WE GET UP A BUFFALO HUNT--WE ENGAGE STALKER AND GAROUPE, TWO HALF-CASTE
HUNTERS--PEMMICAN--THE HUNT--I GET FLOORED BY A HUGE BISON, BUT AM
CARRIED TO CAMP IN HIS SKIN--HOSTILE SIOUX, AND A BRUSH WITH THEM--WE
CROSS THE ASSINIBOINE--LA PRAIRIE PORTAGE.
Trevor and I now formed our first hunting expedition. Buffalo, or
rather bison-hunting, had long been our day-dream, and had formed the
chief subject of our conversation as we paddled along in our canoes, or
when seated round our camp-fires at night, so now we determined to make
a beginning. We engaged a couple of half-breeds as guides and hunters,
one was of English, the other of French parentage. One was called John
Stalker, the other Pierre Garoupe. They were both bold, active fellows,
and each amusingly tenacious of the honour of the country from which his
father came. There was no want of good horses in the settlement,
courageous, hardy animals, trained to hunt the buffalo, and taught to
stand still should their rider be thrown, or any accident happen to him.
The carts of the country are built entirely of wood, without a nail,
and consequently float across rivers, and if broken, are easily
repaired. We bought four of these carts to carry our tent, provisions,
ammunition, and clothing. A large body of half-breed hunters, with
their wives and children, had gone on before, towards the south-west,
where the buffalo were said to have appeared in great numbers, on their
way to the northward, and we hoped, by pushing on, to overtake the band
in time to see some of the sport.
John Stalker gave us much information about these hunting expeditions.
Great regularity is observed. Each man has his own cart or carts and
horses. The band is divided into companies, with a chief to each, and
constables, and a leader over the whole, whose word is supreme both in
camp and on the hunting field. We found ourselves in a new kind of
scenery. Here, and there were separate woods, but our course chiefly
lay over the open prairie, a boundless expanse of waving grass. The
greatest risk in dry weather in such a country is from fire; should it
once become ignited no human power can arrest its progress, and Heaven
have mercy on the hapless hunter whom it overtakes. The fleetest steed
will scarcely escape if flying before it. We found from the fresh
tracks that we were near the hunters, and at length we came upon them
encamped, the women making pemmican, and the men cleaning their arms, or
doing nothing. Pemmican is the staple food of all the hunters and
travellers throughout the country. In the Cree tongue _Pemmi_ means
meat, and _Kon_ fat. The flesh of the buffalo is cut up in strips and
hung on poles to dry. Then it is pounded between two stones till the
fibres separate. About fifty pounds of this meat are put into a bag of
buffalo skin with forty pounds of hot melted fat, thoroughly mixed with
it. A nicer sort contains berries and sugar, and is highly prized. It
keeps for years, subject to wet, cold, or damp. One pound is considered
equal to three of ordinary meat.
Having introduced ourselves to the leader of the party, and invited him
to come and sup with us, we encamped in a position he assigned to us,
and made preparations for the next day's hunt. By early dawn, Trevor
and I, followed by Peter, were in the saddle--the latter from his
childhood had been accustomed to horses, and was now perfectly at home
on horseback. I spoke of the Crees. They inhabit the country to the
south and east of Lake Winnipeg, and the half-breeds are chiefly related
to them on the mothers' side.
It was a fine sight to see the band of hunters marshalled in order,
advance towards the spot where the buffaloes, as the bisons are here
called, were said to be feeding. I could not help thinking, as I
watched them, what splendid light cavalry they would make, for the
defence of the country against their encroaching neighbours, or mounted
police, or irregular cavalry for any purpose. Trevor, too, was much
struck with the scene. "We try to civilise the Red-men," he remarked;
"very good, and I don't see any impossibility; but I do see the bungling
manner in which we set about it. We try to make men who have been all
their lives on horseback, or, with rifle in hand, have hunted buffaloes,
deer, or grizzlies, or been accustomed to the trapping of small game,
sit quietly down as farmers, gardeners, or carpenters, and attend school
and church, Sundays and week days, without any approach to amusement, or
what is still more absurd, without finding them any market for the
produce of their industry when they are industrious. Teach them
Christianity, and civilise them by all means, but introduce canoe races,
horse races, foot races, shooting matches, foot-ball, cricket, all sorts
of games,--anything, in fact, suitable to their bodily and mental
powers, and open up the country; send people to buy their produce, and
employ them as postillions, mail carriers, ostlers, cattle drovers,
ferrymen; and at the same time keep them as much as possible separate
from white men, under good guidance and instruction, and I have some
hope that they will not decrease in numbers, and that they will become
civilised in reality as well as nominally."
Trevor had got thus far when the advanced guard made a signal for
silence to be kept. We each of us stood up in our stirrups, and looking
out ahead caught sight of numberless dark objects covering the prairie,
far as the eye could reach, from north to south.
The wind blew from them, so that we might hope to get near without being
perceived. The hunters now examined their saddle-girths, loaded their
guns, and looked to their primings or percussion caps, and filled their
mouths with bullets that they might drop them into their guns, without
wadding, while at full gallop. The elder we heard cautioning the less
experienced, and with good reason, not to shoot each other--a
contingency I thought very likely to occur. Cautiously at first we
approached the herd, clutching our weapons and bending forward eagerly,
ready to dash on at a moment's notice. Before us was a very large herd
of buffaloes. On we went still unperceived--even the sagacious horses
seemed to tread cautiously. At length some of the nearest animals
lifted up their shaggy bearded heads. Our leader gave the signal--we
were discovered. No further need now for silence. Our steeds sprang
forward--off we dashed, and, scampering along at full speed, were soon
in the midst of the more tardy-moving animals, each hunter firing right
and left into the animal nearest him on either hand. It was like a
naval engagement in days of yore, when a British fleet got among the
enemy. In this instance, each hunter was widely separated from his
companions, and only now and then the unfortunate chase turned to show
fight. Even that was hopeless, for the well-trained horse, wheeling or
leaping aside, knew as well as his rider how to avoid the charge of the
furious buffalo, which was certain in the course of a few seconds to be
brought low.
