Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years AgoDrannan, William F.
History
Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years Ago
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
Before we started that morning, Jim said to me, "Keep a sharp look
out for Buffalo when you get near the next water, for if there are no
Indians there, you will be sure to find Buffalo, and tomorrow being
Sunday we will lay over a day and rest up, and if we can have some fresh
meat I think everyone will enjoy it."
I answered that if there were any Buffalo in that part of the country, I
would surely find them, "for, besides the treat the Buffalo will be to
us, we can have another Coyote dance."
Jim clapped his hands and, laughing, replied, "Yes, Will, I'll be dog
gorned if we won't, for the Coyotes will howl to beat any band if you
can kill a few Buffalos."
I and my scouts pulled out at once, and to my surprise I did not see an
Indian track all that day. When I was within three or four miles of the
place where we were to camp, I commenced to see signs of Buffalo, so I
signaled all the other scouts to come to me. As soon as they came, I
showed them the tracks of the Buffalo in the sand, and then I told them
that we would scatter out and go in abreast, keeping about a hundred
yards apart, and keep a sharp look out, and if either of us see any
Buffalo, signal to the rest of us to come, "for, we are going to lay
over in this camp tomorrow, and we want some Buffalo meat to feast on."
We saw no Buffalo until we were almost to the camping ground. Then one
of the men discovered a herd of perhaps twenty-five cows and calves in a
little valley close to the place where we were going to camp.
As soon as he saw them, he signaled to the balance of us, and we got to
him as quickly as possible. On examination of the valley, we found that
there was only one way the Buffalos could get out, and that was the way
they went in, which led down to where our camp would be that night.
There were not more than eight or ten acres in the whole valley, and it
was almost surrounded by high bluffs, and the only outlet which was not
more than thirty paces wide led directly to the spot where we intended
to camp over Sunday.
I told the men to dismount and tie their horses to some Sage brush that
was near and go down to a little grove of trees that stood at the mouth
of the valley.
"I will ride in among them and try to separate the herd so we can get as
many of them as possible, and aim to kill the smallest of the band as
they pass you. If I am successful in separating the band, and you can
get two shots at them, we will get all the meat we want. I will try to
hold all the calves until the cows are out of the valley, and when the
last cow is out, all you men rush and close the opening, and then we
will have lots of sport killing the calves."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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