt is over. 
 
 This, however, often continues for several days, until 
 all, or at least all the larger hogs, are collected and 
 brought home, and then the sport terminates. The 
 produce of the hunt sometimes amounts to hundreds — 
 according to the wealth of the proprietor. Of course 
 a scene of slaughtering and bacon-curing follows. A 
 part of the bacon furnishes the ' smoke-house ' for home 
 consumption during the winter ; while the larger part 
 finds its way to the great pork-market of Cincinnati. 
 
 The Kentuckian related to us a curious incident 
 illustrating the instinct of the swinish quadruped ; but 
 which to his mind, as well as to ours, seemed more like 
 a proof of a rational principle possessed by the animal. 
 The incident he had himself been witness to, and in 
 his own woodlands. He related it thus : — 
 
 ' I had strayed into the woods in search of a wild 
 turkey with nothing but my shot gun, and having 
 tramped about a good bit, I sat down upon a log to 
 rest myself. I had not been seated five minutes when I 
 heard a rustling among the dead leaves in front of me. 
 I thought it might be deer, and raised my gun ; but I 
 was greatly disappointed on seeing some half dozen of 
 my own hogs make their appearance, rooting as they 
 went along. 
 
 ' I paid no more heed to them at the time ; but a few 
 minutes after, my attention was again drawn to them, by 
 seeing them make a sudden rush across a piece of open 
 ground, as if they were in pursuit of something. 
 
 'Sure enough they were. Just before their snouts, I
 
 io6 TJie Hit^iters^ Feast 
 
 espied the long shining body of a black snake doing its 
 best to get out of their way. In this it succeeded, 
 for the next moment I saw it twisting itself up a pawpaw 
 sapling, until it had reached the top branches, where 
 it remained looking down at its pursuers. 
 
 * The snake may have fancied itself secure at the 
 moment, and so thought I, at least so far as the hogs 
 were concerned. I had made up my mind to be its 
 destroyer myself, and was just about to sprinkle it with 
 shot, when a movement on the part of one of the hogs 
 caused me to hold back and remain quiet. I need not 
 tell you I was considerably astonished to see the 
 foremost of these animals seize the sapling in its jaws 
 and jerk it about in a determined manner, as if 
 with the intention of shaking off the snake ! Of course 
 it did not succeed in this, for the latter was wound 
 around the branches, and it would have been as easy to 
 have shaken off the bark. 
 
 * As you all know, gentlemen, the pawpaw — not the 
 pawpaw {Carica papaya)^ but a small tree of the anonas 
 or custard apple tribe, common in the woods of Western 
 America — is one of the softest and most brittle of our 
 trees, and the hog seemed to have discovered this, for 
 he suddenly changed his tactics, and instead of shaking 
 at the sapling, commenced grinding it between his 
 powerful jaws. The others assisted him, and the tree 
 fell in a k^ seconds. As soon as the top branches 
 touched the ground, the whole drove dashed forward at 
 the snake ; and in less than the time I take in telling it, 
 the creature was crushed and devoured.' 
 
 After hearing the singular tale, our conversation now 
 returned to the hog we had just 'jumped.' All agreed 
 that it must be some stray from the plantations that had 
 wandered thus far from the haunts of men, for there 
 was no settlement within twenty miles of where we 
 then were. 
 
 Our trapper guides stated that wild hogs are fre- 
 quently found in remote parts, and that many of them 
 are not ' strays,' but have been ' littered ' and brought up
 
 Wz7d Hogs of the Woods 107 
 
 in the forest. These are as shy and difficult to approach 
 as deer, or any other hunted animals. They are 
 generally of a small breed, and it is supposed that they 
 are identical with the species found throughout Mexico, 
 and introduced by the Spaniards.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 TREED BY PECCARIES 
 
 Talking of these Spanish hogs naturally led us to the 
 subject of the peccary — for this creature is an inhabi- 
 tant only of those parts of North America which have 
 been hitherto in possession of the Spanish race. Of the 
 peccary {dicoiyles), there are two distinct species known 
 — the 'collared,' and the * white-lipped.' In form and 
 habits they are very similar to each other. In size and 
 colour they differ. The ' white-lipped ' is the larger. Its 
 colour is dark brown, nearly black, while that of the 
 'collared' peccary is a uniform iron-grey, with the 
 exception of the band or collar upon its shoulders. 
 
 The distinctive markings are, on the former species a 
 greyish-white patch along the jaws, and on the other a 
 yellowish-white belt embracing the neck and shoulders, 
 as a collar does a horse. These markings have given 
 to each its specific name. They are farther distinguished, 
 by the forehead of the white-lipped peccary being more 
 hollowed or concave than that of its congener. 
 
 In most other respects these creatures are alike. Both 
 feed upon roots, fruits, frogs, toads, lizards, and snakes. 
 Both make their lair in hollow logs, or in caves among 
 the rocks, and both are gregarious in their habits. In 
 this last habit, however, they exhibit some difference. 
 The white-lipped species associate in troops to the 
 number of hundreds, and even as many as a thousand 
 have been seen together ; whereas the others do not 
 live in such large droves, but are oftener met with in 
 pairs. Yet this difference of habit may arise from the 
 fact that in the places where both have been observed, 
 the latter have not been so plentiful as the white-lipped 
 species. As many as a hundred of the collared peccary 
 
 1 08
 
 Treed by Peccaries 109 
 
 have been observed in one 'gang/ and no doubt had 
 there been more of them in the neighbourhood, the 
 flock would have been still larger. 
 
 The white-lipped species does not extend to the 
 northern half of the American Continent. Its habitat 
 is in the great tropical forests of Guyana and Brazil, 
 and it is found much farther south, being common in 
 Paraguay. It is there known as the ' vaquira,' whence 
 our word ' peccary.' The other species is also found in 
 South America, and is distinguished as the ' vaquira de 
 collar' (collared peccary). Of course, they both have 
 trivial Indian names, differing in different parts of the 
 country. The former is called in Paraguay ' Tagnicati,' 
 while the latter is the ' Taytetou.' 
 
 Neither species is so numerous as they were in former 
 times. They have been thinned off by hunting — not for 
 the value either of their flesh or their skins, nor for the 
 mere sport either, but on account of their destructive 
 habits. In the neighbourhood of settlements they make 
 frequent forays into the maize and mandioc fields, and 
 they will lay waste a plantation of sugar-cane in a single 
 night. For this reason it is that a war of extermination 
 has long been waged against them by the planters and 
 their dependents. 
 
 As already stated, it is believed that the white-lipped 
 species is not found in North America. Probably it 
 does exist in the forests of Southern Mexico. The 
 natural history of these countries is yet to be thoroughly 
 investigated. The Mexicans have unfortunately em- 
 ployed all their time in making revolutions. But a new 
 period has arrived. The Panama railroad, the Nicaragua 
 canal, and the route of Tehuantepec, will soon be open, 
 when among the foremost who traverse these hitherto 
 unfrequented regions will be found troops of naturalists, 
 of the Audubon school, who will explore every nook and 
 corner of Central America. Indecd,alteady some progress 
 has been made in this respect. 
 
 The two species of peccaries, although so much alike, 
 never associate together, and do not seem to have any 
 knowledge of a relationship existing between them.
 
 no The Hunters' Feast 
 
 Indeed, what is very singular, they are never found in 
 the same tract of woods. A district frequented by the 
 one is always without the other. 
 
 The Collared Peccary is the species found in North 
 America, and of it we more particularly speak. It is 
 met with when you approach the more southern latitudes 
 westward of the Mississippi River. In that great wing 
 of the continent, to the eastward of this river, and now 
 occupied by the United States, no such animal exists, 
 nor is there any proof that it was ever known to exist 
 there in its wild state. In the territory of Texas, it is a 
 common animal, and its range extends westward to the 
 Pacific, and south throughout the remainder of the 
 Continent. 
 
 As you proceed westwards, the line of its range rises 
 considerably ; and in New Mexico it is met with as high 
 as the 33rd parallel. This is just following the isother- 
 mal line, and proves that the peccary cannot endure the 
 rigours of a severe winter climate. It is a production of 
 the tropics and the countries adjacent. 
 
 Some naturalists assert that it is a forest-dwelling 
 animal, and is never seen in open countries. Others, as 
 Buffon, state that it makes its habitat in the mountains, 
 never the low countries and plains ; while still others 
 have declared that it is never found in the mountains ! 
 
 None of these ' theories ' appear to be the correct one. 
 It is well known to frequent the forest-covered plains of 
 Texas, and Emory (one of the most talented of modern 
 observers), reports having met with a large drove of 
 peccaries in the almost treeless mountains of New 
 Mexico. The fact is, the peccary is a wide ' ranger,' and 
 frequents either plains or mountains wherever he can 
 find the roots or fruits which constitute his natural food. 
 The haunts he likes best appear to be the dry hilly 
 woods, where he finds several species of nuts to his 
 taste — such as the chinquapin {Castanea puinila\ the 
 pecan (Jjiglans olivcpforinis ), and the acorns of several 
 species of oak, with which the half-prairie country of 
 western Texas abounds. 
 
 Farther than to eat their fruit, the forest trees are of no
 
 Treed by Peccaries ill 
 
 use to the peccary. He is not a climber, as he is a 
 hoofed animal. But in the absence of rocks, or crevices 
 in the cliffs, he makes his lair in the bottoms of hollow 
 trees, or in the great cavities so common in half-decayed 
 logs. He prefers, however, a habitation among rocks, 
 as experience has no doubt taught him that it is a safer 
 retreat both from hunters and fire. 
 
 The peccary is easily distinguished from the other 
 forest animals by his rounded, hog-like form, and long, 
 sharp snout. Although pig-shaped, he is extremely 
 active and light in his movements. The absence of 
 a tail — for that member is represented only by a very 
 small protuberance or 'knob' — imparts a character of 
 lightness to his body. His jaws are those of the hog, 
 and a single pair of tusks, protruding near the angles 
 of the mouth, gives him a fierce and dangerous aspect 
 These tusks are seen in the old males or ' boars.' The 
 ears are short, and almost buried in the long harsh hairs 
 or bristles that cover the whole body, but which are 
 much longer on the back. These, when erected or 
 thrown forward — as is the case when the peccary is 
 incensed — have the appearance of a stiff mane rising 
 all along the neck, shoulders, and spine. At such times, 
 indeed, the rigid, bristling coat over the whole body 
 gives somewhat of a porcupine appearance to the animal. 
 
 The peccary, as already stated, is gregarious. They 
 wander in droves of twenty, or sometimes more. This, 
 however, is only in the winter. In the season of love, 
 and during the period of gestation, they are met with 
 only in pairs — a male and female. They are very 
 true to each other, and keep close together. 
 
 The female produce two young at a litter. These 
 are of a reddish-brown colour, and at first not larger than 
 young puppies ; but they are soon able to follow the 
 mother through the woods ; and then the ' family party ' 
 usually consists of four. 
 
 Later in the season, several of these families unite and 
 remain together, partly perhaps from having met by 
 accident, and partly for mutual protection ; for whenever 
 one of their number is attacked, all the drove takes part
 
 112 The Hiuiters' Feast 
 
 against the assailant, whether he be hunter, cougar, or 
 lynx. As they use both their teeth, tusks, and sharp fore- 
 hoofs with rapidity and effect, they become a formidable 
 and dangerous enemy. 
 
 The cougar is often killed and torn to pieces by a 
 drove of peccaries, that he has been imprudent enough 
 to attack. Indeed, this fierce creature will not often 
 meddle with the peccaries when he sees them in large 
 numbers. He attacks only single ones ; but their 
 'grunting,' which can be heard to the distance of nearly 
 a mile, summons the rest, and he is surrounded before 
 he is aware of it, and seized by as many as can get 
 around him. 
 
 The Texan hunter, if afoot, will not dare to disturb a 
 drove of peccaries. Even when mounted, unless the 
 woods be open, he will pass them by without rousing 
 their resentment. But, for all this, the animal is hunted 
 by the settlers, and hundreds are killed annually. Their 
 ravages committed upon the corn-fields make them 
 many enemies, who go after them with a desire for 
 wholesale slaughter. 
 
 Hounds are employed to track the peccary and bring 
 it to bay, when the hunters ride up and finish the chase 
 by their unerring rifles. 
 
 A flock of peccaries, when pursued, will sometimes 
 take shelter in a cave or cleft of the rocks, one of their 
 number standing ready at the mouth. When this one is 
 shot by the hunter, another will immediately rush out 
 and take its place. This too being destroyed, will be 
 replaced by a third, and so on until the whole drove has 
 fallen. 
 
 Should the hounds attack the peccary while by them- 
 selves, and without the aid and encouragement of the 
 hunter, they are sure to be ' routed,' and some of their 
 number destroyed. Indeed, this little creature, of not 
 more than two feet in length, is a match for the stoutest 
 bull-dog ! I have myself seen a peccary (a caged one, 
 too) that had killed no less than six dogs of bull and 
 mastiff breed — all of them considered fighting dogs of 
 first-rate reputation.
 
 Treed by Peccaries 113 
 
 The Kentuckian had a peccary adventure which had 
 occurred to him while on an excursion to the new settle- 
 ments of Texas. ' It was my first introduction to these 
 animals,' began he, ' and I am not likely soon to forget 
 it. It gave me, among the frontier settlers of Texas, 
 the reputation of a " mighty hunter," though how far I 
 deserved that name you may judge for yourselves. 
 
 ' I was for some weeks the guest of a farmer or " plan- 
 ter," who lived upon the Trinity Bottom. We had been 
 out in the " timber " several times, and had killed both 
 bear, deer, and turkeys, but had not yet had the luck to 
 fall in with the peccary, although we never went abroad 
 without seeing their tracks, or some other indications of 
 what my friend termed " peccary sign." The truth is, 
 that these animals possess the sense of smell in the 
 keenest degree ; and they are usually hidden long 
 before the hunter can see them or come near them. 
 As we had gone without dogs, of course we were not 
 likely to discover which of the nine hundred and ninety- 
 nine hollow logs passed in a day, was the precise one in 
 which the peccaries had taken shelter. 
 
 ' I had grown very curious about these creatures. 
 Bear I had often hunted — deer I had driven; and 
 turkeys I had both trapped and shot. But I had never 
 yet killed a peccary ; in fact, had never seen one. I 
 was therefore very desirous of adding the tusk of one of 
 these wild boars to my trophies of the chase. 
 
 ' My desire was gratified sooner than I expected, and 
 to an extent I had never dreamt of ; for in one morn- 
 ing — before tasting my breakfast — I caused no less than 
 nineteen of these animals to utter their last squeak! 
 But I shall give the details of this " feat " as they 
 happened. 
 
 ' It was in the autumn season — the most beautiful 
 season of the forest — when the frondage obtains its tints 
 of gold, orange, and purple. I was a-bed in the house 
 of my friend, but was awakened out of my sleep by the 
 " gobbling " of wild turkeys that sounded close to the 
 place. 
 
 * Although there was not a window in my room, the 
 
 H
 
 1 1 4 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 yellow beams streaming in through the chinks of the 
 log wall told me that it was after " sun-up." 
 
 ' I arose, drew on my garments and hunting habili- 
 ments, took my rifle, and stole out. I said nothing to 
 any one, as there was no one — neither " nigger " nor 
 white man — to be seen stirring about the place. I 
 wanted to steal a march upon my friend, and show him 
 how smart I was by bagging a fat young " gobbler " for 
 breakfast. 
 
 ' As soon as I had got round the house, I saw the 
 turkeys — a large " gang " of them. They were out in an 
 old corn-field, feeding upon such of the seeds as had 
 been dropped in the corn-gathering. They were to far 
 off for my gun to reach them, and I entered among the 
 corn-stalks to get near them. 
 
 * I soon perceived that they were feeding towards the 
 woods, and that they were likely to enter them at a cer- 
 tain point. Could I only reach that point before them, 
 reflected I, I should be sure of a fair shot. I had only 
 to go back to the house and keep around the edge of 
 the field, where there happened to be some " cover." In 
 this way I should be sure to " head " them — that is, 
 could I but reach the woods in time. 
 
 ' I lost not a moment in setting out ; and, running 
 most of the way, I reached the desired point. 
 
 ' I was now about a mile from my friend's house — 
 for the corn-field was a very large one — such as you 
 may only see in the great plantations of the far western 
 world. I saw that I had " headed " the turkeys, with 
 some time to spare ; and choosing a convenient log, I 
 sat down to await their coming. I placed myself in 
 such a situation that I was completely hidden by the 
 broad green leaves of some bushy trees that grew over 
 the log. 
 
 ' I had not been in that position over a minute I 
 should think, when a slight rustling among the leaves 
 attracted my attention. I looked, and saw issuing from 
 under the rubbish the long body of a snake. As yet, I 
 could not see its tail, which was hidden by the grass ; 
 but the form of the head and the peculiar chevron-like
 
 Treed by Peccaries 115 
 
 markings of the body, convinced me it was the " Banded 
 Rattlesnake," It was slowly gliding out into some open 
 ground, with the intention of crossing to a thicket upon 
 the other side. I had disturbed it from the log, where 
 it had no doubt been sunning itself; and it was now 
 making away from me. 
 
 ' My first thought was to follow the hideous reptile, 
 and kill it ; but reflecting that if I did so I should 
 expose myself to the view of the turkeys, I concluded 
 to remain where I was, and let it escape. 
 
 ' I watched it slowly drawing itself along — for this 
 species makes but slow progress — until it was near 
 the middle of the glade, when I again turned my 
 attention to the birds that had now advanced almost 
 within range of my gun. 
 
 'I was just getting ready to fire, when a strange 
 noise, like the grunt of a small pig, sounded in my ears 
 from the glade, and again caused me to look in that 
 direction. As I did so, my eyes fell upon a curious 
 little animal just emerging from the bushes. Its long, 
 sharp snout — its pig-like form — the absence of a tail — 
 the high rump, and whitish band along the shoulders, 
 were all marks of description which I remembered. 
 The animal could be no other than a peccary. 
 
 ' As I gazed upon it with curious eyes, another 
 emerged from the bushes, and then another, and 
 another until a good-sized drove of them were in sight. 
 
 'The rattle-snake, on seeing the first one, had laid 
 his head flat upon the ground ; and evidently terrified, 
 was endeavouring to conceal himself in the grass. 
 But it was a smooth piece of turf, and he did not 
 succeed. The peccary had already espied him ; and 
 upon the instant his hinder parts were raised to their 
 full height, his mane became rigid, and the hair over his 
 whole body stood erect, radiating on all sides outwards. 
 The appearance of the creature was changed in an 
 instant, and I could perceive that the air was becoming 
 impregnated with a disagreeable odour, which the 
 incensed animal emitted from its dorsal gland. Without 
 stopping longer than a moment, he rushed forward.
 
 II 6 The Hmiters' Feast 
 
 until he stood within three feet of the body of the 
 snake. 
 
 * The latter, seeing he could no longer conceal himself, 
 threw himself into a coil, and stood upon his defence. 
 His eyes glared with a fiery lustre : the skir-r-r of his 
 rattles could be heard almost incessantly ; while with 
 his upraised head he struck repeatedly in the direction 
 of his enemy. 
 
 ' These demonstrations brought the whole drove of 
 peccaries to the spot, and in a moment a circle of them 
 had formed around the reptile, that did not know which 
 to strike at, but kept launching out its head recklessly 
 in all directions. The peccaries stood with their backs 
 highly arched and their feet drawn up together, like 
 so many angry cats, threatening and uttering shrill 
 grunts. Then one of them, I think the first that 
 had appeared, rose suddenly into the air, and with his 
 four hoofs held close together, came pounce down 
 upon the coiled body of the snake. Another followed 
 in a similar manner, and another, and another, until 
 1 could see the long carcase of the reptile unfolded, 
 and writhing over the ground. 
 
 'After a short while it lay still, crushed beneath 
 their feet. The whole squad then seized it in their 
 teeth, and tearing it to pieces, devoured it almost 
 instantaneously. 
 
 'From the moment the peccaries had appeared in 
 sight, I had given up all thoughts about the turkeys. 
 I had resolved to send my leaden messenger in quite 
 a different direction. Turkeys I could have at almost 
 any time ; but it was not every day that peccaries 
 appeared. So I "slewed" myself round upon the 
 log, raised my rifle cautiously, "marked," the biggest 
 " boar" I could see in the drove, and fired. 
 
 ' I heard the boar squeak (so did all of them), and 
 saw him fall over, cither killed or badly wounded. 
 But I had little time to tell which, for the smoke had 
 hardly cleared out of my eyes, when I perceived the 
 whole gang of peccaries, instead of running away, as 
 I had expected, coming full tilt towards me.
 
 Treed by Peccaries ii7 
 
 ' In a moment I was surrounded by a^dark mass of 
 little creatures leaping wildly at my legs, uttering shrill 
 grunts, and making their teeth crack like castanets. 
 
 ' I ran for the highest part of the log, but this proved 
 no security. The peccaries leaped upon it, and fol- 
 lowed. I struck with the butt of my clubbed gun, and 
 knocked them off; but again they surrounded me, 
 leaping upward and snapping at my legs, until hardly 
 a shred remained of my trousers. 
 
 * I saw that I was in extreme peril, and put forth all 
 my energies. I swept my gun wildly around me ; but 
 where one of the fierce brutes was knocked over, another 
 leaped into his place, as determined as he. Still I had 
 no help for it, and I shouted at the top of my voice, all 
 the while battling with desperation. 
 
 ' I still kept upon the highest point of the log, as 
 there they could not all come around me at once ; and 
 I saw that I could thus better defend myself. But 
 even with this advantage, the assaults of the animals 
 were so incessant, and my exertions in keeping them 
 off so continuous, that I was in danger of falling into 
 their jaws from very exhaustion. 
 
 ' I was growing weak and wearied — I was beginning 
 to despair for my life — when on winding my gun over 
 my head in order to give force to my blows, I felt it 
 strike against something behind me. It was the branch 
 of a tree, that stretched over the spot where I was 
 standing. 
 
 ' A new thought came suddenly into my mind. Could 
 I climb the tree ? I knew that they could not, and in 
 the tree I should be safe. 
 
 ' I looked upward ; the branch was within reach. I 
 seized upon it and brought it nearer. I drew a long 
 breath, and with all the strength that remained in my 
 body sprang upward. 
 
 ' I succeeded in getting upon the limb, and the next 
 moment I had crawled along it, and sat close in by the 
 trunk. I breathed freely — I was safe. 
 
 ' It was sometime before I thought of anything else 
 than resting myself. 1 remained a full half-hour before
 
 ii8 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 I moved in my perch. Occasionally I looked down at 
 my late tormentors. I saw that instead of going off 
 they were still there. They ran around the root of the 
 tree, leaping up against its trunk, and tearing the bark 
 with their teeth. They kept constantly uttering their 
 shrill, disagreeable grunts ; and the odour, resembling 
 the smell of musk and garlic, which they emitted from 
 their dorsal glands, almost stifled me. I saw that they 
 showed no disposition to retire, but, on the contrary, 
 were determined to make me stand siege. 
 
 ' Now and then they passed out to where their dead 
 comrade lay upon the grass, but this seemed only to 
 bind their resolution the faster, for they always returned 
 again, grunting as fiercely as ever. 
 
 _ ' I had hopes that my friend would be up by this 
 time, and would come to my rescue ; but it was not 
 likely neither, as he would not " miss " me until I had 
 remained long enough to make my absence seem 
 strange. As it was, that would not be until after night, 
 or perhaps far in the next day. It was no unusual 
 thing for me to wander off with my gun, and be gone 
 for a period of at least twenty hours. 
 
 • I sat for hours on my painful perch — now looking 
 down at the spiteful creatures beneath — now bending 
 my eyes across the great corn-field, in hopes of seeing 
 someone. At times the idea crossed my mind, that 
 even upon the morrow I might not be missed ! 
 
 * I might perish with hunger, with thirst — I was 
 suffering from both at the moment — or even if I kept 
 alive, I might become so weak as not to be able to hold 
 on to the tree. My seat was far from being an easy 
 one. The tree was small — the branch was slender. It 
 was already cutting into my thighs. I might, in my 
 feebleness, be compelled to let it go, and then — 
 
 ' These reflections were terrible ; and as they came 
 across my mind, I shouted to the highest pitch of my 
 voice, hoping I should be heard. 
 
 ' Up to this time I had not thought of using my gun, 
 although clinging to it instinctively. I had brought it 
 with me into the tree. It now occurred to me to fire
 
 Treed by Peccaries 119 
 
 it in hopes that my friend or someone might hear the 
 report, 
 
 ' I balanced myself on the branch as well as I could, 
 and loaded it with powder. I was about to fire it off in 
 the air, when it appeared to me that I might just as 
 well reduce the number of my enemies. I therefore 
 rammed down a ball, took aim at the forehead of one, 
 and knocked him over. 
 
 'Another idea now arose in my mind, and that was, 
 that I might serve the whole gang as I had done this 
 one. His fall had not frightened them in the least ; 
 they only came nearer, throwing up their snouts and 
 uttering their shrill notes — thus giving me a better 
 chance of hitting them. 
 
 ' I repeated the loading and firing. Another enemy 
 the less. 
 
 ' Hope began to return. I counted my bullets, and 
 held my horn up to the sun. There were over twenty 
 bullets, and powder sufficient. I counted the peccaries. 
 Sixteen still lived, with three that I had done for. 
 
 ' I again loaded and fired — loaded and fired — loaded 
 and fired. I aimed so carefully each time, that out of 
 all I missed only one shot. 
 
 ' When the firing ceased, I dropped down from my 
 perch in the midst of a scene that resembled a great 
 slaughter-yard. Nineteen of the creatures lay dead 
 around the tree, and the ground was saturated with 
 their blood ! 
 
 ' The voice of my friend at this moment sounded in 
 my ears, and turning, I beheld him standing, with hands 
 uplifted and eyes as large as saucers. 
 
 ' The " feat " was soon reported through the settle- 
 ment, and I was looked upon for the time as the 
 greatest hunter in the " Trinity Bottom." '
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 A DUCK-SHOOTING ADVENTURE 
 
 During our next day's journey we again fell in with 
 flocks of the wild pigeon, and our stock was renewed. 
 We were very glad of this, as we were getting tired of 
 the dry salt bacon, and another 'pot-pie' from Lanty's 
 cuisine was quite welcome. The subject of the pigeons 
 was exhausted, and we talked no more about them. 
 Ducks were upon the table in a double sense, for during 
 the march we had fallen in with a brood of the beautiful 
 little summer ducks {Anas sponsd), and had succeeded 
 in shooting several of them. These little creatures, 
 however, did not occupy our attention, but the far more 
 celebrated species known as the 'canvas-back' {Anas 
 vallisneria). 
 
 Of the two dozen species of American wild-ducks, 
 none has a wider celebrity than that known as the 
 canvas-back ; even the eider-duck is less thought of, 
 as the Americans care little for beds of down. But the 
 juicy, fine-flavoured flesh of the canvas-back is esteemed 
 by all classes of people ; and epicures prize it above 
 that of all other winged creatures, with the exception, 
 perhaps, of the reed-bird or rice-bunting, and the 
 prairie-hen. These last enjoy a celebrity almost if not 
 altogether equal. The prairie-hen, however, is the bon 
 morceau of western epicures ; while the canvas-back is 
 only to be found in the great cities of the Atlantic. 
 The reed-bird — in the West Indies called 'ortolan' — is 
 also found in the same markets with the canvas-back. 
 The flesh of all three of these birds — although the birds 
 themselves are of widcly-diflercnt families — is really of 
 the most delicious kind ; it would be hard to say which 
 of them is the greatest favourite. 
 
 120
 
 A Duck-Sliootinsi: Adventure 121 
 
 'cS 
 
 The canvas-back is not a large duck, rarely exceeding 
 three pounds in weight. Its colour is very similar to 
 the pochard of Europe : its head is a uniform deep 
 chestnut, its breast black ; while the back and upper 
 parts of the wings present a surface of bluish-grey, so 
 lined and mottled as to resemble — though very slightly — 
 the texture of canvas: hence the trivial name of the bird. 
 
 Like most of the water-birds of America, the canvas- 
 back is migratory. It proceeds in spring to the cold 
 countries of the Hudson's Bay territory, and returns 
 southward in October, appearing in immense flocks 
 along the Atlantic shores. It does not spread over the 
 fresh-water lakes of the United States, but confines 
 itself to three or four well-known haunts, the principal 
 of which is the great Chesapeake Bay. This preference 
 for the Chesapeake Bay is easily accounted for, as here 
 its favourite food is found in the greatest abundance. 
 Round the mouths of the rivers that run into this bay, 
 there are extensive shoals of brackish water ; these 
 favour the growth of a certain plant of the genius 
 vallisneria — a grass-like plant, standing several feet out 
 of the water, with deep green leaves and stems, and 
 having a white and tender root. On this root, which 
 is of such a character as to have given the plant the 
 trivial name of * wild celery,' the canvas-back feeds 
 exclusively ; for wherever it is not to be found, neither 
 does the bird make its appearance. Diving for it, and 
 bringing it up in its bill, the canvas-back readily breaks 
 off the long lanceolate leaves, which float off, either to 
 be eaten by another species — the pochard — or to form 
 immense banks of wrack, that are thrown up against 
 the adjacent shores. 
 
 It is to the roots of the wild celery that the flesh of 
 the canvas-back owes its esteemed flavour, causing it to 
 be in such demand that very often a pair of these ducks 
 will bring three dollars in the markets of New York and 
 Philadelphia. When the finest turkey can be had for 
 less than a third of that sum, some idea may be formed 
 of the superior estimation in which the web-footed 
 favourites are held.
 
 122 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 Of course, shooting the canvas-back duck is ex- 
 tensively practised, not only as an amusement, but as 
 a professional occupation. Various means are employed 
 to slaughter these birds : decoys by means of dogs, 
 duck-boats armed with guns that resemble infernal- 
 machines, and disguises of every possible kind. The 
 birds themselves are extremely shy ; and a shot at 
 them is only obtained by great ingenuity, and after 
 considerable dodging. They are excellent divers ; and 
 when only wounded, almost always make good their 
 escape. Their shyness is overcome by their curiosity. 
 A dog placed upon the shore, near where they happen 
 to be, and trained to run backwards and forwards, will 
 almost always seduce them within shot. Should the 
 dog himself not succeed, a red rag wrapped around his 
 body, or tied to his tail, will generally bring about the 
 desired result. There arc times, however, when the 
 ducks have been much shot at, that even this decoy 
 fails of success. 
 
 On account of the high price the canvas-backs bring 
 in the market, they are pursued by the hunters with 
 great assiduity, and are looked upon as a source of 
 much profit. So important has this been considered, 
 that in the international treaties between the States 
 bordering upon the Chesapeake, there are several 
 clauses or articles relating to them that limit the right 
 of shooting to certain parties. An infringement of this 
 right, some three or four years ago, led to serious 
 collisions between the gunners of Philadelphia and 
 Baltimore. So far was the dispute carried, that 
 schooners armed, and filled with armed men, cruised 
 for some time on the waters of the Chesapeake, and 
 all the initiatory steps of a little war were taken by 
 both parties. The interference of the general govern- 
 ment prevented what would have proved, had it been 
 left to itself, a very sanguinary affair. 
 
 It so chanced that I had met with a rather singular 
 adventure while duck-shooting on the Chesapeake Bay, 
 and the story was related thus : ' I was staying for some 
 days at the house of a friend — a planter — who lived
 
 A Duck-Shooting Adventure 123 
 
 near the mouth of a small river that runs into the 
 Chesapeake, I felt inclined to have a shot at the far- 
 famed canvas-backs. I had often eaten of these birds, 
 but had never shot one, or even seen them in their 
 natural habitat. I was, therefore, anxious to try my 
 hand upon them, and I accordin_^ly set out one morning 
 for that purpose. 
 
 ' My friend lived upon the bank of the river, some 
 distance above tide-water. As the wild celery grows 
 only in brackish water — that is, neither in the salt sea 
 itself nor yet in the fresh-water rivers — I had to pass 
 down the little stream a mile or more before I came to 
 the proper place for finding the ducks. I went in a 
 small skiff, with no other companion than an ill-favoured 
 cur-dog, with which I had been furnished, and which 
 was represented to me as one of the best "duck-dogs" 
 in the country. 
 
 'My friend having business elsewhere, unfortunately 
 could not upon that day give me his company ; but I 
 knew something of the place, and being aufait in most 
 of the dodges of duck-hunting, I fancied I was quite 
 able to take care of myself. 
 
 'Floating and rowing by turns, I soon came in sight of 
 the bay and the wild-celery fields, and also of flocks of 
 water-fowl of different species, among which I could 
 recognise the pochards, the canvas - backs, and the 
 common American widgeon. 
 
 ' Seeking a convenient place near the mouth of the 
 stream, I landed ; and, tying the skiff to some weeds, 
 proceeded in search of a cover. This was soon found — 
 some bushes favoured me ; and having taken my posi- 
 tion, I set the dog to his work. The brute, however, 
 took but little notice of my words and gestures of 
 encouragement. I fancied that he had a wild and 
 frightened look, but I attributed this to my being 
 partially a stranger to him ; and was in hopes that, as 
 soon as we became better acquainted, he would work in 
 a different manner. 
 
 ' I was disappointed, however, as, do what I might he 
 would not go near the water, nor would he perform the
 
 124 ^-^^^ Hunters' Feast 
 
 trick of running to and fro which I had been assured 
 by my friend he woud be certain to do. On the con- 
 trary, he cowered among the bushes, near where I had 
 stationed myself, and seemed unwilling to move out of 
 them. Two or three times, when I dragged him forward, 
 and motioned him toward the water, he rushed back 
 again, and ran under the brushwood. 
 
 ' I was exceedingly provoked with this conduct of 
 the dog, the more so that a flock of canvas-backs, 
 consisting of several thousands, was seated upon the 
 water not more than half a mile from the shore. Had 
 my dog done his duty, I have no doubt they might have 
 been brought within range ; and calculating upon this, 
 I had made sure of a noble shot. My expectations, 
 however, were defeated by the waywardness of the dog, 
 and I saw there was no hope of doing anything with 
 him. 
 
 ' Having arrived at this conclusion, after some hours 
 spent to no purpose, I rose from my cover, and marched 
 back to the skiff. I did not even motion the wretched 
 cur to follow me ; and I should have rowed off without 
 him, risking the chances of my friend's displeasure, but 
 it pleased the animal himself to trot after me without 
 invitation, and, on arriving at the boat, to leap voluntarily 
 into it. 
 
 ' I was really so provoked with the brute, that I felt 
 much inclined to pitch him out again. My vexation, 
 however, gradually left me ; and I stood up in the skiff, 
 turning over in my mind what course I should pursue 
 next. 
 
 ' I looked toward the flock of canvas-backs. It was a 
 tantalising sight. They sat upon the water as light as 
 corks, and as close together as sportsman could desire 
 for a shot. A well-aimed discharge could not have 
 failed to kill a score of them at least. 
 
 ' Was there no way of approaching them ? This 
 question I had put to myself for the twentieth time 
 without being able to answer it to my satisfaction. 
 
 ' An idea at length flitted across my brain. I had 
 often approached common mallards by concealing my
 
 A Duck-Shooting Adventure 125 
 
 boat under branches or furze, and then floating down 
 upon them, impelled either by the wind or the current 
 of a stream. Might not this also succeed with the 
 canvas-backs ? 
 
 ' I resolved upon making the experiment. The flock 
 was in a position to enable me to do so. They were to 
 the leeward of a sedge of the vallisneria. The wind 
 would carry my skiff through this ; and the green 
 bushes with which I intended to disguise it would 
 not be distinguished from the sedge, which was also 
 green. 
 
 ' The thing was feasible. I deemed it so. I set about 
 cutting some leafy branches that grew near, and trying 
 them along the gunwhales of my little craft. In less 
 than half an hour, I pushed her from the shore ; and no 
 one at a distance would have taken her for aught else 
 than a floating raft of brushwood. 
 
 ' I now pulled quietly out until I had got exactly to 
 windward of the ducks, at about half a mile's distance 
 from the edge of the flock. I then took in the paddles, 
 and permitted the skiff to glide before the wind. I took 
 the precaution to place myself in such a manner that I 
 was completely hidden, while through the branches I 
 commanded a view of the surface on any side I might 
 wish to look. 
 
 'The bushes acted as a sail, and I was soon drifted 
 down among the plants of the wild celery. I feared 
 that this might stay my progress, as the breeze was 
 light, and might not carry me through. But the sward, 
 contrary to what is usual, was thin at the place where 
 the skiff had entered, and I felt, to my satisfaction, that 
 I was moving, though slowly, in the right direction. 
 
 ' I remembered that the heat annoyed me at the time. 
 It was the month of November ; but it was that peculiar 
 season known as " Indian summer," and the heat was 
 excessive — not under 90 degrees, I am certain. The 
 shrubbery that encircled me prevented a breath of air 
 from reaching my body ; and the rays of the noonday 
 sun fell almost vertically in that southern latitude, 
 scorching me as I lay along the bottom of the boat.
 
 126 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 Under other circumstances, I should not have liked to 
 undergo such a roasting ; but with the prospect of 
 a splendid shot before me, I endured it as best I 
 could. 
 
 ' The skiff was nearly an hour in pushing its way 
 through the field of vallisneria, and once or twice it 
 remained for a considerable time motionless. A 
 stronger breeze, however, would spring up, and then 
 the sound of the reeds rubbing the sides of the boat 
 would gratefully admonish me that I was moving 
 ahead. 
 
 ' I saw, at length, to my great gratification, that I was 
 approaching the selvage of the sedge, and, moreover, 
 that the flock itself was moving, as it were, to meet me ! 
 Many of the birds were diving and feeding in the 
 direction of the skiff. 
 
 ' I lay watching them with interest. I saw that the 
 canvas-backs were accompanied by another species of a 
 very different colour from themselves : this was the 
 American widgeon. It was a curious sight to witness 
 the constant warfare that was carried on between these 
 two species of birds. The widgeon is but a poor diver, 
 while the canvas-back is one of the very best. The 
 widgeon, however, is equally fond of the roots of the 
 wild celery with his congener ; but he has no means of 
 obtaining them except by robbing the latter. Being a 
 smaller and less powerful bird, he is not able to do this 
 openly ; and it was curious to observe the means by 
 which he effected his purpose. It was as follows : When 
 the canvas-back descends, he must perforce remain some 
 moments underwater. It requires time to seize hold of 
 the plant, and pluck it up by the roots. In consequence 
 of this, he usually reaches the surface in a state of half- 
 blindness, holding the luscious morsel in his bill. The 
 widgeon has observed him going down ; and, calculating 
 to a nicety the spot where he will reappear, seats himself 
 in readiness. The moment the other emerges, and 
 before he can fully recover his sight or his senses, the 
 active spoliator makes a dash, seizes the celery in his 
 horny mandibles, and makes off with it as fast as his
 
 A Duck-Shooting Adventure 127 
 
 webbed feet can propel him. The canvas-back, although 
 chagrined at being plundered in this impudent manner, 
 knows that pursuit would be idle, and, setting the root 
 down as lost, draws a fresh breath, and dives for another. 
 I noticed in the flock a continual recurrence of such 
 scenes. 
 
 ' A third species of birds drew my attention. These 
 were the pochards, or, as they are termed by the 
 gunners of the Chesapeake, " red-heads." These 
 creatures bear a very great resemblance to the canvas- 
 backs, and can hardly be distinguished except by their 
 bills : those of the former being concave along the upper 
 surface, while the bills of the canvas-backs exhibit a 
 nearly straight line. 
 
 ' I saw that the pochards did not interfere with either 
 of the other species, contenting themselves with feeding 
 upon what neither of the others cared for — the green 
 leaves of the vallisncria, which, after being stripped of 
 their roots, were floating in quantities on the surface of 
 the water. Yet these pochards are almost as much 
 prized for the table as their cousins the canvas-backs ; 
 and, indeed, I have since learnt that they are often put 
 off for the latter by the poulterers of New York and 
 Philadelphia. Those who would buy a real canvas-back 
 should know something of natural history. The form 
 and colour of the bill would serve as a criterion to 
 prevent their being deceived. In the pochard, the bill is 
 of a bluish colour ; that of the canvas-back is dark green ; 
 moreover, the eye of the pochard is yellow, while that of 
 its congener is fiery red. 
 
 ' I was gratified in perceiving that I had at last drifted 
 within range of a thick clump of the ducks. Nothing 
 now remained but to poke my gun noiselessly through 
 the bushes, set the cocks of both barrels, take aim, and 
 fire. 
 
 ' It was my intention to follow the usual plan — that is, 
 fire one barrel at the birds while sitting, and give them 
 the second as they rose upon the wing. This intention 
 was carried out the moment after ; and I had the 
 gratification of seeing some fifteen or twenty ducks
 
 128 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 strewed over the water at my service. The rest of the 
 flock rose into the heavens, and the clapping of their 
 winf^s filled the air with a noise that resembled thunder. 
 
 ' I sa}' that there appeared to have been fifteen or 
 twent}' killed ; iiow many I never knew : I never laid my 
 hands upon a single bird of them. I became differently 
 occupied, and with a matter that soon drove canvas- 
 backs, and widgeons, and pochards as clean out of my 
 head as if no such creatures had ever existed. 
 
 'While drifting through the sedge, my attention had 
 several times been attracted by what appeared to be 
 strange conduct on the part of my canine companion. 
 He lay cowering in the bottom of the boat near the 
 bow, and half covered by the bushes ; but every now 
 and then he would start to his feet, look wildly around, 
 utter a strange whimpering, and then resume his 
 crouching attitude. I noticed, moreover, that at inter- 
 vals he trembled as if he was about to shake out his 
 teeth. All this had caused me wonder — nothing more. 
 I was too much occupied in watching the game to 
 speculate upon causes ; 1 believed, if I formed any belief 
 on the subject, that these manojuvres were caused by 
 fear ; that the cur had never been to sea, and that he 
 was now either sea-sick or sea-scared. 
 
 ' This explanation had hitherto satisfied me, and I had 
 thought no more upon the matter. I had scarcely de- 
 livered my second barrel, however, when my attention 
 was anew attracted to the dog ; and this time was so 
 arrested, that in one half-second I thought of nothing 
 else. The animal had arisen, and stood within three feet 
 of me, whining hideously. His eyes glared upon me 
 with a wild and unnatural expression, his tongue lolled 
 out, and saliva fell copiously from his lips. The dog 
 was mad! 
 
 ' I saw that the dog was mad, as certainly as I saw 
 the dog. I had seen mad dogs before, and knew the 
 symptoms well. It was hydrophobia of the most 
 dangerous character. 
 
 ' Fear, quick and sudden, came over me. Fear is a 
 tame word ; horror, I should call it ; and the phrase
 
 A Duck- Shooting Adventure 129 
 
 "i) 
 
 would not be too strong to express my sensations at 
 that moment. I knew myself to be in a situation of 
 extreme peril, and I saw not the way out of it. Death — 
 death painful and horrid — appeared to be nigh, ap- 
 peared to confront me, glaring from out the eyes of the 
 hideous brute. 
 
 ' Instinct had caused me to put myself in an attitude 
 of defence. My first instinct was a false one. I raised 
 my gun, at the same moment manipulating the lock, 
 with the design of cocking her. In the confusion of 
 terror, I had even forgotten that both barrels were 
 empty, that I had just scattered their contents in the 
 sea. 
 
 ' I thought of re-loading ; but a movement of the dog 
 towards me showed that that would be a dangerous 
 experiment ; and a third thought or instinct directed 
 me to turn the piece in my hand, and defend myself, if 
 necessary, with the butt. This instinct was instantly 
 obeyed, and in a second's time I held the piece clubbed 
 and ready to strike. 
 
 ' I had retreated backward until I stood in the stern of 
 the skiff. The dog had hitherto lain close up to the 
 bow, but after the shots, he had sprung up and taken a 
 position nearer the centre of the boat. In fact, he had 
 been within biting distance of me before I had noticed 
 his madness. The position into which I had thus half 
 involuntarily thrown myself, offered me but a trifling 
 security. 
 
 * Any one who has ever rowed an American skiff will 
 remember that these little vessels are " crank " to an 
 extreme degree. Although boat-shaped above, they are 
 without keels, and a rude step will turn them bottom 
 upward in an instant. Even to stand upright in them, 
 requires careful balancing ; but to fight a mad dog in 
 one without being bitten, would require the skill and 
 adroitness of an acrobat. With all my caution, as I half 
 stood, half crouched in the stern, the skiff rocked from 
 side to side, and I was in danger of being pitched out. 
 Should the dog spring at me, I knew that any violent 
 exertion to fend him off would either cause me to be 
 
 I
 
 130 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 precipitated into the water, or would upset the boat — a 
 still more dreadful alternative, 
 
 ' These thoughts did not occupy half the time I have 
 taken to describe them. Short, however, as that time was 
 in actual duration, to me it seemed long enough for the 
 dog still held a threatening attitude, his forepaws resting 
 upon one of the seats, while his eyes continued to glare 
 upon me with a wild and uncertain expression. 
 
 ' I remained for some moments in fearful suspense. 
 I was half paralysed with terror, and uncertain what 
 action it would be best to take. I feared that any 
 movement would attract the fierce animal, and be the 
 signal for him to spring upon me. I thought of jumping 
 out of the skiff into the water. I could not wade in it. 
 It was shallow enough — not over five feet in depth, but 
 the bottom appeared to be of soft mud. I might sink 
 another foot in the mud. No ; I could not have waded. 
 The idea was dismissed. 
 
 ' To swim to the shore ? I glanced sideways in that 
 direction : it was nearly half a mile distant. I could 
 never reach it, cumbered with my clothes. To have 
 stripped these off, would have tempted the attack. Even 
 could I have done so, might not the dug follow and 
 seize me in the water ? A horrible thought ! 
 
 ' I abandoned all hope of escape, at least that might 
 arise from any active measures on my part. I could 
 do nothing to save myself; my only hope lay in passively 
 awaiting the result. 
 
 ' Impressed with this idea, I remained motionless as a 
 statue ; I moved neither hand nor foot from the attitude 
 I had first assumed ; I scarcely permitted myself to 
 breathe, so much did I dread attracting the farther 
 attention of my terrible companion, and interrupting 
 the neutrality that existed. 
 
 * For some minutes — they seemed hours — this state 
 of affairs continued. The dog still stood up, with his 
 forepaws raised upon the bench ; the oars were among 
 his feet. In this position he remained, gazing wildly, 
 though it did not appear to me steadily, in my face. 
 Several times I thought he was about to spring on me ;
 
 A Duck-Shooting Adventure 131 
 
 and, although I carefully avoided making any movement, 
 I instinctively grasped my gun with a firmer hold. To 
 add to my embarrassment, I saw that I was fast drifting 
 seaward ! The wind was from the shore ; it was impelling 
 the boat with considerable velocity, in consequence of the 
 mass of bushes acting as sails. Already it had cleared 
 the sedge, and was floating out in open water. To my 
 dismay, at less than a mile's distance, I descried a line of 
 breakers ! 
 
 'A side-glance was sufficient to convince me, that 
 unless the skiff was checked, she would drift upon these 
 in the space of ten minutes. 
 
 'A fearful alternative now presented itself: I must 
 either drive the dog from the oars, or allow the skiff to 
 be swamped among the breakers. The latter would be 
 certain death, the former offered a chance for life, and, 
 nerving myself with the palpable necessity for action, I 
 instantly resolved to make the attack. 
 
 ' Whether the dog had read my intention in my eyes, 
 or observed my fingers taking a firmer clutch of my 
 gun, I know not, but at this moment he seemed to evince 
 sudden fear, and, dropping down from the seat, he ran 
 backward to the bow, and cowered there as before. 
 
 ' My first impulse was to get hold of the oars, for the 
 roar of the breakers already filled my ears. A better 
 idea suggested itself immediately after, and that was to 
 load my gun. This was a delicate business, but I set 
 about it with all the caution I could command. 
 
 ' I kept my eyes fixed upon the animal, and felt the 
 powder, the wadding, and the shot, into the muzzle. I 
 succeeded in loading one barrel, and fixing the cap. 
 
 ' As I had now something upon which I could rely, I 
 proceeded with more confidence, and loaded the second 
 barrel with greater care, the dog eyeing me all the 
 while. Had madness not obscured his intelligence, he 
 would no doubt have interrupted my manipulations ; as 
 it was, he remained still until both barrels were loaded, 
 capped, and cocked. 
 
 ' I had no time to spare ; the breakers were nigh ; 
 their hoarse " sough " warned me of their perilous
 
 132 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 proximity ; a minute more, and the little skiff would be 
 dancing among them like a shell, or sunk for ever. 
 
 ' Not a moment was to be lost, and yet I had to 
 proceed with caution. I dared not raise the gun to my 
 shoulder — I dared not glance along the barrels : the 
 manceuvre might rouse the dangerous brute. 
 
 ' I held the piece low, slanting along my thighs. I 
 guided the barrels with my mind, and, feeling the 
 direction to be true, I fired. 
 
 ' I scarcely heard the report, on account of the roaring 
 of the sea ; but I saw the dog roll over, kicking violently. 
 I saw a livid patch over his ribs, where the shot had 
 entered in a clump. This would no doubt have proved 
 sufficient ; but to make sure, I raised the gun to my 
 shoulder, took aim, and sent the contents of the second 
 barrel through the ribs of the miserable brute. His 
 kicking ended almost instantly, and he lay dead in the 
 bottom of the boat. 
 
 ' I dropped my gun and flew to the oars ; it was a 
 close " shave " ; the skiff was already in white water, and 
 dancing like a feather; but with a few strokes I succeeded 
 in backing her out, and then heading her away from the 
 breakers, I pulled in a direct line for the shore. 
 
 ' I thought not of my canvas-backs — they had floated 
 by this time, I neither knew nor cared whither : the 
 sharks might have them for me. My only care was to 
 get away from the scene as quickly as possible, deter- 
 mined never again to go duck-shooting with a cur for 
 my companion.'
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 HUNTING THE VICUNA 
 
 During our next day's march the only incident that 
 befel us was the breaking of our waggon-tongue, which 
 delayed our journey. There was plenty of good hickory- 
 wood near the place, and Jake, with a little help from 
 Redwood and Ike and Lanty, soon spliced it again, 
 making it stronger than ever. Of course it shortened 
 our journey for the day, and we encamped at the end of 
 a ten miles' march. Strange to say, on the whole ten 
 miles we did not meet with a single animal to give 
 us a little sport, or to form the subject of our camp 
 talk. 
 
 We were not without a subject, however, as our 
 English friend proposed giving us an account of the 
 mode of hunting the vicuna, and the details of a week's 
 hunting he had enjoyed upon the high table-lands of 
 the Peruvian Andes. He also imparted to our camp- 
 fire circle much information about the different species 
 of that celebrated animal the llama or ' camel-sheep ' of 
 Peru, which proved extremely interesting, not only to 
 the old hunter-naturalist, but to the * mountain-men', to 
 whom this species of game, as well as the mode of 
 hunting it, was something new. 
 
 Thompson began his narrative as follows : 
 
 ' When Pizarro and his Spaniards first climbed the 
 Peruvian Andes, they were astonished at seeing a new 
 and singular species of quadrupeds, the camel-sheep, so 
 called from their resemblance to these two kinds of 
 animals. They saw the " llama " domesticated and 
 trained to carrying burdens, and the " alpaca," a smaller 
 species, reared on account of its valuable fleece. 
 
 * But there were still two other species of these odd 
 
 ^33
 
 134 T]ie H winters' Feast 
 
 animals only observed in a wild state, and in the more 
 desolate and uninhabited parts of the Cordilleras. These 
 were the " guanaco " and " vicuna." 
 
