CHAPTER XIV
THE BUFFALO STAMPEDE
FAR away, it seemed as though the whole surface of the prairie was inmotion. To the right and left the boys had seen the same bewilderingsight. Roger failed to comprehend what it meant, and turned to hiscompanion for an explanation.
"What is it, Dick?" he called out.
"Buffaloes--one of those great herds we've been told about, and whichstretches as far as the eye can reach!" the other replied.
"But will they come this way; and ought we saddle up so as to be readyto make a run for it?" Roger continued; not because he was timid, butthat the sight of that endless, heaving mass of moving animals hadimpressed him strongly.
"Yes, I think we should," Dick replied. "If the storm comes alongafter them, and starts a stampede, as they call it, we would stand indanger of being trampled under ten thousand hoofs. No one could evertell what had become of us. So let's roll up our blankets, and get thehorses; quick, Roger, because they're heading in our direction, andcoming right along."
Indeed, even as they brought the snorting horses in, and started tofasten the loads on their backs, the rumble had increased to a steadyroar, so that it seemed to Roger he could actually feel the groundvibrate under the pounding of those myriad of hoofs, as the heavyanimals galloped toward the river.
Whenever the lightning flashed, and this was more frequently thanbefore, with peals of thunder following, both boys found themselvescompelled to shoot quick glances of both curiosity and alarm toward theadvancing peril. And what they saw was a sight never to be forgotten.
It was like the border of a troubled sea, that tremendous line ofmoving animal life, heaving and tossing, and coming steadily on like adust cloud impelled by the wind. As yet they could not distinguish theunits comprising this immense whole; but it was easy to imagine them,for both boys had shot buffaloes before now, and knew what they werelike, though they had never looked upon a herd of more than half adozen at a time.
"Oh! there must be millions in that lot!" cried Roger, when aparticularly vivid flash came, that showed them the whole level stretchcovered with the advancing horde as far as their eyes could reach.
"Too many for us to stay here, and try to divide!" Dick answered.
"How lucky that you noticed where the trees grew along the river," saidRoger; "because that will be our best chance, don't you think, Dick?"
"Yes, and the sooner we're off the better," was the other's answer.
He knew that their horses must still be tired from the long journeyof the day before, and, laden as they were, might not be able to runas swiftly as under other conditions. Just how fast that avalancheof shaggy forms could advance he had no means of knowing. If furtherfrightened by the flash of lightning, and the crash of thunder, astampede of the herd would mean that the bison would come on the fullgallop, madly seeking to find shelter from the howling blast.
"Have we got everything, do you think?" asked Roger, ready to mounthis horse, which could hardly be held in hand, such was its terror atthe approach of this thundering mass of heavy beasts; it was as thoughthe intelligent animal understood the danger that threatened, andwanted to be on the move.
"No matter, we cannot afford to waste another minute hunting foranything now. Our lives are worth more than any other thing we possess.Get in your saddle, quick, Roger; and be careful not to let the horsethrow you, or all is lost!"
The warning came not any too soon, for the fretful animal was jumpingand tugging at the bridle, trying the best it could to break away, sothat it might dash off, and keep a space between that approaching periland its fleet heels.
But Roger was a pretty fair horseman, and succeeded in mounting,in spite of all the prancing of the steed. Then away they went,helter-skelter, allowing the horses to have their heads.
They tried to keep as near to one another as possible. The one dangerDick feared more than anything else was that one of the horses in thisheadlong gallop might set his feet in a marmot hole, and bring aboutdisaster; for a spill in the face of the oncoming army of buffaloeswould mean that the unfortunate one must be trampled under foot,whether his horse had a leg broken or not.
When first seen the buffaloes had apparently been simply gallopingsteadily on, as though bent on changing their feeding grounds; butDick, turning to look with each flash, believed he could detect achange coming over their method of advance.
This was doubtless caused by the increasing crashes of thunder thatsounded high above the steady roar of those tens of thousands of hoofsbeating upon the hard turf. In other words, as the oncoming stormbegan to overtake the drove, their gallop was fast degenerating into astampede, when every animal would put on its best spurt, and, wild withfear, seek to outrun the threatening gale.
