Antelope Hunting.
Gradually the train left the improvements of civilization behind, and,
at the end of three weeks, it was miles outside of a fence. Here the
trapper was in his natural element. He felt, as he expressed, “like a
young one jest out o’ school,” adding, that all he needed was “one
glimpse of a Comanche or Cheyenne to make him feel perfectly nat’ral.”
In accordance with the promise he had made Frank before leaving St.
Joseph, he now took Pete (that was the name the latter had given his
horse) under his especial charge; and every morning, at the first peep
of day, the boys saw him galloping over the prairie, firing his rifle
as fast as he could reload, as if in pursuit of an imaginary herd of
buffaloes. At first the spirited animal objected to this mode of
treatment, and made the most desperate efforts to unseat his rider;
but the trapper, who had broken more than one wild mustang, was
perfectly at home on horseback, and, after a few exercises of this
kind, Pete was turned over to his young master, with the assurance
that he was ready to begin buffalo hunting. According to Frank’s idea,
the animal had improved considerably under the trapper’s system of
training, for he would hardly wait for his rider to be fairly in the
saddle before he would start off at the top of his speed. The boys,
who considered themselves fully able to do any thing that had ever
been accomplished by any one else, having seen Dick load and fire his
rifle while riding at full speed, began to imitate his example, and in
a short time learned the art to perfection. In addition to this, each
boy looked upon his horse as the better animal, and the emigrants were
witnesses to many a race between them, in which Sleepy Sam, as Archie
called his horse, always came off winner. But Frank kept up the
contest, and at every possible opportunity the horses were “matched,”
until they had learned their parts so well, that every time they
found themselves together, they would start off on a race without
waiting for the word from their riders.
One morning, just after the train had left the camp, as the boys were
riding beside the wagon, listening to a story the trapper was
relating, the latter suddenly stopped, and, pointing toward a distant
swell, said: “Do you see that ar’, youngsters?”
The boys, after straining their eyes in vain, brought their
field-glass into requisition, and finally discovered an object moving
slowly along through the high grass; but the distance was so great,
they could not determine what it was.
“That’s a prong-horn,” said the trapper at length. “An’ now, Frank,”
he continued, “if you’ll lend me that ar hoss, I’ll show you that all
the huntin’ in the world aint larnt in that leetle patch of timber
around Lawrence.”
Frank at once dismounted, and Dick, after securing his rifle, sprung
into the saddle, saying:
“Come along easy-like, youngsters, an’ when I tell you, you get off
an’ hide behind your hoss.”
Frank mounted Sleepy Sam behind Archie, and they followed the trapper,
who led the way at an easy gallop. Useless, at his master’s command,
remained with the wagon. They rode for a mile at a steady pace, and
then, seeing that the game had discovered them, the boys, at a signal
from the trapper, stopped and dismounted, while Dick kept on alone,
his every movement closely watched by Frank and Archie, who, having
often read of the skill required in hunting antelopes, were anxious to
see how it was done. The trapper rode on for about half a mile
further, and then the boys saw him dismount, unbuckle the bridle, and
hobble his horse so that he would not stray away. He then threw
himself on his hands and knees, and disappeared. A quarter of an hour
afterward the boys saw his ’coon-skin cap waving above the grass. If
this was intended to attract the attention of the game, it did not
meet with immediate success, for the antelopes continued to feed
leisurely up the swell, and finally some of their number disappeared
behind it. The boys regarded this as conclusive evidence that the
trapper’s plan had failed; but at length one of the antelopes, which
stood a little apart from the others, and appeared to be acting as
sentinel, uttered a loud snort, which instantly brought every member
of the herd to his side. They remained huddled together for several
moments, as if in consultation, and then began to move slowly down
the swell toward the place where the trapper was concealed. There were
about twenty animals in the herd, and they came on in single file,
stopping now and then to snuff the air and examine the object that had
excited their curiosity. But nothing suspicious was to be seen, for
the trapper was concealed in the grass, the only thing visible being
his cap, which he gently waved to and fro as he watched the movements
of the game. The antelopes advanced slowly--much _too_ slowly for the
impatient boys, who, concealed behind their horse, closely watched all
their movements, fearful that they might detect the presence of the
trapper, and seek safety in flight. But the latter well understood the
matter in hand, and presently the boys saw a puff of smoke rise from
the grass, and the nearest of the antelopes, springing into the air,
fell dead in his tracks. The others turned and fled with the speed of
the wind.
In an instant Frank and Archie had mounted, and when they reached the
place where the trapper was standing, he had secured his prize, which
was one of the most graceful animals the boys had ever seen. It was
about three and a half feet high at the shoulders, and, although Dick
pronounced it very fat, its body was slender and its limbs small and
muscular. After having examined the animal to their satisfaction, they
all mounted their horses, Dick carrying the game before him on his
saddle; and as they rode toward the wagon, Archie exclaimed:
“Now, Frank, we know how to hunt antelopes. It isn’t so very hard,
after all.”
“Isn’t it?” inquired the trapper, with a laugh. “You don’t understand
the natur of the critters, when you say that. I know I killed this one
easy, but a feller can’t allers do it. Howsomever, you can try your
hand the next time we meet any, an’ if you do shoot one, I’ll allers
call you my ‘antelope killers.’ Them red handkerchiefs of your’n would
be jest the things to use, ’cause the critters can see it a long way.
If you can bring one of ’em into camp, it will be something wuth
braggin’ on.”
It was evident that the trapper did not entertain a very exalted
opinion of the boys’ “hunting qualities;” but that did not convince
them that they could not shoot an antelope. On the contrary, it made
them all the more anxious for an opportunity to try their skill on
the game, if for no other reason than to show the trapper that he was
mistaken.
Half an hour’s riding brought them to the wagon, which was standing
where they had left it, and, after the buck had been skinned and
cleaned, the trapper mounted to his seat and drove after the train,
followed by the boys, who strained their eyes in every direction in
the hope of discovering another herd of antelopes. But nothing in the
shape of a prong-horn was to be seen; and when the train resumed its
journey after its noon halt, they gradually fell back until the wagons
were out of sight behind the hills. Then, leaving the road, they
galloped over the prairie until they reached the top of a high swell,
when they stopped to look about them. About two miles to the left was
the train slowly winding among the hills; but the most faithful use of
their glass failed to reveal the wished-for game. All that afternoon
they scoured the prairie on both sides of the wagons, and when it
began to grow dark, they reluctantly turned their faces toward the
camp.
“What did I tell you?” asked the trapper, as the boys rode up to the
wagon, where the latter was unharnessing the mules. “I said you
couldn’t shoot a prong-horn.”
“Of course we couldn’t,” answered Archie, “for we didn’t see any to
shoot.”
“I know that,” replied the trapper with a grin; “but _I_ seed plenty.
The next time you go a huntin’ prong-horns, be sartin that the wind
blows from them t’wards you, an’ not from you t’wards them. They’ve
got sharp noses, them critters have.”
The boys were astonished. They had not thought of that; and Archie was
compelled to acknowledge that “there was something in knowing how,
after all.”