 * Up to a very late period the guanaco was believed 
 to be the llama in its wild state, and by some the llama 
 run wild. This, however, is not the case. The four 
 species, llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna are quite 
 distinct from each other, and although the guanaco can 
 be tamed and taught to carry burdens, its labour is not 
 of sufficient value to render this worth while. The 
 alpaca is never used as a beast of burden. Its fleece is 
 the consideration for which it is domesticated and 
 reared, and its wool is much finer and more valuable 
 than that of the llama. 
 
 * The guanaco is, perhaps, the least prized of the four, 
 as its fleece is of indifferent quality, and its flesh is not 
 esteemed. The vicuna, on the contrary, yields a wool 
 which is eagerly sought after, and which in the Andes 
 towns will sell for at least five times its weight in 
 alpaca wool. Ponchos woven out of it arc deemed the 
 finest made, and command the fabulous price of 20/. or 
 30/. sterling. A rich proprietor in the Cordilleras is 
 often seen with such a poncho, and the quality of the 
 garment, the length of time it will turn rain, &c., are 
 favourite subjects of conversation with the wearers of 
 them. Of course everybody in those parts possesses 
 one, as everybody in England or the United States 
 must have a great coat ; but the ponchos of the poorer 
 classes of Peruvians — the Indian labourers, shepherds, 
 and miners — are usually manufactured out of the coarse 
 wool of the llama. Only the "ricos" can afford the 
 beautiful fabric of the vicuna's fleece. 
 
 ' The wool of the vicuna being so much in demand, it 
 will be easily conceived that hunting the animal is a 
 profitable pursuit ; and so it is. In many parts of the 
 Andes there are regular vicuna hunters, while, in other 
 places, whole tribes of Peruvian Indians spend a part of 
 every year in the chase of this animal and the guanaco, 
 When we go farther south, in the direction of Patagonia 
 we find other tribes who subsist principally upon the
 
 Hunting the Vicuna 135 
 
 guanaco, the vicuna, and the rhea or South-American 
 ostrich. 
 
 ' Hunting the vicuna is by no means an easy calling. 
 The hunter must betake himself to the highest and 
 coldest regions of the Andes — far from civilised life, 
 and far from its comforts. He has to encamp in the 
 open air, and sleep in a cave, or a rude hut, built by his 
 own hands. He has to endure a climate as severe as a 
 Lapland winter, often in places where not a stick of 
 wood can be procured, and where he is compelled to 
 cook his meals with the dry ordure of wild cattle. 
 
 * If not successful in the chase he is brought to the 
 verge of starvation, and must have recourse to roots and 
 berries — a few species of which, such as the tuberous 
 root " maca," are found growing in these elevated 
 regions. lie is exposed, moreover, to the perils of 
 the precipice, the creaking "soga" bridge, the slippery 
 path, and the hoarse rushing torrent — and these among 
 the rugged Cordilleras of the Andes are no mean dangers. 
 A life of toil, exposure, and peril is that of the vicuna 
 hunter. 
 
 ' During my travels in Peru I had resolved to enjoy 
 the sport of hunting the vicuna. For this purpose I set 
 out from one of the towns of the Lower Sierra, and 
 climbed up the high region known as the " Puna," or 
 sometimes as the "Despoblado" (the uninhabited region). 
 
 ' I reached at length the edge of a plain to which I 
 had mounted by many a weary path — up many a dark 
 ravine. I was twelve or fourteen thousand feet above 
 sea level, and although I had just parted from the land 
 of the palm-tree and the orange, I was now in a region 
 cold and sterile. Mountains were before and around 
 me — some bleak and dark, others shining under a robe 
 of snow, and still others of that greyish hue as if snow 
 had freshly fallen upon them, but not enough to cover 
 their stony surface. The plain before me was several 
 miles in circumference. It was only part of a system of 
 similar levels separated from each other by spurs of the 
 mountains. By crossing a ridge another comes in view, 
 a deep cleft leads you into a third, and so on.
 
 136 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' These table plains are too cold for the agriculturist. 
 Only the cereal barley will grow there, and some of those 
 hardy roots — the natives of an arctic zone. But they 
 are covered with a sward of grass — the " ycha " grass, 
 the favourite food of the llamas — and this renders them 
 serviceable to man. Herds of half-wild cattle may be 
 seen, tended by their wilder-looking shepherds. Flocks 
 of alpacas, female llamas with their young, and long- 
 tailed Peruvian sheep, stray over them, and to some 
 extent relieve their cheerless aspect. The giant vulture 
 — the condor, wheels above all, or perches on the jutting 
 rock. Here and there, in some sheltered nook, may be 
 seen the dark mud hut of the " vaquero " (cattle herd), or 
 the man himself, with his troop of savage curs following 
 at his heels, and this is all the sign of habitation or 
 inhabitant to be met with for hundreds of miles. This 
 bleak land, up among the mountain tops of the Andes, 
 as I have already said, is called the " Puna." 
 
 ' The Puna is the favourite haunt of the vicuiia, and, of 
 course, the home of the vicuna hunter. I had directions 
 to find one of these hunters, and an introduction to him 
 when found, and after spending the night at a shepherd's 
 hut, I proceeded next morning in search of him — some 
 ten miles farther into the mountains. 
 
 ' I arrived at the house, or rather hovel, at an early 
 hour. Notwithstanding, my host had been abroad, and 
 was just returned with full hands, having a large bundle 
 of dead animals in each. They were chinchillas and 
 viscachas, which he had taken out of his snares set over- 
 night. He said that most of them had been freshly 
 caught, as their favourite time of coming out of their 
 dens to feed is just before daybreak. 
 
 * These two kinds of animals, which in many respects 
 resemble our rabbits, also resemble each other in habits. 
 They make their nests in crevices of the rocks, to which 
 they retreat, when pursued, as rabbits to their burrows. 
 Of course, they are snared in a very similar manner — 
 by setting the snares upon their tracks, and at the 
 entrances to their holes. One difference I noted. The 
 Peruvian hunter used snares made of twisted horse-hair,
 
 Hunting the Vicufia 137 
 
 instead of the spring wire employed by our gamekeepers 
 and poachers. The chinchilla is a much more beautiful 
 creature than the viscacha, and is a better known 
 animal, its soft and beautifully-marbled fur being an 
 article of fashionable wear in the cities of Europe. 
 
 ' As I approached his hut, the hunter had just arrived 
 with the night's produce of his snares, and was hanging 
 them up to the side of the building, skinning them one 
 by one. Not less than half a score of small, foxy- 
 looking dogs were around him — true native dogs of the 
 country. 
 
 ' Of the disposition of these creatures I was soon made 
 aware. No sooner had they espied me, than with angry 
 yelps the whole pack ran forward to meet me, and came 
 barking and grinning close around the feet of my horse. 
 Several of them sprang upward at my legs, and would, 
 no doubt, have bitten them, had I not suddenly raised 
 my feet up to the withers, and for some time held them 
 in that position. I have no hesitation in saying that 
 had I been afoot, I should have been badly torn by the 
 curs ; nor do I hesitate to say, that of all the dogs in the 
 known world, these Peruvian mountain dogs are the 
 most vicious and spiteful. They will bite even the 
 friends of their own masters, and very often their masters 
 themselves have to use the stick to keep them in 
 subjection. I believe the dogs found among many 
 tribes of your North-American Indians have a very 
 similar disposition, though by no means to compare in 
 fierceness and savage nature with their cousins of the 
 cold Puna. 
 
 ' The masters of these dogs are generally Indians, and 
 it is a strange fact, that they are much more spiteful 
 towards the whites than Indians. It is difficult for a 
 white man to get on friendly terms with them. 
 
 ' After a good deal of kicking and cuffing, my host 
 succeeded in making his kennel understand that I had 
 not come there to be eaten up. I then alighted from 
 my horse, and walked (I should say crawled) inside the 
 hut. 
 
 ' This was, as I have already stated, a mere hovel. A
 
 138 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 circular wall of mud and stone, about five feet high, 
 supported a set of poles that served as rafters. These 
 poles were the flower stalks of the great American aloe, 
 or maguey-plant — the only thing resembling wood that 
 grew near. Over these was laid a thick layer of Puna 
 grass, which was tied with strong ropes of the same 
 material, to keep it from flying off when the wind blew 
 violently, which it there often does. A few blocks of 
 stone in the middle of the floor constituted the fire-place, 
 and the smoke got out the best way it could through a 
 hole in the roof 
 
 'The owner of this mansion was a true Indian, 
 belonging to one of those tribes of the mountains that 
 could not be said ever to have been conquered by the 
 Spaniards. Living in remote districts, many of these 
 people never submitted to the repartimientos, yet a sort 
 of religious conquest was made of some of them by the 
 missionaries, thus bringing them under the title of 
 " Indies mansos" (tame Indians), in contradistinction to 
 the " Indies bravos," or savage tribes, who remain 
 unconquered and independent to this day. 
 
 * As already stated, I had come by appointment to 
 share the day's hunt. 1 was invited to partake of 
 breakfast. My host, being a bachelor, was his own cook, 
 and some parched maize and " macas," with a roasted 
 chinchilla, furnished the repast. 
 
 'Fortunately I carried with me a flask of Catalan 
 brandy ; and this, with a cup of water from the icy 
 mountain spring, rendered our meal more palatable. I 
 was not without some dry tobacco, and a husk to roll 
 it in, so that we enjoyed our cigar ; but what our hunter 
 enjoyed still more was a "coceada," for he was a regular 
 chewer of "coca." He carried his pouch of chinchilla 
 skin filled with the dried leaves of the coca plant, and 
 around his neck was suspended the gourd bottle, filled 
 with burnt lime and ashes of the root of the " moll6 " 
 tree. 
 
 ' All things arranged, we started forth. It was to be a 
 "still " hunt, and we went afoot, leaving our horses tied 
 by the hut. The Indian took with him only one of his
 
 Hunting the Vicuna 139 
 
 dogs — a faithful and trusty one, on which he could 
 rely. 
 
 ' We skirted the plain, and struck into a defile in the 
 mountains. It led upwards, among rocky boulders. A 
 cold stream gurgled in its bottom, now and then leaping 
 over low falls, and churned into foam. At times the 
 path was a giddy one, leading along narrow ledges, 
 rendered more perilous by the frozen snow, that lay to 
 the depth of several inches. Our object was to reach 
 the level of a plain still higher, where my companion 
 assured me we should be likely to happen upon a herd 
 of vicunas. 
 
 'As we climbed among the rocks, my eye was 
 attracted by a moving object, higher up. On looking 
 more attentively, several animals were seen, of large 
 size, and reddish-brown colour. I took them at first for 
 deer, as I was thinking of that animal. I saw my 
 mistake in a moment. They were not deer, but 
 creatures quite as nimble. They were bounding from 
 rock to rock, and running along the narrow ledges with 
 the agility of the chamois. These must be the vicunas, 
 thought I. 
 
 '"No," said my companion; "guanacos — nothing 
 more." 
 
 ' I was anxious to have a shot at them. 
 
 * " Better leave them now," suggested the hunter ; 
 "the report would frighten the vicunas, if they be in the 
 plain — it is near. I know these guanacos. I know 
 where they will retreat to — a defile close by — we can 
 have a chance at them on our return." 
 
 ' I forbore firing, though I certainly deemed the 
 guanacos within shot, but the hunter was thinking of 
 the more precious skin of the vicunas, and we passed 
 on. I saw the guanacos run for a dark-looking cleft 
 between two mountain spurs. 
 
 * " We shall find them in there," muttered my com- 
 panion, " that is their haunt." 
 
 ' Noble game are these guanacos — large fine animals 
 — noble game as the red deer himself. They differ 
 much from the vicunas. They herd only in small
 
 140 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 numbers, from six to ten or a dozen ; while as many as 
 four times this number of vicunas may be seen together. 
 There are essential points of difference in the habits of 
 the two species. The guanacos are dwellers among the 
 rocks, and are most at home when bounding from cliff 
 to cliff, and ledge to ledge. They make but a poor run 
 upon the level grassy plain, and their singular contorted 
 hoofs seem to be adapted for their favourite haunts. 
 The vicunas, on the contrary, prefer the smooth turf of 
 the table plains, over which they dart with the swift- 
 ness of the deer. Both are of the same family of 
 quadrupeds, but with this very essential difference — 
 the one is a dweller of the level plain, the other of the 
 rocky declivity ; and nature has adapted each to its 
 respective habitat! 
 
 Here the narrator was interrupted by the hunter- 
 naturalist, who stated that he had observed this curious 
 fact in relation to other animals of a very different 
 genus, and belonging to the fauna of North America. 
 'The animals I speak of,' said he, 'are indigenous to 
 the region of the Rocky Mountains, and well known 
 to our trapper friends here. They are the big horn 
 {Ovis inontana) and the prong-horned antelope {A. 
 furcifcr). The big horn is usually denominated a sheep, 
 though it possesses far more of the characteristics of the 
 deer and antelope families. Like the chamois, it is a 
 dweller among the rocky cliffs and declivities, and only 
 there does it feel at home, and in the full enjoyment of 
 its faculties for security. Place it upon a level plain, 
 and you deprive it of confidence, and render its capture 
 comparatively easy. At the base of these very cliffs on 
 which the Ovis inontana disports itself, roams the prong- 
 horn, not ver}' dissimilar either in form, colour, or habits; 
 and yet this creature, trusting to its heels for safety, feels 
 at home and secure only on the wide open plain where 
 it can see the horizon around it ! Such is the difference 
 in the mode of life of two species of animals almost 
 cogeneric, and I am not surprised to hear }'0u state that 
 a somewhat like difference exists between the guanaco 
 and vicuna.'
 
 Hunting the VicuHa 141 
 
 The hunter-naturalist was again silent, and the 
 narrator continued. 
 
 ' A few more strides up the mountain pass brought us 
 to the edge of the plain, where we expected to see the 
 vicunas. We were not disappointed. A herd was feeding 
 upon it, though at a good distance off. A beautiful 
 sight they were, quite equalling in grace and stateliness 
 the lordly deer. In fact, they might have passed for 
 the latter to an unpractised eye, particularly at that 
 season when deer are "in the red." Indeed the vicuna 
 is more deer-like than any other animal except the 
 antelope — much more so than its congeners the llama, 
 alpaca, or guanaco. Its form is slender, and its gait 
 light and agile, while the long tapering neck and head 
 add to the resemblance. The colour, however, is 
 peculiarly its own, and any one accustomed to seeing 
 the vicuna can distinguish the orange-red of its silky coat 
 at a glance, and at a great distance. So peculiar is it, 
 that in Peru, the " Colour de vicufia" (vicuna colour) has 
 become a specific name. 
 
 ' My companion at once pronounced the animals 
 before us a herd of vicuiias. There was about twenty in 
 all, and all except one were quietly feeding on the grassy 
 plain. This one stood apart, his long neck raised high 
 in air, and his head occasionally turning from side to 
 side, as though he was keeping watch for the rest. Such 
 was in fact the duty he was performing ; he was the 
 leader of the herd — the patriarch, husband and father of 
 the flock. All the others were ewes or young ones. So 
 affirmed my companion. 
 
 ' The vicuna is polygamous — fights for his harem 
 with desperate fierceness, watches over its number while 
 they feed or sleep, chooses the ground for browsing and 
 rest — defends them against enemies — heads them in the 
 advance, and covers their retreat with his own " person " 
 — such is the domestic economy of the vicuna. 
 
 ' " Now, senor," said the hunter, eyeing the herd, " if I 
 could only kill him (he pointed to the leader), I would 
 have no trouble with the rest. I should get every one 
 of them."
 
 142 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 * " How ? " I inquired. 
 
 ' " Oh ! — they would ! — ha ! The very thing 1 wished 
 for ! " 
 
 ' " What ? " 
 
 '"They are heading towards }'onder rocks." He 
 pointed to a clump of rocky boulders that lay isolated 
 near one side of the plain — " let us get there, comrade — 
 vamos I " 
 
 ' We stole cautiously round the edge of the mountain 
 until the rocks lay between us and the game ; and then 
 crouched forward and took our position among them. 
 We lay behind a jagged boulder, whose seamed outline 
 looked as if it had been designed for loop-hole firing. 
 It was just the cover we wanted. 
 
 ' We peeped cautiously through the cracks of the rock. 
 Already the vicunas were near, almost within range of 
 our pieces. I held in my hands a double-barrel, loaded 
 in both barrels with large-sized buck-shot ; my com- 
 panion's weapon was a long Spanish rifle. 
 
 ' I received his instructions in a whisper. I was not 
 to shoot until he had fired. Both were to aim at the 
 leader. About this he was particular, and I promised 
 obedience. 
 
 ' The unconscious herd drew near. The leader, with 
 the long white silky hair hanging from his breast, was in 
 the advance, and upon him the eyes of both of us were 
 fixed. I could observe his glistening orbs, and his 
 attitude of pride, as he turned at intervals to beckon his 
 followers on. 
 
 ' " I hope he has got the worms," muttered my com- 
 panion ; " if he has, he'll come to rub his hide upon the 
 rocks." 
 
 ' Some such intention was no doubt guiding the 
 vicuna, for at that moment it stretched forth its neck, 
 and trotted a ic^w paces towards us. It suddenly halted. 
 The wind was in our favour, else we should have been 
 scented long ago. But we were suspected. The creature 
 halted, threw up its head, struck the ground with its 
 hoof, and uttered a strange cry, somewhat resembling 
 the whistling of a deer. The echo of that cry was the
 
 Hunting the Vienna 143 
 
 ring of my companion's rifle, and I saw the vicuna leap 
 up and fall dead upon the plain. 
 
 ' I expected the others to break off in flight, and was 
 about to fire at them though they were still at long range. 
 My companion prevented me. 
 
 ' " Hold ! " he whispered, " you'll have a better chance 
 — see there ! — now, if you like, sefior ! " 
 
 'To my surprise, the herd, instead of attempting to 
 escape, came trotting up to where the leader lay, and 
 commenced running around at intervals, stooping over 
 the body, and uttering plaintive cries. 
 
 ' It was a touching sight, but the hunter is without pity 
 for what he deems his lawful game. In an instant I had 
 pulled both triggers, and both barrels had sent forth their 
 united and deadly showers. 
 
 ' Deadly indeed — when the smoke blew aside, nearly 
 half of the herd were seen lying quiet or kicking on the 
 plain. 
 
 ' The rest remained as before ! another ring of the long 
 rifle, and another fell — another double detonation of the 
 heavy deer gun, and several came to the ground ; and so 
 continued the alternate fire of bullets and shot, until the 
 whole herd were strewn dead and dying upon the 
 ground ! 
 
 ' Our work was done — a great day's work for my 
 companion, who would realise nearly a hundred dollars 
 for the produce of his day's sport. 
 
 * This, however, he assured me, was a very unusual 
 piece of good luck. Often for days and even weeks, he 
 would range the mountains without killing a single head 
 — either vicuna or guanaco, and only twice before had 
 he succeeded in thus making a battue of a whole herd. 
 Once he had approached a flock of vicunas disguised in 
 the skin of a guanaco, and killed most of them before 
 they thought of retreating. 
 
 ' It was necessary for us to return to the hut for our 
 horses in order to carry home the game, and this required 
 several journeys to be made. To keep off the wolves 
 and condors my companion made use of a very simple 
 expedient, which I believe is often used in the North —
 
 144 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 among your prairie trappers here. Several bladders 
 were taken from the vicunas and inflated. They were 
 then tied upon poles of maguey, and set upright over the 
 carcasses, so as to dangle and dance about in the wind. 
 Cunning as is the Andes wolf this "scare" is sufficient 
 to keep him off, as well as his ravenous associate, the 
 condor. 
 
 * It was quite night when we reached the Indian hut 
 with our last load. Both of us were wearied and hungry, 
 but a fresh vicuna cutlet, washed down by the Catalan, 
 and followed by a cigarette, made us forget our fatigues. 
 My host was more than satisfied with his day's work, 
 and promised me a guanaco hunt for the morrow.'
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A CHACU OF VICUNAS 
 
 'Well, upon the morrow,' continued the Englishman, 
 ' we had our guanaco hunt, and killed several of the herd 
 we had seen on the previous day. There was nothing 
 particular in regard to our mode of hunting — farther than 
 to use all our cunning in getting within shot, and then 
 letting fly at them, 
 
 ' It is not so easy getting near the guanaco. He is 
 among the shyest game I have ever hunted, and his 
 position is usually so far above that of the hunter, that he 
 commands at all times a view of the movements of the 
 latter. The over-hanging rocks, however, help one a 
 little, and by diligent creeping he is sometimes ap- 
 proached. It requires a dead shot to bring him down, 
 for, if only wounded, he will scale the cliffs, and make off 
 — perhaps to die in some inaccessable haunt. 
 
 ' While sojourning with my hunter-friend, I heard of a 
 singular method practised by the Indians, of capturing 
 the vicuna in large numbers. This was called the 
 " chacu." 
 
 ' Of course I became very desirous of witnessing a 
 " chacu," and the hunter promised to gratify me. It was 
 now the season of the year for such expeditions, and one 
 was to come off in a few days. It was the annual hunt 
 got up by the tribe to which my host belonged ; and, of 
 course, he, as a practised and professional hunter, was to 
 bear a distinguished part in the ceremony. 
 
 'The day before the expedition was to set out, we 
 repaired to the village of the tribe — a collection of rude 
 huts, straggling along the bottom of one of the deep clefts 
 or valleys of the Cordilleras. This village lay several 
 thousand feet below the level of the Puna plains, and was 
 
 145 K
 
 146 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 therefore in a much warmer climate. In fact the sugar- 
 cane and yucca plant {Jatropha viainhot) were both seen 
 growing in the gardens of the villagers, and Indian corn 
 flourished in the fields. 
 
 'The inhabitants were "Indies mansos" (civilised 
 Indians). They attended part of the year to agriculture, 
 although the greater part of it was spent in idleness, 
 amusements, or hunting. They had been converted — 
 that is nominally — to Christianity ; and a Church with 
 its cross was a prominent feature of the village. 
 
 ' The cur6, or priest, was the only white man resident in 
 the place, and he was white only by comparison. Though 
 of pure Spanish blood, he would have passed for a 
 " coloured old gentleman " in any part of Europe or the 
 States. 
 
 ' My companion introduced me to the padre, and I was 
 at once received upon terms of intimacy. To mysurprise 
 I learnt that he was to accompany the chacu — in fact to 
 take a leading part in it. He seemed to be as much in- 
 terested in the success of the hunt as any of them — more 
 so, perhaps, and with good reason too. I afterwards 
 learnt why. The produce of the annual hunt was part of 
 the padre's income. By an established law, the skins of 
 the vicunas were the property of the church, and these, 
 being worth on the spot at least a dollar a-piece, formed 
 no despicable tithe. After hearing this I was at no loss 
 to understand the padre's enthusiasm about the chacu. 
 All the day before he had been bustling about among his 
 parishioners, aiding them with his counsel, and assisting 
 them in their preparations. I shared the padre's dwelling, 
 the best in the village ; his supper too — a stewed fowl, 
 killed for the occasion, and rendered fiery hot with " aji," 
 or capsicum. This was washed down with " chica," and 
 afterwards the padre and I indulged in a cigarette and a 
 chat. 
 
 ' He was a genuine specimen of the South-American 
 missionary priest ; rather more scrupulous about getting 
 his dues than about the moral welfare of his flock ; fat, 
 somewhat greasy, fond of a good dinner, a glass of " Yea " 
 brandy, and a cigarette. Nevertheless, his rule was
 
 A Chacu of Vicuiias 147 
 
 patriarchal in a high degree, and he was a favourite with 
 the simple people among whom he dwelt. 
 
 * Morning came, and the expedition set forth ; not, 
 however, until a grand mass had been celebrated in the 
 church, and prayers offered up for the success of the 
 hunt. The cavalcade then got under weigh, and 
 commenced winding up the rugged path that led toward 
 the "Altos," or Puna heights. We travelled in a 
 different direction from that in which my companion 
 and I had come. 
 
 ' The expedition itself was a picturesque affair. There 
 were horses, mules, and llamas, men, women, children, 
 and dogs ; in fact, almost every living thing in the 
 village had turned out. A chacu is no common occasion 
 — no one day affair. It was to be an affair of weeks. 
 There were rude tents carried along; blankets and 
 cooking utensils ; and the presence of the women was 
 as necessary as any part of the expedition. Their office 
 would be to do the cooking, and keep the camp in order 
 as well as to assist in the hunt. 
 
 'Strung out in admirable confusion, we climbed up 
 the mountain — a picturesque train — the men swinging 
 along in their coloured ponchos of llama wool, and the 
 women dressed in bright mantas of " bayeta " (a coarse 
 cloth, of native manufacture). I noticed several mules 
 and llamas packed with loads of a curious character. 
 Some carried large bundles of rags — others were loaded 
 with coils of rope — while several were " freighted " with 
 short poles, tied in bunches. I had observed these 
 cargoes being prepared before leaving the village, and 
 could not divine the use of them. That would no 
 doubt be explained when we had reached the scene of 
 the chacu, and I forbore to trouble my companions with 
 any interrogatories, as I had enough to do to guide my 
 horse along the slippery path we were travelling. 
 
 * About a mile from the village there was a sudden 
 halt. I inquired the cause. 
 
 ' " The Jiuarol^ was the reply. 
 
 ' I knew the huaro to be the name of a peculiar kind 
 of bridge, and I learnt that one was here to be crossed.
 
 148 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 I rode forward, and found myself in front of the huaro. 
 A singular structure it was. I could scarcely believe in 
 the practicability of our getting over it. The padre, 
 however, assured me it was a good one, and we should 
 all be on the other side in a couple of hours I 
 
 ' I at first felt inclined to treat this piece of information 
 as a joke ; but it proved that the priest was in earnest. 
 It was full two hours before we were all crossed with our 
 bag and baggage. 
 
 'The huaro was nothing more than a thick rope 
 stretched across the chasm, and made fast at both ends. 
 On this rope was a strong piece of wood, bent into the 
 shape of the letter U, and fastened to a roller which 
 rested upon the rope, and moved along it when pulled 
 by a cord from either side. There were two cords, or 
 ropes, attached to the roller, one leading to each side of 
 the chasm, and their object was to drag the passenger 
 across : of course, only one of us could be carried over 
 at a time. No wonder we were so long in making the 
 crossing, when there were over one hundred in all, with 
 numerous articles of baggage. 
 
 ' I shall never forget the sensations I experienced in 
 making the passage of the huaro. I had felt giddy 
 enough in going over the " soga " bridges and 
 "barbacoas" common throughout Peru, but the 
 passage of the huaro is really a gymnastic feat of no 
 easy accomplishment. I was first tied, back down- 
 wards, with my back resting in the cavity of the bent 
 wood ; my legs were then crossed over the main rope — 
 the bridge itself — with nothing to hold them there 
 farther than my own muscular exertion. With my 
 hands I clutched the vertical side of the wooden yoke, 
 and was told to keep my head in as upright a position 
 as possible. Without farther ado I felt myself jerked 
 out until I hung in empty air over a chasm that opened 
 at least two hundred feet beneath, and through the 
 bottom of which a white torrent was foaming over black 
 rocks ! My ankles slipped along the rope, but the 
 sensation was so strange, that I felt several times on 
 the point of letting them drop off. In that case my
 
 A Chacii of VicuHas 149 
 
 situation would have been still more painful, as I should 
 have depended mainly on my arms for support. Indeed, 
 I held on tightly with both hands, as I fancied that the 
 cord with which I had been tied to the yoke would 
 every minute give way. 
 
 ' After a good deal of jerking and hauling, I found 
 myself on the opposite side, and once more on my 
 feet ! 
 
 ' I was almost repaid for the fright I had gone through, 
 by seeing the great fat padre pulled over. It was cer- 
 tainly a ludicrous sight, and I laughed the more, as I 
 fancied the old fellow had taken occasion to laugh at me. 
 He took it all in good part, however, telling me that it 
 caused him no fear, as he had long been accustomed to 
 those kind of bridges. 
 
 ' This slow and laborious method of crossing streams 
 is not uncommon in many parts of the Andes. It occurs 
 in retired and thinly-populated districts, where there is 
 no means for building bridges of regular construction. 
 Of course, the traveller himself only can be got over by 
 the huaro. His horse, mule, or llamas must swim the 
 stream, and in many instances these are carried off by 
 the rapid current, or dashed against the rocks and 
 killed. 
 
 ' The whole cavallada of the expedition got safely 
 over, and in a short while we were all en route, once more 
 climbing up towards the "altos," I asked my com- 
 panion why we could not have got over the stream at 
 some other point, and thus have saved the time and 
 labour. The answer was, that it would have cost us a 
 twenty miles' journey to have reached a point no nearer 
 our destination than the other end of the huaro rope ! 
 No wonder such pains had been taken to ferry the party 
 across. 
 
 ' We reached the heights late in the evening. The 
 hunt would not begin until the next day. 
 
 ' That evening was spent in putting up tents, and 
 getting everything in order about the camp. The tent 
 of the padre was conspicuous — it was the largest, and I 
 was invited to share it with him. The horses and other
 
 150 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 animals were picketted or hoppled upon the plain, which 
 was covered with a short brown grass. 
 
 ' The air was chill — cold, in fact — we were nearly three 
 miles above ocean level. The women and youths em- 
 ployed themselves in collecting taquia to make fires. 
 There was plenty of this, for the plain where we had 
 halted was a pasture of large flocks of llamas and horned 
 cattle. It was not there wc expected to fall in with the 
 vicunas. A string of "altos," still further on, were their 
 favourite haunts. Our first camp was sufficiently con- 
 venient to begin the hunt. It would be moved farther on 
 when the plains in its neighbourhood had been hunted, 
 and the game should grow scarce. 
 
 ' Morning arrived, but before daybreak, a large party 
 had set off, taking with them the ropes, poles, and 
 bundles of rags I have already noticed. The women 
 and boys accompanied this party. Their destination 
 was a large table plain, contiguous to that on which we 
 had encamped. 
 
 ' An hour afterwards the rest of the party set forth — 
 most of them mounted one way or other. These were 
 the real hunters, or "drivers." Along with them went 
 the dogs — the whole canine population of the village. 
 I should have preferred riding with this party, but the 
 padre took me along with himself, promising to guide 
 me to a spot where I should get the best view of the 
 chacu. He and I rode forward alone. 
 
 'In half an hour we reached the plain where the first 
 party had gone. They were all at work as we came 
 up — scattered over the plain — and I now saw the use 
 that was to be made of the ropes and rags. With them 
 a pound, or "corral," was in process of construction. 
 Part of it was already finished, and I perceived that it 
 was to be of a circular shape. The poles, or stakes, 
 were driven into the ground in a curving line at 
 the distance of about a rod from each other. When 
 thus driven, each stake stood four feet high, and 
 from the top of one to the other, ropes were ranged 
 and tied, thus making the enclosure complete. 
 Along these ropes were knotted the rags and strips
 
 A Chacii of Vicunas 151 
 
 of cotton, so as to hang nearly to the ground, or flutter 
 in the wind ; and this slight semblance of a fence was 
 continued over the plain in a circumference of nearly 
 three miles in length. One side, for a distance of several 
 hundred yards, was left unfinished, and this was the 
 entrance to the corral. Of course, this was in the 
 direction from which the drove was to come. 
 
 *As soon as the enclosure was ready, those engaged 
 upon it withdrew in two parties to the opposite flanks, 
 and then deployed off in diverging lines, so as to form a 
 sort of funnel, at least two miles in width. In this 
 position they remained to await the result of the drive, 
 most of them squatting down to rest themselves. 
 
 ' Meanwhile the drive was proceeding, although the 
 hunters engaged in it were at a great distance — scarcely 
 seen from our position. They, too, had gone out in two 
 parties, taking opposite directions, and skirting the hills 
 that surrounded the plain. Their circuit could not have 
 been less than a dozen miles ; and, as soon as fairly 
 round, they deployed themselves into a long arc, with 
 its concavity towards the rope corral. Then, facing 
 inward, the forward movement commenced. Whatever 
 animals chanced to be feeding between them and the 
 enclosure were almost certain of being driven into it. 
 
 ' The padre had led me to an elevated position among 
 the rocks. It commanded a view of the rope circle ; but 
 we were a long while waiting before the drivers came in 
 sight. At length we descried the line of mounted men 
 far off upon the plain, and, on closely scrutinising the 
 ground between them and us, we could distinguish 
 several reddish forms gliding about : these were the 
 vicunas. There appeared to be several bands of them, 
 as we saw some at different points. They were crossing 
 and rccrossing the line of the drive, evidently startled, 
 and not knowing in what direction to run. Every now 
 and then a herd, led by its old male, could be seen 
 shooting in a straight line — then suddenly making a 
 halt — and the next minute sweeping off in a contrary 
 direction. Their beautiful orange-red flanks, glistening 
 in the sun, enabled us to mark them at a great distance.
 
 152 TJie Htmters' Feast 
 
 ' The drivers came nearer and nearer, until we could 
 distinguish the forms of the horsemen as they rose over 
 the swells of the plain. We could now hear their shouts 
 — the winding of their ox-horns, and even the yelping of 
 their dogs. But what most gratified my companion was 
 to see that several herds of vicunas were bounding 
 backwards and forwards in front of the advancing line. 
 
 ' " Mira ! " he cried exultingly, " viira ! sefior, one, two, 
 three, four — four herds and large ones — ah ! Carranibo ! 
 Jesus!" continued he, suddenly changing tone, "mr- 
 rambo ! esos malditos guanacos I " (those cursed guanacos). 
 I looked as he was pointing. I noticed a small band of 
 guanacos springing over the plain. I could easily 
 distinguish them from the vicunas by their being larger 
 and less graceful in their motions, but more particularly 
 by the duller hue of brownish-red. But what was there 
 in their presence to draw down the maledictions of the 
 padre, which he continued to lavish upon them most 
 unsparingly ? I put the question. 
 
 ' " Ah ! sefior," he answered with a sigh, " these 
 guanacos will spoil all — they will ruin the hunt. 
 Caspita ! " 
 
 *" How ? in what manner, mio padre ? " I asked in my 
 innocence, thinking that a fine herd of guanacos would 
 be inclosed along with their cousins, and that " all were 
 fish," &c. 
 
 ' " Ah ! " exclaimed the padre, " these guanacos arc 
 hereticos — reckless brutes, they pay no regard to the 
 ropes — they will break through and let the others escape 
 — santissivia virgoi ! what is to be done ? " 
 
 ' Nothing could be done except leave things to take 
 their course, for in a few minutes the horsemen were 
 seen advancing, until their line closed upon the funnel 
 formed by the others. The vicunas, in several troops, 
 now rushed wildly from side to side, turning sharply as 
 they approached the figures of the men and women, and 
 running in the opposite direction. There were some 
 fifty or sixty in all, and at length they got together in a 
 single but confused clump. The guanacos, eight or 
 ten in number, became mixed up with them, and after
 
 A CJmai of Vicufias I53 
 
 several quarterings, the whole flock, led by one that 
 thought it had discovered the way of escape, struck off 
 into a gallop, and dashed into the inclosure. 
 
 * The hunters, who were a-foot with the women, now 
 rushed to the entrance, and in a short while new stakes 
 were driven in, ropes tied upon them, rags attached, and 
 the circle of thechacu was complete. 
 
 ' The mounted hunters at the same time had galloped 
 around the outside, and flinging themselves from their 
 horses, took their stations at intervals from each other. 
 Each now prepared his " bolas," ready to advance and 
 commence the work of death, as soon as the corral 
 should be fairly surrounded by the women and boys 
 who acted as assistants. 
 
 ' The hunters now advanced towards the centre, 
 swinging their bolas, and shouting to one another to 
 direct the attack. The frightened vicunas rushed from 
 side to side, everywhere headed by an Indian. Now 
 they broke into confused masses and ran in different 
 directions — now they united again and swept in graceful 
 curves over the plain. Everywhere the bolas whizzed 
 through the air, and soon the turf was strewed with forms 
 sprawling and kicking. A strange picture was 
 presented. Here a hunter stood with the leaden balls 
 whirling around his head — there another rushed forward 
 upon a vicuna hoppled and falling — a third bent over 
 one that was already down, anon he brandished a 
 bleeding knife, and then, releasing the thong from the 
 limbs of his victim, again swung his bolas in the air, and 
 rushed forward in the chase. 
 
 ' An incident occurred near the beginning of the melee, 
 which was very gratifying to my companion the padre, 
 and at once restored the equanimity of his temper. The 
 herd of guanacos succeeded in making their escape, and 
 without compromising the success of the hunt. This, 
 however, was brought about by a skilful manoeuvre on 
 the part of my old friend the Puna hunter. These 
 animals had somehow or other got separated from the 
 vicunas, and dashed off to a distant part of the inclosure. 
 Seeing this, the hunter sprang to his horse, and calling
 
 154 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 his pack of curs after him, leaped over the rope fence 
 and dashed forward after the guanacos. He soon got 
 directly in their rear, and signalling those who sto od n 
 front to separate and let the guanacos pass, he drove 
 them out of the inclosure. They went head foremost 
 against the ropes, breaking them free from the stakes ; 
 but the hunter, galloping up, guarded the opening until 
 the ropes and rags were freshly adjusted. 
 
 * The poor vicunas, nearly fifty in number, were 
 all killed or captured. When pursued up to the 
 " sham-fence " they neither attempted to rush against it 
 or leap over, but would wheel suddenly round, and run 
 directly in the faces of their pursuers ! 
 
 ' The sport became even more interesting when all 
 but a few were hors de combat. Then the odd ones that 
 remained were each attacked by several hunters at once, 
 and the rushing and doubling of the animals — the many 
 headings and turnings — the shouts of the spectators — 
 the whizzing of the bolas — sometimes two or three of 
 these missiles hurled at a single victim — all combined to 
 furnish a spectacle to me novel and exciting. 
 
 ' About twenty minutes after the animals had entered 
 the rope inclosure the last of them was seen to " bite 
 the dust,"and the chacu of that day was over. Then came 
 the mutual congratulations of the hunters, and the joyous 
 mingling of voices. The slain vicunas were collected in 
 a heap — the skins stripped off, and the flesh divided 
 among the different families who took part in the chacu. 
 
 ' The skins, as we have said, fell to the share of the 
 "church," that is, to the church's representative — the 
 padre, and this was certainly the lion's share of the day's 
 product. 
 
 ' The ropes were now unfastened and coiled — the 
 rags once more bundled, and the stakes pulled up and 
 collected — all to be used on the morrow in some other 
 part of the Puna. The meat was packed on the horses 
 and mules, and the hunting party, in a long string, 
 proceeded to camp. Then followed a scene of feasting 
 and merriment — such as did not fall to the lot of these 
 poor people every day in the year.
 
 A Chacu of Vicunas 155 
 
 * This chacu lasted ten days, during which time I 
 remained in the company of my half-savage friends. 
 The whole game killed amounted to five hundred and 
 odd vicunas, with a score or two guanacos, several tarush, 
 or deer of the Andes {Cervus antisensis) and half a dozen 
 black bears ( Ursits ornatus). Of course only the vicunas 
 were taken in the chacu. The other animals were started 
 incidentally, and killed by the hunters either with their 
 bolas, or guns, with which a few of them were armed.' 
 
 The 'chacu' of the Andes Indians corresponds to the 
 ' surround ' of the Indian hunters on the great plains of 
 North America. In the latter case, however, buffaloes 
 are usually the objects of pursuit, and no fence is 
 attempted — the hunters trusting to their horses to keep 
 the wild oxen inclosed. The ' pound ' is another mode 
 of capturing wild animals practised by several tribes of 
 Indians in the Hudson's Bay territory. In this case the 
 game is the caribou or reindeer, but no rope fence would 
 serve to impound these. A good substantial inclosure 
 of branches and trees is necessary, and the construction 
 of a ' pound ' is the work of time and labour. I know 
 of no animal, except the vicuna itself, that can be 
 captured after the manner practised in the ' chacu.'
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SQUIRREL SHOOTING 
 
 We were now travelling among the spurs of the ' Ozark 
 hills,' and our road was a more difficult one. The ravines 
 were deeper, and as our course obliged us to cross the 
 direction in which most of them ran, we were constantly 
 climbing or descending the sides of steep ridges. There 
 was no road except a faint Indian trail, used by the 
 Kansas in their occasional excursions to the borders of 
 the settlements. At times we were compelled to cut 
 away the underwood, and ply the axe lustily upon some 
 huge trunk that had fallen across the path and obstructed 
 the passage of our waggon. This rendered our progress 
 but slow. 
 
 During such halt most of the party strayed off into 
 the woods in search of game. Squirrels were the only 
 four-footed creatures found, and enough of these were 
 shot to make a good-sized ' pot-pie ' ; and it may be 
 here remarked, that no sort of flesh is better for this 
 purpose than that of the squirrel. 
 
 The species found in these woods was the large ' cat- 
 squirrel ' {Sciuj'us ciiiereiis), one of the noblest of its 
 kind. Of course, at that season, amid the plentitude 
 of seeds, nuts, and berries, they were as plump as 
 partridges. This species is usually in good condition, 
 and its flesh the best flavoured of all. In the markets 
 of New York they bring three times the price of the 
 common grey squirrel. 
 
 As we rode along, the naturalist stated many facts in 
 relation to the squirrel tribe, that were new to most of 
 us. He said that in North America there were not less 
 than twenty species of true squirrels, all of them dwellers 
 in the trees, and by including the ' ground ' and * flying ' 
 
 156
 
 Squirrel Shooting 157 
 
 squirrels {tamtas and pteromys), the number of species 
 might be more than forty. Of course there are still 
 new species yet undescribed, inhabiting the half-explored 
 regions of the western territory. 
 
 The best known of the squirrels is the common 'grey 
 squirrel,' as it is in most parts of the United States the 
 most plentiful. Indeed it is asserted that some of the 
 other species, as the black 'squirrel' {Sciurus niger), 
 disappear from districts where the grey squirrels become 
 numerous — as the native rat gives place to the fierce 
 ' Norway.' 
 
 The true fox squirrel {S. vidpinus) differs essentially 
 from the ' cat,' which is also known in many States by 
 the name of fox squirrel. The former is larger, and 
 altogether a more active animal, dashing up to the top 
 of a pine-tree in a single run. The cat squirrel, on the 
 contrary, is slow and timid among the branches, and 
 rarely mounts above the first fork, unless when forced 
 higher by the near approach of its enemy. It prefers 
 concealing itself behind the trunk, dodging round the 
 tree as the hunter advances upon it. It has one 
 peculiarity, however, in its mode of escape that often 
 saves it, and disappoints its pursuer. Unless very hotly 
 pursued by a dog, or other swift enemy, it will not be 
 treed until it has reached the tree that contains its nest, 
 and, of course, it drops securely into its hole, bidding 
 defiance to whatever enemy — unless, indeed, that 
 enemy chance to be the pine-martin, which is capable 
 of following it even to the bottom of its dark tree- 
 cave. 
 
 Now most of the other squirrels make a temporary 
 retreat to the nearest large tree that offers. This is often 
 without a hole where they can conceal themselves, and 
 they are therefore exposed to the small shot or rifle 
 bullet from below. 
 
 It does not always follow, however, that they are 
 brought down from their perch. In very heavy bottom 
 timber the squirrel often escapes among the high twigs, 
 even where there are no leaves to conceal it, nor any hole 
 in the tree. Twenty shots, and from good marksmen
 
 158 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 too, have been fired at a single squirrel in such situa- 
 tions, without bringing it to the ground or seriously 
 wounding it ! A party of hunters have often retired 
 without getting such game, and }'et the squirrel has been 
 constantly changing place, and offering itself to be 
 sighted in new positions and attitudes ! 
 
 The craft of the squirrel on these occasions is remark- 
 able. It stretches its body along the upper part of a 
 branch, elongating it in such a manner, that the branch, 
 not thicker than the body itself, forms almost a com- 
 plete shield against the shot. The head, too, is laid 
 close, and the tail no longer erect, but flattened along 
 the branch, so as not to betray the whereabouts of the 
 animal. 
 
 Squirrel-shooting is by no means poor sport. It is 
 the most common kind practised in the United States, 
 because the squirrel is the most common game. In that 
 country it takes the place that snipe or partridge-shooting 
 holds in England, In my opinion it is a sport superior 
 to either of these last, and the game, when killed, is not 
 much less in value. Good fat squirrel can be cooked in 
 a variety of ways, and many people prefer it to feathered 
 game of any kind. It is true the squirrel has a rat-like 
 physiognomy, but that is only in the eyes of strangers 
 to him. A residence in the backwoods, and a short 
 practice in the eating of squirrel pot-pie, soon removes 
 any impression of that kind. A hare, as brought upon 
 the table-cloth in England, is far more likely to produce 
 degoftt — from its very striking likeness to ' puss,' that is 
 purring upon the hearth-rug. 
 
 In almost all parts of the United States, a day's 
 squirrel-shooting may be had without the necessity of 
 making a very long journey. There are still tracts of 
 woodland left untouched, where these animals find a 
 home. In the Western States a squirrel-hunt may be 
 had simply by walking a couple of hundred yards from 
 your house, and in some places you may shoot the 
 creatures out of the very door. 
 
 To make a successful squirrel-hunt two persons at 
 least are necessary. If only one goes out, the squirrel
 
 Squirrel Shooting 159 
 
 can avoid him simply by Modging' round the trunk, or 
 any large limb of the tree. When there are two, one 
 remains stationary, while the other makes a circuit, and 
 drives the game from the opposite side. It is still 
 better when three or four persons make up the party, as 
 then the squirrel is assailed on all sides, and can find no 
 resting-place, without seeing a black tube levelled upon 
 him, and ready to send forth its deadly missile. 
 
 Some hunt the squirrel with shot guns. These are 
 chiefly young hands. The old hunter prefers the rifle ; 
 and in the hands of practised marksmen this is the 
 better weapon. The rifle-bullet, be it ever so small, kills 
 the game at once ; whereas a squirrel severely peppered 
 with shot will often escape to the tree where its hole is, 
 and drop in, often to die of its wounds. No creature can 
 be more tenacious of life — not even a cat. When badly 
 wounded it will cling to the twigs to its last breath, and 
 even after death its claws sometimes retain their hold, 
 and its dead body hangs suspended to the branch ! 
 
 The height from which a squirrel will leap to the 
 ground without sustaining injury, is one of those marvels 
 witnessed by every squirrel-hunter. When a tree in 
 which it has taken refuge is found not to afford sufficient 
 shelter, and a neighbouring tree is not near enough for 
 it to leap to, it then perceives the necessity of returning 
 to the ground, to get to some other part of the woods. 
 Some species, as the cat squirrel, fearing to take the 
 dreadful leap (often nearly a hundred feet), rush down 
 by the trunk. Not so the more active squirrels, as the 
 common grey kind. These run to the extremity of a 
 branch, and spring boldly down in a diagonal direction. 
 The hunter — if a stranger to the feat, would expect to 
 see the creature crushed or crippled by the fall. No 
 danger of that. Even the watchful dog that is waiting 
 for such an event, and standing close to the spot, has not 
 time to spring upon it, until it is off again like a flying 
 bird, and, almost as quick as sight can follow, is seen 
 ascending some other tree. 
 
 There is an explanation required about this precipitous 
 leap. The squirrel is endowed with the capability of
 
 i6o The Hunters' Feast 
 
 spreading out its body to a great extent, and this in the 
 downward rush it takes care to do — thus breaking its 
 fall by the resistance of the air. This alone accounts for 
 its not killing itself. 
 
 Nearly all squirrels possess this power, but in different 
 degrees. In the flying squirrels it is so strongly 
 developed as to enable them to make a flight 
 resembling that of the birds themselves. 
 
 The squirrel-hunter is often accompanied by a dog — 
 not that the dog ever by any chance catches one of these 
 creatures. Of him the squirrel has but little fear, well 
 knowing that he cannot climb a tree. The office of the 
 dog is of a different kind. It is to ' tree ' the squirrel, 
 and, by remaining at the root, point out the particular 
 tree to his master. 
 
 The advantage of the dog is obvious. In fact, he is 
 almost as necessary as the pointer to the sportsman. 
 First, by ranging widely, he beats a greater breadth of 
 the forest. Secondly, when a squirrel is seen by him, 
 his swiftness enables him to hurry it up some tree not 
 its oivn. This second advantage is of the greatest 
 importance. When the game has time enough allowed 
 it, it either makes to its own tree (with a hole in it of 
 course), or selects one of the tallest near the spot. In 
 the former case it is impossible, and in the latter difficult, 
 to have a fair shot at it. 
 
 If there be no dog, and the hunter trusts to his own 
 eyes, he is often unable to find the exact tree which the 
 squirrel has climbed, and of course loses it. 
 
 A good squirrel-dog is a useful animal. The breed is 
 not important. The best are usually half-bred pointers. 
 They should have good sight as well as scent ; should 
 range widely, and run fast. When well trained they will 
 not take after rabbits, or any other game. They will 
 bark only when a squirrel is treed, and remain staunchly 
 by the root of the tree. The barking is necessary, 
 otherwise the hunter, often separated from them by the 
 underwood, would not know when they had succeeded 
 in * treeing.' 
 
 The squirrel seems to have little fear of the dog, and
 
 Squirrel Shooting l6l 
 
 rarely ascends to a great height. It is often seen only 
 a few feet above him, jerking its tail about, and apparently 
 mocking its savage enemy below. 
 
 The coming up of the hunter changes the scene. The 
 squirrel then takes the alarm, and, shooting up, conceals 
 itself among the higher branches. 
 
 Taking it all in all, we know none of the smaller class 
 of field sports that requires greater skill, and yields more 
 real amusement, than hunting the squirrel. 
 
 Our Kentuckian comrade gave us an account of a 
 grand squirrel-hunt got up by himself and some neigh- 
 bours, which is not an uncommon sort of thing in the 
 Western States. The hunters divided themselves into 
 two parties of equal numbers, each taking its own 
 direction through the woods. A large wager was laid 
 upon the result, to be won by that party that could 
 bring in the greatest number of squirrels. There were 
 six guns on each side, and the numbers obtained at the 
 end of the week — for the hunt lasted so long — were 
 respectively 5,000 and 4,780 ! Of course the sport came 
 off in a tract of country where squirrels were but little 
 hunted, and were both tame and plenty. 
 
 Such hunts upon a grand scale are, as already stated, 
 not uncommon in some parts of the United States. 
 They have another object besides the sport — that of 
 thinning off the squirrels for the protection of the 
 planter's corn-field. So destructive are these little 
 animals to the corn and other grains, that in some States 
 there has been at times a bounty granted for killing 
 them. In early times such a law existed in Pennsylvania, 
 and there is a registry that in one year the sum of 
 8,000/. was paid out of the treasury of this bounty- 
 money, which at threepence a head — the premium — 
 would make 640,000, the number of the squirrels killed 
 in that year ! 
 
 The ' migration of the squirrels' is still an unexplained 
 fact. It is among the grey squirrels it takes place ; 
 hence the name given to that species, Sciurus migratorius. 
 There is no regularity about these migrations, and their 
 motive is not known. Immense bands of the squirrels 
 
 h
 
 1 62 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 are observed in a particular neighbourhood, proceeding 
 through the woods or across tracts of open ground, all 
 in one direction. Nothing stays their course. Narrow 
 streams and broad rivers are crossed by them by 
 swimming, and many are drowned in the attempt. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, these little creatures 
 are as much afraid of water as cats, yet when moving 
 along their track of migration they plunge boldly into a 
 river, without calculating whether they will ever reach 
 the other side. When found upon the opposite bank, 
 they are often so tired with the effort, that one may 
 overtake them with a stick, and thousands are killed in 
 this way when a migration has been discovered. 
 
 It is stated that they roll pieces of dry wood, or bark, 
 into the water, and, seating themselves on these, are 
 wafted across, their tails supplying them with a sail : of 
 course this account must be held as apocryphal. 
 
