Next day most of the men of Fort Erie, headed by Mr Pemberton, rode away into the prairies on a buffalo-hunt. Jasper would willingly have remained with Marie at the fort, but, having promised to go, he would not now draw back.
The band of horsemen rode for three hours, at a quick pace, over the grassy2 plains, without seeing anything. Jasper kept close beside his friend, old Laroche, while Heywood rode and conversed3 chiefly with Mr Pemberton. There were about twenty men altogether, armed with guns, and mounted on their best buffalo-runners, as they styled the horses which were trained to hunt the buffalo. Many of these steeds had been wild horses, caught by the Indians, broken-in, and sold by them to the fur-traders.
“I have seldom ridden so long without meeting buffaloes4,” observed Mr Pemberton, as the party galloped6 to the top of a ridge7 of land, from which they could see the plains far and wide around them.
“There they are at last,” said Heywood eagerly, pointing to a certain spot on the far-off horizon where living creatures of some sort were seen moving.
“That must be a band o’ red-skins,” said Jasper, who trotted8 up at this moment with the rest of the party.
“They are Sauteaux,” (This word is pronounced Sotoes in the plural9; Sotoe in the singular) observed Arrowhead quietly.
“You must have good eyes, friend,” said Pemberton, applying a small pocket-telescope to his eye; “they are indeed Sauteaux, I see by their dress, and they have observed us, for they are coming straight this way, like the wind.”
“Will they come as enemies or friends?” inquired Heywood.
“As friends, I have no doubt,” replied the fur-trader. “Come, lads, we will ride forward to meet them.”
In a short time the two parties of horsemen met. They approached almost at full speed, as if each meant to ride the other down, and did not rein10 up until they were so close that it seemed impossible to avoid a shock.
“Have you seen the buffaloes lately?” inquired Pemberton, after the first salutation had passed.
“Yes, there are large bands not an hour’s ride from this. Some of our young warriors11 have remained to hunt. We are going to the fort to trade.”
“Good; you will find tobacco enough there to keep you smoking till I return with fresh meat,” said Pemberton, in the native tongue, which he could speak like an Indian. “I’ll not be long away. Farewell.”
No more words were wasted. The traders galloped away over the prairie, and the Indians, of whom there were about fifteen, dashed off in the direction of the fort.
These Indians were a very different set of men from those whom I have already introduced to the reader in a former chapter. There are many tribes of Indians in the wilderness12 of Rupert’s Land, and some of the tribes are at constant war with each other. But in order to avoid confusing the reader, it may be as well to divide the Indian race into two great classes—namely, those who inhabit the woods, and those who roam over the plains or prairies. As a general rule, the thick wood Indians are a more peaceful set of men than the prairie Indians. They are few in number, and live in a land full of game, where there is far more than enough of room for all of them. Their mode of travelling in canoes, and on foot, is slow, so that the different tribes do not often meet, and they have no occasion to quarrel. They are, for the most part, a quiet and harmless race of savages13, and being very dependent on the fur-traders for the necessaries of life, they are on their good behaviour, and seldom do much mischief14.
It is very different with the plain Indians. These savages have numbers of fine horses, and live in a splendid open country, which is well-stocked with deer and buffaloes, besides other game. They are bold riders, and scour15 over the country in all directions, consequently the different tribes often come across each other when out hunting. Quarrels and fights are the results, so that these savages are naturally a fierce and warlike race. They are independent too; for although they get their guns and ammunition16 and other necessaries from the traders, they can manage to live without these things if need be. They can clothe themselves in the skins of wild animals, and when they lose their guns, or wet their powder, they can kill game easily with their own bows and arrows.
It was a band of these fellows that now went galloping17 towards Fort Erie, with the long manes and tails of the half-wild horses and the scalp-locks on their dresses and their own long black hair streaming in the wind.
Pemberton and his party soon came up with the young Indians who had remained to chase the buffaloes. He found them sheltered behind a little mound18, making preparations for an immediate19 attack on the animals, which, however, were not yet visible to the men from the fort.
“I do believe they’ve seen buffaloes on the other side of that mound,” said Pemberton, as he rode forward.
He was right. The Indians, of whom there were six, well mounted and armed with strong short bows, pointed20 to the mound, and said that on the other side of it there were hundreds of buffaloes.
As the animals were so numerous, no objection was made to the fur-traders joining in the hunt, so in another moment the united party leaped from their horses and prepared for action. Some wiped out and carefully loaded their guns, others examined the priming of their pieces, and chipped the edges off the flints to make sure of their not missing fire. All looked to the girths of their saddles, and a few threw off their coats and rolled their shirt-sleeves up to their shoulders, as if they were going to undertake hard and bloody21 work.
Mr Pemberton took in hand to look after our friend Heywood; the rest were well qualified22 to look after themselves. In five minutes they were all remounted and rode quietly to the brow of the mound.
Here an interesting sight presented itself. The whole plain was covered with the huge unwieldy forms of the buffaloes. They were scattered23 about, singly and in groups, grazing or playing or lying down, and in one or two places some of the bulls were engaged in single combat, pawing the earth, goring24 each other, and bellowing25 furiously.
After one look, the hunters dashed down the hill and were in the midst of the astonished animals almost before they could raise their heads to look at them. Now commenced a scene which it is not easy to describe correctly. Each man had selected his own group of animals, so that the whole party was scattered in a moment.
“Follow me,” cried Pemberton to Heywood, “observe what I do, and then go try it yourself.”
