Part 24 (1/2)
During our first night in camp the members of the party askedThe entire evening was spent in talk about buffaloes, together with stories of the Plains, the chase, and the hich was then fresh in thethe caallant officer as in command of the escort
We breakfasted at four the next er to see the buffaloes which I had pro the day After a hted six of these aniestion, Lawrence Jeroers, and Crosby, with h a convenient canon to a point beyond the herd, and to ard of them; the rest of the partybehind the crest of a hill
We charged down on the buffaloes at full gallop, and just then the other party e chase
The buffaloes started away in a line, single file; Fitzhugh, after a lively gallop, led us all Soon he caside the rear buffalo, at which he fired The aniht hiround Crosby dashed past and leveled another of the herd, while Livingston dropped a third Those ere not directly engaged in the hunt now cah was hailed as the winner of the Buffalo Cup There was general sympathy for Heckscher, whose horse had fallen and rolled over hi over, the colu town, several hout the Plains, living together in a sort of society Their nureatest care is necessary in riding aive way under the weight of a horse
Around the entrance to each burrow earth is piled to the height of at least a foot On these little elevations the prairie-dogs sit on their haunches, chattering to each other and observing whatever passes on the Plains
They will permit a person to approach very closely, but when they have viewed him they dive into their holes onderful celerity They are difficult to kill If hit they usually succeed in getting underground before they can be recovered
Rattlesnakes and little owls are found in great nu in the sas, and found them very palatable
A short distance beyond the prairie-dog toe found a settlement of five white men They Proved to be the two Clifford brothers, Arthur Ruff, dick Seymour, and John Nelson To the last I have already referred Each of these men had a squaw for a wife and numerous half-breed children They lived in tents of buffalo skins They owned a herd of horses and a few cattle, and had cultivated a s, and they had numbers of buffalo hides, which they had tanned in the Indian fashi+on
Upon reaching Pleasant Valley on Medicine Creek the party divided into two detach the bank of the creek for elk and deer, the other re with the main body of the escort
The elk hunters met with no success whatever, but the others found plenty of buffaloes and nearly everybody killed one before the day was done Lawrence Jero in an ambulance, and killed a buffalo that atte the Republican River on theof the twenty-sixth we came upon an immense number of buffaloes scattered over the country in every direction All had an opportunity to hunt The wagons and troopstoward the next camp while the hunters rode off in twos and threes Each hunter was rewarded with abundant success
Lawrence Jero Buckskin Joe, which I had lent hio of the bridle
The horse decided to do a little hunting on his own account When last seen that day he was ahead of the buffaloes, and gaining, while his late rider was left to his own reflections Three days later Joe, saddled and bridled, turned up at Fort McPherson
We pitched our ca spot on the bank of Beaver Creek The game was so abundant that we re-place was called Camp Cody, in honor of the reader's hu jack-rabbits, coyotes, elk, antelope, and wild turkeys
That we had a splendid dinner
BILL OF FARE
Soup Buffalo Tail
Fish Broiled Cisco; Fried Dace
Entrees Salnons
Vegetables Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas
Dessert Tapioca Pudding
Wines Chane au Naturel, Claret, Whisky, Brandy, Ale
Coffee