 But the question is, what motive impels them to 
 undertake these long and perilous wanderings, from 
 which it is thought they never return to their original 
 place of abode? It cannot be the search of food, nor 
 the desire to change from a colder to a warmer climate. 
 The direction of the wanderings forbids us to receive 
 either of these as the correct reason. No light has been 
 yet thrown upon this curious habit. It would seem as 
 if some strange instinct propelled them, but for what 
 purpose, and to what end, no one can tell.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 TREEING A BEAR 
 
 The doctor was the only one not taking part in the 
 conversation. Even the rude guides listened. All that 
 related to game interested them, even the scientific 
 details given by the hunter-naturalist. The doctor had 
 ridden on in front of us. Some one remarked that he 
 v^^anted water to mix with the contents of his flask, and 
 was therefore searching for a stream. Be this as it may, 
 he was seen suddenly to jerk his spare horse about, and 
 spur back to us, his countenance exhibiting symptoms of 
 surprise and alarm. 
 
 ' What is it, doctor? ' inquired one. 
 
 * He has seen Indians,' remarked another. 
 
 ' A bear — a bear ! ' cried the doctor, panting for 
 breath ; ' a grizzly bear ! a terrible-looking creature, I 
 assure you.' 
 
 ' A bar ! d'you say ? ' demanded Ike, shooting forward 
 on his old mare. 
 
 ' A bar ! ' cried Redwood, breaking through the bushes 
 in pursuit. 
 
 ' A bear ! ' shouted the others, all putting spurs to 
 their horses, and galloping forward in a body. 
 
 * Where, doctor ? Where ? ' cried several. 
 'Yonder,' replied the doctor, 'just by that green tree. 
 
 I saw him go in there — a grizzly, I'm sure.' 
 
 It was this idea that had put the doctor in such affright, 
 
 and caused him to ride back so suddenly. 
 
 ' Nonsense, doctor,' said the naturalist, * we are yet far 
 
 to the east of the range of the grizzly bear. It was a 
 
 black bear you saw.' 
 ' As I live,' replied the doctor, ' it was not black, 
 
 163
 
 164 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 anything but that. I should know the black bear. It 
 was a light brown colour — almost yellowish.' 
 
 ' Oh ! that's no criterion. The black bear is found 
 with many varieties of colour. I have seen them of the 
 colour you describe. It must be one of them. The 
 grizzly is not found so far to the eastward, although it is 
 possible we may see them soon ; but not in woods like 
 these.' 
 
 There was no time for farther explanation. We had 
 come up to the spot where the bear had been seen ; and 
 although an unpractised eye could have detected no 
 traces of the animal's presence, old Ike, Redwood, and 
 the hunter-naturalist could follow its trail over the bed 
 of fallen leaves, almost as fast as they could walk. Both 
 the guides had dismounted, and with their bodies 
 slightly bent, and leading their horses after them, 
 commenced tracking the bear. From Ike's manner one 
 would have fancied that he was guided by scent rather 
 than by sight. 
 
 The trail led us from our path, and we had followed it 
 some hundred yards into the woods. Most of us were 
 of the opinion that the creature had never halted after 
 seeing the doctor, but had run off to a great distance. 
 If left to ourselves we should have given over the 
 chase. 
 
 The trappers, however, knew what they were about. 
 They asserted that the bear had gone away slowly — that 
 it had made frequent halts — that they discovered ' sign ' 
 to lead them to the conclusion that the animal's haunt 
 was in the neighbourhood — that its ' nest ' was near. 
 We were, therefore, encouraged to proceed. 
 
 All of us rode after the trackers. Jake and Lanty had 
 been left with the waggon, with directions to keep on 
 their route. After awhile we heard the waggon moving 
 along directly in front of us. The road had angled as 
 well as the bear's trail, and the two were again con- 
 verging. 
 
 Just at that moment a loud shouting came from the 
 direction of the waggon. It was Lanty's voice, and 
 Jake's too.
 
 Treeing a Bear 165 
 
 * Och ! be the Vargin mother ! luck there ! Awch, 
 mother o'Moses, Jake, such a baste ! ' 
 
 ' Golly, Massa Lanty, it am a bar ! ' 
 
 We all heard this at once. Of course we thought of 
 the trail no longer, but made a rush in the direction of 
 the voices, causing the branches to fly on every side. 
 
 ' Whar's the bar ? ' cried Redwood, who was first up to 
 the waggon, * whar did ye see't ? ' 
 
 * Yander he goes ! ' cried Lanty, pointing to a piece of 
 heavy timber, beset with an undergrowth of cane, but 
 standing almost isolated from the rest of the forest on 
 account of the thin open woods that were around it. 
 
 We were too late to catch a glimpse of him, but 
 perhaps he would halt in the undergrowth. If so we 
 had a chance. 
 
 * Surround, boys, surround ! ' cried the Kentuckian, who 
 understood bear-hunting as well as any of the party. 
 'Quick, round and head him;' and, at the same time, 
 the speaker urged his great horse into a gallop. Several 
 others rode off on the opposite side, and in a few seconds 
 we had surrounded the cane brake. 
 
 * Is he in it ? ' cried one. 
 
 'Do you track 'im thur, Mark?' cried Ike to his 
 comrade from the opposite side. 
 
 ' No,' was the reply, ' he haint gone out this away.' 
 
 ' Nor hyur,' responded Ike. 
 
 ' Nor here,' said the Kentuckian. 
 
 ' Nor by here,' added the hunter-naturalist. 
 
 ' Belike, then, he's still in the timmer,' said Redwood. 
 ' Now look out all of yees. Keep your eyes skinned. 
 I'll hustle him out o' than' 
 
 'Hold on, Mark, boy,' cried Ike, 'hold on thur. 
 
 D n the varmint ! hyur's his track, paddled like 
 
 a sheep pen. Wagh, his den's hyur — let me rout 
 im. 
 
 ' Very wal, then,' replied the other, ' go ahead, old 
 fellow — I'll look to my side — thu'll no bar pass me 
 'ithout getting a pill in his guts. Out wi' 'im I ' 
 
 We all sat in our saddles silent and watchful. Ike 
 had entered the cane, but not a rustle was heard. A
 
 1 66 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 snake could not have passed through it with less noise 
 than did the old trapper. 
 
 It was full ten minutes before the slightest sound 
 warned of what he was about. Then his voice reached 
 us. 
 
 ' This way, all of you ! The bar's treed.' 
 
 The announcement filled all of us with pleasant 
 anticipations. The sport of killing a bear is no every- 
 day amusement, and now that the animal was ' treed ' 
 we were sure of him. Some dismounted and hitched 
 their horses to the branches ; others boldly dashed into 
 the cane, hurrying to the spot, with the hope of having 
 first shot. 
 
 Why was Ike's rifle not heard if he saw the bear 
 treed ? This puzzled some. It was explained when we 
 got up. Ike's words were figurative. The bear had 
 not taken shelter in a tree, but a hollow log, and, of 
 course, Ike had not yet set eyes on him. But there was 
 the log, a huge one, some ten or more feet in thickness, 
 and there was the hole, with the well-beaten track 
 leading into it. It was his den. He was there to a 
 certainty. 
 
 How to get him out ? That was the next question. 
 
 Several took their stations, guns in hand, commanding 
 the entrance to the hollow. One went back upon the 
 log, and pounded it with the butt of his gun. To no 
 purpose. Bruin was not such a fool as to walk out and 
 be peppered by bullets. 
 
 A long pole was next thrust up the hollow. Nothing 
 could be felt. The den was beyond reach. 
 
 Smoking was next tried, but with like success. The 
 bear gave no sign of being annoyed with it. The axes 
 were now brought from the waggon. It would be a 
 tough job — for the log (a sycamore) was sound enough 
 except near the heart. There was no help for it, and 
 Jake and Lanty went to work as if for a day's rail- 
 splitting. 
 
 Redwood and the Kentuckian, both good axemen, 
 relieved them, and a deep notch soon began to make its 
 appearance on each side of the log. The rest of us kept
 
 Treeing a Bear 167 
 
 watch near the entrance, hoping the sound of the axe 
 might drive out the game. We were disappointed in 
 that hope, and for full two hours the chopping continued, 
 until the patience and the arms of those that plied the 
 axe were nearly tired out. 
 
 It is no trifling matter to lay open a tree ten feet in 
 diameter. They had chosen the place for their work 
 guided by the long pole. It could not be beyond the 
 den, and if upon the near side of it, the pole would then 
 be long enough to reach the bear, and either destroy 
 him with a knife blade attached to it, or force him out. 
 This was our plan, and therefore we were encouraged to 
 proceed. 
 
 At length the axes broke through the wood and the 
 dark interior lay open. They had cut in the right place, 
 for the den of the bear was found directly under, but no 
 bear ! Poles were inserted at both openings, but no bear 
 could be felt either way. The hollow ran up no farther, 
 so after all there was no bear in the log. 
 
 There were some disappointed faces about — and some 
 rather rough ejaculations were heard. I might say that 
 Ike ' cussed a few,' and that would be no more than the 
 truth. The old trapper seemed to be ashamed of being 
 so taken in, particularly as he had somewhat exultingly 
 announced that the ' bar was treed.' 
 
 ' He must have got off before we surrounded,' said 
 one. 
 
 ' Are you sure he came into the timber ? ' asked 
 another — 'that fool, Lanty, was so scared, he could 
 hardly tell where the animal went' 
 
 ' Be me soul ! gintlemen, I saw him go in wid my 
 own eyes, Oil swear — ' 
 
 ' Cussed queer ! ' spitefully remarked Redwood. 
 
 ' D n the bar ! ' ejaculated Ike, ' whur kid the 
 
 varmint a gone? ' 
 
 Where was A ? All eyes were turned to look 
 
 for the hunter-naturalist, as if he could clear up the 
 mystery. He was nowhere to be seen. He had not 
 been seen for some time ! 
 
 At that moment, the clear sharp ring of a rifle echoed
 
 1 68 Tlie Hunters' Feast 
 
 in our ears. There was a moment's silence, and the 
 next moment a loud * thump ' was heard, as of a heavy 
 body falh'ng from a great height to the ground. The 
 noise startled even our tired horses, and some of them 
 broke their ties and scampered off. 
 
 ' This way, gentlemen ! ' said a quiet voice, ' here's 
 the bear ! ' 
 
 The voice was A 's ; and we all, without thinking 
 
 of the horses, hurried up to the spot. Sure enough, 
 there lay the great brute, a red stream oozing out of a 
 bullet-hole in his ribs. 
 
 A pointed to a tree — a huge oak that spread out 
 
 above our heads. 
 
 * There he was, in yonder fork,' said he. * We might 
 have saved ourselves a good deal of trouble had we 
 been more thoughtful. I suspected he was not in the 
 log when the smoke failed to move him. The brute 
 was too sagacious to hide there. It is not the first time 
 I have known the hunter foiled by such a trick.' 
 
 The eyes of Redwood were turned admiringly on the 
 speaker, and even old Ike could not help acknowledging 
 his superior hunter-craft. 
 
 'Mister,' he muttered, 'I guess you'd make a darned 
 fust-rate mountain-man. He's a gone Injun when you 
 look through sights.' 
 
 All of us were examining the huge carcass of the bear 
 — one of the largest size. 
 
 ' You're sure it's no grizzly ? ' inquired the doctor. 
 
 ' No, doctor,' replied the naturalist, ' the grizzly never 
 climbs a tree.'
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE BLACK BEAR OF AMERICA 
 
 After some time spent in recovering the horses, we 
 lifted the bear into Jake's waggon, and proceeded on our 
 journey. It was near evening, however, and we soon 
 after halted and formed camp. The bear was skinned 
 in a trice — Ike and Redwood performing this operation 
 with the dexterity of a pair of butchers ; of course 
 * bear-meat ' was the principal dish for supper ; and 
 although some may think this rather a savage feast, I 
 envy those who are in the way of a bear-ham now. 
 
 Of course for that evening nothing was talked of but 
 Bruin, and a good many anecdotes were related about 
 the beast. With the exception of the doctor, Jake and 
 Lanty, all of us had something to say upon that 
 subject, for all the rest had more or less practice in 
 bear-hunting. 
 
 The black or 'American bear' {Ursus Americanus) is 
 one of the best known of his tribe. It is he that is 
 oftenest seen in menageries and zoological gardens, for 
 the reason, perhaps, that he is found in great plenty in 
 a country of large commercial intercourse with other 
 nations. Hence he is more frequently captured and 
 exported to all parts. 
 
 Any one at a glance may distinguish him from the 
 'brown bear' of Europe, as well as the other bears of 
 the Eastern continent — not so much by his colour (for 
 he is sometimes brown too), as by his form and the 
 regularity and smoothness of his coat. He may be as 
 easily distinguished, too, from his congeners of North 
 America — of which there are three — the grizzly {U. 
 ferox)^ the brown [arctus P), and the ' polar ' ( U. 
 maritimus). The hair upon other large bears (the polar 
 
 169
 
 I/O The Hunters' Feast 
 
 excepted) is what may be termed ' tufty,' and their 
 forms are different, being generally more uncouth and 
 'chunkier.' The black bear is, in fact, nearer to the 
 polar in shape, as well as in the arrangement of his fur, 
 than to any other of the tribe. He is much smaller, 
 however, rarely exceeding two-thirds the weight of large 
 specimens of the latter. 
 
 His colour is usually a deep black all over the body, 
 with a patch of rich yellowish-red upon the muzzle, 
 where the hair is short and smooth. This ornamental 
 patch is sometimes absent, and varieties of the black 
 bear are seen of very different colours. Brown ones are 
 common in some parts, and others of a cinnamon 
 colour, and still others with white markings, but these 
 last are rare. They are all of one species, however, the 
 assertion of some naturalists to the contrary notwith- 
 standing. The proof is, that the black varieties have 
 been seen followed by coloured cubs, and vice versa. 
 
 The black bear is omnivorous — feeds upon flesh as 
 well as fruit, nuts, and edible roots. Habitually his diet 
 is not carnivorous, but he will eat at times either 
 carrion or living flesh. We say living flesh, for on 
 capturing prey he does not wait to kill it, as most 
 carnivorous animals, but tears and destroys it while stijl 
 screaming. He may be said to swallow some of his 
 food alive ! 
 
 Of honey he is especially fond, and robs the bee-hive 
 whenever it is accessible to him. It is not safe from 
 him even in the top of a tree, provided the entrance to 
 it is large enough to admit his body ; and when it is 
 not, he often contrives to make it so by means of his 
 sharp claws. He has but little fear of the stings of the 
 angry bees. His shaggy coat and thick hide afford him 
 ample protection against such puny weapons. It is 
 supposed that he spends a good deal of his time ranging 
 the forest in search of ' bee-trees.' 
 
 Of course he is a tree-climber — climbs by the 'hug,' 
 not by means of his claws, as do animals of the cat 
 kind ; and in getting to the ground again descends the 
 trunk, stern foremost, as a hod-carrier would come
 
 The Black Bear of America 171 
 
 down a ladder. In this he again differs from the 
 felidce. 
 
 The range of the black bear is extensive — in fact it 
 may be said to be colimital with the forest, both in 
 North and South America — though in the latter division 
 of the continent, another species of large black bear 
 exists, the Ursus ornatus. In the northern continent 
 the American bear is found in all the wooded parts from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific, but not in the open and 
 prairie districts. There the grizzly holds dominion, 
 though both of them range together in the wooded 
 valleys of the Rocky Mountains. The grizzly, on the 
 other hand, is only met with west of the Mississippi, and 
 affects the dry desert countries of the uninhabited West. 
 The brown bear, supposed to be identical with the Ursus 
 arctus of North Europe, is only met with in the wild and 
 treeless track known as ' Barren grounds,' which stretch 
 across nearly the whole northern part of the continent 
 from the last timber to the shores of the Arctic Sea, and 
 in this region the black bear is not found. The zone of 
 the polar bear joins with that of the brown, and the 
 range of the former extends perhaps to the pole itself. 
 
 At the time of the colonisation of America, the area 
 of the present United States was the favourite home of 
 the black bear. It was a country entirely covered with 
 thick forests, and of course a suitable habitat for him. 
 Even to this day a considerable number of bears is to 
 be found within the limits of the settlements. Scarcely 
 a State in which some wild woodlands or mountain 
 fastnesses do not afford shelter to a number of bears, 
 and to kill one of them is a grand object of the hunter's 
 ambition. Along the whole range of the Alleghanies 
 black bears are yet found, and it will be long ere they 
 are finally extirpated from such haunts. In the Western 
 States they are still more common, where they inhabit 
 the gloomy forests along the rivers and creek bottoms, 
 protected alike by the thick undergrowth and the 
 swampy nature of the soil. 
 
 Their den is usually in a hollow tree — sometimes a 
 prostrate log, if the latter be large enough, and in such a
 
 172 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 position as is not likely to be observed by the passing 
 hunter. A cave in the rocks is also their favourite lair, 
 when the geological structure of the country offers them 
 so secure a retreat. They are safer thus ; for when a 
 bear-tree or log has been discovered by either hunter or 
 farmer the bear has not much chance of escape. The 
 squirrel is safe enough, as his capture will not repay the 
 trouble of felling the tree ; but such noble game as a 
 bear will repay whole hours of hard work with the axe. 
 
 The black bear lies torpid during several months of 
 the winter. The time of his hybernation depends upon 
 the latitude of the place and the coldness of the climate. 
 As you approach the south this period becomes shorter 
 and shorter, until in the tropical forests, where frost is 
 unknown, the black bear ranges throughout the year. 
 
 The mode of hunting the black bear does not differ 
 from that practised with the fox or wild cat. He is 
 usually chased by dogs, and forced into his cave or a tree. 
 
 If the former, he is shot down, or the tree, if hollow, is 
 felled. Sometimes smoking brings him out. If he 
 escapes to a cave, smoking is also tried ; but if that will 
 not succeed in dislodging him, he must be left alone, as 
 no dogs will venture to attack him there. 
 
 The hunter ofteh tracks and kills him in the woods 
 with a bullet from his rifle. He will not turn upon man 
 unless when wounded or brought to bay. Then his 
 assault is to be dreaded. Should he grasp the hunter 
 between his great forearms, the latter will stand a fair 
 chance of being hugged to death. He does not attempt 
 to use his teeth like the grizzly bear, but relies upon the 
 muscular power of his arms. The nose appears to be 
 his tenderest part, and his antagonist, if an old bear- 
 hunter, and sufficiently cool, will use every effort to 
 strike him there. A blow upon the snout has often 
 caused the black bear to let go his hold, and retreat 
 terrified ! 
 
 The log trap is sometimes tried with success. This is 
 constructed in such a way that the removal of the bait 
 operates upon a trigger, and a large heavy log comes 
 down on the animal removing it — either crushing it to
 
 The Black Bear of Amenca 173 
 
 death or holding it fast by pressure. A h*mb is some- 
 times only caught ; but this proves sufficient. 
 
 The same kind of trap is used throughout the northern 
 regions of America by the fur trappers— particularly the 
 sable hunters and trappers of the white weasel {Mustela 
 erminea). Of course that for the bear is constructed of 
 the heaviest logs, and is of large dimensions. 
 
 Redwood related an adventure that had befallen him 
 while trapping the black bear at an earlier period of his 
 life. It had nearly cost him his life too, and a slight 
 halt in his gait could still be observed, resulting from 
 that very adventure. 
 
 We all collected around the blazing logs to listen to 
 the trapper's story.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE TRAPPER TRAPPED 
 
 ' Well, then,' began Redwood, ' the thing I'm a-goin' 
 to tell you about, happened to me when I war a younker, 
 long afore I ever thought I was a-coming out hyar upon 
 the parairas. I wan't quite growed at the time, though 
 I was a good chunk for my age. 
 
 ' It war up thar among the mountains in East 
 Tennessee, whar this child war raised, upon the head 
 waters of the Tennessee River. 
 
 ' I war fond o' huntin' from the time that I war knee 
 high to a duck, an' I can jest remember killin' a black 
 bar afore I war twelve yeer old. As I growed up, the 
 bar had become scacer in them parts, and it wan't every 
 day you could scare up such a varmint, but now and 
 then one ud turn up. 
 
 ' Well, one day as I war poking about the crik bottom 
 (for the shanty whar my ole mother lived war not on the 
 Tennessee, but on a crik that runs into it), I diskivered 
 bar sign. Th^e war tracks o' the bar's paws in the 
 mud, an' I follercd them along the water edge for nearly 
 a mile — then the trail turned into about as thickety a 
 bottom as I ever seed anywhar. It would a baffled a cat 
 to crawl through it. 
 
 ' After the trail went out from the crik and towards 
 the edge o' this thicket, I lost all hopes of follerin' it 
 further, as the ground was hard, and covered with 
 donicks, and I couldn't make the tracks out no how. 
 I had my idea that the bar had tuk the thicket, so I went 
 round the edge of it to see if I could find whar he 
 had entered. 
 
 ' For a long time I couldn't see a spot whar any critter 
 as big as a bar could a got in without makin' some sort 
 
 174
 
 The Trapper Trapped 175 
 
 o* a hole, and then I begun to think the bar had gone 
 some other way, either across the crik or futher 
 down it. 
 
 ' I war a-goin ' to turn back to the water, when I spied 
 a big log lyin' half out o' the thicket, with one eend 
 buried in the bushes. I noticed that the top of this log 
 had a dirty look, as if some animal had tramped about 
 on it ; an' on goin' up and squintin' at it a little closter 
 I seed that that guess war the right one. 
 
 * I clomb the log, for it war a regular rouster, bigger 
 than that 'n we had so much useless trouble with, and 
 then I scrammelled along the top o' it in the direction 
 of the brush. Thar I seed the very hole whar the 
 bar had got into the thicket, and thar war a regular 
 beaten path runnin' through the brake as far as I 
 could see. 
 
 ' I jumped off o' the log, and squeezed myself through 
 the bramble. It war a trail easy enough to find, but 
 mighty hard to foller, I can tell ye. Thar war thistles 
 and cussed stingin' nettles, and briars as thick as my wrist, 
 with claws upon them as sharp as fish-hooks. I pushed 
 on, howsomever, feelin' quite sartin that sich a well-used 
 track must lead to the bar's den, an' I war safe enough 
 to find it In coorse I reckoned that the critter had his 
 nest in some holler tree, and I could go home for my 
 axe, and come back the next morning — if smoking 
 failed to git him out. 
 
 ' Well, I poked on through the thicket a good three 
 hundred yards, sometimes crouching, and sometimes 
 creeping on my hands and knees. I war badly 
 scratched, I tell you, and now and then I jest thought to 
 myself, what would be the consyquince if the bar should 
 meet me in that narrow passage. We'd a had a tough 
 tussel, I reckon — but I met no bar. 
 
 ' At last the brush grew thinner, and jest as I was in 
 hopes I might stumble on the bar tree, what shed I see 
 afore me but the face o' a rocky bluff, that riz a 
 consid'able height over the crik bottom. I began to 
 fear that the varmint had a cave, and so, cuss him ! he 
 had — a great black gulley in the rocks was right close
 
 176 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 by, and thar was his den, and no mistake. I could 
 easily tell it by the way the clay and stones had been 
 pattered over by his paws. 
 
 ' Of coorse my tracking for that day war over, and I 
 stood by the mouth of the cave not knowin' what to do. 
 I didn't feel inclined to go in. 
 
 ' After a while I bethought me that the bar mout 
 come out, an' I laid myself squat down among the 
 bushes facing the cave. I had my gun ready to give 
 him a mouthful of lead, as soon as he should show his 
 snout outside o' the hole. 
 
 "Twar no go. I guess he had heeard me when I first 
 come up, and know'd I war thar. I laid still until 'twar 
 so dark I thought I would never find my way back 
 agin to the crik ; but, after a good deal of scramblin* 
 and creepin' I got out at last, and took my way home. 
 
 ' It warn't likely I war a-goin' to give that bar up. I 
 war bound to fetch him out o' his boots if it cost me 
 a week's hunting. So I returned the next morning to 
 the place, and lay all day in front o' the cave. No bar 
 appeared, an' I went back home a-cussin'. 
 
 ' Next day I come again, but this time I didn't intend 
 to stay. I had fetched my axe with me wi' the inten- 
 tion of riggin' up a log trap near the mouth o' the 
 cave. I had also fetched a jug o' molasses and some 
 yeers o' green corn to bait the trap, for I know'd the bar 
 war fond o' both. 
 
 ' Well, I got upon the spot, an' makin* as leetle 
 rumpus as possible, I went to work to build my trap. I 
 found some logs on the ground jest the scantlin, and in 
 less than an hour I hed the thing rigged an' the trigger 
 set. 'Twan't no small lift to get up the big log, but I 
 managed it wi' a lever I had made, though it took every 
 pound o' strength in my body. If it come down on the 
 bar I knew it would hold him. 
 
 'Well, I had all ready except layin' the bait; so I 
 crawled in, and was fixin' the green yeers and the 'lasses, 
 when, jest at that moment, what shed I hear behind me 
 but the "sniff" o' the bar! 
 
 ' I turned suddently to see. I had jest got my eye on
 
 The Trapper Trapped 177 
 
 the critter standin' right in the mouth o' his cave, when 
 I feeled myself struck upon the buttocks, and flattened 
 down to the airth like a pancake ! 
 
 ' At the first stroke I thought somebody had hit me a 
 heavy blow from behind, and I wish it had been that. 
 It war wusser than that. It war the log had hit me, 
 and war now lying with all its weight right acrosst my 
 two legs. In my hurry to git round I had sprung the 
 trigger, and down corned the infernal log on my hams. 
 
 * At fust I wan't scared, but I war badly hurt. I 
 thought it would be all right as soon as I had crawled 
 out, and I made an attempt to do so. It was then that 
 I become scared in airnest ; for I found that I couldn't 
 crawl out. My legs were held in such a way that I 
 couldn't move them, and the more I pulled the more I 
 hurt them. They were in pain already with the heavy 
 weight pressin' upon them, and I couldn't bear to move 
 them. No more could I turn myself. I war flat on my 
 face, and couldn't slew myself round any way, so as to 
 get my hands at the log. I war fairly catched in my 
 own trap ! 
 
 ' It war jest about then I began to feel scared. Thar 
 wan't no settlement in the hul crik bottom but my 
 mother's old shanty, an' that were two miles higher up. 
 It war as unlikely a thing as could happen that anybody 
 would be passing that way. And unless some one did 
 I saw no chance of gettin' clar o' the scrape I war in. 
 I could do nothin' for myself. 
 
 * I hollered as loud as I could, and that frightened the 
 bar into his cave again. I hollered for an hour, but I 
 could hear no reply, and then I war still a-bit, and then 
 I hollered again, an' kept this up pretty much for the 
 hul o' that blessed day. 
 
 ' Thar wan't any answer but the echo o' my own shoutin' 
 and the v/hoopin' of the owls that flew about over my 
 head, and appeared as if they war mockin' me. 
 
 • I had no behopes of any relief comin' from home. 
 My ole mother had nobody but myself, and she wan't 
 like to miss me, as I'd often stayed out a-huntin' for 
 three or four days at a time. The only chance I had,
 
 178 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 and I knew it too, war that some neighbour might be 
 strayin' down the crik, and you may guess what sort o' 
 chance that war, when I tell you thar wan't a neighbour 
 livin' within less than five mile o' us. If no one come 
 by I knew I must lay there till I died o' hunger and 
 rotted, or the bar ate me up. 
 
 ' Well, night come, and night went. 'Twar about the 
 longest night this child remembers. I lay all through 
 it, a-sufferin' the pain, and listening to the screechin' 
 owls. I could a screeched as loud as any of them if 
 that would a-done any good. I heerd now and then 
 the snuffin' o' the bar, and I could see thar war two o' 
 them. I could see thar big black bodies movin' about 
 like shadows, and they appeared to be gettin' less 
 afeerd o' me, as they come close at times, and risin' up 
 on their hind quarters stood in front o' me like a couple 
 o' black devils. 
 
 ' I begun to get afeerd they would attack me, and so 
 I guess they would a-done, had not a circumstance hap- 
 pened that put them out o' the notion. 
 
 ' It war jest grey day, when one o' them come so 
 clost that I expected to be attacked by him. Now as 
 luck would have it, my rifle happened to be lyin' on 
 the ground within reach. I grabbed it without saying a 
 word, and slewin' up one shoulder as high as I could, 
 I was able to sight the bar jest behind the fore leg. 
 The brute wan't four feet from the muzzle, and slap into 
 him went wad and all, and down he tumbled like a 
 felled ox. I seed he war as dead as a buck. 
 
 ' Well, badly as I war fixed, I contrived to get loaded 
 again, for I knovved that bars will fight for each other 
 to the death ; and I thought the other might attack me. 
 It wan't to be seen at the time, but shortly after it come 
 upon the ground from the direction of the crik. 
 
 ' I watched it closely as it shambled up, having my 
 rifle ready all the while. When it first set eyes on its 
 dead comrade it gave a loud snort, and stopped. It ap- 
 peared to be considerably surprised. It only halted a 
 short spell, and then, with a loud roar, it run up to the 
 carcass, and sniffed at it.
 
 The Trapper Trapped 1 79 
 
 ' I haint the least o' a doubt that in two seconds more 
 it would a-jumped me, but I war too quick for it, and 
 sent a bullet right plum into one of its eyes, that come 
 out again near the back o' its neck. That did the 
 business, and I had the satisfaction to see it cowollop 
 over nearly on top o' the other'n. 
 
 ' Well, I had killed the bars, but what o' that. That 
 wouldn't get me from under the log ; and what wi' the 
 pain I was sufferin', and the poor prospect o' being 
 relieved, I thought I mout as well have let them eat 
 me. 
 
 ' But a man don't die so long as he can help it, I 
 b'lieve, and I detarmined to live it out while I could. 
 At times I had hopes and shouted, and then I lost hope 
 and lay still again. 
 
 'I grew as hungry as a famished wolf. The bars were 
 lying right before me, but jest beyond reach, as if to 
 tantylise me. I could have ate a collop raw if I could 
 a-got hold of it, but how to reach it war the difeeculty. 
 
 ' Needcesity the' say is the mother o' invention ; and 
 I set myself to invent a bit. Thar war a piece o' rope I 
 had brought along to help me wi' the trap, and that I 
 got my claws on. 
 
 ' I made a noose on one cend o' it, and after about a 
 score o' trials I at last flung the noose over the head o' 
 one o' the bars, and drew it tight. I then sot to work 
 to pull the bar nearer. If that bar's neck wan't well 
 stretched I don't know what you'd call stretchin', for I 
 tugged at it about an hour afore I could get it within 
 reach. I did get it at last, and then with my knife I 
 cut out the bar's tongue, and ate it raw. 
 
 ' I had satisfied one appetite, but another as bad, if 
 not wusser, troubled me. That war thirst — my throat 
 war as dry as a corn cob, and whar was the water to come 
 from. It grew so bad at last that I thou^^ht I would 
 die of it. I drawed the bar nearer me, and cut his 
 juglar to see if thar war any relief from that quarter. 
 Thar wan't. The blood war froze up thick as liver. 
 Not a drop would run. 
 
 ' I lay coolin' my tongue on the blade o' my knife an'
 
 i8o The Hunters' Feast 
 
 chawin' a bullet that I had taken from my pouch. I 
 managed to put in the hul of the next day this away, 
 now and then shoutin* as loud as I could. Towards the 
 evenin' I grew hungry again, and ate a cut out o' the 
 cheek o' the bar ; but I thought I would a-choked for 
 want o' water. 
 
 ' I put in the night the best way I could. I had the 
 owls again for company, and some varmint came up 
 and smelt at the bars ; but was frightened at my voice, 
 and run away again. I suppose it war a fox or wolf, 
 or some such thing, and but for me would a-made a 
 meal off o' the bar's carcass. 
 
 * I won't trouble you with my reflexshuns all that 
 night ; but I can assure ye they war anything but 
 pleasant. I thought of my ole mother, who had nobody 
 but me, and that helped to keep up my spirits. I 
 detarmined to cut away at the bar, and hold out as long 
 as possible. 
 
 * As soon as day broke I set up my shoutin' again, 
 restin' every fifeteen minutes or so, and then takin' a 
 fresh start. About an hour after sun-up, jest as I had 
 finished a long spell o' screechin', I thought I heerd a 
 voice. I listened a bit with my heart thumpin' against 
 my ribs. Thar war no sound ; I yelled louder than 
 ever, and then listened. Thar war a voice. 
 
 ' " D — n ye ! what are ye hollowin' about ? " cried the 
 voice. 
 
 * I again shouted " Holloa ! " 
 
 ' " Who the h — ll's thar?" inquired the voice. 
 
 '"Casey!" I called back, recognising the voice as 
 that of a neighbour who lives up the crik ; " for God's 
 sake this way." 
 
 '"I'm a-comin'," he replied; "Taint so easy to get 
 through hyar— that you, Redwood ? What the h — ll's 
 the matter ? D — n this brush ! " 
 
 ' I heard my neighbour breakin' his way through the 
 thicket, and strange I tell ye all, but true it is, I couldn't 
 believe I war goin' to get clar even then until I seed 
 Casey standin' in front o' me. 
 
 ' Well, of coorse, I was now set free again, but couldn't
 
 The Trapper Trapped i8i 
 
 put a foot to the ground. Casey carried me home to the 
 shanty, whar I lay for well nigh six weeks, afore I could 
 go about, and d — n the thing! I hain't got over it 
 yet.' 
 
 So ended Redwood's story.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 THE AMERICAN DEER 
 
 During our next day's journey we fell in with and killed 
 a couple of deer — a young buck and doe. They were the 
 first of these animals we had yet seen, and that was 
 considered strange, as we had passed through a deer 
 country. They were of the species common to all parts 
 of the United States' territory — the 'red ' or ' fallow ' deer 
 {Cervus Vtrginiaiius). It may be here remarked that 
 the common deer of the United States, sometimes called 
 'red deer,' is the fallow deer of English parks, that the 
 ' elk ' of America is the red deer of Europe, and the ' elk ' 
 of Europe is the ' moose' of America. Many mistakes 
 are made in relation to this family of animals on account 
 of these misapplied names. 
 
 In North America there are six well-defined species of 
 deer — the moose {C. alces) ; the elk {^Canadensis) ; the 
 caribou itarandus) ; the black-tail or ' mule ' deer 
 {macrotis); the long-tail ileuairus) ; and the Virginian, or 
 fallow deer ( Virginianus). The deer of Louisiana {C. 
 nenioralis') is supposed by some to be a different species 
 from any of the above ; so also is the ' mazana ' of 
 Mexico iC Mexicanus). It is more probable that these 
 two kinds are only varieties of the Cervus Virginianus 
 — the difference in colour, and other respects, resulting 
 from a difference in food, climate, and such like causes. 
 
 It is probable, too, that a small species of deer exists 
 in the Russian possessions west of the Rocky Mountains, 
 quite distinct from any of the six mentioned above ; but 
 so little is yet known of the natural history of these wild 
 territories, that this can only be taken as conjecture. It 
 may be remarked, also, that of the caribou {C. tarandus) 
 there are too marked varieties, that may almost be 
 
 182
 
 The A^nerican Deet* 183 
 
 regarded in the light of species. One, the larger, is 
 known as the ' woodland caribou,' because it inhabits the 
 more southern and wooded districts of the Hudson's 
 Bay territory ; the other, the ' barren ground caribou,' is 
 the * rein deer ' of the Arctic voyagers. 
 
 Of the six well-ascertained species, the last-mentioned 
 {C. Virginianiis) has the largest geographical range, and 
 is the most generally known. Indeed, when the word 
 ' deer ' is mentioned, it only is meant. It is the deer of 
 the United States. 
 
 The ' black-tails ' and ' long-tails ' are two species that 
 may be called new. Though long known to trappers 
 and hunters, they have been but lately described by the 
 scientific naturalist. Their habitat is the ' far west ' in 
 California, Oregon, the high prairies, and the valleys of 
 the Rocky Mountains. Up to a late period naturalists 
 have had but little to do with these countries. For this 
 reason their /«««<? has so long remained comparatively 
 unknown. 
 
 The geographical disposition of the other four species is 
 curious. Each occupies a latitudinal zone. That of the 
 caribou, or rein deer, extends farthest north. It is not 
 found within the limits of the United States. 
 
 The zone of the moose overlaps that of the caribou, 
 but, on the other side, goes farthest south, as this species 
 is met with along the extreme northern parts of the 
 United States. 
 
 The elk is next in order. His range 'dovetails ' into 
 that of the moose, but the elk roves still farther into the 
 temperate regions, being met with almost as far south as 
 Texas. 
 
 The fourth, the common deer, embraces in his range 
 the temperate and torrid zones of both North and South 
 America, while he is not found in higher latitudes than 
 the southern frontier of Canada. 
 
 The common deer, therefore, inhabits a greater area 
 than any of his congeners, and is altogether the best- 
 known animal of his kind. Most persons know him by 
 sight. He is the smallest of the American species being 
 generally about five feet in length by three in height,
 
 184 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 and a little more than a 100 lbs. in weight. He is 
 exceedingly well formed and graceful ; his horns are 
 not so large as those of the stag, but, like his, they are 
 annually caducous, falling off in the winter and returning 
 in the spring. They are rounded below, but in the 
 upper part slightly flattened or palmated. The antlers 
 do not rise upward, but protrude forward over the brow 
 in a threatening manner. There is no regular rule, 
 however, for their shape and 'set,' and their number 
 also varies in different individuals. The horns are also 
 present only in the male or buck ; the doe is without 
 them. They rise from a rough bony-protuberance on 
 the forehead, called the 'burr.' In the first year they 
 grow in the shape of two short straight spikes ; hence 
 the name ' spike bucks ' given to the animals of that 
 age. In the second season a small antler appears on 
 each horn, and the number increases until the fourth 
 year, when they obtain a full head-dress of ' branching 
 honours.' The antlers, or, as they are sometimes called, 
 ' points,' often increase in number with the age of the 
 animal, until as many as fifteen make their appearance. 
 This, however, is rare. Indeed, the food of the animal 
 has much to do with the growth of his horns. In an 
 ill-fed specimen they do not grow to such size, nor 
 branch so luxuriantly as in a well-fed fat buck. 
 
 We have said that the horns fall annually. This 
 takes place in winter — in December and January. They 
 are rarely found, however, as they are soon eaten up by 
 the"small-gnawing animals. 
 
 The new horns begin to grow as soon as the old ones 
 have dropped off. During the spring and summer they 
 are covered with a soft velvety membrane, and they are 
 then described as being ' in the velvet.' The blood 
 circulates freely through this membrane, and it is highly 
 sensitive, so that a blow upon the horns at this season 
 produces great pain. By the time the 'rutting' season 
 commences (in October), the velvet has peeled off, and 
 the horns are then in order for battle — and they need be, 
 for the battles of the bucks during this period are 
 terrible indeed. Frequently their horns get ' locked ' in
 
 The American Deer 185 
 
 such conflicts, and, being unable to separate them, the 
 combatants remain in this situation until both perish by 
 hunger, or fall a prey to their natural enemy — the wolf. 
 Many pairs of horns have been found in the forest thus 
 locked together, and there is not a museum in America 
 without this singular souvenir of mutual destruction ! 
 
 The hair of the American deer is thickly set and 
 smooth on the surface. In winter it grows longer and 
 is of a greyish hue ; the deer is then, according to hunter 
 phraseology, ' in the grey.' In the summer a new coat 
 is obtained, which is reddish, or calf-coloured. The 
 deer is then ' in the red.' Towards the end of August, 
 or in autumn, the whole coat has a blue tinge. This is 
 called 'in the blue.' At all times the animal is of a 
 whitish appearance on the throat and belly and insides 
 of the legs. The skin is toughest when ' in the red,' 
 thickest ' in the blue,' and thinnest ' in the grey.' In 
 the blue it makes the best buckskin, and is, therefore, 
 most valuable when obtained in autumn. 
 
 The fawns of this species are beautiful little creatures ; 
 they are fawn-coloured, and showered all over with 
 white spots which disappear towards the end of their 
 first summer, when they gradually get into the winter 
 grey. 
 
 The American deer is a valuable animal. Much of 
 the buckskin of commerce is the product of its hides, 
 and the horns are put to many uses. Its flesh, besides 
 supplying the tables of the wealthy, has been for 
 centuries almost the whole sustenance of whole nations 
 of Indians. Its skins have furnished them with tents, 
 beds, and clothing ; its intestines with bowstrings, ball 
 * racquets,' and snow shoes ; and in the chase of this 
 creature they have found almost their sole occupation as 
 well as amusement. 
 
 With so many enemies, it is a matter of wonder that 
 this species has not long been extirpated ; not only has 
 man been its constant and persevering destroyer, but it 
 has a host of enemies besides, in the cougar, the lynxes, 
 the wolverine, and the wolves. 
 
 The last are its worst foes. Hunters state that for
 
 i86 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 one deer killed by themselves, five fall a prey to the 
 wolves. These attack the young and feeble, and soon 
 run them down. The old deer can escape from a wolf 
 by superior speed ; but in remote districts, where the 
 wolves are numerous, they unite in packs of eight or 
 ten, and follow the deer as hounds do, and even with a 
 somewhat similar howling. They run by the nose, and 
 unless the deer can reach water, and thus escape them, 
 they will tire it down in the end. 
 
 Frequently the deer, when thus followed in winter, 
 makes for the ice, upon which he is soon overtaken by 
 his hungry pursuers. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this, the American deer is still 
 common in most of the States, and in some of them 
 even plentiful. Where the wolves have been thinned oft 
 by 'bounty' laws, and the deer protected during the 
 breeding season by legislative enactments, as is the case 
 in New York, their number is said to be on the increase. 
 The markets of all the great cities in America are 
 supplied with venison almost as cheap as beef, 
 which shows that the deer are yet far from being 
 scarce. 
 
 The habits of this creature are well known. It is 
 gregarious in its natural habitat. The herd is usually 
 led by an old buck, who watches over the safety of the 
 others while feeding. When an enemy approaches, this 
 sentinel and leader strikes the ground sharply with his 
 hoofs, snorts loudly, and emits a shrill whistle ; all the 
 while fronting the danger with his horns set forward in 
 a threatening manner. So long as he does not attempt 
 to run, the others continue to browse with confidence ; 
 but the moment their leader starts to fly, all the rest 
 follow, each trying to be foremost. 
 
 They are timid upon ordinary occasions, but the 
 bucks in the rutting season are bold, and when wounded 
 and brought ' to bay,' are not to be approached with 
 impunity. They can inflict terrible blows, both with 
 their hoofs and antlers ; and hunters who have come too 
 near them on such occasions have with difficulty escaped 
 being gored to death.
 
 The American Deer 187 
 
 They are foes to the snake tribe, and kill the most 
 venomous serpents without being bitten. The rattle- 
 snake hides from their attack. Their mode of destroy- 
 ing these creatures is similar to that employed by the 
 peccary {dicotyles) : that is, by pouncing down upon 
 them with the four hoofs held close together, and thus 
 crushing them to death. The hostility of the peccary 
 to snakes is easily understood, as no sooner has it killed 
 one than it makes a meal of it. With the deer, of 
 course, such is not the case, as they are not carnivorous. 
 Its emnity to the reptile race can be explained only by 
 supposing that it possesses a knowledge of their 
 dangerous qualities, and thinks they should therefore 
 be got rid of. 
 
 The food of the American deer consists of twigs, 
 leaves of trees, and grass. They are fonder of the tree- 
 shoots than the grass ; but their favourite morsels are 
 the buds and flowers of nymphce, especially those of the 
 common pond-lily. To get these, they wade into the 
 lakes and rivers like the moose, and, like them, are good 
 swimmers. 
 
 They love the shady forest better than the open 
 ground, and they haunt the neighbourhood of streams. 
 These afford them protection, as well as a means of 
 quenching thirst. When pursued, their first thought is 
 to make for water, in order to elude the pursuer, which 
 they often succeed in doing, throwing both dogs and 
 wolves off the scent. In summer, they seek the water 
 to cool themselves, and get free from flies and 
 mosquitoes, that pester them sadly. 
 
 They are fond of salt, and repair in great numbers to 
 the salines, or salt springs, that abound in all parts of 
 America. At these they lick up quantities of earth 
 along with the salt efflorescence, until vast hollows are 
 formed in the earth, termed, from this circumstance, salt 
 Micks.' The consequence of this 'dirt-eating' is, that 
 the excrement of the animal comes forth in hard 
 pellets ; and by seeing this, the hunters can always tell 
 when they are in the neighbourhood of a ' lick.' 
 
 The does produce in spring — in May or June, accord-
 
 ^88 TJie Hunters^ Feast 
 
 ing to the latitude. They bring forth one, two, and 
 very rarely three fawns at a birth. Their attachment 
 to their young is proverbial. The mothers treat them 
 with the greatest tenderness, and hide them while they 
 go to feed. The bleating of the fawn at once recalls the 
 mother to its side. The hunter often imitates this with 
 success, using either his own voice, or a * call,' made out 
 of a cane joint. An anecdote, told by Parry, illustrates 
 this maternal fondness : — * The mother, finding her 
 young one could not swim as fast as herself, was 
 observed to stop repeatedly, so as to allow the fawn 
 to come up with her ; and, having landed first, stood 
 watching it with trembling anxiety as the boat chased 
 it to the shore. She was repeatedly fired at, but re- 
 mained immovable, until her offspring landed in safety, 
 when they both cantered out of sight.' The deer to 
 which Parry refers is the small ' caribou ' ; but a 
 similar affection exists between the mother and fawns 
 of the common deer. 
 
 The American deer is hunted for its flesh, its hide, 
 and ' the sport.' There are many modes of hunting it. 
 The simplest and most common is that which is termed 
 ' still ' hunting. In this the hunter is armed with his 
 rifle or deer gun — a heavy fowling-piece — and steals 
 forward upon the deer, as he would upon any other 
 game. 'Cover' is not so necessary as silence in such a 
 hunt. ^ This deer, like some antelopes, is of a 'curious' 
 disposition, and will sometimes allow the hunter to 
 approach in full view without attempting to run off. 
 But the slightest noise, such as the rustling of dry 
 leaves, or the snapping of a stick, will alarm him. His 
 sense of hearing is extremely acute. His nose, too, is a 
 keen one, and he often scents the hunter, and makes off 
 long before the latter has got within sight or range. 
 It is necessary in 'still' hunting to leave the dog at 
 home ; unless, indeed, he be an animal trained to the 
 purpose. 
 
 Another species of hunting is ' trailing ' the deer in 
 snow. This is done either with dogs or without them. 
 The snow must be frozen over, so as to cut the feet of
 
 The American Deer 189 
 
 the deer, which puts them in such a state of fear and 
 pain, that the hunter can easily get within shot. I have 
 assisted in killing twelve in a single morning in this 
 way ; and that, too, in a district where deer were not 
 accounted plentiful. 
 
 The ' drive ' is the most exciting mode of hunting 
 deer ; and the one practised by those who hunt for ' the 
 sport' This is done with hounds, and the horsemen 
 who follow them also carry guns. In fact, there is 
 hardly a species of hunting in America in which firearms 
 are not used. 
 
 Several individuals are required to make up a ' deer 
 drive.' They are generally men who know the ' lay ' of 
 the country, with all its ravines and passes. One or 
 two only accompany the hounds as ' drivers,' while the 
 rest get between the place where the dogs are beating the 
 cover and some river towards which it is ' calculated ' 
 the startled game will run. They deploy themselves 
 into a long line, which sometimes extends for miles 
 through the forest. Each, as he arrives at his station, or 
 'stand,' as it is called, dismounts, ties his horse in a 
 thicket, and takes his stand, ' covering ' himself behind a 
 log or tree. The stands are selected with reference to 
 the configuration of the ground, or by paths which the 
 deer are accustomed to take ; and as soon as all have so 
 arranged themselves, the dogs at a distant point are set 
 loose, and the ' drive ' begins. 
 
 The * stand men ' remain quiet, with their guns in 
 readiness. The barking of the dogs, afar off through 
 the woods, usually admonishes them when a deer has 
 been ' put up ' ; and they watch with eager expectation, 
 each one hoping that the game may come his way. 
 
 Hours are sometimes passed without the hunter either 
 seeing or hearing a living thing but himself and his horse ; 
 and many a day he returns home from such a ' chase ' 
 without having had the slightest glimpse of either buck, 
 doe, or fawn. 
 
 This is discouraging ; but at other times he is rewarded 
 for his patient watching. A buck comes bounding 
 forward, the hounds after him in full cry. At intervals
 
 190 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 he stops, and throws himself back on his haunches like a 
 halted hare. His eyes are protruded, and watching 
 backward. His beautiful neck is swollen with fear and 
 rage, and his branching antlers tower high in the air. 
 Again he springs forward, and approaches the silent 
 hunter, who, with a beating heart, holds his piece in the 
 attitude of 'ready.' He makes another of his pauses. 
 The gun is levelled, the trigger pulled ; the bullet speeds 
 forth, and strikes into his broad chest, causing him to leap 
 upward in the spasmodic effort of death. 
 
 The excitement of a scene like this rewards the hunter 
 for his long and lonely vigil, 
 
 ' Torch hunting,' or ' fire hunting,' as it is sometimes 
 termed, is another method of capturing the fallow deer. 
 It is done by carrying a torch in a very dark night through 
 woods where deer are known to frequent. The torch is 
 made of pine knots, well dried. They are not tied in 
 bunches, as represented by some writers, but carried in a 
 vessel of hard metal. A frying-pan with a long handle, 
 as already stated, is best for the purpose. 
 
 The 'knots' are kindled within the pan, and, if good 
 ones, yield a blaze that will light the woods for a hundred 
 yards around. The deer seeing this strange object, and 
 impelled by curiosity, approaches within range ; and the 
 ' glance ' of his e}'es, like two burning coals, betrays him 
 to the hunter, who with his deadly rifle ' sights ' between 
 the shining orbs and fire. 
 
 While we were on the subject of torch hunting the 
 doctor took up the cue, and gave us an account of a torch 
 hunt he had made in Tennessee. 
 
 ' I will tell you of a " torch hunt," ' said he, ' of which 
 pars magna ftii, and which ended with a " catastrope." 
 It took place in Tennessee, where I was for a while 
 sojourning. I am not much of a hunter, as you all 
 know ; but happening to reside in a " settlement," where 
 there were some celebrated hunters, and in the neigh- 
 bourhood of which was an abundance of game, I was 
 getting very fond of it. I had heard, among other things, 
 of this " torch hunting," — in fact, had read many interest- 
 ing descriptions of it, but J bad never witnessed the sport
 
 Tlie American Deer 19 1 
 
 myself ; and was therefore eager, above all things, to joni 
 in a torch hunt. 
 
 'The opportunity at length offered. A party was 
 made up to go hunting, of which I was one. 
 
 ' There were six of us in all ; but it was arranged 
 that we should separate into three pairs, each taking its 
 own torch and a separate course through the woods. In 
 each pair one was to carry the light, while the other 
 managed the " shooting iron." We were all to meet at 
 an appointed rendezvous when the hunt was over. 
 
 * These preliminaries being arranged, and the torches 
 made ready, we separated. My partner and I soon 
 plunged into the deep forest. 
 
 * The night was dark as pitch — dark nights are the 
 best — and when we entered the woods we had to grope 
 our way. Of course, we had not yet set fire to our 
 torch, as we had not reached the place frequented by 
 the deer. 
 
 ' My companion was an old hunter, and by right 
 should have carried the gun ; but it was arranged 
 differently, out of compliment to me — the stranger. He 
 held in one hand the huge frying-pan, while in a bag 
 over his shoulder was a bushel or more of dry pine- 
 knots. 
 
 ' On arriving at the place where it was expected deer 
 would be found, we set fire to our torch, and in a few 
 moments the blaze threw its glaring circle around us, 
 painting with vermilion tints the trunks of the great 
 trees. 
 
