animal, leaving the dying victim where it fell.

For more than two hours the hard work was kept up until a dozen or
more of the huge bulls were dead upon the prairie within the radius
of a couple of miles. The Indians had averaged more than a buffalo
apiece, while Captain Williams' men had signally failed to bring down
a single bull, because they were unable to handle their rifles while
riding. In fact, several of the white men were carried away by their
unmanageable animals for miles from the scene of the hunt. One was
thrown from his saddle. One horse had in his mad fright rushed upon
an infuriated bull that had been wounded, and was disembowelled and
killed in a moment. Its rider was compelled to walk to the camp,
deeply mortified at his discomfiture.

The savages invariably exercised an amount of coolness on a buffalo-hunt
that would astonish the average white man. They never let an arrow
fly until they were certain of its effect. Sometimes a single arrow
would suffice to kill the largest of bulls. Sometimes, so great was
the force given, an arrow would pass obliquely through the body, when
a bone was not struck in its passage.

Captain Williams' party had now an abundance of delicious buffalo meat,
but it was at the expense of a horse, a considerable balance on the
debtor side, considering the long and weary march yet to be made.
Providence seems to have come luckily to the relief of the party at
this juncture, for, one of the savages having taken a particular
fancy to one of the dogs of the outfit, he offered to exchange a fine
young horse for it. His offer was gladly acceded to by the captain.
The Indian was pleased with the bargain, but not more so than the
horseless hunter.