As each hunter killed an animal he dropped some article of his property
to denote his prey, a handkerchief, tobacco box, knife, steel, and then
galloped on, slaughtering right and left. I had told Peter to keep near
me, lest any accident should happen to the lad; but carried away by the
excitement of the chase, he separated from me, and Trevor very quickly
disappeared. I was in high glee, for I had rolled over two buffaloes in
succession. On I galloped, and brought down a third. I fired at a
fourth, a huge bull, but though I hit him he did not fall, and before I
could check the speed of my horse to load, the animal put his foot in a
badger's hole, and down he came, throwing me over his head. As I was on
my way to the ground it seemed I looked up and beheld the huge buffalo,
with his hairy head bent down, dashing towards me. I had no power of
defending myself. I saw his red, fiery eyes close to me, felt his hot
breath on my cheek, and gave myself up for lost. I remembered nothing
more but a most horrible sensation of suffocation. I had remained some
time in that condition, when I heard voices near me, and recognised
Peter's tones. "Yes, yes, that is my dear master," he exclaimed. "Yes,
Master Stalker, and he be coming to life again, I do believe. Hurra!
hurra!"
On this I felt myself lifted up and carried to a little distance, when I
was again put down. In a few minutes I was placed in a litter formed, I
afterwards found, of the skin of the very buffalo which had so nearly
finished me.
The shots I had put into him, though not instantaneously fatal, had
produced his death at the moment he was about to gore me, and his huge
body had fallen over, completely above me. Poor Peter, when the hunt
was over, and the hunters were returning to camp, had searched about for
me in every direction, till he was in perfect despair. At length a
buffalo I had killed was discovered, and my course tracked till I was
found under the body of my fourth victim. The lad had killed a buffalo,
and Trevor boasted of knocking over six, so that he was well content
with this result of his first hunt in British North America.
A considerable number of animals had been killed, and now the carts came
up to carry off the flesh to be converted forthwith into pemmican, in
the manner already described. There was a terrible waste of food even
in this instance.
I was for several days unable to mount my horse, but had recovered
completely by the time the pemmican was prepared and the camp broken up.
It had been arranged that we were to begin the homeward march the next
day, when the scouts, always kept actively employed on such occasions,
brought in word that they had discovered the trail of a band of Sioux,
their hereditary foes, and had followed it up till they found them
encamped not more than a day's journey from where we were--in American
territory. A council of war was held immediately. It was agreed by the
hunters that if they did not attack the Sioux, the Sioux would follow
and attack them and take them unawares.
Trevor and I at once came to the opinion that it was our duty to be
non-combatants; and, indeed, we counselled our friends to retreat
without attacking the Sioux, and to trust to their own vigilance not to
be taken by surprise. This advice was very unpalatable to the tastes of
the hunters, and was totally disregarded. As far as the principles of
the half-breeds are concerned we found them very little in advance of
the Indians, though they pique themselves, as a mark of their
civilisation, on not taking scalps. Trevor even offered to visit the
camp of the Sioux, and to try and negotiate terms of peace. To this
proposal, however, they would not a moment listen, declaring that he
would lose his life in the attempt. The council broke up, and a
war-party having been arranged, forthwith set out. They advanced with
caution, with scouts thrown out to examine any ground which could
possibly afford a spot for an ambush.
We rode on with them for some distance, and in vain again urged them to
abandon so utterly profitless an expedition--certain as it was also,
even should they be victorious in the present instance, to make their
enemies retaliate on some future occasion. I believe that the women of
the party regarded us with a considerable amount of contempt when we
returned to the camp in consequence of our interference. Peter,
however, explained to the fair dames that although we refused to attack
men who had never injured us, we would fight for them like heroes if
they were attacked. This assurance seemed to restore us to their good
opinion. Two days passed, and the war-party returned, looking haggard
and travel-stained. They boasted of having killed sixteen of the enemy,
but as they had certainly lost five of their own men and had no trophies
to show, we questioned this statement. There were also, we pointed out
to them, as the result of their exploit, three widows in the camp and a
dozen fatherless children whom they were bound to support.
We immediately began our return homewards. The camp remained quiet all
night, but the next morning several horses were missing, and two scouts,
at no great distance, were found killed and scalped. The following day
a Cree hunter lost his life, but our friends showed no inclination to
turn back on the enemy. They were, I found, so completely down-hearted
at the loss they had sustained in consequence of their own folly, that
they exhibited none of that courage and daring which they undoubtedly
possess. Still I am convinced that, well led, they are men capable of
performing the most daring exploits. As we did not wish to return to
Fort Garry, while they kept to the right, we crossed the Assiniboine
River and went on to La Prairie Portage, a settlement of Christian
Indians, presided over by Archdeacon Cochrane, who has devoted the whole
of his life to the service of these children of the wilderness. The
settlement appeared in a flourishing condition. There are two churches,
a number of neat cottages, and many well-cultivated and well-stocked
farms.