 ' In this way we proceeded onward, advancing slowly, 
 and with as little noise as possible. We talked only in 
 whispers, keeping our eyes turned upon all sides at once. 
 But we walked and walked, up hill and down hill, for I 
 should say, ten miles at the least ; and not a single pair 
 of bright orbs answered to our luminary. Not a deer's 
 eye reflected the blaze of our torch. 
 
 * We had kept the fire replenished and burning 
 vividly to no purpose, until hardly a knot remained in 
 the bag. 
 
 ' I had grown quite tired in this fruitless search. So
 
 192 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 had my companion, and both of us felt chagrin and 
 disappointment. We felt this the more keenly as there 
 had been a "supper-wager" laid between us and our 
 friends, as to what party would kill the greatest number 
 of deer, and we fancied once or twice that we heard 
 shots far off in the direction the others had gone. We 
 were likely to come back empty-handed, while they, no 
 doubt, would bring a deer each, perhaps more. 
 
 ' We were returning towards the point from which we 
 had started, both of us in a most unamiable mood, when 
 all at once an object right before us attracted my 
 attention, and brought me to a sudden halt. I did not 
 wait to ask any questions. A pair of small round circles 
 glistened in the darkness like two little discs of fire. Of 
 course they were eyes. Of course they were the eyes 
 of a deer. 
 
 ' I could see no body, for the two luminious objects 
 shone as if set in a ground of ebony. But I did not 
 stay to scan in what they were set. My piece was up. 
 I glanced hastily along the barrel. I sighted between 
 the eyes. I pulled the trigger. I fired. 
 
 * As I did so, I fanced that I heard my companion 
 shouting to me, but the report hindered me from hearing 
 what he said. 
 
 ' When the echoes died away, however, his voice 
 reached me in a full, clear tone, pronouncing these 
 words : — 
 
 ' " Tarnation, doctor ! You've shot Squire Robbins's 
 bull!'" 
 
 ' At the same time the bellowing of the bull, mingling 
 with his own loud laugh, convinced me that the hunter 
 had spoken the truth. 
 
 ' He was a good old fellow, and promised to keep 
 dark ; but it was necessary to make all right with 
 " Squire Robbins." So the affair soon got wind, and my 
 torch hunt became, for a time, the standing joke of the 
 settlement.'
 
 I PULLED THE TRICGEK AM) ElKED. 
 
 p. 192.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 DEER HUNT IN A 'DUG-OUT' 
 
 As we were now approaching the regions where the 
 common fallow deer ceased to be met with, and where 
 its place is supplied by two other species, these last 
 became the subject of our talk. The species referred to 
 are the ' black tails,' and ' long tails ' {Cervus macrotis 
 and leiicurus). 
 
 Ike and Redwood were well acquainted with both 
 kinds, as they had often trapped beaver in the countries 
 where these deer are found ; and they gave us a very 
 good account of the habits of these animals, which showed 
 that both species were in many respects similar to the 
 Cervus Virgmianus. Their form, however, as well as 
 their size, colour, and markings, leave no doubt of their 
 being specifically distinct not only from the latter, but 
 from each other. Indeed, there are two varieties of the 
 black tails, differing in some respects, although both have 
 the dark hair upon their tail, and the long ears, which so 
 much distinguish them from other deer. The great 
 length of their ears gives to their heads something of a 
 ' mulish ' look — hence they are often known among the 
 trappers by the name of ' mule deer.' Ike and Redwood 
 spoke of them by this name, although they also knew 
 them as ' black tails,' and this last is the designation 
 most generally used. They receive it on account of the 
 colour of the hair upon the upper side of their tail tips, 
 which is of a jetty blackness, and is very full and 
 conspicuous. 
 
 The two species have been often confounded with each 
 other, though in many respects they are totally unlike. 
 The black tails are larger, their legs shorter and their 
 bodies more 'chunky,' and altogether of stouter build. 
 
 193 N
 
 194 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 In running, they bound with all their feet raised at once ; 
 while those of the long-tailed species run more like the 
 common fallow deer — by trotting a few steps, then giving 
 a bound, and trotting as before. 
 
 The ears of the black tails stand up full half the height 
 of their antlers, and their hair, of a reddish-brown colour, 
 is coarser than the hair of the Cervus Virginianus, and 
 more like the coat of the elk {Cervus Canadensis\ Their 
 hoofs, too, are shorter and wider, and in this respect there 
 is also a similarity to the elk. The flesh of the black 
 tails is inferior to that of the fallow deer, while the long- 
 tailed kind produces a venison very similar to the latter. 
 
 Both species inhabit woodlands occasionally, but their 
 favourite habitat is the prairie, or that species of un- 
 dulating country where prairie and forest alternate, 
 forming a succession of groves and openings. Both are 
 found only in the western half of the continent — that is, 
 in the wild regions extending from the Mississippi to 
 the Pacific. In longitude, as far east as the Mississippi, 
 they are rarely seen ; but as you travel westward, either 
 approaching the Rocky Mountains, or beyond these to 
 the shores of the Pacific, they are the common deer of 
 the country. The black-tailed kind is more southern in 
 its range. It is found in the Californias, and the valleys 
 of the Rocky Mountains, as far south as Texas, while to 
 the north it is met with in Oregon, and on the eastern 
 side of the Rocky Mountains, as high as the fifty-fourth 
 parallel. The long-tailed species is the most common 
 deer of Oregon and the Columbia River, and its range 
 also extends east of the Rocky Mountains, though not 
 so far as the longitude of the Mississippi. 
 
 The hunter-naturalist, who had some years before 
 made a journey to Oregon, and of course had become 
 well acquainted with the habits of the Cervus leucurus, 
 gave us a full account of them, and related a stirring 
 adventure that had befallen him while hunting 'long 
 tails ' upon the Columbia. 
 
 ' The long-tailed deer,' began he, ' is one of the 
 smallest of the deer kind. Its weight rarely exceeds 
 lOO lbs. It resembles in form and habits the common
 
 Deer Hunt in a ^ Dug-OuV 195 
 
 fallow deer, the chief distinction being the tail, which is 
 a very conspicuous object. This appendage is often 
 found to measure eighteen inches in length ! 
 
 ' While running, the tail is held erect, and kept 
 constantly switching from side to side, so as to produce 
 a singular and somewhat ludicrous effect upon the mind 
 of the spectator. 
 
 ' The gait of this animal is also peculiar. It first takes 
 two ambling steps that resemble a trot, after these it 
 makes a long bound, which carries it about twice the 
 distance of the steps, and then it trots again. No matter 
 how closely pursued, it never alters this mode of 
 progression. 
 
 ' Like the fallow deer, it produces spotted fawns, which 
 are brought forth in the spring, and change their colour 
 to that of the deer itself in the first winter. About the 
 month of November they gather into herds, and remain 
 together until April, when they separate, the females 
 secreting themselves to bring forth their young. 
 
 ' The long-tailed deer is often found in wooded 
 countries ; though its favourite haunts are not amid the 
 heavy timber of the great forests, but in the park-like 
 openings that occur in many parts of the Rocky 
 Mountain valleys. 
 
 ' Sometimes whole tracts of country are met with in 
 these regions, whose surface exhibits a pleasing variety 
 of woodland and prairie ; sloping hills appear with 
 coppices upon their crests and along their sides. Among 
 these natural groves may be seen troops of the long- 
 tailed deer, browsing along the declivities of the hills, 
 and, by their elegant attitudes and graceful movements, 
 adding to the beauty of the landscape. 
 
 * Some years ago I had an opportunity of hunting the 
 long-tailed deer. I was on my way across the Rocky 
 Mountains to Fort Vancouver, when circumstances 
 rendered it necessary that I should stop for some days 
 at a small trading post on one of the branches of the 
 Columbia. I was, in fact, detained, waiting for a party 
 of fur-traders with whom I was to travel, and who 
 required some time to get their packs in readines?.
 
 196 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 ' The trading post was a small place, with miserable 
 accommodations, having scarcely room enough in its two 
 or three wretched log-cabins to lodge half the company 
 that happened at the time to claim its hospitality. As 
 my business was simply to wait for my travelling 
 companions, I was, of course, enniiye almost to death in 
 such a place. There was nothing to be seen around but 
 packs of beaver, otter, mink, fox, and bear skins ; and 
 nothing to be heard but the incessant chattering of 
 Canadian voyageurs, in their mixed jargon of French, 
 English, and Indian. To make matters still more 
 unpleasant, there was very little to eat, and nothing to 
 drink but the clear water of the little mountain stream 
 upon which the fort was built. 
 
 ' The surrounding country, however, was beautiful ; 
 and the lovely landscapes that on every side met the eye 
 almost compensated for the discomforts of the post. 
 The surface of the country was what is termed rolling 
 — gentle undulations here and there rising into dorne- 
 shaped hills of low elevation. These were crowned with 
 copses of shrubby trees, principally of the wild filbert or 
 hazel {corylus), with several species of rosa and raspberry 
 {rubiis), and bushes of the juneberry {amelanchier), with 
 their clusters of purplish - red fruit. The openings 
 between were covered with a sward of short gramma 
 grass, and the whole landscape presented the appearance 
 of a cultivated park ; so that one involuntarily looked 
 along the undulating outlines of the hills for some noble 
 mansion or lordly castle. 
 
 ' It is just in such situations that the fallow deer 
 delights to dwell ; and these are the favourite haunts of 
 its near congeners, the long tails. I had ascertained this 
 from the people at the post ; and the fact that fresh 
 venison formed our staple and daily food was proof 
 sufficient that some species of deer was to be found in 
 the neighbourhood. I was not long, therefore, after my 
 arrival, in putting myself in train for a hunt. 
 
 ' Unfortunately, the gentlemen of the company were 
 too busy to go along with me ; so also were the numerous 
 engages ; and T set out, taking only my servant, a bois
 
 Deer Hunt in a '■ Dug-OuV 197 
 
 bride, or half-breed, who happened, however, to be a good 
 guide for such an expedition, as well as a first-rate 
 hunter. 
 
 _ ' Setting out, we kept down the stream for some 
 distance, walking along its bank. We saw numerous 
 deer tracks in the mud, where the animals had gone to 
 and from the water. These tracks were almost fresh, 
 and many of them, as my servant averred, must have 
 been made the previous night by the animals coming 
 to drink — a common habit with them, especially in hot 
 weather. 
 
 ' But, strange to say, we walked a mile or more with- 
 out getting a glimpse of a single deer, or any other sort 
 of animal. I was becoming discouraged, when my man 
 proposed that we should leave the stream, and proceed 
 back among the hills. The deer, he believed, would be 
 found there. 
 
 ' This was resolved upon ; and we accordingly struck 
 out for the high ground. We soon climbed up from the 
 river bottom, and threaded our way amidst the fragrant 
 shrubbery of amelanchiers and wild roses, cautiously 
 scrutinising every new vista that opened before us. 
 
 ' We had not gone far before we caught sight of 
 several deer ; we could also hear them at intervals, 
 behind the copses that surrounded us, the males utter- 
 ing a strange whistling sound, similar to that produced 
 by blowing into the barrel of a gun, while this was 
 occasionally replied to by the goat-like bleat of the 
 females. 
 
 ' Strange to say, however, they were all very shy, and 
 notwithstanding much cautious crouching and creeping 
 among the bushes, we wandered about for nearly two- 
 thirds of the day without getting a shot at any of them. 
 ^ ' What had made them so wary we could not at the 
 time tell, but we afterwards learned that a large party 
 of Flathead Indians had gone over the ground only a 
 few days before, and had put the deer through a three 
 days chase, from which they had not yet recovered. 
 Indeed, we saw Indian "sign" all along the route, and 
 at one place came upon the head and horns of a fine
 
 rgS The Hunters' Feast 
 
 buck, which, from some fancy or other of the hunter, 
 had been left suspended from the branch of a tree, and 
 had thus escaped being stripped by the wolves. 
 
 * At sight of this trophy, my companion appeared to 
 be in ecstacies. I could not understand what there was 
 in a worthless set of antlers to produce such joyful 
 emotions ; but as Blue Dick — such was the soubriquet 
 of my servant — was not much given to idle exhibitions 
 of feeling, I knew there must be something in it 
 
 * " Now, master," said he, addressing me, " if I had 
 something else, I could promise you a shot at the 
 long tails, shy as they arc." 
 
 ' " Something else ! What do you want? " I inquired. 
 
 * " Something that ought to grow about yar, else I'm 
 mightily mistaken in the sign. Let me try down 
 yonder," — and Dick pointed to a piece of low swampy 
 ground that lay to one side of our course. 
 
 * I assented, and followed him to the place. 
 
 'We had hardly reached the border of the wet 
 ground, when an exclamation from my companion 
 told me that the " something " he wanted was in sight. 
 
 * " Yonder, master ; the very weed : see yonder." 
 
 ' Dick pointed to a tall herbaceous plant that grew 
 near the edge of the swamp. Its stem was fully eight 
 feet in height, with large lobed leaves, and a wide- 
 spreading umbel of pretty white flowers. I knew the 
 plant well. It was that which was known in some 
 places as masterwort, but more commonly by the name 
 of cow parsnip. Its botanical name is Heracleum 
 lanatum. I knew that its roots possessed stimulant 
 and carminative properties ; but that the plant had 
 anything to do with deer hunting, I was ignorant. 
 
 ' Dick, however, was better acquainted with its uses in 
 that respect ; and his hunter craft soon manifested itself. 
 
 ' Drawing his knife from its sheath, he cut one of the 
 joints from the stem of the heracleum, about six inches 
 in length. This he commenced fashioning somewhat 
 after the manner of a pcnn}' trumpet. 
 
 ' In a few minutes he had whittled it to the proper 
 form and dimensions, after which he put up his knife,
 
 Deer Hunt in a 'Dug-Out' 199 
 
 and applying the pipe to his h*ps, blew into it. The 
 sound produced was so exactly like that which I had 
 already heard to proceed from the deer, that I was 
 startled by the resemblance. 
 
 ' Not having followed his manoeuvres, I fancied for a 
 moment that we had got into close proximity with one 
 of the long tails. My companion laughed, as he pointed 
 triumphantly to his new made "call." 
 
 * " Now, master," said he, " we'll soon ' rub out ' one of 
 the long tail bucks." 
 
 ' So saying, he took up the antlers, and desired me to 
 follow him. 
 
 ' We proceeded as before, walking quickly but 
 cautiously among the thickets, and around their edges. 
 We had gone only a few hundred paces farther, when 
 the hollow whistle of a buck sounded in our ears. 
 
 ' " Now," muttered Dick, " we have him. Squat down, 
 master, under the bush — so." 
 
 ' I did as desired, hiding myself under the leafy 
 branches ot the wild rose trees. My companion cowered 
 down beside me in such an attitude that he himself was 
 concealed, while the buck's head and antlers were held 
 above the foliage, and visible from several points where 
 the ground was open. 
 
 * As soon as we were fairly placed, Dick applied the 
 call to his lips, and blew his mimic note several times in 
 succession. We heard what appeared to be an echo, 
 but it was the response of a rival ; and shortly after 
 we could distinguish a hoof-stroke upon the dry turf, 
 as if some animal was bounding towards us. 
 
 ' Presently appeared a fine buck at an opening between 
 two copses, about one hundred paces from the spot 
 where we lay. It had halted, thrown back upon its 
 flanks until its haunches almost touched the ground, 
 while its full large eye glanced over the opening, as if 
 searching for some object. 
 
 *At this moment Dick applied the reed to his lips, 
 at the same time moving the horns backward and 
 forward, in imitation of a buck moving his head in a 
 threatening manner.
 
 200 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' The stranger now perceived what appeared to him 
 the branching horns of a rival, hearing, at the same 
 time, the well-known challenge. This was not to be 
 borne, and rising erect on all-fours, with his brow antlers 
 set forward, he accepted the challenge, and came 
 bounding forward. 
 
 * At the distance of twenty paces or so, he again 
 halted, as if still uncertain of the character of his enemy; 
 but that halt was fatal to him, for by Dick's directions 
 I had made ready my rifle, and taking sight at his breast, 
 I pulled trigger. The result was as my companion had 
 predicted, and the buck was " rubbed out." 
 
 ' After skinning our game, and hanging the meat out 
 of reach of the barking wolves, we proceeded as before ; 
 and soon after another buck was slain in a manner very 
 similar to that described. 
 
 ' This ended our day's hunt, as it was late before Dick 
 had bethought him of the decoy ; and taking the best 
 parts of both the long tails upon our shoulders, we 
 trudged homeward to the post, 
 
 ' Part of our road, as we returned, lay along the 
 stream, and we saw several deer approaching the water, 
 but, cumbered as we were, we failed in getting a shot. 
 An idea, however, was suggested to my companion 
 that promised us plenty of both sport and venison 
 for the next hunt — which was to take place by 
 night. 
 
 ' This idea he communicated to me for my approval. 
 I readily gave my consent, as I saw in the proposal the 
 chances of enjoying a very rare sport. That sport was 
 to be a fire hunt ; but not as usually practised among 
 backwoodsmen, by carrying a torch through the woods. 
 Our torch was to float upon the water, while we were 
 snugly seated beside it ; in other words, we would carry 
 our torch in a canoe, and, floating down stream, would 
 shoot the deer that happened to be upon the banks 
 drinking or cooling their hoofs in the water. I had heard 
 of the plan, but had never practised it, although I was 
 desirous of so doing. Dick had often killed deer in 
 this way, and therefore knew all about it. It was
 
 Deer Hunt in a '• Diig-OuV 201 
 
 agreed, then, that upon the following night we should 
 try the experiment. 
 
 ' During the next day, Dick and I proceeded in our 
 preparations without saying anything to any one. It 
 was our design to keep our night hunt a secret, lest we 
 might be unsuccessful, and get laughed at for our pains. 
 On the other hand, should we succeed in killing a goodly 
 number of long tails, it would be time enough to let it be 
 known how we had managed matters. 
 
 * We had little difficulty in keeping our designs to our- 
 selves. Every one was busy with his own affairs, and 
 took no heed of our manoeuvres. 
 
 ' Our chief difficulty lay in procuring a boat ; but for 
 the consideration of a few loads of powder, we at length 
 borrowed an old canoe that belonged to one of the 
 Flathead Indians — a sort of hanger-on of the post. 
 
 ' This craft was simply a log of the cotton-wood, rudely 
 hollowed out by means of an axe, and slightly rounded 
 at the ends to produce the canoe-shape. It was that 
 species of water craft popularly known throughout 
 Western America as a " dug-out," a phrase which 
 explains itself. It was both old and rickety, but after 
 an inspection, Blue Dick declared it would do "fust rate." 
 
 * Our next move was to prepare our torch. For this 
 we had to make an excursion to the neighbouring hills, 
 where we found the very material we wanted — the dry 
 knots of the pitch-pine tree. 
 
 ' A large segment of birch bark was then sought for 
 and obtained, and our implements were complete. 
 
 * At twilight all was ready, and stepping into our 
 dug-out, we paddled silently down stream. 
 
 * As soon as we had got out of the neighbourhood of 
 the post, we lighted our torch. This was placed in a 
 large frying-pan out upon the bow, and was in reality 
 rather a fire of pine-knots than a torch. It blazed up 
 brightly, throwing a glare over the surface of the stream, 
 and reflecting in red light every object upon both banks. 
 We, on the other hand, were completely hidden from 
 view by means of the birch bark screen, which stood up 
 between us and the torch.
 
 202 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 * As soon as we were fairly under way, I yielded up 
 the paddle to Dick, who now assigned to himself the 
 double office of guiding the dug-out and keeping the 
 torch trimmed. 1 was to look to the shooting ; so, 
 placing my trusty rifle across my thighs, I sat alternately 
 scanning both banks as we glided along. 
 
 ' I shall never forget the romantic effect which was 
 produced upon my mind during that wild excursion. 
 The scenery of the river upon which we had launched 
 our craft was at all times of a picturesque character : 
 under the blaze of the pine-wood — its trees and rocks 
 tinted with a reddish hue, while the rippling flood below 
 ran like molten gold — the effect was heightened to a 
 degree of sublimity which could not have failed to 
 impress the dullest imagination. It was the autumn 
 season, too, and the foliage, which had not yet 
 commenced falling, had assumed those rich varied tints 
 so characteristic of the American sylva — various hues of 
 green and golden, and yellow and deep red were 
 exhibited upon the luxuriant frondage that lined the 
 banks of the stream, and here and there drooped like 
 embroidered curtains down to the water's edge. It was 
 a scene of that wild beauty, that picturesque sublimity, 
 which carries one to the contemplation of its Creator. 
 
 ' " Yonder ! " muttered a voice, that roused me from 
 my reverie. It was Dick who spoke ; and in the dark 
 shadow of the birch bark I could see one of his arms 
 extended, and pointing to the right bank. 
 
 ' My eyes followed the direction indicated ; they soon 
 rested upon two small objects, that from the darker 
 back-ground of the foliage appeared bright and luminous. 
 These objects were round, and close to each other ; and 
 at a glance I knew them to be the eyes of some animal, 
 reflecting the light of our torch, 
 
 ' My companion whispered me that they were the eyes 
 of a deer. I took sight with my rifle, aiming as nearly as 
 I could midway between the luminous spots. I pulled 
 trigger, and my true piece cracked like a whip. 
 
 ' The report was not loud enough to drown the noises 
 that came back from the shore. There was a rustling
 
 Deer Hunt in a ^ Dug-OuV 203 
 
 of leaves, followed by a plunge, as of some body falling 
 in the water. 
 
 ' Dick turned the head of the dug-out, and paddled her 
 up to the bank. The torch, blazing brightly, lit up the 
 scene ahead of us, and our eyes were gratified by the 
 sight of a fine buck, that had fallen dead into the river. 
 He was about being drawn into the eddy of the current, 
 but Dick prevented this, and, seizing him by the antlers, 
 soon deposited him safely in the bottom of the dug-out. 
 
 ' Our craft was once more headed down stream, and 
 we scrutinised every winding of the banks in search of 
 another pair of gleaming eyes. In less than half an hour 
 these appeared, and we succeeded in killing a second 
 long tail — a doe — and dragged her also into the boat. 
 
 ' Shortly after, a third was knocked over, which we 
 found standing out in the river upon a small point of 
 sand. This proved to be a young spike buck, his horns 
 not having as yet branched off into antlers. 
 
 ' About a quarter of a mile further down, a fourth 
 deer was shot at, and missed, the dug-out having grazed 
 suddenly against a rock just as I was pulling trigger, 
 thus rendering my aim unsteady. 
 
 * I need hardly say that this sport was extremely 
 exciting ; and we had got many miles from the post, 
 without thinking either of the distance or the fact that 
 we should be under the disagreeable necessity of 
 paddling the old Flathead's canoe every inch of the way 
 back again. Down stream it was all plain sailing ; and 
 Dick's duty was light enough, as it consisted merely in 
 keeping the dug out head foremost in the middle of the 
 river. The current ran at the rate of three miles an hour, 
 and therefore drifted us along with sufficient rapidity. 
 
 ' The first thing that suggested a return to either of us, 
 was the fact that our pine-knots had run out : Dick had 
 just piled the last of them in the frying-pan. 
 
 ' At this moment, a noise sounded in our ears that 
 caused us some feelings of alarm ; it was the noise of 
 falling water. It was not new to us, for, since leaving the 
 post, we had passed the mouths of several small streams 
 that debouched into the one upon which we were, in most
 
 204 TJic Hunters' Feast 
 
 cases over a jumble of rocks, thus forming a series of 
 noisy rapids. But that which we now heard was directly 
 ahead of us, and must, thought we, be a rapid or fall of 
 the stream itself; moreover, it sounded louder than any 
 we had hitherto passed. 
 
 ' We lost little time in conjectures. The first impulse 
 of my companion, upon catching the sound, was to stop 
 the progress of the dug-out, which in a few seconds he 
 succeeded in doing ; but by this time our torch had 
 shown us that there was a sharp turning in the river, 
 with a long reach of smooth water below. The cascade, 
 therefore, could not be in our stream, but in some 
 tributary that fell into it near the bend. 
 
 ' On seeing this, Dick turned his paddle, and permitted 
 the dug-out once more to float with the current. 
 
 ' The next moment we passed the mouth of a good- 
 sized creek, whose waters, having just leaped a fall of 
 several feet, ran into the river, covered with white froth 
 and bubbles. We could see the fall at a little distance, 
 through the branches of the trees ; and as we swept on, 
 its foaming sheet reflected the light of our torch like 
 shining metal. 
 
 * We had scarcely passed this point, when my 
 attention was attracted by a pair of fiery orbs that 
 glistened out of some low bushes upon the left bank of 
 the river. I saw that they were the eyes of some 
 animal, but what kind of animal I could not guess. I 
 knew they were not the eyes of a deer. Their peculiar 
 scintillation, their lesser size, the wide space between 
 them — all convinced me they were not deer's eyes. 
 Moreover, they moved at times, as if the head of the 
 animal was carried about in irregular circles. This is 
 never the case with the eyes of the deer, which cither 
 pass hurriedly from point to point, or remain with a 
 fixed and steadfast gaze. 
 
 ' I knew, therefore, it was no deer, but no matter what 
 — it was some wild creature, and all such are alike the 
 game of the prairie-hunter. 
 
 'I took aim, and pulled trigger. While doing so, I heard 
 the voice of my companion warning me, as I thought, not
 
 Deer Hunt in a ^ Dug-OuV 205 
 
 to fire. I wondered at this admonition, but it was then 
 too late to heed it, for it had been uttered almost 
 simultaneously with the report of my rifle. 
 
 ' I first looked to the bank, to witness the effect of 
 my shot. To my great surprise, the eyes were still 
 there, gleaming from the bushes as brightly as ever. 
 
 ' Had I missed my aim ? It is true, the voice of my 
 companion had somewhat disconcerted me ; but I still 
 believed that my bullet must have sped truly, as it had 
 been delivered with a good aim. 
 
 ' As I turned to Dick for an explanation, a new sound 
 fell upon my ears that I explained all, at the same time 
 causing me no slight feeling of alarm. It was a sound 
 not unlike that sometimes uttered by terrified swine, but 
 still louder and more threatening. I knew it well — I 
 knew it was the snort of the grizzly bear ! 
 
 ' Of all American animals, the grizzly bear is the 
 most to be dreaded. Armed or unarmed, man is no 
 match for him, and even the courageous hunter of these 
 parts shuns the encounter. This was why my companion 
 had admonished me not to fire. I thought I had missed : 
 it was not so. My bullet had hit and stung the fierce 
 brute to madness ; and a quick cracking among the 
 bushes was immediately followed by a heavy plunge ; 
 the bear was in the water ! 
 
 '"Good heavens, he's after us !" cried Dick in accents 
 of alarm, at the same time propelling the dug-out with 
 all his might. 
 
 ' It proved true enough that the bear was after us, and 
 the very first plunge had brought his nose almost up to 
 the side of the canoe. However, a few well-directed 
 strokes of the paddle set us in quick motion, and we 
 were soon gliding rapidly down stream, followed by the 
 enraged animal, that every now and then uttered one of 
 his fierce snorts. 
 
 ' What rendered our situation a terrible one was, that 
 we could not now see the bear, nor tell how far 
 he might be from us. All to the rear of the canoe was 
 of a pitchy darkness, in consequence of the screen of 
 birch bark. No object could be distinguished in that
 
 2o6 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 direction, and it was only by hearing him that we 
 could tell he was still some yards off. The snorts, 
 however, were more or less distinct, as heard amid the 
 varying roar of the waterfall ; and sometimes they 
 seemed as if the snout from which they proceeded was 
 close up to our stern. 
 
 ' Wc knew that if he once laid his paw upon the 
 canoe, wc should either be sunk or compelled to leap 
 out and swim for it. We knew, moreover, that such an 
 event would be certain death to one of us at least. 
 
 * I need hardly affirm, that my companion used his 
 paddle with all the energy of despair. I assisted him as 
 much as was in my power with the butt-end of my gun, 
 which was now empty. On account of the hurry and 
 darkness, I had not attempted to reload it. 
 
 ' We had shot down stream for a hundred yards or so, 
 and were about congratulating ourselves on the prospect 
 of an escape from the bear, w^hen a new object of dread 
 presented itself to our terrified imaginations. This 
 object was the sound of falling water ; but not as before, 
 coming from some tributary stream. No. It was a fall 
 of the river upon which we were floating, and evidently 
 only a very short distance below us ! 
 
 ' We were, in fact, within less than one hundred 
 yards of it. Our excitement, in consequence of being 
 pursued by the bear, as well as the fact that the sough 
 of the cascade above still filled our ears, had prevented 
 us from perceiving this new danger until we had 
 approached it. 
 
 ' A shout of terror and warning from my companion 
 seemed the echo of one I had myself uttered. Both of 
 us understood the peril of our situation, and both, 
 without speaking another word, set about attempting to 
 stop the boat. 
 
 ' We paddled with all our strength — he with the oar, 
 whilst I used the flat butt of my rifle. We had succeeded 
 in bringing her to a sort of equilibrium, and were in 
 hopes of being able to force her toward the bank, when 
 all at once we heard a heavy object strike against the 
 stern. At the same moment, the bow rose up into the
 
 Striking at the hear wnii mv ri.rHi!ED kifi.e. 
 
 P 207-
 
 Deer Hunt in a ^Dug-Out'' 207 
 
 air, and a number of the burning pine-knots fell back into 
 the bottom of the canoe. They still continued to blaze ; 
 and their light now falling towards the stern, showed us 
 a fearful object. The bear had seized hold of the dug- 
 out, and his fierce head and long curving claws were 
 visible over the edge ! 
 
 ' Although the little craft danced about upon the 
 water, and was likely to be turned keel upward, the 
 animal showed no intention of relaxing its hold ; but, on 
 the contrary, seemed every moment mounting higher 
 into the canoe. 
 
 ' Our peril was now extreme. We knew it, and the 
 knowledge half paralysed us. 
 
 ' Both of us started up, and for some moments half 
 sat, half crouched, uncertain how to act. Should we use 
 the paddles, and get the canoe ashore, it would only be to 
 throw ourselves into the jaws of the bear. On the other 
 hand, we could not remain as we were, for in a few 
 seconds we should be drifted over the falls ; and how 
 high these were we knew not. We had never heard of 
 them : they might be fifty feet — they might be a hun- 
 dred ! High enough, they were, no doubt, to precipitate 
 us into eternity. 
 
 ' The prospect was appalling, and our thoughts ran 
 rapidly. Quick action was required. I could think of 
 no other than to lean sternward, and strike at the bear 
 with my clubbed rifle, at the same time calling upon my 
 companion to paddle for the shore. We preferred, under 
 all circumstances, risking the chances of a land encounter 
 with our grizzly antagonist. 
 
 ' 1 had succeeded in keeping the bear out of the canoe 
 by several well-planted blows upon the snout , and Dick 
 was equally successful in forcing the dug-out nearer to 
 the bank, when a sharp crack reached my ears, followed 
 by a terrified cry from my companion. 
 
 * I glanced suddenly round, to ascertain the cause of 
 these demonstrations. Dick held in his hands a short 
 round stick, which I recognised as the shaft of the paddle. 
 The blade had snapped off, and was floating away on the 
 surface !
 
 2o8 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 * We were now helpless. The manege of the canoe was 
 no longer possible. Over the falls she must go ! 
 
 ' We thought of leaping out, but it was too late. We 
 were almost upon the edge, and the black current that 
 bore our craft swiftly along would have carried our 
 bodies with like velocity. We could not make a dozen 
 strokes before we should be swept to the brink : it was 
 too late. 
 
 ' We both saw this ; and each knew the feelings of the 
 other, for we felt alike. Neither spoke ; but, crouching 
 down and holding the gunwales of the canoe, we awaited 
 the awful moment. 
 
 ' The bear seemed to have some apprehension as well 
 as ourselves ; for, instead of continuing his endeavours to 
 climb into the canoe, he contented himself with holding 
 fast to the stern, evidently under some alarm. 
 
 ' The torch still blazed, and the canoe was catching 
 fire ; perhaps this it was that alarmed the bear. 
 
 ' The last circumstance gave us at the moment but 
 little concern ; the greater danger eclipsed the less. We 
 had hardly noticed it, when we felt that we were going 
 over ! 
 
 ' The canoe shot outward as if propelled by some pro- 
 jectile force ; then came a loud crash, as though we had 
 dropped upon a hard rock. Water, and spray, and froth 
 were dashed over our bodies ; and the next moment, to 
 our surprise as well as delight, we felt ourselves still 
 alive, and seated in the canoe, which was floating gently 
 in still smooth water. 
 
 ' It was quite dark, for the torch had been extinguished ; 
 but even in the darkness we could perceive the bear 
 swimming and floundering near the boat. To our great 
 satisfaction, we saw him heading for the shore, and 
 widening the distance between himself and us with all 
 the haste he could make. The unexpected precipitation 
 over the falls had cooled his courage, if not his hostility. 
 
 * Dick and I headed the canoe, now half full of water, 
 to the opposite bank, which we contrived to reach by 
 using the rifle and our hands for paddles. Here we 
 made the little vessel fast to a tree, intending to leave it
 
 Deer Hunt in a '■ Dtig-Oiit^ 209 
 
 there, as we could not by any possibility get it back over 
 the fall. Having hung our game out of reach of the 
 wolves, we turned our faces up stream, and, after a long 
 and wearisome walk, succeeded in getting back to the 
 post. 
 
 * Next morning, a party went down for the venison, 
 with the intention also of carrying the canoe back over 
 the fall. The craft, however, was found to be so much 
 injured that it would not hang together during the 
 portage, and was therefore abandoned. This was no 
 pleasant matter to me, for it afterwards cost me a 
 considerable sum before I could square with the old 
 Flathead for his worthless dug-ouL'
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 OLD IKE AND THE GRIZZLY 
 
 A 'S adventure ending in a grizzly bear story, drew 
 
 the conversation upon that celebrated animal, and we 
 listened to the many curious facts related about it, with 
 more than usual interest. 
 
 The grizzly bear {Ursus ferox) is, beyond all question, 
 the most formidable of the wild creatures inhabiting the 
 continent of America — ^jaguar and cougar not excepted. 
 Did he possess the swiftness of foot of either the lion 
 or tiger of the Old World, he would be an assailant as 
 dangerous as either ; for he is endowed with the strength 
 of the former, and quite equals the latter in ferocity. 
 Fortunately the horse outruns him ; were it not so, many 
 a human victim would be his, for he can easily overtake 
 a man on foot. As it is, hundreds of well-authenticated 
 stories attest the prowess of this fierce creature. There 
 is not a ' mountain-man ' in America who cannot relate 
 a string of perilous adventures about the ' grizzly bar ' ; 
 and the instances are far from being few, in which 
 human life has been sacrificed in conflicts with this 
 savage beast. 
 
 The grizzly bear is an animal of large dimensions ; 
 specimens have been killed and measured quite equal 
 to the largest size of the polar bear, though there is 
 much variety in the sizes of different individuals. 
 About 500 lbs. might be taken as the average weight. 
 
 In shape, the grizzly bear is a much more compact 
 animal than either the black or polar species : his ears 
 are larger, his arms stouter, and his aspect fiercer. His 
 teeth are sharp and strong ; but that which his enemies 
 most dread is the armature of his paws. The paws 
 themselves are so large, as frequently to leave in the 
 
 210
 
 Old Ike and the Grizzly 211 
 
 mud a track of twelve inches in length, by eight in 
 breadth ; and from the extremities of these formidable 
 fists protrude horn-like claws full six inches long ! Of 
 course, we are speaking of individuals of the largest 
 size. 
 
 These claws are crescent-shaped, and would be still 
 longer, but in all cases nearly an inch is worn from their 
 points. 
 
 The animal digs up the ground in search of marmots, 
 burrowing squirrels, and various esculent roots ; and this 
 habit accounts for the blunted condition of his claws. 
 They are sharp enough, notwithstanding, to peel the 
 hide from a horse or buffalo, or to drag the scalp from a 
 hunter — a feat which has been performed by grizzly 
 bears on more than one occasion. 
 
 The colour of this animal is most generally brownish, 
 with white hairs intermixed, giving that greyish or 
 grizzled appearance — whence the trivial name, grizzly. 
 But although this is the most common colour of the 
 species there are many varieties. Some are almost 
 v/hite, others yellowish-red, and still others nearly 
 black. The season, too, has much to do with the 
 colour ; and the pelage is shaggier and longer than 
 that of the Ursus Americanus. The eyes are small in 
 proportion to the size of the animal, but dark and 
 piercing. 
 
 The geographical range of the grizzly bear is exten- 
 sive. It is well known that the great chain of the 
 Rocky Mountains commences on the shores of the 
 Arctic Ocean, and runs southwardly through the North 
 American continent. In these mountains, the grizzly 
 bear is found, from their northern extremity, at least as 
 far as that point where the Rio Grande makes its great 
 bend towards the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 In the United States and Canada, this animal has 
 never been seen in a wild state. This is not strange. 
 The grizzly bear has no affinity with the forest. Previous 
 to the settling of these territories, they were all forest- 
 covered. The grizzly is rarely found under heavy timber, 
 like his congener the black bear ; and, unlike the latter.
 
 212 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 he is not a tree-climber. The black bear ' hugs ' himself 
 up a tree, and usually destroys his victim by compression. 
 The grizzly does not possess this power, so as to enable 
 him to ascend a tree -trunk ; and for such a purpose, 
 his huge dull claws are worse than useless. His 
 favourite haunts are the thickets of Corylus rubus, and 
 Amelanchiers, under the shade of which he makes his 
 lair, and upon the berries of which he partially subsists. 
 He lives much by the banks of streams, hunting among 
 the willows, or wanders along the steep and rugged 
 bluffs, where scrubby pine and dwarf cedar {Jumperus 
 prostrata), with its rooting branches, forms an almost 
 impenetrable underwood. In short, the grizzly bear of 
 America is to be met with in situations very similar to 
 those which are the favourite haunts of the African lion, 
 which, after all, is not so much the king of the forest, as 
 of the mountain and the open plain. 
 
 The grizzly bear is omnivorous. Fish, flesh, and fowl 
 are eaten by him apparently with equal relish. He 
 devours frogs, lizards, and other reptiles. 
 
 He is fond of the larvae of insects ; these are often 
 found in large quantities adhering to the under sides of 
 decayed logs. To get at them, the grizzly bear will roll 
 over logs of such size and weight, as would try the 
 strength of a yoke of oxen. 
 
 He can ' root ' like a hog, and will often plough up 
 acres of prairie in search of the wapatoo and Indian 
 turnip. Like the black bear, he is fond of sweets ; and 
 the wild-berries, consisting of many species of currant, 
 gooseberry, and service berry, are greedily gathered into 
 his capacious maw. 
 
 He is too slow of foot to overtake either buffalo, elk, 
 or deer, though he sometimes comes upon these creatures 
 unawares ; and he will drag the largest buffalo to the 
 earth, if he can only get his claws upon it. 
 
 Not unfrequently he robs the panther of his repast, 
 and will drive a whole pack of wolves from the carrion 
 they have just succeeded in killing. 
 
 Several attempts have been made to raise the young 
 grizzlies, but these have all been abortive, the animals
 
 Old Ike and the Grizzly 213 
 
 proving anything but agreeable pets. As soon as grown 
 to a considerable size, their natural ferocity displays 
 itself, and their dangerous qualities usually lead to the 
 necessity for their destruction. 
 
 For a long time the great polar bear has been the 
 most celebrated animal of his kind ; and most of the 
 bear adventures have related to him. Many a wondrous 
 tale of his prowess and ferocity has been told by the 
 whaler and arctic voyager, in which this creature figures 
 as the hero. His fame, however, is likely to be eclipsed 
 by his hitherto less-known congener — the grizzly. The 
 golden lure which has drawn half the world to California, 
 has also been the means of bringing this fierce animal 
 more into notice ; for the mountain valleys of the Sierra 
 Nevada are a favourite range of the species. Besides, 
 numerous 'bear scrapes ' have occurred to the migrating 
 bands who have crossed the great plains and desert tracts 
 that stretch from the Mississippi to the shores of the 
 South Sea. Hundreds of stories of this animal, more 
 or less true, have of late attained circulation through 
 the columns of the press and the pages of the traveller's 
 note-book, until the grizzly bear is becoming almost as 
 much an object of interest as the elephant, the 
 hippopotamus, or the king of beasts himself 
 
 Speaking seriously, he is a dangerous assailant. 
 White hunters never attack him unless when mounted 
 and well armed, and the Indians consider the killing a 
 grizzly bear a feat equal to the scalping of a human foe. 
 These never attempt to hunt him, unless when a large 
 party is together ; and the hunt is, among some tribes, 
 preceded by a ceremonious feast and a bear-dance. 
 
 It is often the lot of the solitary trapper to meet with 
 this four-footed enemy, and the encounter is rated as 
 equal to that with two hostile Indians. 
 
 Of course, both Redwood and old Ike had met with 
 more than one ' bar scrape,' and the latter was induced 
 to relate one of his best. 
 
 ' Strengers,' began he, ' when you scare up a grizzlj^ 
 take my advice, and gie 'im a wide berth — that is, unless 
 yur unkimmun well mounted. Ov coorse, efyur critter
 
 214 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 kin be depended upon, an' thur's no brush to 'tangle 
 him, yur safe enuf ; as no grizzly, as ever I seed, kin 
 catch up wi' a hoss, whur the ground's open an' clur. 
 F'r all that, whur the timmer's clost an' brushy, an' the 
 ground o' that sort whur a hoss mout stummel, it are 
 allcrs the safest plan to let ole Eph'm slide. I've seed 
 a grizzly pull down as good a hoss as ever tracked a 
 parairy, whur the critter hed got bothered in a thicket. 
 The fellur that straddled him only saved himself by 
 hookin' on to the limb o' a tree. 'Twant two minnits 
 afore this child kim up — hearin' the rumpus. I hed 
 good sight o' the bar, an' sent a bullet — sixty to the 
 pound — into the varmint's brain-pan, when he 
 immediately cawalloped over. But 'twur too late to 
 save the hoss. He wur rubbed out. The bar had half 
 skinned him, an' wur tarrin' at his guts ! Wagh ! ' 
 
 Here the trapper unsheathed his clasp-knife, and 
 having cut a ' chunk ' from a plug of real ' Jeemes's 
 River,' stuck it into his cheek, and proceeded with his 
 narration. 
 
 ' 1 reck'n, I've seed a putty consid'able o' the grizzly 
 bar in my time. Ef them thur chaps who writes about 
 all sorts o' varmint hed seed as much o' the grizzly as I 
 hev, they mout a gin a hull book consarnin' the critter. 
 Ef I hed a plug o' bacca for every grizzly I've rubbed 
 out, it 'ud keep my jaws waggin' for a good twel'month, 
 I reck'n. Ye — es, strengers, I've done some bar-killin' — 
 I hev that, an' no mistake ! Haint I, Mark ? 
 
 ' Wal, I wur a-gwine to tell you ov a sarcumstance 
 that happened to this child about two yeern ago. It 
 wur upon the Platte, atween Chimbly Rock an' 
 Laramies'. 
 
 ' I wur engaged as hunter an' guide to a carryvan o' 
 emigrant folks that wur on thur way to Oregon. 
 
 ' Ov coorse I allcrs kept a-head o' the carryvan, an' 
 picked the place for thur camp. 
 
 ' Wal, one arternoon I hed halted whur I seed some 
 timmer, which ur a scacc article about Chimbly Rock. 
 This, thort I, '11 do for campin'-ground ; so I got down, 
 pulled the saddle off o' my ole mar, an' staked the critter
 
 Old Ike and the Grizzly 215 
 
 upon the best patch o' grass that wur near, intendin' she 
 shed hev her gutfull afore the camp cattle kim up to 
 bother her. 
 
 * I hed shot a black tail buck, an' after kindlin' a fire, 
 I roasted a griskin' o' him, an' ate it. 
 
 ' Still thur wan't no sign o' the carryvan, an' arter 
 hangin' the buck out o' reach o' the wolves, I tuk up my 
 rifle, an' set out to rackynoiter the neighbourhood. 
 
 ' My mar bein' some'at jaded, I let her graze away, an' 
 went afoot ; an' that, let me tell you, strengers, ar about 
 the foolichest thing you kin do upon a parairy. I wan't 
 long afore I proved it ; but I'll kum to that by'm by. 
 
 ' Wal, I fust clomb a consid'able hill, that gin me a 
 view beyont. Thur wur a good-sized parairy layin' torst 
 the south an' west. Thur wur no trees 'ceptin' an odd 
 cotton-wood hyur an' thur on the hillside. 
 
 * About a mile off I seed a flock of goats — what 
 you'd call antelopes, though goats they ur, as sure as 
 goats is goats. 
 
 * Thur wan't no kiver near them — not a stick, for the 
 parairy wur as bar as yur hand ; so I seed, at a glimp, it 
 'ud be no use a-tryin' to approach, unless I tuk some 
 plan to decoy the critters. 
 
 ' I soon thort o' a dodge, an' went back to camp for 
 my blanket, which wur a red Mackinaw. This I knew 
 'ud be the very thing to fool the goats with, an' I set out 
 torst them. 
 
 ' For the fust half a mile or so, I carried the blanket 
 under my arm. Then I spread it out, an' walked behind 
 it until I wur 'ithin three or four hundred yards o' the 
 animals. I kept my eye on 'em through a hole in the 
 blanket. They wur a-growin' scary, an' hed begun to 
 run about in circles ; so when I seed this, I knew it wur 
 time to stop. 
 
 ' Wal, I hunkered down, an' still keepin' the blanket 
 spread out afore me, I hung it upon a saplin' that I had 
 brought from the camp. I then stuck the saplin' 
 upright in the ground ; an', mind ye, it wan't so easy to 
 do that, for the parairy wur hard friz, an' I hed to dig a 
 hole wi' my knife. Howsomdever, I got the thing
 
 2i6 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 rigged at last, an' the blanket hangin' up in front kivered 
 my karkidge most complete. I hed nothin' more to do 
 but wait till the goats shed come 'ithin range o' my 
 shootin' iron. 
 
 ' Wall, that vvan't long. As ye all know, them goats 
 is a mighty curious animal — as curious as weemen is — 
 an' arter runnin' backward an' forrard a bit, an' tossin' 
 up thur heads, an' sniffin' the air, one o' the fattest, a 
 young prong-horn buck, trotted up 'ithin fifty yards o' me. 
 
 ' I jest squinted through the sights, an' afore that 
 goat hed time to wink twice, I hit him plum atween the 
 eyes. Ov coorse he wur throwed in his tracks. 
 
 'Now, you'd a jumped up, an' frightened the rest 
 away — that's what you'd a done, strengers. But you see 
 I knovvd better. I knovvd that so long's the critters 
 didn't see my karkidge, they wan't a gwine to mind the 
 crack o' the gun. So I laid still, in behopes to git a 
 wheen more o' them. 
 
 'As I hed calc'lated at fust, they didn't run away, an' 
 I slipped in my charge as brisk as possible. But jest as 
 I wur raisin' to take sight on a doe that hed got near 
 enough, the hull gang tuk scare, an' broke off as ef a 
 pack of parairy wolves wur arter 'em. 
 
 ' I wur clean puzzled at this, for I knowd I hedn't 
 done anythin' to frighten 'em, but I wan't long afore I 
 diskivered the cause o' thur alarm. Jest then I heerd a 
 snift, like the coughin' o' a glandered hoss ; an' turnin' 
 suddintly round, I spied the biggest bar it hed ever been 
 my luck to set eyes on. He wur comin' direct torst me, 
 an' at that minnit wan't over twenty yards from whur I 
 lay. I knowd at a glimp he wur a grizzly ! 
 
 ' 'Tain't no use to say I wan't skeart ; I wur skeart, 
 an' mighty bad skeart, I tell ye. 
 
 'At fust, I thort o' jumpin' to my feet, an' makin' 
 tracks ; but a minnit o' reflexshun showed me that 'ud 
 be o' little use. Thur wur a half o' mile o' clur parairy 
 on every side o' me, an' I knowd the grizzly kucl catch 
 up afore I hed made three hundred yards in any 
 direction. I knowd, too, that ef I started, the varmint 
 'ud be sartin to foller. It wur plain to see the bar
 
 Old Ike and the Grizzly 217 
 
 meant mischief; I kud tell that from the glint o' his 
 eyes. 
 
 ' Thur wan't no time to lose in thinkin' about it. The 
 brute were still comin' nearer; but I noticed that he vvur 
 a-gwine slower an' slower, every now an' agin risin' 
 to his hind-feet, clawin' his nose, an' sniffin' the air. 
 
 ' I seed that it wur the red blanket that puzzled him ; 
 an' seein' this, I crep' closter behind it, an' cached as 
 much o' my karkidge as it 'ud kiver. 
 
 'When the bar hed got 'ithin about ten yards o' the 
 spot, he kim to a full stop, an' reared up as he hed did 
 several times, with his belly full torst me. The sight 
 wur too much for this niggur, who never afore had been 
 bullied by eyther Injun or bar. 
 
 ' 'Twur a beautiful shot, an' I kudn't help tryin' it, ef 
 't hed been my last ; so 1 poked my rifle through the 
 hole in the blanket, an' sent a bullet atween the 
 varmint's ribs. 
 
 ' That wur, perhaps, the fooHchest an' wust shot this 
 child ever made. Hed I not fired it, the bar mout a 
 gone off, feard o' the blanket ; but I did fire, an' my 
 narves bein' excited, I made a bad shot. 
 
 ' I had ta'en sight for the heart, an' I only hit the 
 varmint's shoulder. 
 
 ' Ov coorse, the bar bein' now wounded, bekim 
 savage, and cared no longer for the blanket. He roared 
 out like a bull, tore at the place whur I hed hit him, an' 
 then kim on as fast as his four legs 'ud carry him. 
 
 ' Things looked squally. I throwed away my emp'y 
 gun, an' drawed my bowie, expectin' nothin' else than a 
 regular stand-up tussle wi' the bar. I knowd it wur no 
 use turnin' tail now ; so I braced myself up for a 
 desp'rate fight. 
 
 ' But jest as the bar hed got 'ithin ten feet o' me, an 
 idee suddintly kim into my head. I hed been to Santa 
 F6 among them yaller-hided Mexikins, whur I hed seed 
 two or three bull-fights. I hed seed them mattydoors 
 fling their red cloaks over a bull's head, jest when you'd 
 a thort they wur a-gwine to be gored to pieces on the 
 fierce critter's horns.
 
 21 8 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' Jest then, I remembered thur trick ; an' afore the 
 bar cud close on me, I grabbed the blanket, spreading it 
 out as I tuk holt. 
 
 ' Strengers, that wur a blanket an' no mistake ! It 
 wur as fine a five-point Mackinaw as ever kivered the 
 hump-ribs o' a nor'-west trader. I used to wear it 
 Mexikin-fashun when it rained : an' in coorse, for that 
 purpose, thur wur a hole in the middle to pass the head 
 through. 
 
 ' Wal, jest as the bar sprung at me, I flopped the 
 blanket straight in his face. I seed his snout a-passin' 
 through the hole, but I seed no more ; for I feeled the 
 critter's claws touchin' me, an' I lot go. 
 
 ' Now, thunk I, wur my time for a run. The blanket 
 mout blin' him a leetle, an' I mout git some start. 
 
 ' With this thort, I glid past the animal's rump, an' 
 struck out over the parairy. 
 
 ' The direction happened to be that that led torst the 
 camp, half a mile off ; but thur wur a tree nearer, on the 
 side o' the hill. Ef I kud reach that, I knowd I 'ud be 
 safe enuf, as the grizzly bar it don't climb. 
 
 ' For the fust hundred yards I never looked round ; 
 then I only squinted back, runnin' all the while. 
 
 ' I kud jest see that the bar appeared to be still a 
 tossin' the blanket, and not fur from whur we hed 
 parted kumpny. 
 