Already the horses were doing their best, and it was folly to digone's heels into the sides of his straining beast, as Roger was doing,seeking to obtain a little more speed.
And now both boys began to look anxiously ahead. Despite the bestefforts of the horses it seemed as though the leading buffaloes weremuch closer to them than when the mad race had started; and this meantthat, unless they could manage to gain the shelter of the trees, theywere going to have a hard time of it avoiding disaster.
Already Roger had learned that his comrade had guessed true when hesaid that the indistinct line along the horizon, seen just at sunset,must be trees. They had become much more distinct by now, so that,although but a fleeting glimpse of them could be obtained when thelightning flashed, still that was enough.
And now the rain started to fall, but neither cared for that, if onlyit did not interfere with their striking the timber belt at its nearestpoint.
Probably neither of those boys would ever forget that wild ride, withthe thunder booming all around them; the lightning seeming to strikehere, there, and everywhere; the rain falling in a deluge that soonsoaked them to the skin; and, worst of all, that endless line ofgalloping bison gaining constantly, as they were urged on by theirfright.
Once Roger's horse stumbled, and the boy came near falling, onlyretaining his seat because he had firmly fixed himself there. Hisheart seemed to jump into his throat with a sudden fear lest the animalhad lamed itself, and would prove unequal to the task of keeping aheadof the oncoming herd.
But, so far as could be seen, the horse did not show any signs ofinjury.
"Can we make it, Dick?"
It was necessary for Roger to shout, although at the time he could nothave been ten feet away from his companion. The combination of noisesall around them prevented such a small thing as a human voice frombeing heard, unless strained to the utmost.
"Looks like it! keep up your heart, Roger!" was the cheery reply.
But, although Dick spoke in this manner, he was not so very sure thatthe tired horses would be equal to the test. He almost hated to glancebackward now, for it seemed to him that the advance of that endlessline of pursuers must be overtaking them rapidly. Perhaps that was onlyhis fears magnified; but it impressed Dick disagreeably, nevertheless.
In vain he racked his brain to conjure up some means by which theirprogress might be increased. Even if they could take the timeto detach some of the various packages with which they had loadedtheir horses, it was doubtful if such a sacrifice would avail to anyconsiderable extent, and so Dick dismissed it as useless.
"WHEN THE THUNDER STOPPED BOOMING FOR A FEW SECONDS THEYCOULD HEAR THE ROAR OF THOSE COUNTLESS HOOFS BEHIND THEM."]
The best hope that he had lay in the chance that the trees mightbe somewhat nearer than they believed to be the case, owing to theimpossibility of correctly gauging distances while the rain wasfalling, driven by the wind, and the deceptive lightning held sway.
At any rate, all they could do was to hang on, and trust to goodfortune to carry them to safety. The horses were fully conscious oftheir danger, and could be trusted to head for the river. Besides, Dickkept his senses about him all the while, for he knew what it might meanif he allowed himself to give way.
When the th
under stopped booming for a few seconds they could hear theroar of those countless hoofs behind them. It had at least one goodelement about it--it spurred their horses on.
Had it been daylight, or even a clear, moonlight night, Dick might havemanaged to alter his course so as to strike the trees at some pointnearer than the one the frightened horses were aiming for. But in sucha storm one could only keep straight ahead, and trust to luck for therest.
Roger, for once at least, had no suggestion to make. True, he lookedbackward at times as though almost ready to turn at bay, and face thatrolling mass of tossing black horns and shaggy heads; but the folly ofsuch a thing must have impressed itself upon him immediately, for hekept beside his companion throughout the entire ride.
His one bullet, even granting that it found a victim, would havecounted no more than a grain of sand on the seashore. And after he hadfired his bolt the end must have overwhelmed him instantly; for thatresistless tide would sweep on, and every object in its path would beblotted out of existence.
It seemed to Roger that his nerves had reached a point where they couldstand no more. And then he heard Dick give vent to a loud shout, notof new alarm, but with a ring of triumph in it; and surely never didthe sound of human voice break upon the ears of Roger Armstrong with asweeter cadence than when he grasped the tenor of what his companionwas calling:
"The trees, Roger, the trees are at hand! Keep it up for five minutesmore, and it will be all right!"
The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri; or, In the Country of the Sioux Page 17
