第32章

"I was partially stunned and greatly confused by the blow;therefore I should have been an easy prey for him at the moment.But when he left me,I came to my senses;and I had been thrown near my gun!I arose and aimed between the tips of his ears--all that was visible of him--and fired.I saw the fresh snow fly from the spot.The panther leaped about six feet straight up into the air,and fell motionless.I gave two good war-whoops,because I had conquered a very formid-able enemy.I sat down on the dead body to rest,and my heart beat as if it would knock out all my ribs.I had not been expecting any danger,and that was why I was so taken by surprise.

"The other time was on the plains,in summer.

I was accustomed to hunting in the woods,and never before had hunted buffalo on horseback.Be-ing a young man,of course I was eager to do what-ever other men did.Therefore I saddled my pony for the hunt.I had a swift pony and a good gun,but on this occasion I preferred a bow and arrows.

"It was the time of year when the buffalo go in large herds and the bulls are vicious.But this did not trouble me at all;indeed,I thought of nothing but the excitement and honor of the chase.

"A vast plain near the Souris river was literally covered with an immense herd.The day was fair,and we came up with them very easily.I had a quiver full of arrows,with a sinew-backed bow.

"My pony carried me in far ahead of all the oth-ers.I found myself in the midst of the bulls first,for they are slow.They threw toward me vicious glances,so I hastened my pony on to the cows.

Soon I was enveloped in a thick cloud of dust,and completely surrounded by the herd,who were by this time in the act of fleeing,their hoofs making a noise like thunder.

"I could not think of anything but my own sit-uation,which confused me for the moment.It seemed to me to be a desperate one.If my pony,which was going at full speed,should step into a badger hole,I should be thrown to the ground and trampled under foot in an instant.If I were to stop,they would knock me over,pony and all.

Again,it seemed as if my horse must fall from sheer exhaustion;and then what would become of me?

"At last I awoke to a calm realization of my own power.I uttered a yell and began to shoot right and left.Very soon there were only a few old bulls who remained near me.The herd had scattered,and I was miles away from my companions.

"It is when we think of our personal danger that we are apt to be at a loss to do the best thing un-der the circumstances.One should be unconscious of self in order to do his duty.We are very apt to think ourselves brave,when we are most timid.

I have discovered that half our young men give the war-whoop when they are frightened,because they fear lest their silence may betray their state of mind.I think we are really bravest when most calm and slow to action."I urged my uncle to tell me more of his adven-tures.

"Once,"said he,"I had a somewhat peculiar experience,which I think I never related to you before.It was at the time of the fall hunt.One afternoon when I was alone I discovered that I was too far away to reach the camp before dark,so Ilooked about for a good place to spend the night.

This was on the Upper Missouri,before there were any white people there,and when we were in con-stant danger from wild beasts as well as from hos-tile Indians.It was necessary to use every pre-caution and the utmost vigilance.

"I selected a spot which appeared to be well adapted to defense.I had killed two deer,and I hung up pieces of the meat at certain distances in various directions.I knew that any wolf would stop for the meat,A grizzly bear would some-times stop,but not a mountain lion or a panther.

Therefore I made a fire.Such an animal would be apt to attack a solitary fire.There was a full moon that night,which was much in my favor.

"Having cooked and eaten some of the venison,I rolled myself in my blanket and lay down by the fire,taking my Ishtahbopopa for a bed fellow.Ihugged it very closely,for I felt that I should need it during the night.I had scarcely settled myself when I heard what seemed to be ten or twelve coyotes set up such a howling that I was quite sure of a visit from them.Immediately after-.

ward I heard another sound,which was like the screaming of a small child.This was a porcupine,which had doubtless smelled the meat.

"I watched until a coyote appeared upon a flat rock fifty yards away.He sniffed the air in every direction;then,sitting partly upon his haunches,swung round in a circle with his hind legs sawing the air,and howled and barked in many different keys.It was a great feat!I could not help won-dering whether I should be able to imitate him.

What had seemed to be the voices of many coy-otes was in reality only one animal.His mate soon appeared and then they both seemed satisfied,and showed no signs of a wish to invite another to join them.Presently they both suddenly and quietly disappeared.