 ' I thort this some'at odd ; but I didn't stay to 
 see what it meant till I hed put another hundred 
 yards atween us. Then I half turned, an' tuk a good 
 look ; an' if you believe me, strengers, the sight I seed 
 thur 'ud a made a Mormon larf Although jest one 
 minnit afore, I wur putty nigh skeart out o' my seven 
 senses, that sight made me larf till I wur like to bring 
 on a colic. 
 
 * Thur were the bar wi' his head right athrough the 
 blanket. One minnit, he 'ud rear up on his hind-feet, 
 an' then the thing hung roun' him like a Mexikin 
 greaser. The next minnit, he 'ud be down on all-fours, 
 an' tryin' to foller me ; an' then the Mackinaw 'ud trip 
 him up, an' over he *ud whammel, and kick to get free —
 
 Old Ike and the Grizzly 2ig 
 
 all the while routin' like a mad buffalo. Jehosophat ! it 
 wur the funniest sight this child ever seed. Wagh ! 
 
 ' Wal, I watched the game awhile — only a leetle 
 while ; for I knowd that if the bar could git clur o' the 
 rag, he mout still overtake me, an' drive me to the tree. 
 That I didn't want, eyther, so I tuk to my heels agin' 
 and soon reached camp. 
 
 ' Thur I saddled my mar, an' then rid back to git my 
 gun, an', perhaps, to give ole Eph'm a fresh taste o' lead. 
 
 ' When I clomb the hill again, the bar war still out on 
 the parairy, an' I cud see that the blanket wur a-hanging 
 around 'im. Howsomdever, he wur makin' off torst the 
 hills, thinkin', maybe, he'd hed enuf o' my kumpny. 
 
 ' I wan't a-gwine to let him off so easy, for the skear 
 he hed gin me ; besides, he wur trailin' my Mackinaw 
 along wi' 'im. So I galloped to whar my gun lay, an' 
 havin' rammed home a ball, I then galluped arter ole 
 grizzly. 
 
 ' I soon overhauled him, an' he turned on me as 
 savagerous as ever. But this time, feeling secure on the 
 mar's back, my narves wur steadier ; an' I shot the bar 
 plum through the skull, which throwed him in his tracks 
 wi' the blanket wropped about 'im. 
 
 'But sich a blanket as that wur then — ay, sich a 
 blanket ! I never seed sich a blanket ! Thur wan't a 
 square foot o' it that wan't torn to raggles. Ah, 
 strengers, you don't know what it are to lose a five-point 
 Mackinaw ; no, that you don't. Cuss the bar ! '
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 A BATTLE WITH GRIZZLY BEARS 
 
 An adventure with ^r'\zz\y bears which had befallen the 
 ' captain ' was next related. He had been travelling 
 with a strange party — the 'scalp-hunters,' — in the 
 mountains near Sante F6, when they were overtaken by 
 a sudden and heavy fall of snow that rendered farther 
 progress impossible. The ' canon,' a deep valley in 
 which they had encamped, was difficult to get through 
 at any time, but now the path, on account of the deep 
 soft snow, was rendered impassable. When morning 
 broke, they found themselves fairly ' in the trap.' 
 
 ' Above and below, the valley was choked up with 
 snow five fathoms deep. Vast fissures — barrancas — 
 were filled with the drift ; and it was perilous to attempt 
 penetrating in either direction. Two men had already 
 disappeared. 
 
 * On each side of our carnp rose the walls of the canon, 
 almost vertical, to the height of a hundred feet. These 
 we might have climbed had the weather been soft, for 
 the rock was a trap formation, and offered numerous 
 seams and ledges ; but now there was a coating of ice 
 and snow upon them that rendered the ascent impossible. 
 The ground had been frozen hard before the storm came 
 on, although it was now freezing no longer, and the snow 
 would not bear our weight. All our efforts to get out of 
 the valley proved idle ; and we gave them over, yielding 
 ourselves, in a kind of reckless despair, to wait for — we 
 scarce knew what. 
 
 ' For three days we sat shivering around the fires, now 
 and then casting looks of gloomy inquiry around the 
 sky. The same dull grey for an answer, mottled with 
 
 220
 
 A Battle with Grizzly Bears 221 
 
 flakes slanting earthward, for it still continued to snow. 
 Not a bright spot cheered the aching eye. 
 
 ' The little platform on which we rested — a space of 
 two or three acres — was still free from the snow-drift, 
 on account of its exposure to the wind. Straggling 
 pines, stunted and leafless, grew over its surface, in all 
 about fifty or sixty trees. From these we obtained our 
 fires ; but what were fires when we had no meat to cook 
 upon them ! 
 
 ' We were now in the third day without food ! 
 Without food, though not absolutely without eating — 
 the men had bolted their gun covers and the cat-skin 
 flaps of their bullet-pouches, and were now seen — the 
 last shift but one — stripping ihQ parjleche from the soles 
 of their moccassins ! 
 
 ' The women, wrapped in their tilmas, nestled closely 
 in the embrace of father, brother, husband, and lover ; 
 for all these affections were present. The last string of 
 tasajo, hitherto economised for their sake, had been 
 parcelled out to them in the morning. That was gone, 
 and whence was their next morsel to come ? At long 
 intervals, " Ay de mi I Dios de vii alma ! " were heard 
 only in low murmurs, as some colder blast swept down the 
 caiion. In the faces of those beautiful creatures might be 
 read that uncomplaining patience — that high endurance 
 — so characteristic of the Hispano-Mexican women. 
 
 ' Even the stern men around them bore up with less 
 fortitude. Rude oaths were muttered from time to time, 
 and teeth ground together, with that strange wild look 
 that heralds insanity. Once or twice I fancied that I 
 observed a look of still stranger, still wilder expression, 
 when the black ring forms around the eye — when the 
 muscles twitch and quiver along gaunt, famished jaws — 
 when men gaze guilty-like at each other. O God ! it 
 was fearful ! The half-robber discipline, voluntary at 
 the best, had vanished under the levclling-rod of a 
 common suffering, and I trembled to think — 
 
 ' " It clars a leetle, out tharawa ! " 
 
 * It was the voice of the trapper, Garey, who had risen 
 and stood pointing towards the east.
 
 222 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' In an instant we were all upon our feet, looking in 
 the direction indicated. Sure enough, there was a break 
 in the lead-coloured sky — a yellowish streak, that 
 widened out as we continued gazing — the flakes fell 
 lighter and thinner, and in two hours more it had ceased 
 snowing altogether. 
 
 * Half-a-dozen of us, shouldering our rifles, struck 
 down the valley. We would make one more attempt 
 to trample a road through the drift. It was a vain one. 
 The snow was over our heads, and after struggling for 
 two hours, we had not gained above two hundred yards. 
 Here we caught a glimpse of what lay before us. As 
 far as the eye could reach, it rested upon the same deep 
 impassable masses. Despair and hunger paralyzed our 
 exertions, and, dropping off one by one, we returned to 
 the camp. 
 
 ' We fell down around the fires in sullen silence, 
 Garey continued pacing back and forth, now glancing 
 up at the sky, and at times kneeling down, and running 
 his hand over the surface of the snow. At length he 
 approached the fire, and in his slow, drawling manner, 
 remarked — 
 
 * " It's a-gwine to friz, I reckin." 
 
 ' " Well ! and if it does ? " asked one of his comrades, 
 without caring for an answer to the question. 
 
 ' " Wal, an iv it does," repeated the trapper, " we'll 
 walk out o' this hyar jug afore sun-up, an' upon a good 
 hard trail too." 
 
 ' The expression of every face was changed, as if by 
 magic. Several leaped to their feet. God(^, the Canadian, 
 skilled in snow-craft, ran to a bank, and drawing his 
 hand along the combing, shouted back — 
 
 ' " Cest vrai ; il gele ; il gele ! " 
 
 * A cold wind soon after set in, and cheered by the 
 brightening prospect, we began to think of the fires, 
 that, during our late moments of reckless indifference, 
 had been almost suffered to burn out. The Delawares, 
 seizing their tomahawks, commenced hacking at the 
 pines, while others dragged forward the fallen trees, 
 lopping off their branches with the keen scalping-knife.
 
 A Battle with Grizzly Bears 223 
 
 * At this moment a peculiar cry attracted our atten- 
 tion, and, looking around, we perceived one of the 
 Indians drop suddenly upon his knees, striking the 
 ground with his hatchet. 
 
 ' " What is it ? what is it ? " shouted several voices, in 
 almost as many languages. 
 
 ' " Ya^n-yam ! yam-yarn ! " replied the Indian, still 
 digging at the frozen ground. 
 
 '"The Injun's right; it's man-root /" said Garey, 
 picking up some leaves which the Delaware had chopped 
 off. 
 
 * I recognised a plant well known to the mountain- 
 men — a rare, but wonderful convolvulus, the Iponea 
 leptopJiylla. The name of " man-root " is given to it by 
 the hunters from the similarity of its root in shape, and 
 sometimes in size, to the body of a man. It is esculent, 
 and serves to sustain human life. 
 
 * In an instant, half-a-dozen men were upon their 
 knees, chipping and hacking the hard clay, but their 
 hatchets glinted off as from the surface of a rock. 
 
 '"Look hyar ! " cried Garey, "ye're only spoilin' yer 
 tools. Cut down a wheen o' these pine saplins, and 
 make a fire over him ! " 
 
 ' The hint was instantly followed, and in a few 
 minutes a dozen pieces of pine were piled upon the 
 spot, and set on fire. 
 
 * We stood around the burning branches with eager 
 anticipation. Should the root prove a " full-grown 
 man," it would make a supper for our whole party ; and 
 with the cheering idea of supper, jokes were ventured 
 upon — the first we had heard for some time — the 
 hunters tickled with the novelty of unearthing the "old 
 man " ready roasted, and speculating whether he would 
 prove a " fat old hoss." 
 
 'A hollow crack sounded from above, like the 
 breaking of a dead tree. We looked up. A large 
 object — an animal — was whirling outward and down- 
 ward from a ledge that projected half way up the cliff. 
 In an instant it struck the earth, head foremost, with 
 a loud "bump," and, bounding to the height of several
 
 224 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 feet, came back with a somersault on its legs, and stood 
 firmly, 
 
 ' An involuntary " hurrah ! " broke from the hunters, 
 who all recognised, at a glance, the " Carnero cimmaron," 
 or "bighorn." He had cleared the precipice at two leaps, 
 alighting each time on his huge crescent-shaped horns. 
 
 ' For a moment, both parties — hunters and game — 
 seemed equally taken by surprise, and stood eyeing each 
 other in mute wonder. It was but for a moment. The 
 men made a rush for their rifles, and the animal, recover- 
 ing from his trance of astonishment, tossed back his 
 horns, and bounded across the platform. In a dozen 
 springs he had reached the selvedge of the snow, and 
 plunged into its yielding bank ; but, at the same instant, 
 several rifles cracked, and the white wreath was crimsoned 
 behind him. He still kept on, however, leaping and 
 breaking through the drift. 
 
 ' We struck into his track, and followed with the 
 eagerness of hungry wolves. We could tell by the 
 numerous ^<9///j- that he was shedding his life-blood, and 
 about fifty paces farther on we found him dead. 
 
 ' A shout apprized our companions of our success, and 
 we had commenced dragging back the prize, when wild 
 cries reached us from the platform, — the yells of 
 men, the screams of women, mingled with oaths and 
 exclamations of terror ! 
 
 ' We ran on towards the entrance of the track. On 
 reaching it, a sight was before us that caused the stoutest 
 to tremble. Hunters, Indians, and women were running 
 to and fro in frantic confusion, uttering their varied cries, 
 and pointing upward. We looked in that direction — a 
 row of fearful objects stood upon the brow of the cliff. 
 We knew our enemy at a glance, — the dreaded monsters 
 of the mountains — the grizzly bears ! 
 
 ' There were five of them — five in sight — there might 
 be others in the background. Five were enough to 
 destroy our whole party, caged as we were, and weakened 
 by famine. 
 
 ' They had reached the cliff in chase of the cimmaron, 
 and hunger and disappointment were visible in their
 
 A Battle with Grizzly Bears 225 
 
 horrid aspects. Two of them had already crawled close 
 to the scarp, and were pawing over and snuffing the air, 
 as if searching for a place to descend. The other three 
 reared themselves up on their hams, and commenced 
 manoeuvring with their forearms, in a human-like and 
 comical pantomime ! 
 
 ' We were in no condition to relish this amusement. 
 Every man hastened to arm himself, those who had 
 emptied their rifles hurriedly reloading them. 
 
 * " For your life don't ! " cried Garey, catching at the 
 gun of one of the hunters. 
 
 'The caution came too late : half-a-dozen bullets were 
 already whistling upwards. 
 
 * The effect was just what the trapper had anticipated. 
 The bears, maddened by the bullets, which had harmed 
 them no more than the pricking of as many pins, dropped 
 to their all-fours again, and, with fierce growls, com- 
 menced descending the cliff. 
 
 ' The scene of confusion was now at its height. Several 
 of the men, less brave than their comrades, ran off to hide 
 themselves in the snow, while others commenced climbing 
 the low pine-trees ! 
 
 * " Cach6 the gals 1 " cried Garey. " Hyar, yer darned 
 Spanish greasers ! if yer won't fight, hook on to the 
 weemen a wheen o' yer, and toat them to the snow. 
 Cowardly slinks, — wagh !" 
 
 ' " See to them, doctor," I shouted to the German, who, 
 I thought, might be best spared from the fight ; and the 
 next moment the doctor, assisted by several Mexicans, 
 was hurrying the terrified girls towards the spot where 
 we had left the cimmaron. 
 
 ' Many of us knew that to hide, under the circum- 
 stances, would be worse than useless. The fierce but 
 sagacious brutes would have discovered us one by one, 
 and destroyed us in detail. " They must be met and 
 fought I " that was the word ; and we resolved to carry it 
 into execution. 
 
 * There were about a dozen of us who " stood up to it " 
 — all the Delawares and Shawanoes, with Garey and the 
 mountain men.
 
 526 ■ The Hjiniers' Feast 
 
 'We kept firing at the bears as they ran along the 
 ledges in their zig-zag descent, but our rifles were out of 
 order, our fingers were numbed with cold, and our nerves 
 weakened with hunger. Our bullets drew blood from 
 the hideous brutes, yet not a shot proved deadly. It 
 only stung them into fiercer rage. 
 
 * It was a fearful moment when the last shot was fired, 
 and still not an enemy the less. We flung away the 
 guns, and, clutching the hatchets and hunting-knives, 
 silently awaited our grizzly foes. 
 
 ' We had taken our stand close to the rock. It was 
 our design to have the first blow, as the animals, for the 
 most part, came stern-foremost down the cliff. In this 
 we were disappointed. On reaching a ledge some ten 
 feet from the platform, the foremost bear halted, and, 
 seeing our position, hesitated to descend. The next 
 moment, his companions, maddened with wounds, came 
 tumbling down upon the same ledge, and, with fierce 
 growls, the five huge bodies were precipitated into our 
 midst. 
 
 ' Then came the desperate struggle, which I cannot 
 describe, — the shouts of the hunters, the wilder yells of 
 our Indian allies, the hoarse worrying of the bears, the 
 ringing of tomahawks from skulls like flint, the deep, 
 dull " thud " of the stabbing-knife, and now and then a 
 groan, as the crescent claw tore up the clinging muscle. 
 O God ! it was a fearful scene ! 
 
 ' Over the platform bears and men went rolling and 
 struggling, in the wild battle of life and death. Through 
 the trees, and into the deep drift, staining the snow with 
 their mingled blood ! Here, two or three men were 
 engaged with a single foe — there, some brave hunter 
 stood battling alone. Several were sprawling upon the 
 ground. Every moment, the bears were lessening the 
 number of their assailants ! 
 
 ' I had been struck down at the commencement of 
 the struggle. On regaining my feet, I saw the animal 
 that had felled me hugging the prostrate body of a 
 man. 
 
 ' It was Gode. I leaned over the bear, clutching its
 
 A Battle with Grizzly Bears 227 
 
 shaggy skin, I did this to steady myself ; I was weak 
 and dizzy ; so were we all. I struck with all my force, 
 stabbing the animal on the ribs. 
 
 'Letting go the Frenchman, the bear turned sud- 
 denly, and reared upon me. I endeavoured to avoid 
 the encounter, and ran backward, fending him off with 
 my knife. 
 
 ' All at once I came against the snow-drift, and fell 
 over on my back. Next moment, the heavy body was 
 precipitated upon me, the sharp claws pierced deep into 
 my shoulder,— ^ I inhaled the monster's fetid breath ; 
 and striking wildly with my right arm, still free, we 
 rolled over and over in the snow, 
 
 ' I was blinded by the dry drift. I felt myself 
 growing weaker and weaker ; it was the loss of blood. 
 I shouted — a despairing shout — but it could not have 
 been heard at ten paces' distance. Then there was a 
 strange hissing sound in my ears, — a bright light 
 flashed across my eyes ; a burning object passed over 
 my face, scorching the skin ; there was a smell as of 
 singeing hair ; I could hear voices, mixed with the roars 
 of my adversary ; and all at once the claws were drawn 
 out of my flesh, the weight was lifted from my breast, 
 and I was alone ! 
 
 ' I rose to my feet, and, rubbing the snow out of my 
 eyes, looked around. I could see no one. I was in a 
 deep hollow made by our struggles, but I was alone ! 
 
 ' The snow all around me was dyed to a crimson ; 
 but what had become of my terrible antagonist ? Who 
 had rescued me from his deadly embrace? 
 
 ' I staggered forward to the open ground. Here a 
 new scene met my gaze : a strange-looking man was 
 running across the platform, with a huge firebrand, — 
 the bole of a burning pine-tree, — which he waved in the 
 air. He was chasing one of the bears, that, growling 
 with rage and pain, was making every effort to reach 
 the cliffs. Two others were already half-way up, and 
 evidently clambering with great difficuly, as the blood 
 dripped back from their wounded flanks, 
 
 ' The bear that was pursued soon took to the rocks,
 
 228 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 and, urged by the red brand scorching his shaggy hams, 
 was soon beyond the reach of his pursuer. The latter 
 now made towards a fourth, that was still battling with 
 two or three weak antagonists. This one was "routed " 
 in a twinkling, and with yells of terror followed his 
 comrades up the bluff. The strange man looked 
 around for the fifth. It had disappeared. Prostrate, 
 wounded men were strewed over the ground, but the 
 bear was nowhere to be seen. He had doubtless 
 escaped through the snow. 
 
 ' I was still wondering who was the hero of the fire- 
 brand, and where he had come from. I have said he 
 was a strange-looking man. lie was so — and like no 
 one of our party that I could think of His head was 
 bald, — no, not bald, but naked, — there was not a hair 
 upon it, crown or sides, and it glistened in the clear 
 light like polished ivory, I was puzzled beyond ex- 
 pression, when a man — Garey — who had been felled 
 upon the platform by a blow from one of the bears, 
 suddenly sprang to his feet, exclaiming — 
 
 ' " Go it. Doc ! Three ch)'ars for the doctor ! " 
 
 ' To my astonishment, I now recognised the features 
 of that individual, the absence of whose brown locks 
 had produced such a metamorphosis as, I believe, was 
 never effected by means of borrowed hair. 
 
 ' " Here's your scalp. Doc," cried Garey, running up 
 with the wig; "by the livin' thunder! yer saved us 
 all ;" and the hunter seized the German in his wild 
 embrace. 
 
 ' Wounded men were all around, and commenced 
 crawling together. But where was the fifth of the 
 bears? Four only had escaped by the cliff. 
 
 ' " Yonder he goes ! " cried a voice, as a light spray, 
 rising above the snow-wreath, showed that some animal 
 was struggling through the drift. 
 
 ' Several commenced loading their rifles, intending to 
 follow, and, if possible, secure him. The doctor armed 
 himself with a fresh pine ; but before these arrange- 
 ments were completed, a strange cry came from the 
 spot, that caused our blood to run cold again. The
 
 A Battle with Grizzly Bears 229 
 
 Indians leaped to their feet, and, seizing their toma- 
 hawks, rushed to the gap. They knew the meaning of 
 that cry — it was the death-yell of their tribe ! 
 
 ' They entered the road that we had trampled down 
 in the morning, followed by those who had loaded their 
 guns. We watched them from the platform with 
 anxious expectation, but before they had reached the 
 spot, we could see that the "stoor" was slowly settling 
 down. It was plain that the struggle had ended. 
 
 ' We still stood waiting in breathless silence, and 
 watching the floating spray that noted their progress 
 through the drift At length they had reached the 
 scene of the struggle. There was an ominous stillness, 
 that lasted for a moment, and then the Indian's fate was 
 announced in the sad, wild note that came wailing up 
 the valley. It was the dirge of a Shawano warrior ! 
 
 ' They had found their brave comrade dead, with 
 his scalping-knife buried in the heart of his terrible 
 antagonist ! . . . 
 
 ' It was a costly supper, that bear-meat, but, perhaps, 
 the sacrifice had saved many lives. We would keep the 
 " cimmaron " for to-morrow; next day, the man-root; 
 and the next, — what next ? Perhaps — the man ! . . . 
 
 'Fortunately we were not driven to this extremity. 
 The frost had again set in, and the surface of the snow, 
 previously moistened by the sun and rain soon became 
 caked into ice strong enough to bear us, and upon its 
 firm crust we escaped out of the perilous pass, and 
 gained the warmer region of the plains in safety.'
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE SWANS OF AMERICA 
 
 In our journey we had kept far enough to the north to 
 avoid the difficult route of the Ozork Hills ; and we at 
 length encamped upon the Marais de Cygnes, a branch 
 of the Osage River. Beyond this we expected to fall in 
 with the buffalo, and of course we were full of pleasant 
 anticipation. Near the point where we had pitched our 
 camp, the banks of the river were marshy, with here 
 and there small lakes of stagnant water. In these a 
 large number of swans, with wild geese and other aquatic 
 birds, were swimming and feeding. 
 
 Of course our guns were put in requisition, and we 
 succeeded in killing a brace of swans, with a grey goose 
 {Anser Canadensis), and a pair of ducks. The swans 
 were very large ones — of the Trumpeter species — and 
 one of them was cooked for supper. It was in excellent 
 condition, and furnished a meal for the whole of our 
 party ! The other swan, with the goose and ducks, were 
 stowed away for another occasion. 
 
 While 'discussing' the flesh of this great and noble 
 bird, we also discussed many of the points in its natural 
 history. 
 
 ' White as a swan ' is a simile old as language itself. 
 It would no doubt puzzle an Australian, used to look 
 upon those beautiful and stately birds as being of a very 
 different complexion. The simile holds good, however, 
 with the North American species, all three of which — 
 for there are three of them — are almost snow-white. 
 
 We need not describe the form or general appearance 
 of the swan. These are familiar to every one. The 
 long, upright, and gracefully-curving neck ; the finely- 
 moulded breast, the upward-tending tail-tip, the light 
 
 230
 
 The Swans of Amenca 231 
 
 ' dip,' and easy progression through the water, are points 
 that everybody has observed, admired, and remembered. 
 These are common to all birds of the genus Cygnus, and 
 are therefore not peculiar to the swans of America. 
 
 Many people fancy there are but two kinds of swans 
 — the white and black. It is not long since the black 
 ones have been introduced to general notoriety, as well 
 as to general admiration. But there are many distinct 
 species besides — species differing from each other in 
 size, voice, and other peculiarities. In Europe alone, 
 there are four native swans, specifically distinct. 
 
 It was long believed that the common American swan 
 iC.Americanus) was identical with the common European 
 species, so well known in England. It is now ascer- 
 tained, however, not only that these two are specifically 
 distinct, but that in North America there exist two other 
 species, differing from the C. Americanus, and from each 
 other. These are the Trumpeter {C. buccinnator) and 
 the small swan of Bewick {C. Bewickii), also an 
 inhabitant of European countries. 
 
 The common American species is of a pure white, 
 with black bill, legs, and feet, A slight tinge of 
 brownish-red is found on some individuals on the 
 crown of the head, and a small patch of orange-yellow 
 extends from the angles of the mouth to the eye. On 
 the base of the bill is a fleshy tubercle or knob, and the 
 upper mandible is curved at the tip. 
 
 The young of this species are of a bluish-grey colour, 
 with more of the brown-red tinge upon the head. The 
 naked yellow patch, extending from the angles of the 
 mouth to the eye, in the young birds, is covered with 
 feathers, and their bills are flesh-coloured. This de- 
 scription answers in every respect for the swan of 
 Bewick ; but the latter species is only three-fourths the 
 size of the former ; and, besides, it has only eighteen 
 tail feathers, while the American swan has twenty. 
 Their note is also entirely unlike. 
 
 The * Trumpeter ' is different from either. He is the 
 largest, being frequently met with of nearly six feet in 
 length, while the conimon swan rarely exceeds fivQ.
 
 232 The Hit fliers' Feast 
 
 The bill of the Trumpeter is not tuberculated ; and the 
 yellow patch under the eye is wanting. The bill, legs, 
 and feet are entirely black. All the rest is white, with 
 the exception of the head, which is usually tinged with 
 chestnut or red-brown. When young, he is of a greyish- 
 white, with a yellow mixture, and the head of deeper 
 red-brown. His tail feathers are twenty-four in number ; 
 but there is a material difference between him and his 
 congeners in the arrangement of the windpipe. In the 
 Trumpeter this enters a protuberance that stands out on 
 the dorsal aspect of the sternum, which is wanting in 
 both the other kinds. It may be that this arrangement 
 has something to do with his peculiar note, which differs 
 altogether from that of the others. It is much fuller 
 and louder, and at a distance bears a considerable 
 resemblance to the trumpet or French horn. Hence 
 the trivial name by which this species is known to the 
 hunters. 
 
 All the American swans are migratory — that is, they 
 pass from north to south every autumn, and back again 
 from south to north in the beginning of spring. 
 
 The period of their migration is different with the 
 three species. The Trumpeter is the earliest, preceding 
 all other birds, with the exception of the eagles. The 
 C. Americanus comes next ; and, lastly, the small swans, 
 that are among the very latest of migratory birds. 
 
 The Trumpeters seek the north at the breaking up 
 of the ice. Sometimes they arrive at a point in their 
 journey where this has not taken place. In such cases 
 they fly back again until they reach some river or lake 
 from which the ice has disappeared, where they remain 
 a few days, and wait the opening of the waters farther 
 north. When they are thus retarded and sent back, 
 it is always in consequence of some unusual and 
 unseasonable weather. 
 
 The swans go northward to breed. Why they do so 
 is a mystery. Perhaps they feel more secure in the 
 inhospitable wastes that lie within the Arctic circle. 
 The Trumpeters breed as far south as latitude 61°, but 
 most of them retire within the frigid zone.
 
 The Sivans of America 233 
 
 The small swans do not nest so far south, but pursue 
 their course still onward to the Polar Sea. Here they 
 build immense nests by raising heaps of peat moss, six 
 feet in length by four in width, and two feet high. In 
 the top of these heaps is situated the nest, which consists 
 of a cavity a foot deep, and a foot and a half in 
 diameter. 
 
 The Trumpeters and American swans build in 
 marshes and the islands of lakes. Where the muskrat 
 {Fiber zibetJiiais) abounds, his dome-shaped dwelling — 
 at that season, of course, deserted — serves often as the 
 breeding-place both for the swans and wild geese. On 
 the top of this structure, isolated in the midst of great 
 marshes, these birds are secure from all their enemies — 
 the eagle excepted. 
 
 The eggs of the Trumpeter are very large, one of 
 them being enough to make a good meal for a man. 
 The eggs of the American species are smaller and of a 
 greenish appearance, while those of the Bewick swan 
 are still smaller and of a brownish-white colour, with a 
 slight clouding of darker hue. 
 
 Six or seven eggs is the usual ' setting.' The cygnets, 
 when half or full grown, are esteemed good eating, and 
 are much sought after by the hunters and Indians of the 
 fur countries. 
 
 When the cygnets are full grown, and the frost makes 
 its appearance upon the lakes and rivers of the hyper- 
 borean regions, the swans begin to shift southwards. 
 They do not migrate directly, as in the spring, but take 
 more time on their journey, and remain longer in the 
 countries through which they pass. This no doubt 
 arises from the fact that a different motive or instinct 
 now urges them. In the spring they are under the 
 impulse of philoprogenitivencss. Now they range from 
 lake to lake and stream to stream in search only of food. 
 Again, as in the spring, the Trumpeters lead the van — 
 winging their way to the great lakes, and afterwards 
 along the Atlantic coast, and by the line of the 
 Mississippi to the marshy shores of the Mexican Sea. 
 
 Tt may be remarked that this last-mentioned species
 
 234 l^he Hunters' Feast 
 
 — the Trumpeter — is rare upon the Atlantic coast, where 
 the common swan is seen in greatest plenty. Again, 
 the Trumpeter does not appear on the Pacific or by the 
 Colombia River, where the common swan is met with, 
 but the latter is there outnumbered by the small species 
 {C. Bewickii) in the ratio of five to one. This last again 
 is not known in the fur countries of the interior, where 
 the C. Americanus is found, but where the Trumpeter 
 exists in greatest numbers. Indeed the skins of the 
 Trumpeter arc those which are mostly exported by the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, and which form an important 
 article of their commerce. 
 
 The swan is eagerly hunted by the Indians who 
 inhabit the fur countries. Its skin brings a good price 
 from the traders, and its quills are valuable. Besides, 
 the flesh is a consideration with these people, whose life, 
 it must be borne in mind, is one continuous struggle for 
 food ; and who, for one-half the year, live upon the very 
 verge of starvation. 
 
 The swan, therefore, being a bird that weighs between 
 twenty and thirty pounds, ranks among large game, and 
 is hunted with proportionate ardour. Every art the 
 Indian can devise is made use of to circumvent these 
 great birds, and snares, traps, and decoys of all kinds are 
 employed in the pursuit. 
 
 But the swans are among the shyest of God's 
 creatures. They fly so rapidly, unless when beating 
 against the wind, that it requires a practised shot to hit 
 them on the wing. Even when moulting their feathers, 
 or when young, they can escape — fluttering over the 
 surface of the water faster than a canoe can be paddled. 
 
 The most usual method of hunting them is by snares. 
 These are set in the following manner : — 
 
 A lake or river is chosen, where it is known the swans 
 are in the habit of resting for some time on their 
 migration southward — for this is the principal season 
 of swan-catching. 
 
 Some time before the birds make their appearance, 
 a number of wicker hedges are constructed, running 
 perpendicularly out from the bank, and at the distance
 
 The Swans of America 235 
 
 of a few yards from each other. In the spaces between, 
 as well as in openings left in the fences themselves, 
 snares are set. These snares are made of the intestines 
 of the deer, twisted into a round shape, and looped. 
 They are placed so that several snares may embrace the 
 opening, and the swans cannot pass through without 
 being caught. 
 
 The snare is fastened to a stake, driven into the mud 
 with sufficient firmness to hold the bird when caught 
 and struggling. That the snare may not be blown out 
 of its proper place by the wind, or carried astray by the 
 current, it is attached to the wattles of the hedge by 
 some strands of grass. These, of course,are easily broken, 
 and give way the moment a bird presses against the loop. 
 The fences or wattle-hedges are always constructed 
 projecting out from the shore — for it is known that the 
 swans must keep close in to the land while feeding. 
 Whenever a lake or river is sufficiently shallow to make 
 it possible to drive in stakes, the hedges are continued 
 across it from one side to the other. 
 
 Swans are also snared upon their nests. When a nest 
 is found, the snare is set so as to catch the bird upon her 
 return to the eggs. These birds, like many others, have 
 the habit of entering the nest on one side, and going out 
 by the other, and it is upon the entrance side that the 
 snare is set. 
 
 The Indians have a belief that if the hands of the 
 persons setting the snare be not clean, the bird will not 
 approach it, but rather desert her eggs, even though she 
 may have been hatching them for some time. 
 
 It is, indeed, true that this is a habit of many birds, 
 and may be so of the wild swan. Certain it is that the 
 nest is always reconnoitred by the returning bird with 
 great caution, and any irregularity appearing about it 
 will render her extremely shy of approaching it. 
 
 Swans are shot, like other birds, by ' approaching ' 
 them under cover. It requires very large shot to kill 
 them — the same that is used for deer, and known 
 throughout America as 'buck-shot.' In England this 
 size of shot is termed ' swan-shot.'
 
 236 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 It is difficult to get within range of the wild swan. 
 He is by nature a shy bird ; and his long neck enables 
 him to see over the sedge that surrounds him. Where 
 there happens to be no cover — and this is generally 
 the case where he haunts — it is impossible to approach 
 him. 
 
 Sometimes the hunter floats down upon him with his 
 canoe hidden by a garniture of reeds and bushes. At 
 other times he gets near enough in the disguise of a 
 deer or other quadruped — for the swan, like most wild 
 birds, is less afraid of the lower animals than of man. 
 
 During the spring migration, when the swan is 
 moving northward, the hunter, hidden under some rock, 
 bank, or tree, frequently lures him from his high flight 
 by the imitation of his well-known * hoop.' This does 
 not succeed so well in the autumn. 
 
 When the swans arrive prematurely on their spring 
 journey, they resort sometimes in considerable flocks 
 to the springs and waterfalls, all other places being 
 then ice-bound. At this time the hunters concealing 
 themselves in the neighbourhood, obtain the desired 
 proximity, and deal destruction with their guns. 
 
 A related an account of a swan hunt by 
 
 torch-light, which he had made some years before. 
 
 ' I was staying some days,' said he, ' at a remote 
 settlement upon one of the streams that run into the 
 Red river of the north. It was in the autumn season, 
 and the Trumpeter swans had arrived in the neighbour- 
 hood on their annual migration to the south. I had 
 been out several times after them with my gun, but 
 was unable to get a shot at them in consequence of their 
 shyness. I had adopted every expedient I could think 
 of — calls, disguises, and decoys — but all to no purpose. 
 I resolved, at length, to try them by torch-light. 
 
 ' It so happened that none of the hunters at the 
 settlement had ever practised this method ; but as 
 most of them had succeeded, by some means or other, 
 in decoying and capturing several swans by other 
 means, my hunter pride was touched, and I was most 
 anxious to show that I could kill swans as well as
 
 The Szvans of America 237 
 
 they. I had never seen swans shot by torch-light, but 
 I had employed the plan for killing deer, as you already 
 know, and I was determined to make a trial of it upon 
 the swans, 
 
 * I set secretly about it, resolved to steal a march upon 
 my neighbours, if possible. My servant alone was 
 admitted into my confidence, and we proceeded to make 
 the necessary arrangements. 
 
 * These were precisely similar to those already 
 described in my hunt of the long tails, except that the 
 canoe, instead of being " a dug-out," was a light craft 
 of birch bark, such as are in use among the Chippewas 
 and other Indians of the northern countries. The canoe 
 was obtained from a settler, and filled with torch wood 
 and other necessary articles, but these were clandestinely 
 put on board. 
 
 ' I was now ready, and a dark night was all that was 
 wanted to enable me to carry out my plan. 
 
 'Fortunately I soon obtained this to my heart's 
 satisfaction. A night arrived as dark as Erebus ; and 
 with my servant using the paddle, we pushed out and 
 shot swiftly down stream. 
 
 * As soon as we had cleared the " settlement," we lit 
 our pine-knots in the frying-pan. The blaze refracted 
 from the concave and blackened surface of the bark, cast 
 a brilliant light over the semi-circle ahead of us, at the 
 same time that we, behind the screen of birch bark, were 
 hid in utter darkness. I had heard that the swans, 
 instead of being frightened by torch-light, only became 
 amazed, and even at times curious enough to approach 
 it, just as the deer and some other animals do. This 
 proved to be correct, as we had very soon a practical 
 illustration of it. 
 
 * We had not gone a mile down the river when we 
 observed several white objects within the circle of our 
 light ; and paddling a little nearer, we saw that they 
 were swans. We could distinguish their long, upright 
 necks ; and saw that they had given up feeding, and 
 were gazing with wonder at the odd object that was 
 approaching them.
 
 238 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 * There were five of them in the flock ; and I directed 
 my servant to paddle towards that which seemed 
 nearest, and to use his oar with as much silence as 
 possible. At the same time I looked to the caps of my 
 double-barrelled gun. 
 
 ' The swans for a time remained perfectly motionless, 
 sitting high in the water, with their long necks raised 
 far above the surface. They appeared to be more 
 affected by surprise than fear. 
 
 * When we had got within about a hundred yards of 
 them, I saw that they began to move about, and close 
 in to one another ; at the same time was heard 
 proceeding from them a strange sound resembling very 
 much the whistle of the fallow deer. I had heard of 
 the singing of the swan, as a prelude to its death, and I 
 hoped that which now reached my ears was a similar 
 foreboding. 
 
 ' In order to make it so, I leaned forward, levelled my 
 double-barrel — both barrels being cocked — and waited 
 the moment. 
 
 ' The birds had " clumped " together, until their long 
 serpent-like necks crossed each other. A few more 
 noiseless strokes of the paddle brought me within reach, 
 and aiming for the heads of three that " lined," I pulled 
 both triggers at once. 
 
 ' The immense recoil flung me back, and the smoke 
 for a moment prevented us from seeing the effect. 
 
 ' As soon as it had been wafted aside, our eyes were 
 feasted by the sight of two large white objects floating 
 down the current, while a third, evidently wounded, 
 struggled along the surface, and beating the water into 
 foam with its broad wings. 
 
 ' The remaining two had risen high into the air, and 
 were heard uttering their loud trumpet-notes as they 
 winged their flight through the dark heavens. 
 
 ' We soon bagged our game, both dead and wounded, 
 and saw that they were a large " gander " and two young 
 birds. 
 
 ' It was a successful beginning; and having replenished 
 our torch, we continued to float downward in search of
 
 The Swans of America 239 
 
 more. Half a mile farther on, we came in sight of three 
 others, one of which we succeeded in killing. 
 
 'Another "spell " of paddling brought us to a third 
 flock, out of which I got one for each barrel of my gun ; 
 and a short distance below I succeeded in killing a pair 
 of the grey wild geese. 
 
 ' In this way we kept down the river for at least ten 
 miles I should think, killing both swans and geese as 
 we went. Indeed, the novelty of the thing, the wild 
 scenery through which we passed — rendered more wild 
 and picturesque by the glare of the torch — and the 
 excitement of success, all combined to render the sport 
 most attractive ; and but that our " pine knots " had 
 run out, I would have continued it until morning. 
 
 'The failure of these at length brought our shooting 
 to a termination, and we were compelled to put about, 
 and undertake the much less pleasant, and much more 
 laborious task of paddling ten miles up-stream. The 
 consciousness, however, of having performed a great feat 
 — in the language of the Canadian hunters, a grand 
 " conpl' made the labour seem more light, and we soon 
 arrived at the settlement, and next morning triumphantly 
 paraded our game bag in front of our " lodge." 
 
 * Its contents were twelve trumpeter swans, besides 
 three of the " hoopers." We had also a pair of Canada 
 geese ; a snow goose, and three brant, — these last being 
 the produce of a single shot. 
 
 ' The hunters of the settlement were quite envious, 
 and could not understand what means I had employed 
 to get up such a "game bag." I intended to have kept 
 that for some time a secret ; but the frying-pan and the 
 piece of blackened bark were found, and these betrayed 
 my stratagem ; so that on the night after, a dozen 
 canoes, with torches at their bows, might have been 
 seen floating down the waters of the stream.'
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 HUNTING THE MOOSE. 
 
 While crossing the marshy bottom through which our 
 road led, a singular hoof-track was observed in the mud. 
 Some were of opinion that it was a track of the great 
 moose deer, but the hunter-naturalist, better informed, 
 scouted the idea — declaring that moose never ranged so 
 far to the south. It was no doubt a very large elk that 
 had made the track, and to this conclusion all at length 
 came. 
 
 The great moose deer, however, was an interesting 
 theme, and we rode along conversing upon it. 
 
 The moose {Cervus atces) is the largest of the deer 
 kind. The male is ordinarily as large as a mule ; 
 specimens have been killed of still greater dimensions. 
 One that has been measured stood seventeen hands, and 
 weighed 1,200 lbs. ; it was consequently larger than most 
 horses. The females are considerably smaller than the 
 males. 
 
 The colour of the moose, like that of other animals of 
 the deer kind, varies with the season ; it varies also 
 with the sex. The male is tawny-brown over the back, 
 sides, head, and thighs ; this changes to a darker hue 
 in winter, and in very old animals it is nearly black ; 
 hence the name ' black elk,' which is given in some 
 districts to the moose. The under parts of the body are 
 light coloured, with a tinge of yellow or soiled white. 
 
 The female is of a sandy-brown colour above, and 
 beneath almost white. The calves are sandy-brown, but 
 never spotted, as are the fawns of the common deer. 
 
 The moose is no other than the elk of Northern 
 Europe ; but the elk of America {Cervus Canadensis)^ as 
 already stated, is altogether a different animal. These 
 
 240
 
 Hunting the Moose 241 
 
 two species may be mistaken for each other, in the 
 season when their antlers are young, or in the velvet ; 
 then they are not unlike to a superficial observer. But 
 the animals are rarely confounded — only the names. 
 The American elk is not found indigenous in the eastern 
 hemisphere, although he is the ornament of many a 
 lordly park. 
 
 The identity of the moose with the European elk is 
 a fact that leads to curious considerations. A similar 
 identity exists between the caribou of Canada and the 
 reindeer of Northern Europe — they are both the Cervus 
 tarandus of Pliny. So also with the polar bear of both 
 hemispheres, the arctic fox, and several other animals. 
 Hence we infer, that there existed at some period either 
 a land connection, or some other means of communica- 
 tion, between the northern parts of both continents. 
 
 Besides being the largest, the moose is certainly the 
 most ungraceful of the deer family. His head is long, 
 out of all proportion ; so, too, are his legs ; while his 
 neck is short in an inverse ratio. His ears are nearly 
 a foot in length, asinine, broad, and slouching ; his eyes 
 are small ; and his muzzle square, Vv'ith a deep sulcus in 
 the middle, which gives it the appearance of being bifid. 
 The upper lip overhangs the under by several inches, 
 and is highly prehensile. A long tuft of coarse hair 
 grows out of an excrescence on the throat, in the angle 
 between the head and neck. This tuft is observed both 
 in the male and female, though only when full grown. 
 In the young, the excrescence is naked. 
 
 An erect mane, somewhat resembling that of a cropped 
 Shetland pony, runs from the base of the horns over the 
 withers, and some way down the back. This adds to the 
 stiff and ungainly appearance of the animal. 
 
 The horns of the moose are a striking characteristic ; 
 they are palmated or flattened out like shovels, while 
 along the edge rise the points or antlers. The width 
 from horn to horn at their tops is often more than four 
 feet, and the breadth of a single one, antlers included, is 
 frequently above thirty inches. A single pair has been 
 known to weigh as much as 60 lbs. avoirdupois ! 
 
 Q
 
 242 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 Of course this stupendous head-dress gives the moose 
 quite an imposing appearance ; and it is one of the 
 wonders of the naturalist what can be its object. 
 
 The horns are found only on the males, and attain 
 their full size only when these have reached their seventh 
 year. In the yearlings appear two knobs, about an inch 
 in length ; in two-year-olds, these knobs have become 
 spikes a foot high ; in the third year they begin to 
 palmate, and antlers rise along their edges ; and so on, 
 until the seventh year, when they become fully developed. 
 They are annually caducous, however, as with the 
 common deer, so that these immense appendages are the 
 growth of a few weeks ! 
 
 The haunts and habits of the moose differ materially 
 from those of other deer. He cannot browse upon level 
 ground without kneeling or widening his legs to a great 
 extent ; this difficulty arises from the extreme length of 
 his legs, and the shortness of his neck. He can do 
 better upon the sides of steep hills, and he is often seen 
 in such places grazing upward. 
 
 Grass, however, is not his favourite food : he prefers 
 the twigs and leaves of trees — such as birch, willow, and 
 maple. There is one species of the last of which he is 
 extremely fond ; it is that known as striped maple {Acer 
 striatuni), or, in the language of hunters, ' moose-wood.' 
 He peels off the bark from old trees of this sort, and 
 feeds upon it, as well as upon several species of mosses 
 with which the arctic regions abound. It will be seen 
 that in these respects he resembles the giraffe : he may 
 be regarded as the giraffe of the frigid zone. 
 
 The moose loves the forest ; he is rarely found in the 
 open ground — on the prairie, never. 
 
 On open level ground, he is easily overtaken by the 
 hunter, as he makes but a poor run in such a situation. 
 His feet are tender, and his wind short ; besides, as we 
 have already said, he cannot browse there without great 
 inconvenience. He keeps in the thick forest and the 
 impenetrable swamp, where he finds the food most to 
 his liking. 
 
 In summer, he takes to the water, wading into lakes
 
 Htmting the Moose 243 
 
 and rivers, and frequently swimming across both. This 
 habit at that season renders him an easy prey to his 
 enemies, the Indian hunters, for in the water he is 
 easily killed. Nevertheless, he loves to bury himself in 
 the water, because along the shores of lakes and margins 
 of rivers he finds the tall reed-grass, and the pond lily — 
 the latter a particular favourite with him. In this way, 
 too, he rids himself of the biting gnats and stinging 
 mosquitos that swarm there ; and also cools his blood 
 fevered by parasites, larvae, and the hot sun. 
 
 The female moose produces one, two, and sometimes 
 three calves at a birth ; this is in April or May. The 
 period of gestation is nine months. 
 
 During the summer they are seen in families — that is, 
 a bull, a cow, and two calves. Sometimes the group 
 includes three or four cows ; but this is rare. 
 
 Occasionally, when the winter comes on, several of 
 these family parties unite, and form herds of many 
 individuals. When the snow is deep, one of these herds 
 will tread down a space of several acres, in which they 
 will be found browsing on the bark and twigs of the 
 trees. A place of this sort is termed by the hunters a 
 * moose-yard ' ; and in such a situation the animals 
 become an easy prey. They are shot down on the spot, 
 and those that attempt to escape through the deep snow 
 are overtaken and brought to bay by dogs. This can 
 only happen, however, when the snow is deep and 
 crusted with frost ; otherwise, the hunters and their dogs, 
 as well as their heavier game, would sink in it. When 
 the snow is of old standing, it becomes icy on the surface 
 through the heat of the sun, rain, and frost ; then it will 
 bear the hunter, but not the deer. The latter break 
 through it, and as these animals are tender-hoofed, they 
 are lacerated at every jump. They soon feel the pain, 
 give up the attempt to escape, and come to bay. 
 
 It is dangerous for dogs to approach them when in 
 this mood. They strike with the hoofs of their 
 forefeet, a single blow of which often knocks the breath 
 out of the stoutest deer-hound. There are many records 
 of hunters having been sacrificed in a similar manner.
 
 244 The H^miers' Feast 
 
 Where the moose are plentiful, the Indians hunt them 
 by pounding. This is done simply by inclosing a large 
 tract of woods, with a funnel-shaped entrance leading 
 into the inclosure. The wide mouth of the entrance 
 embraces a path which the deer habitually take ; upon 
 this they are driven by the Indians, deployed in a wide 
 curve, until they enter the funnel, and the pound itself. 
 Here there are nooses set, in which many are snared, 
 while others are shot down by the hunters who follow. 
 This method is more frequently employed with the 
 caribou, which are much smaller, and more gregarious 
 than the moose deer. 
 
 We have already said that the moose are easily 
 captured in summer, when they resort to the lakes and 
 rivers to wade and swim. The biting of gnats and 
 mosquitoes renders them less fearful of the approach of 
 man. The Indians then attack them in their canoes, 
 and either shoot or spear them while paddling alongside. 
 
 They are much less dangerous to assail in this way 
 than the elk or even the common deer (Cervus 
 Virginianus), as the latter, when brought in contact 
 with the frail birch canoe, often kick up in such a 
 manner as to upset it, or break a hole through its side. 
 On the contrary, the moose is frequently caught by the 
 antlers while swimming, and in this way carried 
 alongside without either difficulty or danger. 
 
 Although in such situations these huge creatures are 
 easily captured, it is far otherwise as a general rule. 
 Indeed, few animals are more shy than the moose. Its 
 sight is acute ; so, too, with its sense of smell, but that 
 organ in which it chiefly confides is the ear. It can hear 
 the slightest noise to a great distance ; and the hunter's 
 foot among the dead leaves, or upon the frozen snow- 
 crust, often betrays him long before he can creep within 
 range. They are, however, frequently killed by the 
 solitary hunter stealing upon them, or ' approaching,' as 
 it is termed. To do this, it is absolutely necessary to 
 keep to leeward of them, else the wind would carry to 
 their quick ears even the cautious tread of the Indian 
 hunter.
 
 Hunting the Moose 245 
 
 There is one other method of hunting the moose often 
 practised by the Indians — that is, trailing them with 
 rackets, or snow-shoes, and running them down. As I 
 had partaken of this sport I was able to give an account 
 of it to my companions. 
 
 * In the winter of 18 — , I had occasion to visit a friend 
 who lived in the northern part of the state of Maine. 
 My friend was a backwood settler ; dwelt in a comfort- 
 able log-house ; raised corn, cattle, and hogs ; and for the 
 rest, amused himself occasionally with a hunt in the 
 neighbouring woods. This he could do without going 
 far from home, as the great forests of pine, birch, and 
 maple trees on all sides surrounded his solitary clearing, 
 and his nearest neighbour was about twenty miles off. 
 Literally, my friend lived in the woods, and the sports of 
 the chase were with him almost a necessity ; at all events, 
 they were an every-day occupation. 
 
 ' Up to the time of my visit, I had never seen a moose, 
 except in museums. I had never been so far north upon 
 the American Continent ; and it must be remembered, 
 that the geographical range of the moose is confined 
 altogether to the cold countries. It is only in the extreme 
 northern parts of the United States that he appears at 
 all. Canada, with the vast territories of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company, even to the shores of the Arctic Sea, is 
 the proper habitat of this animal. 
 
 * I was familiar with bears ; cougars I had killed ; elk 
 and fallow-deer I had driven ; 'coons and 'possums I had 
 treed ; in short, I had been on hunting terms with almost 
 every game in America except the moose. I was most 
 eager, therefore, to have a shot at one of these creatures, 
 and I well remember the delight I experienced when 
 my friend informed me there were moose in the adjacent 
 woods. 
 
 ' On the day after my arrival, we set forth in search of 
 them, each armed with a hunting-knife and a heavy 
 deer-gun. We went afoot ; we could not go otherwise, 
 as the snow lay to the depth of a yard, and a horse 
 would have plunged through it with difficulty. It was 
 an old snow, moreover, thickly crusted, and would have
 
 246 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 maimed our horses in a few minutes. We, with our 
 broad rackets, could easily skim along without sinking 
 below the surface. 
 
 ' I know not whether you have ever seen a pair of 
 rackets, or Indian snow-shoes, but their description is 
 easy. You have seen the rackets used in ball-play. 
 Well, now, fancy a hoop, not of circular form, but forced 
 into an elongated pointed ellipse, very much after the 
 shape of the impression that a capsized boat would 
 make in snow ; fancy this about three feet long, and a 
 foot across at its widest, closely netted over with gut or 
 deer-thong, with bars in the middle to rest the foot 
 upon, and a small hole to allow play to the toes, and 
 you will have some idea of a snow-shoe. Two of these — 
 right and left — make a pair. They are simply strapped 
 on to your boots, and then their broad surface sustains 
 you, even when the snow is comparatively soft, but 
 perfectly when it is frozen. 
 
 'Thus equipped, my friend and I set out ci pied, 
 followed by a couple of stout deer-hounds. We made 
 directly for a part of the woods where it was known to 
 my friend that the striped maple grew in great plenty. It 
 has been stated already, that the moose are particularly 
 fond of these trees, and there we would be most likely to 
 fall in with them. 
 
