The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

  BART'S FIRST BISON.

  Joses was wrong, for no sign was seen of buffalo that day, and so thenext morning, after a very primitive kind of camp out in the wilderness,the Beaver took them in quite a different direction, parallel to thecamp, so as to be within range, for distance had to be remembered inproviding meat for so large a company.

  It was what Joses called ticklish work.

  "You must keep your eyes well skinned, Master Bart," he said, with agrim smile, as they left the plain for an undulating country, full ofdepressions, most of which contained water, and whose gentle hills werecovered with succulent buffalo-grass. "If you don't, my lad, you mayfind yourself dropping down on to a herd of Apaches instead ofbuffaloes; and I can tell you, young fellow, that a buck Injun's a dealworse thing to deal with than a bull buffler. You must keep a sharplook-out."

  "I'll do the best I can, Joses, you may be sure; but suppose I shouldcome upon an Indian party--what am I to do?"

  "Do, my lad? Why, make tracks as sharp as ever you can to yourfriends--that is, if you are alone."

  "But if I can't get away, and they shoot at me?"

  "Well, what do you mean?" said Joses, dryly.

  "I mean what am I to do if I am in close quarters, and feel that theywill kill me?"

  "Oh," said Joses, grimly, "I should pull up short, and go up to them andgive them my hatchet, and rifle, and knife, and say to 'em that you hopethey won't be so wicked as to kill you, for you are very fond of Injun,and think 'em very nice; and then you'll see they'll be as pleased aspleased, and they'll make such a fuss over you."

  "Do you mean that, Joses?"

  "Mean it, my lad? to be sure I do. A friend of mine did so, just asI've told you, for he was afraid to fight."

  "And did the Indians make a fuss over him?" asked Bart.

  "To be sure they did, my lad; they took his weppuns, and then they sethim on his knees, and pulled all the hair off his head to make anornament for one of their belts, and then, because he hollered out anddidn't like it, they took their lariats and tethering pegs, and afterfixing the pegs in the ground, they put a rope round each of his anklesand his wrists, and spread-eagled him out tight, and then they lit afire to warm themselves, for it was a very cold day."

  "What!" cried Bart, looking aghast at his companion, who was evidentlybantering him.

  "Oh no, not to roast him," said Joses, laughing; "they didn't mean that.They lit the fire on purpose to warm themselves; and where do you thinkthey lit it?"

  "In a hole in the ground," said Bart.

  "No, my boy; they lit it on that poor fellow's chest, and kept itburning there fiercely, and sat round it and warmed themselves; and themore that poor wretch shrieked for mercy, the more they laughed."

  "Joses, it's too horrid to believe," cried Bart.

  "Well, it does sound too horrid; don't it, eh? But it's the simple,honest truth, my boy, for some of they Injuns is regular demons, andstop at nothing. They do any mortal thing under the sun to a white."

  "Then you would not surrender?" said Bart.

  "Surrender? What! to an Indian? Not till I hadn't got a bit o' life inmy body, my lad. Not before."

  "But would you have me turn upon them and shoot them, Joses?" said thelad, with all a boy's horror of shedding blood.

  "Bart, my lad," said Joses, holding out his rough hand, which the boyreadily grasped, "if you ask me for a bit of advice, as one who knowspretty well what unfriendly Injun is, I'll give it to you."

  "I do ask it, Joses, for it horrifies me to think of trying to take aman's life."

  "Of course it does, my lad; so it used to me. But here's my bit ofadvice for you:--Whenever you meet Injun, don't trust 'em till they'reproved to be of the right grit. Don't hurt a hair of any one of theirheads, and always be honest in dealing with them. But if it comes tofighting, and you see they mean your life, fight for it like a man.Show 'em that an English boy has got a man's heart, only it's young, andnot full growed. Never give up, for recklect that if the Injuns gethold of you it means death--horrible death--while if you fight you maybeat 'em, and if you don't it's only death all the same."

  "But it seems so dreadful to shoot at a man, knowing that you may killhim."

  "So it does, my lad, but it's ever so much more dreadful for them toshoot at you. They've only got to leave you alone and it's all right."

  Just then the Beaver came cantering up to them, gently lying right downupon his horse.

  "Jump off, Master Bart," cried Joses; "there's buffler in sight, and wedon't want to scare 'em."

  Setting the example, he slid from his horse, and stood behind it, Bartimitating his acts, and they waited there till the Beaver came up, andpointed towards an opening in the distance, where, for the moment, Bartcould see nothing; but watching attentively, he soon made out whatseemed to be a dark patch moving slowly towards them.