The fur-trader galloped at full speed towards a group of buffaloes which stood right before him, about two hundred yards off. He carried a single-barrelled gun with a flint lock in his right hand and a bullet in his mouth, ready to re-load. The buffaloes gazed at him for one moment in stupid surprise, and then, with a toss of their heads and a whisk of their tails, they turned and fled. At first they ran with a slow awkward gait, like pigs; and to one who did not know their powers, it would seem that the fast-running horses of the two men would quickly overtake them. But as they warmed to the work their speed increased, and it required the horses to get up their best paces to overtake them.
After a furious gallop5, Pemberton’s horse ran close up alongside of a fine-looking buffalo cow—so close that he could almost touch the side of the animal with the point of his gun. Dropping the rein, he pointed the gun without putting it to his shoulder and fired. The ball passed through the animal’s heart, and it dropt like a stone. At the same moment Pemberton flung his cap on the ground beside it, so that he might afterwards claim it as his own.
The well-trained horse did not shy at the shot, neither did it check its pace for a moment, but ran straight on and soon placed its master alongside of another buffalo cow. In the meantime, Pemberton loaded like lightning. He let the reins26 hang loose, knowing that the horse understood his work, and, seizing the powder-horn at his side with his right hand, drew the wooden stopper with his teeth, and poured a charge of powder into his left—guessing the quantity, of course. Pouring this into the gun he put the muzzle27 to his mouth, and spat28 the ball into it, struck the butt29 on the pommel of the saddle to send it down, as well as to drive the powder into the pan, and taking his chance of the gun priming itself, he aimed as before, and pulled the trigger. The explosion followed, and a second buffalo lay dead upon the plain, with a glove beside it to show to whom it belonged.
Scenes similar to this were being enacted30 all over the plain, with this difference, that the bad or impatient men sometimes fired too soon and missed their mark, or by only wounding the animals, infuriated them and caused them to run faster. One or two ill-trained horses shied when the guns were fired, and left their riders sprawling31 on the ground. Others stumbled into badger-holes and rolled over. The Indians did their work well. They were used to it, and did not bend their bows until their horses almost brushed the reeking32 sides of the huge brutes33. Then they drew to the arrow heads, and, leaning forward, buried the shafts34 up to the feathers. The arrow is said to be even more deadly than the bullet.
Already the plain was strewn with dead or dying buffaloes, and the ground seemed to tremble with the thunder of the tread of the affrighted animals. Jasper had ‘dropt’ three, and Arrowhead had slain35 two, yet the pace did not slacken—still the work of death went on.
Having seen Pemberton shoot another animal, Heywood became fired with a desire to try his own hand, so he edged away from his companion. Seeing a very large monstrous-looking buffalo flying away by itself at no great distance, he turned his horse towards it, grasped his gun, shook the reins, and gave chase.
Now poor Heywood did not know that the animal he had made up his mind to kill was a tough old bull; neither did he know that a bull is bad to eat, and dangerous to follow; and, worse than all, he did not know that when a bull holds his tail stiff and straight up in the air, it is a sign that he is in a tremendous rage, and that the wisest thing a man can do is to let him alone. Heywood, in fact, knew nothing, so he rushed blindly on his fate. At first the bull did not raise his tail, but, as the rider drew near, he turned his enormous shaggy head a little to one side, and looked at him out of the corner of his wicked little eye. When Heywood came within a few yards and, in attempting to take aim, fired off his gun by accident straight into the face of the sun, the tail went up and the bull began to growl36. The ferocious37 aspect of the creature alarmed the artist, but he had made up his mind to kill it, so he attempted to re-load, as Pemberton had done. He succeeded, and, as he was about to turn his attention again to the bull, he observed one of the men belonging to the fort making towards him. This man saw and knew the artist’s danger, and meant to warn him, but his horse unfortunately put one of its feet into a hole, and sent him flying head over heels through the air. Heywood was now so close to the bull that he had to prepare for another shot.
The horse he rode was a thoroughly38 good buffalo-runner. It knew the dangerous character of the bull, if its rider did not, and kept its eye watchfully39 upon it. At last the bull lost patience, and, suddenly wheeling round, dashed at the horse, but the trained animal sprang nimbly to one side, and got out of the way. Heywood was all but thrown. He clutched the mane, however, and held on. The bull then continued its flight.
Determined40 not to be caught in this way again, the artist seized the reins, and ran the horse close alongside of the buffalo, whose tail was now as stiff as a poker41. Once more the bull turned suddenly round. Heywood pulled the reins violently, thus confusing his steed which ran straight against the buffalo’s big hairy forehead. It was stopped as violently as if it had run against the side of a house. But poor Heywood was not stopped. He left the saddle like a rocket, flew right over the bull’s back, came down on his face, ploughed up the land with his nose—and learned a lesson from experience!
Fortunately the spot on which he fell happened to be one of those soft muddy places in which the buffaloes are fond of rolling their huge bodies in the heat of summer, so that, with the exception of a bruised42 and dirty face, and badly soiled clothes, the bold artist was none the worse for his adventure.
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1
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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buffaloes
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| n.水牛（分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种）( buffalo的名词复数 )；（南非或北美的）野牛；威胁；恐吓 | |
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5
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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7
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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plural
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| n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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15
scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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18
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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goring
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| v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的现在分词 ) | |
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bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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32
reeking
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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36
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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37
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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38
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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watchfully
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| 警惕地，留心地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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42
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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