 ' The striped maple is a beautiful deciduous little tree 
 or shrub, growing to the height of a dozen feet or so in 
 its natural habitat. When cultivated, it often reaches 
 thirty feet. There is one at Schonbrunn, near Vienna, 
 forty feet high, but this is an exception, and is the 
 largest known. The usual height is ten or twelve feet, 
 and it is more often the underwood of the forest than the 
 forest itself. When thus situated, under the shade of 
 loftier trees, it degenerates almost to the character of a 
 shrub. 
 
 ' The trunk and branches of the striped maple are 
 covered with a smooth green bark, longitudinally marked 
 with light and dark stripes, by which the tree is easily 
 distinguished from others, and from which it takes its 
 name. It has other trivial names in different parts of
 
 Hunting the Moose M7 
 
 the country. In New York State it is called "dog- 
 wood " ; but improperly so, as the real dog-wood {Cornus 
 florida) is a very different tree. It is known also as 
 *' false dog-wood," and " snake-barked maple." The 
 name " moose-wood " is common among the hunters 
 and frontiers-men for reasons already given. When the 
 striped maple is indigenous, it is one of the first 
 productions that announces the approach of spring. 
 Its buds and leaves, when beginning to unfold, are of a 
 roseate hue, and soon change to a yellowish-green ; the 
 leaves are thick, cordate, rounded at the base, with three 
 sharp lobes at the other extremity, and finely serrated. 
 They are usually four or five inches in length and 
 breadth. The tree flowers in May and June, and its 
 flowers are yellow-green, grouped on long peduncles. 
 The fruit, like all other maples, consists of samarce or 
 " keys " ; it is produced in great abundance, and is ripe 
 in September or October. 
 
 ' The wood is white and finely grained ; it is 
 sometimes used by cabinet-makers as a substitute for 
 holly, in forming the lines with which they inlay 
 mahogany. 
 
 * In Canada, and those parts of the United States 
 where it grows in great plenty, the farmers in spring 
 turn out their cattle and horses to feed upon its leaves 
 and young shoots, of which these animals are extremely 
 fond ; the more so, as it is only in very cold regions that 
 it grows, and the budding of its foliage even precedes 
 the springing of the grass. Such is the tree which forms 
 the favourite browsing of the moose. 
 
 ' To return to my narrative. 
 
 ' After we had shuffled about two miles over the snow, 
 my friend and I entered a tract of heavy timber, where 
 the striped maple formed the underwood. It did not 
 grow regularly, but in copses or small thickets. We had 
 already started some small game, but declined following 
 it, as we were bent only on a moose-chase. 
 
 • We soon fell in with signs that indicated the propin- 
 quity of the animals we were in search of. In several 
 of the thickets, the maples were stripped of their twigs
 
 248 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 and bark, but this had been done previous to the falling 
 of the snow. As yet, there were no tracks : we were 
 not long, however, before this welcome indication was 
 met with. On crossing a glade where there was but 
 little snow, the prints of a great split hoof were seen, 
 which my friend at once pronounced to be those of the 
 moose. 
 
 ' We followed this trail for some distance, until it led 
 into deeper snow and a more retired part of the forest. 
 The tracks were evidently fresh ones, and those, as my 
 friend asserted, of an old bull. 
 
 ' Haifa mile farther on, they were joined by others ; 
 and the trail became a broken path through the deep 
 snow as if it had been made by farm cattle following 
 each other in single file. Four moose had passed, as 
 my friend — skilled in woodcraft — confidently asserted, 
 although I could not have told that from the appear- 
 ance of the trail. He went still farther in his 
 " reckoning," and stated that they were a bull, a cow, 
 and two nine-months' calves. 
 
 ' "You shall soon see," he said, perceiving that I was 
 somewhat incredulous. "Look here!" he continued, 
 bending down and pressing the broken snow with his 
 fingers ; " they are quite fresh — made within the hour. 
 Speak low — the cattle can't be far off. Yonder, as I 
 live ! yonder they are — hush ! " 
 
 ' My friend, as he spoke, pointed to a thicket about 
 three hundred yards distant ; I looked in that direction, 
 but at first could perceive nothing more than the thickly- 
 growing branches of the maples. 
 
 * After a moment, however, I could trace among the 
 twigs the long dark outlines of a strange animal's back, 
 with a huge pair of palmated horns rising above the 
 underwood. It was the bull-moose — there was no 
 mistaking him for any other creature. Near him other 
 forms — three of them — were visible ; these were of 
 smaller stature, and I could see that they were hornless. 
 They were the cow and calves ; and the herd was 
 made up, as my companion had foretold, of these four 
 individuals.
 
 Hunting the Moose 249 
 
 ' We had halted on the moment, each of us holding 
 one of the dogs, and endeavouring to quiet them, as 
 they already scented the game. We soon saw that it 
 was of no use remaining where we were, as the herd was 
 fully three hundred yards from us, far beyond the reach 
 of even our heavy deer-guns. 
 
 *It would be of no use either to attempt stealing 
 forward. There was no cover that would effectually 
 conceal us, for the timber around was not large, and 
 we could not, therefore, make shift with the tree 
 trunks. 
 
 ' There was no other mode, then, but to let the dogs 
 free of their leashes, and dash right forward. We knew 
 we should not get a shot until after a run ; but this 
 would not be long, thought we, as the snow was in 
 perfect order for our purpose. 
 
 ' Our dogs were therefore unleashed, and went off 
 with a simultaneous "gowl," while my friend and I 
 followed as fast as we could. 
 
 * The first note of the deer-hounds was a signal for the 
 herd, and we could hear their huge bodies crashing 
 through the underwood, as they started away. 
 
 ' They ran across some open ground, evidently with 
 the intention of gaining the heavy timber beyond. On 
 this ground there was but little snow ; and as we came 
 out through the thicket we had a full view of the noble 
 game. The old bull was in the lead, followed by the 
 others in a string. I observed that none of them 
 galloped — a gait they rarely practise — but all went in a 
 shambling trot, which, however, was a very fast one, 
 equal to the speed of a horse. They carried their heads 
 horizontally, with their muzzles directed forward, while 
 the huge antlers of the bull leaned back upon his 
 shoulders as he ran. Another peculiarity that struck 
 me — the divisions of their great split hoofs, as they 
 lifted them from the ground, met with a cracking sound, 
 like the bursting of percussion-caps ; and the four 
 together rattled as they ran, as though a string of 
 Christmas crackers had been touched off. I have often 
 heard a similar cracking from the hoofs of farm cattle ;
 
 250 TJie Hunters Feast 
 
 but with so many hoofs together, keeping up the fire 
 incessantly, it produced a very odd impression upon me. 
 
 ' In a short time they were out of sight, but we could 
 hear the baying of the dogs as the latter closed upon 
 them, and we followed, guided by the trail they had 
 made. 
 
 'We had skated along for nearly a mile, when the 
 howl of the hounds began to sound through the woods 
 with more abrupt and fiercer echoes. We knew by this 
 that the moose had been brought to bay, and we hurried 
 forward, eager to have a shot. 
 
 ' On arriving at the place, we found that only the old 
 bull had made stand, and he was successfully engaged 
 in keeping off the dogs, both with feet and horns. The 
 others had gone forward, and were out of view. 
 
 ' The bull, on seeing us approach, once more took 
 the trot, and, followed by the dogs, was soon out of 
 sight. 
 
 * On reaching the spot where he had made his 
 temporary halt, we found that his trail there parted 
 from that of the other three, as he had taken almost an 
 opposite direction. Whether he had done so con- 
 siderately, in order to lead the dogs away from his 
 weaker companions, I know not ; perhaps our sudden 
 appearance had terrified him into confusion, and he 
 had struck out without looking before him. 
 
 * We did not reflect on these points at the time. My 
 friend, who probably was thinking more about the meat 
 than the sport, without halting a moment, followed the 
 trail of the cow and calves : while I, guided by different 
 motives, took after the bull. I was in too great a hurry 
 to heed some admonitions which were given by my 
 friend as we parted company. As our trails separated, I 
 heard him shouting to me to mind what I was about ; 
 but the courses we followed soon carried us beyond 
 earshot or sight of each other. 
 
 ' I followed the chase about half a mile farther, guided 
 by the tracks, as well as by the baying of the hounds. 
 Again this assumed the fierce angry tone that denoted 
 a battle going on between the dogs and the deer.
 
 Hunting the Moose 251 
 
 ' As I neared the spot, the voices of the former seemed 
 to grow feebler ; then there was a continued howh'ng, as 
 if the hounds were being roughly handled, and one of 
 them I noticed was altogether silent. 
 
 * On arriving on the scene, which I did soon after, I 
 learned the cause of this change of tune. One of the 
 dogs met me running back on the trail on three legs 
 only, and wofully mangled. The moose was standing 
 in a snow-pit, which had been trodden out by the animals 
 while battling, and near his feet lay the other dog, 
 mutilated in a most fearful manner, and evidently quite 
 dead. The bull, in his rage, still continued to assail the 
 dead body of the hound, rising and pouncing down upon 
 it with his fore-hoofs until the ribs cracked under the 
 concussion ! 
 
 ' On seeing me, he again struck into the snow, and 
 made off; I saw, however, that his limbs were much 
 lacerated by the frozen crust, and that he ran slowly, 
 leaving red tracks behind him. 
 
 * I did not stop by the dogs — one being dead, and the 
 survivor but little better — but kept on after the game. 
 
 ' We had now got into a tract where the snow lay of 
 more than usual depth, and my snow-shoes enabled me 
 to skim along faster than the moose himself, that I 
 could easily perceive was growing feebler at every 
 plunge. I saw that I was gaining upon him, and would 
 soon be alongside. The woods through which we were 
 passing were pretty open," and I could note every 
 movement of the chase. 
 
 ' I had got within a hundred yards of him, and was 
 thinking of firing at him as he ran, when all at once he 
 came to a stop, and wheeling suddenly round, stood 
 facing me. His huge antlers were thrown back until 
 they touched his withers ; his mane stood erect ; all the 
 hair upon his body seemed to bristle forward ; and his 
 whole attitude was one of rage and defiance : he was 
 altogether as formidable-looking an enemy as it had ever 
 been my lot to encounter. 
 
 * My first thought, on getting near enough, was to raise 
 my rifle and fire, which I did. I aimed for his chest,
 
 252 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 that was fair before me ; but I shot wide, partly because 
 my fingers were numbed with cold, and partly because 
 the sun at the moment flashed in my eyes as I glanced 
 along the barrel. I hit the moose, however, but in a 
 part that was not mortal — in the shoulder. 
 
 ' The shot enraged him, and without waiting for me to 
 reload, he dashed madly forward and towards me ; a 
 few plunges brought him up, and I had no resource but 
 to get behind a tree. 
 
 ' Fortunately there were some large pines in the 
 neighbourhood, and behind one of these I took shelter 
 — not, however, before the enraged animal had almost 
 impaled me upon his antlers. As I slipped behind the 
 trunk, he was following me so close that his horns came 
 in contact with the tree, causing it to vibrate by the 
 terrific shock. He himself drew back a pace or two, and 
 then stopped and stood fast, eyeing the tree with sullen 
 rage ; his eyes glared, and his long stiff hair seemed to 
 quiver as he threatened. 
 
 * In the hope that he would allow me time, I again 
 bethought me of reloading my gun. What was my 
 chagrin to find that I had not a grain of powder about 
 me ! My friend and I had started with but one powder- 
 flask, and that he had carried with him. My gun was 
 as useless as a bar of iron. 
 
 ' What was to be done ? I dared not approach the 
 bull with my knife ; my life would not have been worth 
 five minutes' purchase. His horns and great sharp hoofs 
 were weapons superior to mine. He might throw me 
 down at the first outset, gore me to death, or trample 
 me in the snow. I dared not risk such an encounter. 
 
 ' After reflecting for some time, I concluded that it 
 would be wiser for me to leave the moose where he was, 
 and take the back track without him. But how was I 
 to get away from the spot ? I was still behind the tree, 
 and the enraged bull was within three feet of it on the 
 other side, without showing any symptoms of retiring. 
 Should I step cither to one side or the other, he would 
 launch himself upon me, and the result would be my 
 certain destruction.
 
 Hunting the Moose 253 
 
 ' I now began to perceive that I was in a fix — 
 regularly " treed," in fact ; and the knowledge was any- 
 thing but cheering. I did not know how long I might 
 be kept so ; perhaps the moose might not leave me at 
 all, or until hunger had done its work. The wound I 
 had given him had certainly rendered him desperate and 
 vengeful, and he appeared as if determined to protract 
 the siege indefinitely. 
 
 'After remaining nearly an hour in this situation, I 
 began to grow angry and impatient. I had shouted to 
 frighten the bull, but to no purpose ; I had shouted, and 
 at the top of my voice, in hopes that I might be heard 
 by my friend, but there was no response except the 
 echoes of my own voice borne hoarsely through the 
 aisles of the winter forest. I grew impatient of my odd 
 captivity, and determined to stand it no longer. 
 
 ' On stealing a glance behind me, I perceived a tree 
 as large as the one which sheltered me. I resolved to 
 make for that one, as it would at least not render my 
 situation worse should I reach it in safety. This I 
 effected, but not without having my speed put to the 
 test, for the moose followed so close as almost to touch 
 me with his brow-antlers. Once behind this new tree, I 
 was no better off than before, except that it brought me 
 some twenty paces nearer home. The moose still stood 
 in front of me only a few feet distant, and threatening 
 as fiercely as ever. 
 
 * After waiting some minutes for my breath, I selected 
 a third tree in the right direction, and made for it in a 
 similar manner, the moose following as before. 
 
 'Another rest and another run brought me behind a 
 fresh tree, and another and another, until I must have 
 made a full mile through the woods, still followed by my 
 implacable and untiring enemy. I knew, however, that 
 I was going homeward, for I guided myself by the trail 
 which we had made in the chase. 
 
 ' I was in hopes that I might make the whole back 
 journey in this way, when all at once I perceived that 
 the heavy timber came to an end, and a wide, almost 
 open tract intersected the country : over this the trees
 
 254 TJic Hunters' Feast 
 
 were small stunted pines, far apart, and offering no hope 
 of shelter from my relentless persecutor. 
 
 ' I had no alternative now but to remain where I was, 
 and await the arrival of my friend, who, I presumed, 
 would come after me as soon as he had finished his own 
 hunt. 
 
 ' With this dubious hope, I kept my stand, although I 
 was ready to drop with fatigue. To add to my misery 
 it commenced snowing. I saw this with feelings akin 
 to terror, for I knew that the snow would soon blind the 
 trail ; and how, then, was my friend to follow it, and 
 find me? The bull still stood before me in the same 
 threatening attitude, occasionally snorting, striking the 
 ground with his hoofs, and ready to spring after me 
 whenever I should move. Ever as I changed the 
 attitude of my body, he would start forward again, 
 until I could almost touch him with the muzzle of my 
 gun. 
 
 ' These manoeuvres on his part suggested to me an 
 experiment, and I wondered that I had not thought of 
 it before. I was not long in resolving to carry it out. I 
 was armed with a stout hunting-knife, a bowie ; it was 
 pointed as sharp as a needle ; and could I only have 
 ventured near enough to the bull, I would soon have 
 settled the dispute with him. The idea now occurred to 
 me of converting my bowie into a lance by splicing it 
 upon the barrel of my gun. With this I had hopes of 
 being able to reach my powerful assailant without 
 coming within range either of his hoofs or horns. 
 
 ' The lance was soon made, a pair of buckskin gaiters 
 which I wore furnished me with thongs. My gun hap- 
 pened to be a long rifle ; and the knife, spliced firmly to 
 the muzzle, rendered it a formidable weapon, so that in 
 a few minutes I stood in a better attitude than I had 
 assumed for hours before. 
 
 ' The affair soon came to an issue. As I had antici- 
 pated, by showing myself a little to one side of the tree, 
 the bull sprang forward, and I was enabled, by a 
 dexterous thrust, to plant the knife between his ribs. 
 It entered his heart, and the next moment I saw him
 
 Hunting the Moose 255 
 
 rolling over, and kicking the crimsoned snow around 
 him in the struggles of death. 
 
 ' I had scarcely completed my victory, when a loud 
 whoop sounded in my ears, and looking up, I saw my 
 friend making towards me across the open ground. He 
 had completed his chase, having killed all three, cut them 
 up, and hung their meat upon the trees, to be sent for 
 on our return to the house. 
 
 ' By his aid the bull was disposed of in a similar 
 manner; and being now satisfied with our day's sport — 
 though my friend very much regretted the loss of his 
 fine dog — we commenced shuffling homeward.'
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 THE PRAIRIE WOLF AND WOLF-KILLER 
 
 After crossing the Marais dc Cygnes River the country 
 became much more open. There was a mixture of 
 timber and prairie land — the latter, however, constantly 
 gaining the ascendancy as we advanced farther west. 
 The openings became larger, until they assumed the 
 appearance of vast meadows, inclosed by groves, that at 
 a distance resembled great hedges. Now and then there 
 were copses that stood apart from the larger tracts of 
 forests, looking like islands upon the surface of a green 
 sea, and by the name of * islands ' these detached groves 
 are known among the hunters and other denizens of 
 prairie land. Sometimes the surface was undulating or, 
 as it is there termed, 'rolling,' and our road was varied, 
 ascending or descending, as we crossed the gentle 
 declivities. The timber through which we had up to 
 this time been passing consisted of ash, burr oak, black 
 walnut, chestnut oak, buck eye, the American elm, 
 hickory, hackberry, sumach, and, in low moist places, 
 the sycamore, and long-leaved willow. These trees, 
 with many others, form the principal growth of the large 
 forests, upon the banks of the Mississippi, both east and 
 west. 
 
 As we advanced westward, Besan^on called our 
 attention to the fact, that all these kinds of timber, one 
 by one,disappeared from the landscape, and in their place 
 a single species alone made up the larger growth of the 
 forest. This was the celebrated ' cotton- wood,' a species 
 of )^o^\?cc {Populus angidatus). I say celebrated, because, 
 being almost the only tree of large size which is found 
 throughout the region of the great plains, it is well 
 known to all hunters and prairie travellers, who regard 
 
 256
 
 The Prairie Wolf and Wolf-Killer 257 
 
 it with a peculiar veneration. A grove of cotton-wood 
 is always a glad sight to those who traverse the limitless 
 levels of the prairie. It promises shelter from the wind 
 or sun, wood for the camp-fire, and, above all, water to 
 slake the thirst. As the ocean mariner regards the 
 sight of the welcome port, with similar feelings of joy 
 the mariner of the ' prairie-sea ' beholds, over the broad 
 waste, the silvery foliage of the cotton-wood grove, re- 
 garding it as his temporary home — his place of rest and 
 refuge. 
 
 After travelling through hundreds of small prairies, 
 separated from each other by groves of cotton-wood, we 
 arrived at a high point on the waters of the ' Little 
 Osage,' another tributary of the larger river of that 
 name. As yet we had met with no traces of the 
 buffalo, and were beginning to doubt the correctness of 
 the information we had received at St. Louis, when we 
 fell in with a band of Kanzas Indians — a friendly tribe 
 — who received us in the most courteous manner. 
 From them we learned that the buffalo had been upon 
 the Little Osage at an earlier period in that same year, 
 but that harassed and decimated by their own hunters, 
 they had roamed much farther west, and were now 
 supposed to be on the other side of the ' Neosho,' or 
 Grand River — a northern tributary of the Arkansas. 
 
 This was anything but pleasant news. We should 
 have at least another hundred miles to travel before 
 coming up with our game ; but there was no thought of 
 going back, until we had done so. No. One and all 
 declared that rather than give up the object of our 
 expedition, we would travel on to the Rocky Mountains 
 themselves, risking the chances of being scalped by 
 hostile Indians. 
 
 There was a good deal of bravado in this, it is true, 
 but we were fully determined that we would not go 
 back without our buffalo-hunt. 
 
 Thanking our Kanzas friends for their courtesy, we 
 parted from them, and headed westward for the 
 Neosho. 
 
 As we proceeded, timber became scarce, until at 
 
 R
 
 258 The Hunters Feast 
 
 length it was found only on the banks of streams 
 widely distant from each other. Sometimes not a tree 
 was in sight for the whole day's journey. We were 
 now fairly on the prairies. 
 
 We crossed the Neosho at length— still no buffalo. 
 
 We kept on, and crossed several other large streams, 
 all flowing south-eastwardly to the Arkansas. Still no 
 buffalo. 
 
 We began to yearn exceedingly for a sight of the 
 great game. The few deer that were killed from time to 
 time offered us but poor sport, and their meat was not 
 sufficient for our supply. 
 
 Of bacon we were heartily tired, and we longed for 
 fresh buffalo beef. The praises lavished by our guides 
 upon the delicacy of this viand — their talk over the 
 camp-fire about 'fat cow' and ^ boudins' and 'hump- 
 ribs,' quite tantalised our palates, and we were all eager 
 to try our teeth upon this vaunted tit-bits. No buffalo 
 appeared yet, and we were forced to chew our bacon, as 
 well as our impatience, for several days longer. 
 
 A great change now took place in the appearance of 
 the country. The timber became still more scarce, and 
 the soil drier and more sandy. Species of cactus 
 {opuntia) appeared along the route, with several other 
 plants new to the eyes of most of us, and which to those 
 of Besangon were objects of extreme interest. But that 
 which most gratified us was the appearance of a new 
 herbage, different entirely from what we had been 
 passing over, and this was hailed by our guides with 
 exclamations of joy. It was the celebrated ' buffalo 
 grass.' The trappers declared we should not have 
 much farther to go until we found the buffaloes 
 themselves, for, wherever this grass existed in plenty, 
 the buffalo, unless driven off by hunting, were sure to 
 be found. 
 
 The buffalo grass is a short grass, not more than a 
 few inches in height, with crooked and pointed culms, 
 often throwing out suckers that root again, and produce 
 other leaves and culms, and in this way form a tolerably 
 thick sward. When in flower or seed, it is headed by
 
 The Prairie Wolf and Wolf- Killer 259 
 
 numerous spikes of half an inch in length, and on these 
 the spikelets are regular and two rowed. 
 
 It is a species of Sesleria {S. daetyloides) but Besangon 
 informed us that it possesses characters that cause it to 
 differ from the genus, and to resemble the Chondrosiwn. 
 
 The buffalo grass is not to be confounded with another 
 celebrated grass of the Texan and North Mexican 
 prairies, the 'gramma' of the Spaniards. This last is a 
 true Chondrosium, and there are several species of it. 
 The Chondrosium fceneum is one of the finest fodders 
 in the world for the food of cattle, almost equal to 
 unthrashed oats. 
 
 The buffalo grass forms the favourite and principal 
 fodder of the buffaloes whenever it is in season, and 
 these animals roam over the prairies in search of 
 it. 
 
 Of course with this knowledge we were now on the 
 qui vive. At every new rise that we made over the 
 swells of the prairie our eyes were busy, and swept the 
 surface on every side of us, and in the course of a few 
 days we encountered several false alarms. 
 
 There is an hallucination peculiar to the clear 
 atmosphere of these regions. Objects are not only 
 magnified, but frequently distorted in their outlines, 
 and it is only an old hunter that knows a buffalo when 
 he sees one. By others a bush is often taken for a wild 
 bull, and with us a brace of carrion crows, seated upon 
 the crest of a ridge, were actually thought to be buffaloes, 
 until they suddenly took wing and rose into the air, thus 
 dispelling the illusion ! 
 
 Long before this time we had encountered that well- 
 known animal of the great plains — the ' prairie wolf,' — 
 {Ltipiis latraiis). 
 
 The prairie wolf inhabits the vast and still unpeopled 
 territories that lie between the Mississippi River and the 
 shores of the Pacific Ocean. Its range extends beyond 
 what is strictly termed 'the prairies.' It is found in the 
 wooded and mountainous ravines of California and 
 the Rocky Mountain districts. It is common throughout 
 the whole of Mexico, where it is known as the ' coyote.'
 
 26o The Hunters' Feast 
 
 I have seen numbers of this species on the battle- 
 field, tearing at corpses, as far south as the valley of 
 Mexico itself. Its name of prairie wolf is, therefore, in 
 some respects inappropriate, the more so as the larger 
 wolves are also inhabitants of the prairie. No doubt this 
 name was given it, because the animal was first observed 
 in the prairie country west of the Mississippi by the 
 early explorers of that region. In the wooded countries 
 east of the great river, the common large wolf only is 
 known. 
 
 Whatever doubt there may be of the many varieties of 
 the large wolf being distinct species, there can be none 
 with regard to the Lupus Latrans. It differs from all 
 the others in size, and in many of its habits. Perhaps it 
 more nearly resembles the jackal than any other animal. 
 It is the New World representative of that celebrated 
 creature. 
 
 In size, it is just midway between the large wolf and 
 fox. With much of the appearance of the former, it 
 combines all the sagacity of the latter. It is usually 
 of a greyish colour, lighter or darker, according to 
 circumstances, and often with a tinge of cinnamon or 
 brown. 
 
 As regards its cunning, the fox is ' but a fool to it.' It 
 cannot be trapped. Some experiments made for the 
 purpose, show results that throw the theory of instinct 
 quite into the back-ground. It has been known to 
 burrow under a ' dead fall,' and drag off the bait without 
 springing the trap. The steel trap it avoids, no matter 
 how concealed ; and the cage trap has been found ' no 
 
 go.' 
 
 Farther illustrations of the cunning of the prairie wolf 
 might be found in its mode of decoying within reach the 
 antelopes and other creatures on which it preys. 
 
 Of course this species is as much fox as wolf, for in 
 reality a small wolf is a fox, and a large fox is a wolf. 
 To the traveller and trapper of the prairie regions, it is a 
 pest. It robs the former of his provisions — often stealing 
 them out of his very tent ; it unbaits the traps of the 
 latter, or devours the game already secured in them.
 
 The Prairte Wolf and Wolf -Killer 261 
 
 It is a constant attendant upon the caravans or 
 travelling parties that cross prairie land. A pack of 
 prairie wolves will follow such a party for hundreds of 
 miles in order to secure the refuse left at the camps. 
 They usually lie down upon the prairie, just out of range 
 of the rifles of the travellers : yet they do not observe 
 this rule always, as they know there is not much danger 
 of being molested. Hunters rarely shoot them, not 
 deeming their hides worth having, and not caring to 
 waste a charge upon them. They are more cautious 
 when following a caravan of California emigrants, where 
 there are plenty of ' greenhorns ' and amateur hunters 
 ready to fire at anything. 
 
 Prairie wolves are also constant attendants upon the 
 ' gangs ' of buffalo. They follow these for hundreds of 
 miles — in fact, the outskirts of the buffalo herd are, for 
 the time being, their home. They He down on the 
 prairie at a short distance from the buffaloes, and wait 
 and watch, in hopes that some of these animals may 
 get disabled or separated from the rest, or with the 
 expectation that a cow with her new-dropped calf may 
 fall into the rear. In such cases, the pack gather round 
 the unfortunate individual, and worry it to death. A 
 wounded or superannuated bull sometimes ' falls out,' 
 and is attacked. In this case the fight is more desperate, 
 and the bull is sadly mutilated before he can be brought 
 to the ground. Several wolves, too, are laid hors de 
 combat during the struggle. 
 
 The prairie traveller may often look around him 
 without seeing a single wolf ; but let him fire off his 
 gun, and, as if by magic, a score of them will suddenly 
 appear. They start from their hiding-places, and rush 
 forward in hopes of sharing in the produce of the shot. 
 
 At night, they enliven the prairie camp with their 
 dismal howling, although most travellers would gladly 
 dispense with such music. Their note is a bark like 
 that of a terrier dog, repeated three times, and then 
 prolonged into a true wolfs howl. I have heard farm- 
 house dogs utter a very similar bark. From this 
 peculiarity, some naturalists prefer calling them the
 
 262 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 • barking wolf,' and that {Lupus latrans) is the specific 
 appellation given by Say, who first described them. 
 
 Prairie wolves have all the ferocity of their race, but 
 no creature could be more cowardly. Of course no one 
 fears them under ordinary circumstances, but they have 
 been known to make a combined attack upon persons 
 disabled, and in severe weather, when they themselves 
 were rendered unusually savage by hunger, as already 
 stated. But they are not regarded with fear either by 
 traveller or hunter ; and the latter disdains to waste his 
 charge upon such worthless game. 
 
 Our guide, Ike, was an exception to this rule. He 
 was the only one of his sort that shot prairie wolves, and 
 he did so ' on sight' I believe if it had been the last 
 bullet in his pouch, and an opportunity had offered of 
 sending it into a prairie wolf, he would have despatched 
 the leaden missile. We asked him how many he had 
 killed in his time. He drew a small notched stick from 
 his 'possible sack,' and desired us to count the notches 
 upon it. We did so. There were one hundred and 
 forty-five in all. 
 
 ' You have killed one hundred and forty-five, then ? ' 
 cried we, astonished at the number. 
 
 'Yes, i'deed,' replied he, with a quiet chuckle, 'that 
 many dozen ; for every 'un of them nutches count twelve. 
 I only make a nutch when I've throwed the clur dozen.' 
 
 ' A hundred and forty-five dozen ! ' we repeated in 
 astonishment ; and yet I have no doubt of the truth of 
 the trapper's statement, for he had no interest in 
 deceiving us. I am satisfied from what I knew of him, 
 that he had slain the full number stated — one thousand 
 seven hundred and forty ! 
 
 Of course we became curious to learn the cause of his 
 antipathy to the prairie wolves ; for we knew he Jiad an 
 antipathy, and it was that that had induced him to 
 commit such wholesale havoc among these creatures. It 
 was from this circumstance he had obtained the 
 soubriquet of ' wolf-killer.' By careful management, we 
 at last got him upon the edge of the story, and quietly 
 pushed him into it. He gave it to us as follows : —
 
 The Prairie Wolf and Wolf- Killer 263 
 
 'Wal, strengers, about ten winters agone, I wur 
 travellin' from Bent's Fort on the Arkensaw, to 'Laramie 
 on the Platte, all alone b' myself. I had undertuk the 
 journey on some business for Bill Bent — no matter now 
 what. 
 
 ' I had crossed the divide, and got within sight o' the 
 Black Hills, when one night I had to camp out on the 
 open parairy, without either bush or stone to shelter 
 me. 
 
 'That wur, perhaps, the coldest night this nigger 
 remembers ; thur wur a wind kim down from the moun- 
 tains that wud a froze the har off an iron dog. I gathered 
 my blanket around me, but that wind whistled through 
 it as if it had been a rail fence. 
 
 ' 'Twan't no use lyin' down, for I couldn't a slep, so I 
 sot up. 
 
 'You may ask why I hadn't a fire ? I'll tell you why. 
 Fust, thur wan't a stick o' timber within ten mile o' me ; 
 and, secondly, if thur had been I dasen't a made a fire. 
 I wur travellin' as bad a bit o' Injun ground as could 
 been found in all the country, and I'd seen Injun sign 
 two or three times that same day. It's true thur wur a 
 good grist o' buffler chips about, tol'ably dry, and I 
 mout have made some sort o' a fire out o' that ; an' at 
 last I did make a fire arter a fashion. I did it this a 
 way. 
 
 ' Seeing that with the cussed cold I wan't a-goin' to get 
 a wink o' sleep, I gathered a wheen o' the buffler chips. 
 I then dug a hole in the ground with my bowie, an' hard 
 pickin' that wur ; but I got through the crust at last, 
 and made a sort o' oven about a fut, or a fut and a half 
 deep. At the bottom I laid some dry grass and dead 
 branches o' sage plant, and then settin' it afire, I piled 
 the buffler chips on top. The thing burnt tol'able well, 
 but the smoke of the buffler dung would a choked a 
 skunk. 
 
 'As soon as it had got fairly under way, I hunkered, 
 an' sot down over the hole, in sich a position as to catch 
 all the heat under my blanket, an' then I was comf'table 
 enough. Of coorse no Injun kud see the smoke arter
 
 264 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 night, an it would a tuk sharp eyes to have sighted the 
 fire, I reckon. 
 
 ' Wal, strengers, the critter I rode wur a young mustang 
 colt, about half broke. I had bought him from a Mexikin 
 at Bent's only the week afore, and it wur his fust 
 journey, leastwise with me. Of coorse I had him on 
 the lariat ; but up to this time I had kept the eend o' 
 the rope in my hand, because I had that same day lost 
 my picket pin ; an' thin kin' as I wan't a-goin' to sleep, 
 I mout as well hold on to it. 
 
 ' By 'm by, however, I begun to feel drowsy. The 
 fire atween my legs promised to keep me from freezin', 
 an' I thort I mout as well take a nap. So I tied the 
 lariat round my ankles, sunk my head atween my 
 knees, an' in the twinklin' o' a goat's tail I wur sound 
 I jest noticed as I wur goin' off, that the mustang wur 
 out some yards, nibblin' away at the dry grass o' the. 
 parairy. 
 
 ' I guess I must a slep about an hour, or tharabouts 
 — I won't be sartint how long. I only know that I didn't 
 wake o' my own accord. I wur awoke ; an' when I 
 did awoke, I still thort I wur a-dreamin'. It would 
 a been a rough dream ; but unfort'nately for me, 
 it wan't a dream, but a jenwine reality. 
 
 ' hX fust, I cudn't make out what wur the matter wi' 
 me. no how ; an' then I thort I wur in the hands o' the 
 Injuns, who were draggin' me over the parairy ; an' sure 
 enough I wur a-draggin' that a way, though not by 
 Injuns. Once or twice I lay still for jest a second or 
 two, an' then away I went agin, trailin' and bumpin' 
 over the ground, as if 1 had been tied to the tail o' a 
 gallopin' hoss. All the while there wur a yclHn' in my 
 ears as if all the cats and dogs of creation were arter 
 me. 
 
 ' Wal, it wur some time afore I compre'nded what all 
 this rough usage meant. I did at last. The pull upon 
 my ankles gave me the idea. It wur the lariat that wur 
 round them. My mustang had stampedoed, and wur 
 draggin' me at full gallop acrosst the parairy ! 
 
 ' The barkin', an' howlin', an' yelpin' I heerd, wur a
 
 The Prairie Wolf and Wolf -Killer 265 
 
 pack o' parairy wolves. Half-famished, they had attacked 
 the mustang, and started him. 
 
 ' All this kim into my mind at once. You'll say it 
 wur easy to lay hold on the rope, an' stop the hoss. So 
 it mout appear ; but I kin tell you that it ain't so easy a 
 thing. It wan't so to me. My ankles wur in a noose, 
 an' wur drawed clost together. Of coorse, while I wur 
 movin' along, I couldn't get to my feet ; an' whenever the 
 mustang kim to a halt, an' I had half-gathered myself, 
 afore I kud reach the rope, away went the critter agin, 
 flingin' me to the ground at full length. Another thing 
 hindered me. Afore goin' to sleep, I had put my blanket 
 on Mexikin-fashion — that is, wi' my head through a slit 
 in the centre — an' as the drag begun, the blanket flopped 
 about my face, an' half-smothered me. Prehaps, how- 
 ever, an' 1 thort so arterwurdjthat blanket saved mc many 
 a scratch, although it bamfoozled me a good bit. 
 
 ' I got the blanket off at last, arter I had made about 
 a mile, I reckon, and then for the fust time I could see 
 about me. Such a sight ! The moon wur up, an' I kud 
 see that the ground wur white with snow. It had snowed 
 while I wur asleep ; but that wan't the sight — the sight 
 wur, that clost up an' around me the hull parairy wur 
 kivered with wolves — cussed parairy wolves ! I kud see 
 their long tongues lollin' out, an' the smoke steamin' 
 from their open mouths. 
 
 ' Bein' now no longer hampered by the blanket, I made 
 the best use I could o' my arms. Twice I got hold o' 
 the lariat, but afore I kud set myself to pull up the 
 runnin' hoss, it wur jerked out o' my hand agin, 
 
 ' Somehow or other, I had got clutch o' my bowie, 
 and at the next opportunity I made a cut at the rope, 
 and heerd the clean " snig " o' the knife. Arter that I 
 lay quiet on the parairy, an' I b'lieve I kinder sort o' 
 fainted. 
 
 ' 'Twan't a long faint no how ; for when I got over it, 
 I kud see the mustang about a half a mile off, still runnin' 
 as fast as his legs could carry him, an' most of the wolves 
 howlin' arter him. A few of these critters had gathered 
 about me, but gettin' to my feet, I made a dash among
 
 266 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 them wi' the shinin' bowie, an' sent them every which 
 way, I reckon. 
 
 ' I watched the mustang until he wur clur out o' sight, 
 an' then I wur puzzled what to do. Fust I went back 
 for my blanket, which I soon rekivered, an' then I 
 followed the back track to get my gun an' other traps 
 whur I had camped. The trail wur easy, on account o' 
 the snow, an' I kud see whur I had sliped through it all 
 the way. 
 
 • Having got my possibles, I then tuk arter the mustang, 
 and followed for at least ten miles on his tracks, but I 
 never see'd that mustang agin. Whether the wolves 
 hunted him down or not, I can't say, nor I don't care if 
 they did, the scarey brute ! I see'd their feet all the way 
 arter him in the snow, and I know'd it wur no use 
 follering further. It wur plain I wur put down on the 
 parairy, so I bundled my possibles, and turned head for 
 'Laramies afoot. I had a three days' walk o' it, and 
 perhaps I didn't cuss a few ! 
 
 ' I wur right bad used. Thur wan't a bone in my 
 body that didn't ache, as if I had been passed through 
 a sugar-mill ; and my clothes and skin were torn con- 
 sid'ably. It mout a been wuss but for the blanket 
 an' the sprinkle o' snow that made the ground a leetle 
 slickerer. 
 
 ' Howsomever, I got safe to the Fort, whur I wur soon 
 rigged out in a fresh suit o' buckskin an' a boss. 
 
 * But I never artervvard see'd a parairy wolf within 
 range o' my rifle, that I didn't let it into him, an' as you 
 see, I've throwed a good wheen in their tracks since then. 
 Wagh ! Hain't I, Mark ? '
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 HUNTING THE TAPIR 
 
 At one of our prairie camps our English comrade 
 furnished us with the following account of that strange 
 creature, the tapir. 
 
 ' No one who has turned over the pages of a picture 
 book of mammalia will be likely to forget the odd- 
 looking animal known as the tapir. Its long proboscis- 
 like snout, its stiff-maned neck, and clumsy hog-like 
 body, render the tout ensemble of this creature so 
 peculiar, that there is no mistaking it for any other 
 animal. 
 
 ' When full grown, the tapir, or anta, as it is some- 
 times called, is six feet in length by four in height — its 
 weight being nearly equal to that of a small bullock. 
 Its teeth resemble those of the horse ; but instead of 
 hoofs, its feet are toed — the fore ones having four toes, 
 while the hind feet have only three each. The eyes are 
 small and lateral, while the ears are large and pointed. 
 The skin is thick, somewhat like that of the hippo- 
 potamus, with a very thin scattering of silky hairs 
 over it ; but along the ridge of the neck, and upon the 
 short tail, the hairs are longer and more profuse. The 
 upper jaw protrudes far beyond the extremity of the 
 under one. It is, moreover, highly prehensile, and 
 enables the tapir to seize the roots upon which it feeds 
 with greater ease. In fact, it plays the part of the 
 elephant's proboscis to a limited degree. 
 
 ' Although the largest quadruped indigenous to South 
 America, the tapir is not very well known to naturalists. 
 Its haunts are far beyond the borders of civilisation. It 
 is, moreover, a shy and solitary creature, and its active 
 life is mostly nocturnal ; hence no great opportunity is 
 
 267
 
 268 The Hunters^ Feast 
 
 offered for observing its habits. The chapter of its 
 natural history is therefore a short one. 
 
 ' The tapir is an inhabitant of the tropical countries of 
 America, dwelling near the banks of rivers and marshy 
 lagoons. It is the American representative of the 
 rhinoceros and hippopotamus, or, more properly, of the 
 inaiba, or Indian tapir {Tapirus Indicus) of Sumatra, 
 which has but lately become known to naturalists. The 
 latter, in fact, is a near congener, and very much 
 resembles the tapir of South America. 
 
 ' The tapir is amphibious — that is, it frequents the 
 water, can swim and dive well, and generally seeks its 
 food in the water or the soft marshy sedge; but when in 
 repose, it is a land animal, making its haunt in thick 
 coverts of the woods, and selecting a dry spot for its 
 lair. Here it will remain couched and asleep during the 
 greater part of the day. At nightfall, it steals forth, and 
 following an old and well-used path, it approaches the 
 bank of some river, and plunging in, swims off in 
 search of its food — the roots and stems of several species 
 of water plants. In this business it occupies most of the 
 hours of darkness ; but at daybreak, it swims back to 
 the place where it entered the water, and going out, 
 takes the " back track " to its lair, where it sleeps until 
 sunset again warns it forth. 
 
 ' Sometimes during rain, it leaves its den even at 
 mid-day. On such occasions, it proceeds to the river or 
 the adjacent swamp, where it delights to wallow in the 
 mud, after the manner of hogs, and often for hours 
 together. Unlike the hog, however, the tapir is a cleanly 
 animal. After wallowing, it never returns to its den 
 until it has first plunged into the clear water, and washed 
 the mud thoroughly from its skin. 
 
 ' It usually travels at a trot, but when hard pressed it 
 can gallop. Its gallop is peculiar. The fore legs are 
 thrown far in advance, and the head is carried between 
 them in a very awkward manner, somewhat after the 
 fashion of a frolicsome donkey. 
 
 ' The tapir is strictly a vegetable feeder. It lives upon 
 flags and roots of aquatic plants. Several kinds of fruits
 
 Hunting the Tapir 269 
 
 and young succulent branches of trees, form a portion of 
 its food. 
 
 'It is a shy, timid animal, without any malice in its 
 character ; and although possessed of great strength, 
 never uses it except for defence, and then only in 
 endeavours to escape. It frequently suffers itself to be 
 killed without making any defence, although with its 
 great strength and well-furnished jaws it might do serious 
 hurt to an enemy. 
 
 ' The hunt of the tapir is one of the amusements, or 
 rather employments, of the South American Indians. 
 Not that the flesh of this animal is so eagerly desired by 
 them : on the contrary, it is dry, and has a disagreeable 
 taste, and there are some tribes who will not eat of it, 
 preferring the flesh of monkeys, macaws, and the 
 armadillo. But the part most prized is the thick, tough 
 skin, which is employed by the Indians in making 
 shields, sandals, and various other articles. This is the 
 more valuable in a country where the thick-skinned and 
 leather-yielding mammalia are almost unknown. 
 
 * Slaying the tapir is no easy matter. The creature is 
 shy, and, having the advantage of the watery element, is 
 often enabled to dive beyond the reach of pursuit, and 
 thus escape by concealing itself. Among most of the 
 native tribes of South America, the young hunter who 
 has killed a tapir is looked upon as having achieved 
 something to be proud of. 
 
 ' The tapir is hunted by bow and arrow, or by the gun. 
 Sometimes the ' gravatana,' or blow tube, is employed, 
 with its poisoned darts. In any case, the hunter either 
 lies in wait for its prey, or with a pack of dogs drives it 
 out of the underwood, and takes the chances of a " flying 
 shot." 
 
 ' When the trail of a tapir has been discovered, its 
 capture becomes easy. It is well known to the hunter 
 that this animal, when proceeding from its lair to the 
 water and returning, always follows its old track until a 
 beaten path is made, which is easily disccrnable. 
 
 ' This path often betrays the tapir, and leads to its 
 destruction.
 
 2/0 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 ' Sometimes the hunter accomplishes this by means 
 of a pitfall, covered with branches and palm leaves ; at 
 other times, he places himself in ambuscade, either 
 before twilight or in the early morning, and shoots the 
 unsuspecting animal as it approaches on its daily round. 
 
 ' Sometimes, when the whereabouts of a tapir has been 
 discovered, a whole tribe sally out, and take part in the 
 hunt. Such a hunt I myself witnessed on one of the 
 tributaries of the Amazon. 
 
 ' In the year i8 — , I paid a visit to the Jurunas up 
 the Xingu. Their maloccas (palm hut villages) lie 
 beyond the falls of that river. Although classed as 
 "wild Indians," the Jurunas are a mild race, friendly 
 to the traders, and collect during a season considerable 
 quantities o{ seringa (Indian rubber), sarsaparilla, as well 
 as rare birds, monkeys, and Brazil nuts — the objects of 
 Portuguese trade. 
 
 ' I was about to start for Para, when nothing would 
 serve the tuxava, or chief of one of the maloccas, but 
 that I should stay a day or two at his village, and take 
 part in some festivities. He promised a tapir hunt, 
 
 ' As I knew that among the Jurunas were some skilled 
 hunters, and as I was curious to witness an affair of this 
 kind, I consented. The hunt was to come off on the 
 second day of my stay. 
 
 'The morning arrived, and the hunters assembled to 
 the number of forty or fifty, in an open space by the 
 malocca ; and having got their arms and equipments in 
 readiness, all repaired to the praya, or narrow beach of 
 sand, which separated the river from the thick underwood 
 of the forest. Here some twenty or thirty ubas (canoes 
 hollowed out of tree trunks) floated on the water, ready 
 to receive the hunters. They were of different sizes ; 
 some capable of containing half-a-dozen, while others 
 were meant to carry only a single person. 
 
 * In a few minutes the ubas were freighted with their 
 living cargoes, consisting not only of the hunters, but of 
 most of the women and boys of the malocca, with a 
 score or two of dogs. 
 
 ' These dogs were curious creatures to look at. A
 
 H^inting the Tapir 271 
 
 stranger, ignorant of the customs of the Jurunas, would 
 have been at some loss to account for the peculiarity of 
 their colour. Such clogs I had never seen before Some 
 were of a bright scarlet, others were yellow, others blue, 
 and some mottled with a variety of tints ! 
 
 ' What could it mean ? But I knew well enough. The 
 dogs zvere dyed I 
 
 ' Yes, it is the custom among many tribes of South 
 American Indians to dye not only their own bodies, but 
 the hairy coat of their dogs, with brilliant colours 
 obtained from vegetable juices, such as the huitoc, the 
 yellow raucau (annato), and the blue of the wild indigo. 
 The light grey, often white, hair of these animals favours 
 the staining process ; and the effect produced pleases 
 the eye of their savage masters. 
 
 ' On my eye the effect was strange and fantastical. I 
 could not restrain my laughter when I first scanned these 
 curs in their fanciful coats. Picture to yourself a pack 
 of scarlet, and orange, and purple dogs ! 
 
 ' Well, we were soon in the ubas, and paddling up 
 stream. The tuxava and I occupied a canoe to ourselves. 
 His only arms were a light fusil, which I had given him 
 as a present. It was a good piece, and he was proud of 
 it. This was to be its first trial. I had a rifle for my 
 own weapon. The rest were armed variously ; some 
 had guns, others the native bow and arrows ; some 
 carried the gravatana, with arrows dipped in curari 
 poison ; some had nothing but machetes, or cutlasses — 
 for clearing the underwood, in case the game had to be 
 driven from the thickets. 
 
 ' There was a part of the river, some two or three 
 miles above the malocca, where the channel was wider 
 than elsewhere — several miles in breadth at this place. 
 Here it was studded with islands, known to be a 
 favourite resort of the tapirs. This was to be the scene 
 of our hunt. 
 
 ' We approached the place in about an hour ; but on 
 the way I could not help being struck with the 
 picturesqueness of our party. No " meet " in the 
 hunting-field of civilised countries could have equalled
 
 272 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 us in that respect. The ubas, strung out in a long 
 irregular line, sprang upstream in obedience to the 
 vigorous strokes of the rowers, and these sang in a sort 
 of irregular concert as they plied their paddles. The 
 songs were improvised : they told the feats of the 
 hunters already performed, and promised others yet to 
 be done. I could hear the word " tapira " (tapir), often 
 repeated. The women lent their shrill voices to the 
 chorus ; and now and then interrupted the song with 
 peals of merry laughter. The strange-looking flotilla — 
 the bronzed bodies of the Indians, more than half nude 
 — their waving black hair — their blue-bead belts and red 
 cotton armlets — the bright iangas (aprons) of the women 
 — their massive necklaces — the macaw feathers adorning 
 the heads of the hunters — their odd arms and 
 equipments — all combined to form a picture which, even 
 to me, accustomed to such sights, was full of interest. 
 
 ' At length we arrived among the islands, and then the 
 noises ceased. The canoes were paddled as slowly and 
 silently as possible. 
 
 ' I now began to understand the plan of the hunt. 
 It was first to discover an island upon which a tapir was 
 supposed to be, and then encompass it with the hunters 
 in their canoes, while a party landed with the dogs, to 
 arouse the game and drive it toward the water. 
 
 ' This plan promised fair sport. 
 
 ' The canoes now separated ; and in a short while each 
 of them were seen coursing quietly along the edge of 
 some islet, one of its occupants leaning inward, and 
 scrutinising the narrow belt of sand that bordered the 
 water. 
 
 ' In some places no such sand-belt appeared. The 
 trees hung over, their branches even dipping into the 
 current, and forming a roofed and dark passage 
 underneath. In such places a tapir could have hidden 
 himself from the sharpest-eyed hunters, and herein lies 
 the chief difficulty of this kind of hunt. 
 
 ' It was not long before a low whistle was heard from 
 one of the ubas, a sign for the others to come up. The 
 traces of a tapir had been discovered.
 
 Hunting the Tapir 273 
 
 'The chief, with a stroke or two of his palm-wood 
 paddle, brought our canoe to the spot. 
 
 ' There, sure enough, was the sign — the tracks of a 
 tapir in the sand — leading to a hole in the thick under- 
 wood, where a beaten path appeared to continue onward 
 into the interior of the island, perhaps to the tapir den. 
 The tracks were fresh — had been made that morning in 
 the wet sand — no doubt the creature was in its lair. 
 
 ' The island was a small one, with some five or six 
 acres of surface. The canoes shot off in different 
 directions, and in a few minutes were deployed all 
 around it. At a given signal, several hunters leaped 
 ashore, followed by their bright-coloured assistants — 
 the dogs ; and then the chopping of branches, the shouts 
 of the men, and the yelping of their canine companions, 
 were all heard mingling together. 
 
 ' The island was densely wooded. The uaussu and 
 piriti palms grew so thickly, that their crowned heads 
 touched each other, forming a close roof. Above these, 
 rose the taller summits of the great forest trees, cedrelas^ 
 saniangs, and the beautiful long-leaved silk cotton {bom- 
 bax) ; but beneath, a perfect network of sipos or creepers 
 and llianes choked up the path, and the hunters had to 
 clear every step of the way with their machetes. Even 
 the dogs, with all their eagerness, could make only a 
 slow and tortuous advance among the thorny vines of 
 the smilax, and the sharp spines that covered the trunks 
 of the palms. 
 
 ' In the circle of canoes that surrounded the island, 
 there was perfect silence ; each had a spot to guard, 
 and each hunter sat, with arms ready, and eyes keenly 
 fixed on the foliage of the underwood opposite his station. 
 
 ' The uba of the chief had remained to watch the path 
 where the tracks of the tapir had been observed. We 
 both sat with guns cocked and ready ; the dogs and 
 hunters were distinctly heard in the bushes approaching 
 the centre of the islet. The former gave tongue at 
 intervals, but their yelping grew louder, and was uttered 
 with a fiercer accent. Several of them barked at once, 
 and a rushing was heard towards the water. 
 
 s
 
 274 '^^^^ Hunters^ Feast 
 
 ' It came in our direction, but not right for us ; still 
 the game was likely to issue at a point within range of 
 our guns. A stroke of the paddle brought us into a 
 better position. At the same time several other canoes 
 were seen shooting forward to the spot. 
 
 ' The underwood crackled and shook ; reddish forms 
 appeared among the leaves ; and the next moment a 
 dozen animals, resembling a flock of hogs, tumbled out 
 from the thicket, and flung themselves with a splashing 
 into the water. 
 
