saddle-girths, examined our pistols, and mounting again rode over
the hill, and descended at a canter toward them, bending close to
our horses' necks. Instantly they took the alarm; those on the hill
descended; those below gathered into a mass, and the whole got in
motion, shouldering each other along at a clumsy gallop. We followed,
spurring our horses to full speed; and as the herd rushed, crowding and
trampling in terror through an opening in the hills, we were close at
their heels, half suffocated by the clouds of dust. But as we drew near,
their alarm and speed increased; our horses showed signs of the utmost
fear, bounding violently aside as we approached, and refusing to
enter among the herd. The buffalo now broke into several small bodies,
scampering over the hills in different directions, and I lost sight of
Shaw; neither of us knew where the other had gone. Old Pontiac ran like
a frantic elephant up hill and down hill, his ponderous hoofs striking
the prairie like sledge-hammers. He showed a curious mixture of
eagerness and terror, straining to overtake the panic-stricken herd, but
constantly recoiling in dismay as we drew near. The fugitives, indeed,
offered no very attractive spectacle, with their enormous size and
weight, their shaggy manes and the tattered remnants of their last
winter's hair covering their backs in irregular shreds and patches, and
flying off in the wind as they ran. At length I urged my horse close
behind a bull, and after trying in vain, by blows and spurring, to
bring him alongside, I shot a bullet into the buffalo from this
disadvantageous position. At the report, Pontiac swerved so much that I
was again thrown a little behind the game. The bullet, entering too much
in the rear, failed to disable the bull, for a buffalo requires to be
shot at particular points, or he will certainly escape. The herd ran up
a hill, and I followed in pursuit. As Pontiac rushed headlong down on
the other side, I saw Shaw and Henry descending the hollow on the right,
at a leisurely gallop; and in front, the buffalo were just disappearing