  "Are those bison?" he whispered to Joses; though the objects at which hegazed were miles away.

  "No, they aren't," growled Joses; "them's buffler, and they're a feedingsteadily on in this way, so that we shall be able to get a good few, Ihope, and p'r'aps drive two or three a long way on towards the camp, soas to save carrying them there."

  "May we ride up to them now?" cried Bart.

  "I ain't going to have anything to do with the hunt," cried Joses,grimly. "Let the Beaver do it all; he's used to it. I haven't hadanything to do with buffler-hunting for a many years."

  "Are the bulls very dangerous?" said Bart then. "I mean may I ridepretty close up to one without getting gored?"

  "They ain't half so dangerous as our own bulls used to be down at theranche, my lad, and not a quarter so dangerous as them that have takento a wild life after jumping out of the corral."

  By this time the Beaver had signalled his followers to approach, andafter giving them some instructions, they all rode off together into abit of a valley, the Beaver and his English companions following them,so that in a few minutes they were out of sight of the approaching herdof buffalo, which came steadily on in profound ignorance of there beingenemies in their neighbourhood.

  The country was admirably adapted for a hunt, the ground beingunencumbered by anything larger than a scrubby kind of brush, while itsmany shallow valleys gave the hunters ample opportunity for ridingunseen until they had reached a favourable situation for theironslaught.

  The Beaver was evidently a thorough expert in such a hunt as this, forhe kept on dismounting and making observations, directing his followershere and there, and often approaching pretty near, making retrogrademovements, so as to bring them forward again in a more satisfactoryposition.

  His last arrangement was to place his following in couples about ahundred yards apart, parallel with the line of march of the herd, whichwas still invisible to Bart, though on the other side of the ridge inwhose valley he sheltered he could hear a strange snorting noise everynow and then, and a low angry bellow.

  "We're to wait his signal, Master Bart, and then ride up the slope here,and go right at the buffler. Don't be afraid, my lad, but pick out theone you mean to have, and then stick to him till you've brought him downwith a bullet right through his shoulder."

  "I'll try not to be afraid, Joses," said Bart; "but I can't help feelinga bit excited."

  "You wouldn't be good for much if you didn't, my boy," said thefrontiersman. "Now then, be ready. Is your rifle all right?"

  "Yes."

  "Mind then: ride close up to your bull, and as he gallops off you galloptoo, till you reach out with your rifle in one hand and fire."

  "But am I to ride right up to the herd, Joses?"

  "To be sure you are, my boy. Don't you be afraid, I tell you. It'sonly getting over it the first time. Just you touch Black Boy with yourheels, and he'll take you right in between a couple of the bulls, sothat you can almost reach them on each side. Then you'll find they'llbegin to edge off on both sides, and get farther and farther away, when,as I told you before, you must st
ick to one till you've got him down."

  "Poor brute!" said Bart, gently.

  "Poor stuff!" cried Joses. "We must have meat, mustn't we? Youwouldn't say poor salmon or poor sheep because it had to be killed.Look out. Here we go."

  For the Beaver had made a quick signal, and in a moment the huntingparty began to ascend the slope leading to the ridge, beyond which Bartknew that the bison were feeding, and most probably in a similardepression to the one in which the horsemen had been hidden.

  "Look out for yourself," said Joses, raising his rifle; and nervinghimself for the encounter, and wondering whether he really was afraid orno, Bart pressed his little cob's sides with his heels, making itincrease its pace, while he, the rider, determined to dash boldly intothe herd just as he had been told.

  At that moment Bart's courage had a severe trial, for it seemed as if bymagic that a huge bull suddenly appeared before him, the monster havingtrotted heavily to the top of the ridge, exactly opposite to Bart, and,not ten yards apart, the latter and the bull stopped short to gaze ateach other.

  "What a monster!" thought Bart, bringing his rifle to bear upon themassive head, with the tremendous shoulders covered with long coarseshaggy hair, while the short curved horns and great glowing eyes gavethe bull so ferocious an aspect that upon first acquaintance it wasquite excusable that Bart's heart should quail and his hands tremble ashe took aim, for the animal did not move.

  Just then Bart remembered that Joses had warned him not to fire at thefront of a bison.

  "He'd carry away half-a-dozen balls, my lad, and only die miserablyafterwards in the plain. What you've got to do is to put a bullet in agood place and bring him down at once. That's good hunting. It savespowder and lead, makes sure of the meat, and don't hurt the buffler halfso much."

  So Bart did not fire, but sat there staring up at the bull, and the bullstood above him pawing the ground, snorting furiously, and preparinghimself for a charge.