 ' " No — tapir no — capivara," cried the chief ; but his 
 voice was drowned by the reports of guns and the 
 twanging of bowstrings. Half-a-dozen of the capivaras 
 were observed to fall on the sandy margin, while the 
 rest plunged forward, and, diving beyond the reach of 
 pursuit, were seen no more. 
 
 ' This was a splendid beginning of the day's sport ; for 
 half-a-dozen at a single volley was no mean game, even 
 among Indians. 
 
 ' But the nobler beast, the tapir, occupied all our 
 thoughts ; and leaving the capivaras to be gathered in 
 by the women, the hunters got back to their posts in a 
 few seconds. 
 
 ' There was no doubt that a tapir would be roused. 
 The island had all the appearance of being the haunt of 
 one or more of these creatures, besides the tracks were 
 evidence of their recent presence upon the spot. The 
 beating, therefore, proceeded as lively as ever, and the 
 hunters and dogs now penetrated to the centre of the 
 thicket. 
 
 'Again the quick angry yelping of the latter fell 
 upon the ear ; and again the thick cover rustled and 
 shook. 
 
 ' " This time the tapir," said the chief to me in an 
 undertone, adding the next moment in a louder voice, 
 " Look yonder ! " 
 
 ' I looked in the direction pointed out. I could 
 perceive something in motion among the leaves — a 
 dark brown body, smooth and rounded, the body of a 
 tapir !
 
 Hunting tlie Tapir 275 
 
 ' I caught only a glimpse of it, as it sprang forward 
 into the opening. It was coming at full gallop, with its 
 head carried between its knees. The dogs were close 
 after, and it looked not before it, but dashed out and 
 ran towards us as though blind. 
 
 ' It made for the water, just a few feet from the bow 
 of our canoe. The chief and I fired at the same time. 
 I thought my bullet took effect, and so thought the chief 
 did his ; but the tapir, seeming not to heed the shots, 
 plunged into the stream, and went under. 
 
 'The next moment the whole string of dyed dogs 
 came sweeping out of the thicket, and leaped forward to 
 where the game had disappeared. 
 
 ' There was blood upon the water. The tapir is hit, 
 then, thought I ; and was about to point out the blood 
 to the chief, when on turning I saw the latter poising 
 himself, knife in hand, near the stern of the canoe. He 
 was about to spring out of it. His eye was fixed on 
 some object under the water. 
 
 ' I looked in the same direction. The waters of the 
 Xingu are as clear as crystal : against the sandy bottom. 
 I could trace the dark brown body of the tapir. It was 
 making for the deeper channel of the river, but evidently 
 dragging itself along with difficulty. One of its legs 
 was disabled by our shots. 
 
 * I had scarcely time to get a good view of it before 
 the chief sprang into the air, and dropped head fore- 
 most into the water. I could see a struggle going on 
 at the bottom — turbid water came to the surface — and 
 then up came the dark head of the savage chief 
 
 ' " Ugh ! " cried he, as he shook the water from his 
 thick tresses, and beckoned me to assist him — " Ugh ! 
 Senhor, you eat roast tapir for dinner, Si — bueno — here 
 tapir." 
 
 ' I pulled him into the boat, and afterwards assisted 
 to haul up the huge body of the slain tapir. 
 
 ' As was now seen, both our shots had taken effect ; 
 but it was the rifle bullet that had broken the creature's 
 leg, and the generous savage acknowledged that he 
 would have had but little chance of overtaking the
 
 276 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 game under water, had it not been previously 
 crippled. 
 
 ' Thie hunt of the day proved a very successful one. 
 Two more tapirs were killed ; several capivaras ; and a 
 paca — which is an animal much prized by the Indians 
 for its flesh, as well as the teeth — used by them in 
 making their blow guns. We also obtained a pair of 
 the small peccaries, several macaws, and no less than a 
 whole troop of guariba monkeys. We returned to the 
 malocca with a game bag as various as it was full, and 
 a grand dance of the Juruna women wound up the 
 amusements of the day.'
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE BUFFALOES AT LAST 
 
 The long looked for day at length arrived when the 
 game were to be met with, and I had myself the ' dis- 
 tinguished honour ' of being the first not only to see the 
 great buffalo, but to throw a couple of them 'in their 
 tracks.' This incident, however, was not without an 
 ' adventure,' and one that was neither very pleasant nor 
 without peril. During several late days of our journey 
 we had been in the habit of straggling a good deal in 
 search of game — deer if we could find it, but more 
 especially in hopes of falling in with the buffalo. 
 Sometimes we went in twos or threes, but as often one 
 of the party rode off alone to hunt wherever his in- 
 clination guided him. Sometimes these solitary ex- 
 peditions took place while the party was on the march, 
 but oftener during the hours after we had pitched our 
 night camp. 
 
 One evening, after we had camped as usual, and my 
 brave horse had eaten his ' bite ' of corn, I leaped into 
 the saddle and rode off in hopes of finding something 
 fresh for supper. The prairie where we had halted was 
 a 'rolling' one, and as the camp had been fixed on a 
 small stream, between two great swells, it was not visible 
 at any great distance. As soon, therefore, as I had 
 crossed one of the ridges, I was out of sight of my 
 companions. Trusting to the sky for my direction, I 
 continued on. 
 
 After riding about a mile, I came upon buffalo 'sign,' 
 consisting of several circular holes in the ground, five or 
 six feet in diameter, known as buffalo ' wallows.' I saw 
 at a glance that the sign was fresh. There were several 
 wallows ; and I could tell by the tracks, in the dusk, 
 
 277
 
 2yS The H?<nters' Feast 
 
 there had been bulls in that quarter. So I continued 
 on in hopes of getting a sight of the animals that had 
 been wallowing. 
 
 Shortly after, I came to a place where the ground 
 was ploughed up, as if a drove of hogs had been rooting 
 it. Here there had been a terrible fight among the 
 bulls — it was the rutting season, when such conflicts 
 occur. This augured well. Perhaps they are still in 
 the neighbourhood, reasoned I, as I gave the spur to 
 my horse, and galloped forward with more spirit. 
 
 I had ridden full five miles from camp, when my 
 attention was attracted by an odd noise ahead of me. 
 There was a ridge in front that prevented me from 
 seeing what produced the noise ; but I knew what it 
 was — it was the bellowing of a buffalo bull. 
 
 At intervals, there were quick shocks, as of two hard 
 substances coming in violent contact with each other. 
 
 I mounted the ridge with caution, and looked over its 
 crest. There was a valley beyond ; a cloud of dust was 
 rising out of its bottom, and in the midst of this I could 
 distinguish two huge forms — dark and hirsute. 
 
 I saw at once that they were a pair of buffalo bulls, 
 engaged in a fierce fight. They were alone ; there were 
 no others in sight, either in the valley or on the prairie 
 beyond. 
 
 I did not halt longer than to see that the cap was on 
 my rifle, and to cock the piece. Occupied as the 
 animals were, I did not imagine they would heed me ; 
 or, if they should attempt flight, I knew I could easily 
 overtake one or other ; so, without further hesitation or 
 precaution, I rode towards them. 
 
 Contrary to my expectation, they both ' winded ' me, 
 and started off. The wind was blowing freshly towards 
 them, and the sun had thrown my shadow between 
 them, so as to draw their attention. 
 
 They did not run, however, as if badly scared ; on the 
 contrary, they went off, apparently indignant at being 
 disturbed in their fight ; and every now and then both 
 came round with short turnings, snorted, and struck the 
 prairie with their hoofs in a violent and angry manner.
 
 The Buffaloes at Last 279 
 
 Once or twice, I fancied they were going to charge 
 upon me ; and had I been otherwise than well mounted, 
 I should have been very chary of risking such an 
 encounter. A more formidable pair of antagonists, as 
 far as appearance went, could not have been well 
 conceived. Their huge size, their shaggy fronts, and 
 fierce glaring eyeballs, gave them a wild and malicious 
 seeming, which was heightened by their bellowing, and 
 the threatening attitudes in which they continually 
 placed themselves. 
 
 Feeling quite safe in my saddle, I galloped up to the 
 nearest, and sent my bullet into his ribs. It did the 
 work. He fell to his knees — rose again — spread out his 
 legs, as if to prevent a second fall — rocked from side to 
 side like a cradle — again came to his knees ; and after 
 remaining in this position for some minutes, with the 
 blood running from his nostrils, rolled quietly over on 
 his shoulder, and lay dead. 
 
 I had watched these manoeuvres with interest, and 
 permitted the second bull to make his escape ; a side- 
 glance had shown me the latter disappearing over the 
 crest of the swell. 
 
 I did not care to follow him, as my horse was some- 
 what jaded, and I knew it would cost me a sharp gallop 
 to come up with him again ; so I thought no more of 
 him at that time, but alighted, and prepared to deal 
 with the one already slain. 
 
 There stood a solitary tree near the spot — it was a 
 stunted cotton-wood. There were others upon the prairie, 
 but they were distant ; this one was not twenty yards 
 from the carcass, I led my horse up to it, and taking 
 the trail rope from the horn of the saddle, made one end 
 fast to the bit ring, and the other to the tree. I then 
 went back, drew my knife, and proceeded to cut up the 
 buffalo. 
 
 I had hardly whetted my blade, when a noise from 
 behind caused me to leap to an upright attitude, and 
 look round ; at the first glance, I comprehended the 
 noise. A huge dark object was passing the crest of the 
 ridge, and rushing down the hill towards the spot where
 
 28o TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 I stood. It was the buffalo bull, the same that had just 
 left me. 
 
 The sight, at first thought, rather pleased me than 
 otherwise. Although I did not want any more meat, I 
 should have the triumph of carrying two tongues instead 
 of one to the camp. I therefore hurriedly sheathed my 
 knife, and laid hold of my rifle, which, according to 
 custom, I had taken the precaution to reload. 
 
 I hesitated a moment whether to run to my horse and 
 mount him, or to fire from where I stood. That question 
 however, was settled by the buffalo. The tree and the 
 horse were to one side of the direction in which he was 
 running, but being attracted by the loud snorting of the 
 horse, which had begun to pitch and plunge violently, 
 and deeming it perhaps a challenge, the buffalo suddenly 
 swerved from his course, and ran full tilt upon the horse. 
 The latter shot out instantly to the full length of the 
 trail rope — a heavy ' pluck ' sounded in my ears, and the 
 next instant I saw my horse part from the tree, and 
 scour off over the prairie, as if there had been a thistle 
 under his tail. I had knotted the rope negligently upon 
 the bit ring, and the knot had ' come undone.' 
 
 I was chagrined, but not alarmed as yet. My horse 
 would no doubt follow back his own trail, and at the 
 worst I should only have to walk to the camp. I should 
 have the satisfaction of punishing the buffalo for the 
 trick he had served me ; and with this design I turned 
 towards him. 
 
 I saw that he had not followed the horse, but was 
 again heading himself in my direction. 
 
 Now, for the first time, it occurred to me that I was in 
 something of a scrape. The bull was coming furiously 
 on. Should my shot miss, or even should it only wound 
 him, how was I to escape ? I knew that he could 
 overtake me in a three minutes' stretch ; I knew that 
 well. 
 
 I had not much time for reflection — not a moment in 
 fact : the infuriated animal was within ten paces of me. 
 I raised my rifle, aimed at his fore shoulder, and fired. 
 
 I saw that I had hit him ; but, to my dismay, he neither
 
 The Bit jf aloes at Last 281 
 
 fell nor stumbled, but continued to charge forward more 
 furiously than ever. 
 
 To reload was impossible. My pistols had gone off 
 with my horse and holsters. Even to reach the tree was 
 impossible ; the bull was between it and me. 
 
 To make off in the opposite direction was the only 
 thing that held out the prospect of five minutes' safety ; 
 I turned and ran. 
 
 I can run as fast as most men, and upon that occasion 
 I did my best. It would have put ' Gildersleeve ' into a 
 white sweat to have distanced me ; but I had not been 
 two minutes at it, when I felt conscious that the buffalo 
 gained upon me, and was almost treading upon my heels! 
 I knew it only by my ears — I dared not spare time to 
 look back. 
 
 At this moment, an object appeared before me, that 
 promised, one way or another, to interrupt the chase ; 
 it was a ditch or gully, that intersected my path at right 
 angles. It was several feet in depth, dry at the bottom, 
 and with perpendicular sides. 
 
 I was almost upon its edge before I noticed it, but 
 the moment it came under my eye, I saw that it offered 
 the means of a temporary safety at least. If I could only 
 leap this gully, I felt satisfied that the buffalo could not. 
 
 It was a sharp leap — at least, seventeen feet from cheek 
 to cheek ; but I had done more than that in my time ; 
 and, without halting in my gait, I ran forward to the 
 edge, and sprang over. 
 
 I alighted cleverly upon the opposite bank, where I 
 stopped, and turned round to watch my pursuer. 
 
 I now ascertained how near my end I had been ; the 
 bull was already up to the very edge of the gully. Had 
 I not made my leap at the instant I did, I should 
 have been by that time dancing upon his horns. He 
 himself had balked at the leap ; the deep chasm-like 
 cleft had cowed him. He saw that he could not clear it ; 
 and now stood upon the opposite bank with head lowered, 
 and spread nostrils, his tail lashing his brown flanks, 
 while his glaring black eyes expressed the full measure 
 of his baffled rage.
 
 282 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 I remarked that my shot had taken effect in his 
 shoulder, as the blood trickled from his lonfj hair. 
 
 I had almost begun to congratulate myself on having 
 escaped, when a hurried glance to the right, and another 
 to the left, cut short my happiness. I saw that on both 
 sides, at a distance of less than fifty paces, the gully 
 shallowed out into the plain, where it ended : at either 
 end it was, of course, passable. 
 
 The bull observed this almost at the same time as 
 myself ; and, suddenly turning away from the brink, he 
 ran along the edge of the chasm, evidently with the 
 intention of turning it. 
 
 In less than a minute's time we were once more on the 
 same side, and my situation appeared as terrible as ever ; 
 but, stepping back for a short run, I re-leaped the chasm, 
 and again we stood on opposite sides. 
 
 During all these manoeuvres I had held on to my 
 rifle ; and, seeing now that I might have time to load it, 
 I commenced feeling for my powder-horn. To my 
 astonishment, I could not lay my hands upon it : 1 
 looked down to my breast for the sling — it was not 
 there ; belt and bullet-pouch too — all were gone ! I 
 remembered lifting them over my head, when I set 
 about cutting the dead bull. They were lying by the 
 carcass. 
 
 This discovery was a new source of chagrin ; but 
 for my negligence, I could now have mastered my 
 antagonist. 
 
 To reach the ammunition would be impossible ; I 
 should be overtaken before I had got half-way to it. 
 
 I was not allowed much time to indulge in my regrets : 
 the bull had again turned the ditch, and was once more 
 upon the same side with me, and I was compelled to take 
 another leap. 
 
 I really do not remember how often I sprang back- 
 wards and forwards across that chasm ; I should think 
 a dozen times at least, and I became wearied with the 
 exercise. The leap was just as much as I could do at 
 my best ; and as I was growing weaker at each fresh 
 spring, I became satisfied that I should soon leap short,
 
 The Buffaloes at Last 283 
 
 and crush myself against the steep rocky sides of the 
 chasm. 
 
 Should I fall to the bottom, my pursuer could easily 
 reach me by entering at either end, and I began to 
 dread such a finale. The vengeful brute showed no 
 symptoms of retiring ; on the contrary, the numerous 
 disappointments seemed only to render him more 
 determined in his resentment. 
 
 An idea now suggested itself to my mind. 
 
 I had looked all round to see if there might not be 
 something that offered a better security. There were 
 trees, but they were too distant : the only one near was 
 that to which my horse had been tied. It was a small 
 one, and, like all of its species (it was a cotton-wood), 
 there were no branches near the root. 
 
 I knew that I could clamber up it by embracing the 
 trunk, which was not over ten inches in diameter. 
 Could I only succeed in reaching it, it would at least 
 shelter me better than the ditch, of which I was getting 
 heartily tired. 
 
 But the question was, could I reach it before the 
 bull ? 
 
 It was about three hundred yards off. By proper 
 manoeuvring, I should have a start of fifty. Even with 
 that, it would be a ' close shave ' ; and it proved so. 
 
 I arrived at the tree, however, and sprang up it like a 
 mountebank ; but the hot breath of the buffalo steamed 
 after me as I ascended, and the concussion of his heavy 
 skull against the trunk almost shook me back upon his 
 horns. 
 
 After a severe effort of climbing, I succeeded in 
 lodging myself among the branches. 
 
 I was now safe from all immediate danger, but how 
 was the affair to end ? 
 
 I knew from the experience of others, that my enemy 
 might stay for hours by the tree — perhaps for days ! 
 
 Hours would be enouirh. I could not stand it lonfr, 
 I already hungered, but a worse appetite began to 
 torture me : thirst. The hot sun, the dust, the violent 
 exercise of the past hour, all contributed to make me
 
 284 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 thirsty. Even then, I would have risked life for a 
 draught of water. What would it come to should I not 
 be relieved ? 
 
 I had but one hope — that my companions would 
 come to my relief; but I knew that that would not be 
 before morning. They would miss me of course. 
 Perhaps my horse would return to camp — that would 
 send them out in search for me — but not before night 
 had fallen. In the darkness they could not follow my 
 trail. Could they do so in the light? 
 
 This last question, which I had put to myself, startled 
 me. I was just in a condition to look upon the dark 
 side of everything, and it now occurred to me that they 
 might not be able to find me ! 
 
 There were many possibilities that they might not. 
 There were numerous horse trails on the prairie, where 
 Indians had passed. I saw this when tracking the 
 buffalo. Besides, it might rain in the night and 
 obliterate them all — my own with the rest. They were 
 not likely to find me by chance. A circle of ten miles 
 diameter is a large tract. It was a rolling prairie, as 
 already stated, full of inequalities, ridges with valleys 
 between. The tree upon which I was perched stood in 
 the bottom of one of the valleys — it could not be seen 
 from any point over three hundred yards distant. 
 Those searching for me might pass within hail without 
 perceiving either the tree or the valley. 
 
 I remained for a long time busied with such gloomy 
 thoughts and forebodings. Night was coming on, but 
 the fierce and obstinate brute showed no disposition to 
 raise the seige. He remained watchful as ever, walk- 
 ing round and round at intervals, lashing his tail and 
 uttering that snorting sound so well known to the 
 prairie hunter, and which so much resembles the grunt- 
 ing of hogs when suddenly alarmed. Occasionally he 
 would bellow loudly like the common bull. 
 
 While watching his various manoeuvres, an object on 
 the ground drew my attention — it was the trail rope 
 left by my horse. One end of it was fastened round the 
 trunk by a firm knot — the other lay far out upon the
 
 The Buffaloes at Last 285 
 
 prairie, where it had been dragged. My attention had 
 been drawn to it by the bull himself, that in crossing 
 over it had noticed it, and now and then pawed it with 
 his hoofs. 
 
 All at once a bright idea flashed upon me — a sudden 
 hope arose within me — a plan of escape presented itself, 
 so feasible and possible, that I leaped in my perch as the 
 thought struck me. 
 
 The first step was to get possession of the rope. 
 This was not such an easy matter. The rope was 
 fastened around the tree, but the knot had slipped down 
 the trunk and lay upon the ground. I dared not 
 descend for it. 
 
 Necessity soon suggested a plan. 
 
 My 'picker' — a piece of straight wire with a ring-end 
 — hung from one of my breast buttons. This I took 
 hold of, and bent into the shape of a grappling hook. I 
 had no cord, but my knife was still safe in its sheath ; 
 and, drawing this, I cut several thongs from the skirt of 
 my buckskin shirt, and knotted them together until they 
 formed a string long enough to reach the ground. To 
 one end I attached the picker ; and then letting it down, 
 I commenced angling for the rope. 
 
 After a few transverse drags, the hook caught the 
 latter, and I pulled it up into the tree, taking the whole 
 of it in until I held the loose end in my hands. The 
 other end I permitted to remain as it was ; I saw it was 
 securely knotted around the trunk, and that was just 
 what I wanted. 
 
 It was my intention to lasso the bull ; and for this 
 purpose I proceeded to make a running noose on the end 
 of the trail rope. 
 
 This I executed with great care, and with all my skill. 
 I could depend upon the rope ; it was raw hide, and a 
 better was never twisted ; but I knew that if anything 
 should chance to slip at a critical moment, it might cost 
 me my life. With this knowledge, therefore, I spliced 
 the eye, and made the knot as firm as possible, and then 
 the loop was reeved through, and the thing was ready. 
 
 I could throw a lasso tolerably well, but the branches
 
 286 The Htinters' Feast 
 
 prevented me from winding it around my head. It was 
 necessary, therefore, to get the animal in a certain 
 position under the tree, which, by shouts and other 
 demonstrations, I at length succeeded in effecting. 
 
 The moment of success had arrived. He stood almost 
 directly below me. The noose was shot down — I had 
 the gratification to see it settle around his neck ; and 
 with a quick jerk I tightened it. The rope ran beauti- 
 fully through the eye, until both eye and loop were 
 buried beneath the shaggy hair of the animal's neck. It 
 embraced his throat in the right place, and I felt 
 confident it would hold. 
 
 The moment the bull felt the jerk upon his throat, he 
 dashed madly out from the tree, and then commenced 
 running in circles around it. 
 
 Contrary to my intention, the rope had slipped from 
 my hands at the first drag upon it. My position was 
 rather an unsteady one, for the branches were slender, 
 and I could not manage matters as well as I could have 
 wished. 
 
 But I now felt confident enough. The bull was 
 tethered, and it only remained for me to get out beyond 
 the length of his tether, and take to my heels. 
 
 My gun lay on one side, near the tree, where I had 
 dropped it in my race : this, of course, I meant to carry 
 off with me. 
 
 I waited then until the animal, in one of his circles, 
 had got round to the opposite side, and slipping silently 
 down the trunk, I sprang out, picked up my rifle, and 
 ran. 
 
 I knew the trail rope to be about twenty yards in 
 length, but I ran a hundred, at least, before making 
 halt. I had even thoughts of continuing on, as I still 
 could not help some misgivings about the rope. 
 
 The bull was one of the largest and strongest. The 
 rope might break, the knot upon the tree might give 
 way, or the noose might slip over his head. 
 
 Curiosity, however, or rather a desire to be assured 
 of my safety, prompted me to look around, when, to my 
 joy, I beheld the huge monster stretched upon the
 
 Lassoing the bull. 
 
 p. 286.
 
 The Buffaloes at Last 287 
 
 plain. I could see the rope as taut as a bow-string ; 
 and the tongue protruding from the animal's jaws 
 showed me that he was strangling himself as fast as I 
 could desire. 
 
 At the sight, the idea of buffalo-tongue for supper 
 returned in all its vigour ; and it now occurred to me 
 that I should eat that very tongue, and no other. 
 
 I immediately turned in my tracks, ran towards my 
 powder and balls — which, in my eagerness to escape, I 
 had forgotten all about — seized the horn and pouch, 
 poured in a charge, rammed down a bullet, and then 
 stealing nimbly up behind the still struggling bull, I 
 placed the muzzle within three feet of his brisket, and 
 fired. He gave a death-kick or two, and then lay quiet : 
 it was all over with him. 
 
 I had the tongue from between his teeth in a twink- 
 ling ; and proceeding to the other bull, I finished the 
 operations I had commenced upon him. I was too 
 tired to think of carrying a very heavy load ; so I con- 
 tented myself with the tongues, and slinging these over 
 the barrel of my rifle, I shouldered it, and set out to 
 grope my way back to camp. 
 
 The moon had risen, and I had no difficulty in follow- 
 ing my own trail ; but before I had got half-way, I met 
 several of my companions shouting, and at intervals 
 firing off their guns. 
 
 My horse had got back a little before sunset. His 
 appearance had, of course, produced alarm, and the 
 camp had turned out in search of me. 
 
 Several who had a relish for fresh meat galloped 
 back to strip the two bulls of the remaining tit-bits ; 
 but before midnight all had returned ; and to the 
 accompaniment of the hump-ribs, spurting in the 
 cheerful blaze, I recounted the details of my adventure.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 THE BISON 
 
 The bison — universally, though improperly, called 
 buffalo — is, perhaps, the most interesting animal in 
 America. Its great size and strength — the prodigious 
 numbers in which it is found — its peculiar habitat — the 
 value of its flesh and hide to the traveller, as well as to 
 the many tribes of Indians — the mode of its chase and 
 capture — all these circumstances render the buffalo an 
 interesting and highly-prized animal. 
 
 Besides, it is the largest ruminant indigenous to 
 America, exceeding in weight even the moose deer, 
 which latter, however, equals it in height. With the 
 exception of the musk-ox, it is the only indigenous 
 animal of the bovine tribe, but the latter being confined 
 to a very limited range, near the Arctic Sea, has been 
 less subject to the observation and attention of the 
 civilised world. The buffalo, therefore, may be re- 
 garded as the representative of the ox in America. 
 
 The appearance of the animal is well known ; 
 pictorial illustration has rendered it familiar to the 
 eyes of every one. The enormous head, with its broad 
 triangular front — the conical hump on the shoulders — 
 the small but brilliantly-piercing eyes — the short black 
 horns, of crescent shape — the profusion of shaggy hair 
 about the neck and foreparts of the body — the dispro- 
 portioned bulk of the smaller hind quarters — the short 
 tail, with its tufted extremity ; all these are character- 
 istics. The hind-quarters are covered with a much 
 shorter and smoother coat of hair, which adds to their 
 apparent disproportion, and this, with the long hirsute 
 covering of the breast, neck, hump, and shoulders, 
 gives to the buffalo — especially when seen in a picture 
 
 288
 
 The Bison 289 
 
 — a somewhat lion-like figure. The naked tail, with its 
 tuft at the end, strengthens this similarity. 
 
 Some of the characteristics above enumerated belong 
 only to the bull. The cow is less shaggy in front, has a 
 smaller head, a less fierce appearance, and is altogether 
 more like the common black cattle. 
 
 The buffalo is of a dark brown colour — sometimes 
 nearly black — and sometimes of a burnt or liver hue ; 
 but this change depends on the season. The young coat 
 of hair is darker, but changes as the season advances. 
 In autumn it is nearly black, and then the coat of the 
 animal has a shiny appearance ; but as winter comes on, 
 and the hair lengthens, it becomes lighter and more 
 bleached-like. In the early part of summer it has a 
 yellowish-brown hue, and at this time, with rubbing and 
 wallowing, part of it has already come off, while large 
 flakes hang raggled and loose from the flanks, ready at 
 any moment to drop off. 
 
 In size, the American buffalo competes with the 
 European species {Bos aurochs), now nearly extinct. 
 These animals differ in shape considerably, but the 
 largest individuals of each species would very nearly 
 balance one another in weight. Either of them is equal 
 in size and weight to the largest specimens of the 
 common ox — prize ox, of course, excepted, 
 
 A full-grown buffalo bull is six feet high at the 
 shoulders, eight feet from the snout to the base of the 
 tail, and will weigh about 1,500 lbs. 
 
 Rare individuals exist whose weight much exceeds 
 this. The cows are, of course, much smaller than the 
 bulls, and scarcely come up to the ordinary standard of 
 farm cattle. 
 
 The flesh of the buffalo is juicy and delicious, equal, 
 indeed superior, to well-fed beef. It may be regarded as 
 beef with a game flavour. Many people — travellers and 
 hunters — prefer it to any other species of meat. 
 
 The flesh of the cow, as may be supposed, is more 
 tender and savoury than that of the bull ; and in a hunt 
 when ' meat ' is the object, the cow is selected as a mark 
 for the arrow or bullet.
 
 290 The Hiiniefs' Feast 
 
 The parts most esteemed are the tongue, the 'hump- 
 ribs ' (the long spinous processes of the first dorsal 
 vertebrae), and the marrow of the shank bones. 
 ' Boudins ' (part of the intestines) are also favourite 
 ' tit-bits ' among the Indians and trappers. 
 
 The tongues, when dried, are really superior to those 
 of common beeves, and, indeed, the same may be said 
 of the other parts, but there is a better and worse in 
 buffalo beef, according to the age and sex of the animal. 
 'Fat cow' is a term for the super-excellent, and by 'poor 
 bull,' or * old bull,' is meant a very unpalatable article, 
 only to be eaten by the hunter in times of necessity. 
 
 The range of the buffalo is extensive, though not as it 
 once was. It is gradually being restricted by hunter- 
 pressure, and the encroachments of civilisation. It now 
 consists of a longitudinal strip, of which the western 
 boundary may be considered the Rocky Mountains, and 
 the eastern the Mississippi River, though it is only near 
 the head waters of the latter that the range of this animal 
 extends so far east. Below the mouth of the Missouri 
 no buffalo are found near the Mississippi, nor within two 
 hundred miles of it — not, in fact, until you have cleared 
 the forests that fringe tin's stream, and penetrated a 
 good distance into the prairie tract. At one period, 
 however, they roamed as far to the east as the chain of 
 the Alleghanies. 
 
 In Texas, the buffalo yet extends its migrations to the 
 head waters of the Brazos and Colorado, but it is not a 
 Mexican animal. Following the Rocky Mountains from 
 the great bend of the Rio Grande, northward, we find 
 no buffalo west of them until we reach the higher 
 latitudes near the sources of the Saskatchewan. There 
 they have crossed the mountains, and are now to be met 
 with in some of the plains that lie on the other side. 
 This, however, is a late migration, occasioned by hunter- 
 pressure upon the eastern slope. The same has been 
 observed at different periods, at other points in the 
 Rocky Mountain chain, where the buffalo had made a 
 temporary lodgment on the Pacific side of the 
 mountains, but where they are now entirely extinct.
 
 The Bison 291 
 
 It is known, from the traditional history of the tribes 
 on the west side, that the buffalo was only a newcomer 
 among them, and was not indigenous to that division of 
 the Continent. 
 
 Following the buffaloes north, we find their range 
 coterminous with the prairies. The latter end in an 
 angle between the Peace River and the great Slave 
 Lake, and beyond this the buffalo does not run. There 
 is a point, however, across an arm of the Slave Lake 
 where buffalo are found. It is called Slave Point, and 
 although contiguous to the primitive rocks of the ' Barren 
 Grounds ' it is of a similar geology (stratified limestone) 
 with the buffalo prairies to the west. This, to the 
 geologist, is an interesting fact. 
 
 From the Slave Lake, a line drawn to the head waters 
 of the Mississippi, and passing through Lake Winnipeg, 
 will shut in the buffalo country along the north-east. 
 They are still found in large bands upon the western 
 shores of Winnipeg, on the plains of the Saskatchewan 
 and the Red River of the north. In fact, buffalo hunting 
 is one of the chief employments of the inhabitants of 
 that half-Indian colony known as the ' Red River 
 Settlements.' 
 
 One of the most singular facts in relation to the 
 buffalo is their enormous numbers. Nothing but the 
 vast extent of their pasturage could have sustained such 
 droves as have from time to time been seen. Thousands 
 frequently feed together, and the plain for miles is often 
 covered with a continuous drove. Sometimes they are 
 seen strung out into a long column, passing from place 
 to place, and roads exist made by them that resemble 
 great highways. Sometimes these roads, worn by the 
 rains, form great hollows that traverse the level plain, 
 and they often guide the thirsty traveller in the direction 
 of water. 
 
 Another curious fact about the buffalo is their habit of 
 wallowing. The cause of this is not well ascertained. 
 It may be that they are prompted to it, as swine are, 
 partly to cool their blood by bringing their bodies in 
 contact with the colder earth, and partly to scratch
 
 292 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 themselves as other cattle do, and free their skins from 
 the annoying insects and parasites that prey upon them. 
 It must be remembered that in their pasturage no trees 
 or 'rubbing posts ' are to be found, and in the" absence of 
 these they are compelled to resort to wallowing. They 
 fling themselves upon their sides, and using their hunch 
 and shoulder as a pivot, spin round and round for hours 
 at a time. In this rotatory motion they aid themselves 
 by using the legs freely. The earth becomes hollowed 
 out and worn into a circular basin, often of con- 
 siderable depth, and this is known as a ' buffalo 
 wallow.' Such curious circular concavities are seen 
 throughout the prairies where these animals range; 
 sometimes grown over with grass, sometimes freshly 
 hollowed out, and not unfrequently containing water, 
 with which the traveller assuages his thirst, and so, too, 
 the buffalo themselves. This has led to the fanciful idea 
 of the early explorers that there existed on the American 
 Continent an animal who dug its oivnwells! 
 
 The buffaloes make extensive migrations, going in 
 large ' gangs.' These are not periodical, and are only 
 partially influenced by climate. They are not regular 
 either in their direction. Sometimes the gangs will be 
 seen straying southward, at other times to the north, east, 
 or west. 
 
 The search of food or water seems partially to 
 regulate these movements, as with the passenger pigeon, 
 and some other migratory creatures. 
 
 At such times the buffaloes move forward in an 
 impetuous march which nothing seems to interrupt. 
 Ravines are passed, and waterless plains traversed, and 
 rivers crossed without hesitation. In many cases broad 
 streams, with steep or marshy banks, are attempted, 
 and thousands either perish in the waters or become 
 mired in the swamp, and cannot escape, but die the 
 most terrible of deaths. Then is the feast of the 
 eagles, the vultures, and the wolves. Sometimes, too, 
 the feast of the hunter ; for when the Indians discover 
 a gang of buffaloes in a difficulty of this kind, the 
 slaughter is immense.
 
 TJie Bison 293 
 
 Hunting the buffalo is, among the Indian tribes, a 
 profession rather than a sport. Those who practise it in 
 the latter sense are few indeed, as, to enjoy it, it is 
 necessary to do as we had done, make a journey of 
 several hundred miles, and risk our scalps, with no 
 inconsiderable chance of losing them. For these reasons 
 few amateur hunters ever trouble the buffalo. 
 
 The true professional hunters — the white trappers and 
 Indians — pursue these animals almost incessantly, and 
 thin their numbers with lance, rifle, and arrow. 
 
 Buffalo hunting is not all sport without peril. The 
 hunter frequently risks his life; and numerous have been 
 the fatal results of encounters with these animals. The 
 bulls, when wounded, cannot be approached, even on 
 horseback, without considerable risk, while a dismounted 
 hunter has but slight chance of escaping. 
 
 The buffalo runs with a gait apparently heavy and 
 lumbering — first heaving to one side, then to the other, 
 like a ship at sea ; but this gait, although not equal in 
 speed to that of a horse, is far too fast for a man on foot, 
 and the swiftest runner, unless favoured by a tree or 
 some other object, will be surely overtaken, and either 
 gored to death by the animal's horns, or pounded to a 
 jelly under its heavy hoofs. Instances of the kind are 
 far from being rare, and could amateur hunters only get 
 at the buffalo, such occurrences would be fearfully 
 common. An incident illustrative of these remarks is 
 told by the traveller and naturalist Richardson, and may 
 therefore be safely regarded as a fact. 
 
 * While I resided at Charlton House, an incident of 
 this kind occurred. Mr. Finnan M'Donald, one of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company's clerks, was descending the 
 Saskatchewan in a boat, and one evening, having pitched 
 his tent for the night, he went out in the dusk to look for 
 game. 
 
 ' It had become nearly dark when he fired at a bison 
 bull, which was galloping over a small eminence ; and as 
 he was hastening forward to see if the shot had taken 
 effect, the wounded beast made a rush at him. He had 
 the presence of mind to seize the animal by the long
 
 294 l^^i'^ Hunters' Feast 
 
 hair on his forehead, as it struck him on the side with 
 its horn, and being a remarkably tall and powerful man, 
 a struggle ensued, which continued until his wrist was 
 severely sprained, and his arm was rendered powerless ; 
 he then fell, and after receiving two or three blows, 
 became senseless. 
 
 ' Shortly after, he was found by his companions lying 
 bathed in blood, being gored in several places ; and the 
 bison was couched beside him, apparently waiting to 
 renew the attack, had he shown any signs of life. Mr. 
 M'Donald recovered from the immediate effects of the 
 injuries he received, but died a few months after.' Dr. 
 Richardson adds : — ' Many other instances might be 
 mentioned of the tenaciousness with which this animal 
 pursues its revenge ; and I have been told of a hunter 
 having been detained for many hours in a tree, by an old 
 bull which had taken its post below to watch him.' 
 
 The numbers of the buffalo, although still very great, 
 are annually on the decrease. Their woolly skins, when 
 dressed, are of great value as an article of commerce. 
 Among the Canadians they are in general use ; they 
 constitute the favourite wrappers of the traveller in that 
 cold climate : they line the cariole, the carriage, and the 
 sleigh. Thousands of them are used in the northern 
 parts of the United States for a similar purpose. They 
 are known as buffalo-robes, and areoften prettily trimmed 
 and ornamented, so as to command a good price. They 
 are even exported to Europe in large quantities. 
 
 Of course this extensive demand for the robes causes 
 a proportionate destruction among the buffaloes. But 
 this is not all. Whole tribes of Indians, amounting to 
 many thousands of individuals, subsist entirely upon 
 these animals, as the Laplander upon the reindeer, or 
 the Guarani Indian upon the moricJie palm. Their 
 blankets are buffalo-robes, part of their clothing buffalo 
 leather, their tents are buffalo hides, and buffalo beef is 
 their sole food for three parts of the year. The large 
 prairie tribes — as the Sioux, the Pawnees, the Blackfeet, 
 the Crows, the Chiennes, the Arapahoes, and the 
 Comanches, with several smaller bands — live upon the
 
 The Bison 295 
 
 buffalo. These tribes, united, number at least 100,000 
 souls. No wonder the buffalo should be each year 
 diminishing in numbers ! 
 
 It is predicted that in a few years the race will become 
 extinet. The same has been often said of the Indian. 
 The soi-disant prophet is addicted to this sort of melan- 
 choly foreboding, because he believes by such babbling 
 he gains a character for philanthropic sympathy ; 
 besides, it has a poetic sound. Believe me, there is not 
 the slightest danger of such a destiny for the Indian : his 
 race is not to become extinct ; it will be on the earth as 
 long as that of either black or white. Civilisation is 
 removing the seeds of decay ; civilisation will preserve 
 the race of the red man yet to multiply. Civilisation, 
 too, may preserve the buffalo. The hunter races must 
 disappear, and give place to the more useful agriculturist. 
 The prairies are wide — vast expanses of that singular 
 formation must remain in their primitive wildness, at 
 least for ages, and these will still be a safe range for the 
 buffalo.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 TRAILING THE BUFFALO 
 
 After a breakfast of fresh buffalo-meat we took the 
 road in high spirits. The long-expected sport would 
 soon come off. Every step showed us ' buffalo sign ' — 
 tracks, wallows, fresh ordure. None of the animals were 
 yet in sight, but the prairie was filled with undulations, 
 and no doubt * a gang ' would be found in some of the 
 valleys. 
 
 A few miles farther on, and we came suddenly upon 
 a ' buffalo road,' traversing the prairie nearly at right 
 angles to our own direction. This caused a halt and 
 consultation. Should we follow the road ? By all means 
 thought every one. The tracks were fresh — the road a 
 large one — thousands of buffaloes must have passed over 
 it ; where were they now ? They might be a hundred 
 miles off, for when these animals get upon one of these 
 regular roads they often journey at great speed, and it 
 is difficult to overtake them. When merely browsing 
 over the prairie the case is different. Then they travel 
 only a k\v miles a day, and a hunter trailing them soon 
 comes up with the gang. 
 
 Ike and Redwood were consulted as to what was best 
 to be done. They had both closely examined the trail, 
 bending down to the ground, and carefully noting every 
 symptom that would give them a clue to the condition of 
 the herd — its numbers — its time of passing — the rate of 
 its speed, &c. 
 
 ' Thur's a good grist o' 'em,' said Ike, ' leastways a 
 kupple o' thousand in the gang — thur's bulls, cows, 
 yearlins, an' young calf too, so we'll have a choice o' 
 meat — either beef or veal. Kin we do better than foller 
 'em up. Eh, Mark ? ' 
 
 296
 
 Trailing the Buffalo 297 
 
 ' Wal ! I don't think we can, ole hoss/ replied 
 Redwood. ' They passed hyur yesterday, jest about 
 noon — that is, the thick o' the drove passed then.' 
 
 ' How do you tell that ? " inquired several. 
 
 * Oh, that's easy made out,' replied the guide, evidently 
 regarding the question as a very simple one ; ' you see 
 most o' these hyur tracks is a day old, an' yet thur not 
 two.' 
 
 'And why not ?' 
 
 ' Why, how could they be two,' asked the guide in 
 astonishment, * when it rained yesterday before sun-up ? 
 Thur made since the rain, yu'll admit that? ' 
 
 We now remembered the rain, and acknowledged the 
 truth of this reasoning. The animals must have passed 
 since it rained ; but why not immediately after, in the 
 early morning ? How could Redwood tell that it was 
 the hour of noon ? How ? 
 
 ' Easy enough, comrades,' replied he. 
 
 'Any greenhorn mout do that,' added Ike. The rest, 
 however, were puzzled and waited the explanation. 
 
 ' I tells this a way,' continued the guide. ' Ef the 
 buffler had passed by hyur, immediately after the rain, 
 thar tracks wud a sunk deeper, and thar wud a been 
 more mud on the trail. As thar ain't no great slobber 
 about, ye see, I make my kalklations that the ground 
 must a been well dried afore they kim along, and after 
 such a wet, it could not a been afore noon at the least — 
 so that's how I know the buffler passed at that hour.' 
 
 We were all interested in this craft of our guides, for 
 without consulting each other they had both arrived at 
 the same conclusion by the same process of mental 
 logic. They had also determined several other points 
 about the bufflalo — such as that they had not all gone 
 together, but in a straggling herd ; that some had passed 
 more rapidly than the rest ; that no hunters were after 
 them ; and that it was probable they were not bound 
 upon any distant migration, but only in search of water ; 
 and the direction they had taken rendered this likely 
 enough. Indeed most of the great buffalo roads lead to 
 watering places, and they have often been the means of
 
 298 The Hunters Feast 
 
 conducting the thirsty traveller to the welcome rivulet 
 or spring, when otherwise he might have perished upon 
 the dry plain. Whether the buffalo are guided by some 
 instinct towards water, is a question not satisfactorily 
 solved. Certain it is, that their water paths often lead 
 in the most direct route to streams and ponds, of the 
 existence of which they could have known nothing 
 previously. It is certain that many of the lower animals 
 possess either an ' instinct,' or a much keener sense in 
 these matters than man himself Long before the 
 thirsty traveller suspects the propinquity of water, his 
 sagacious mule, by her joyful hinney, and suddenly 
 altered bearing, warns him of its presence. 
 
 We now reasoned that if the buffalo had been making 
 to some watering place, merely for the purpose of 
 drinking and cooling their flanks, they would, of course, 
 make a delay there, and so give us a chance of coming 
 up. They had a day the start of us, it is true, but we 
 should do our best to overhaul them. The guides 
 assured us we were likely to have good sport before we 
 came up with the great gang. There were straggling 
 groups they had no doubt, some perhaps not over 
 thirsty, that had hung in the rear. In high hopes, then, 
 we turned our heads to the trail, and travelled briskly 
 forward. 
 
 We had not gone many hundred yards when a very 
 singular scene was presented to our eyes. We had 
 gained the crest of a ridge, and were looking down into 
 a little valley through which ran the trail. At the 
 bottom of the valley a cloud of dust was constantly 
 rising upward, and very slowly moving away, as the day 
 was quite calm. Although there had been rain a little 
 over thirty hours before, the ground was already parched 
 and dry as pepper. But what caused the dust to rise ? 
 Not the wind — there was none. Some animal then, or 
 likely more than one. 
 
 At first we could perceive no creature within the cloud, 
 so dun and thick was it ; but after a little a wolf dashed 
 out, ran round a bit, and then rushed in again, and then 
 another and another, all of them with open jaws, glaring
 
 Trailing the Buffalo 299 
 
 eyes, manes erect, and tails switching about in a violent 
 and angry manner. Now and then we could only see 
 part of their bodies, or their bushy tails flung upward, 
 but we could hear by their yelping barks that they were 
 engaged in a fierce contest either among themselves, or 
 with some other enem.y. It was not among themselves, 
 as Ike and Redwood both affirmed. 
 
 ' An old bull is the game,' said they ; and without 
 waiting a moment, the two trappers galloped forward, 
 followed closely by the rest of our party. 
 
 We were soon at the bottom of the little valley. Ike 
 already cracking away at the wolves — his peculiar 
 enemies. Several others, led away by the excitement, 
 also emptied their pieces at these worthless creatures, 
 slaying a number of them, while the rest, nearly a dozen 
 in all, took to their heels, and scampered off over the 
 ridges. 
 
 The dust gradually began to float off, and through 
 the thinner cloud that remained we now saw what the 
 wolves had been at. Standing in the centre of a ring, 
 formed by its own turnings and struggles, was the huge 
 form of a buffalo-bull. Its shape indicated that it was a 
 very old one, lank, lean, and covered with long hair, 
 raggled and torn into tufts. Its colour was that of the 
 white dust, but red blood was streaming freshly down 
 its hind flanks, and from its nose and mouth. The 
 cartilage of the nose was torn to pieces by the fierce 
 enemies it had so lately encountered, and on observing 
 it more closely we saw that its eyes were pulled out of 
 their sockets, exhibiting a fearful spectacle. The tail 
 was eaten off by repeated wrenches, and the hind 
 quarters were sadly mangled. Spite of all this 
 mutilation, the old bull still kept his feet, and his 
 prowess had been proved, for no less than five wolves 
 lay around, that he had ' rubbed out ' previous to our 
 arrival. He was a terrible and melancholy spectacle — 
 that old bull, and all agreed it would be better to relieve 
 him by a well-aimed bullet. This was instantly fired at 
 him ; and the animal, after rocking about a while on his 
 spread legs, fell gently to the earth.
 
 300 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 Of course he had proved himself too tough to be 
 eatable by anything but prairie wolves, and we were 
 about to leave him as he lay. Ike, however, had no idea 
 of gratifying these sneaking creatures at so cheap a rate. 
 He was determined they should not have their dinner 
 so easily, so taking out his knife he extracted the 
 bladder, and some of the smaller intestines from the 
 buffalo. These he inflated in a trice, and then rigging 
 up a sapling over the body, he hung them upon it, so 
 that the slightest breeze kept them in motion. This, as 
 we had been already assured, was the best mode of 
 keeping wolves at a distance from any object, and the 
 hunter, when v/olves are near, often avails himself of it to 
 protect the venison or buffalo-meat which he is obliged 
 to leave behind him. 
 
 The guide having rigged his ' scare-wolf,' mounted his 
 old mare, and again joined us, muttering his satisfaction, 
 as he rode along. 
 
 We had not travelled much farther when our attention 
 was attracted by noises in front, and again from a ridge 
 we beheld a scene still more interesting than that we 
 had just witnessed. As before, the actors were buffalo 
 and wolves, but this time there was very little dust, as 
 the contest was carried on upon the green turf — and we 
 could see distinctly the manoeuvres of the animals. 
 
 There were three buffaloes — a cow, her calf, and a 
 large bull that was acting as their champion and pro- 
 tector. A pack of wolves had gathered around them, in 
 which there were some of the larger species, and these 
 kept up a continuous attack, the object of which was to 
 destroy the calf, and its mother if possible. This the bull 
 was using all his endeavours to prevent, and with consider- 
 able success too, as already several of the wolves were 
 down, and howling with pain. But what rendered the 
 result doubtful was, that fresh wolves were constantly 
 galloping up to the spot, and the buffaloes would likely 
 have to yield in time. It was quite amusing to see the 
 efforts made by the cunning brutes, to separate the calf 
 from its protectors. Sometimes they would get it a few 
 feet to the one side, and fling it to the ground ; but
 
 Trailing the Buffalo 30 1 
 
 before they could do it any great injury, the active bull, 
 and the cow as well, would rush forward upon them, 
 scattering the cowardly creatures like a flock of birds. 
 Then the calf would place itself between the old ones, 
 and would thus remain for a while, until the wolves, 
 having arranged some new plan, would recommence the 
 attack, and drive it forth again. Once the position was 
 strikingly in favour of the buffaloes. This position, 
 which seemed in the hurry of the conflict to turn up 
 accidentally, was in fact the result of design, for the old 
 ones every now and then endeavoured to renew it, but 
 were hindered by the stupidity of the calf The latter 
 was placed between them in such a way that the heads 
 of the bull and cow were in opposite directions, and 
 thus both flanks were guarded. In this way the 
 buffaloes might have held their ground, but the silly 
 calf when closely menaced by the wolves foolishly 
 started out, rendering it necessary for its protectors to 
 assume a new attitude of defence. 
 
 It was altogether a singular conflict, a touching 
 picture of parental fondness. The end of it was easily 
 guessed. The wolves would tire out the old ones, and 
 get hold of the calf of course, although they might 
 spend a long time about it. But the great herd was 
 distant, and there was no hope for the cow to get her 
 offspring back to its protection. It would certainly be 
 destroyed. 
 
 Notwithstanding our sympathy for the little family 
 thus assailed, we were not the less anxious to do for 
 them just what the wolves wished to do — kill and eat 
 them. With this intent we all put spur to our horses, 
 and galloped right forward to the spot. 
 
 Not one of the animals — neither wolves nor buffaloes 
 — took any notice of us until we were within a few yards 
 of them. The wolves then scampered off, but already 
 the cracking rifles and shot-guns were heard above the 
 shouts of the charging cavalcade, and both the cow and 
 calf were seen sinking to the earth. Not so the huge 
 bull. With glaring eyeballs he glanced around upon 
 his new assailants, and then, as if aware that further
 
 302 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 strife was useless, he stretched forth his neck, and 
 breaking through the line of horsemen, went off in full 
 flight. 
 
 A fresh touch of the spur, with a wrench of the bridle- 
 rein, brought our horses round, and set their heads after 
 him, and then followed as fine a piece of chasing as I 
 remember to have taken part in. The whole eight of us 
 swept over the plain in pursuit, but as we had all emptied 
 our pieces on first charging up, there was not one ready 
 to deliver a shot even should we overtake the game. In 
 the quick gallop no one thought of reloading. Our 
 pistols, however, were still charged, and these were 
 grasped and held in readiness. 
 
 It was one of the most exciting chases. There before 
 us galloped the great game, under full view, with neither 
 brake nor bush to interrupt the pleasure of our wild 
 race. The bull proved to be one of the fastest of his 
 kind — for there is a considerable difference in this 
 respect. He led us nearly half a mile across the ridges 
 before even the best of our horses could come up, and 
 then just as we were closing in upon him, before a shot 
 had been fired, he was seen to give a sudden lounge 
 forward and tumble over upon the ground. 
 
 Some of us fancied he had only missed his footing 
 and stumbled ; but no motion could be perceived as we 
 rode forward, and on coming up he was found to be 
 quite dead ! A rifle bullet had done the work — one that 
 had been fired in the first volley ; and his strong fast run 
 was only the last spasmodic effort of his life. 
 
 One or two remained by the dead bull to get his hide 
 and the ' tit-bits ' of his meat, while the rest rode back 
 to recover the more precious cow and calf What was 
 our chagrin to find that the rascally wolves had been 
 before us ! Of the tender calf, not a morsel remained 
 beyond a (qv! tufts of hairy skin, and the cow was so 
 badly torn and mutilated that she was not worth cutting 
 up ! Even the tongue, that most delicate bit, had been 
 appropriated by the sneaking thieves, and eaten out to 
 the very root. 
 
 As soon as they had observed us coming back, they
 
 Trailing the Buffalo 303 
 
 had taken to their heels, each carrying a large piece 
 with him, and we could now see them out upon the 
 prairie devouring the meat before our very eyes. Ike 
 was loud in his anathemas, and but that the creatures 
 were too cunning for him, would have taken his revenge 
 upon the spot. They kept off, however, beyond range 
 of either rifle or double barrel, and Ike was forced to 
 nurse his wrath for some other occasion. 
 
