A Tour on the Prairies (CLASSICS OF THE OLD WEST)

ISBN: 0809440334

Author: Irving, Washington

Condition: New

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1850. ... evaded his attack, capering and cutting all kinds of antics before him. We now made repeated shots at the buffalo, but they glanced into his mountain of flesh without proving mortal. He made a slow and grand retreat into the shallow river, turning upon his assailants whenever the)' pressed upon him ; and when in' the water, took his stand there as if prepared to sustain a siege. A rifle ball, however, more fatally lodged, sent a tremor through his frame. He turned and attempted to wade across the stream, but after tottering a few paces, slowly fell upon his side and expired. It was the fall of a hero, and we felt somewhat ashamed of the butchery that.had effected it; but after the first shot or two we had reconciled it to our feelings, by the old plea of putting the poor animal out of his misery. Two other buffaloes were killed this evening, but they were all bulls, the flesh of which is meagre and hard at this season of the year. A fat buck yielded us more savoury meat for our evening's repast. CHAPTER XXV. RINGING THE WILD HORSE. We left the buffalo camp about eight o'clock, and had a toilsome and harassing march of two hours, over ridges of hills, covered with a ragged, meagre forest of scrub-roots, and broken by deep gullies. Among the oaks I observed many of the most diminutive size ; some not above a foot high, yet bearing abundance of small acorns. The whole of the Cross Timber, in fact, abounds with mast. There is a pine-oak which produces an acorn pleasant to the taste, and ripening early in the season. About ten o'clock in the morning we came to where this line of rugged hills swept down into a valley, through -which flowed the north fork of the Red River. A beautiful meadow about half a mile wide, enamelled with yellow autumnal flowers, stretched for two or three miles al...