  Truth must be told. If Bart had been left to himself on this his firstmeeting with a bison, especially as the beast looked so threatening, hewould have turned and fled. But as it happened, he was not left tohimself, for Black Boy did not share his rider's tremor. He stoodgazing warily up at the bull for a few moments, and then, havingapparently made up his mind that there was not much cause for alarm, andthat the bison was a good deal of a big bully without a great deal ofbravery under his shaggy hide, he began to move slowly up the slope,taking his master with him, to Bart's horror and consternation.

  "He'll charge at and roll us over and over down the slope," thoughtBart, as he freed his feet from the stirrups, ready to leap off andavoid being crushed beneath his nag.

  Nine yards--eight yards--six yards--closer and closer, and the bison didnot charge. Then so near that the monster's eyes seemed to flame, andstill nearer and nearer, with the great animal tossing its head, andmaking believe to lower it and tear up the earth with one horn.

  "If he don't run we must," thought Bart, at last, as Black Boy slowlyand cautiously took him up to within a yard of the shaggy beast, whosebovine breath Bart could smell now as he tossed his head.

  Then, all at once, the great fellow wheeled round and thundered down theslope, while, as if enjoying the discomfiture, Black Boy made a bound,cleared the ridge, and descended the other slope at full gallop close tothe bison's heels.

  All Bart's fear went in the breeze that swept by him. He felt ready toshout with excitement, for the valley before him seemed to be alive withbison, all going along at a heavy lumbering gallop, with Joses and theIndians in full pursuit, and all as much excited as he.

  His instructions were to ride right in between two of the bison, singleout one of them, and to keep to him till he dropped; and Bart sawnothing but the huge drove on ahead, with the monstrous bull whoseacquaintance he had made thundering on between him and the main body.

  "I must keep to him," thought Bart; "and I will, till I have shot himdown."

  "If I can," he added a few minutes later, as he kept on in the excitingchase.

  How long it lasted he could not tell, nor how far they went. All heknew was that after a long ride the bull nearly reached the main body;and once mingled with them, Bart felt that he must lose him.

  But this did not prove to be the case, for Black Boy had had too good atraining with cattle-driving. He had been a bit astonished at theshaggy hair about the bison's front, but it did not trouble him much;and without being called upon by spur or blow, no sooner did the bisonplunge into the ranks of his fellows as they thundered on, than thegallant little horse made three or four bounds, and rushed close up tohis haunch, touching him and the bison on his left, with the result thatboth of the shaggy monsters edged off a little, giving way so that Bartwas carried right in between them, and, as Joses had suggested, therewas one moment when he could literally have kicked the animals on eitherside of his little horse.

  That only lasted for a moment, though; for both of the bison began toedge away, with the result that the opening grew wider and wider, while,remembering enough of his lesson, Bart kept close to the bull's flank,Black Boy never flinching for a moment; and at last the drove hadscattered, so that the young hunter found himself almost all alone onthe plain, going at full speed beside his shaggy quarry, the rest of theherd having left him to his fate.

  And now the bull began to grow daring, making short rushes at horse andrider, but they were of so clumsy a nature that Black Boy easily avoidedthem, closing in again in the most pertinacious manner upon the bull'sflanks as soon as the charge was ended.

  All at once Bart remembered that there was something else to be done,and that he was not to go on riding beside the bison, but to try andshoot it.

  Easier said than done, going at full gallop, but he brought his rifle tobear, and tried to get a good aim, but could not; for it seemed as ifthe muzzle were either jerked up towards the sky or depressed towardsthe ground.

  He tried again and again, but could not make sure of a shot, so,checking his steed a little, he allowed the bison to get a few yardsahead, and then galloped forward till he was well on the right side,where he could rest the rifle upon his horse's withers, and, waiting histime, get a good shot.

  It might have been fired into the earth for all the effect it had, saveto produce an angry charge, and it was the same with a couple moreshots. Then, all at once, as Bart was re-loading, the poor brutesuddenly stood still, panting heavily, made an effort to charge thelittle horse, stopped, ploughed up the ground with its right horn, andthen shivered and fell over upon its flank--dead.

  Bart leaped from his horse in his excitement, and, running to the bison,jumped upon its shaggy shoulder, took off his cap, waved it above hishead, and uttered a loud cheer.

  Then he looked round for some one to echo his cry, and he saw awidespread stretch of undulating prairie land, with some tufts of bushhere, some tall grass there, and beneath his feet the huge game beastthat he had fairly run down and shot, while close beside him Black Boywas recompensing himself for his long run by munching the coarse browngrass.

  And that was all.