 We now went back to the bull, where we encamped 
 for the night. The latter, tough as he was, furnished us 
 an excellent supper from his tongue, hump-ribs, boudins, 
 and marrow bones, and we all lay down to sleep and 
 dream of the sports of to-morrow.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 APPROACHING THE BUFFALO 
 
 Next morning, just as we were preparing to resume 
 our journey, a gang of buffalo appeared upon one of 
 the swells, at the distance of a mile or a mile and a half 
 from our camp. There were about a dozen of them, 
 and, as our guides asserted, they were all cows. This 
 was just what we wanted, as the flesh of the cows is 
 much more delicate than that of the bulls, and were 
 eager to lay in a stock of it. 
 
 A hurried consultation was held, in which it was 
 debated as to the best manner of making an attack 
 upon the herd. Some advised that we should ride 
 boldly forward, and overtake the cows by sheer swiftness, 
 but this mode was objected to by others. The cows are 
 at times very shy. They might break off long before 
 we were near, and give our horses such a gallop as 
 would render them useless for the rest of the day. 
 Besides, our animals were in no condition for such 
 exercise. Our stock of corn had run out, and the grass- 
 feeding and hard travelling had reduced most of them 
 to skeletons, A hard gallop was therefore to be avoided 
 if possible. 
 
 Among those who counselled a different course were 
 the guides Ike and Redwood. These men thought it 
 would be much better to try the cows by ' approaching,' 
 that is, by endeavouring to creep up, and get a shot 
 when near enough. The ground was favourable enough 
 for it, as there were here and there little clumps of 
 cactus plants and bushes of the wild sage {artemisid), 
 behind which a hunter might easily conceal himself. 
 The trappers further alleged that the herd would not be 
 likely to make off at the first shot, unless the hunter 
 
 304
 
 Approaching the Buffalo 305 
 
 discovered himself. On the contrary, one after another 
 might fall, and not frighten the rest, so long as these did 
 not get to leeward, and detect the presence of their 
 enemy by the scent. 
 
 The wind was in our favour, and this was a most 
 important consideration. Had it been otherwise the 
 game would have ' winded ' us at a mile's distance, as 
 they can recognise the smell of man, and frequently 
 comprehend the danger of being near such an enemy. 
 Indeed, it is on their great power of scent that the 
 buffalo most commonly rely for warning. The eyes of 
 these creatures, and particularly the bulls, are so 
 covered with the shaggy hair hanging over them, that 
 individuals are often seen quite blinded by it, and a 
 hunter, if he keep silent enough, may walk up and lay 
 his hand upon them, without having been previously 
 noticed. This, however, can only occur when the 
 hunter travels against the wind. Otherwise he finds 
 the buffalo as shy and difficult to approach as most 
 game, and many a long spell of crouching and crawling 
 has been made to no purpose — a single sniff of the 
 approaching enemy proving enough to startle the game, 
 and send it off in wild flight. 
 
 Ike and his brother trapper urged that if the ap- 
 proach should prove unsuccessful there would still be 
 time to ' run ' the herd, as those who did not attempt 
 the former method might keep in their saddles, and be 
 ready to gallop forward. 
 
 All this was feasible enough ; and it was therefore 
 decided that the ' approach ' should have a trial. The 
 trappers had already prepared themselves for this sort 
 of thing. They were evidently desirous of giving us an 
 exhibition of their hunter-prowess, and we were ready 
 to witness it. We had noticed them busied with a pair of 
 large wolf-skins, which they had taken off the animals 
 entire, with the heads, cars, tails, &c., remaining upon 
 the skins. The purpose of these was to enable the 
 hunters to disguise themselves as wolves, and thus crawl 
 within shooting distance of the buffalo herd. 
 
 Strange to say this is quite possible. Although no 
 
 u
 
 3o6 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 creature is a greater enemy to the buffalo than the 
 wolf the former, as already stated, permits the latter to 
 approach quite close to him without making any 
 attempt to chase him off, or without exhibiting the 
 slightest symptoms of fear on his own account. The 
 buffalo cannot prevent the wolf from prowling close 
 about him, as the latter is sufficiently active, and can 
 easily get out of the way when pursued by the bulls — 
 on the other hand, the buffaloes, unless when separated 
 from the herd, or in some way disabled, have no fear of 
 the wolf. Under ordinary circumstances they seem 
 wholly to disregard his presence. The consequence is, 
 that a wolf-skin is a favourite disguise of the Indians 
 for approaching the buffalo, and our trappers, Ike and 
 Redwood, had often practised this ruse. We were 
 likely then to see sport. 
 
 Both were soon equipped in their white wolf-skins, 
 their heads being enveloped with the skins of the 
 wolves' heads, and the remainder tied with thongs, so as 
 to cover their backs and sides. At best the skins 
 formed but a scanty covering to the bodies of the 
 trappers ; but, as we have already remarked, the buffalo 
 has not a very keen sense of sight, and so long as the 
 decoys kept to leeward, they would not be closely 
 scrutinised. 
 
 When fairly in their new dress, the hunters parted 
 from the company, leaving their horses at the camp. 
 The rest of us sat in our saddles, ready to gallop 
 forward, in case the ruse did not succeed, and make 
 that kind of a hunt called 'running.' Of course the 
 trappers went as far as was safe, walking in an upright 
 attitude ; but long before they had got within shot, we 
 saw both of them stoop down and scramble along in a 
 crouching way, and then at length they knelt upon the 
 ground, and proceeded upon their hands and knees. 
 
 It required a good long time to enable them to get 
 near enough ; and we on horseback, although watching 
 every manoeuvre with interest, were beginning to get 
 impatient. The buffalo, however, quietly browsing 
 along the sward, seemed to be utterly unconscious of
 
 Approaching the Buffalo 307 
 
 the dangerous foe that was approaching them, and at 
 intervals one or another would fling itself to the earth in 
 play, and after kicking and wallowing a few seconds, 
 start to its feet again. They were all cows, with one 
 exception — a bull — who seemed to be the guardian and 
 leader. Even at a mile's distance, we could recognise 
 the shape and size of the latter, as completely differing 
 from all the rest. The bull seemed to be more active 
 than any, moving around the flock, and apparently 
 watching over their safety. 
 
 As the decoys approached, we thought that the bull 
 seemed to take notice of them. He had moved out to 
 that side of the herd, and seemed for a moment to 
 scrutinise them as they drew near. But for a moment, 
 however, for he turned apparently satisfied, and was 
 soon close to the gang. 
 
 Ike and Redwood had at length got so close, that we 
 were expecting every moment to see the flash of their 
 pieces. They were not so close, however, as we in the 
 distance fancied them to be. 
 
 Just at that moment we perceived another buffalo — a 
 large bull — running up behind them. He had just 
 made his appearance over a ridge, and was now on his 
 way to join the herd. The decoys were directly in 
 his way, and these did not appear to see him until 
 he had run almost between them, so intent were they on 
 watching the others. His intrusion, however, evidently 
 disconcerted them, spoiling their plans, while in the very 
 act of being carried into execution. They were, no 
 doubt, a little startled by the apparition of such a huge 
 shaggy animal coming so suddenly on them, for both 
 started to their feet as if alarmed. Their pieces blazed 
 at the same time, and the intruder was seen rolling over 
 upon the plain. 
 
 But the ruse was over. The bull that guarded the 
 herd was witness to this odd encounter, and bellowing a 
 loud alarm to his companions, set off at a lumbering 
 gallop. All the rest followed as fast as their legs would 
 carry them. 
 
 Fortunately they ran, not directly from us, but in a
 
 3o8 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 line that inclined to our left. By taking a diagonal 
 course we might yet head them, and without another 
 word our whole party put to the spur, and sprang off 
 over the prairie. 
 
 It cost us a five-mile gallop before any of us came 
 within shooting distance ; and only four of us did get so 
 near — the naturalist, Besangon, the Kentuckian, and 
 myself Our horses were well blown, but after a good 
 deal of encouragement we got them side by side with 
 the flying game. 
 
 Each one chose his own, and then delivered his shot 
 at his best convenience. The consequence was, that 
 four of the cows were strewed out along the path, and 
 rewarded us for our hard gallop. The rest, on account 
 of saving our horses, were suffered to make their escape. 
 
 As we had now plenty of excellent meat, it was 
 resolved to encamp again, and remain for some time 
 on that spot, until we had rested our horses after their 
 long journey, when we should make a fresh search for 
 the buffalo, and have another * run ' or two out of them. 
 
 I
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 UNEXPECTED GUESTS 
 
 We found Ike and Redwood bitterly angry at the bull 
 they had slain. They alleged that he had made a rush 
 at them in coming up, and that was why they had risen 
 to their feet and fired upon him. We thought such had 
 been the case, as we had noticed a strange manoeuvre on 
 the part of the bull. But for that, our guides believed 
 they would have succeeded to their hearts' content ; 
 as they intended first to have shot the other bull, and 
 then the cows would have remained until all had fallen. 
 
 A place was now selected for our night-camp, and 
 the meat from the cows brought in and dressed. Over 
 a fire of cotton-wood logs we soon cooked the most 
 splendid supper we had eaten for a long time. 
 
 The beef of the wild buffalo-cow is far superior to 
 that of domestic cattle, but the * tit-bits ' of the same 
 animal are luxuries never to be forgotten. Whether it 
 be that a prairie appetite lends something to the relish 
 is a question. This I will not venture to deny; but 
 certainly the ' baron of beef ' in merry old England has 
 no souvenirs to me so sweet as a roast rib of ' fat cow,' 
 cooked over a cotton-wood fire, and eaten in the open 
 air, under the pure sky of the prairies. 
 
 The place where we had pitched our camp was upon 
 the banks of a very small spring-stream, or creek, that, 
 rising near at hand, meandered through the prairie to a 
 not distant branch of the Arkansas River. Where we 
 were, this creek was embanked very slightly ; but, at 
 about two hundred yards' distance, on each side, there 
 was a range of bluffs that followed the direction of the 
 stream. These bluffs were not very high, but sufficiently 
 so to prevent any one down in the creek bottom from 
 
 309
 
 310 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 having a view of the prairie level. As the bottom itself 
 was covered with very coarse herbage, and as a better 
 grass — the bufifalo — grew on the prairie above, we there 
 picketed our horses, intending to bring them closer to 
 the camp when night set in, or before going to sleep. 
 The camp itself — that is the two tents, with Jake's 
 waggon — were on the very edge of the stream ; but 
 Jake's mules were up on the plain, along with the rest of 
 the cavallada. 
 
 It was still two hours before sunset. We had made 
 our dinner, and, satisfied with the day's sport, were 
 enjoying ourselves, with a little brandy, that still held 
 out in our good-sized keg, and a smoke. We had 
 reviewed the incidents of the day, and were laying out 
 our plans for the morrow. We were admonished by 
 the coldness of the evening that winter was not far off, 
 and we all agreed that another week was as long as 
 we could safely remain upon the prairies. We had 
 started late in the season, but our not finding the buffalo 
 farther to the east had made a great inroad upon 
 our time, and spoiled all our calculations. Now that 
 we had found them, a week was as much as we could 
 allow for their hunt. Already frost appeared in the 
 night hours, and made us uncomfortable enough, and 
 we knew that in the prairie region the transition from 
 autumn to winter is often sudden and unexpected. 
 
 The oldest and wisest of the party were of the 
 opinion that we should not delay our return longer 
 than a week, and the others assented to it. The guides 
 gave the same advice, although these cared little about 
 wintering on the prairie, and were willing to remain as 
 long we pleased. We knew, however, that the hardships 
 to which we should be subjected would not be relished 
 by several of the party, and it would be better for all 
 to get back to the settlements before the setting in 
 of severe weather. 
 
 I have said we were all in high spirits. A week's 
 hunting, with something to do at it every day, would 
 satisfy us. We should do immense slaughter on the 
 buffalo, by approaching, running, and surrounding
 
 Unexpected Guests 311 
 
 them. We should collect a quantity of the best meat 
 jerk, and dry it over the fire, load our waggon with 
 that, and with a large number of robes and horns as 
 trophies, should go back in triumph to the settlements. 
 Such were our pleasant anticipations. 
 
 I am sorry to say that these anticipations were never 
 realised — not one of them. When we reached the 
 nearest settlement, which happened about six weeks 
 after, our party presented an appearance that differed as 
 much from a triumphal procession as could well be 
 imagined. One and all of us were afoot. One and all 
 of us — even to the fat little doctor — were emaciated, 
 ragged, foot-sore, frost-bitten, and little better than half 
 alive. We had a number of buffalo-skins with us, it is 
 true, but these hung about our shoulders, and were for 
 use, and not show. They had served us for weeks for 
 beds and blankets by night, and for great coats under 
 the fierce winter rains. But I anticipate. Let us return 
 to our camp on the little creek. 
 
 I have said that we sat around the blazing fire 
 discussing our future plans, and enjoying the future by 
 anticipation. The hours passed rapidly on, and while 
 thus engaged night came down upon us. 
 
 At this time someone advised that we should bring 
 up the horses, but another said it would be as well to let 
 them browse a while longer, as the grass where they 
 were was good, and they had been for some days on 
 short commons, ' They will be safe enough,' said this 
 speaker. ' We have seen no Indian sign, or if any of 
 you think there is danger, let someone go up to the 
 bluff, but by all means let the poor brutes have a good 
 meal of it' 
 
 This proposal was accepted. Lanty was despatched 
 to stand guard over the horses, while the rest of us 
 remained by the fire conversing as before. 
 
 The Irishman could scarcely have had time to get 
 among the animals, when our ears were saluted by a 
 medley of sounds that sent the blood to our hearts, and 
 caused us to leap simultaneously from the fire. 
 
 The yells of Indians were easily understood, even by
 
 312 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 the ' greenest ' of our party, and these, mingled with the 
 neighing of horses, the prancing of hoofs, and the shouts 
 of our guard, were the sounds that reached us, 
 
 'Injuns, by G — d!" cried Ike, springing up, and 
 clutching his long rifle. 
 
 This wild exclamation was echoed by more than 
 one, as each leaped back from the fire and ran to 
 his gun. 
 
 In a few seconds we had cleared the brushwood that 
 thickly covered the bottom, and climbed out on the 
 bluff. Here we were met by the terrified guard, who 
 was running back at the top of his speed, and bellowing 
 at the top of his voice. 
 
 ' Och, murther,' cried he, ' the savage bastes — there's a 
 thousand ov thim ! They've carried off the cattle — 
 every leg — mules an' all, by Jaysus ! ' 
 
 Rough as was this announcement, we soon became 
 satisfied that it was but too true. On reaching the 
 place where the cavallada had been picketed, we found 
 not the semblance of a horse. Even the pins were 
 drawn, and the lazoes taken along. Far off on the 
 prairie we could discern dimly a dark mass of mounted 
 men, and we could plainly hear their triumphant shouts 
 and laughter, as they disappeared in the distance ! 
 
 We never saw either them or our horses again. 
 
 They were a party of Pawnees, as we afterwards 
 learned, and no doubt had they attacked us, we should 
 have suffered severely ; but there were only a few of 
 them, and they were satisfied with plundering us of our 
 horses. It is just possible that after securing them they 
 might have returned to attack us, had not Lanty 
 surprised them at their work. After the alarm they 
 knew we would be on the look-out for them, and 
 therefore were contented to carry off our animals. 
 
 It is difficult to explain the change that thus so 
 suddenly occurred in our feelings and circumstances. 
 The prospect before us — thus set afoot upon the 
 prairie at such a distance from the settlements, 
 and at such a season — was perfectly appalling. We 
 should have to walk every inch of the way —
 
 Unexpected Guests 313 
 
 carry our food, and everthing else, upon our backs. 
 Perhaps we might not be too much burdened with food. 
 That depended upon very precarious circumstances — 
 upon our hunting luck. Our ' stock ' in the waggon was 
 reduced to only a few days' rations, and, of course, would 
 go but a few days with us, while we had many to 
 provide for. 
 
 These thoughts were after-reflections — thoughts of the 
 next morning. During that night we thought only of 
 the Indians, for of course we did not as yet believe they 
 had left us for good. We did not return to sleep by the 
 fire — that would have been very foolishness. Some 
 went back to get their arms in order, and then returning 
 we all lay along the edge of the bluff, where the path 
 led into the bottom, and watched the prairie until the 
 morning. We lay in silence, or only muttering our 
 thoughts to one another. 
 
 I have said until the morning. That is not strictly 
 true, for before the morning that succeeded that noche 
 triste broke upon us, another cruel misfortune befell us, 
 which still farther narrowed the circumstances that 
 surrounded us, I have already stated that the herbage 
 of the creek bottom was coarse. It consisted of long 
 grass, interspersed with briars and bunches of wild pea 
 vines, with here and there a growth of scrubby wood. 
 It was difficult to get through it, except by paths made 
 by the buffalo and other animals. At this season of the 
 year the thick growth of annuals was now a mass of 
 withered stems, parched by the hot suns of autumn 
 until they were as dry as tinder. 
 
 While engaged in our anxious vigil upon the plain 
 above, we had not given a thought either to our camp 
 or the large fire we had left there. 
 
 All at once our attention was directed to the latter by 
 a loud crackling noise that sounded in our ears. We 
 sprang to our feet, and looked into the valley behind us. 
 The camp was on fire ! 
 
 The brush was kindled all around it, and blazed to 
 the height of several feet. We could see the blaze 
 reflected from the white canvas both of waggon and
 
 314 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 tents, and in a few seconds these were licked into the 
 hot flames, and disappeared from our view. 
 
 Of course we made no effort to save them. That 
 would have been an idle and foolish attempt. We could 
 not have approached the spot, without the almost certain 
 danger of death. Already while we gazed, the fire 
 spread over the whole creek bottom, and passed rapidly 
 both up and down the banks of the stream. 
 
 For ourselves there was no danger. We were up on 
 the open prairie covered only with short grass. Had 
 this caught also, we knew how to save ourselves ; but the 
 upper level, separated by a steep bluff, was not reached 
 by the conflagration that raged so fiercely below. 
 
 We stood watching the flames for a long while, until 
 daylight broke. The bottom, near where we were, had 
 ceased to burn, and now lay beneath us, smoking, 
 smouldering, and black. We descended, and picked 
 our steps to where our camp had stood. The tents were 
 like black cerements. The iron work of the waggon 
 alone remained, our extra clothing and provisions were 
 all consumed. Even the produce of our yesterday's hunt 
 lay among the ashes a charred and ruined mass !
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 A SUPPER OF WOLF-MUTTON. 
 
 Our condition was now lamentable indeed. We even 
 hungered for our breakfast, and had nothing to eat. 
 The fire had consumed everything. A party went to 
 look for the remains of the buffalo-bull killed by the 
 guides, but returned without a morsel of meat. The 
 wolves had cleaned the carcase to a skeleton. The 
 marrow bones, however, still remained, and these were 
 brought in — afterwards the same parts of the four cows ; 
 and we made our breakfast on marrow — eating it raw — 
 not but that we had fire enough, but it is less palatable 
 when cooked. 
 
 What was next to be done ? We held a consultation, 
 and of course came to the resolve to strike for the nearest 
 settlement — that was the frontier town of Independence 
 on the Missouri River. It was nearly three hundred 
 miles off, and we calculated in reaching it in about 
 twenty days. We only reckoned the miles we should 
 have to traverse. We allowed nothing for the numerous 
 delays, caused by marshes and the fording of flooded 
 streams. It afterwards proved that our calculation was 
 incorrect. It was nearly twice twenty days before we 
 arrived at Independence. 
 
 We never thought of following the trail of the Indians 
 to recover our horses. We knew they were gone far 
 beyond pursuit, but even could we have come up with 
 them, it would only have been to imperil our lives in an 
 unequal strife. We gave up our horses as lost, and only 
 deliberated on how wc were to undertake the journey 
 afoot. 
 
 Here a serious question arose. Should we at once 
 turn our faces to the settlement, how were we to subsist 
 
 315
 
 3i6 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 on the way? By heading for Independence we should 
 at once get clear of the buffalo range, and what other 
 game was to be depended on ? A stray deer, rabbit, or 
 prairie grouse might suffice to sustain a single traveller 
 for a long time, but there were ten of us. How was this 
 number to be fed on the way ? Even with our horses 
 to carry us in pursuit of game, we had not been able on 
 our outward journey to procure enough for all. How 
 much less our opportunity now that we were afoot? 
 
 To head directly homeward, therefore, was not to be 
 thought of. We should assuredly perish by the way. 
 
 After much discussion it was agreed that we should 
 remain for some days within the buffalo range, until we 
 had succeeded in obtaining a supply of meat, and then 
 each carrying his share we should begin our journey 
 homeward. In fact, this was not a disputed point. All 
 knew there remained no other way of saving our lives. 
 The only difference of opinion was as to the direction 
 we should ramble in search of the buffalo ; for although 
 we knew that we were on the outskirts of a great herd, 
 we were not certain as to its whereabouts, and by 
 taking a false direction we might get out of its range 
 altogether. 
 
 It so happened, however, that fortune, lately so ad- 
 verse, now took a turn in our favour, and the great 
 buffalo drove was found without much trouble on our 
 part. Indeed almost without any exertion, farther than 
 that of loading and firing our guns, we came into 
 possession of beef enough to have victualled an army. 
 We had, moreover, the excitement of a grand hunt, 
 although we no longer hunted for the sport of the 
 thing. 
 
 During that day we scattered in various directions 
 over the prairie, agreeing to meet again at night. The 
 object of our thus separating was to enable us to cover a 
 greater extent of ground, and afford a better chance of 
 game. To our mutual chagrin we met at the appointed 
 rendezvous all of us empty-handed. The only game 
 brought in was a couple of marmots (prairie dogs), that 
 would not have been sufficient for the supper of a cat.
 
 A Supper of Wolf- Mutton 317 
 
 They were not enough to give each of the party a taste, 
 so we were compelled to go without supper. Having 
 had but a meagre breakfast and no dinner, it will not be 
 wondered at that we were by this time as hungry as 
 wolves ; and we began to dread that death by starvation 
 was nearer than we thought of. Buffaloes — several 
 small gangs of them — had been seen during the day, but 
 so shy that none of them could be approached. Another 
 day's failure would place our lives in a perilous situation 
 indeed ; and as these thoughts passed through our minds, 
 we gazed on each other with looks that betokened 
 apprehension and alarm. The bright blaze of the camp 
 fire — for the cold had compelled us to kindle one — no 
 longer lit up a round of joyful faces. It shone upon 
 cheeks haggard with hunger and pallid with fear. There 
 was no story for the delighted listener — no adventure to 
 be related. We were no longer the historians, but the 
 real actors in a drama — a drama whose denouement might 
 be a fearful one. 
 
 As we sat gazing at each other, in hopes of giving or 
 receiving some morsel of comfort and encouragement, 
 we noticed old Ike silently glide from his place by the 
 fire, and after a whisper to us to remain silent, crawl off 
 on his hands and knees. He had seen something, 
 doubtless, and hence his singular conduct. In a few 
 minutes his prostrate form was lost in the darkness, and 
 for some time we saw or heard no more of him. At 
 length we were startled by the whip-Hke crack of the 
 guide's rifle, and fancying it might be Indians, each 
 sprang up in some alarm and seized his gun. We were 
 soon reassured, however, by seeing the upright form of 
 the trapper as he walked deliberately back towards the 
 camp fire, and the blaze revealed to us a large whitish 
 object dangling by his side and partly dragging along 
 the ground. 
 
 ' Hurrah ! ' cried one, ' Ike has killed game.' 
 
 • A deer — an antelope,' suggested several. 
 
 ' No — o,' drawled Redwood. ' 'Taint eyther, but I 
 guess we won't quarrel with the meat. I could eat a raw 
 jackass jest about now.'
 
 3i8 The Huftters' Feast 
 
 Ike came up at this moment, and we saw that his 
 game was no other than a prairie wolf. Better that than 
 hunger, thought all of us ; and in a brace of seconds 
 the wolf was suspended over the fire, and roasting in 
 the hide. 
 
 We were now more cheerful, and the anticipation of 
 such an odd viand for supper, drew jokes from several 
 of the party. To the trappers such a dish was nothing 
 new, although they were the only persons of the party 
 who had partaken of it. But there was not one 
 fastidious palate present, and when the ' wolf-mutton ' 
 was broiled, each cleaned his joint or his rib with as 
 ranch, gout as if he had been picking the bones of a 
 pheasant. 
 
 Before the supper was ended the wolf-killer made a 
 second co?ip, killing another ;Wolf precisely as he had 
 done the former; and we had the gratification of knowing 
 that our breakfast was now provided for. These 
 creatures, that all along our journey had received nothing 
 from us but anathemas, were now likely to come in for 
 a share of our blessings, and we could not help feeling 
 a species of gratitude towards them, although at the 
 same time we thus killed and ate them. 
 
 The supper of roast wolf produced an agreeable 
 change in our feelings, and we even listened with interest 
 to our guides, who, appropriate to the occasion, related 
 some curious incidents of the many narrow escapes they 
 had had from starvation. 
 
 One in particular fixed our attention, as it afforded an 
 illustration of trapper life under peculiar circumstances.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 HARE HUNTING AND CRICKET DRIVING 
 
 The two trappers, in company with two others of the 
 same calling, were on a trappino^ expedition to one of 
 the tributaries of the Great Bear River, west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, when they were attacked by a band 
 of hostile Utahs, and robbed not only of the produce of 
 their hunt, but their horses and pack-mules were taken 
 from them, and even their arms and ammunition. The 
 Indians could have taken their lives as well, but from 
 the interference of one of the chiefs, who knew old Ike, 
 they were allowed to go free, although in the midst of 
 the desert region where they were, that was no great 
 favour. They were as likely as not to perish from 
 hunger before they could reach any settlement — as at 
 that time there was none nearer than Fort Hall upon 
 the Snake River, a distance of full three hundred miles. 
 Our four trappers, however, were not the men to yield 
 themselves up to despair, even in the midst of a desert ; 
 and they at once set about making the most of their 
 circumstances. 
 
 There were deer upon the stream where they had been 
 trapping, and bear also, as well as other game, but what 
 did that signify now that they had no arms ? Of course 
 the deer or antelopes sprang out of the shrubbery or 
 scoured across the plain only to tantalise them. 
 
 Near where they had been left by the Indians was a 
 ' sage prairie,' that is, a plain covered with a growth of 
 the artemisia plant — the leaves and berries of which — 
 bitter as they are — form the food of a species of hare, 
 known among the trappers as the ' sage rabbit.' This 
 creature is as swift as most of its tribe, but although our 
 trappers had neither dog nor gun, they found a way of 
 
 319
 
 320 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 capturing the sage rabbits. Not by snaring neither, for 
 they were even without materials to make snares out of. 
 Their mode of securing the game was as follows. 
 
 They had the patience to construct a circular fence, 
 by wattling the sage plants together, and then leaving 
 one side open, they made a ' surround ' upon the plain, 
 beating the bushes as they went, until a number of 
 rabbits were driven within the inclosure. The remaining 
 part of the fence was then completed, and the rabbit 
 hunters going inside chased the game about until they 
 had caught all that were inside. Although the fence 
 was but about three feet in height, the rabbits never 
 attempted to leap over, but rushed head foremost against 
 the wattles, and were either caught or knocked over with 
 sticks. 
 
 This piece of ingenuity was not original with the 
 trappers, as Ike and Redwood admitted. It is the mode 
 of rabbit hunting practised by some tribes of western 
 Indians, as the poor Shoshonees and miserable ' diggers,' 
 whose whole lives are spent in a constant struggle to 
 procure food enough to sustain them. These Indians 
 capture the small animals that inhabit their barren 
 country by ways that more resemble the instinct of 
 beasts of prey than any reasoning process. In fact there 
 are bands of these Indians who can hardly be said to have 
 yet reached the hunter state. Some of them carry as 
 their sole armour a long stick with a hooked end, the 
 object of which is to drag the agama and the lizard out 
 of its cave or cleft among the rocks ; and this species of 
 game is transferred from the end of the stick to the 
 stomach of the captor with the same despatch as a 
 hungry mastiff would devour a mouse. 
 
 Impounding the sage hare is one of the master 
 strokes of their hunter craft, and forms a source of 
 employment to them for a considerable portion of the 
 year. 
 
 Our four trappers, then, remembering the Indian mode 
 of capturing these creatures, put it in execution to some 
 advantage, and were soon able to satisfy their hunger. 
 After two or three days spent in this pursuit they had
 
 Hare Hunting and Cricket Driving 321 
 
 caught more than twenty hares, but the stock ran out, 
 and no more could be found in that neighbourhood. 
 
 Of course only a few were required for present use, 
 and the rest were dried over a sage fire until they were 
 in a condition to keep for some days. 
 
 Packing them on their backs, the trappers set out, 
 heading for the Snake River. Before they could reach 
 Fort Hall their rabbit meat was exhausted, and they 
 were as badly off as before. The country in which they 
 now found themselves was, if possible, more of a desert 
 than that they had just quitted. Even rabbits could not 
 dwell in it, or the few that were started could not be 
 caught. The arteinisia was not in sufficient plenty to 
 make an inclosure with, and it would have been hopeless 
 to have attempted such a thing ; as they might have 
 spent days without trapping a single hare. Now and 
 again they were tantalised by seeing the great sage 
 cock, or, as naturalists call it, 'cock of the plains' 
 {Tetrao tirophasianus), but they could only hear the loud 
 'burr' of its wings, and watch it sail off to some distant 
 point of the desert plain. This bird is the largest of 
 the grouse kind, though it is neither a bird of handsome 
 plumage, nor yet is it delicate in its flesh. On the 
 contrary, the flesh, from the nature of its food, which is 
 the berry of the wild wormwood, is both unsavoury and 
 bitter. It would not have deterred the appetites of our 
 four trappers, could they have laid their hands upon the 
 bird, but without guns such a thing was out of the 
 question. For several days they sustained themselves 
 on roots and berries. Fortunately it was the season 
 when these are ripe, and they found here and there the 
 prairie turnip {Psoralea esculcnta), and in a marsh which 
 they had to cross they obtained a quantity of the 
 celebrated Kamas roots. 
 
 All these supplies, however, did not prove sufficient. 
 They had still four or five days' farther journey, and 
 were beginning to fear they would not get through it, 
 for the country to be passed was a perfect barren waste. 
 At this crisis, however, a new source of subsistence 
 appeared to them, and in sufficient plenty to enable 
 
 X
 
 322 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 them to continue their journey without fear of want. 
 As if by magic, the plain upon which they were traveUing 
 all at once became covered with large crawling insects 
 of a dark brown colour. These were the insects known 
 among the trappers as ' prairie crickets,' but from the 
 description given of them by the trappers the hunter- 
 naturalist pronounced them to be ' locusts.' They were 
 of that species known in America as the ' seventeen 
 years' locust ' [Cicada septemdecei)i)^ so called because 
 there is a popular belief that they only appear in great 
 swarms every seventeen years. It is probable, however, 
 that this periodical appearance is an error, and that 
 their coming at longer or shorter intervals depends upon 
 the heat of the climate, and many other circumstances. 
 
 They have been known to arrive in a great city, coming 
 not from afar, but out of the ground from between the 
 bricks of the pavement, and out of crevices in the walls, 
 suddenly covering the streets with their multitudes. 
 But this species does not destroy vegetation, as is the 
 case with others of the locust tribe. They themselves 
 form the favourite food of many birds, as well as 
 quadrupeds. Hogs eagerly feed upon and destroy vast 
 numbers of them ; and even the squirrels devour them 
 with as great a relish as they do nuts. These facts were 
 furnished by the hunter-naturalist, but our trappers had 
 an equally interesting tale to tell. 
 
 As soon as they set eyes upon the locusts, and saw 
 that they were crawling thickly upon the plain, they felt 
 that they were safe. They knew that these insects were 
 a staple article of food among the same tribes of Indians 
 who hunt the sage hare. They knew, moreover, their 
 mode of capturing them, and they at once set about 
 making a large collection. 
 
 This was done by hollowing out a circular pit in the 
 sandy earth, and then the four separating some distance 
 from each other, drove the crickets towards a common 
 centre — the pit. After some manoeuvring, a large 
 quantity was brought together, and these being pressed 
 upon all sides, crawled up to the edge of the pit, and 
 were precipitated into its bottom. Of course the hole
 
 Ha7'e Hunting and Cricket Driving 323 
 
 had been made deep enough to prevent them getting 
 out until they were secured by the hunters. 
 
 At each drive nearly half a bushel was obtained, and 
 then a fresh pit was made in another part of the plain, 
 and more driven in, until our four trappers had as many 
 as they wanted. 
 
 The crickets were next killed, and slightly parched 
 upon hot stones, until they were dry enough to keep 
 and carry. The Indians usually pound them, and 
 mixing them with the seeds of a species of gramma 
 grass, which grows abundantly in that country, form 
 them into a sort of bread, known among the trappers as 
 ' cricket-cake.' These seeds, however, our trappers 
 could not procure, so they were compelled to eat the 
 parched crickets ' pure and unmixed ' ; but this, in the 
 condition in which they then were, was found to be no 
 hardship. 
 
 In fine, having made a bundle for each, they once 
 more took the route, and after many hardships, and 
 suffering much from thirst, they reached the remote 
 settlement of Fort Hall, where, being known, they were 
 of course relieved, and fitted out for a fresh trapping 
 expedition. 
 
 Ike and Redwood both declared that they afterwards 
 had their revenge upon the Utahs, for the scurvy treat- 
 ment they had suffered, but what was the precise 
 character of that revenge they declined stating. Both 
 loudly swore that the Pawnees had better look out for 
 the future, for they were not the men to be ' set afoot on 
 the parairy for nuthin.' 
 
 After listening to the relations of our guides, a night- 
 guard was appointed, and the rest of us, huddling 
 around the camp-fire, were soon as sound asleep as 
 though we were reposing under damask curtains, on 
 beds of down.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 A GRAND BATTUE 
 
 The spot we had chosen for our camp was near the 
 edge of a small rivulet with low banks. In fact, the 
 surface of the water was nearly on a level with that of 
 the prairie. There was no wood, with the exception of 
 a few straggling cotton-woods, and some of the long- 
 leafed willows peculiar to the prairie streams. 
 
 Out of the cotton-woods we had made our camp-fire, 
 and this was some twenty or thirty paces back from the 
 water, not in a conspicuous position, but in the bottom 
 of a bowl-shaped depression in the prairie ; a curious 
 formation, for which none of us could account. It 
 looked as if fashioned by art, as its form was circular, 
 and its sides sloped regularly downward to the centre, 
 like the crater of a volcano. But for its size, we might 
 have taken it for a buffalo wallow, but it was of vastly 
 larger diameter than one of these, and ctltogether deeper 
 and more funnel-shaped. 
 
 We had noticed several other basins of the same sort 
 near the place, and had our circumstances been 
 different, we should have been interested in endeavour- 
 ing to account for their existence. As it was, we did 
 not trouble ourselves much about the geology of the 
 neighbourhood we were in. We were only too anxious 
 to get out of it ; but seeing that this singular hole 
 would be a place for our camp-fire — for our thoughts 
 still dwelt upon the rascally Pawnees — we had kindled 
 it there. Reclined against the sloping sides of the 
 basin, with our feet resting upon its bottom, our party 
 disposed themselves, and in this position went to 
 sleep. 
 
 One was to be awake all night as guard ; though, of 
 
 324
 
 A Grand Battue 325 
 
 course, all took turns, each awaking the sentinel whose 
 watch was to follow his. 
 
 To the doctor was assigned the first two hours, and 
 as we went to sleep, we could perceive his plump 
 rounded form seated upon the outer rim of the circular 
 bank above us. None of us had any great faith in the 
 doctor as a guard, but his watch was during the least 
 dangerous time of night, so far as Indians are concerned. 
 These never make their attack until the hours after 
 midnight, as they know well that these are the hours of 
 soundest sleep. The horse-drive of the previous night 
 was an exception, but that had happened because they 
 had drawn near and seen no horse-guard. It was a 
 very unusual case. They knew that we were now on the 
 alert ; and if they had meditated farther mischief, would 
 have attempted it only after midnight hour. We had 
 no apprehensions, therefore, and one and all of us being 
 very much fatigued with the day's hunting afoot, 
 slept soundly. The bank against which we rested was 
 dry and comfortable ; the fire warmed us well, and 
 redoubled our desire for repose. 
 
 It appears that the doctor fell asleep on his post, or 
 else we might all of us have been better prepared for 
 the invasion that we suffered during that night. 
 
 I was awakened by loud shouts — the guides were 
 uttering them. I sprang to my feet in the full belief 
 that we were attacked by Indians, and at first thought 
 caught hold of my gun. All my companions were 
 roused about the same time, and, labouring under a 
 similar hallucination, went through a like series of 
 manoeuvres. 
 
 But when we looked up, and beheld the doctor 
 stretched along the ridge, and still snoring soundly, we 
 scarce knew what to make of it. 
 
 Ike and Redwood, however, accustomed to sleep with 
 one eye open, had waked first, and had already climbed 
 the ridge ; and the double report of their guns con- 
 firmed our suspicions that we were attacked by Indians. 
 What else could they be firing at ? 
 
 * This way all of you !' cried Redwood, making signs
 
 326 TJie Hunters' Feast 
 
 for us to come up where he and his companion already 
 were, waving their guns around their heads, and acting 
 in a very singular manner, ' this way, bring your guns, 
 pistols, and all — quick with you ! ' 
 
 We all dashed up the steep, just at the moment that 
 the doctor suddenly awaking ran terrified down. As we 
 pressed up, we could hear a mingling of noises, the 
 tramp of horsemen, as we thought, and a loud bellowing, 
 as if from a hundred bulls. The last sounds could not 
 well have been more like the bellowing of bulls, for in 
 reality it was such. The night was a bright moonlight, 
 and the moment we raised our heads above the scarp of 
 the ridge we saw at once the cause of our alarm. The 
 plain around us was black with buffaloes. Tens of 
 thousands must have been in the drove which was 
 passing us to a great depth on both sides. They were 
 running at a fast trot — some of them even galloping, 
 and in some places they were so thickly packed to- 
 gether, that one would be seen mounting upon the 
 hind-quarters of the other, while some were thrown 
 down, and trampled over by their companions. 
 
 ' Hyur, hyur, all of ye ! ' cried Ike, * stand by hyur, or 
 they'll git into the hole, and tramp us to shucks ! ' 
 
 We saw at a glance the meaning of these instructions. 
 The excited animals were rushing headlong, and nothing 
 seemed to stay their course. We could see them dash- 
 ing into and across the little streamlet without making 
 any account of it. Should they pour into the circle in 
 which we stood, others would follow, and we might get 
 mingled with the drove. There was not a spot on the 
 prairie where we could have been safe. The impetuous 
 mass was impelled from behind, and could neither halt 
 nor change its course. Already a pair of bulls had 
 fallen before the rifles of our guides, and to some extent 
 prevented the others from breaking over the ring, but 
 they would certainly have done so had it not been for 
 the shouts and gestures of the trappers. We rushed to 
 the side indicated, and each of us prepared to fire, but 
 some of the more prudent held their loads for a while, 
 others pulled trigger, and a succession of shots from
 
 A Grand Battue 327 
 
 rifles, double-barrels, and revolvers soon raised a pile of 
 dead buffaloes that blocked up the passage of the rest, 
 as though it had been a barrier built on purpose. 
 
 A breathing space was now allowed us, and each 
 loaded his piece as fast as he was able. There was no 
 time lost in firing, for the stream of living creatures 
 swept on continuously, and a mark was found in a 
 single glance of the eye. 
 
 I think we must have continued the loading and firing 
 for nearly a quarter of an hour. Then the great herd 
 began to grow thinner and thinner, until the last buffalo 
 had passed. 
 
 We now looked around us to contemplate the result. 
 The ground on every side of the circle was covered with 
 dark hirsute forms, but upon that where we stood a 
 perfect mass of them lay together. These forms were in 
 every attitude, some stretched on their sides, others 
 upon their knees, and still a number upon their feet, but 
 evidently wounded. 
 
 Some of us were about to rush out of our charmed 
 circle to complete the work, but were held back by the 
 warning voices of the guides. 
 
 ' For yur lives don't go,' cried Redwood, ' don't stir 
 from hyur till we've knocked 'em all over. Thur's 
 some o' them with life enough left to do for a ween o' 
 ye yet' 
 
 So saying, the trapper raised his long piece, selected 
 one of the bulls that were seen on their feet, and sent 
 him rolling over. 
 
 Another and another was disposed of in the same 
 way, and then those that were in a kneeling position 
 were reconnoitred to see if they were still alive, and 
 when found to be so were speedily disposed of by a 
 bullet. 
 
 When all were laid out we emerged from our hole, 
 and counted the game. There were no less than 
 twenty-five dead immediately around the circle, besides 
 several wounded that we could see straggling off over 
 the plain. 
 
 We did not think of going to rest again until each of
 
 328 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 us had eaten about two pounds of fresh buffalo-beef, and 
 what with the excitement of this odd adventure, and the 
 jokes that followed — not a {q.\v of them levelled at our 
 quondam guard — it was near morning before we closed 
 our eyes again in sleep.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 THE ROUTE HOME 
 
 We awoke more confident of our future. We had now 
 provision enough and thousands of pounds to spare. It 
 only remained for us to make it portable, and preserve 
 it by drying ; and this would occupy us about three full 
 days. Our guides understood well how to cure meat 
 without salt, and as soon as we had breakfasted all of us 
 set to work. We had to pick and choose amidst such 
 mountains of meat. Of course the fat cows only were 
 * butchered.' The bulls were left where they had fallen, 
 to become the food of wolves, scores of which were now 
 seen skulking around the spot. 
 
 A large fire was kindled, and near this was erected a 
 framework of branches, on which was laid or suspended 
 the meat, cut into thin slices and strips. These were 
 placed at such a distance from the fire that it acted upon 
 them only to dry up the juices, and in less than forty- 
 eight hours the strips became hard and stiff, so that 
 they would keep for months without danger of spoiling. 
 Meanwhile some employed themselves in dressing 
 buffalo skins, so as to render them light and portable, 
 in other words to make robes of them that would serve 
 us for sleeping in. 
 
 At the end of the third day we had arranged every 
 thing, and were ready to set forth on our homeward 
 journey. Each was to carry his own rations of the 
 jerked meat, as well as his arms, robes, and equipments. 
 Of course, loaded in this manner, we did not expect to 
 make a long daily journey, but, supplied as we were 
 with provisions for thirty days, we had no fear but that 
 before the end of that time we would reach Independence. 
 We were in high spirits as we set out, although, before 
 
 329
 
 330 TJie Hunters^ Feast 
 
 we had walked far, the pressure of our packs somewhat 
 moderated the exuberance of our feelings ; and before 
 we had been fifty hours upon the road, an incident 
 occurred that once more reduced us to a new state of 
 despondency, and placed us once more in peril of our 
 lives. Many an accident of flood and field, many a 
 ' hair-breadth 'scape ' are to be encountered in a journey 
 through prairie-land, and the most confident calculations 
 of the traveller are often rendered worthless in a single 
 moment. So we found to our consternation. 
 
 The accident which befel us was one of a deplorable 
 character. We had reached the banks of a small stream, 
 not over fifty yards in width, but very deep. After 
 going down it for several miles, no place could be found 
 that was fordable, and at length we made up our minds 
 to swim across, rather than spend more time in searching 
 for a ford. This was easy enough, as we were all 
 swimmers, and in a few minutes most of the party were 
 safely landed on the other side. 
 
 But it remained to get our provisions and other 
 matters over, and for this purpose a small raft had been 
 constructed, upon which the packs of meat, robes, as 
 well as our arms and ammunition, were laid. A cord 
 was attached to the raft, and one of the party swam over 
 with the cord, and then several taking hold commenced 
 dragging over the raft with its load. 
 
 Although the stream was narrow, the current was 
 strong and rapid, and just as the raft had got near the 
 middle the towing line snapped, and away went the 
 whole baggage down stream. 
 
 We all followed along the banks, in hopes of securing 
 the raft when it should float near, and at first we had 
 little apprehension about the matter. But to our 
 mortification we now perceived a rapid just below, and 
 there would be no chance of preventing the frail 
 structure from going over it. The packs, robes, and 
 guns had been laid upon the raft, not even fastened to 
 it, for in our careless security, we never anticipated such 
 a result. 
 
 It was too late to leap into the stream and endeavour
 
 The Route Home 331 
 
 to stop the raft. No one thought of such a thing. All 
 saw that it was impossible, and we stood with anxious 
 hearts watching the floating mass as it swept down and 
 danced over the foaming waters. Then a shock was 
 heard — the raft heeled round — and, poised upon a sharp 
 rock, stood for a moment in mid-stream, and then once 
 more washed free it glided on into the still water below. 
 
 We rushed down the banks, after an effort secured the 
 raft, and drew it ashore ; but to our consternation most 
 of the provisions, with the guns and ammunition, were 
 gone ! 
 
 They had been tossed off in the very middle of the 
 rapids, and of course were lost for ever. Only three 
 packs of the meat, with a number of robes, remained 
 upon the raft. 
 
 We were now in a more serious condition than ever. 
 The provision saved from the wreck would not last us a 
 week, and when that was consumed how were we to 
 procure more ? Our means of killing game was taken 
 from us. We had no arms but pistols and knives. 
 What chance of killing a deer, or any other creature, 
 with these ? 
 
 The prospect was gloomy enough. Some even 
 advised that we should go back to where we had left 
 the buffalo carcases. But by this time the wolves had 
 cleaned them of their flesh. It would have been 
 madness to go back. There was no other course but 
 to head once more towards the settlements, and travel 
 as fast as we could. 
 
 On half rations we continued on, making our daily 
 journeys as long as possible. It was fortunate we had 
 saved some of the robes, for it was now winter, and the 
 cold had set in with extreme bitterness. Some nights 
 we were obliged to encamp without wood to make a 
 fire with, but we were in hopes of soon reaching the 
 forest region, where we should not want for that, and 
 where, moreover, we would be more likely to meet with 
 some game that we could capture. 
 
 On the third day after leaving the stream that had 
 been so fatal to us, it began snowing, and continued to
 
 332 The Hunters' Feast 
 
 snow all night. Next morning the whole country was 
 covered with a white mantle, and we journeyed on, at 
 each step sinking in the snow. This rendered our 
 travelling very difficult, but as the snow was only a 
 foot or so in depth we were able to make way through it. 
 We saw many tracks of deer, but heeded them not, as 
 we knew there was no chance of capturing the animals. 
 Our guides said if it would only thaw a little, and then 
 freeze again, they could kill the deer without their rifles. 
 It did thaw during the day, and at night froze so hard, 
 that in the morning there was a thick crust of ice upon 
 the surface of the snow. 
 
 This gave us some hope, and next morning a deer 
 hunt was proposed. We scattered in different directions 
 in parties of two and three, and commenced tracking 
 the deer. 
 
 On reassembling at our night camp, our different 
 parties came back wearied and empty-handed. 
 
 The guides, Ike and Redwood, had gone by them- 
 selves, and were the last to reach the rendezvous. We 
 watched anxiously for their return. They came at 
 length, and to our joy each of them carried the half 
 of a deer upon his shoulders. They had discovered the 
 animal by his trail in the snow, and pursued it for miles, 
 until its ankles and hoofs became so lacerated by the 
 crust that it allowed them to approach near enough for 
 the range of their pistols. Fortunately it proved to be a 
 good-sized buck, and would add a couple of days to our 
 stock of provisions. 
 
 With fresh venison to our breakfast, we started forth 
 next morning in better spirits. This day we intended 
 to make a long journey, in hopes of getting into heavy 
 timber, where we might find deer more plentiful, and 
 might capture some before the snow thawed away. But 
 before the end of the day's journey we were so stocked 
 with provision, that we no longer cared about deer or 
 any other game. Our commissariat was once more 
 replenished by the buffalo, and in a most unexpected 
 manner. We were tramping along upon the frozen 
 snow, when upon ascending the crest of a ridge, we saw
 
 The Route Home 333 
 
 five huge forms directly in front of us. We had no 
 expectation of meeting with buffalo so far to the east- 
 ward, and were somewhat in doubt as to whether they 
 were buffaloes. Their bodies, against the white hill- 
 side, appeared of immense size, and as they were covered 
 all over with hoar frost, and icicles depending from their 
 long shaggy tufts of hair, they presented a singular 
 aspect, that for awhile puzzled us. We took them for 
 pine-trees ! 
 
 We soon saw, however, that they were in motion, 
 moving along the hill, and they could be no other than 
 buffaloes, as no other animals could have presented such 
 an appearance. Of course they were at a long distance, 
 and this prevented us from at once recognising them. 
 
 This was an important discovery, and brought our 
 party to a halt and a consultation. What course was to 
 be adopted ? How were we to capture one or all of 
 them ? Had the snow been of sufficient depth the thing 
 would have been easy ; but although as it was, it might 
 impede their running, they could get through it much 
 faster than we. The only chance was to ' approach ' 
 them by stealth ; but then we must creep within pistol 
 range, and that upon the plain white surface would be 
 absolutely impossible. The foot of the hunter, crunch- 
 ing through the frozen snow, would warn them of their 
 danger long before he could get near. In fact, when 
 every circumstance had been weighed and discussed, we 
 every one despaired of success. At that moment what 
 would we not have given for a horse and a gun. 
 
 As we talked without coming to any determination, 
 the five huge forms disappeared over the sharp ridge, 
 that ran transversely to our course. As this ridge 
 would shelter us from view, we hurried forward in 
 order to see what advantages there were in the ground 
 on its other side. We were in hopes of seeing timber 
 that might enable us to get closer to the game, and we 
 made for a small clump that grew on the top of the 
 ridge. We reached it at length, and to our great 
 chagrin, saw the five great brutes galloping off on the 
 opposite side.
 
 334 l^fi^ Huniei's' Feast 
 
 Our hearts fell, and we were turning to each other 
 with disappointed looks, when a tumultuous shout of 
 triumph broke from Redwood and the wolf-killer, and 
 both calling out to us to follow them, dashed off in the 
 direction of the buffalo ! 
 
 We looked to ascertain the cause of this strange 
 conduct. A singular sight met our eyes. The buffalo 
 were sprawling and kicking on the plain below ; now 
 rushing forward a short distance, then spreading their 
 limbs, and halting, while some of them came heavily 
 down upon their sides, and lay flinging their legs about 
 them, as if they had been wounded ! 
 
 All these manoeuvres would have been mysterious 
 enough, but the guides rushing forward had already 
 given the key to them, by exclaiming that the buffalo 
 were on the ice ! 
 
 It was true. The snow-covered plain was a frozen 
 lake, and the animals in their haste had galloped upon 
 the ice, where they were now floundering. 
 
 It cost us but a {e\w minutes' time to come up with 
 them, and in a few minutes more — a few minutes of 
 fierce deadly strife — in which pistols cracked and knife- 
 blades gleamed, five great carcasses lay motionless upon 
 the blood-stained snow. 
 
 This lucky capture, for we could only attribute it 
 to good fortune, was perhaps the means of saving the 
 lives of our party. The meat furnished by the five bulls 
 — for bulls they were — formed an ample stock, which 
 enabled us to reach the settlements in safety. It is 
 true we had many a hard trial to undergo, and many a 
 weary hours' walking, before we slept under a roof; but 
 although in wretched plight, as far as looks went, we all 
 got back in excellent health. 
 
 At Independence we were enabled to 'rig' ourselves 
 out, so as to make an appearance at St. Louis — where we 
 arrived a few days after — and where, seated around the 
 well-filled table of the Planter's Hotel, we soon forgot 
 the hardships, and remembered only the pleasures of 
 our wild hunter-life. 
 
 THE END
 
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